It's shaping up to be the best quarter for US corporate earnings in over a year: With most S&P 500 companies having reported 3Q 2023 results, earnings are estimated to have jumped 6.3% y-o-y, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters. The increase in earnings is almost four times above analyst predictions cited by the newswire, with over 81% of 3Q results topping analysts’ expectations. Analysts predictions for 4Q, however, have been slashed to a 5.8% increase in earnings, down from 11% forecasted at the start of the quarter.

High interest rates have given top four US banks a bigger piece of the pie: America’s four biggest lenders — JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup — took 45% of the industry’s combined profits in 3Q2023 across the country’s total 4.4k banks, up 10% from the year before, the Financial Times reported. Unlike for the four largest banks, higher deposit pressure on smaller banks has squeezed net interest margins and led to profits decreasing 19% y-o-y in the quarter, according to the salmon-coloured paper.

Private equity firms set their sights on startups after VC retreat: Investment groups are buying majority and controlling stakes in startups, capitalizing on low valuations and the gap in the market left by venture capitalists as uncertainty and rising interest rates forced the latter to pull out their investments, Financial Times reports.

ICYMI: VC activity has seen a significant drop this year, with just USD 73 bn investment worldwide in 3Q, down from USD 106 bn in the same period last year, according to data from PitchBook cited by the salmon-coloured paper. .

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THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 fell 1.7% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 3.2 bn (25.5% above the 90-day average). Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is up 63.8% YTD.

In the green: Credit Agricole (+3.2%), Oriental Weavers (+1.9%) and Palm Hills Development (+1.5%).

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