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  • Walmart’s $3.6 Billion JD.com Sale Fuels China Tech Slump

    Walmart’s $3.6 Billion JD.com Sale Fuels China Tech Slump

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    (Bloomberg) — Walmart Inc. raised about $3.6 billion by selling its stake in Chinese e-commerce firm JD.com Inc., winding down an eight-year partnership that appears to be paying diminishing returns amid a challenging landscape for Chinese tech giants.

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    The US retailer sold 144.5 million shares for $24.95 apiece, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. That’s a discount of 11% to Tuesday’s close in the US, according to Bloomberg calculations, and near the lower end of an indicative $24.85 to $25.85 price range.

    JD.com’s Hong Kong-listed shares fell as much as 12% on Wednesday, leading a broader selloff in Chinese e-commerce and tech stocks. Walmart is refining its strategy in the world’s second-largest economy, where its long-standing e-commerce partner is struggling along with traditional rivals Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Temu-owner PDD Holdings Inc.

    The US firm has built a mature e-commerce and delivery system in China for both Sam’s Club and its hypermarkets business and is focusing on its own offerings, a person familiar with the matter said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The deal also comes as a property crisis, market volatility and uncertain job prospects take a toll on Chinese consumption.

    “I expect Walmart will be disappointed with the horse they backed,” said Mark Tanner, managing director at marketing agency China Skinny. “It doesn’t feel like the original ambitions have quite panned out as planned at the time of acquisition.”

    Morgan Stanley is the broker-dealer handling the offering, according to people familiar with the situation. JD.com also bought back $390 million of its shares today.

    JD.com Leads Losses in China Tech Stocks on Walmart Stake Sale

    The sale will enable Walmart to “better focus on the country’s strong development” including Sam’s Club and its hypermarket business, and “allocate funds to other priorities”, according to a statement from the company. The retailer said it will continue to cooperate with JD.com, describing the Chinese e-commerce firm as a “precious partner”. JD.com has confidence in future collaboration between the two companies, it said in a statement. Morgan Stanley didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

    Walmart’s Sam’s Club franchise has been a bright light for the company, making it the only hypermarket chain to post sales growth last year among the top 5 players, according to China Chain Store & Franchise Association. In China, the unit offers premium goods with a membership model that’s now being copied by rivals, while the company’s other basic hypermarkets are struggling along with competitors. Walmart is likely to redeploy the capital from the sale to expand its own stores, according to a report from Citigroup Inc.

    Meanwhile, China’s biggest online retailers are trying to reverse their slumping fortunes as economic uncertainty and consumers’ shifting shopping habits weigh on earnings. Last week, Alibaba — long a barometer for the industry — surprised investors when it revealed its main commerce business actually shrank in the June quarter.

    JD.com’s June-quarter results beat expectations — even though revenue grew a mere 1.2%. That extended a string of single-digit quarters dating back to 2022, a period of malaise that’s halved its market value since the start of last year.

    The Walmart-JD break also follows a pattern of online and offline retail businesses dissolving their partnerships, as earlier ambitions to seamlessly merge the physical and cyber consumer experiences failed to be realized. Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that Alibaba is considering selling its InTime department store arm.

    The share sale would mark the winding down of a partnership between the two companies that started when Walmart acquired a 5% stake in the Chinese company in 2016. That deal also involved JD.com taking over Walmart’s Yihaodian online marketplace, which focused on selling groceries to higher-end female shoppers in major Chinese cities, the companies said then.

    –With assistance from Edwin Chan.

    (Updates with Walmart statement in seventh paragraph)

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  • Revolut says secondary share sale valued firm at $45B | Bank Automation News

    Revolut says secondary share sale valued firm at $45B | Bank Automation News

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    Revolut Ltd. said a secondary share sale that allowed the company to give employees liquidity for their stakes valued the company at $45 billion.

    The round was led by investors Coatue, D1 Capital Partners and Tiger Global, according to a statement. Morgan Stanley served as sole placement agent on the deal.

    The new valuation is up from a $33 billion price tag that Revolut garnered in 2021. Unlike many of its rivals across the fintech landscape, Revolut hasn’t had to raise money in recent years, allowing it to avoid the sharp declines in valuation that many of its peers suffered as high interest rates forced investors to reconsider their support for the space.

    Klarna Bank AB, for instance, was last valued at $6.7 billion valuation in a 2022 funding round, which was a far cry from the $45.6 billion valuation it received from investors just a year earlier. The Stockholm-based company is also in early talks with investors to gauge their interest in buying up existing shares of the company on the secondary market.

    Revolut’s announcement caps a process where the company was in talks with investors to sell about $500 million of existing shares, Bloomberg News previously reported. It also comes just weeks after Revolut received a long-awaited banking license from UK regulators.

    Coatue has a “high level of conviction” in its investment in Revolut, Philippe Laffont, founder and portfolio manager for the investment firm, said in the statement. Revolut Chief Executive Officer Nik Storonsky said he was “delighted” to provide employees with the liquidity.

    — By Aisha S Gani (Bloomberg News)

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  • Global Stocks Advance as US Recession Fears Fade: Markets Wrap

    Global Stocks Advance as US Recession Fears Fade: Markets Wrap

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    (Bloomberg) — European and US equity futures rose on Friday, building on gains in Asian stocks as traders piled into risk assets amid growing optimism that the US economy will avoid a recession. The yen is set for its worst week since May.

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    Contracts on the Euro Stoxx 50 rose 0.3% and those on the S&P 500 added 0.2%, extending Wall Street’s overnight gains. Asia’s benchmark equity gauge is poised for its best weekly performance in over a year, led by Japanese shares as a weak yen boosted exporters’ earnings. The currency fell 1.3% versus the dollar Thursday, and was trading around the 149 level, easing fears of a massive carry trade unwind.

    A slew of US data this week, from inflation to jobless claims to retail sales, has reassured investors, supporting the view that the world’s biggest economy is heading for a “Goldilocks” scenario where inflation is contained without stalling growth. Global stocks have largely erased last week’s losses, when traders were worried the Federal Reserve won’t cut rates fast enough to prevent a recession.

    “Asian equities are enjoying an impressive run today, driven by a renewed sense of ‘perfect balance’ thanks to recent well-anticipated economic releases,” said Hebe Chen, an analyst at IG Markets Ltd. “Japanese stocks, in particular, continue their robust recovery with no signs of slowing down yet.”

    Treasuries in Asia were steady after Thursday’s dip as signs of a resilient US economy in the latest data releases prompted traders to dial back bets for a jumbo September rate reduction. They are now pricing in less than a 30-basis point cut next month, with a total of 92 basis points of reduction expected for the remainder of 2024.

    As fears around the US economy eased, equities continued a rebound from last week’s meltdown that rattled global markets. The S&P 500 extended a six-day rally to 6.6% on Thursday, marking the best performance in such a span since November 2022. Walmart Inc., often seen as a barometer of growth, jumped on a solid outlook.

    Meanwhile, Wall Street’s “fear gauge” — the VIX — dropped around 15 after spiking to 65 last week. This rebound for US stocks from the heavy selling last week suggests that trend-following quant funds may soon return, which could provide further support to stocks.

