CNBC
Dow futures about 200 points Monday after the 30-stock average posted its worst weekly loss since October as investors and traders sold on concern that the Federal Reserve could start increasing interest rates sooner than expected. (CNBC)
* Japan's Nikkei sank over 3%, leading losses across major Asian stock markets (CNBC)
The Dow on Friday lost 533 points, or nearly 1.6%, closing out a five session losing streak of almost 3.5%. The S&P 500, which fell 1.3% on Friday, sank four days in row for a 1.9% weekly decline. The Nasdaq dropped less than 1% on Friday but was down only about 0.3% for the week. (CNBC)
The Fed last Wednesday increased its inflation forecast and indicated two rate hikes in 2023. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said central bankers were considering tapering their massive Covid-era bond purchases. Fed speakers will get a lot of attention this week, including Tuesday's congressional testimony from Powell. (CNBC)
The 10-year Treasury yield continued to back away from last week's Fed-driven spike, trading early Monday just above 1.4%. It briefly dipped to 1.354%, the lowest level since late February. (CNBC)
Bitcoin dropped 7% on Monday, trading under $33,000 for the first time in nearly two weeks, on reports that China's crackdown on cryptocurrency mining extended to the southwestern province of Sichuan. The Communist Party-backed Global Times estimates that more than 90% of China's bitcoin mining capacity has been shut down. (CNBC)
MicroStrategy (MSTR), one of the biggest corporate investors in bitcoin, said Monday it bought more, about $420 million worth at current prices, bringing its total investment in the cryptocurrency to $3.4 billion. Shares of MicroStrategy fell 7.5% in Monday's premarket as bitcoin dropped on the expansion of China's crypto mining crackdown.
IN THE NEWS TODAY
Amazon's (AMZN) Prime Day kicked off Monday. Prime Day 2020, delayed to October due to the pandemic, pulled in $10.4 billion, according to Digital Commerce 360, a 45% increase from 2019. This year's Prime Day comes as retailers grapple with global supply-chain disruptions. Major retailers, including Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT), Kohl's (KSS), Macy's (M), and Costco (COST), are holding competing sales. (CNBC)
As travel demand surges toward pre-pandemic levels, American Airlines canceled 100 more flights Monday after scrapping hundreds over the weekend due to staffing shortages, maintenance and other issues. American said it's trimming its overall schedule by about 1% through mid-July to help ease the strain on its operations. (CNBC)
* Royal Caribbean launches 'simulated' Freedom of the Seas cruise from Miami (NBC News)
A bipartisan infrastructure plan costing a little over $1 trillion, only about a fourth of what President Joe Biden initially proposed, has been gaining support in the U.S. Senate, but disputes continued on Sunday over how it should be funded. Biden told reporters last that he will have a response to the plan as soon as Monday. (Reuters)
Claudette regained tropical storm strength Monday morning as the system neared the Carolinas less than two days after 13 people died, including eight children in a multi-vehicle crash, due to the effects of the storm in Alabama. A search was also underway for a man believed to have fallen into the water during flash flooding in Birmingham. (AP)
STOCKS TO WATCH
Pershing Square Tontine Holdings (PSTH), the SPAC controlled by billionaire investor Bill Ackman, finalized a deal to buy a 10% stake in Universal Music from Vivendi. The deal values Universal Music the world's largest music company at about $40 billion. Shares gained 1.1% in the premarket.
Raven Industries (RAVN) agreed to be bought by fellow agricultural equipment maker CNH Industrial (CNHI) for $58 per share, or $2.1 billion, compared to Raven's Friday close of $38.62 per share. The stock soared nearly 50% in premarket trading.
HSBC (HSBC) sold its French retail bank to private-equity firm Cerberus Capital for just 1 euro and it expects to book a $3 billion loss after unloading the unprofitable operation. The Wall Street Journal points out that HSBC two decades ago paid $10.6 billion to acquire Credit Commercial de France.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is set to cut its dividend, according to a report in the U.K.'s Daily Mail newspaper. The drugmaker will hold an investor event on Wednesday, and the paper said a cut of as much as 50% will be revealed at that meeting.
Former Tesla (TSLA) executive Jerome Guillen sold about $274 million in Tesla shares since June 10, according to a SEC filing. Guillen left Tesla earlier this month after 11 years, most recently running the company's Tesla Heavy Trucking unit.
Westlake Chemical (WLK) will buy the North American building products business of Australia's Boral for $2.15 billion. Westlake said the acquisition will boost its presence in products like roofing and siding, and that it will be accretive to earnings during the first year.
CONTRIBUTORS
Matthew J. Belvedere
@Matt_Belvedere
Peter Schacknow
@peterschack
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