- Euro Rises on French Vote, China Eyed After PMI: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — The euro climbed on signs Marine Le Pen’s far-right party was poised to claim victory in the first round of France’s legislative elections less comfortably than some polls projected. Initial election results showed Le Pen’s National Rally in front of President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance, though possibly without the votes than it needs to secure. - Asia markets mixed as China manufacturing contracts again, Japan revises first quarter GDP downward
Asia-Pacific markets started the second half of the year mixed as investors assessed June business activity data from China as well as Japan’s business confidence readings. China released its official PMI figures on the weekend, with its manufacturing PMI coming in at 49.5, unchanged from May and marking its second straight month in contraction territory. - BlackRock to Buy Preqin for £2.55b Cash
(Bloomberg) — BlackRock has agreed to acquire Preqin for £2.55 billion or about $3.2 billion in cash. Transaction is expected to close before year-end 2024, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Preqin founder Mark O’Hare will join BlackRock as a Vice Chair after the close of the transaction. Barclays served as lead financial advisor to BlackRock, with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher. - Biden Loyalists Dismiss Calls to Quit in Frenetic Weekend Blitz
(Bloomberg) — President Joe Biden’s campaign is going on the attack against a chorus of donors, consultants, officials and media voices calling on him to drop out of the 2024 race after his devastating debate performance. The strategy will be remembered as a display of either remarkable foresight or incredible hubris. - With Three Days to UK Vote, Labour Maintains 21-Point Poll Lead
(Bloomberg) — Opinion polls in Britain are still pointing to a crushing defeat for the governing Conservatives after 14 years in power as the election campaign reaches its final days. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak used a broadcast appearance on Sunday to insist everything remains in play, saying Britain is a “better place to live” than when the Conservatives took office. - Japan’s Business Optimism, Inflation Outlook Back Rate Hike Case
(Bloomberg) — Confidence among Japan’s large manufacturers rose from three months earlier, leaving the door open for the Bank of Japan to consider an interest rate hike later this month. An index of sentiment among the country’s biggest manufacturers climbed to 13 in June from 11 in March, according to the BOJ’s quarterly Tankan report Monday. - 24-Hour Stock Trading Is Booming – and Wall Street Is Rattled
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street pros are feeling uneasy about retail investors again. Only this time it’s not about the trades they’re making — it’s about when they’re making them. The amateur-investing revolution that has swept US markets since the pandemic is helping fuel a boom in overnight stock trading. - Why China’s Central Bank Could Become More Like Fed: QuickTake
(Bloomberg) — A bold step forward looms in the decades-long reform of how China conducts monetary policy, with Governor Pan Gongsheng leading the central bank to explore changes that would move it closer to how global peers including the Federal Reserve operate. - Macron? Le Pen? A Guide to France’s Crucial Election: QuickTake
(Bloomberg) — With France’s far-right National Rally winning the first round of France’s legislative election and setting its sights on an absolute majority, there’s a lot more at stake than the liberal, pro-business reform agenda of centrist President Emmanuel Macron. Here’s a guide to the election, showing how the rise of the anti-immigrant party led by Marine Le Pen is putting France’s unique political. - South Africa Opposition Debuts in Ramaphosa’s Unity Cabinet
(Bloomberg) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced his new cabinet, allocating ministerial posts to opposition politicians while retaining close ally Enoch Godongwana as finance minister, signalling continuity in his economic policies. - Gold Holds Ground as Traders Debate Fed Pivot Timing After PCE
(Bloomberg) — Gold held its ground at the start of the second half, with traders pondering whether the latest soft US data could spur the Federal Reserve to pivot to monetary easing soon. Figures released Friday showed the central bank’s preferred measure of underlying US inflation, the core personal consumption expenditures price index, rose 2.6% from a year ago. - JAPAN REACT: Tankan’s Inflation Message Backs Case for July Hike
(Bloomberg Economics) — OUR TAKE: The signals in the Bank of Japan’s Tankan survey support the case for another rate hike, which we expect the BOJ to deliver at its July meeting. Inflation-related gauges show more corporates are planning to raise prices and see consumer-price gains staying above the 2% target over the longer run. - China’s AI Startups Head to Singapore in a Bid for Global Growth
(Bloomberg) — When Wu Cunsong and Chen Binghui founded their artificial intelligence startup two years ago in Hangzhou, China, they quickly ran into obstacles, including dearth of venture capital. This March, they did what scores of other Chinese AI firms have done and moved their company, Tabcut, 2,500 miles southwest to Singapore. - Sydney Home Prices Hit Record High, Melbourne Slips Again
(Bloomberg) — Sydney home values climbed to a record in June as strong demand and low supply overshadowed increasing pain from high borrowing costs. Melbourne declined for a third straight month. Bellwether Sydney rose 0.5% in the month, taking the median to a fresh high of A$1.17 million ($780,000), property consultancy CoreLogic Inc. said Monday. - MAET Leads Top-Performing Asia-Pacific Active ETPs in June
(Bloomberg) — Munro Global Growth Fund – Hedge Fund ETF was the best-performing actively managed exchanged-traded product in Asia-Pacific in the month of June, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The ETF with assets of $149.4 million returned 32% compared with 14% for the second-best performer Products have been filtered to include only those trading at least one time in the month. - Boeing Agrees to Buy Spirit Aero for $4.7 Billion in Stock Deal
(Bloomberg) — Boeing Co. agreed Sunday to purchase Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. for $37.25 per share in an all-stock deal that values the company at $4.7 billion, according to people with knowledge of the transaction. The US planemaker also plans to assume about $3.5 billion of Spirit’s debt as part of the deal, which may be announced as soon as Monday. - Nike shares plunged 19.98% after it reported its fourth quarter earnings and lowered its sales outlook.