    In Japan, stocks headed for their biggest weekly advance since April 2020, driven by renewed weakness for the yen. This weakness may even attract some hedge funds back to the carry trade that blew up two weeks ago.

    “Exporters are gaining on a weak yen and solid US economic figures,” said Hiroshi Namioka, chief strategist at T&D Asset Management Co. “Stocks that saw a huge selloff in the past month are being bought back as the market calms down from the rout.”

    Elsewhere in Asia, China’s central bank chief pledged further measures to support the country’s economic recovery, while cautioning that it won’t adopt “drastic” measures.

    Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. rose as optimism over tech stocks outweighed concerns about its earnings. JD.com Inc. gained the most since March after beating net profit estimates in results released late Thursday.

    Soft Landing

    US officials have been trying to use higher rates to ease inflation without causing the economy to contract — a scenario known as a “soft landing.” Fed Bank of St. Louis President Alberto Musalem said the time is nearing when it will be appropriate to cut rates. His Atlanta counterpart Raphael Bostic told the Financial Times he’s “open” to a reduction in September.

    “A soft landing is no longer a hope. It’s becoming a reality,” said David Russell at TradeStation. “These numbers also suggest that recent market volatility wasn’t really a growth scare. It was just normal summer seasonality amplified by moves in the currency market.”

    In commodities, gold was on track for a small weekly gain. Oil edged lower as the market weighed strong US economic data and a possible attack by Iran or its proxies on Israel against a lackluster Chinese demand outlook.

    Key events this week:

    • US housing starts, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday

    • Fed’s Austan Goolsbee speaks, Friday

    • Canada housing starts, Friday

    Some of the main moves in markets:

    Stocks

    • S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% as of 6:40 a.m. London time

    • Nikkei 225 futures (OSE) rose 3.5%

    • Japan’s Topix rose 2.8%

    • Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.1%

    • Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.9%

    • The Shanghai Composite was little changed

    • Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.3%

    • Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.3%

    Currencies

    • The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%

    • The euro rose 0.1% to $1.0984

    • The Japanese yen rose 0.2% to 149.01 per dollar

    • The offshore yuan fell 0.2% to 7.1766 per dollar

    • The Australian dollar rose 0.3% to $0.6631

    • The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.2878

    Cryptocurrencies

    Bonds

    • The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 3.90%

    • Japan’s 10-year yield advanced 4.5 basis points to 0.875%

    • Australia’s 10-year yield advanced six basis points to 3.94%

    Commodities

    This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

    –With assistance from Winnie Hsu.

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    ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

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  • Scotiabank to buy 14.9% of KeyCorp for about $2.8B | Bank Automation News

    Scotiabank to buy 14.9% of KeyCorp for about $2.8B | Bank Automation News

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    Bank of Nova Scotia agreed to buy a minority stake in KeyCorp, which was among the US regional banks hit hardest in last year’s tumult, for about $2.8 billion as part of a focus on North America. Scotiabank will acquire 14.9% of Cleveland-based KeyCorp by buying shares at $17.17 each, representing an 11% premium to […]

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  • StanChart invests in fintech M&A company, joining Citi, BNP | Bank Automation News

    StanChart invests in fintech M&A company, joining Citi, BNP | Bank Automation News

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    Standard Chartered Plc will take a stake in United Fintech Group, becoming the fourth large bank this year to invest in the London-based company as it negotiates new acquisitions to serve the capital markets industry. Standard Chartered will get board observer rights and may later receive a rotational board seat, the two companies said on Thursday. […]

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  • Stocks Pare Losses as Japan Rebounds, Dollar Dips: Markets Wrap

    Stocks Pare Losses as Japan Rebounds, Dollar Dips: Markets Wrap

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    (Bloomberg) — Asian equities pared early losses Thursday, continuing a bout of volatile trading as investors digest signals from central banks on the path ahead for interest rates.

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    Benchmarks in Australia, South Korea, Taiwan and China dropped, with tech giants among the hardest hit. A region-wide gauge of the tech sector fell by around 2%, with the likes of SK Hynix Inc. down as much as 4.8% and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. falling as much as 2.8%. That followed a 1.2% drop for the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index on Wednesday.

    Japan’s Topix Index rebounded from a loss of as much as 1.8%, and the yen eraased an advance of up to 0.9%. A Thursday summary of opinions from last week’s Bank of Japan meeting, when it raised rates, showed one member identify the neutral rate at 1%, while another called for timely rate increases to avoid rapid hikes.

    Global markets have been rocked in the past week as investors prepare for the US and Japanese central banks to move in opposite directions, in turn undermining the yen’s role as a cheap source of funding for financial assets.

    The unspooling of the carry trade has further room to run but the declining velocity of the shift allows investors to breathe “a sigh of relief,” according to Quincy Krosby at LPL Financial. “A softer dollar, driven by the markets perception that the Fed will soon initiate an easing cycle, should help support a stronger yen — a negative for the trade.”

    Three-quarters of the carry trade has been unwound as the recent slump wiped out all positive year-to-date returns, according to strategists at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

    The dollar was slightly weaker Thursday, partly reversing moves from the prior session. Lackluster demand for a 10-year Treasury auction and $31.8 billion in debt offerings from blue-chip companies were headwinds.

    The Treasury auction result is “consistent with our view that we’re due for a continued correction higher in yield in the near-term,” said Zachary Griffiths, head of US investment grade and macro strategy at CreditSights. “The repricing following what was really just a moderately weak payrolls report seems way overdone.”

    US Markets

    The S&P 500 closed 0.8% lower as Nvidia Corp. led losses in megacaps. Super Micro Computer Inc. tumbled 20% on disappointing earnings. In late trading, Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., the parent of CNN and TNT, plunged after posting a charge of $9.1 billion as it wrote down the value of its traditional TV networks.

    Shares in Sony rallied Thursday after the Japanese consumer electronics company boosted its operating income guidance for the full year.

    Markets have been in a tailspin since weak economic data last week fueled worries that the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold rates at a two-decade high is risking a deeper economic slowdown.

    JPMorgan economists now see a 35% chance that the US economy tips into a recession by the end of this year, up from 25% as of the start of last month.

    “Stocks remain vulnerable,” said Fawad Razaqzada at City Index and Forex.com. “More evidence of a bottom is needed to excite the bulls again. Overall, sentiment remained cagey. Not many people were confident to buy this latest dip, especially with US CPI looming next week.”

    Oil climbed as investors remained on edge over the possibility of a retaliatory strike from Iran on Israel. Gold rose for the first time in six sessions.

