• Macro Equity markets were mixed yesterday. The S&P500 and Nasdaq ended in negative territory, both down -0.3% ahead of the Fed’s rate decision, and results from big tech. Europe was up +0.3% amidst easing trade uncertainty. UPS fell -10.5% after withholding outlook due to macroeconomic uncertainty. Novo Nordisk finished down -23% after dropping as low as -30% as the company cut sales and profits forecasts. In Europe, the trade deal with the US has faced criticism from European leaders, calling it unbalanced and stating it could threaten jobs and undermine the region’s economic recovery.The ECB signalled that rates are likely to stay steady for the near term, with Irish Central Bank Chief Gabriel Makhlouf saying there’s no need to rush into the next cut as inflation is in check, echoing Christine Lagarde and other policymakers. In the US, consumer confidence increased in July as concerns eased on outlook for the economy and labour market. June job openings fell to 7.44m in June vs 7.5m expected. The Fed’s FOMC is projected to leave rates unchanged today, for the fifth straight meeting. Economic releases today include the FOMC rate decision, MBA Mortgage Applications, US GDP and PCE. Eurozone GDP and Consumer Confidence are also out this morning.
• Stocks We have corporate news from PayPal (Q2 results), L’Oreal (H2 results), Visa (Q3 results) Greencoat Renewables (Q2 NAV update), GSK (Q2 results), Kerry Group (H1 results), Rio Tinto (H1 results) and M&A news on CRH (see pages 2 to 9))
• Debt US bond yields declined yesterday ahead of the FOMC meeting, with Trump threatening further sanctions on Russia impacting sentiment.

• Asset Allocation
• Focus Feature: Paschal Donohoe on What's Next for Ireland. We hosted an exclusive sit-down conversation with then Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, at our Dublin offices in November, in which the Minister shared his valuable insights with Finance Correspondent for The Currency, Sean Keyes.
• Analyst Conviction List: The investment case for our preferred names
• The Fund Edit: Latest update on our range of investment funds, ETFs and trusts
• Ethical Investing: Green Effects providing sustainable investment returns
• Corporate Finance News: Head of Corporate Finance, Conor McKeon, reviews a year of successful exits & provides a look forward to 2023

Opportunities this week:

• Nike's recent growth struggles followed an ill-advised strategy to increase focus on its direct-to-consumer (DTC) channel at the expense of its wholesale business. Given the difficult path that lies ahead for management, we are not convinced that shareholders can earn consistent, attractive returns, thus, we are dropping coverage of the stock.
• Following the recent news that a number of bidders have submitted offers to acquire Dalata, we believe it is appropriate to update our price target to reflect the higher likelihood of a sale process going through. The result is an upward revision to our price target to €6.93, up from €6 previously, providing 20% upside for investors. We maintain an overweight rating.
• Ahead of the ECB’s meeting on Thursday, when it is priced in with almost certainty that it will decide to cut rates by another 25bps, we believe it an opportune time to highlight IRES REIT as a buying opportunity. Our price target of €1.26 provides 16% upside, supporting our Overweight rating.