Italian banks must invest more in technology, central bank says ROME (Reuters) – Technology investments by larger Italian banks lag behind those of their European peers, the central bank said on Friday, urging lenders to step up spending to support innovation in their offer of financial services. Italian banks have increased their investments in innovative technology four-fold since 2017, but they remain limited, Bank of Italy Governor Fabio Panetta said in the text of a speech at the presentation of the central bank’s annual report. “They need to grow: it would be a serious mistake to continu ..read more

UK supermarket sales set for Euro 2024 fillip, says NIQ LONDON (Reuters) – The return of some warm weather in May helped drive sales growth at British supermarkets and they are set for a boost from the upcoming Euro 2024 soccer championship, according to industry data published on Friday. Market researcher NIQ said sales at UK supermarkets rose 3.3% in the four weeks ending May 18 year-on-year, thanks to a brief period of hot weather in the week ending May 11. The data is the most up-to-date snapshot of UK consumer behaviour. “It was the warm weather which helped to move the dial in terms of s ..read more

Euro zone inflation rises in fresh signal for ECB caution By Francesco Canepa FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Euro zone inflation rose in May, data showed on Friday, in a sign the European Central Bank still faces a slow and uncertain journey to reach its goal of fully reining in prices. The bigger-than-expected increase in inflation was unlikely to stop the ECB from lowering borrowing costs from a record high next week, but may cement the case for a pause in July and a slower pace of interest rate reductions in the coming months. “These numbers strengthen the hands of those who say we need to be cautiou ..read more

Pound heads for best monthly gain of 2024 ahead of US inflation LONDON (Reuters) – The pound headed on Friday for its best monthly performance against the dollar this year, driven by expectations that the Bank of England may need to keep UK interest rates higher for longer as inflation persists. Data on Friday showed UK house prices rose in May after two months of declines, although a separate report later in the day on U.S. inflation could prove a bigger driver for currencies. Sterling was down 0.12% on the day at $1.2717, but was headed for a rise of 1.7% in May, which would be its largest m ..read more

Dell shares slump as heavy AI investments expected to dent margin (Reuters) -Dell Technologies shares tumbled about 18% on Friday, as the PC and server maker expects sizeable AI investments to dent its quarterly profit. Dell is on track to lose more than $21 billion in market value, if losses hold. The stock has risen more than 80% so far this year. Companies, including Dell, have been investing heavily in pricey hardware to build-out advanced servers with the ability to process complex artificial intelligence tasks as more businesses rush to adopt the technology. High costs linked with in-dem ..read more

Dollar slides after US inflation meets expectations in April By Hannah Lang and Joice Alves NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) – The dollar was lower and on track for its first monthly decline in 2024 after data showed that U.S. inflation rose in line with expectations in April. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index increased 0.3% last month, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis said on Friday, matching the unrevised gain in March. The data suggests the elevated pace of price increases could last longer than expected and offers little clarity on how soon the U.S. Fede ..read more

Oil set for weekly loss ahead of OPEC+ meeting By Nicole Jao NEW YORK (Reuters) -Oil prices fell on Friday and were set for a weekly loss as investors awaited an OPEC+ meeting on Sunday that will determine the fate of the producer group’s output cuts. Brent futures for July delivery were down 32 cents, or 0.4%, to $81.54 a barrel by 11:53 a.m. EDT (1553 GMT), while the more liquid August contract was down 99 cents, or 1.2%, at $80.89. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $1.11, or 1.4%, at $76.8. Brent is on track for a weekly decline of 0.7%, with WTI on course for a 1.2% los ..read more

Stocks lose steam after U.S. data By Sinéad Carew and Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) -MSCI’s global equities index gave up earlier gains on Friday after data showed modest U.S. inflation in April, while the dollar fell with Treasury yields as investors still bet on Fed interest rate cuts this year. The U.S. Commerce Department said the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, widely seen as the Fed’s favoured inflation indicator, increased 0.3% last month, in line with expectations and the March increase, while core PCE rose 0.2% compared with 0.3% in March. “The markets got some relie ..read more

European shares rise after US inflation data keeps Fed rate cut hopes alive By Shubham Batra and Shashwat Chauhan (Reuters) -European shares rose on Friday after softer U.S. inflation data spurred hopes of interest rates cuts by the Federal Reserve, while June rate cut bets for the euro zone remained intact despite hotter than expected inflation figures from the region. The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 0.3% higher, but still recorded a second week of declines as euro zone bond yields spiked to mirror their U.S. counterparts on worries over interest rates remaining elevated. The index wa ..read more

London stocks end higher for third month By Pranav Kashyap and Purvi Agarwal (Reuters) -London stocks closed higher on Friday, logging a third straight month of gains, as investors cheered an in-line inflation reading from the U.S. that brought back some hopes of a September rate cut by the Federal Reserve. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose 0.5%, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 was up 0.3%. Both indexes logged a third straight month of gains, despite ending the week lower. The much awaited U.S. personal consumption expenditure (PCE) data showed inflation rose in line with expectations in April, rev ..read more