By Elizabeth Pineau and Geert De Clercq

PARIS (Reuters) -French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said the government had lowered its forecast for 2024 GDP growth to 1% from 1.4% as war in Ukraine and Gaza and a slowdown at top trading partners Germany and China darkened the outlook.

In an interview with French television TF1, he also said that state spending would be cut by 10 billion euros ($10.8 billion) across all departments and agencies.

"It is a growth forecast that remains positive, but takes into account the new geopolitical context," Le Maire said, citing the war in Ukraine and the Middle East, problems with maritime transport in the Red Sea, and the economic slowdown in China and Germany.

He added that there would be no tax increases and no cuts in social security payments to citizens, but stressed that all government ministries and agencies would contribute to the spending cuts.

"We will immediately cut, in the coming days, ten billion euros in state expenditures," he said.

He said there would be five billion euros in operating expenses cuts for all ministries and another five billion in public policies, notably one billion in public aid for development, and one billion euros on residential building renovation subsidies.

Another billion will be shaved off the budgets of state operators such as export agency Business France and the ANCT agency (Agence Nationale de la Ccohésion des Territoires) for regional government policies.

Le Maire also said the government would make sure that France remained on track to respect its target of reducing the 2024 state deficit to 4.4% of GDP.

"We are keeping the option of implementing a supplementary budget in the summer, depending on economic circumstances and the political situation," he said.

The government aims to gradually cut the fiscal shortfall in coming years until it falls below an EU ceiling of 3% in 2027.

The new government forecast is more in line with a series of recent growth outlook downgrades by the European Commission, the OECD and French statistics agency INSEE.

The European Commission on Feb. 15 cut its 2024 GDP growth forecast for France to 0.9% from the 1.2% seen in November, and it cut its forecast for Germany to 0.3% from 0.8%.

Earlier this month, the OECD cut its 2024 French growth forecast to 0.6% from 0.8% previously.

France's statistics agency INSEE on Feb. 7 forecast quarter-on-quarter growth of just 0.2% in the first and second quarters.

The French economy grew 0.9% in 2023, compared with 2.5% in 2022 and a 6.4% post-Covid spurt in 2021. ($1 = 0.9282 euros)

LONDON (Reuters) - The prices of homes being put up for sale in Britain have risen in annual terms for the first time in six months as demand from buyers strengthened, according to an industry survey that added to signs of stabilisation in the housing market.

Property website Rightmove (OTC:RTMVY) said on Monday that asking prices for homes rose 0.1% in February compared a year earlier, the first annual increase since August 2023.

Prices increased by 0.9% from January, broadly in line with the 10-year average of a monthly 1.0% rise in February.

After a slowdown, Britain's property sector has picked up in recent months as mortgage interest rates fell on expectations that the Bank of England will lower borrowing costs this year.

A measure of agreed sales in the first six weeks of 2024 was up 16% from a year earlier and was 3% higher compared with 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic, Rightmove said.

Properties coming onto the market and buyer enquiries increased by 7%.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove's director of property science, said he was only cautiously optimistic with mortgage rates still elevated in historical terms.

BoE officials have said they need to see further evidence of inflation pressures easing before cutting rates, despite the economy falling into a recession late last year.

"While the mortgage market has recovered its stability, there are growing signs that the room for lenders to reduce rates further is narrowing, and that rates will settle at elevated levels for the near future," Rightmove said.

Monday's survey chimed with other signs of an improvement in Britain's housing market.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reported this month the biggest jump in new buyer enquiries in nearly two years. Mortgage lenders Nationwide and Halifax both reported a rise in house prices in January.

Investing.com -- In the holiday shortened week ahead investors will be looking to the latest Federal Reserve minutes for any new insights on the direction of monetary policy. Earnings from chipmaker Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) will be a critical test of the artificial intelligence fever that has helped power gains for U.S. stocks in recent months. Walmart (NYSE:WMT) kicks off earnings from the biggest U.S. retailers, Chinese markets return, and PMI data will shed light on the strength of the global economy. Here’s what you need to know to start your week.

1. Fed minutes

The economic calendar is quiet for the holiday shortened week ahead with Wednesday’s minutes of the Federal Reserve’s January meeting the highlight.

Policymakers kept borrowing costs unchanged at their January 30-31 meeting and indicated that a cut at their upcoming meeting in March is unlikely.

Several Fed officials, including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have indicated more time is needed to make sure inflation is on a sustainable path back to the Fed’s 2% target.

