Liveblog Archief maandag 28 september 2020

TOP NEWS
• U.S. judge blocks Trump administration's ban on new TikTok downloads
A U.S. judge has temporarily blocked a Trump administration order that was set to bar Apple and Alphabet from offering Chinese-owned short video-sharing app TikTok for download at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday.
• Uber wins back London licence despite 'historical failings'
Uber has won a legal bid to restore its London operating licence which was taken away over safety concerns, after a judge ruled that the company was a fit and proper operator.
• Cleveland-Cliffs to buy U.S. assets of ArcelorMittal
Cleveland-Cliffs, the largest U.S. producer of iron ore pellets, has agreed to buy the U.S. assets of the world's largest steelmaker ArcelorMittal for about $1.4 billion in cash and shares.
• Caesars shoots lower than expected with $3.7 billion William Hill bid
Caesars is in advanced takeover talks with William Hill that value the British bookmaker at $3.7 billion and would give the casino operator full control of a quickly expanding U.S. sports-betting and online business.
• Weibo owner Sina to be taken private by CEO in $2.6 billion deal
Sina, owner of social media platform Weibo, will be taken private by a holding company led by Chief Executive Officer Charles Chao in a $2.6 billion deal, the Chinese internet company said.


BEFORE THE BELLWall Street futures rose as hopes of a global economic recovery were supported by data showing continued growth in China's factory activity. European shares rose, helped by a jump in German lender Commerzbank after it appointed a new chief executive officer. Japan’s Nikkei closed higher following bigger appetite for stocks that were set to go ex-dividend this week. The euro rose against the dollar, while gold fell. Oil prices were in the green.

STOCKS TO WATCH
Deals Of The Day
• Cleveland-Cliffs Inc (CLF). The largest U.S. producer of iron ore pellets has agreed to buy the U.S. assets of the world's largest steelmaker ArcelorMittal for about $1.4 billion in cash and shares. The deal, announced by the two companies, will make Cleveland-Cliffs the largest flat-rolled steel producer in North America and, for ArcelorMittal, give it up to a quarter share of Cleveland-Cliffs' business and allow it to reward shareholders with a share buy-back. ArcelorMittal will receive $505 million upfront in cash and the remaining roughly two-thirds in the form of equity. The equity arrangement will give ArcelorMittal an initial stake of 16% in Cleveland-Cliffs, which could rise to 25.5%. The deal will include $2 billion of liabilities, including linked to pensions, putting the overall deal value at $3.4 billion.
• Devon Energy Corp (DVN) & WPX Energy Inc (WPX). U.S. shale producer Devon Energy said it would buy peer WPX Energy in an all-stock deal that would create a combined company worth around $12 billion. WPX shareholders will receive 0.5165 shares of Devon common stock for each share of WPX common stock owned, the companies said in a statement.

Moves
• Deutsche Bank AG (DB) German lender Commerzbank has poached a senior executive of its larger rival Deutsche Bank to assume the role of chief executive, filling a leadership vacuum after months of turmoil. Manfred Knof, head of Deutsche Bank's retail business in Germany, will assume the top spot at Germany's No. 2 lender on Jan. 1. He succeeds Martin Zielke, who resigned this summer in the wake of a revolt led by the private equity investor Cerberus, one of the lender's largest shareholders who was pressing for big changes at the bank.

