THE MOST IMPORTANT NEWS OF THE LAST WEEK 17.2.2023
Digital euro
The European Central Bank has started work on the introduction of a digital currency. The digital euro should be launched in the EU because of the security threat posed by tensions between China and the United States. The ECB is examining the possibility of a launch as early as October 2021. There is currently a lack of digital payment platforms in Europe. Currently, more than two thirds of European card payment transactions are handled by companies based outside the European Union.
The toy sales segment is stagnating
Hasbro is coming out with a new forecast for its annual sales and earnings came in below Wall Street estimates. The negative result was caused by a drop in demand for their toys and games from customers, who were seeing price increases. A significant drop in consumer spending due to high inflation is testing the toy makers' resilience to the economic slowdown as customers spend more on essentials. The loss of the company's lucrative Disney Princess toy licence last year also contributed to the results.
Hermes still at the forefront
Hermes, the maker of Birkin handbags that have set the world abuzz, has posted a 22.9% rise in sales for the fourth quarter. This is mainly due to good sales in the United States and China, despite the COVID-19 disruption in the period. Ironically, it was European luxury brands that benefited from the strong recovery after the pandemic, with customers drawing on savings during the lockouts and indulging in fashion from branded manufacturers.
Hermes International SA's stock performance over the last 5 years. (Source: Investing)
Shocking conversations with the bot
The results of ChatGPT's bot testing were surprisingly negative. Microsoft gave over a million people the opportunity to try a test version of their new artificial intelligence search engine, Bing. These testers discovered surprising problems with the bot. It threatened some, gave strange advice to others, insisted it was right even when it was wrong. The bot even started professing his love for them. Most bizarrely, the testers discovered an "alternate personality" in the chatbot called Sydney.
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