    Key events this week:

    • Germany industrial production, Thursday

    • US initial jobless claims, Thursday

    • Fed’s Thomas Barkin speaks, Thursday

    • China PPI, CPI, Friday

    Some of the main moves in markets:

    Stocks

    • S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 11:29 a.m. Tokyo time

    • Japan’s Topix rose 0.2%

    • Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3%

    • Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.3%

    • The Shanghai Composite fell 0.4%

    • Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.9%

    • Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.3%

    Currencies

    • The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed

    • The euro was little changed at $1.0930

    • The Japanese yen was little changed at 146.65 per dollar

    • The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.1812 per dollar

    • The Australian dollar rose 0.3% to $0.6540

    Cryptocurrencies

    • Bitcoin rose 4.5% to $57,637.55

    • Ether rose 4.8% to $2,463.01

    Bonds

    • The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 3.92%

    • Japan’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 0.895%

    • Australia’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 4.09%

    Commodities

    • West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.5% to $75.57 a barrel

    • Spot gold rose 0.2% to $2,388.37 an ounce

    This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

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    ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

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  • Japan Stocks Poised for Rebound; US Futures Rise: Markets Wrap

    Japan Stocks Poised for Rebound; US Futures Rise: Markets Wrap

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    (Bloomberg) — Japan equities are set to regain some ground after suffering the biggest hit in Monday’s global rout, which wiped out billions across markets from New York to London. US equity futures climbed in early trading.

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    Futures show the Nikkei 225 gaining more than 6% when it reopens Tuesday, following a 12% slump that was the worst one-day decline in yen terms. Hong Kong and Sydney shares look more steady, suggesting traders may be ready to catch their breath following a dramatic day in which Wall Street’s “fear gauge” – the VIX – at one point registered its largest spike in data going back to 1990.

    While the S&P 500 pared some of its losses to finish 3% lower Monday, it still suffered the biggest plunge in about two years amid strong trading volume. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 saw its worst start to a month since 2008. Still, futures show both those indices may gain when US trading begins later Tuesday.

    Speculation about a looming US recession — mostly seen as premature — wiped out a celebratory mood driven by recent signals from the Federal Reserve about the timing of its first rate cut. The repricing was so sharp that the swap market earlier assigned a 60% chance of an emergency rate reduction by the Fed over the coming week. Those odds subsequently ebbed.

    “The economy is not in crisis, at least not yet,” said Callie Cox at Ritholtz Wealth Management. “But it’s fair to say we’re in the danger zone. The Fed is in danger of losing the plot here if they don’t better acknowledge cracks in the job market. Nothing is broken yet, but it’s breaking and the Fed risks slipping behind the curve.”

    Treasuries lost some steam after a surge that briefly drove two-year yields — which are sensitive to monetary policy — below those on 10-year bonds. US 10-year yields were little changed at 3.78%. The dollar fell. A gauge of perceived risk in the US corporate credit markets soared, with the turmoil effectively shutting down bond sales on what had been expected to be among the busiest days of the year. Bitcoin sank about 10%.

    In Asia, the wave of selling that hit a fever pitch in Japan may subside. On Monday, investors rushed to unwind popular carry trades, powering a 2% jump in the yen and causing the Topix stock index to shed 12% and close the day with the biggest three-day drop in data stretching back to 1959. The rout wiped out $15 billion of SoftBank Group Corp.’s value on Monday.

    The Bank of Japan’s monetary policy tightening last week has triggered a wave of criticism after it helped set off a historic plunge in Japanese stocks and contributed to global market turmoil — likely putting any plans for further interest-rate hikes on ice.

    The US stock plunge is vindicating some prominent bears, who are doubling down with warnings about risks from an economic slowdown. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Mislav Matejka said equities are set to stay under pressure from weaker business activity, a drop in bond yields and a deteriorating earnings outlook. Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson warned of “unfavorable” risk-reward.

    “This doesn’t look like a ‘recovery’ backdrop that was hoped for,” Matejka wrote. “We stay cautious on equities, expecting the phase of ‘bad is bad’ to arrive,” he added.

    Market veteran Ed Yardeni said that the current equity selloff bears some similarity to the 1987 crash, when the economy averted a downturn despite investor fears at the time.

    “This is very reminiscent, so far, of 1987,” Yardeni said on Bloomberg Television. “We had a crash in the stock market — that basically all occurred in one day — and the implication was that we were in, or about to fall into, recession. And that didn’t happen at all. It had really more to do with the internals of the market.”

    After a very strong first half, the market had become extended on a short-term basis and the bar for positive surprises too high — and a little bit of bad news has gone a long way, according to Keith Lerner at Truist Advisory Services.

    “From a stock market perspective, our base case has not changed,” Lerner said. “Our work still suggests the bull market deserves the benefit of the doubt. However, we have been expecting a choppier environment into the back half of July and August given the sharp rebound from April, stretched sentiment, and the fact that we’re entering a seasonally weaker period of the calendar year.”

    Moreover, after strong first halves, historically we have seen a typical pullback of 9% at some point, even while markets still tended to end higher by the end of the year.

    Notably, over the past 40 years, the S&P 500 has averaged a maximum intra-year pullback of 14%. Despite this, stocks have still shown an average return (not compounded) of 13% and risen in 33 out of 40 of those years, or 83% of the time, Lerner said.

    “While always uncomfortable and typically accompanied by bad news, pullbacks are the admission price to the stock market,” Lerner said. “This is what provides the potential for higher longer-term returns relative to most other asset classes.”

    Investors should hedge their risk exposure even if they own high quality assets as US stocks extend losses, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s Tony Pasquariello.

    “There are times to go for the gas, and there are times to go for the brake — I’m inclined to ratchet down exposures and roll strikes,” Pasquariello wrote. He added that it’s difficult to think that August will be one of those months where investors should carry a significant portfolio risk.

    To Michael Gapen at Bank of America Corp., markets are getting ahead of the Fed again.

    “Incoming data have raised concerns that the US economy has hit an ‘air pocket.’ A rate cut in September is now a virtual lock, but we do not think the economy needs aggressive, recession-sized cuts.”

    As the selloff in global stocks intensified Monday, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s trading desk said the rotation out of the technology sector might be “mostly done” and the market is “getting close” to a tactical opportunity to buy the dip.

    Elsewhere in the Asian region, Australia’s central bank on Tuesday is expected to hold its cash rate at 4.35% for a sixth straight meeting, economists predict. The nation is poised to stay near the back of the global easing cycle as local inflation — while cooling — remains elevated requiring the Reserve Bank to keep its key interest rate at a 12-year high.

    Oil rose from a seven-month low early Tuesday as the halting of production from Libya’s biggest field refocused attention on the Middle East.

    Corporate Highlights:

    • Palantir Technologies Inc. raised its annual outlook, citing continuing demand for its artificial-intelligence software.

    • A federal judge on Monday ruled that Google has illegally monopolized the search market, hading the government an epic win in its first major antitrust case against a tech giant in more than two decades.

    • Nvidia Corp.’s upcoming artificial intelligence chips will be delayed due to design flaws, The Information reported, citing two unidentified people who help produce the chip and its server hardware.

    • Dell Technologies Inc. is cutting jobs as part of a reorganization of its sales teams that includes a new group focused on artificial intelligence products and services.

    • Tyson Foods Inc. shares surged, bucking a broad retreat in equity markets, as quarterly earnings beat the highest of analyst estimates on a rebound in chicken profits.

