Tuesday Morning Reads
Reads:
- Wall Street Holds The Cards
- Tech-Fuelled ‘Everything’s Awesome’ Rally
- What Happens to the Markets If There’s a Vaccine?
- Amazon Bets on Office-Based Work
- Uber and Lyft Consider Franchise-Like Model in California
- Oracle Enters Race to Buy TikTok’s U.S. Operations
- Home Depot Rises as Consumers Splurge
- America Has Two Feet
- Sorry, the World’s Biggest Bike Maker Can’t Help You
- They Stayed the Course
- Are Emerging Markets Turning Into the S&P 500?
Futures:
Premium:
Open Interest
Seekingalpha
U.S. futures yawn with Republicans’ scaled-back stimulus
U.S. equities futures hug the flatline as Republicans plan to introduce a scaled-back virus relief package that would include a $300/week in supplemental unemployment benefit, additional U.S. Postal Service funding, and aid for small businesses, Bloomberg reports. The legislation would also include protection for employers against lawsuits over COVID-19 infections. S&P and Dow futures are roughly flat while Nasdaq futures +0.28%. 10-year Treasury yield slips almost 2 basis points to 0.68%. Gold gains 0.09% to $2,002.80 per ounce; crude oil up 0.42% to $43.07 per barrel. In Hong Kong the Hang Seng Index closes up 0.08% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.2% after U.S.-China tensions heat up after the Trump administration imposes new restrictions on Huawei focused on cutting access to commercially available chips. In Europe, jewelry maker Pandora (OTCPK:PANDY) (-7%) led losses in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index (+0.24%) after warning that sales may slump as much as 20% this year. Germany’s DAX up 0.37% and the U.K. FTSE 100 up 0.10%.
Oracle in talks to acquire TikTok business, challenging Microsoft
Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) has jumped into the fray to potentially acquire the North American and Australia/New Zealand business of TikTok (BDNCE) - squaring off against rival Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), which is thought to be in pole position for the acquisition. Oracle is reportedly working with some of TikTok's existing VC investors, including General Atlantic and Sequoia Capital, and CNBC says the talks are recent and ongoing.
Go Deeper: Compare Oracle’s key stats with those of its peers.
For a second time this year, Boeing (NYSE:BA) is preparing to offer further voluntary buyouts to its employees, extending its workforce cuts beyond the original 10% target unveiled in April, Bloomberg reports, citing an internal message from CEO Dave Calhoun. The “voluntary layoffs” will be offered to workers in the planemaker’s commercial airplanes unit, services division, and corporate operation, Calhoun said in the message. Boeing began laying off 6,700 employees in late May, part of the 10% staff cuts outlined in April.
Go Deeper: SA Contributor Dhierin Bechai on the 777X and an uncertain future at Qatar Airways.
Robinhood valuation jumps to $11.2B after $200M funding round
Robinhood’s latest funding round comes from D1 Capital Holdings, boosting its valuation from $8.6B and marking its third major investment in five months. The news comes about a week after the stock-trading app company announced plans to hire hundreds of additional registered financial representatives to serve its growing number of customers. In June the company’s daily average revenue trades exceeded those of publicly traded brokerage firms. Last month, Robinhood got $320M of investment added to an earlier series of funding that was announced in April. And in May, it announced a $280M round of investment. It will use the latest funding to improve its core product and customer experience.
Merck picks site for £1B London research, business site
The U.S.-based pharmaceuticals company Merck (NYSE:MRK) plans to construct the complex, including research labs, on a site opposite King’s Cross rail station. Called MSD in Europe to avoid confusion with Merck of Germany, the company plans to employ 800 people at the 25,000-square-meter facility. Assuming it gets local council planning permission for the project to be called London Discovery Research Center, construction will start late next year with move-in expected during 2025. While the company expects to create ~120 new jobs for scientists and technicians, most staff will come from MSD's smaller existing labs in London and its business hub in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire. Research at the U.K. site will focus on diseases of aging, with a particular focus on neuroscience.
Western U.S. power prices hit records as California warns of more outages
Electric prices in the western U.S. soared to record highs as California consumers prepared for more rolling outages after the state grid operator ordered utilities to cut power over the weekend to reduce strain on the system during a record-breaking heat wave. Power prices at the Palo Verde hub in Arizona rose to $350.50/MWH the highest in the 10 years that Refinitiv has been compiling data, Reuters reported. In California, prices at SP-15 in the southern part of the state rose to $270.75/MWh, the highest since August 2018.
Dispute arises at DOJ over speed of Google antitrust case
A bit of a split has appeared at the Justice Dept. in a potential antitrust lawsuit against Google (GOOG, GOOGL), The Wall Street Journal reports - with some staff attorneys concerned that the case isn't ready, while others are pressing to move forward with a suit as soon as summer's end. Attorney General William Barr is reportedly pressing a more aggressive timeline, while staffers in the parts of the case examining Google's search practices and its online ad business express concerns that the evidence as it stands may not yet be enough to win in court.
What else is happening…
Canada finance minister quits amid charity scandal.Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) TV Plus offers first bundle, with CBS/Showtime (VIAC, VIACA).FOX News (FOX, FOXA) Digital posts highest July multi-platform view.Kirkland Lake (NYSE:KL), Newmont (NYSE:NEM) reach deal for exploration opportunities.Forbearance programs hold credit card delinquencies at bay in July.
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan -0.20%. Hong Kong +0.08%. China +0.36%. India +1.27%.
In Europe, at midday, London +0.10%. Paris +0.49%. Frankfurt +0.37%.
Futures at 6:20, Dow +0.13%. S&P +0.11%. Nasdaq +0.28%. Crude +0.42% to $43.07. Gold +0.86% to $2,015.75. Bitcoin +3.30% to $12,270.5.
Ten-year Treasury Yield -9 bps to 0.674%
Today's Economic Calendar
8:30 Housing Starts
8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales
10:00 E-Commerce Retail Sales