- Asian Stocks Slip as Fed Officials Urge Patience: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Stocks in Asia fell as Federal Reserve officials said they wanted more evidence of cooling inflation before lowering interest rates. Equity benchmarks edged lower in Australia and South Korea, while those in Japan steadied. Futures pointed to declines in Hong Kong and an index of Chinese shares trading in the US slipped 1.3%. - ‘Crazy’ for Japan to Intervene on Yen Before Friday, Traders Say
(Bloomberg) — The next big pain point for the yen and a potential trigger for intervention from Japan may emerge from a readout on the Federal Reserve’s favoured US inflation gauge on Friday. The currency has been in danger all week of sliding through the 160 level to the dollar and on to its weak point for the year, ramping up pressure on Japan to act. - Austin Warns That Israel-Hezbollah Clash Could Touch Off New War
(Bloomberg) — US Défense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned that a war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah would have “terrible consequences,” as the Biden administration struggles to avert a wider conflict in the Middle East. Austin spoke Tuesday at the Pentagon alongside Israeli Défense Minister Yoav Gallant, who is visiting Washington this week. - North Korea Fires Missile That May Have Failed in Flight
(Bloomberg) — North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile that appears to have failed in flight, in an attempted show of force about a week after it struck a military pact with Russia that alarmed the US and its allies. The missile was launched at about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday from an area near Pyongyang and is presumed to have failed shortly after it was fired. - Fed’s Cook Says Rate Cut Needed at Some Point But Timing Unclear
(Bloomberg) — Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook said it will be appropriate to reduce interest rates “at some point,” adding that she expects inflation to improve gradually this year before more rapid progress in 2025. - Australia ‘Alert’ to Upside Risks to Inflation, RBA’s Kent Says
(Bloomberg) — Australia’s central bank is alert to upside risks to inflation and wants to see evidence of a further easing in core consumer prices before considering interest rate cuts, a senior Reserve Bank official said. - Why Losing One Seat Was So Devastating for Trudeau: QuickTake
(Bloomberg) — For eight years, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself the son of former prime minister, Pierre Trudeau has managed to keep his Liberal Party in power while navigating his share of drama. - Japan’s 10-Year Bond Yield Hits 1% for First Time in Two Weeks
(Bloomberg) — Japan’s 10-year yield rises to 1% for the first time since June 12 as traders continue to mull the central bank’s plan to cut its debt purchases. Yield on the benchmark 10-year government note edges 0.5bp higher from Tuesday. In its latest policy statement released on June 14, the Bank of Japan said it will decide on a detailed plan for a reduction in bond. - Laffont Sees Artificial Brains, Robots as the Next Step for AI
(Bloomberg) — Coatue Management founder Philippe Laffont said robots powered by artificial brains will be a next big step for AI. Even though that may be 15 years away, it’s going to be “pretty exciting,” Laffont said in a rare interview Tuesday with David Rubenstein at the Bloomberg Invest Summit in New York. - Man Group Fund Expects China Market Rebound With Policy Boost
(Bloomberg) — An asset manager at Man Group, the world’s biggest publicly traded hedge fund firm, expects that the July meeting of China’s top leaders will roll out measures aimed at boosting consumption to revive the country’s sluggish stock market
. - Vista-Backed Solera Said to Seek Up to $13 Billion Value in IPO
(Bloomberg) — Vista Equity Partners-backed automotive data and software services provider Solera is set to seek a valuation of about $10 billion to $13 billion in its planned initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter. - Quantum Capital Said to Strike $1.8 Billion Deal for Caerus Oil
(Bloomberg) — Quantum Capital Group has agreed to buy Caerus Oil and Gas in a deal that values the Rocky Mountain energy explorer at $1.8 billion, people familiar with the matter said, as private equity firms ramp up buying in the oil patch. Energy-focused Quantum is buying Caerus from backers Oaktree Capital Management, Anschutz Investment Co. - Japan’s Bank Shares Rise on BOJ Speculation, Rebalancing
(Bloomberg) — Japanese bank shares including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group climb on growing expectation the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates as early as next month, and as investors rotated into lagging value stocks. A measure of lenders on the Topix index climbs as much as 3.6%, the most since Jan. 24. MUFG gains as much 4.2%, while SMFG advances 3.7%, Mizuho +3.9%. - Carnival shares surged 8.72% after it reported its second quarter results and forecast for the year ahead.
In the second quarter, the company reported a revenue of $5.78 billion, +18% YoY, beating estimates of $5.69 billion. Adjusted earnings per share came in at 11 cents, against estimates of 1.7 cents a share loss. For the year ahead, Carnival forecasted an adjusted EBITDA of $5.83 billion, beating estimates of $5.66 billion. - Airbus shares fell by 9.41% after it lowered its targets for earnings and aircraft deliveries, citing persistent supply-chain issues.
The company warned that it is currently experiencing a shortage on engines, aerostructures and cabin interiors, which is affecting the company’s delivery plans. Airbus expects its adjusted earnings before interest and tax to reach €5.5 billion this year, down from a previous goal of as much as €7 billion. - Novo Nordisk shares climbed 4%, hitting a record high and sparking hopes for another stock split after China approved the Danish drugmaker’s blockbuster Wegovy for chronic weight management.
