Good morning,

Markets qare called to open lower this morning. This is what’s driving the markets today:

  • The Federal Reserve signalled a faster timetable for raising rates.
  • Germany reported producer prices declined 0.9% in February from a year earlier.
  • China said it would speed up already decided measures to support economic growth.

Qualcomm, Intel Threatened as Allwinner Gains Tablet Share

Intel and Qualcomm, the two largest U.S. chipmakers, are under threat in the fastest-growing part of the tablet market from a band of upstarts with names like Allwinner Technology and Fuzhou Rockchip Electronics that are little known outside southern China.

Allwinner became the No. 2 tablet-processor maker behind Apple in 2012 as demand for cheaper tablets stoked sales of its low-cost chips. Qualcomm ranks third, while Intel comes in at No. 6, following Rockchip.

The Chinese chipmakers’ rapid rise has been fueled by their quick response to a shift in the tablet market toward budget machines, which are providing many consumers in emerging regions with their first access to the Internet on a larger screen. The young companies have jumped on that trend by providing the devices with low-cost components based on ARM Holdings designs, the same technology used by many of their more established rivals.

Stock to watch: BMW

BMW, the world’s biggest maker of luxury autos, surged to a record high after forecasting a significant gain in 2014 profit as models like the 4-Series Gran Coupe and i8 sports car propel sales.

Pretax profit will rise by at least a high single-digit percentage above 2013’s €7.91 billion, Chief Financial Officer Friedrich Eichiner said today at the annual press conference in Munich. Earnings will be lifted by 16 new and refreshed models and lower development spending.

Competition among Germany luxury-car makers is heating up as Volkswagen AG’s Audi division, which ranks second in the segment on an annual basis, outsold BMW’s namesake brand in the first two months of 2014. Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz, which holds third place, has boosted deliveries faster than the two larger rivals in recent months. Management of BMW said that sales gains should be stronger in the second half.

For a copy of our latest report on BMW or Volkswagen, log into web trader or contact our offices on 25688688.

Companies in Europe reporting today:

  • Bollore (BOL FP) aftermkt
  • Flughafen Zuerich (FHZN SW) 7am
  • Havas (HAV FP) 5:30pm
  • Hermes (RMS FP) 8am
  • Lanxess (LXS GR) 7:30am
  • Next (NXT LN) 8am
  • Ophir Energy (OPHR LN) 8am
  • Investec (INVP LN) 8am
  • United Utilities (UU/ LN) 3Q sales
  • Volvo (VOLVB SS) 8am, Feb. sales

Good day and happy trading!

Kristian Camenzuli