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  1. Asian Stocks Climb, Yen Rallies Off Historic Lows: Markets Wrap

    (Bloomberg) — Stocks in Asia rose Thursday after US shares touched a fresh peak as economic data supported the case for Federal Reserve rate cuts. A gauge for equities in the region gained for a fifth straight session as Japan’s Topix hit a record intraday high and shares in South Korea and Australia advanced.

  2. Oil Holds Near Two-Month High on US Stockpile Plunge, Hurricane

    (Bloomberg) — Oil traded near a two-month high as US crude inventories plunged and Hurricane Beryl threatened production. Brent crude traded above $87 a barrel after rising by 1.3% on Wednesday, its biggest gain in nearly a week. West Texas Intermediate was below $84. US crude inventories last week dropped by more than 12 million barrels.

  3. Aramco, Adnoc Said to Consider Bids for Gas Producer Santos

    (Bloomberg) — Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. have been separately studying potential bids for Australia’s Santos Ltd., as the Middle Eastern energy giants seek to ramp up their gas investments overseas, people with knowledge of the matter said.

  4. Biden Struggles to Contain Pressure to Drop Reelection Bid

    (Bloomberg) — The drumbeat of pressure on Joe Biden to drop out of the US presidential race intensified Wednesday with a bombshell report in the New York Times that he had conceded the possibility to a key ally, as well as movement within his own party to demand his withdrawal.

  5. Starmer Vows ‘New Chapter’ as Britons Cast Votes on Election Day

    (Bloomberg) — Voters head to the polls for the UK general election after the last campaign day was dominated by more opinion polls projecting an historic victory for Keir Starmer and even Rupert Murdoch’s Sun newspaper endorsing the opposition Labour Party rather than Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives.

  6. Fed Sought More Evidence of Cooling Inflation, June Minutes Show

    (Bloomberg) — Federal Reserve officials said they were awaiting additional evidence that inflation is cooling and were divided on how long to keep interest rates elevated at their last policy meeting. Minutes from the two-day Federal Open Market Committee gathering ended June 12 showed officials didn’t expect it would be appropriate to lower borrowing costs.


  7. Hedge Funds Lose Favor in Australia’s $2.6 Trillion Pension Pot

    (Bloomberg) — One of the world’s fastest growing pools of retirement capital is reducing its investments in hedge funds as regulatory scrutiny grows on fees and performance at Australian pension funds. The average allocation to hedge funds was just 0.6% of growth investment options across Australia’s A$3.9 trillion ($2.6 trillion) pension pot in March.

  8. Fed Minutes Show Dovish Tone Despite Hawkish Dot Plot: Economics

    (Bloomberg Economics) — OUR TAKE: We think the minutes of the June 11-12 FOMC meeting struck a more dovish tone than the shift in the dot plot suggests. Committee members view the balance of risks to achieving their dual mandates of price stability and maximum employment as better aligned.

  9. Global Markets on Alert for Biden Exit as Trump-Win Trades Mount

    (Bloomberg) — The red-hot Washington debate over whether President Joe Biden will scrap his run for re-election is spilling into Wall Street, where traders are shifting money to and from the dollar, Treasuries and other assets that would be impacted by Donald Trump’s return to office.

  10. Kamala Harris Has Surprise Resurgence as Biden Campaign Unravels

    (Bloomberg) — Vice President Kamala Harris has long been written off by many fellow Democrats, with her struggles as the second-in-command seeming to dim her prospects of one day becoming president. But as pressure mounts on President Joe Biden to step aside, party members are suddenly seeing her in a new light.

  11. Netflix Co-founder Becomes One of the Biggest Democratic Donors to Call for Biden to Step Aside A public declaration from a megadonor is another crack in the armor in the president’s foundation of support.

    Reed Hastings, the Netflix co-founder who in recent years has become one of the biggest donors to the Democratic Party, called on Wednesday for President Biden to relinquish his place atop of the Democratic presidential ticket.

  12. Swaps Traders Bet BOJ Can Juggle Rate Hike, Cut to Bond Buying

    (Bloomberg) — A recent jump in yen interest-rate swaps reflects increasing wagers for the Bank of Japan to hike its policy rate this month amid downward pressure on the currency. The one-year yen swap rate for one-year forward contracts, which provides an indication of where bond and currency traders see the central bank’s policy rate going, have risen to a one-month high.

  13. JAPAN INSIGHT: BOJ Will No Longer Ignore the Yen’s Slide

    (Bloomberg Economics) — The yen has slid to its weakest level since since 1986 and intervention warnings from Japan’s finance ministry are getting louder. Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan has mostly steered clear of the issue on the grounds that FX management is the government’s turf.


  14. Record High Taiwan Swaps Prompt Rethink of Excess Rate Hike Bets

    (Bloomberg) — Traders are looking to trim excessive policy tightening bets in Taiwan as hawkish central bank moves keep swap rates near record highs. Taiwan’s one and two-year swap rates, measures of interest rate expectations over those periods, have been trading near their peaks after the island’s central bank last month unexpectedly raised the amount of funds lenders.

  15. Discover Agrees to Settle Credit-Card Misclassification Claims

    (Bloomberg) — Discover Financial Services, the credit-card firm that agreed to be acquired by Capital One Financial Corp., said it reached an agreement to resolve class-action litigation for overcharging merchants. The lender, which acknowledged the lapses last year, expects that the $1.2 billion it already set aside for related liabilities.

  16. Swiss Staffing Firm Adecco Said to Consider Sale of Akkodis Unit

    (Bloomberg) — Swiss staffing company Adecco Group AG is considering a possible sale of its technology consulting unit Akkodis, according to people familiar with the matter. The Zurich-based company has been gauging potential buyer interest for the division, which was created through the purchase of Akka Technologies.

