Germany's economy, Europe's largest, is considerably better than it was just a few months ago, Brian Swint writes in this week's edition of Barron's. Consumers lifted spending after saving through the pandemic, accounting for most of the strength in the period. Gas prices retreated, alleviating the crunch on industry, and the country scrambled to maximize gas storage for the winter. Swint believes some beaten-down consumer-goods might be worth a look, such as Adidas (ADDYY), Puma (PMMAF). Reference Link

Bob Iger's main challenge will be that streaming is still a metaverse-level money loser, and Disney is all in, Jack Hough writes in this week's edition of Barron's. But timing-wise, at least, his return is executive Jedi stuff, he says. As favorable as Iger's timing appears, don't expect Disney stock to bounce back to $200 soon. Its current market value of $180 billion looks fair next to the nearly $10 billion in free cash that Disney generated in peak fiscal 2018, but high relative to the $4.6 billion it's expected to clear this year. Cost cutting can help, Hough writes, adding that long-term, however, new era of big-budget shows and vast consumer choice is structurally less profitable than TV in the cable-bundle age. Reference Link

It could be time to sell Exxon Mobil (XOM), given a disconnect between the stock and the oil markets, Andrew Bary writes in this week's edition of Barron's. Exxon doesn't look expensive at 10 times projected 2023 profits of $11.50 a share. But there could be a risk to 2023 earnings if oil holds around current levels, the author says. Among the big oils, Shell (SHEL) looks like the best play, its stock having lagged behind Exxon's by more than 50 percentage points this year, Bary writes. Reference Link

The quantum computing revolution is coming, but it will take time - probably longer than is comfortable for investors in the handful of quantum start-ups that have managed to reach the public market, Eric J. Savitz writes in this week's edition of Barron's. The new crop of small, public companies devoted to quantum-such as Rigetti Computing (RGTI), D-Wave Quantum (QBTS), and IonQ (IONQ) - will be challenged to generate significant revenue for years to come, the author says. At some point, though, quantum is going to change the world. Reference Link

KKR is closing in on a deal to buy French insurance broker April from CVC Capital Partners in a transaction expected to value the business at $2.4B, Jan-Henrik Foerster and Ruth David of Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. KKR reportedly could announce an agreement as early as the coming weeks. Reference Link