>>> US Close Dow +0,64% S&P +0,95% Nasdaq +1,62% Russell +1,27%

Closing Stock Market Summary

The stock market had a seesaw day of trading today, but the fulcrum in any case was the persistence of growth concerns.

Those concerns were evident in the underperformance of the cyclical energy (-3.7%), materials (-1.4%), financial (-0.5%), and industrials (-0.5%) sectors, falling prices for oil ($104.24, -1.83, -1.7%) and copper ($3.74, -0.22, -5.4%), and another run of buying interest in the Treasury market.

They were also evident in the outperformance of the mega-cap stocks, which were accorded some benefit of the doubt that their earnings prospects will hold up better in a tougher economic environment. On that same note, the countercyclical utilities (+2.4%), health care (+2.2%), and consumer staples (+2.0%) sectors were leaders throughout the day along with the real estate sector (+2.0%), which drafted off the drop in interest rates.

The 2-yr note yield kissed 2.88% this morning after scraping 3.43% in June 14. The 10-yr note yield cruised to 3.02% after flirting with 3.50% on June 14. The 2-yr note yield and the 10-yr note yield eventually settled the cash session at 3.01% and 3.07%, respectively.

Strikingly, the indices came off their lows of the day as Treasuries came off their highs for the day in afternoon trading. The late burst of buying interest, just like the opening burst of buying interest, was paced by the mega-cap stocks. The Vanguard Mega-Cap Growth ETF (MGK) was up 1.6% early, saw that gain get pared to unchanged, and then closed near its high for the session, up 1.8%.

That revival helped the S&P 500 eclipse the 3,800 level late in the day, but as was the case earlier in the day, sellers stepped in just before the closing bell to knock the S&P 500 back below 3,800.

Nevertheless, today can still be construed as a good day for the bulls. Granted cyclical sectors were weak, but money rotated within the stock market instead of out of it altogether on the growth concerns. In turn, the market once again showed resilience to selling activity despite a band of bad headline news that included a larger-than-expected 50-basis point rate hike by the Norges Bank, reports that Russia is close to taking over the Luhansk Province, and weaker-than-expected preliminary June manufacturing and services PMI readings for the eurozone and the U.S.

The resilience in the face of that bad news was additive to the belief that the market has scope to forge a nice rebound effort from deeply oversold conditions into quarter end on rebalancing activity.

Separately, Fed Chair Powell appeared before the House Financial Services Committee for day two of his Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to Congress. The views expressed there were predominately a rehash of what he said Wednesday before the Senate Banking Committee, so there was a muted reaction to his remarks.

Reviewing today's economic data:

  • Initial claims for the week ending June 18 decreased by 2,000 to 229,000 (consensus 230,000) while continuing claims for the week ending June 11 increased by 5,000 to 1.315 million.
    • The key takeaway from the report is that it is another reminder that the improvement in initial jobless claims has stalled. Nonetheless, they remain at low enough levels that support expectations for another solid increase in nonfarm payrolls in June. This report covers the week in which the survey for the June employment report was conducted.
  • The preliminary June IHS Markit Manufacturing PMI reading was 52.4 compared to 57.0 for May. The preliminary June IHS Markit Services PMI reading was 51.6 compared to 53.4 for May.
  • The Q1 Current Account Balance widened to -$291.4 billion ( consensus -$279.0 billion) from a downwardly revised -$224.8 billion (from -$217.9 billion) in Q1.

Looking ahead, market participants will receive the May New Home Sales Report (10:00 a.m. ET) and final reading for the June University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment (10:00 a.m. ET) on Friday.

  • Dow Jones Industrial Average: -15.6% YTD
  • S&P 500: -20.4% YTD
  • S&P 400: -20.8% YTD
  • Russell 2000: -23.9% YTD
  • Nasdaq Composite: -28.2% YTD

>>> US After Hours Summary: FDX +1.5% higher on earnings; TREE -12.7% falls on l

After Hours Summary: FDX +1.5% higher on earnings; TREE -12.7% falls on lowered guidance; CAMP -16.3% down on earnings

