A Mixed Start | Calamatta Cuschieri

Holiday Deals A-Plenty 

A number of themes to look at this week, which will kick off the global holiday season with Thanksgiving in the US, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Walmart is leaving no stone unturned in its battle with Amazon, rolling out holiday deals as early as today in what it is calling “Cyber Week”. You can get Gold’s Gym AbFirm Pro for $49 plus shipping if you buy today – or you can just whip out that gym mat you’ve been keeping in your garage for seven years and start doing some sit ups at no extra cost.

Focus Turns to European Politics

Angela Merkel has just announced she will be running for a 4th consecutive term in Germany, as the political limelight turns to Europe. Next door, former French Prime Minister Francois Fillon has become a serious contender for the French presidency. Although he still has to face a second round runoff with Alain Juppe, the 62-year-old is likely to face Marine Le Pen next year.

Further south, the Italian referendum on constitutional reform has entered the final two weeks. The final polls published last week do not bode well for Matteo Renzi, who will most likely step down if the “No” vote wins.

OPEC, Volkswagen and M&A

OPEC countries are prepared to offer ‘some flexibility’ to Iran in a bid to finalise the first deal in eight years to limit the supply of oil. Iran has been stubbornly refusing a deal because it wants to regain oil market share after being shut out of the Western market for a number of months. Sanctions have been lifted in January.

Volkswagen’s cost-cutting efforts in the wake of the ‘diesel-gate’ scandal will see it cut 30,000 jobs by 2020, with two-thirds of that coming from Germany alone. CEO Matthias Mueller said it was “the biggest reform package in the history of our core brand.”

Symantec has made the merger and acquisition headlines with its $2.3 billion purchase of LifeLock Inc, giving it access to its ID Security software. The maker of the (in) famous Norton anti-virus software has been pushing into cybersecurity in recent years, and this purchase is a further step in this direction.

This article was issued by Andrew Martinelli, Trader at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, www.cc.com.mt. The information, view and opinions provided in this article is being provided solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice, advice concerning particular investments or investment decisions, or tax or legal advice. Calamatta Cuschieri Investments Services Ltd has not verified and consequently neither warrants the accuracy nor the veracity of any information, views or opinions appearing on this website.