- Stocks Rebound as Jobs Data Calms Market Jitters: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Asian shares rose on Friday after signs of resilience in the labor market lifted US stocks. Equities in Japan, South Korea and Australia climbed alongside Hong Kong futures. Gains for the Topix index further eroded the steep declines earlier in the week, helped along by Friday moves in tech and bank stocks. US stock futures turned flat after early gains in Asia trading. - S&P 500 notches its best day since 2022 as Wall Street claws its way back from Monday’s rout
Stocks climbed Thursday after new labor market data boosted investors’ confidence in the U.S. economy following a sharp market sell-off earlier in the week. The S&P 500 advanced 2.3%, closing at 5,319.31 and posting its best day since November 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 683.04 points, or 1.76%, to 39,446.49. The Nasdaq Composite added 2.87%, ending at 16,660.02. - Oil set for 3% weekly gain on rising Mideast tensions, better US outlook
Oil prices edged down in early Asian trading on Friday but were on track to gain more than 3% for the week as U.S. jobs data calmed demand concerns and fears of a widening Middle East conflict persisted. Brent crude futures fell 9 cents, or 0.11%, to $79.07 a barrel by 0030 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down a cent at $76.09 per barrel. - Gold rises more than 1% on safe-haven demand, Fed rate-cut optimism
Gold prices rose more than 1% on Thursday, supported by firm safe-haven demand and growing expectations for a sizeable interest rate cut from the U.S. Federal Reserve in September. Spot gold rose 1.27% to settle at $2,463.3. - Former BlackRock Manager Gets 20% Return at Muni Bond Hedge Fund
(Bloomberg) — James Pruskowski learned the intricacies of the municipal bond market in his 30 years at BlackRock Inc., before exiting the world’s largest asset manager in 2023. He brought that expertise to another arcane part of Wall Street, the hedge fund industry, and produced market-beating results. - Trump, Harris Agree to Debate as Republican Looks to Shift Race
(Bloomberg) — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump looked to recapture attention and momentum in his race against Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday, dangling a series of debates and fielding questions for over an hour from reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort. - US Calls for Gaza Cease-Fire Talks Aug. 15 With Qatar, Egypt
(Bloomberg) — The US, Qatar and Egypt are calling for a new round of cease-fire talks on Aug. 15, the latest attempt by the Biden administration to end the war in Gaza even as the region braces for an expected Iranian attack on Israel. - Fed’s Schmid Says ‘We Are Not Quite There’ In Cooling Inflation
(Bloomberg) — Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Jeffrey Schmid signaled he’s not ready to support a reduction in interest rates with inflation above target and the labor market still healthy despite some cooling. In a speech to the Kansas Bankers Association, Schmid said the recent decline in inflation has been encouraging. - Colombian Inflation Slows More Than Forecast to Least Since 2021
(Bloomberg) — Colombian inflation slowed more than forecast to its lowest level since 2021, bolstering President Gustavo Petro’s calls for faster monetary easing. Consumer prices rose 6.86% in July from a year earlier, the statistics agency said Thursday, from 7.16% in June. Prices rose 0.20% from a month earlier, below the 0.28% median forecast of economists. - Adanis Stick With Plan to Transform Slum as Opposition Mounts
(Bloomberg) — The Adani Group is confident of meeting the seven-year deadline to revamp one of Asia’s biggest slums despite a threat from the main opposition party to halt the project if they win in the state elections this year. The media-to-mining conglomerate won the controversial project to redevelop Mumbai’s famous Dharavi slum cluster in end of 2022. - Trump Wants Presidents to Have ‘Some Say’ Over Fed Policy
(Bloomberg) — Republican nominee Donald Trump said that the president should have some say over interest rates and monetary policy, a move that would go against the longstanding practice of the US Federal Reserve being independent of political actors. I think that, in my case, I made a lot of money. I was very successful, Trump said at a press conference Thursday. - BOJ’s ‘Damage Control’ Leaves Traders Guessing About True Aims
(Bloomberg) — Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda had a clear message last week, the weak yen was a risk and rates were likely to keep rising. The reaction from traders to Ueda’s apparent hawkish turn was severe. The currency surged more than 3% against the dollar, and Japanese stocks had their biggest rout since 1987. - JPMorgan Asset Gameplans for Risk BOJ Hikes Are Done This Year
(Bloomberg) — The Bank of Japan will avoid raising interest rates again any time soon, with further tightening likely dependent on the fate of the US economy, according to JPMorgan Asset Management. There’s a path for the Bank of Japan to move again actually, but that’s the path where the Federal Reserve cuts and they do manage to stabilize the US economy, said Seamus Mac Gorain. - Private Equity Builds $722 Billion War Chest in Hunt for Deals
(Bloomberg) — The biggest publicly traded alternative asset managers have more than a half-trillion dollars to put to work and they’re gearing up for a deals comeback. Seven of the firms reported a collective $722 billion in dry powder as of June 30, a 9% increase from a year earlier, according to earnings data compiled by Bloomberg. - Klarna, Revolut Fundraising Set to Tee Up 2025 IPOs: ECM Watch
(Bloomberg) — Two closely-held European fintechs are moving to firm up their valuations with private funding rounds, as next year’s slate of big-ticket initial public offerings begins to take shape. Klarna Bank AB is holding initial talks with investors about buying existing private shares in the Stockholm-based firm, as it prepares for a highly-anticipated IPO. - Eli Lilly blows past estimates, hikes guidance as Zepbound, Mounjaro sales soar
