Poste Italiane Could Be Partner for Digital Euro, Cipollone Says
Poste Italiane SpA could help introduce the digital euro to Italy, according to European Central Bank Executive Board member Piero Cipollone.
The ECB is looking for partners to carry the project over 'the last mile' of implementation once it has been set up, Cipollone said, speaking at an online ASviS event.
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CNBC
an hour ago
- CNBC
Dollar poised for weekly loss, hurt by economic weakness and trade limbo
The dollar was headed for a weekly loss on Friday, undermined by signs of fragility in the U.S. economy and little progress on trade negotiations between Washington and its partners, ahead of a critical jobs report. The U.S. nonfarm payrolls report expected later on will draw greater scrutiny after a slew of weaker-than-expected economic data this week underscored that President Donald Trump's tariffs were taking a toll on the economy. Currencies were mostly rangebound in early European hours as traders steered clear of large bets ahead of the data release. The euro was taking a breather after hitting a 1-1/2-month top on Thursday following hawkish remarks from the European Central Bank. It last bought roughly $1.1422, down just 0.2% on the day. Traders have pushed back expectations on the timing of the next rate cut, but continue to anticipate a 25 basis point reduction by year-end. Deutsche Bank's Mark Wall said he still expects 50 basis points worth of ECB rate cuts, adding "it is still too early to judge the impact of trade war, and the path of the trade war is in any case still inherently unpredictable." Reflecting a struggling economy, data showed that German exports and industrial output fell more than expected in April and data on euro zone retail sales is expected later in the day. Sterling dipped 0.2% at around $1.3546 having scaled a more than three-year peak in the previous session, and was set to rise about 0.6% for the week. The yen fell 0.18% to 143.90 per dollar. Most currencies had surged against the dollar late on Thursday, helped by news that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke on a call for more than an hour, before paring some of their gains. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar edged up to 98.9, and was headed for a weekly loss of 0.5%. Analysts said Friday's U.S. jobs data would likely be the next catalyst for currencies. Economists polled by Reuters forecast the U.S. economy created 130,000 new jobs in May versus 177,000 in April. Job growth likely slowed considerably in May as businesses struggled with headwinds from tariff uncertainty, but probably not enough for a cautious Federal Reserve to resume cutting interest rates anytime soon, analysts said. "Within all the noise... the softness that we've seen in the data this week has probably been more responsible for rejuvenating the bearish U.S. dollar narrative than anything else that's gone on," said Ray Attrill, head of FX research at National Australia Bank. "We've always taken the view that once it becomes clear that the U.S. economy is no longer exceptional, and that the policy actions that we've seen to date, together with the relative tightness of Fed policy, will start to show through particularly in a weakening labor market. Hence the importance of tonight's numbers." Adding to headwinds for the dollar, investors remain worried about U.S. trade negotiations and the lack of progress in hashing out deals ahead of an early July deadline. The highly anticipated call between Trump and Xi also provided little clarity and the spotlight on it was quickly stolen by a public fallout between Trump and Elon Musk.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Discovering Europe's Undiscovered Gems In June 2025
As European markets navigate a landscape marked by easing inflation and potential ECB rate cuts, the pan-European STOXX Europe 600 Index has seen a modest rise, reflecting cautious optimism amid ongoing trade negotiations with the U.S. Against this backdrop of shifting economic indicators and market sentiment, identifying stocks that can thrive requires an eye for those companies poised to capitalize on these evolving conditions. Name Debt To Equity Revenue Growth Earnings Growth Health Rating AB Traction NA 5.39% 5.24% ★★★★★★ La Forestière Equatoriale NA -65.30% 37.55% ★★★★★★ Caisse Regionale de Credit Agricole Mutuel Toulouse 31 19.46% 0.47% 7.14% ★★★★★☆ Zespól Elektrocieplowni Wroclawskich KOGENERACJA 14.04% 21.73% 17.76% ★★★★★☆ Viohalco 93.48% 11.98% 14.19% ★★★★☆☆ Practic 5.21% 4.49% 7.23% ★★★★☆☆ Evergent Investments 5.39% 9.41% 21.17% ★★★★☆☆ Castellana Properties Socimi 53.49% 6.64% 21.96% ★★★★☆☆ Grenobloise d'Electronique et d'Automatismes Société Anonyme 0.01% 5.17% -13.11% ★★★★☆☆ MCH Group 124.09% 12.40% 43.58% ★★★★☆☆ Click here to see the full list of 326 stocks from our European Undiscovered Gems With Strong Fundamentals screener. Underneath we present a selection of stocks filtered out by our screen. Simply Wall St Value Rating: ★★★★★☆ Overview: Paul