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: FDX +1.5%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: BHC +4.2% (chairman resigns), CSTL +4% (announces study findings that evaluated DecisionDx-UM), RKLB +0.7% (prepares to launch CAPSTONE to the Moon), AZZ +0.7% (to sell a 60% interest in its Infrastructure Solutions segment to Fernweh for implied EV of $300 mln), ARGO +0.1% (names Thomas Bradley as CEO), SAH +0.1% (exec chairman passes away)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: CAMP -16.3%, TREE -12.7% (lowers Q2 rev guidance due to challenging interest rate environment), SWBI -3.4% (also increases dividend), BB -0.4%

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: SRPT -3.6% (FDA places clinical hold on SRP-5051 for Duchenne muscular dystrophy), NVAX -1.2% (receives EUA in Taiwan for its Nuvaxovid COVID-19 vaccine for 18+), DDOG -0.6% (launches Datadog Audit Trail), LMT -0.1% (awarded $580 mln Air Force contract)

Business Of Fashion : Daniel Arsham, Fashion’s Go-To Artist, Launches His Own Br

Daniel Arsham, Fashion’s Go-To Artist, Launches His Own Brand
The art star known for turning pop culture icons into archaeological relics has issued much-hyped collaborations with Dior, Rimowa, Tiffany, Adidas, Uniqlo and more. Now he’s launching a label of his own: Objects IV Life.

KEY INSIGHTS
  • Daniel Arsham’s high-low appeal has won him collaborations with brands like Dior and Adidas.
  • Now the artist is launching a fashion label of his own with brand accelerator Tomorrow.
  • It's part of a wider trend towards non-traditional creative directors with large audiences.

LONDON — Daniel Arsham shot to art stardom with a concept he calls “fictional archaeology,” using materials like sand, selenite crystals and volcanic ash to render objects from the recent past as eroded relics from a lost civilisation. Populating his postmodern Pompeii are icons of pop and consumer culture — from Nintendo’s Game Boy to Pokémon characters to the Ferrari from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off — recast as timeless artefacts.
The approach has helped make Arsham fashion’s go-to artist. In the last five years, the multidisciplinary creator — whose work spans art, architecture, design, film and performance — has collaborated with the likes of Dior, Tiffany, Rimowa, Adidas and Uniqlo, often lending their products the gravitas of geological time, as well as limited-edition buzz.
Now, Arsham is launching a fashion label of his own, Objects IV Life. Its debut drop, a collection of unisex workwear, will land today at Kith’s Paris flagship and online. The clothes reflect Arsham’s personal style. “Things I would wear in the studio,” he said. “I designed them for me.”
Objects IV Life’s first “chapter,” a collection of unisex workwear, is being unveiled today at Kith’s Paris flagship. (Photographed by Joshua Woods; Styled by Eric McNeal)
Fashion labels routinely align themselves with artists to elevate their brands. But Arsham’s projects stand apart for the way they seamlessly unite art world credibility and mass appeal.

Arsham, who was born in Cleveland and raised in Miami before moving to New York, is often compared to Virgil Abloh. His work is both high-concept and deliberately accessible. It’s sold by streetwear emporium Kith as well as blue-chip gallerist Emmanuel Perrotin. “Art is for everyone,” said Arsham. “I’m trying to create a diverse range of price points.”
Equal parts artist and entrepreneur, Arsham is a savvy marketer. He is friends with celebrities like Jay-Z and Pharrell and plays well on Instagram, where he has attracted 1.2 million followers, making him one of the most popular artists on the platform. In 2020, he became the first-ever creative director of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
LVMH scion Alexandre Arnault has commissioned Daniel Arsham to create Rimowa suitcases and Tiffany boxes in his signature style. (Courtesy)
“Tradition and modernity are things we try to marry and Daniel helps us to do that,” said LVMH scion Alexandre Arnault, who has commissioned Arsham to create Rimowa suitcases and Tiffany boxes in his signature style. “Plus, he’s very powerful on social media and being part of this conversation has been successful for us. He’s helped us to reach a new client base.”
The new brand is a joint venture with London-based brand accelerator Tomorrow, which provides investment and access to shared services, from production to distribution, to a stable of emerging labels, including Martine Rose, Loverboy by Charles Jeffrey, Arnaud Vaillant and Sébastien Meyer’s Coperni and Samuel Ross’ A-Cold-Wall.
It was Ross who first introduced Tomorrow’s CEO Stefano Martinetto to Arsham. Martinetto was looking for fresh perspectives to grow his portfolio and saw an opportunity to harness Arsham’s vision and reach to power a new brand, informed by the artist’s own wardrobe, his sculptures’ reduced palette of neutrals and pastels (Arsham is, in fact, colourblind) and the potential of using deadstock materials.
Arsham was not a fashion designer, but Tomorrow’s competitors had seen success backing non-traditional creative directors. New Guards Group’s most famous designer, Virgil Abloh, began as a fashion outsider. The group has also launched a line with DJ Peggy Gou. Meanwhile, Comme des Garçons has partnered with the likes of Gosha Rubchinskiy and Honey Dijon.
In late 2019, Arsham and Martinetto established a joint venture and began building a small but skilled team that includes Tomorrow’s chief development officer Julie Gilhart, former Acne Studios design director Matthew Grant and Burberry’s former chief merchandising officer Judy Collinson.
Objects IV Life is a joint venture with Stefano Martinetto’s London-based brand accelerator Tomorrow. (Vikram Alexei Kansara)
The brand’s first “chapter” is classic without being boring. The collection includes functional jackets, jeans, T-shirts and hoodies. There’s also a utility boot, a cap, a canvas tote bag and a key charm. Everything is manufactured in Portugal, New York and Los Angeles, with custom hardware coming from Italy. The denim and tote are made from deadstock. Prices range from €180 for a graphic T-shirt to €850 for a utility jacket.