Eli Lilly reported second-quarter earnings and revenue that blew past expectations and hiked its full-year revenue outlook by $3 billion as sales of its blockbuster diabetes drug Mounjaro and weight loss injection Zepbound spike. The drugmaker now expects full-year adjusted earnings of $16.10 to $16.60, up from a previous guidance of $13.50 to $14 per share. The company also expects revenue for the year to come in between $45.4 billion and $46.6 billion, an increase of $3 billion at both ends of the range. - Paramount Global announces it will cut 15% of U.S. workforce, shares rise on second-quarter earnings
Paramount Global is cutting 15% of its U.S. workforce, or about 2,000 jobs, part of a broader cost-cutting plan as it prepares for a merger with Skydance Media. Paramount has identified $500 million in cost savings, which include the head count reductions, as part of $2 billion in synergies related to its transaction with Skydance. The job cuts, which will begin in the coming weeks and largely conclude by year end, will target the company’s marketing and communications department and employees who work in finance, legal, technology and other support functions, the company said during its earnings conference call Thursday. - E.l.f. Beauty sales jump 50% on gains in color cosmetics and skin care, launch of Bronzing Drops serum
The cosmetics retailer on Thursday blew past quarterly estimates again, posting a 50% gain in sales. The company’s sales soared to $324.5 million in its fiscal first quarter, leading it to raise its full-year guidance. That increase follows a staggering 76% jump in the year-ago quarter. CEO Tarang Amin told CNBC the company saw growth across its categories. He added that its Bronzing Drops serum quickly became a best seller on the company’s website after its launch during the quarter. Here’s how the cosmetics company performed compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG: Earnings per share: $1.10 adjusted vs. 84 cents expected, Revenue: $324 million vs. $305 million expected. - CyberArk (CYBR) Surpasses Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
CyberArk (CYBR) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.54 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.41 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.03 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of 31.71%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this maker of software that detects attacks on privileged accounts would post earnings of $0.27 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.75, delivering a surprise of 177.78%. - Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (RKLB) Reports Q2 Loss, Lags Revenue Estimates
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (RKLB) came out with a quarterly loss of $0.08 per share versus the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $0.10. This compares to loss of $0.10 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of 20%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this company would post a loss of $0.11 per share when it actually produced a loss of $0.09, delivering a surprise of 18.18%. - China’s consumer prices pick up more than expected in July, up by 0.5%
China’s consumer prices rose by a more-than-expected 0.5% in July from a year ago, boosted by a surge in pork prices, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics released Friday. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a slight pickup in the consumer price index to 0.3% in July from a year ago, versus 0.2% in June. The 0.5% CPI increase in July was the highest since a 0.7% rise in February, according to official data accessed via Wind Information. China’s biggest holiday of the year, the Lunar New Year, fell in February this year. - Malaysia’s prime minister lauds country’s burgeoning chip hub status as Infineon opens new plant
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim listed a number of reasons Malaysia has become a popular manufacturing hub for chips. Multinational companies have increasingly looked to increase their presence in the Southeast Asian nation as they diversify operations under the specter of U.S.-China tensions. German chipmaker Infineon has begun the first phase of a new fab in Kulim which the company says will become the world’s largest silicon carbide factory. - Pressure mounting on Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav to deliver value for shareholders
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is increasingly in need of a win for shareholders. Warner Bros. Discovery shares plummeted Thursday after taking a $9.1 billion impairment charge on the decline of its linear business and uncertainty around NBA rights. The company may be an activist target given its persistent struggles to boost value, but it’s also possible outside investors would have limited options for alternative strategies. - Delta says chaos after CrowdStrike outage cost it $380 million in revenue
Delta Air Lines on Thursday said last month’s CrowdStrike outage and subsequent mass flight
cancellations cost it some $550 million and reiterated that it is pursuing damages against the company as well as Microsoft. The financial impact includes a $380 million revenue hit in the current quarter primarily driven by refunding customers for cancelled flights and providing customer compensation in the form of cash and SkyMiles, the Atlanta-based airline said in a securities filing. The incident, in which it canceled some 7,000 flights, also meant a $170 million expense associated with the technology-driven outage and subsequent operational recovery, the carrier said, adding that its fuel bill will likely be $50 million lower because of the scrubbed flights. - Advertising group suspends brand safety unit after Elon Musk’s antitrust lawsuit
The World Federation of Advertisers said Thursday that it’s suspending the operations of its Global Alliance for Responsible Media nonprofit initiative. GARM was started in 2019 in part to help advertisers avoid having their promotions show up alongside content they deem harmful. Earlier this week, Elon Musk’s X filed a federal lawsuit, alleging WFA and member companies engaged in anticompetitive behavior and organized an advertising boycott.
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