Read this Wednesday's edition of the FolhaMercado newsletter (13) - 13/09/2023 - Market

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What’s new in the iPhone 15

Apple announced this Tuesday (12) its new line of iPhones, the company’s flagship product that is responsible for almost half of its revenue.

Without presenting anything very new other than the change in chargers, the company once again prioritized improvements to top-of-the-line models.

The main new features of the iPhone 15:

↳ In cameras: the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max now have 5x optical zoom, compared to 3x on the previous generation and the iPhones 15 and 15 Plus. The Pro versions will also record “spatial videos”, to be viewed with Vision Pro glasses.

↳ In performance: The two most expensive versions have the new A17 Pro processor, which promises more performance and less battery drain. The entry-level models come with the A16, which is in the iPhone 14 Pro.

↳ In design: The structure of the high-end models is now made of titanium. The entry-level versions continue to use aluminum. On the Pro and Pro Max, the classic “mute” button is replaced by a customizable action button, which allows you to silence the device, turn on the flashlight or open the camera.

All models now have the Dynamic Island interface, which expands the screen interaction area around the front camera.

↳ In chargers: Apple starts to adopt the standard USB-C connector, which comes with most Android models. It was an imposition from the European Union on the manufacturer, which was the only one to adopt the Lightning model.

Prices: in Brazil, devices that usually arrive a month after launch will leave from R$7,299 (iPhone 15), BRL 8,299 (15Plus) R$ 9,299 (15 Pro) and R$ 10,999 (15 Pro Max).

Challenging moment: the launch of the new line of iPhones comes in a month in which the company accumulates loss of US$180 billion in market value after China banned the use of the devices by public officials.

At the same time, it has to deal with the slowdown in the global smartphone market – which has hit rivals harder – and with competition from China’s Huawei, which has launched its most powerful device.

The apple company also announced new features in smartwatches, with more processing and battery capacity. Details here.

A global cardboard giant emerges

Irish Smurfit Kappa and North American rival WestRock announced on Tuesday the merger of their businesses, creating a giant in the cardboard packaging sector valued at almost US$20 billion (around R$100 billion).

In Brazil, the leader in the segment is Klabin, a company valued at around R$25 billion.

What explains the business: demand for corrugated paper exploded during the pandemic, when people shopped like never before on ecommerce.

With the end of travel restrictions, demand for cardboard decreased, while the capacity of factories, expanded during the crisis, became idle.

It is in this scenario that the merger of the largest company in the sector in North America (WestRock) with the European leader (Smurfit) takes place – whose shareholders will control the new company, with 50.4% of the shares.

The companies had a combined adjusted profit of US$5.5 billion (R$ 27.5 billion) and revenue of around US$34 billion (R$ 170 billion) for the year ended June 30.

These numbers make Smurfit WestRock the largest global packaging group listed on the Stock Exchange by revenue, according to the companies’ statement.

Inflation accelerates, but…

Inflation in the country accelerated to 0.23% in August, for an accumulated index of 4.61% in the last 12 months, according to IBGE data released this Tuesday.

The increase was below what the market expected, whose median expectations were an increase of 0.28% for the month.

Which explains:

The increase was driven by electricity, which rose 4.59% last month, impacted by the end of an Itaipu bonus credited in July and tariff adjustments.

What held back the index’s advance was food at home, which fell 1.26% in August and recorded deflation of 0.62% in 12 months. The explanation lies in this year’s super agricultural harvest.

Analysts highlighted the results of core inflation (which exclude volatile items such as energy and food from the account), which came in below projections.

What to expect moving forward: Market agents assess that the result should not influence more aggressive interest cuts than those anticipated by the BC until the end of the year.

In this second semester, projections still indicate inflation close to 5%, above the target ceiling (4.75%).

The last of the negative interest mohawks

The only negative interest rate in the world may have its days numbered.

The president of the Central Bank of Japan, Kazuo Ueda, said that taking rates from the current -0.1% is among the options being evaluated if the country continues to have a strong labor market and close to the annual inflation target of 2%.

Which explains: The Japanese economy has been living with a negative interest rate since January 2016. The measure was adopted as a way to stimulate the economy and avoid deflation in the country, something that harms activity as a whole.

Rates did not go positive nor with the recent inflationary force, which led to monetary tightening in the largest economies on the planet.

The effects: a positive interest rate could encourage the Japanese to repatriate their resources, which are currently in places where profitability is more attractive.

This would also strengthen the yen, which has been depreciating against the dollar due to the Fed’s interest rate hikes.

The market’s reaction to Ueda’s speech has already contributed a little to this, shows Bloomberg.

On Monday (11), the yen appreciated by more than 1% against the dollar, while the yield on the ten-year public bond rose to the highest level since 2014.

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