Latest comment from financial markets

Ad-hoc reports: CNB cuts rates by 50bp despite weak economy and on-target inflation

21/03/2024 13:21

At its March meeting yesterday, the Czech National Bank cut interest rates by a further 50bp and confirmed its determination to continue easing only gradually. The main reasons for this are the weaker koruna and continued rapid rise in services prices. According to Governor Michl, these two factors will determine the future course of interest rates. We expect them to be lowered by 50bp at the May, June and August meetings, which would reduce the current mismatch between interest rates and economic and inflation developments. We expect the repo rate to fall to 3.5% by the end of the year. The bank board still considers the policy-neutral interest rate of 3% to be too low. In this context, the central bank should publish an analysis of the policy-neutral level in May.

Autor: Martin Gürtler Show more

Latest comment from the equity market

Comment on financial results: Philip Morris CR: Results in line with our estimates, dividend CZK1,220

27/03/2024 13:51

Philip Morris CR's (PMCR) results for the second half of last year and for the year as a whole were slightly lower than in the previous year. Revenues for the second half of the year amounted to CZK10.9bn (-2.5% yoy), while net profit was CZK1.7bn (-6.4% yoy). PMCR proposes to the AGM to approve a dividend of CZK1,220 per share, which represents a (gross) yield of +7.8%. The reported figures are almost in line with our forecasts. Operating profit was slightly better (+4.0%) than we expected.

Autor: Bohumil Trampota Show more