US indices opened to week supported by renewed buying vigor coming on the heels of the strong January jobs report. US/China trade hopes were also lifted as it became clear US officials were indeed set to travel to Beijing next week. On the corporate news front this week, the earnings season peaked, highlighted by reports from GM and Google parent Alphabet. GM impressed the market by beating estimates on both the top and bottom line, though sales in Asia showed some signs of slowing. Alphabet also beat expectations but some analysts fretted over weaker operating margins and rising costs at the search giant. In M&A news, the cloud sector was bolstered by the announcement that Ultimate Software would be acquired by an investor group led by Hellman & Friedman for about $11 billion. Meanwhile, BB&T announced a combination with SunTrust, a $66 billion transaction that would mark the largest banking merger since the financial crisis. Shares of Arconic slid into the end of the week as it further confirmed it will not pursue a sale, instead focusing on costs cuts including a dividend reduction.
Macro :
- Hedge Funds Start February With Lowest Stock Exposure in a Year
- Fidelity Still Bullish on Emerging Markets Despite Trade Angst
Keep an eye on :
- AC FP : Paris City Hall Seeks Maximum EU12.5m Fine Against Airbnb: JDD
- AGN US : Allergan Committed to Engaging With Appaloosa on Its Proposal
- BARC LN : Barclays Holder Sherborne May Make Further Board Proposals: 13D
- BARC LN : Barclays to Move Some Derivatives Sales Jobs to Paris: Reuters
- BPE IM : BPER Banca acquires Unipol Banca for EUR 220m in cash; acquires 49% of Banco di Sardegna for 33m new BPER shares and EUR 150m convertible bond
- BG US : Bunge's Takeover Chances High, With More Suitors Than Just ADM
- BAS GY : BASF Taps Goldman Sachs to Advise on Construction Chemicals Sale
- DBK GY : Ex-Deutsche Bank Trader Avoids Prison for Libor Manipulation
- MTRO LN : New York Investor Hound Takes 5% Stake in U.K.’s Metro Bank
- SN/ LN : Smid-Cap MedTech May Gain After Report of Smith & Nephew Talks
- SOLG LN : Cornerstone Reiterates Opposition to SolGold Offer
- SPD LN : Sports Direct Intl. SPD Offers to Buy Patisserie Valerie
- UNI IM : BPER Banca acquires Unipol Banca for EUR 220m in cash; acquires 49% of Banco di Sardegna for 33m new BPER shares and EUR 150m convertible bond
- WDI GY : After $10 Billion Share Plunge, Wirecard’s CEO Fights Back