Top News in Finance for July 19, 2023

KEY POINTS

Dive into this week’s key financial happenings with our succinct, easy-to-understand summaries of the most crucial economic events. Designed to keep you up-to-date, our roundup empowers you to navigate the week ahead and seize unfolding opportunities

• M&T Bank and Goldman Sachs Report Earnings
• US Housing Starts Predicted to Decline in June
• Carvana Shares Surge Following Debt Deal Announcement
• AT&T Halts Lake Tahoe Cables Removal, Boosting Shares
• UK Inflation Slows Down More Than Expected in June

M&T Bank and Goldman Sachs Report Earnings

Buffalo-based M&T Bank (MTB) reported a profit of $867 million, or $5.05 a share, compared to the $218 million, or $1.08 a share, that analysts were anticipating. Also coming before the opening bell, Goldman Sachs (GS) will report its earnings, with analysts expecting the bank to report weak results after it has warned investors of write-downs on commercial real estate investments. M&T Bank traded 0.2% higher in pre-market trading while Goldman shares were flat.

US Housing Starts Predicted to Decline in June

After housing starts came in above expectations last month, economists are projecting housing construction to have slowed in June, dropping to 1.48 million from 1.63 million in May when that data is released by the Census Bureau at 8:30 a.m. ET. Also today, building permits, which tracks the number of housing units granted construction permits, are also expected to dip to 1.48 million in June from 1.49 million.

Carvana Shares Surge Following Debt Deal Announcement

After moving up its earnings report by two weeks, Carvana (CVNA) shares moved up by 15% in pre-market trading after the online used car retailer said it reached a deal to reduce its total debt of $8.5 billion by $1.2 billion. Company shares were down about 7% in pre-market trading before announcing the debt deal.

AT&T Halts Lake Tahoe Cables Removal, Boosting Shares

AT&T (T) shares moved higher by 5% in pre-market trading after the telecom company said it would halt plans to remove two lead-sheathed cables in Lake Tahoe as it sought to conduct more testing on whether the old infrastructure was contaminating the environment. AT&T’s CEO John Stankey said in a memo to employees that it believes the lead-covered cables represent less than 10% of its infrastructure. Shares of Verizon (VZ) were also higher by 4% on the report, as both telecoms could bear liability for cleanup.

UK Inflation Slows Down More Than Expected in June

Inflation in the U.K. cooled faster than expected, as the annual rate of inflation came in at 7.9% in June, below the 8.2% economists had forecast. Month-over-month inflation in the U.K. increased by 0.1%, less than the 0.4% that economists were expecting.