    Key events this week:

    • Australia rate decision, Tuesday

    • Eurozone retail sales, Tuesday

    • China trade, forex reserves, Wednesday

    • US consumer credit, Wednesday

    • Germany industrial production, Thursday

    • US initial jobless claims, Thursday

    • Fed’s Thomas Barkin speaks, Thursday

    • China PPI, CPI, Friday

    Some of the main moves in markets:

    Stocks

    • S&P 500 futures rose 0.9% at 8:08 a.m. in Tokyo; the S&P 500 fell 3%

    • Nikkei 225 futures rose 6.3%

    • Hang Seng futures rose 0.2%

    • S&P/ASX 200 futures fell 0.4%

    Currencies

    • The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed

    • The euro was little changed against the dollar

    • The Japanese yen fell 0.7% to 145.23 per dollar

    Cryptocurrencies

    • Bitcoin rose 0.8% to $54,831.63

    • Ether rose 0.9% to $2,461.61

    Bonds

    Commodities

    This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

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    ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

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  • Where are US stocks headed? Here are the key levels to watch | Bank Automation News

    Where are US stocks headed? Here are the key levels to watch | Bank Automation News

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    The rout in the US stock market has brought the S&P 500 Index to a crucial inflection point, and chart watchers are scouring key technical thresholds for clues on whether the worst of the selloff is over. The US equities benchmark is teetering on the cusp of a correction after falling 3% Monday, its biggest […]

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  • Asian Stocks Eye Losses as US Economy Fears Deepen: Markets Wrap

    Asian Stocks Eye Losses as US Economy Fears Deepen: Markets Wrap

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    (Bloomberg) — Asian markets are poised for losses on Monday as fears of a deeper US economic slowdown roil traders around the globe worried that the Federal Reserve may be behind the curve on rate cuts. Oil climbed on rising tensions in the Middle East.

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    US futures dropped in early trading, amid the fallout from heavy losses on Wall Street on Friday and Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s weekend disclosure that it slashed its stake in Apple Inc. by almost half during the second quarter. Contracts indicate that Australian, Japanese and Hong Kong shares are set to drop on Monday.

    Berkshire’s selling is “going to be immediately seen as a negative,” said Mark Lehmann, chief executive officer at Citizens JMP Securities. “Apple is the number one player in the global consumer space and that’s the statement about the global consumer.”

    Oil rose in early Monday trading after Saudi Arabia lifted the price of crude it sells to Asia and amid reports Iran may strike Israel to avenge assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas officials. Saudi Arabian and Israeli stocks slumped more than 2% on Sunday, outpacing Friday’s losses on Wall Street.

    Japanese shares have plunged in the last two sessions on expectations for more domestic interest rate hikes. The broader Topix index sank more than 6% on Friday, marking its worst day since 2016. The yen has continued its gains, hitting 145.78 against the dollar on Monday, its strongest since January.

    Data on Friday showed that US nonfarm payrolls rose by 114,000 in July — one of the weakest prints since the pandemic — and job growth was revised lower in the prior two months. The jobless rate unexpectedly climbed for a fourth month to 4.3%, above the Federal Reserve’s year-end forecast, triggering a closely watched recession indicator.

    The S&P 500 saw its worst reaction to jobs data in almost two years, dropping 1.8%. Intel Corp. plunged 26% on a grim growth forecast, adding to a string of poor tech earnings that have sent the Nasdaq 100 down over 10% from its peak to enter a correction.

    A worsening conflict in the Middle East risks adding more tumult to markets as investors brace for a turbulent second half of the year. A gauge of bond market volatility has climbed, while the VIX Index – Wall Street’s fear gauge – jumped to the highest in almost 18 months after a weak US jobs report ratcheted fears of a recession, as focus increases on an already chaotic US election race.

    “In the next few months global and Australian shares look vulnerable to further falls, suggesting that it’s too early to buy the dip,” said Shane Oliver, chief economist and head of investment strategy at AMP Ltd. in Sydney. “A correction is underway.”

    Meantime, US Treasuries climbed Friday, with policy sensitive two-year yields falling to the lowest since May 2023 as worries mount the Fed’s decision to hold rates at a two-decade high is risking a deeper economic slowdown. Traders are projecting the Fed will cut rates by more than a full percentage point in 2024, with an increased chance of an outsized 50-basis point cut in September, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

    “With the unemployment rate above and core PCE inflation now below the Fed’s year-end forecasts, we believe that the balance of risks favors more aggressive action by the Fed,” said Brian Rose, a senior US economist at UBS Group AG’s wealth management unit. “We are changing our base case to rate cuts of 50 basis points in September and 25 basis points each in November and December” after previously just seeing half that amount by year-end, he wrote in a note to clients.

    In Asia, traders will soon focus on the private Caixin China services and composite activity data for a further gauge on the health of the world’s second largest economy after manufacturing PMI contracted unexpectedly for the first time in nine months. The data comes as Chinese officials made clear in July that there would be limited aid to spur domestic consumption.

    Elsewhere this week, inflation data in Thailand and Chile are due while Mexico and Peru will hold policy decisions as debate rages on the outlook for emerging market dollar and local currency bonds. The Reserve Bank of Australia’s policy meeting will be parsed to confirm bets of easing by year-end, while US economic activity and credit data and speeches from regional Fed bank presidents will be closely watched.

    “Better data this week could provide some confidence to a bond market that is grossly overbought and offer reassurances to equity and credit,” Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group wrote in a note to clients.

    “Conversely, if the data continues to weaken and central banks don’t meet the market pricing in their narrative, one thing seems clear: buying the dip in risk may not be as effective this time around, while short sellers will have a far more prosperous hunting ground,” he said.

    Key events this week:

    • Bank of Japan issues minutes of June meeting, Monday

    • China Caixin services PMI, Monday

    • Indonesia GDP, Monday

    • Singapore retail sales, Monday

    • Thailand CPI, Monday

    • Eurozone PPI, HCOB Services PMI, Monday

    • US ISM Services index, Monday

    • Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee speaks, Monday

    • San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly speaks, Monday

    • Australia rate decision, Tuesday

    • Japan cash earnings, Tuesday

    • Philippines CPI, trade, Tuesday

    • Eurozone retail sales, Tuesday

    • US trade, Tuesday

    • New Zealand unemployment, Wednesday

    • China trade, Wednesday

    • Chile copper exports, trade, Wednesday

    • US consumer credit, Wednesday

    • ECB Supervisory Board member Elizabeth McCaul speaks, Wednesday

    • RBA Governor Michele Bullock speaks, Thursday

    • Philippines GDP, Thursday

    • India rate decision, Thursday

    • US initial jobless claims, Thursday

    • Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin speaks, Thursday

    • Chile CPI, Thursday

    • Colombia CPI, Thursday

    • Mexico CPI, rate decision Thursday

    • Peru rate decision, Thursday

    • China PPI, CPI, Friday

    • Germany CPI, Friday

    • Canada unemployment, Friday

    • Brazil CPI, Friday

    Some of the main moves in markets:

    Stocks

    • S&P 500 futures fell 1% as of 8:45 a.m. Tokyo time

    • Hang Seng futures fell 0.4%

    • S&P/ASX 200 futures fell 1.5%

    • Nikkei 225 futures fell 3.1%

    Currencies

    • The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed

    • The euro was little changed at $1.0906

    • The Japanese yen rose 0.5% to 145.78 per dollar

    • The offshore yuan rose 0.2% to 7.1494 per dollar

    • The Australian dollar fell 0.1% to $0.6502

    Cryptocurrencies

    • Bitcoin fell 1.4% to $58,304.18

    • Ether fell 1.8% to $2,700.26

    Commodities

    Bonds

    This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

    –With assistance from Richard Henderson.

