Fitch warns the UK is facing the highest debt interest costs in developed world, as a share of revenue
Unilever has release a “decent if mixed” set of half-year results this morning, reports Adam Vettese, analyst at trading and investment platform eToro.
Vettese explains:
“One of the strengths of Unilever’s business model is that it houses a lot of well-known brands that have come to be staples of many households. That means it can afford to put up prices in an inflationary environment – sensibly – without it impacting sales.
“However, while overall sales growth has been solid, only 41% of its portfolio is taking market share from rivals, while volumes in Europe, a key market, have been disappointing.
Reasons to be cheerful: an increasing number of folk are convinced slowing US inflation and the economy’s resilience means the Fed has achieved the improbable holy grail of central banking – a soft landing. That’s got to be good news for stocks – er, maybe.
Reasons to be fearful: Others are delving deeply into the detail of rising credit card defaults, earnings problems, a property bust, and global slowdown (particularly in China and Europe) for proofs of how unsustainable the current happy-clappy market is.
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