Distribution is evenly split between direct-to-consumer and a handful of retail partners, including Selfridges, Ssense and Kith. Drops will be pegged to real-world seasons, as well as art happenings. The team has already developed second and third “chapters” inspired by hiking.
“The opportunity is huge,” said Martinetto. “The audience is really wide, from serious collectors to the kids.” Martinetto believes the label can scale to rival cult designer brands like Jacquemus, Dries Van Noten and Ami. “This is not a hype project,” he said.

(ZH) China Just Achieved A "Brain Scale" AI Computer

China Just Achieved A "Brain Scale" AI Computer

Today in "Skynet does Asia" news, Chinese scientists are boasting about a new supercomputer that is so fast, it can run AI at the speed of a human brain.
The computer, referred to as the Newest Generation Sunway supercomputer, is now on a par with the latest machine built by the US Department of Energy, called Frontier, according to The Star and the South China Morning Post.
Earlier this month, Frontier had been named the world's most powerful computer.
The Chinese scientists named their AI model 'bagualu', which means "alchemist's pot". It was trained by the Sunway machine to have 174 trillion parameters, on a par with that of a human brain for the first time, the report says.
The Sunway "has a speed of a billion billion operations per second, expressed as 5.3 floating-point operations per second (exaflops), and more than 37 million CPU cores," the report says. This is four times as many as the Frontier machine.
It also has nine petabytes of memory, which is enough to hold 2 million different DVD quality movies. Communication between "brain" nodes is so quick it rivals a human changing his or her mind.
Potential uses for the AI could be in facial recognition and autonomous driving, the report says. It could also be used for life sciences, chemistry and language processing. (The article left out eventual machine-run world domination, for some reason...)
The technology debuted at a virtual meeting of Principles and Practice of Parallel Programming 2022, an international conference put together by the Association for Computing Machinery, a U.S. based organization.

>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 23rd of June 2022

>>> Up
* Eurofins Scientific Raised to Hold at Deutsche Bank; PT 80 euros
* Gjensidige Raised to Buy at SpareBank; PT 215 kroner
* Mowi Raised to Buy at Arctic Securities; PT 265 kroner
* Rentokil Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank; PT 550 pence
* Salzgitter Raised to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley

>>> Down
* Aroundtown Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan; PT 3.60 euros
* FirstGroup Cut to Hold at HSBC; PT 150 pence
* Intertek Cut to Sell at Deutsche Bank; PT 3,600 pence
* Rheinmetall Cut to Hold at HSBC; PT 240 euros
* Rio Tinto Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley; PT 6,230 pence
* Tesla PT Cut to $1,200 from $1,300 at Morgan Stanley
* Vantage Towers Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley
* Wartsila Cut to Add at AlphaValue/Baader

