The Week Ahead | Calamatta Cuschieri

U.S. stocks fell on Friday as several banking companies weighed down the major indexes on the final day of an otherwise strong week for equities. The Down Jones fell 122.91 points to close at 24,360.14, with J.P. Morgan Chase as the worst-performing stock in the index. The S&P Index closed 0.3% lower as financials dropped 1.6% and the Nasdaq declined 0.5%.

Major indexes have trended to the upside recently. Last week, the Dow booked a gain of 1.8%, while the S&P rose 2% and the Nasdaq produced a weekly gain of 2.8%.

In the week ahead, geopolitics and trade talk will likely keep investors on their toes this week as they watch further developments in Syria and evaluate the potential impact of the simmering trade spat between the United States and China.

The coming week also marks the first big week of the first quarter earnings of the season on Wall Street, with names like Goldman Sachs, IBM and Johnson and Johnson set to report. In Europe, traders will focus on British inflation data for further hints on the likelihood of the Bank of England raising interest rates this year.

New Lamborghini’s Suv is expected to be sold around $200,000.

Lamborghini's new SUV, Urus is more popular than expected with one New York dealer saying he expects to sell out of his orders as soon as they arrive. The vehicle that is not expecting to arrive until December has got already orders for 60 Urus SUVs. The selling price for the Urus, with options and customizations, is around $225,000.

What's even more surprising than the demand for the world's most expensive SUV, however, is who's buying it. Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali said 70% of Urus buyers have never owned a Lamborghini. One reason for the first-time-buyer surge is that wealthy car enthusiasts who live in cities or countries with bad roads couldn't drive Lamborghini's low-slung sports cars without ruining them. The higher-sitting Urus has Lambo's signature power, engine sound and bold angles but can easily glide over potholes, dirt and steep bumps. The Urus is the most radical change to Lamborghini in decades, eventually doubling the company's annual production.  Domenicali said the company will end 2018 with a total production of around 5,000 cars — more than 1,000 of which will be the Urus. By the end of 2019, the SUV will account for more than half of Lambo's anticipated production of 8,000 cars.

Xiaomi’s IPO is expected to be launch next month.

China-based smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi is gearing up to launch its Initial Public Offering (IPO). Previous reports suggested that the company could soon launch its IPO, the latest information reveals that Xiaomi could submit the application for listing in Hong Kong in early May.

The company could be valued somewhere around $65 billion to $70 billion. Analysts suggested that the Xiaomi could be valued around $65-70 billion but the earlier reports related to the China-based company’s IPO suggested that Xiaomi plans an IPO with $100 billion valuation which could make it the largest tech float of 2018.

Earlier, Xiaomi’s Senior Vice President Wang Xiang said in an interview that the company is presently gathering the “resources” it needs for a major push in the U.S., which many believed as a hint for preparing for the IPO. A successful IPO will grant Xiaomi the much-needed inflow of funds to expand further into newer markets.

Xiaomi was valued at around $45 billion when it last raised a funding round in 2014. Once, it held the title of the world’s most valuable technology company. Xioami also successfully achieved its annual revenue target of $15 billion in October 2017. The company broke its target by 18 percent and recorded as much as $1 billion in net profit. For 2018, Xiaomi has set a target of $2 billion in profits.

This article was issued by Linda De Luca, 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 Investment Services Ltd has not verified and consequently neither warrants the accuracy nor the veracity of any information, views or opinions appearing on this website.