CNBC
The attention of the nation is focused on Texas this morning, where Harvey devastated coastal areas and Houston with heavy rains, which were expected to continue for several days. Concern about the refinery shutdowns caused gasoline futures to surge. Oil prices, however, were lower. (CNBC & Reuters)
U.S. stock futures were modestly lower Monday morning after American and European monetary officials failed to offer fresh policy guidance at the Jackson Hole, Wyoming, central bankers meeting. The Nasdaq was coming off its first weekly win in the past five weeks. (WSJ)
Expedia (EXPE) CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has been chosen to be Uber's new chief executive. The decision concluded the ride-hailing giant's long search to replace co-founder Travis Kalanick as CEO, who stepped down in June after a shareholder revolt. (CNBC)
Amazon (AMZN) officially takes ownership of Whole Foods on Monday, having promised price cuts and special discounts for members of the e-commerce giant's Prime service. Meanwhile, a Democratic senator on Friday questioned the FTC's quick approval of the deal. (Reuters)
HURRICANE HARVEY
The rain continued this morning in the flooded areas in and around Houston, the nation's fourth-largest city. Harvey was the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in 13 years. More than 20 inches of rain has fallen as Harvey lingered after making landfall late Friday as a Category 4 storm. (NBC News)
Five deaths were being attributed to Harvey. There have also been widespread power outages, and thousands of high-water rescues, evoking memories of the helicopter and boat extractions during the devastating flooding from Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana in 2005. (NY Times)
Flood damage in Texas from Harvey may equal that of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history, said an insurance research group. Katrina caused nearly $50 billion in insured losses in 2016 dollars, according to Wells Fargo Securities. (Reuters & WSJ)
* FEMA expects more than 450,000 Harvey disaster victims to file for assistance (CNBC)
* Houston's two airports to remain closed (WSJ)
IN THE NEWS TODAY
* Trump reportedly demands China action: 'I want someone to bring me some tariffs' (Axios)
CBS (CBS) announced plans to buy Australian customer Ten Network Holdings and launch a streaming service in that country. The U.S. media company beat out a bid from Australian media moguls Bruce Gordon and Lachlan Murdoch. (WSJ)
As part of a promotion for its upcoming series "Disjointed" about a woman who lives her dream of opening a marijuana dispensary, Netflix (NFLX) is developing strains of marijuana inspired by 10 of its shows, including "Grace and Frankie" and "Bojack Horseman." (Variety)
A Missouri law taking effect on Monday mandates municipalities follow the state minimum of $7.70 an hour, nullifying the higher $10 per hour floor St. Louis implemented in May. The law also bars a similar hike in Kansas City even though it was never enforced. (WSJ)
STOCKS TO WATCH
Gilead Sciences (GILD) HAS agreed to buy Kite Pharma (KITE) for $11.9 billion in an all-cash deal. Gilead's $180- per-share deal represents a 29 percent premium over Kite's close on Friday.
Littelfuse (LFUS) has offered to buy rival chip maker IXYS (IXYS) for about $750 million in cash and stock, worth about $23 per share. That's about a 44 percent premium over IXYS's close on Friday.
Western Digital's (WDC) CEO is reportedly in Tokyo to finalize a purchase of Toshiba's memory chip business, according to Reuters, which would end a months long dispute over sale of the unit.
Vulcan Materials (VMC) struck a deal to buy Canadian construction materials company Polaris Materials for about $202 million, subject to the approval of Polaris shareholders.
General Electric (GE) is implementing plans to cut costs and increase profitability in its industrial software business. GE is considering a possible stake sale in the unit, according to a Reuters report.
Infosys (INFY) co-founder Nandan Nilekani officially returned on Monday to the India-based IT services company as chairman. He said finding a new permanent CEO would be among his top priorities.
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) and Pfizer (PFE) announced data showing lower risk of stroke and lower rates of major bleeding in patients taking their blood thinning drug Eliquis compared with competing drugs.
WATERCOOLER
On the big screen, Hollywood experienced one of its most dismal weekend box-office results in 16 years. The entire slate of films grossed only about $65 million in North America and the top 12 films generated just $49.6 million. (USA Today)
CONTRIBUTORS
Matthew J.
Belvedere
Senior Producer
@Matt_Belvedere
Peter
Schacknow
Senior Producer
@peterschack
Tom
DiChristopher
Web and TV producer