>>> Initiation
* Aker BP Rated New Neutral at Goldman; PT 401 kroner
* Atea Rated New Buy at Nordea; PT 130 kroner
* Bunzl Reinstated Hold at Numis; PT 2,600 pence
* Currys Reinstated Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley; PT 96 pence
* THG Resumed Buy at Citi, Value of Beauty Division Underestimated
* Ubisoft Rated New Buy at Deutsche Bank; PT 60 euros
* Var Energi Rated New Sell at Goldman; PT 35.80 kroner
* Var Energi Rated New Buy at Nordea; PT 55 kroner

>>> Call
* Altria Slump on Report of Possible Juul Ban Is Overdone: Goldman
* Currys New Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley, Says Visibility Low
* Heineken PT Raised at Jefferies on Brewer’s Earnings Potential
* Intertek Cut to Sell, Eurofins Upgraded to Hold at Deutsche Bank
* Liontrust FY Results Hurt By Falling Markets, Berenberg Says
* Morgan Stanley Says Be Selective in Mining and Metals, Rio Cut
* Vantage Towers Cut at Morgan Stanley on More Challenging Outlook

>>> What to look at today - 23rd of June 2022

Asian stocks wavered Thursday, Treasuries held a rally and oil sank as investors parsed the economic outlook after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged the risk of a recession. An Asian share index was steady, with a report that Hong Kong’s incoming leader John Lee is working on a strategy to reopen the city’s borders helping sentiment. US and European futures were in the red. Treasuries were little changed after jumping in the Wall Street session, leaving policy-sensitive two-year yields at about 3.06%. Bonds jumped in Australia and New Zealand. The dollar and the yen inched higher.  In commodities, oil dropped 3% to under $103 a barrel, sapped by fears over the demand outlook. A raw-materials index is at the lowest since March. Powell in testimony to the Senate Wednesday said the US has to get high inflation back down to the 2% target. He accepted that steep rate increases could cause an economic contraction and called a soft landing “very challenging.” The odds of the Fed’s rate-hiking cycle extending beyond the November policy meeting have diminished sharply as traders continue to price the prospects of a hard-landing and swifter policy reversal next year. Bitcoin climbed back above $20,000, while gold dipped. US After Hours Quiet after hours; SCS +4.3%, WOR +4%, KBH +3.1% higher on earnings.

Nikkei +0.06% Hang Seng +1.92% CSI +1.34% Shanghai +1.33% Shenzen +1.56%

Eur$ 1.0572 CNH 6.7089 CNY 6.7070 JPY 135.45 GBP 1.2260 CHF 0.9610 RUB 54.5320 TRY 17.3441 WTI$ 103.60 -2.45% Gold 1,843.50 -0.15% BTC 20,280 +2.10% ETH 1,080 +2.9%

S&P -0.118% Nasdaq -0.12% EuroStoxx -0.52% FTSE -0.37% Dax -0.48% SMI -0.32%

Macro :
- SEC to Propose New Rules for Online Brokers’ Game-Like Features
- End of Easy Money Era Raises the Risk of Deals Dying in Europe

Keep an eye on :
- III LN : BC Partners Agrees to Buy Havea Group for >EU1B From 3i: Echos
- AIBG ID : AIB to Be Hit With Tracker Mortgage Fine: Irish Independent
- ATO FP : French Govt Supports Thales Buy of Atos Cybersecurity: BFM
- BMW GY : BMW Extends China Plant in Production, Electrification Boost
- CCL LN : Carnival Reaches $1.25M Data Breach Settlement With States
- C US : Mexican Billionaire Salinas Says No to Buying Citibanamex
- G IM : Generali Names Sesana General Manager in Donnet’s New Structure
- IDR SM : Spain’s Big Defense Push Hinges on Creating a National Champion
- META US : Facebook Parent Meta Pulls Out of Sponsorship Deal for U.S. 250th Anniversary Project -- WSJ
- META US : Meta Antitrust Judge Backs TikTok, WeChat, Telegram Data Request
- BMPS IM : Monte Paschi to Raise EU2.5b in 2026 Strategic Plan (1)
- MOWI NO : Mowi’s BC Permits Renewed for 2 Years to Develop Transition Plan
- NDX1 GY : Nordex Group Gets 63 MW Order From OX2 in Poland
- NAS NO : Norwegian Air Shuttle Sees NOK2B Net Gain From Deal With Boeing
- NOVN SW : Novartis to Spend $250 Million to Develop Tropical Disease Drugs
- NOVN SW : Novartis: FDA Gets Accelerated Approval for Tafinlar + Mekinist
- SAX GY : Stroeer Sees Statista IPO ‘Possible’ Next 2 Years: BZ (Earlier)
- P4F GY : Seadrill Gets Three Rig Extensions Worth $361 Million
- SBBB SS : SBB Enters OMX Stockholm 30 Index, Skanska Exits .km
- SGRE SM : Siemens Gamesa Gets Order for 882 MW of Wind Turbines
- SIE GY : Industrials Dust Off Electrolyzer Cabinet for Hydrogen Revival
- SIE GY : Amtrak Orders 50 More Charger Locomotives From Siemens Mobility
- STLA IM : Stellantis Idles Two Plants Through July 1 Due to Chips: Figaro
- STB NO : Storebrand Gets All Needed Regulatory Approvals for Danica Deal
- HO FP : French Govt Supports Thales Buy of Atos Cybersecurity: BFM
- TIT IM : Italy Awards Fastweb, Aruba for EU4.4 Billion Digital Tender Hub
- TOM NO : Tomra Targets 18% Ebita Margin by 2027, Annual Rev Growth 15%

