U.S. Business Inventories Jump 1.1% In January, Matching Estimates

Business inventories in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of January, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday.

The report showed business inventories jumped by 1.1 percent in January after surging by an upwardly revised 2.4 percent in December.

Economists had expected business inventories to shoot up by 1.1 percent compared to the 2.1 percent spike originally reported for the previous month.

Retail inventories continued to lead the way higher, leaping by 2.0 percent in January after soaring by 4.7 percent in December.

The report showed wholesale and manufacturing inventories also increased by 0.8 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said business sales spiked by 3.7 percent in January after falling by 0.5 percent in December.

Retail and wholesale sales skyrocketed by 5.7 percent and 4.0 percent, respectively, while manufacturing sales jumped by 1.2 percent.

With sale surging by much more than inventories, the total business inventories/sales ratio dropped to 1.25 in January from 1.29 in December.

Vossloh FY21 Profit, Orders Up, Proposes Dividend; Sees Higher FY22 Results – Quick Facts

Vossloh AG (VOSSF.PK), a German supplier of rail infrastructure products and services, reported Thursday that its fiscal 2021 net income climbed to 35.9 million euros from last year’s 20.8 million euros. The earnings per share increased to 1.31 euros from 0.98 euro a year ago.

Operating EBIT rose to 72.3 million euros from 57.5 million euros last year, while the operating EBIT margin improved by 1.1 percentage points to 7.7 percent.

Operating EBITDA increased to 124.2 million euros from 107.5 million euros in the previous year, with an EBITDA margin of 13.2. percent, compared to previous year’s 12.4 percent on an operational basis.

Group sales reached 942.8 million euros, an increase of 8.4 percent from previous year’s 869.7 million euros.

Orders received came to 947.6 million euros, up 3.5 percent. The order backlog was 611.4 million euros at the end of 2021, a 2.8 percent increase over the previous year.

Further, the company proposed a dividend of 1.00 euro per share.

Looking ahead for fiscal 2022, Vossloh expects continued increase in sales and EBIT. The company currently expects to achieve sales revenues of between 925 million euros and 1 billion euros. Vossloh expects an EBITDA margin of 13 percent to 14 percent and an EBIT margin between 7.5 percent and 8.5 percent.

Marshalls Plc FY21 Adj. Profit Rises; Revenue Up 26%

Marshalls plc (MSLH.L) said it posted record sales and adjusted profitability for the year ended 31 December 2021, reflecting the sustained heightened demand post COVID-19. Looking forward, the Group said its trading remains strong and has continued to improve since the start of the new year, notwithstanding ongoing supply chain challenges. At the end of February, revenues were up 13 percent and order volumes up 5 percent compared to the same period in 2021. Given the strength of recent and current trading, the Board’s expectations for the current year are now ahead of its previous view.

For the year ended 31 December 2021, adjusted profit before tax increased to 72.1 million pounds from 22.5 million pounds, prior year. Before adjusting items, earnings per share was 28.4 pence compared to 8.5 pence.

Profit before tax increased to 69.3 million pounds from 4.7 million pounds, last year. Earnings per share was 27.4 pence compared to 1.2 pence. Revenue increased to 589.3 million pounds from 469.5 million pounds, prior year.

The Board is now proposing a final dividend of 9.6 pence which, when combined with the interim dividend of 4.7 pence, gives rise to a total dividend for the year of 14.3 pence.

Bitcoin price holds above $40,000

People need time to see Bitcoin’s ‘fundamental value’: Crypto expert

Bitcoin expert Layah Heilpern joins ‘Making Money’ to discuss the volatile crypto market amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Bitcoin was trading around $40,000 Thursday morning following the Federal Reserve's interest rate hike.

The cryptocurrency has traded higher in four of the past five days heading into Thursday and is on a three-day winning streak.

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Over those three days, bitcoin is up more than 6%.

Bitcoin still trades down 0.9% month-to-date and off more than 10% year-to-date.

Some reports say the bitcoin move was chalked up to the news that China was pledging to support its real estate and tech industries, which also powered Asian stocks, according to CoinDesk.

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Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed into law a bill that legalizes crypto in the country. 

Ukraine has been using a flood of digital asset donations to support the country's defense against the Russian invasion. 

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Zelenskyy asked the U.S. Congress in a major speech to provide more support and to strengthen sanctions against Russia.

Trevor Noah: Addressing Congress, Zelensky ‘Knew His Audience’

Ukraine’s president must have researched American history before his speech, said Noah (who speculated about how it “could have gone very wrong”).

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By Trish Bendix