European Economic News Preview: Eurozone Final Composite PMI Data Due

Final composite Purchasing Managers’ survey results from the euro area and other major Eurozone economies are due on Friday, headlining a busy day for the European economic news.

At 2.45 am ET, France’s statistical office INSEE is scheduled to issue industrial production for December. Economists forecast output to grow 0.2 percent on month, slower than the 2.0 percent increase in January.

At 3.15 am ET, S&P Global publishes Spain services Purchasing Managers’ survey results. The services PMI is expected to climb to 52.5 in January from 51.6 in the previous month.

At 3.45 am ET, Italy’s services PMI data is due. Economists expect the index to rise to 51.0 in January from 49.9 a month ago.

Final composite PMI survey results are due from France and Germany at 3.50 am and 3.55 am ET, respectively.

At 4.00 am ET, S&P Global publishes Eurozone final composite PMI data. The final composite reading is seen at 50.2 in January, up from 49.3 in December.

Half an hour later, UK S&P/CIPS services PMI survey data is due. The final reading is seen at 48.0 in January, unchanged from the flash estimate, down from 49.9 in December.

At 5.00 am ET, Eurostat is set to publish euro area producer prices for December. Producer price inflation is forecast to slow to 22.5 percent from 27.1 percent in November.

Arena Group Prelim Annual Revenue Rises; Backs Full-year Outlook

Arena Group Holdings, Inc. (AREN), a technology driven media firm, on Friday announced preliminary results for 2022 showing decreased loss as well as improved revenues.

In addition, for the fiscal 2023, the company has reaffirmed its outlook.

For the full-year, the company expects $18 million – $22 million decrease in loss to $68 million – $72 million.

For 2022, Arena anticipates to register adjusted EBITDA of over $3 million, compared with a loss of $12 million in 2021.

The Group expects its full-year revenue of $217 million – $220 million, an increase of $28 million – $31 million from last year. This is mainly supported by over 70 percent increase in digital advertising revenue.

Looking ahead, for the fiscal 2023, the company still expects adjusted EBITDA of $30 million – $35 million, on revenue of $255 million – $270 million.

Ross Levinsohn, CEO of Arena Group said: “…As we continue to scale our platform, we are generating significant efficiencies and expanding operating margins, with an expectation of substantially higher profitability in 2023 on a non-GAAP basis. We are benefiting from reaching the necessary scale to drive expansion in our operating margins.”

Intesa Sanpaolo Q4 Net Income Rises

Intesa Sanpaolo (ISNPY.PK,IITSF.PK) reported fourth quarter net income of 1.07 billion euros compared with 179 million euros, a year ago. Net interest income was 3.06 billion euros, up 56.7% compared with 1.95 billion euros, last year.

The Group’s net income for 2022 was 5.50 billion euros when excluding provisions / write-downs of 1.4 billion euros for Russia and Ukraine, exceeding the 2022-2025 Business Plan net income target of over 5 billion euros for 2022. This was up 31.4% from last year. Net interest income was 9.5 billion euros, up 20.2% from last year.

The Board of Directors has decided to execute the buyback for the remaining amount of 1.7 billion euros authorised by the ECB.

Nordstrom Surges As Cohen Reportedly Acquires Significant Stake

Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) shares are surging on Friday morning trade on reports that activist investor Ryan Cohen is trying to acquire a significant stake in the upscale department store chain.

Cohen is reportedly planning to push for change in Nordstrom’s board and to cut costs.

Currently, shares are at $26.19, up 23.89 percent on a volume of 11,609,173.

Atlassian Slides After Reporting Wider Q2 Loss

Atlassian Corp. (TEAM) shares are sliding more than 8 percent on Friday morning trade after reporting loss wider than the prior year.

The quarterly net loss was $205.03 million compared to $22.328 million a year ago.

Currently, shares are at $167, down 8.45 percent from the previous close of $182.41 on a volume of 2,036,153.

Reader Tips for a Better Frozen (or Homemade) Pizza

A recent look at the state of premium frozen pizza, and an accompanying taste test, brought out big opinions. “Pizza,” as one reader notes, “is a big tent.”

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By Sara Bonisteel

Sara Bonisteel, an editor on the Food desk, always keeps a frozen French bread pizza on hand for hanger management.

U.S. employers added 517,000 jobs in January.

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Monthly change in jobs

Gold Futures Settle Sharply Lower As Dollar Rises After Strong Jobs Data

Gold prices tumbled on Friday as the dollar firmed against its major counterparts after data showed stronger than expected in U.S. non-farm payroll employment in the month of January.

The dollar index surged to 102.92, gaining nearly 1.2%.

The strong jobs data raised hopes that interest rates would remain elevated for several months.

Gold futures for April ended lower by $54.20 or about 2.8% at $1,876.60 an ounce. Gold futures shed 2.7% in the week.

Silver futures for March ended down $1.210 at $22.405 an ounce, while Copper futures for March settled at $4.0565 per pound, down $0.0345 from the previous close.

Data from the Labor Department showed that non-farm payroll employment soared by 517,000 jobs in January after surging by an upwardly revised 260,000 jobs in December.

Economists had expected employment to increase by 185,000 jobs compared to the addition of 223,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The report also said the unemployment rate edged down to 3.4% in January from 3.5% in December. The dip surprised economists, who had expected the unemployment rate to inch up to 3.6%.

A report from the Institute for Supply Management showed service sector activity rebounded by much more than expected in the month of January.

The ISM said its services PMI jumped to 55.2 in January from a revised 49.2 in December, with a reading above 50 indicating growth. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 50.4