Tuesdays Market Prepper

Economy

Many large employers, universities and transit centers are set to reopen Tuesday following the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, which flooded the Houston area and killed at least 60 people after making landfall Aug. 25. In more moves toward recovery, some barge traffic has resumed to the large oil refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, and authorities have lifted an evacuation zone around a Houston-area chemical plant that had been on fire.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Russia "reserve the right" to remove 155 more American diplomats from Moscow after its recently imposed U.S. diplomatic staff reduction to 455, per The Moscow Times. The remarks, made at the BRICs conference in Xiamen, China, come after last week's order by the U.S. to close the Russian consulate in San Francisco and annexes in New York and Washington, DC.

China is planning to enact further virtual-currency regulations, as reported overnight by financial news publication Yicai, according to a source close to decisionmakers. The revelation follows an initial Monday announcement that China had banned the exploding practice of initial coin offerings (ICOs), which entail launching token-based digital currencies for fundraising purposes. Ethereum tumbled some 20% Monday on the news, according to Coindesk, and Bitcoin also lost ground.

Stocks

Valero Energy says its 293K bbl/day Corpus Christi refinery and 225K bbl/day Texas City refinery, both shut down by Hurricane Harvey, have recovered to pre-hurricane levels of operation. Valero (NYSE:VLO) also says it is preparing to resume operations at the 293K bbl/day Port Arthur refinery, which is in the "final stages" of storm damage evaluation; the 191K bbl/day Houston refinery will increase rates "as transportation and logistics infrastructure becomes more available," and the 89K bbl/day Three Rivers refinery is ramping up operations.

In a £3 billion deal, France's Schneider Electric (OTCPK:SBGSY) has agreed to merge its software arm with UK-based engineering software outfit Aveva (AVEVA). Schneider will take a 60% stake in Aveva under the terms of the deal, with Aveva shareholders to own the remainder. This is the companies' third attempt at a combination over the past two years. Aveva rose 27% in London, while Schneider added some 1% on the Cac 40.

H.B. Fuller, a Minnesota-based adhesives maker, has signed a deal to pay $1.58 billion for Royal Adhesives & Sealants. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) expects the combined entity to produce some $2.9 billion in revenue, with cost synergies expected at $35 million and growth synergies at $15 billion over the coming three years. H.B. Fuller was rising 1% premarket.

Reuters reports that Volkswagen (OTCPK:VLKAF) is running into resistance on a planned 1.5-billion-euro sale of Ducati motorcycles, and has told five prospective bidders to delay making binding offers. Audi (OTCPK:AUDVF), the VW entity that controls Ducati, is reportedly at loggerheads with its parent company, and VW labor leaders are against the sale. Volkswagen recently added 2.3% in Frankfurt.

Tronc, the former Tribune Publishing, says it has acquired the New York Daily News -- adding another major-market daily by bringing the paper back under its umbrella. Tribune Publishing had founded the New York Daily Newsin 1919; it now has 25M unique monthly visitors to NYDailyNews.com. Major financial terms weren't disclosed, but no cash is changing hands. Tronc (NASDAQ:TRNC) is taking on operational and pension liabilities which it plans to meet from Daily News cash flow.

A massive class-action lawsuit, bankrolled by IMF Bentham, has been filed against Australia's Commonwealth Bank (OTCPK:CBAUF) over the bank's recently surfaced money-laundering scandal. Australia's biggest bank is accused of breaking anti-money-laundering laws almost 54,000 times over several years. CBA shares have lost 12% since news of the scandal broke in August.

Rovio, the Helsinki-based maker of the popular "Angry Birds" smartphone game, is planning a €30M initial public offering. The IPO may value the company at $2 billion, per Bloomberg, according to sources familiar with the matter. The move follows last year's successful Angry Birds film adaptation, a sequel to which is planned for 2019.