France’s CPI (consumer price index) rose 0.3% in February. The CPI index for January stood at -1%. The rise in the CPI is a positive sign for the economy.
Despite the revenue headwinds we discussed in the previous part of this series, Walmart (WMT) expanded its gross margin by 21 basis points to 24.6% in the first three quarters of fiscal 2016.
Carrefour (CRRFY) emerged as one of FEZ’s top performers on January 22, 2016. It came in behind Repsol and ahead of Telefonica (TEF), Orange (ORAN), Banco Santander (SAN), and Total (TOT).
Costco’s suppliers include companies like PepsiCo (PEP), Procter & Gamble (PG), and the Kraft Heinz Company (KHC). No single supplier accounts for over 5% of revenue.
On December 31, 2015, the stocks at the bottom of the SPDR Euro STOXX 50 ETF (FEZ) were Schneider Electric, Telefonica, ASML Holding, Carrefour, and Sanofi.
On December 10, 2015, the auto manufacturing industry yielded the highest positive return of 2.5% within the SPDR Euro STOXX 50 ETF (FEZ). Auto manufacturing constitutes 7% of FEZ’s holdings.
Walmart’s top line is expected to see no growth in fiscal 2016, which ends January 31, 2016. This is due to forex (foreign exchange) headwinds from a higher-than-expected US dollar.
Walmart is among a select group of global retailers (XRT) (RTH) competing in a variety of store formats. However, Walmart dwarfs all of the other companies.