Hartmann AG is a company that produces and distributes medical and care products across various regions including Germany, the rest of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and the Americas with a market cap of €884.38 million. Operations: Paul Hartmann AG generates revenue primarily from its segments: Incontinence Management (€769.92 million), Wound Care (€608.93 million), Infection Management (€518.89 million), and Complementary Divisions (€510.18 million). Paul Hartmann, a notable player in the medical equipment sector, showcases impressive growth with earnings surging by 281.6% last year, outpacing the industry average of 14.1%. The company's price-to-earnings ratio stands attractively at 8.1x compared to the German market's 19.2x, suggesting potential undervaluation. Its interest payments are well-covered by EBIT at a robust 10.4 times coverage, indicating financial stability despite a net debt to equity ratio increase from 1.4% to 17.4% over five years—still within satisfactory limits underlining its solid footing in navigating fiscal challenges effectively. Click to explore a detailed breakdown of our findings in Paul Hartmann's health report. Examine Paul Hartmann's past performance report to understand how it has performed in the past. Simply Wall St Value Rating: ★★★★★★ Overview: TotalEnergies EP Gabon Société Anonyme is involved in the mining, exploration, and production of crude oil in Gabon with a market capitalization of €909 million. Operations: TotalEnergies EP Gabon generates revenue primarily from its oil and gas exploration and production activities, amounting to $464.72 million. The company's financial performance is significantly influenced by its ability to manage costs associated with these operations. TotalEnergies EP Gabon, a noteworthy player in the oil sector, has seen its earnings surge by 245.9% over the past year, outpacing the broader industry's -11.3%. The company is trading at a significant discount of 63.4% below estimated fair value, presenting an intriguing opportunity for investors. With a robust debt-to-equity ratio improvement from 1.7 to just 0.08 over five years and more cash than total debt, financial stability seems assured. Recent results show crude production slightly down at 16.7 kb/d for Q1 2025 compared to last year's same quarter but with net income climbing to $91 million from $26 million previously reported for full-year figures ending December 2024. Click here and access our complete health analysis report to understand the dynamics of TotalEnergies EP Gabon Société Anonyme. Explore historical data to track TotalEnergies EP Gabon Société Anonyme's performance over time in our Past section. Simply Wall St Value Rating: ★★★★★★ Overview: Ernst Russ AG is a publicly owned investment manager with a market cap of €227.07 million. Operations: Ernst Russ AG generates revenue primarily from its investment management activities. The company has a market cap of €227.07 million, reflecting its valuation in the financial markets. Ernst Russ AG, a small-cap entity in the shipping sector, has shown resilience despite challenges. Recent earnings for Q1 2025 revealed sales of €40.9 million compared to €46.9 million last year, but net income surged to €24.6 million from €13.8 million, reflecting improved profitability with basic EPS rising to €0.73 from €0.41. The company forecasts 2025 revenues between €147-167 million and EBIT from ship operations excluding vessel sales between €43-73 million, highlighting potential growth opportunities amidst operational adjustments and strategic asset disposals expected to generate significant capital gains this year. Dive into the specifics of Ernst Russ here with our thorough health report. Gain insights into Ernst Russ' historical performance by reviewing our past performance report. Access the full spectrum of 326 European Undiscovered Gems With Strong Fundamentals by clicking on this link. Invested in any of these stocks? Simplify your portfolio management with Simply Wall St and stay ahead with our alerts for any critical updates on your stocks. Maximize your investment potential with Simply Wall St, the comprehensive app that offers global market insights for free. Explore high-performing small cap companies that haven't yet garnered significant analyst attention. Fuel your portfolio with companies showing strong growth potential, backed by optimistic outlooks both from analysts and management. Find companies with promising cash flow potential yet trading below their fair value. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include DB:PHH2 ENXTPA:EC and XTRA:HXCK. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@ Sign in to access your portfolio
Fast Company
2 hours ago
- Fast Company
This corny ‘conservative credit card' ad signals a very scary future for AI
