MORNING NEWS

STMicroelectronics slashed its sales and margin forecasts for the year once again as it continues to face lackluster demand for chips from the automotive industry. The European chip maker said it now expects revenue of $13.2 billion to $13.7 billion this year compared with a previous range of $14 billion to $15 billion. Meanwhile, its gross margin is now expected at about 40% compared with a previous forecast in the low 40s. The downgrades come three months after the group initially cut its forecasts due to slow demand, particularly from the automotive industry.

Nestle trimmed its sales guidance for the year due to a more challenging pricing environment. The Swiss maker of KitKat chocolate bars and Nescafe coffee said Thursday that pricing is being pressured due to increased promotional activity, innovation investments and as the basis of comparison is distorted by large price increases last year.

Tesla’s profit tumbled for a second straight quarter as the electric-vehicle leader continued to feel the impact of slower demand and stiffer competition. The financial results also missed Wall Street expectations on both income and free cash flow, sending the stock down about 8% in after-hours trading. Profitability took a big hit as a result of lower sales and buyers paying less for its core models.

Kuehne + Nagel benefited from improving demand for air logistics during the second quarter, when supply chains became more congested during continued disruptions in the Red Sea. Container operators have been forced to send their vessels on longer, more expensive routes around southern Africa's Cape of Good Hope to avoid the Red Sea after Houthi rebels began attacking commercial vessels at the end of last year, creating a shortage of vessels despite continued strong demand.

American Express Co. said it topped $2 billion in quarterly revenue from card fees for the first time in the second quarter, as it booked its 24th quarter in a row of of double-digit growth from such fees. The $2 billion-plus in card-fee revenue is “a super important metric for us, because it means that people are buying into the value proposition and renewing their membership,” Chief Financial Officer Christophe Le Caillec told MarketWatch.

Business is going so well at Novartis that management has once again raised its full-year forecast. The transformation into a focussed pharmaceutical company is increasingly paying off. As the Group announced on Thursday, sales in the second quarter totalled USD 12.5 billion. This corresponds to an increase of 9 per cent compared to the same period last year. At constant exchange rates (CER), growth was 11 per cent. On the profit side, Novartis generated an operating profit of USD 4.0 billion (+43%) in the second quarter.

The billionaire entrepreneur said he is moving the headquarters of two of his companies, X Corp. and SpaceX, to Texas from California. The moves, announced days after he endorsed Donald Trump for president, further illustrate how Musk has increasingly aligned himself with conservative stances on social issues. His disclosures followed the move by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, to sign a new law Monday that aims to prevent schools from informing families if their children identify as gay or transgender.

The luxury goods group Richemont has not been spared by the loss of momentum in global demand for luxury products. Sales posted by the company behind brands such as Cartier and Piaget stagnated in the first quarter of its financial year, which ended at the end of June, due in particular to a sharp decline in sales on the Asian market. During the period under review, revenues totalled 5.27 billion euros, down slightly by 1% year-on-year.

Higher interest rates continue to pressure some of the country’s biggest banks, and their lending machines are showing signs of consumer weakness. JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo both reported a drop in quarterly profit Friday. Citigroup posted a rise in profit, driven in part by the bank’s cost-cutting measures, but set aside more provisions for potential losses in their credit-card business. JPMorgan’s second-quarter profit declined 9% year-over-year to $13.1 billion. That figure excludes an $8 billion gain the bank received on an exchange of its shares of Visa and other one-time items. The bank’s net interest income, a measure of the difference between what banks pay out on deposits and charge on loans, rose to $22.9 billion, up 5% versus a year earlier.

The European Union said that Apple’s decision to let third-party mobile wallet and payment services use the technology behind its Apple Pay app fully addressed its antitrust concerns, ending a long-running probe that could have seen the iPhone maker hit with a hefty fine. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said it had made a series of commitments by Apple legally binding under the bloc’s antitrust rules, meaning that Apple now must comply with them by July 25.