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  • S&P 500 Has Its Worst Jobs Day Since October 2022: Markets Wrap

    S&P 500 Has Its Worst Jobs Day Since October 2022: Markets Wrap

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    (Bloomberg) — The selloff in stocks intensified and bond yields tumbled as a weak jobs report fueled worries that the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold rates at a two-decade high is risking a deeper economic slowdown.

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    Those fears roiled trading around the globe, spurring a massive surge in volatility and a flight away from the riskier corners of the market. The S&P 500 saw its worst reaction to jobs data in almost two years. A plunge in key technology companies sent the Nasdaq 100 down over 10% from its peak, passing the threshold that meets the definition of a correction. A rally in Treasuries extended into a seventh straight day, with traders projecting the Fed will cut rates by more than a full percentage point in 2024.

    The rout in equities follows a torrid advance partly driven by bets on a “soft economic landing” that would keep driving Corporate America. While the Fed has been able to successfully bring down inflation, the latest jobs figures may give officials some reason to believe their policies are cooling the labor market too much.

    “Bad news is no longer good news for stocks,” said John Lynch at Comerica Wealth Management. “Of course, we’re in a period of seasonal weakness, but sentiment is fragile given economic, political, and geopolitical developments. Pressure will escalate on the Federal Reserve.”

    Wall Street giants like Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are now calling for more aggressive Fed action. Speaking on Bloomberg Television, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said officials won’t overreact to any one piece of data, echoing comments by Jerome Powell on Wednesday.

    “The Fed almost always waits too long to cut rates,” said Matt Maley at Miller Tabak + Co. “Then, as investors come to realize that the rate cuts are coming more due to a slowdown in growth — rather than a drop in inflation — the situation on the stock market tends to get ugly.”

    The S&P 500 slid 1.8%. The Nasdaq 100 sank 2.4%. The Russell 2000 tumbled 3.5%. Wall Street’s “fear gauge” — the VIX — hit the highest since March 2023. Intel Corp. plunged 26% on a grim growth forecast. Treasury 10-year yields slipped 18 basis points to 3.8%. The dollar fell 0.7%.

    “Oh dear, has the Fed made a policy mistake?” said Seema Shah at Principal Asset Management. “The labor market’s slowdown is now materializing with more clarity. A September rate cut is in the bag and the Fed will be hoping that they haven’t, once again, been too slow to act.”

    To Scott Wren at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, markets have turned attention from “when and how much will the Fed ease” to a mindset of “growth looks like it is plunging and the Fed is behind the curve.”

    “After the big equity run higher, investors are taking money off the table and booking profits,” Wren said. “Expect the near-term volatility to continue.”

    Nonfarm payrolls rose by 114,000 — one of the weakest prints since the pandemic — and job growth was revised lower in the prior two months. The unemployment rate unexpectedly climbed for a fourth month to 4.3%, triggering a closely watched recession indicator.

    How much should investors worry about a slowdown?

    “This marks an official ‘growth scare’ and one that the Fed will have to pay close attention to,” said George Mateyo at Key Wealth. “To be true, the economy is still expanding and jobs are still being added, so calls that a recession is upon us are overstated in our view. But the economic environment is changing quickly and the Fed should be attentive to downside risks.”

    “The big question is: are we sliding right into a recession? Or is the economy simply hitting a rough spot?” said Ryan Detrick at Carson Group. “We’d side with we will still avoid a recession — but the risks are rising.”

    At Evercore, Krishna Guha says he doesn’t think the evidence overall suggests the labor market is “cracking” — but it is clearly softening and may weaken further — so there is “ample cause for the Fed to pull forward cuts.”

    To Lara Castleton at Janus Henderson Investors, the “soft landing narrative” is now shifting to “worries about a hard landing.” While fears of a policy mistake are rising, she thinks one negative miss shouldn’t lead to overreaction given that other data points that still show economic resilience.

    “Equities selling off should be seen as a normal reaction, especially considering the high valuations in many pockets of the market,” she said. “It’s a good reminder for investors to focus on the earnings of companies going forward.”

    With just three meetings left, swap pricing reflects the growing perception that the Fed will need to make an unusually large half-point move at one of the gatherings or act between its scheduled meetings — moving rapidly to bolster growth.

    Still, large policy moves with an aggressive response could imply an emergency, triggering even more jitters among traders.

    To Chris Low at FHN Financial, the market is “probably right” to think the Fed should cut by 50 basis points, but psychology is as important as data at turning points.

    “FOMC participants are more likely to take it slowly with a quarter-point cut at first, if for no other reason than to project calm and control,” he said.

    “From a Fed perspective, this does not translate into making hasty policy decisions, but it should help them remove the rose-tinted glasses when assessing policy decisions at the next meeting,” said Charlie Ripley at Allianz Investment Management.

    Stocks are likely to fall when the Fed delivers its first rate cut because the pivot will come as data signal a hard — rather than soft — landing for the US economy, according to Bank of America Corp.’s Michael Hartnett.

    In the history of the start to Fed easing since 1970, cuts in response to a downturn have proved negative for stocks and positive for bonds, the BofA strategist wrote in a note, citing seven examples that demonstrated this pattern. “One very important difference in 2024 is extreme degree to which risk assets have front-run Fed cuts,” Hartnett said.

    Some of the main moves in markets:

    Stocks

    • The S&P 500 fell 1.8% as of 4 p.m. New York time

    • The Nasdaq 100 fell 2.4%

    • The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.5%

    • The MSCI World Index fell 2%

    • The Russell 2000 Index fell 3.5%

    Currencies

    • The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.7%

    • The euro rose 1.1% to $1.0912

    • The British pound rose 0.5% to $1.2809

    • The Japanese yen rose 1.9% to 146.59 per dollar

    Cryptocurrencies

    • Bitcoin fell 3.2% to $62,592.26

    • Ether fell 4.9% to $3,011.61

    Bonds

    • The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined 18 basis points to 3.80%

    • Germany’s 10-year yield declined seven basis points to 2.17%

    • Britain’s 10-year yield declined five basis points to 3.83%

    Commodities

    • West Texas Intermediate crude fell 3.1% to $73.97 a barrel

    • Spot gold fell 0.4% to $2,436.77 an ounce

    This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

    –With assistance from Andre Janse van Vuuren, Lynn Thomasson and Lu Wang.

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  • Intel’s Sales Slump Shows Price of Falling Behind in AI Race

    Intel’s Sales Slump Shows Price of Falling Behind in AI Race

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    (Bloomberg) — Intel Corp. plunged more than 19% after delivering a barrage of startling news, including a grim growth forecast and plans to slash 15,000 jobs, in the latest sign that the chipmaker is ill-equipped to compete in the artificial intelligence era.

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    Sales for the current quarter will be $12.5 billion to $13.5 billion, the company said Thursday. Analysts had projected $14.38 billion on average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Intel will have a loss of 3 cents a share, excluding certain items, versus expectations for a profit 30 cents.

