BMW to buy back more shares worth up to 2 billion euros
[BERLIN] BMW is buying back as much as 2 billion euros (S$2.9 billion) of stock starting this month.
The carmaker's management board approved the programme, which will be concluded no later than April 30, 2027, BMW said on Tuesday (May 20). It's the German company's third major buyback in three years.
BMW shares rose as much as 2.5 per cent in Frankfurt after the announcement. The stock is roughly flat this year.
Carmakers have returned more money to shareholders in recent months. Mercedes-Benz Group in February announced plans to buy back as much as 5 billion euros in stock over a period of two years, telling investors it may cut its stake in Daimler Truck Holding to help fund the moves.
BMW's latest programme is applicable to both ordinary and preferred shares, with the latter's volume limited at 350 million euros. At the company's annual general meeting last week, shareholders authorised the repurchase of as much as 10 per cent of the company's share capital within five years. BLOOMBERG
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Times
an hour ago
- Business Times
Europe: Equities gain for second week on jobs data and trade hopes
EUROPEAN shares rose for a second straight week, buoyed by robust US employment figures and diminishing concerns over trade friction that had previously rattled investor confidence. The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.32 per cent to 553.64 on Friday, and logged a 0.6 per cent gain for the week. The United States' better-than-expected jobs report relieved anxieties regarding the US labour market's resilience, likely prompting traders to reassess how President Donald Trump's trade policies might impact employment trends. 'The data fuelled optimism that the US jobs market, and so the US economy, is weathering the Trump tariff shock better than expected,' said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank. Market sentiment drew additional support from signs of easing in the US-China trade relationship following Thursday's telephone conversation between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Still, the market was also reminded this week of protectionist fervour, as the White House's doubled tariffs on steel and aluminum imports took effect. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up The automotive sector, particularly exposed to these metal duties, bore the brunt, shedding 1.8 per cent over the week. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz indicated he would pursue a deal for duty-free US car imports into Europe in exchange for equivalent tariff waivers on European exports to the United States. Other bourses such as Germany's DAX and France's also recorded a second straight week of gains, while and Spain's IBEX logged its eight consecutive week of advances - its longest in nearly four months. The European Central Bank's widely anticipated interest rate cut was overshadowed by President Christine Lagarde's hawkish signals suggesting the monetary easing cycle may be approaching its conclusion. The stance prompted traders to dial back expectations for further rate reductions. Markets are also monitoring whether the public spat between Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk could spill over into broader markets. 'Comments from Musk yesterday about Trump tariffs, putting the US in recession in the second half of this year combined with weak data this week is causing investors to sit out for the time-being,' said Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index. On Friday, the financial sector emerged as the standout performer, propelled by UBS, which rose 3.8 per cent after Swiss authorities proposed more stringent rules that could require an additional US$26 billion in core capital reserves for the banking giant. Among other stocks, Dassault Systemes fell 1.2 per cent after the French software company extended the target period of its medium-term earnings per share forecast by one year. Renk fell 6.2 per cent, placing it among the worst performers on the Stoxx 600, after Exane BNP Paribas downgraded the stock to 'underperform' from 'neutral'. On the macroeconomic front, German exports and industrial production contracted more severely than anticipated in April, as US demand faltered following months of accelerated purchasing activity driven by tariff anticipation. Across the Channel, British housing prices experienced a steeper-than-expected decline in May. REUTERS
Business Times
10 hours ago
- Business Times
US tariff policy could cost Germany 90,000 jobs within a year
[BERLIN] US tariff policy could cost Germany 90,000 jobs within a year, the country's labour office head told Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper in an interview released on Friday (Jun 6). Federal Employment Agency chief Andrea Nahles was citing the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) and other institutes, which conducted research on the effect of a 25 per cent tariff rate. 'The problem is this lack of predictability, which is doing us massive damage – it prevents companies from investing, hiring and training people,' Nahles told the newspaper. 'The erratic trade policy of the USA is a burden on the German labour market.' Last month, unemployment in Europe's largest economy rose at a faster pace than expected, with the number of people out of work approaching the 3 million mark for the first time in a decade. Economic malaise in Germany has put pressure on the job market even against a backdrop of long-term labour shortages, adding to pressure on conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has vowed to pull the economy out of a two-year decline. US President Donald Trump's tariffs could deal a major blow to those efforts – possibly putting the German economy on track for a third straight year of recession, for the first time in the country's post-war history. REUTERS
Straits Times
11 hours ago
- Straits Times
Germany's Merz says some US lawmakers have 'no idea' of scale of Russia's rearmament
Germany's Merz says some US lawmakers have 'no idea' of scale of Russia's rearmament BERLIN - Some U.S. lawmakers do not understand the scale of Russia's rearmament campaign, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday, a day after he held talks with U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House. "I met with some senators on Capitol Hill and told them to please look at the rearmament Russia is doing," Merz told a business conference in Berlin. "They clearly have no idea what is happening there right now," he said, without identifying the senators. Russia has shifted defence plants to round-the-clock production since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and has signed arms deals with North Korea and Iran, prompting European officials to warn that Moscow could soon be in a position to attack NATO territory. Russia denies any such intention and says it is waging a "special military operation" in Ukraine to protect its own security against what it casts as an aggressive, hostile West. Merz, a conservative who took power in May, is the latest European leader to visit Trump hoping to convince him of the need to back Ukraine against Russia's invasion and continue to help underpin Europe's security through the NATO alliance. Merz said he had been reassured by the words Trump had uttered during their public encounter in the Oval Office, especially the U.S. president's "resounding no" to a question on whether the United States had plans to withdraw from NATO. European countries have been boosting defence spending since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in the continent's bloodiest conflict since World War Two. Merz has backed Trump's demand for NATO members to commit to a target of more than doubling defence spending to 5% of economic output in the future. Trump welcomed that commitment on Thursday and told Merz that U.S. forces would remain in Germany. "Whether we like it or not," Merz said on Friday, "we will remain dependent on the United States... for a long time to come." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
