BYD shares dip despite July deliveries in China outpacing Tesla

In today’s headlines, BYD overtook Tesla’s July deliveries in China, Warren Buffett picked up more Occidental Petroleum shares and SoFi reduced its stake in SoftBank after weak earnings. In other top stories, ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood says the US has already entered a recession, while Citi economists say we haven’t yet.

Tesla’s China sales slow

Sales of Chinese-made Tesla [TSLA] vehicles slowed in July, data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) shows. The automaker sold 28,217 units compared with a record 78,906 units in June, but this fall has been put down to the suspension of production in order to upgrade its Shanghai factory output. Rival electric vehicle maker BYD [1211.HK] pulled away from Tesla with sales of 162,530 last month.

US is in recession, Wood says

ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood has doubled down on her belief that the US is in a recession following comments she made to CNBC at the end of July. “Two consecutive quarters of GDP declines is the beginning of that definition … Three consecutive months of declines in leading indicators, which we have now, would suggest the same,” Wood told Bloomberg TV on Monday. The Fed will cut rates next year, she added.

Citi’s growth stock picks

While the US has not officially entered a recession, Citi economists are modelling one for the second half of 2022. Citi analyst Scott Chronert is expecting a mild one to take place in the first half of 2023. If this plays out, investors should focus on stocks with strong growth stories. His 10 stock picks, according to a note seen by Barron’s, include Domino’s Pizza [DPZ], Disney [DIS] and Nvidia [NVDA].

Buffett soaks up more Occidental Petroleum

Legendary investor Warren Buffett has taken his stake in Occidental Petroleum [OXY] to over 20% pumping another $391m into the stock, according to regulatory filing yesterday. Berkshire Hathaway [BRK-B] posted a $53bn loss on its investments in the second quarter, but Buffett encouraged investors to focus on its operating earnings, which increased 38.8% to $9.283bn. The quarterly report showed his chosen successor, Greg Abel, sold his stake in the energy company he led.

SoftBank reduces SoFi stake

Fintech stock SoFi [SOFI] was trading lower after SoftBank said it will sell part of its 9% stake — a sign that the Japanese firm is attempting to stem losses at its Vision Fund. The SoFi share price has rallied in the past month yet is down 52.87% year-to-date as of Tuesday’s close. The company, which has a mostly young customer base, also launched the SoFi Web 3 ETF [TWEB] on the Nasdaq yesterday, which is focused on Web 3.0, NFTs and the metaverse.

Visualising economic trends

For investors that aren’t fans of technical analysis and research notes, infographics are a great way to digest information. According to Jeff Desjardins, author of Signals, the latest book from Visual Capital, 65% of people are visual learners. Signals explores 27 trends that are defining the future of the global economy and mixes data from the World Bank and IMF with insight from PwC and McKinsey. The above image is a snapshot of two infographics included in the book that focus on sustainable investing and interest rates.

Ørsted faces inflationary headwinds

The global leader in offshore wind Ørsted [ORSTED.CO] saw operating profit swell by 94% in the first quarter, with green energy accounting for 92% for the total power generated. The question facing the company is whether it’ll have to revise full-year guidance in the face of economic headwinds. CEO of Ørsted North America David Hardy has said that inflation is making the case for offshore wind farming harder. Second quarter earnings are due on Thursday 11 August.