TheChek News Flow

It was another eventful week, particularly for equity traders, as significant intra-day swings were prevalent throughout most of the week’s trading sessions. Ultimately global growth worries overshadowed a better tone on the trade front and another dovish turn by a major Central Bank. The S&P slipped through the October low for the first time on Monday after UK Prime Minister May pulled the Brexit vote and a Chinese court ordered an immediate ban on import and sale of certain iPhone models. Midweek saw stock futures trade up sharply before the opening bell, spurred by reports suggesting US/China trade talks were beginning to get traction in right direction. President Trump even went as far as to say he could consider intervening into the Huawei CFO saga as part of a broader trade deal with China. The positive effects were short lived though, as each day selling pressure returned and indices retraced much of the pre-market gains by days end. By Friday, a Chinese announcement that it would temporary ease auto tariffs had almost no beneficial effect on markets. In corporate news this week, e-commerce platform Travelport was taken private by Siris Capital in a $4B deal following efforts by activist Elliott Management to push for strategic alternatives. Apple announced it would update its iOS 12 software to circumvent a ban in China of certain iPhone models after Qualcomm won a patent infringement case. GoPro said it planned to move US-bound camera production out of China due to tariff concerns. Costco shares dropped on weaker than expected earnings and lower gross margins y/y. Reports indicated that the German government had intensified its planning for a possible merger between the troubled Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank. On Friday, Johnson & Johnson shares plunged after a Reuters investigation found evidence that the company may have known about asbestos contamination in its baby powder for decades and failed to inform the FDA.