Department Store Earnings, Alibaba’s Results and July Retail Sales

09/08/2015
Hearings on Investment Rule
The Department of Labor will hold four days of public hearings this week to discuss its proposed rule that would require a broader group of financial professionals to put their clients’ interests ahead of their own when handling the clients’ retirement money.

The hearings will be held from Monday through Thursday. The White House has estimated that the lack of consumer protection costs investors as much as $17 billion annually, or 1 percent of their assets, and perhaps more. But the rule has faced strong and well-funded opponents in the financial services industry. Those stakeholders, along with consumer advocates including AARP, will have the opportunity to make their arguments to regulators this week. —Tara Siegel Bernard
Department Stores Report
Analysts expect modest results from four department stores set to report second-quarter earnings this week. Sales at Macy’s, Kohl’s, Nordstrom and J.C. Penney are all likely to have been tempered by a decline in tourism because of a stronger dollar, the dearth in “must-have” products this season and overall weak traffic. Amazon’s Prime Day event last month, which generated more sales for the e-commerce giant than Black Friday, may also have diverted shopping dollars from clothes and handbags to electronics. Margins are improving, however, as retailers increasingly tighten their belts and slim down bloated inventories. Macy’s reports its earnings on Wednesday, Kohl’s and Nordstrom on Thursday and J.C. Penney on Friday. —Hiroko Tabuchi
Alibaba’s Results
Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant, is expected to release a quarterly earnings report on Wednesday before markets open in New York. The company, whose executive chairman is Jack Ma, left, is seeking to expand its business outside that country. It recently signed exclusive partnerships with 20 global apparel brands for online sales in China. Last week, it named a former Goldman Sachs executive, J. Michael Evans, as its president, with a mandate to expand its business abroad. These efforts come as the company has had a harder time generating revenue domestically. The government’s recent prohibition on online lottery ticket sales is expected to cut into Alibaba’s quarterly revenue, as will reduced fees on the company’s group-buying marketplace. Analysts have been cautious about Alibaba’s earnings since the company listed its shares in New York last September. It missed analysts’ profit forecasts in the quarter that ended March 31. —Amie Tsang
Houlihan Lokey I.P.O.
Houlihan Lokey, one of the oldest boutique investment banks on Wall Street, is expected to start life as a public company this week when it prices its initial public offering. The firm, whose stock is scheduled to start trading on Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange, is hoping to raise up to $314.4 million. At the high point of the expected price range, Houlihan Lokey would be valued at nearly $1.6 billion. —Michael J. de la Merced
New Samsung Phones
Samsung Electronics, the No. 1 handset maker, is expected to introduce two new big-screen Galaxy smartphone models on Thursday. The company, which has reported declining profits over the last year, is hoping to regain momentum in the smartphone market after Apple’s big-screen iPhones eroded its sales.
July Retail Sales
On Thursday the Commerce Department reports retail sales for July, which are expected to show a healthy rebound after an unexpected decline in June. A jump in auto sales and spending on the home should bolster consumer spending, which is an important harbinger of the strength of the overall economic recovery, economists say. Underlying the stronger retail sales are steady growth in jobs and falling gasoline prices, both of which are buoying consumer confidence. —Hiroko Tabuchi
European Central Bank Minutes
On Thursday, the European Central Bank releases an account of its monetary policy meeting on July 16. The account of the internal debate on the central bank’s governing council could provide insight into the bank’s thinking on Greece, and how far it is willing to go to prevent a collapse of Greek banks. —Jack Ewing
Industrial Production
On Friday morning, the Federal Reserve will release the latest data on industrial production in July. Economists are looking for a 0.3 percentage point rise in production, helped by strength in the automobile industry. One likely weak spot in the report will be the mining sector, which includes energy producers that are slashing activity as oil prices plunge.
Also Friday morning, the University of Michigan will report its preliminary estimate of consumer confidence in August. Most economists do not expect a big change from July’s reading of 93.1, a healthy level that reflects steady gains in terms of the job market and the rebound in home prices. —Nelson D. Schwartz
Growth in the Eurozone
The European statistics agency on Friday will publish its first estimate of economic growth in the eurozone in the second quarter. Economists expect that gross domestic product grew 0.4 percent in the 19 countries of the currency bloc from April through June. That would be the same rate of growth as in the previous quarter. But some economists warn that growth may have slowed because of turmoil in Greece, which unsettled businesses and consumers and made them reluctant to spend. —Jack Ewing

Fonte:http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/10/business/department-store-earnings-alibabas-results-and-july-retail-sales.html

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