European Economics Preview: UK Inflation Data Due

Consumer and producer prices data from the UK is due on Wednesday, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

At 2.00 am ET, the Office for National Statistics releases UK consumer and producer prices for September. Consumer price inflation is seen at 10.0 percent versus 9.9 percent in August.

UK output price inflation is forecast to ease to 15.7 percent in September from 16.1 percent a month ago. Likewise, input prices are expected to gain 18.8 percent annually, slower than the 20.5 percent increase posted in August.

At 3.00 am ET, final consumer price figures are due from Austria. Also, harmonized consumer prices are due from Slovakia.

At 5.00 am ET, Eurostat is set to issue euro area final consumer prices and construction output data. The flash estimates showed that inflation advanced to a record 10.0 percent in September from 9.1 percent in August. The statistical office is expected to confirm the flash estimate.

Space Tourist Dennis Tito Books Two Seats On SpaceX’s Starship

Dennis Tito, the first space tourist to fund his own trip into space, has booked another trip with Elon Musk’s SpaceX for a mission around the moon.

“Dennis and Akiko Tito are the first two crewmembers on Starship’s second commercial spaceflight around the Moon,” SpaceX tweeted on Wednesday.

According to SpaceX, Tito and his wife, Akiko will take the second lunar expedition on Starship that will last roughly a week.

Meanwhile, the mission will only follow after SpaceX’s commitment to launch Jared Isaacman on the first commercial human spaceflight mission on Starship. SpaceX will also carry out its first trip around the moon for billionaire fashion mogul Yusaku Maezawa.

In April 28, 2001, Tito, an American engineer and entrepreneur, made history after he became the first space tourist to go into space. The spacecraft docked with the International Space Station. Tito and his fellow cosmonauts spent 7 days, 22 hours, 4 minutes in space and orbited the Earth 128 times. Tito had reportedly paid $20 million for his trip.

In an interview with “CBS Mornings,” Tito said he and his wife of two years want to fly on Musk’s futuristic Starship for the sheer adventure of it.

“I’ve been thinking about flying to the moon for the last 20 years, since my space flight,” Tito said. “And here we were at SpaceX (recently) and they were interested in talking about a space flight. And I brought it up. And within a few minutes, we both were on board.”

Intuitive Surgical Stock Gains 12% On Quarterly Results

Shares of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG) are gaining over 12% on Wednesday morning after third-quarter profit trumped Street estimates.

ISRG is currently trading at $218.34, up $24.61 or 12.70%, on the Nasdaq. The stock opened its trading at $217.94 after closing Tuesday’s trading at $193.73. The stock has traded between $180.07 and $369.69 in the past 52-week period.

The company’s profit dropped to $324.0 million, or $0.90 per share from $380.5 million or $1.04 per share last year. Excluding items, adjusted earnings were $428.5 million or $1.19 per share for the period. Analysts expected earnings of $1.12 per share.

Revenues for the quarter rose 11.4% to $1.56 billion from $1.40 billion last year.

Generac Holdings Tumbles 20% As Q3 Results Miss Street View, Cuts Outlook

Shares of home and industrial power systems manufacturer Generac Holdings Inc. (GNRC) are down 20 percent on Wednesday’s trading after the company posted third-quarter income and revenues, which came in below the Street expectations. The stock was down 10.7 percent in Wednesday’s pre-market trading.

The company posted third-quarter income of $58 million or $0.83 per share, down from $132 million or $1.93 per share in the year-ago period. Excluding items, net income was $112 million or $1.75 per share in the quarter, lower than $151 million or $2.35 per share in the same period last year.

On average, 19 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to post income of $3.21 per share in the same period last year.

Looking ahead for full-year 2022, the company cut its sales growth outlook to 22-24 percent from 36-40 percent and its net income margin guidance to 9-10 percent from 13-14 percent citing poor residential sales.

Currently at $118.59, the stock has traded between $115.50 and $524.31 during the past 52 weeks.

Spirit Airlines Shareholders Approve Merger With JetBlue Airways

Spirit Airlines, Inc. (SAVE) announced Wednesday that its stockholders approved the merger agreement with JetBlue Airways Corp. (JBLU).

Based on the preliminary voting results provided by the independent inspector of election at the special meeting of stockholders held today, more than 50% of the outstanding shares of Spirit common stock voted in favor of the transaction.

The final voting results of the special meeting, as tabulated by an independent inspector of elections, will be filed on a Form 8-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of required regulatory approvals. Spirit and JetBlue expect to conclude the regulatory process and close the transaction no later than the first half of 2024.

Ukraine’s Military Claims To Have Shot Down 13 ‘kamikaze’ Drones

Ukraine’s military claims to have shot down 13 “kamikaze” drones over the southern Mykolaiv region overnight.

“During the night of October 18-19, the enemy attacked the Mykolaiv region twice with ‘Shahed-136’ kamikaze drones,” the Ukrainian Armed Forces said a statement on Telegram Wednesday. “Eleven were shot down by the air defense of air command “South”, two more — by soldiers of the National Guard of Ukraine and the State Border Service of Ukraine,” it added.

Russian forces have been launching drones and missiles on civilian and energy infrastructure targets across Ukraine since October 7, killing dozens and leading to power and water shortages. Hundreds of towns and villages in the country are in blackout as a result.

1,162 settlements in the Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, and Mykolaiv regions remain without power supply,” says Oleksandr Khorunzhyi, a spokesperson for the country’s State Emergency Service.

More than 70 people were killed and many others injured in the attacks, according to him.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said that one third of the nation’s power stations were destroyed in Russian attacks. Power and water supply is partially disrupted in capital Kyiv after fresh strikes on Tuesday.

Zelensky said the drones are Iranian-made. Iran denied supplying Russia with the small aerial weapons, which are destroyed after hitting the target.