    Intel said it plans to cut more than 15% of its workforce of around 110,000 people. It’s also suspending dividend payments to shareholders starting in the fourth quarter, and will continue that until “cash flows improve to sustainably higher levels,” according to the statement. The company has paid a dividend since 1992.

    “I have no illusions that the path in front of us will be easy,” Chief Executive Officer Pat Gelsinger said in a memo to employees. “You shouldn’t either.” He called the moves “some of the most consequential changes in our company’s history.”

    Gelsinger, despite a massive spending plan to restore Intel to industry prominence, is struggling to improve the company’s products and technology fast enough to retain customers. The results underscore a dramatic decline for Intel, which dominated the semiconductor industry for decades and is now forced to tout cost cutting measures and give reassurances that it can fund growth plans.

    “Revenue is not where we want it to be,” said Chief Financial Officer Dave Zinsner in an interview. “Financials weren’t where we want them to be.” The job cuts were needed “to get us to a place where we have a more sustainable model for the business going forward.”

    In the second quarter, the company had a profit of 2 cents a share, excluding certain items, and revenue of $12.8 billion, down 1%. Analysts had estimated a profit of 10 cents a share and sales of $12.95 billion. Wall Street is projecting a modest increase in overall sales this year from 2024, still leaving the company more than $20 billion below its peak in 2021.

    Competitors who specialize in artificial intelligence are winning over some of Intel’s customers. Nvidia Corp. now has more than twice its former nemesis’ quarterly sales. Once a struggling rival, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. is valued more than $100 billion higher by investors and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is widely recognized as having the industry’s best production.

    Gelsinger remains confident that Intel is on the right track in the long run. He’s argued that Intel’s vital manufacturing is on course to catch and pass those of rivals and that’ll attract outside customers, and justify the string of new plants Intel is building. He thinks Intel has paid what it needs to catch up to the industry, and now can focus on its finances.

    Some of Intel’s best chips are manufactured by others. Over time, the company hopes to shift more of its chip manufacturing to its own plants, which are being upgraded. The company is also working to accelerte improvements in chips for AI PCs. But for now, the expenses are squeezing gross margins, Zinsner said.

    Gross margin, or the percentage of sales remaining after deducting the cost of production, was 35.4% in the quarter. That measure will stay flat in the current quarter. At it’s peak, Intel regular reported gross margin of well above 60%.

    The company is reducing its spending on new plants and equipment in 2024 by more than 20%, and is now budgeting between $25 billion and $27 billion. Next year, expenses will range between $20 billion and $23 billion.

    Intel shares fell in extended trading following the announcement, after closing at $29.05 in New York The company has slipped more than 42% so far this year. It’s the second-worst performer on the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index this year.

    Most of the job reductions, needed also to remove bureaucracy and speed up decision making, will be completed by the end of the year, Gelsinger told staff.

    “Our costs are too high, our margins are too low,” he wrote, saying he would take employee questions at an internal meeting. “We need bolder actions to address both — particularly given our financial results and outlook for the second half of 2024, which is tougher than previously expected.”

    Intel was forced to reduce its sales expectations in May after the US government revoked its license to supply chips to China’s Huawei Technologies Co., part of Washington’s push to cut off that company for what it alleges are national security risks.

    The chipmaker is reporting earnings for the second time under a new business structure that shows the financial performance of its manufacturing operations. Gelsinger has said the restructuring was a necessary step to make operations more efficient and competitive.

    The company reports revenues divided between product groups and its manufacturing operations, with factories undergoing a massive upgrade and build-out program that’s weighing heavily on profits.

    Revenue is improving at what it calls its Foundry unit, gaining 4% from a year earlier to $4.32 billion. PC chips also posted growth, up 9% from the same period a year earlier.

    Sales at the crucial data center unit, once the most profitable, again lost ground, declining 3% to $3 billion. That unit hasn’t yet achieved anything like the market presence of Nvidia in accelerator chips used in artificial intelligence systems. AI is proving a gold mine, and cutting into spending on the type of processor Intel makes.

    (Adds comments from CEO from ninth paragraph, details of margin erosion.)

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  • Buffett Cuts BofA Stake Again, Unloading $3 Billion This Month

    Buffett Cuts BofA Stake Again, Unloading $3 Billion This Month

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    (Bloomberg) — Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. disclosed its third disposal of Bank of America Corp. shares this month — paring its massive, profitable bet on the lender by a total of more than $3 billion.

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    The conglomerate, which started building an investment in the bank in 2011 and has long reigned as the top shareholder, sold $767 million of the stock from July 25 to July 29, according to a regulatory filing Monday. That and prior sales this month reduced Berkshire’s stake by a total of 6.9%.

    Still, Berkshire holds almost 962 million shares, the filing shows — worth $39.5 billion at Monday’s closing price.

    The sales mark Buffett’s biggest pullback from a bet that has long served as a prominent vote of confidence in the stewardship of Bank of America Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan. The legendary 93-year-old investor is cashing out with the price up 22% this year.

    Representatives for Berkshire and Bank of America didn’t respond to messages seeking comment outside normal business hours.

    Buffett initially plowed $5 billion into Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America at a dark time. The company was facing mounting legal liabilities after the 2008 financial crisis, and shareholders were growing anxious about the toll that was taking on its capital.

    Buffett has said he was in the bathtub when he came up with the idea of intervening, arranging to acquire preferred stock and the right to buy common shares. His imprimatur quelled public doubts and soon sent the stock higher, creating a massive paper profit.

    Berkshire kept investing in Bank of America in the decade that followed, eventually seeking regulatory approval to amass a stake surpassing 10%. Last year, as Buffett adjusted financial-industry bets and exited some, he called out Bank of America as one to keep.

    “I like Brian Moynihan enormously,” he said that April. “I just don’t want to sell it.”

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  • US Accuses Famed Short-Seller Andrew Left of Securities Fraud

    US Accuses Famed Short-Seller Andrew Left of Securities Fraud

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    (Bloomberg) — US authorities accused famed short-seller Andrew Left of committing fraud through stock trades, social media posts and research reports — their biggest move yet in a yearslong crackdown against traders who tout their bearish bets.

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    The Securities and Exchange Commission alleged Friday that Left used his firm, Citron, to generate about $20 million in profits from illegal trading involving almost two dozen companies. The Justice Department also announced a criminal case against Left, accusing him of securities fraud and allegedly lying to investigators about compensation from hedge funds.

    The cases against Left stem from a wide-ranging US effort to examine relationships between hedge funds and skeptical researchers. The probes have rattled the industry for three years as investigators have sought information on dozens of money managers and activists, as well as transactions involving more than 50 stocks.

    According to the SEC, Left would use social media or television appearances to make recommendations about a stock, on which he had short or long positions, sometimes giving a target price at which he thought the stock would trade. The Justice Department said Left would create a false perception that his public comments on a stock were in line with his trading activity.

    “Left knowingly exploited his ability to move stock prices by targeting stocks popular with retail investors and posting recommendations on social media to manipulate the market and make fast, easy money,” the Justice Department said in its statement.