A fresh glimpse at our AI-filled future arrived this week, in the form of an unmemorable ad by a company most people have never heard of. The ad is kind of flat and will probably scan as goofy to everyone outside its target demo, but don't write it off just yet: It could signal the beginning of some very big (and scary) changes. The upstart fintech company Coign claims to be a 'conservative credit card company,' a distinction that boils down to the founders' pledge to never donate to liberal causes and candidates. And while that self-definition raises some questions, it pales in comparison to the actual ad. The 30-second clip is a patriotic parade of red-blooded, red-voting Americans boasting about recent Coign-fueled purchases such as deer-hunting gear, a stack of cartoonish gold bars, and the 'biggest American flag' available. But here's the most striking thing about the ad: All of those situations, and all of the actors, were created by AI. There's something a little off about Coign's ad, to be clear. The pacing of the phony satisfied customers' movements feels too jittery at times, and there's an eagle at the end that is not exactly natural looking. While the ad is spiritually the same AI slop as Shrimp Jesus, it doesn't carry the same overtly synthetic visuals. In that regard, it's a lot more casually AI-generated than many of its predecessor ads. When Coca-Cola released an AI-generated holiday spot last fall, it sparked an uproar. Creatives were livid about such a monumentally successful company neglecting to splash out on an all-human production, and even casual observers noticed the glaring flaws in the video: The truck's tires glided over the ground without spinning, Santa's hand was bizarrely out of proportion with the Coke bottle it gripped, and the entire ad sat squarely in the 'uncanny valley.' The same goes for the ad Toys R Us released last year using OpenAI's text-to-video tool Sora: The kindest thing one could say is that its human characters looked marginally more lifelike than the unsettling, motion-captured Tom Hanks from The Polar Express two decades earlier. So far, AI-generated ads have been rare enough and mostly the domain of heavy-hitter companies, making them lightning rods for attention and backlash just about every time a new one is released. The simple fact that they were AI-made has been enough to generate headlines, even before factoring in the slop. But maybe not for much longer. If the Coign ad is any indication, there may be an entire class of AI ads coming that will be subject to far less attention—and far less scrutiny. We're at a precarious moment with AI, collectively feeling out its least objectionable uses through trial and error. So far, uncanny ads from massive companies have triggered backlash, but when lesser-known brands dabble—especially without obvious visual glitches—they often escape notice. Advertising legend David Droga once noted the existence of a ' mediocre middle ' in marketing and entertainment, and that may be exactly where AI quietly thrives: in ads from companies too small to spark outrage. Advertising, after all, is already the most disposable and least emotionally protected form of media—expensive to make, widely avoided, and largely unloved. That makes it the perfect Trojan horse for AI—slipping past scrutiny not because it's good, but because few people care enough to notice. On a moral and economic level, the advertising industry should not be diving headlong into a technology that makes large swaths of professional workers expendable. And on an aesthetic level, just because AI technically can create an ad doesn't mean it can create a good one. Once a seemingly harmless use case eases people's minds about a given technological breakthrough, it's only a matter of time before the more flagrantly objectionable use cases take hold. The facial recognition tech that first allowed Facebook users to tag their friends in photos was eventually used to strengthen the surveillance state and threaten privacy everywhere. Today's drones that make aerial photography easier become tomorrow's drones that mistakenly blow up weddings in other countries and threaten to displace delivery workers. Obviously, AI is going to play some role in humanity's future. The size of that role, however, is not yet set in stone. As machine learning creeps into all creative fields, workers need regulations to ensure the technology doesn't spread too far too fast. The good news is that a majority of Americans seem to want AI regulation. Although the House of Representatives recently passed a major tax and spending bill with a provision forbidding state governments to regulate AI over the next 10 years, that clause is getting bipartisan blowback. According to a recent poll, 81% of voters agree that 'advances in AI are exciting but also bring risks, and in such fast-moving times, we shouldn't force states to sit on the sidelines for a full decade.' Even the CEO of generative AI company Anthropic is a full-throated advocate for stricter AI regulation. The people have spoken. Whether they are listened to is another matter altogether. A single, silly credit card ad may seem an unlikely step toward a dystopian future of unfettered AI and full unemployment, but if we laugh it off now, the bill may still come due later.