Revenue came in at $12.61 billion, missing estimates of $12.86 billion. Earnings per share was at 99 cents, beating estimates of 85 cents. Nike expects FY25 sales to be down mid-single digits, in light of its slower online sales, planned declines in classic footwear franchises, as well as increased macro uncertainty in Greater China. - Loreal shares dropped 3.03%, as it sees growth to slow in the global beauty market due to weakness in China.
Loreal expects the global market to grow between 4.5% and 5% this year, down from a prior outlook of above 5%. Overall, the stock is down about 28% since the beginning of the year. - Shares of credit card companies are rising on Friday, with Discover Financial Services jumping as much as 6%, the most intraday since Feb. 20, and Capital One Financial gaining the most since April 18.
Vital Knowledge’s Adam Crisafulli wrote in a note that the pair were rising on investor perceptions that Capital One’s takeover of Discover “would presumably have higher odds of closing” should Donald Trump win the presidency. Among other credit card companies, Synchrony Financial rises as much as 6.7%, the most intraday since March 2023, in the wake of a bullish rating from Baird, while Vital Knowledge cited the perception that it could “benefit from easier late fee rules” in the case of a Trump victory. - First Solar in Wednesday’s trading after a report by the Associated Press examined its ties to the Biden administration, saying the company stands to reap huge benefits from laws and regulations drafted and implemented by politicians it has backed.
The report said First Solar (FSLR) executives and investors donated at least $2M to Democrats in 2020, and then spent another $2.8M lobbying the Biden administration. FSLR representatives and lobbyists met at least four times in late 2022 and 2023 with Biden officials, including John Podesta, who was serving a key role in the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, according to the report, which does not accuse the company of breaking any laws. FSLR may be the single largest beneficiary from IRA subsidies, standing to gain as much as $10B, the report said. - Comerica Inc. rose 6.1%. Trading in the company’s call options was 12 times the average. Trading volume was triple the average for this time of day.
The shares increased to $50.75 from $47.84. The Russell 3000 Banks Subsector rose 1.9%, while the Russell 3000 gained less than 0.1%. JP Morgan Maintains Neutral on Comerica. - Atos SE’s creditors reached an agreement with the company that will see them take control of the embattled French IT services company instead of an outside investor.
Bondholders and lenders have agreed to convert €2.9 billion ($3.1 billion) of loans and bonds into equity, provide as much as €1.68 billion of new debt and to inject €233 million in new equity, either themselves or alongside a private industrial investor, according to a statement on Sunday. By doing the deal on their own, the debt holders participating in the new debt stand to benefit more from the economics of the deal. Existing shareholders’ equity will be worth close to zero as a result of the restructuring. Creditors signing the lock-up agreement by July 12 will receive a 50 basis-point fee. Atos asked creditors to leave the door open to an anchor investor for the equity injection, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. Representatives for Atos didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment outside of regular business hours. - Taiwan tops Asia’s best-performing stock markets so far in 2024 Japan is No. 2
Optimism in AI drove up Taiwan’s stock market in the first half of 2024, making it the top performing market in Asia-Pacific so far this year. The stock markets in Thailand and Indonesia were the worst performing in the region, falling 8% and nearly 3% respectively in the first six months of the year. - Gold shines on rate-cut hopes after inflation data
Gold prices steadied on Friday after a key U.S. inflation report was broadly in line with expectations, boosting hopes that the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates by September. Spot gold was steady at $2,324.25 per ounce. U.S. gold futures settled 0.1% higher at $2,339.6. - Rivian CEO R.J. Scaringe has always been a go-getter, but he didn’t become successful all on his own.
As a 26-year-old, Scaringe put it all on the line to start the electric vehicle company, but he also took money that his dad offered him after refinancing his home. The company had a strong thesis for the EV of the future, but Scaringe couldn’t have made it a unicorn without the billions of dollars put in by investors that believed in him. On Tuesday, Scaringe secured some of his most critical help yet in the form of a $5 billion lifeline from Volkswagen that will likely ensure its position for the foreseeable future. - Stock futures rise as Wall Street readies for the second half
Stock futures rose in overnight trading Sunday as Wall Street looked ahead to the second half of 2024. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 55 points, or 0.1%, while S&P 500 futures gained 0.2%. Nasdaq-100 futures also edged up 0.2%. Wall Street is coming off a losing session for the major averages, of a strong finish to the first half of the trading year.
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