    James Spertus, a lawyer for Left, said in an email that the government’s case was “defective” and his client had no duty to disclose his personal trading intentions. Spertus said that the information Left published was “truthful information” which is needed for markets to be efficient.

    “The DOJ and the SEC threaten the integrity of the securities markets and put the health of our financial system at risk by trying to silence a publisher of truthful information who also trades in the securities he writes about,” said Spertus.

    Stock Trades

    Left, according to prosecutors, would also quickly close positions after releasing a research report or making comments. That would let him take advantage of short-term price movements.

    According to the SEC, Left’s misconduct touched stocks including Tesla Inc., Roku Inc., American Airlines Group Inc. and Nvidia Corp.

    “This fraudulent practice deceived investors and allowed Left to use his Citron Research reports and tweets as catalysts from which he could derive short-term profits,” the SEC alleged in the complaint.

    The mere appearance of research from a prominent bear can send a stock into a tailspin before the market has time to debate its merit — which can be especially hard on small investors who can’t react quickly. Companies and shareholders have increasingly cried foul, prompting US congressional hearings.

    Left profited from his advance knowledge that he was about to trigger movements in the market, according to the Justice Department indictment. For the his strategy to work, Left knew that investors needed to believe that the recommendations and positions he set forth were sincerely maintained, and not just vehicles for him to personally profit, prosecutors said.

    ‘Candy From a Baby’

    The SEC alleges Left bragged to colleagues that some of his statements caused retail investors to trade the way he wanted them to and that it was like taking “candy from a baby.”

    The SEC’s lawsuit documents dozens of social media posts, reports and comments from Left from March 2018 through December 2020.

    Left was charged in an indictment in federal court in California with one count of engaging in a securities fraud scheme, 17 counts of securities fraud and making false statements to federal investigators. If convicted, he could face more than 25 years in prison.

    Prosecutors claim that Left lied to law enforcement by stating that his firm never exchanged compensation with a hedge fund. US authorities allege Left received more than $1 million from two hedge funds.

    –With assistance from Katherine Burton.

    (Updates with Left lawyer’s comment in sixth and seventh paragraphs.)

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  • Revolut wins long-awaited UK banking license from watchdog | Bank Automation News

    Revolut wins long-awaited UK banking license from watchdog | Bank Automation News

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    Revolut Ltd. said it received a British banking license from regulators, a move that allows the fintech firm to better challenge traditional banking giants such as Barclays Plc and HSBC Holdings Plc. The Prudential Regulation Authority authorized the permit, though it comes with some restrictions, a common step for many new banks in the UK, according to […]

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  • Bank of England warns CHAPS payment system experiencing delays | Bank Automation News

    Bank of England warns CHAPS payment system experiencing delays | Bank Automation News

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    The Bank of England warned that its CHAPS service — one of the largest high-value payment systems in the world — has been affected by a global payments issue, causing some large, time-sensitive payments to be delayed. Some UK house sales have been hit by problems with the system, which stands for the UK’s Clearing […]

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  • High-Flying Chipmakers See Worst Plunge Since 2020: Markets Wrap

    High-Flying Chipmakers See Worst Plunge Since 2020: Markets Wrap

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    (Bloomberg) — The world’s largest technology companies got hammered as concern about tighter US restrictions on chip sales to China spurred a selloff in the industry that has led the bull market in stocks.

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    From the US to Europe and Asia, chipmakers came under heavy pressure. American powerhouses Nvidia Corp., Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Broadcom Inc. drove a closely watched semiconductor gauge down almost 7% — the most since 2020. Across the Atlantic, ASML Holding NV tumbled over 10% even after the Dutch giant reported strong orders. A plunge in Tokyo Electron Ltd. led the Nikkei 225 Stock Average lower.

    Wednesday’s action reprised a recent trend in which capitalization-weighted indexes underperformed the average stock, a consequence of weakness in the megacaps that dominate them. With firms such as Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. each making up 7% of the S&P 500, losses are hard to offset even when most of the index’s constituents are up — as they were today.

    The Biden administration told allies it’s considering severe curbs if companies like Tokyo Electron and ASML keep giving China access to advanced semiconductor technology. The US is also weighing more sanctions on specific Chinese chip firms linked to Huawei Technologies Co.

    “This news on the chip front is the kind of UFO (UnForeseen Occurrence) that could indeed create the kind of selling that could be the catalyst for a tradable correction in the stock market,” said Matt Maley at Miller Tabak + Co. “Broad indices have become very overbought.”

    The S&P 500 fell 1.4%. The Nasdaq 100 had its worst day since 2022. A gauge of the “Magnificent Seven” giant companies slipped 3.4%. The Russell 2000 of small firms dropped 1.1%. Wall Street’s “fear gauge” — the VIX — hit the highest since early May. In late hours, United Airlines Holdings Inc. sank on a bearish outlook.

    A pair of chipmakers defied the selloff: Intel Corp. and Globalfoundries Inc. And the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed for a sixth straight day — notching another record. Financial shares outperformed, with U.S. Bancorp surging on solid results.

    The bond market saw small moves. The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book showed slight economic growth and cooling inflation. The most-notable speaker on Wednesday was Governor Christopher Waller, who said the Fed is getting “closer” to cutting rates, but is not there yet. The yen led gains in major currencies, up almost 1.5%.

    The Biden administration is in a tenuous position. US companies feel that restrictions on exports to China have unfairly punished them and are pushing for changes. Allies, meanwhile, see little reason to alter their policies when the presidential election is just a few months away.

    “Normally, the impact of these types of headlines isn’t long-lasting, but in this case, we would note that semis have been underperforming the broader market for the last couple of weeks now,” said Bespoke Investment Group strategists. “So that’s something to watch.”

    The tech underperformance is coming after a first half which saw megacaps like Nvidia, Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc. propel the market higher, stretching valuations for these names and leaving them with a tougher setup for the rest of 2024.

    Can the market keep powering ahead without tech?

    “Much of this year’s equity gains have come from a handful of names currently under direct threat from the political arena,” said Jose Torres at Interactive Brokers. “An important question is if the rest of the market, which generally lacks thrilling tales on a relative basis, can offset the waning momentum in ‘Magnificent Seven’ stocks.”

    At Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Scott Rubner says “I am not buying the dip.”

    The tactical strategist bets the S&P 500 has nowhere to go from here but down. That’s because this Wednesday, July 17, has historically marked a turning point for returns on the equity benchmark, he said, citing data going back to 1928. And what follows, he says, is August — typically the worst month for outflows from passive equity and mutual funds.

    Jonathan Krinsky at BTIG says the market is “nearing the end of the typical bullish window.”

    Sentiment remains extremely complacent on the surveys and transactional indicators, he noted.

    “While the rotation out of megacap tech into cyclicals and small-caps is encouraging, it felt a bit forced happening in such a short period of time,” Krinsky said. “Even if this is going to be a more long-lasting rotation, we likely won’t be able to see that new leadership until after we see a higher correlation correction and then see what leads coming out of that.”

    Corporate Highlights:

    • Tesla Inc. forming an autonomous taxi platform will be the catalyst for a roughly 10-fold increase in its share price, Ark Investment Management LLC’s Cathie Wood said, echoing years of bullish predictions about a business the carmaker has yet to stand up.