China’s National Medical Products Administration gave the nod to Novo to market the weekly jab for treatment of people who are overweight or obese, the Danish company said in a WeChat statement on Tuesday. The diabetes treatment version of the drug was approved in China in April 2021, under the brand Ozempic. The much-anticipated approval means Novo is finally able to provide a product for weight loss in a market where patients had been relying on off-label use of diabetes drug Ozempic. The market may soon be more crowded. US rival Eli Lilly & Co.’s tirzepatide, sold as Zepbound and Mounjaro in the US, won approval last month in China as a diabetes treatment and is in regulatory review for weight loss. - Merck KGaA fell 5.7% following a second surprise failure of a promising medicine and new questions about how the German company’s health-care division can drive growth.
The company said that it will discontinue development of the drug, xevinapant, for the treatment of head and neck cancer. Merck is ending both a late-stage study that was nearing completion and a second trial from which some analysts were expecting results as soon as 2027. It’s the second high-profile drug failure since December for Merck, a German conglomerate with three business units focused on developing medicines, providing raw materials and services to pharma companies and making electronics. The company’s first pipeline failure involved a once-promising multiple-sclerosis drug that showed poor efficacy in studies. - Walmart shares fell 2.1% after CFO John David Rainey spoke at a conference, saying that the current quarter, Walmart’s 2Q, is its “most challenging quarter from a comp. perspective for the year,” referring to comparable sales.
“So, it won’t be like the first quarter,” Rainey said. Walmart reported total US comparable sales ex-gas in 1Q of +3.9%; the current Bloomberg Consensus estimate calls for 2Q comp. sales growth of 3.4%.The comparable sales comment “may sound cautious,” but the “overall presentation was consistent with what mgmt. said on the recent conf. call, and there doesn’t seem to have been a notable shift in the business one way or the other,” Vital Knowledge’s Adam Crisafulli wrote. - FedEx Corp. forecast profit above Wall Street’s expectations and said it would buy back $2.5 billion of its stock over the next year, lifting its shares 13.9% afterhours.
Adjusted earnings in the 2025 fiscal year will be $20 to $22 a share, the company said. The midpoint topped the $20.85 average analyst estimate. Revenue will grow in the low-to-mid single-digit percentage for the period. FedEx also hinted at a possible divestiture of its freight business, saying it’s assessing the unit’s place in the company’s portfolio. The company could be looking to take advantage of value in the less-than-truckload market with a sale, according to Bloomberg Intelligence logistics analyst Lee Klaskow. Those carriers are trading at a “significant” premium compared to the parcel industry and overall market, he said. - Enovix surges on deal to deliver high-performance batteries for mixed reality headset
Enovix (ENVX) shares surged more than 28% Tuesday after the company announced it has signed an agreement with a leading California-based technology company to provide silicon batteries and packs for a mixed reality headset. “We are thrilled to sign this agreement with a clear leader in the mixed reality market,” said Samira Naraghi, Senior Vice President, Product, Enovix Under the terms of the agreement, Enovix said it will receive an immediate one-time payment for tooling to support battery pack dimensions. This will be followed by payments for the delivery of both sample and production quantities.
https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/enovix-surges-on-deal-to-deliver-highperformance-batteries-for-mixed-reality-headset-432SI-34958 - Volkswagen’s $5 billion investment in Rivian boosts EV maker’s shares
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -German automaker Volkswagen (ETR: VOWG_p) Group will invest up to $5 billion in U.S. electric-vehicle maker Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN) as part of a new, equally controlled joint venture to share EV architecture and software, the companies said on Tuesday. Shares of Rivian surged about 50% in extended trade after the announcement, potentially supercharging the company’s market value by nearly $6 billion, if gains hold on Wednesday. The auto industry faces a crucial time as EV startups grapple with a slowdown in demand amid high interest rates and dwindling cash, while traditional automakers struggle to build battery-powered vehicles and advanced software. The investment will provide Rivian the funding necessary to develop its less expensive and smaller R2 SUVs that are set to roll out in early 2026 and its planned R3 crossovers, CEO RJ Scaringe told Reuters.
https://www.investing.com/news/economy-news/volkswagen-to-invest-up-to-5-billion-in-ev-maker-rivian-as-part-of-tech-joint-venture-3496426 - Britain looks to upstage France with play for world’s third major AI hub after U.S., China
At the London Tech Week conference in the Olympia events venue earlier this month, tech executives from around the world touted London and the U.K. as a place to invest.
Last week, Salesforce opened its first flagship AI centre in London, as part of a five-year $4 billion investment commitment to the U.K. announced last year. London is facing heated rivalry from France for the title of European AI leader. - The yuan’s status as a global currency might be gaining ground. But top CEOs see more hurdles to clear
For China’s yuan to be used more globally, the currency needs more “applications” such as stocks and bonds, Bonnie Chan, CEO of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, said on a panel Tuesday. “We’re not just going to hold on to a bunch of RMB and put it into this bank account,” she said. Fred Hu, founder, chairman and CEO of Primavera Capital, said on the same panel Tuesday that the internationalization of the yuan is probably going to take longer than many expect, despite increased statements from Beijing. - This Southeast Asian city is the world’s most expensive for the super-rich — Hong Kong comes second
Sky-high property prices, exorbitant car ownership costs and expensive private medical care, among other factors, have kept Singapore the most expensive city for the super-rich in 2024, according to a report by Julius Baer. The Swiss bank analysed the prices of 20 consumer goods and services bought and used by high-net-worth individuals across 25 cities to arrive at the rankings. - U.S. ambassador accuses China of undermining bilateral ties, Wall Street Journal reports
Burns said China was “interrogating and intimidating citizens who attend U.S.-organized events in China, ramping up restrictions on the embassy’s social-media posts and whipping up anti-American sentiment.” “What they tell us and what they tell the world is they want people-to-people engagement, and yet this is not just episodic. This is routine. This is nearly every public event,” Burns told the Journal.
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