The 'AI infrastructure tsunami'/Give the consumer value or else

With the Bank of Japan still dragging its feet on another rate hike and the coincident weakness in the yen which further weighs on the standard of living of the populace, the Japanese government is left with no other choice to stem the yen drop by using verbal intervention, again. Finance Minister Katayama today said “I’m seeing one-sided and rapid moves in the currency market. We continue to monitor the situation with a high level of urgency.” She said pretty much the same thing on Friday but I guess saying it now twice within a week has the yen stronger in response.

October auto sales according to Wards totaled 15.32 at a SAAR, below the estimate of 15.5mm and compares with 16.04mm seen in October 2024 and 16.4mm in September 2025. Of course October was missing the $7,500 EV tax credit where purchases were front loaded in September. With growing subprime credit issues, many eyes on the auto sector for sure.

From Clorox and who beat both top and bottom line estimates:

“Category growth rates have stabilized but remain below historical averages, while competitive intensity continues to be high as companies compete for share of wallet. Consumers remain under pressure, and this is driving value seeking behaviors across all income segments. At the same time, consumers are continuing to prioritize experiences and convenience.”

“Consumers are also buying larger sizes for better value and convenience. This has continued to fuel outsized growth in our large sized formats especially in Club and eCommerce channels. This trend is evident particularly in our Glad business through strong growth in our ‘Super Mega’ size format, as well as in our Cleaning business through growth in our multi-pack wipes. We also continue to see a strong response to our twin packs in Kingsford.”

On guidance, “Our fiscal year 2026 outlook assumes the external environment will continue to be dynamic, volatile and uncertain. We expect consumers will display heightened value seeking behaviors, and overall category consumption will remain sluggish for the year with variability business-to-business and period-to-period. We expect elevated competitive activities will continue and the tariff environment will continue to be uncertain.”

From On Semicondutor, up slightly yesterday: