EconomyFour months into negotiations there is still no Greek deal, although the country's labor minister is maintaining that Athens will soon conclude an agreement with its foreign creditors. "There's a deadline, which is June 5," he said - the date on which Greece's next €1.5B repayment to the IMF falls due. "We all know that if there is no solution, let's say until then, in relation to funding, things will be difficult.
Aside from Greek worries, the euro tumbled the most in two months against the dollar today after ECB Executive Board member Benoit Coeure declared that the central bank would increase purchases under its QE program (from €60B in May and June) before an expected period of low liquidity in the summer. Stocks in Europe climbed following the announcement of the bond buying plan, soaring to fresh three-week highs. The euro is -1% to $1.1209.
Annual consumer price inflation in the U.K. has fallen below zero for the first time since the 1960s, as the drop in food and energy prices depresses the cost of living. Official data released on Tuesday showed that consumer prices fell 0.1% in April compared with the same month last year. The pound is-0.8% at $1.5531.
Founding members of the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will hold a three-day meeting in Singapore this week to discuss the draft articles of agreement and operational policies for the establishment of the institution. Although 57 countries have joined the AIIB as founding members, the U.S., Japan and Canada have remained notable absentees.
Shanghai led Asian markets higher today, following a record session for Wall Street and a rebound in the U.S. dollar. After climbing more than a third this year, the Shanghai Composite is poised to soar even further, as investors look forward to more monetary stimulus from Beijing. So far, the biggest winner of the rally has been the Chinese government, which has made billions in paper profits on its stakes in hundreds of listed state-owned corporations.
The numbers are in on 2014 CEO compensation, and it does not look like the controversial income gap in America is narrowing. According to the AFL-CIO, the average S&P 500 company CEO made 373 times the salary of the average production and non-supervisory worker in 2014, up from 331 times in 2013. This translates into an average CEO pay package of $22.6M, up from $20.7M last year.
Stocks
Starbucks and Spotify have struck a music partnership that will give the coffee chain's loyalty members access to exclusive content and input on in-store playlists. "This will be the first of many that we believe will create a significant new revenue source for the company," said Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) CEO Howard Schultz. "Over the course of months there will be a series of verticals that will extend beyond Spotify." The collaboration will start this fall in the U.S., followed by Canada and the U.K.
Starbucks and Spotify have struck a music partnership that will give the coffee chain's loyalty members access to exclusive content and input on in-store playlists. "This will be the first of many that we believe will create a significant new revenue source for the company," said Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) CEO Howard Schultz. "Over the course of months there will be a series of verticals that will extend beyond Spotify." The collaboration will start this fall in the U.S., followed by Canada and the U.K.
In yet another turn of events, Argentina has now barred Citibank (NYSE:C) Argentina from exiting its role as custodian of some Argentine sovereign bonds while a row with U.S. creditors over unpaid debt rages on. The country has already suspended the bank from capital market operations and stripped its chief executive officer of his authority.
Deutsche Bank is studying whether to move large chunks of its British operations to Germany if the U.K. leaves the EU, underlining the potential fallout in the City of London in the event of a "Brexit". The German lender, which employs 9,000 people in the U.K., is the first major bank to start formally examining the consequences of a British referendum on EU membership. Meanwhile, Deutsche (NYSE:DB) has reportedly dismissed its retail banking chief, Rainer Neske.
Taking advantage of the lower borrowing costs in the eurozone, McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) and United Technologies (NYSE:UTX) are now the latest big U.S. companies to issue debt in euros (called "reverse Yankee" bonds), selling €2B and €750M, respectively. The total raised by U.S. companies issuing euro-denominated debt so far this year is just over €34B (not including the latest two deals), more than double the previous record of €17B in 2007.
MBIA has announced a secondary offering of 27.25M shares by funds affiliated with Warburg Pincus. Following the offering, Warburg will hold 18.37M shares of MBIA (NYSE:MBI) and will still have two nominees on its board. MBI -6.3% premarket.
Vodafone posted a rise in its quarterly sales measurement for the first time in nearly three years this morning, although the company's earnings remained under pressure. Net profit in the year to March 31 fell to £5.76B from £59.3B a year ago. Heavy competition has hit Vodafone (NASDAQ:VOD) both abroad and in its home market, where it is the No. 3 mobile carrier. In the U.K., BTand EE recently agreed to combine, while O2 and Hutchison Whampoa (OTCPK:HUWHY) decided to merge their mobile networks. VOD -3.2%premarket.
After close to a decade of research, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) "quietly shelved plans" to launch a TV set more than a year ago, sources told WSJ. Apple reportedly planned to make a 4K (Ultra HD) set, and considered including sensor-equipped cameras for making video calls. But it ultimately decided the TV's features wouldn't be "compelling enough" to enter a highly competitive market. Earlier yesterday, Carl Icahn hiked his price target on Apple to $240, from a $216 target set in February.
"We think that enabling that [business-to-consumer] messaging has good business potential for us ... As we learn those things, I think there's going to be opportunities to bring some of those things to WhatsApp, but that’s more longer-term than the near-term," said Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) CFO Dave Wehner at a JPMorgan conference. Facebook is less than 2 months removed from launching Businesses on Messenger, a solution that allows businesses to communicate with Messenger users via live chats and alerts. Nothing similar has been announced yet for WhatsApp, which has taken a minimalist approach to its apps and has been adamant about refusing to sell ads.
Linn Energy -6.3% premarket after announcing a public offering of 16M common units, with an underwriters option to purchase up to an additional 2.4M units. LINE plans to use the proceeds to repay debt under its credit facility.
Monday's key earnings
Agilent (NYSE:A) -3.8% AH following an FQ2 miss. (link)
Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ:TTWO) +7.3% AH after issuing a 10M-share buyback. (link)
Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) -15.3% AH after dissapointing results. (link)
Agilent (NYSE:A) -3.8% AH following an FQ2 miss. (link)
Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ:TTWO) +7.3% AH after issuing a 10M-share buyback. (link)
Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) -15.3% AH after dissapointing results. (link)
Today's Markets:
In Asia, Japan +0.7% to 20026. Hong Kong +0.4% to 27693. China +3.2%to 4418. India -0.2% to 27645.
In Europe, at midday, London +0.3%. Paris +1.8%. Frankfurt +1.9%.
Futures at 6:20: Dow +0.3%. S&P +0.3%. Nasdaq +0.4%. Crude -0.9% to $59.68. Gold -0.7% to $1219.60.
Ten-year Treasury Yield -1 bps to 2.21%
No comments:
Post a Comment