LBLV Mercedes presents new electric car to rival Tesla 2021/16/04

LBLV provides an overview of economic news.


The main economic news for Friday, April 16:

0:00 Mercedes presents new electric car to rival Tesla
1:06 US House agrees to suppress big tech companies
1:57 Stocks climb to record amid positive economic data
3:03 Oil rises to 1-month high after recovery in demand

1. Mercedes presents new electric car to rival Tesla
Daimler AG on Thursday unveiled an electric version of its flagship luxury sedan, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, in a battle with market leader Tesla Inc for market share as electric car sales begin to flourish. The EQS is the first in the Mercedes-Benz family of cars to be built on a dedicated electric vehicle platform built from the scratch. It will go on sale in Europe and the US in August, then in China in January. Daimler has not yet revealed pricing for the EQS, saying it will come up in the summer closer to the launch date. But with a range of up to 770 km (478 mi) and a new display that will cover almost the entire dashboard – an optional feature – analysts see an attempt to grab the initiative from Tesla. Deutsche Bank believes the car is likely to become a benchmark in terms of performance as well as design and quality. Daimler’s shares were up 2, 67% as of Friday.

2. US House agrees to suppress big tech companies

3. Stocks climb to record amid positive economic data
Global stock indexes held near record highs on Friday after strong economic data from the US and China bolstered expectations of a sustained global economic recovery after the coronavirus-driven recession. European shares are expected to rise, with Euro Stoxx futures up 0.1% and British FTSE futures up slightly. MSCI Asia-Pacific's broadest index of equities outside Japan rose 0.25% and Shanghai shares added 0.6%. Japan's Nikkei was up 0.1%. Asian markets were mostly resilient after China reported record growth of 18.3% in the first quarter, although the reading was slightly below expectations, while retail sales rose strongly last month. On Wall Street on Thursday the S&P 500 rose 1.11% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 1.31%, approaching the record peak set in February. Data from the US overnight was also encouraging, with retail sales up 9.8% in March, pushing sales 17.1% above pre-crisis levels to a record high.

4. Oil rises to 1-month high after recovery in demand
Oil prices continued to rise on Friday and were on course for a weekly gain of around 7% on improved oil demand prospects and strong economic recovery in China and the US, offsetting fears of a spike in COVID-19 cases. Brent crude futures rose 30 cents, or 0.5%, to $67.24 a barrel. US WTI crude futures rose 28 cents, or 0.4%, to $63.74 a barrel. Both benchmarks rose on Thursday. China's net crude imports in 2021 are forecast to rise 3.4% this year from 2020 to around 11.2 million bpd, the leading oil and gas group China National Petroleum Company said in a statement. According to analysts, a strong economic recovery around the world and supply constraints by OPEC and its allies, as well as a cautious response to higher prices by US oil producers are supporting the market.