Markets are currently pricing in four quarter point rate cuts this year, starting in June, after scaling back rate cut bets in the wake of recent strong jobs, GDP and inflation data.

Investors will also get a chance to hear from Fed officials during the week, including Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, governors Lisa Cook and Christopher Waller, along with Vice Chair Philip Jefferson.

The economic calendar also features data on existing home sales and initial jobless claims.

2. Nvidia earnings

Nvidia will report earnings after the U.S. market close on Wednesday in what could be a pivotal test of market sentiment given the size of the company and its place at the center of excitement over the financial promise of AI.

Shares of Nvidia, whose chips are considered the gold standard in the artificial intelligence industry, more than tripled in 2023 and have soared around another 50% so far this year to make it the third largest U.S. company by market cap after Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL).

Nvidia’s gains have accounted for more than a quarter of the S&P 500's increase this year.

Positive updates to Nvidia's corporate outlook could fuel enthusiasm over AI and extend a market rally, but any disappointment potentially has broad implications for markets.

"When people say that the market is doing well this year, they really mean that tech is doing well, and Nvidia is at the core of that," Keith Lerner, chief market strategist at Truist Advisory Services told Reuters. "There is excitement within AI and if that optimism is not fulfilled by earnings then you could see that reverberate quickly and weigh on sentiment."

3. Retail earnings

Earnings season for major U.S. retailers gets underway this week with Walmart expected to strike a cautious tone for 2024 when it reports results ahead of the market open on Tuesday.

Walmart is expected to post a roughly $11 billion rise in sales for the quarter spanning Nov. 1 to Jan. 31, or up 4%, according to LSEG estimates cited by Reuters.

Inflation remains a burden for many U.S. households facing a high cost of living and consumer prices rose more than expected in January, eroding hopes for imminent interest rates cuts from the Federal Reserve.

With grocery prices still well above pre-pandemic levels, more shoppers are gravitating to Walmart because of its food costs.

Due to its heft in grocery, Walmart is expected to report sales of $645 billion for fiscal 2024, more than double its closest competitor.

Analysts cited by Reuters also expect Walmart to show stronger profitability thanks to lower supply chain costs and the falling price of gas since November. Net income is expected to rise 8%.

4. PMI data

Fears over the prospect of a global recession have eased as the U.S. economy, with its strong labor market has remained resilient.

And even with China’s economy in the doldrums and Germany’s economy expected to slump this year PMI data out globally from Thursday should show that the picture beyond the U.S. is not all bleak.

While in contraction territory, the January euro zone PMI hit six-month highs and the bloc avoided a recession late last year, the latest GDP data suggests. German Q4 GDP data and the Ifo business climate index are out Friday. Note, German business morale brightened last month.

Emerging markets outside China, notably India and the Middle East, are strong and the U.S. PMI likely remains in expansionary territory after reaching six-month highs in January.

5. China markets return

Markets in China return from the week-long Lunar New Year holiday on Monday with investors waiting to see what Beijing does next to shore up its battered stock market.

In the run-up to the festive period, authorities scrambled to pull out all the stops to stem losses in mainland shares that had cratered to five-year lows.

That included appointing a new head of the country's market regulator, known for his tough stance on containing risks.

Earlier Sunday, China’s central bank left a key policy rate unchanged as expected with uncertainties around the timing Fed rate cuts limiting Beijing's room to maneuver on monetary policy.

Meanwhile, the latest data on new home prices, due out on Friday, will show just how deep the downturn in the country’s beleaguered property sector is.

--Reuters contributed to this report

(Reuters) - Companies in the United States and Canada have kicked off 2024 with thousands of job cuts across sectors, signaling that the spate of layoffs seen in 2023 could persist as they scramble to rein in costs.

While job cut announcements in the United States more than doubled month-on-month to 82,307 in January, they were down 20% from a year earlier, according to a report by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas earlier in February.

The technology sector, which accounted for the highest number of layoffs in 2023, has seen 34,000 job cuts in 141 firms so far this year, according to tracking website Layoffs.fyi.

Here is a snapshot of job cuts announced so far in 2024:

TECHNOLOGY

* Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN)'s job cuts include less than 5% of employees at Buy with Prime unit, 5% at audiobook and podcast division Audible, several hundred in streaming and studio operations, 35% at streaming unit Twitch and a few hundred at healthcare units One Medical and Amazon Pharmacy.