  17. Saks Owner Nears $2.65 Billion Neiman Deal With Amazon Help

    (Bloomberg) — The owner of Saks Fifth Avenue is close to acquiring Neiman Marcus Group for $2.65 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter — a deal that would unite America’s two largest high-end department-store chains in a bid to grab a bigger share of a slowing industry. Amazon.com Inc. and Salesforce Inc. will help facilitate the deal by Saks owner Hudson’s Bay Co.

  18. Nvidia shares climbed 4.57%, a recovery after some of recent weaker sessions.

    CEO Jensen Huang unloaded shares worth nearly $169 million in June, the most in a single month. Huang has cashed out nearly $1.1 billion in shares since the start of 2020, including June’s sales. Additional filings reveal that he also plans to continue selling in July.

  19. Novo Nordisk shares fell by 2.62% following US President Joe Biden’s push for cheaper medicines, by demanding price cuts on their blockbuster weight-loss and diabetes drugs.

    Biden cited that companies such as Novo Nordisk are charging “unconscionably high prices” that are above those paid in other countries. Separately, a Harvard study revealed that Novo’s best-selling weight-loss and diabetes drugs, Ozempic and Wegoy, appears to be associated with a higher risk of a rare form of vision loss.


  20. This will be the year of turnaround for UK banks, according to analysts at JPMorgan, who say they have “increased conviction” in their overweight view on the group following management meetings with the big four UK lenders.

    Analyst Raul Sinha notes that some bank leaders expect a fast start from a Labour government on policy reform, which could prompt medium-term economic growth; Keir Starmer last week ruling out further bank taxes should also be supportive. Sinha sees more relative upside in NatWest and Barclays, given the combination of a resilient margin outlook, strong cash generation and returns. NatWest is top pick with the privatization of the group likely to continue after the election; this will lead to a re-rating once the UK government stake is less material. Expects mortgage volumes to remain subdued until rates fall.

  21. Tesla shares rose 6.5%, extending their win streak to a seventh day, as brokers raised price targets on the electric-vehicle maker following better-than-expected 2Q deliveries on Tuesday.

    Wedbush (outperform): After what was a “very choppy start” to the year for Tesla, analyst Daniel Ives says the “demand story has made a significant turn for the positive.” The figures mark “a ‘major turning point’ in the Tesla bull case story looking ahead into 2H24/2025,” Ives adds. Robotaxi Day on August 8 is a “key historical moment” for the investment story and a near-term catalyst. PT raised to $300 from $275. Bank of America (buy): Analyst John Murphy says deliveries were better than consensus expectations, and “notably better than investors had expected”. PT raised to $260 from $220.

  22. Paramount Global shares gained 6.9% after Bloomberg News reported that Skydance Media had reached a preliminary agreement to buy National Amusements and merge with Paramount.

    National Amusements, the family company that controls Paramount, will refer the deal to a special committee of Paramount directors for review, a person with knowledge of the matter said. The new terms include a higher valuation for National Amusements and stronger language indemnifying the Redstones’ company against litigation that may result from the deal, the person said. The sellers have 45 days to seek better offers, another person familiar with the matter said. Raymond James (market perform): “If we have learned anything from the PARA process, and to quote Yogi Berra, it ain’t over ‘til it’s over,” analysts Ric Prentiss and Brent Penter write. Prentiss and Penter highlight the 45-day “go-shop” process, which allows the sellers to seek better offers; does not see there being another bidder for all of Paramount. The analysts had seen the Skydance deal as the most probable outcome before it collapsed several weeks ago; now “we seem to be back on that path,” they say.

  23. Constellation Brands shares fell 3.3% after the alcohol beverage company reported mixed 1Q results.

    Beer performance topped some expectations, despite recent signs of deceleration in industry scanner data, while the wine segment continued to struggle, with Barclays saying there remains a “steep hill to climb” for unit to see more stable performance. Truist sounds alarm on reiterated year guidance. FIRST QUARTER RESULTS: Comparable EPS $3.57 vs. $2.91 y/y, estimate $3.47. Comparable net sales $2.66 billion, +5.8% y/y, estimate $2.67 billion. Beer net sales $2.27 billion, estimate $2.28 billion. Wine and spirits net sales $389 million, estimate $398.1 million. Beer shipment volume +7.6%, estimate +6.85.


  24. Hong Kong’s IPO market is finally starting to turn around, consulting firm

    The market for initial public offerings in Hong Kong is set to improve significantly over the next five years, said George Chan, global IPO leader at EY. “I would say if the interest rate can be further cut down, 1 percent maybe, that would have a significant effect on the IPO market,” Chan said. “Our HK cap markets team is very busy and has a strong pipeline for H2. We expect to see many HKSE listings,” Marcia Ellis, global co-chair of private equity practice at Morrison Foerster in Hong Kong, said in an email Wednesday.
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  25. Gold inches up after weak data fuels U.S. rate cut bets

    Gold prices drifted higher on Thursday after softer-than-expected U.S. economic data fueled hopes that the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates as soon as September. Spot gold was up 0.3% at $2,362.10 per ounce, as of 0200 GMT after hitting a near two-week high in the previous session. U.S. gold futures was little changed at $2,369.80.

  26. S&P 500, Nasdaq close at fresh records as investors look past soft economic data

    The S&P 500 rose to new highs in Wednesday’s shortened trading session as investors appeared to shrug off sluggish economic data.The broad market index added 0.51%, closing at 5,537.02. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.88%, ending the session at 18,188.30, as megacap technology names such as Tesla and Nvidia rallied. Both indexes touched fresh all-time highs in the session and closed at records.

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