WSJ : Elon Musk Calls Tesla’s New Car Factories ‘Gigantic Money Furnaces’

Elon Musk Calls Tesla’s New Car Factories ‘Gigantic Money Furnaces’
The plants in Germany and Texas are losing billions of dollars, the auto maker’s CEO said in a late May interview

Tesla Inc.’s TSLA -0.40% two newest car factories have been losing billions of dollars as supply-chain disruptions and battery-cell manufacturing challenges limit the company’s ability to increase production, Elon Musk said in a recent interview.

The company’s plants in Germany and Texas, which opened earlier this year, are “gigantic money furnaces,” the Tesla chief executive said in a May 30 interview with a Tesla owners’ club that was released Wednesday.

“Overwhelmingly our concern is, how do we keep the factories operating so we can pay people and not go bankrupt?” Mr. Musk said in the interview. He added that he expected Tesla to resolve these problems quickly.

In the weeks since the interview was recorded, Tesla has begun layoffs that Mr. Musk indicated could touch 10% of the company’s salaried workforce.

Mr. Musk didn’t respond to a request for comment. Tesla’s stock closed down less than 1% on Wednesday, but has tumbled by around a third in 2022.

Car making is a notoriously cash-hungry business, and ramping up new factories can be especially so. Tesla, for example, spent roughly $11 billion in the first quarter on items needed to make and sell cars, including materials, labor, manufacturing and shipping.

Investors for years worried that Tesla’s war chest wouldn’t be sufficient. Such concerns eased, however, as the company paid down debt, raised money and reported a string of quarterly profits that helped transform it into the most valuable auto maker in the world. As of the first quarter, Tesla was sitting on roughly $17.5 billion in cash.

Tesla has faced several setbacks in recent months, including higher supplier and logistics costs amid soaring inflation. Governmental Covid-19 restrictions in China also curtailed output at the company’s plant in Shanghai, which had been its largest by volume.

Tesla this spring launched deliveries of Model Y compact sport-utility vehicles made at its newest plants, but ramping up output from those facilities has proven difficult, Mr. Musk said. He cited battery supply as a key bottleneck.

“Berlin and Austin are losing billions of dollars right now because there’s a ton of expense and hardly any output,” Mr. Musk said.

Tesla has long relied on finger-sized battery cells made by companies such as Panasonic Corp. , but it has been working to develop its own, larger cells in-house. That effort is aimed at reducing the cost of a key component and mitigating the risk of battery shortages.

The Texas plant, which Tesla designed to be able to make cars using batteries of multiple sizes, has been caught in the middle of the company’s transition. Increasing in-house production of the larger battery cells and associated packs has proven challenging, Mr. Musk said. Meanwhile, the tooling required to make cars using smaller battery cells was stuck in China, he said.

Analysts expect Tesla to deliver roughly 273,000 vehicles in the second quarter, according to FactSet, down from around 310,000 in the first three months of the year. That would mark the company’s first quarter-over-quarter decline in deliveries in more than two years.