* Layoffs at Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) include dozens at division for developing new technology X Lab, hundreds in advertising sales team, hundreds across teams, including hardware team responsible for Pixel, Nest and Fitbit (NYSE:FIT), and a majority in augmented reality team.

* Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is cutting around 1,900 jobs at gaming divisions Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) and Xbox.

* IBM (NYSE:IBM) plans to lay off some employees in 2024, but will hire more for AI-centered roles.

* E-commerce firm eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) plans to cut about 1,000 roles, or around 9% of its workforce.

* Videogame software provider Unity Software to cut about 25% of workforce, or 1,800 jobs.

* DocuSign (NASDAQ:DOCU) plans to reduce workforce by about 6%, or 400 employees, with a majority in its sales and marketing organizations.

* Snap plans to cut around 528 jobs, or 10% of its global workforce.

* Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) is laying off about 700 employees, or roughly 1% of its global workforce.

* Network giant Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) is planning to restructure its business which will include laying off thousands of employees.

* Autonomous vehicle technology company Aurora Innovation lays off 3% of workforce.

* Canada's BlackBerry (NYSE:BB) plans more layoffs, in addition to about 200 job cuts in the prior quarter.

* Satellite radio company SiriusXM plans to reduce workforce by about 3%, or about 160 roles.

MEDIA

* Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS)'s Pixar Animation Studios is set to cut jobs as the studio has completed production on some shows.

* Comcast-owned British media group Sky plans to cut about 1,000 jobs across its businesses this year.

* The Los Angeles Times plans to lay off 94 journalists.

* Paramount Global is planning to conduct unspecified number of layoffs.

* Business Insider plans to lay off around 8% of its staff.

* Bell Canada plans to slash 4,800 jobs.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

* PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Holdings is planning to cut about 2,500 jobs, or 9% of its global workforce this year.

* Payments firm Block Inc has started to cut unspecified jobs.

* Citigroup is planning to reduce its headcount by 20,000 people over the next two years.

* Investment banking giant Morgan Stanley is planning to cut hundreds of jobs in its wealth management unit, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters, adding that the cuts will impact less than 1% of the division's employees.

* Exchange operator Nasdaq plans to slash hundreds of jobs as it integrates fintech firm Adenza into its business.

* Asset manager BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) is set to cut about 3% of its workforce, but expects larger headcount by end-2024.

CONSUMER AND RETAIL

* Cosmetics giant Estee Lauder (NYSE:EL) plans to cut 3% to 5% of its global workforce.

* Wayfair (NYSE:W) plans to lay off 1,650 employees, or about 13% of its workforce.

* U.S. department store chain Macy's (NYSE:M) is cutting 2,350 jobs, closing five stores.

* Levi Strauss & Co (NYSE:LEVI) is planning to slash 10%-15% of global corporate jobs.

* Hershey's restructuring plan will impact less than 5% of its workforce.

* Nike (NYSE:NKE) will cut about 2% of its total workforce, or more than 1,600 jobs, as the sportswear giant looks to cut costs after flagging weaker profits this year.

HEALTH

* Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) is cutting about 12% of workforce.

MANUFACTURING

* Defense contractor Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) is planning to cut 1% of its jobs.

* United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) plans to cut 12,000 jobs to cut costs.

NATURAL RESOURCES

* U.S. miner Piedmont Lithium cuts 27% of workforce in cost-cutting plan.

(Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Thursday it was awarding $970 million to 114 airports across the country as part of efforts to refurbish and expand aging infrastructure.

The awards include $35 million to Washington Dulles International Airport to fund part of a 14-gate terminal building and $40 million to Chicago O'Hare funding improvements to one of its terminals, the FAA said in a statement.

The Biden administration awarded similar amounts to airports last year and in 2022, as the country spends tens of billions to renovate aging airports that were often mocked.

The FAA said the grants would help "meet the growing demand for air travel and launches projects that will improve passenger experience."

Among projects set to receive funds are Los Angeles International Airport, which will get $31 million for improvements of surrounding roadways, and San Francisco International Airport, receiving $31 million to replace mechanical and electrical components.

International airports in Salt Lake City, Denver and Charlotte will also get $20 million or more each, according to the FAA.

The investments "will make it easier for passengers to get to and through airports, create jobs, and increase safety for all," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said.

The vast majority of the terminal projects being awarded money are still under construction, the statement added.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Production at U.S. factories unexpectedly fell in January, weighed down by harsh winter weather.