    • Amazon.com Inc.’s marketing portal for merchants crashed Tuesday night, according to multiple Amazon sellers and consultants, fouling up one of the online retailer’s biggest sales of the year.

    • Morgan Stanley became the latest big Wall Street bank to tap the US investment-grade market Wednesday after reporting earnings, as strong investor demand helps lenders borrow at lower yields than would have been possible at the start of the month.

    • Johnson & Johnson’s second-quarter profit beat Wall Street projections on strong pharmaceutical sales, while the company cut its full-year forecast to account for a spate of recent acquisitions.

    Key events this week:

    • ECB rate decision, Thursday

    • US initial jobless claims, Philadelphia Fed manufacturing, Conference Board LEI, Thursday

    • Fed’s Mary Daly, Lorie Logan and Michelle Bowman speak, Thursday

    • Fed’s John Williams, Raphael Bostic speak, Friday

    Some of the main moves in markets:

    Stocks

    • The S&P 500 fell 1.4% as of 4 p.m. New York time

    • The Nasdaq 100 fell 2.9%

    • The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6%

    • The MSCI World Index fell 0.9%

    Currencies

    • The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%

    • The euro rose 0.3% to $1.0936

    • The British pound rose 0.3% to $1.3008

    • The Japanese yen rose 1.4% to 156.19 per dollar

    Cryptocurrencies

    • Bitcoin fell 0.1% to $64,610.01

    • Ether fell 0.7% to $3,416.9

    Bonds

    • The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.15%

    • Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.42%

    • Britain’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 4.08%

    Commodities

    • West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.6% to $82.89 a barrel

    • Spot gold fell 0.4% to $2,457.97 an ounce

    This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

    –With assistance from Cecile Gutscher and Sujata Rao.

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  • HSBC’s new Mandarin-speaking CEO reveals British lender’s deepening Asia pivot | Bank Automation News

    HSBC’s new Mandarin-speaking CEO reveals British lender’s deepening Asia pivot | Bank Automation News

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    HSBC Holdings Plc staff entering Georges Elhedery’s office in Dubai used to joke that it felt like walking into a freezing meat locker. The executive told a colleague that the abnormally cold room made him more productive. Years later, when Elhedery returned from a sabbatical, he gave up an apartment in a smart West London […]

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  • Global Markets Ramp Up the ‘Trump Trade’ After Rally Attack

    Global Markets Ramp Up the ‘Trump Trade’ After Rally Attack

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    (Bloomberg) — As world financial markets started to reopen after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, one thing seemed likely: The Trump trade will get even more momentum.

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    The series of wagers — based on anticipation that the Republican’s return to the White House would usher in tax cuts, higher tariffs and looser regulations — had already been gaining ground since President Joe Biden’s poor performance in last month’s debate imperiled his re-election campaign.

    But the trades were expected to take deeper hold, with Trump galvanizing supporters and drawing sympathy by exhibiting defiant resilience after being shot in the ear on stage at a Pennsylvania rally.

    The dollar — which would gain if loose fiscal policy kept bond yields elevated — started to move higher against most peers early in Asia trading. Bitcoin rose above $60,000, potentially reflecting Trump’s crypto-friendly stance.

    “For us, the news does reinforce that Trump’s the frontrunner,” said Mark McCormick, global head of foreign-exchange and emerging-market strategy at Toronto Dominion Bank. “We remain US dollar bulls for the second half and early 2025.”

    The specter of political violence in the US may cause investors to push into haven assets, potentially overshadowing some of the positioning that has already been going on around the presidential campaign.

    Treasuries tend to rally when investors seek temporary safety, so that may distort the Trump trade in the bond market, which hinges on wagering that the yield curve will steepen as long-term bonds underperform on anticipation that Trump’s fiscal and trade policies will fan inflation pressures. Moreover, some investors may want to book early gains or be wary of getting deeper into an already crowded position.

    “Political risk is binary and hard to hedge, and uncertainty was high as it is with the close nature of the race,” said Priya Misra, a portfolio manager at JPMorgan Investment Management.

    “This adds to volatility. I think it further increases the chance of a Republican sweep,” she said, adding that “could put steepening pressure on the curve.”

    Equity investors are preparing for at least a near-term jump in volatility when S&P 500 futures start trading at 6 p.m. in New York.

    While traders generally don’t expect Trump’s assassination attempt to derail the stock-market trajectory in the long run, a pick-up in near-term price swings is likely. The market has already been contending with speculation that valuations have become too stretched, given the boom in artificial-intelligence stocks and the risks posed by elevated interest rates and political uncertainty.

    But investors have also been anticipating that bank, health-care and oil-industry stocks would benefit from a Trump victory.

    “The unprecedented nature of the attack will boost volatility,” said David Mazza, CEO at Roundhill Investments, predicting investors could seek temporary safety in defensive stocks like mega-cap companies. He said it “also adds support for stocks that do well in a steepening yield curve, especially financials.”

    The early reaction echoes what was seen after the first presidential debate in late June, when Biden’s weak performance was seen as fueling Trump’s election odds.

    The dollar advanced during that event, and investors soon began embracing a wager that involves buying shorter-maturity notes and selling longer-term ones — known as a steepener trade. That trade has been paying off, with the 30-year Treasury yields jumping to nearly 5 basis points below 2-year ones from around 37 basis points below ahead of the debate.

    “If the market sense that Trump’s chances to win are higher than they were on Friday – then we would expect the back end of the bond market to sell off in the manner we saw in the immediate aftermath of the debate,” Michael Purves, CEO and founder of Tallbacken Capital Advisors, wrote in an email.

    While bond traders have been pricing in at least two interest-rate reductions in 2024, a major boost in Trump’s election odds could push the Federal Reserve toward staying on hold for longer, according to Purves.

    “Trump’s stated policies are (at least now) more inflationary than Biden’s,” he wrote, “and we think the Fed will want to accumulate as much dry power as possible.”

    –With assistance from Liz Capo McCormick, Isabelle Lee, Sid Verma, Edward Dufner, Esha Dey and Michael G. Wilson.

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  • Germany threatens fintech Solaris with fines over slow fixes | Bank Automation News

    Germany threatens fintech Solaris with fines over slow fixes | Bank Automation News

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    German bank Solaris SE faces financial penalties if it doesn’t meet deadlines for fixing controls, after failing to do so for years, according to Bloomberg. Solaris hasn’t fully remedied issues it was ordered to address in 2022, and new problems have since cropped up too, the country’s financial watchdog BaFin said in a statement on […]

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  • Bain, Reverence near $3.5 Billion deal for Envestnet | Bank Automation News

    Bain, Reverence near $3.5 Billion deal for Envestnet | Bank Automation News

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    Bain Capital and Reverence Capital Partners have agreed a deal to take Envestnet Inc., a provider of wealth-management software, private.blo The buyout firms will pay $63.15 a share for Berwyn, Pennsylvania-based Envestnet, according to a statement on Thursday that confirmed an earlier Bloomberg News report. The offer values Envestnet at $3.5 billion on an equity basis […]

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