Manufacturing output dropped 0.5% last month after an unrevised 0.1% gain the prior month, the Federal Reserve said on Thursday. The Fed attributed the decline to "winter weather."

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast factory output would be unchanged. Production at factories fell 0.9% on a year-on-year basis in January.

Manufacturing, which accounts for 10.3% of the economy, could be on the verge of recovery after treading water for much of 2023 following 525 basis points worth of interest rate hikes from the U.S. central bank since March 2022. A survey from the Institute for Supply Management early this month showed its manufacturing PMI contracting slightly in January.

Motor vehicle and parts output slipped 0.2% last month after increasing 3.2% in December. Durable goods manufacturing production edged up 0.1%. There were large increases in the production of electrical equipment, appliances and components as well as aerospace and miscellaneous transportation equipment.

Output of computer and electronic products also rose, lifted by semiconductor production. But output of nonmetallic mineral products and primary metals fell.

Production of nondurable goods dropped 1.1%. There were significant weather-related declines in the output of petroleum and coal, chemicals, plastics and rubber products.

Mining output fell 2.3% as harsh weather weighed on oil and gas extraction as well as coal production. Mining production increased 0.9% in December. Utilities production rebounded 6.0% as freezing temperatures boosted demand for heating. That followed a 1.7% drop in December.

Overall industrial production dipped 0.1% in January after being unchanged in December. Industrial production was unchanged year-on-year in January.

Capacity utilization for the industrial sector, a measure of how fully firms are using their resources, fell 0.2 percentage point last month to 78.5%. It is 1.1 percentage points below its 1972-2023 average. The operating rate for the manufacturing sector declined to 76.6% from 77.1% in December. It is 1.6 percentage points below its long-run average.

By Brigid Riley

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's benchmark Nikkei got off to a roaring start on Friday, opening the morning session at its highest since Japan's economic bubble burst in the late 1980s.

The Nikkei share average was last up 1.6% at 38,769.64, surpassing the post-economic bubble era high of 38188.74. So far it's up 14.0% for the year.

The broader Topix was up 1.1% at 2620.53.

The Nikkei was within touching distance of the all-time record high of 38,957.44 hit in December 1989.

The stock market was buoyed by a strong day on Wall Street overnight. U.S. stocks closed higher as retail sales data declined more than expected, feeding hopes the Federal Reserve will soon start cutting interest rates in coming months.

The largest percentage gainers in the index were Advantest Corp up 4.91%, followed by Tokyo Electron Ltd gaining 4.74% and Resonac Holdings Corp up by 4.32%.

(Reuters) -Coinbase Global on Thursday posted its first quarterly profit since 2021 on sturdy trading volumes due to a resurgence of interest in crypto, sending its shares up nearly 12% after the bell.

Investor enthusiasm for crypto was rekindled in recent months by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) expected approval of the first spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

While the ETFs were approved only in January, expectations of a favorable decision by the SEC propelled bitcoin's price 57% higher in the last three months of 2023.

That drove a 64% jump in crypto exchange Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN)'s transaction revenue to $529.3 million in the fourth quarter, with both consumer and institutional investors contributing to the rally.

The crypto exchange now expects a strong first quarter for its subscription and services unit, which houses businesses other than trading.

It forecast revenue from the unit between $410 million and $480 million, higher than LSEG estimate of $356.22 million.

In the fourth quarter, revenue from the unit jumped nearly 33% to $375.4 million, with the biggest boost coming from stablecoin revenue - the interest that Coinbase earns from its partnership with fintech firm Circle.

Circle issues the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin that it jointly governs with Coinbase. The interest on reserves backing USDC are a major source of revenue for Coinbase, which has been able to pocket higher income because of the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes.

Overall, the company reported a profit of $273.4 million, or $1.04 per share, in the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with a loss of $557 million, or $2.46 per share, a year earlier. Analysts had expected a loss of 1 cent per share, according to LSEG data.

By Tim Hepher

PARIS (Reuters) -Europe's Airbus unveiled a special dividend on Thursday after posting higher 2023 results, buoyed by record airplane orders and higher deliveries but dampened by a fresh charge of 200 million euros ($214.62 million) in its troubled Space unit.

The world's largest commercial planemaker said core adjusted operating profit rose 4% to 5.8 billion euros as revenue rose 11% to 65.4 billion, and predicted core profit of 6.5 to 7.0 billion euros in 2024.

Airbus proposed an unchanged regular dividend of 1.8 euros a share, and added a special dividend of 1 euro per share as net cash topped the 10-billion-euro threshold previously identified as a potential trigger for returning cash to shareholders.

Airbus is riding a wave of orders from airlines coping with a rebound in travel demand from the pandemic, helping it to build up cash reserves in contrast with U.S. rival Boeing (NYSE:BA) which is mired in debts stemming from a series of crises.

Airbus, as expected, forecast around 800 jet deliveries for 2024 but announced a further delay in entry to service of its A321XLR single-aisle jet to the third quarter from the second. The first customer airplane entered final assembly in December.

The company's forecasts are subject to no further disruption to tight global supply chains or the world economy.

The Space unit charge brings the total written off in that segment last year to 600 million euros and comes a day after Reuters reported that CEO Guillaume Faury had told staff that large, unexpected charges in the business were "not acceptable".

Space Systems chief Jean-Marc Nasr is leaving his position from next month, with Faury telling him in a recent internal memo that "it is what it is," Reuters reported on Wednesday. Nasr could not be reached for comment.

The charges helped push divisional Defence and Space profits down 40% to 229 million euros while Helicopters rose 15%.

Airbus is among European companies facing fierce competition from U.S. launchers and a new generation of low-cost satellites.

Faury, however, told staff in a letter last month that Airbus is better off with a high-performing Defence and Space business than without a presence in those areas.

($1 = 0.9319 euros)

By Ankur Banerjee

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asian stocks rose on Thursday, with the Nikkei breaching a new 34-year peak, while the dollar took a breather near a three-month high as markets assess when the Federal Reserve is likely to start its easing cycle after a run of strong economic data.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.7%, with the IT index surging more than 2%. Taiwan stocks spiked 2.6% higher, with chipmaker TSMC up nearly 8%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index eased 0.67% in early trading. China's markets are closed for the week due to the Lunar New Year holidays.

On Wednesday, Wall Street ended sharply higher as ride-hailing platforms Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) and Uber (NYSE:UBER) rallied, while Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) displaced Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) as the U.S. stock market's third-most valuable company. [.N]

Japan's Nikkei remains on the charge and rose in early trading to 38,127, its highest since January 1990 and was inching closer to surpass its record high.

The yen edged higher but traded near the psychologically important 150 per dollar level. The yen was last at 150.26 per dollar.

The 150 level on the pair has been seen in the past as a potential catalyst for intervention by Japanese monetary authorities. It was just past this level that led them to intervene to shore up the yen in late 2022.

Data on Thursday showed Japan's economy slipped into recession as it unexpectedly shrank for a second straight quarter on weak domestic demand, raising uncertainty about the central bank's plans to exit its ultra-easy policy this year.

The market's expectations for a March/April rate hike will likely die down, according to ING economists, who maintained their Bank of Japan call for a June rate hike but with the growing possibility of delay to the third quarter of 2024.

"Inflation is also slowly easing, which, combined with another year of solid wage growth means that private consumption is likely to rebound. If so, we continue to believe that the BOJ will deliver its first rate hike in June."

FED PATH

Investor expectations of early and deep interest rate cuts by the Fed have been besieged by a slew of data that has underscored the resiliency of the U.S. economy and labour market, with data this week showing persistent inflation.

Data on Tuesday showed consumer prices rose more than expected as rental housing costs jumped.

Traders are now pricing in an 82% chance of a cut in June, the CME FedWatch tool showed, further pushing back the starting point of the U.S. central bank's easing cycle. Markets at the end of 2023 had priced in rate cuts starting as early as March.

While the timing of the first-rate cut may have been postponed, the disinflation trend has not been altered by one month's data, Saxo strategists said in a note.

The Fed's path back to its 2% inflation target rate would still be on track even if price increases run a bit hotter-than-expected over the next few months, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said on Wednesday, adding that the central bank should be wary of waiting too long before it cuts interest rates.

That sent Treasury yields lower, with the yield on 10-year Treasury notes slipping 3.5 basis points to 4.232% in Asian hours. [US/]

The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against six rivals, eased 0.01% to 104.67 but remained near its three-month high of 104.97 [FRX/]

Bitcoin rose to its highest since December 2021 and was last at $52,020, with the total value invested in bitcoin surpassing $1 trillion on Wednesday for the first time since November 2021 on strong inflows.

U.S. crude fell 0.47% to $76.28 per barrel and Brent was at $81.26, down 0.42%. [O/R]