In Other News
• American Airlines Group Inc (AAL). The company said on Friday it has secured a $5.5 billion government loan and could tap up to $2 billion more in October depending on how the U.S. Treasury allocates extra funds under a $25 billion loan package for airlines. Airlines have until Sept. 30 to decide whether to take the U.S. Treasury loans, which were authorized under the CARES Act coronavirus relief bill passed by Congress in March. American said it has already drawn down $550 million of the Treasury loan, which is backed by its loyalty program. The loans also require airlines to issue warrants and carry restrictions on executive compensation and buybacks.• Apple Inc (AAPL) & Alphabet Inc (GOOGL). A U.S. judge has temporarily blocked a Trump administration order that was set to bar Apple and Alphabet's Google from offering Chinese-owned short video-sharing app TikTok for download at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington issued the preliminary injunction in a brief order late on Sunday. He declined "at this time" to block restrictions set to take effect on Nov. 12 on technical and business arrangements which are crucial for the app to function properly. The Commerce Department said in a statement it "will comply with the injunction and has taken immediate steps to do so." The statement, which defended the TikTok order and Trump's executive order demanding owner ByteDance divest its TikTok U.S. operations, did not specify whether the government would appeal. • Caesars Entertainment Inc (CZR). The company is in advanced talks with William Hill on a takeover offer that values the British bookmaker at $3.7 billion and would give the casino operator full control of a quickly expanding U.S. sports-betting and online business. In a joint statement, the companies said that Caesars was considering offering 272 pence per share for William Hill and that the board of the UK company was minded to recommend such an offer to shareholders. To fund the deal, Caesars said it was announcing a new equity raise, and would also take out $2 billion of new debt secured against William Hill's non-US businesses.
• Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL). The company said on Friday it expects to record an up to $2.5 billion charge in the current quarter related to retirements of aircraft. The airline reiterated that it expects charges of up to $3.3 billion during the third quarter, linked to its voluntary retirement and separation programs. Both the charges are before tax, the company said.
• Facebook Inc (FB) & Netflix Inc (NFLX). Technology firms' compliance with European restrictions on transatlantic data transfers is shockingly poor, Austrian privacy campaigner Max Schrems said, publishing a survey of companies including Facebook and Netflix. The survey, conducted by Schrems' digital rights group NOYB - short for None of Your Business - covered 33 companies. Most were American, but some were based in the EU and Britain. Exercising the right of customers to ask companies how their data is handled under the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the survey drew a mixed bag of responses - some firms did not respond and others gave misleading answers. "The responses ranged from detailed explanations, to admissions that these companies have no clue what is happening, to shockingly aggressive denials of the law,” said Schrems.
• Ford Motor Co (F). Local union leadership in Canada across all Ford Motor locals in both trades and production approved the tentative deal reached between Unifor and the company, the union said on Sunday. Ford will invest $1.46 billion in its Oakville and Windsor plants in Canada as part of a tentative deal with Canadian autoworkers was announced last week. Separately, Ford Motor, which operates two auto plants in Germany, has applied for $582 million of German loan guarantees aimed at cushioning the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, business daily Handelsblatt reported.
• HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBC). Ping An Insurance Group Co of China, the biggest shareholder in HSBC, has bought additional shares in the British bank to take its stake to 8%. The insurer bought 10.8 million shares at an average price of $3.65 per share on Sept. 23 via investment management arm, Ping An Asset Management, it said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange late on Friday. Before the latest transaction, Ping An held a 7.95% stake in the bank, the filing showed.
• Netflix Inc (NFLX). The company, in a response to U.S. senators' concerns over the company's plans to adapt a Chinese science-fiction book trilogy, said on Friday it did not agree with the Chinese author's views on the Chinese government's treatment of Uighur Muslims. Five Republican U.S. senators urged Netflix this week to reconsider plans to adapt the book into a TV series because they said the author has defended the Chinese government's clampdown on ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims in the Xinjiang region. "The Three-Body Problem" and two sequels were written by Liu Cixin. Netflix announced this month that it was turning the books into a live-action, English-language TV series led by D.B Weiss and David Benioff, the creators of HBO megahit "Game of Thrones".
• Nikola Corporation (NKLA). The company’s founder Trevor Milton purchased the original design for the company's flagship truck from a Croatia-based designer, the Financial Times reported on Saturday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Nikola One, the company's flagship hydrogen-powered truck, is at the centre of a design patent infringements lawsuit that Nikola filed against Tesla in 2018. Nikola claimed, Tesla's Semi, its first electric heavy duty truck, is "substantially" similar to Nikola's design. According to the FT report, citing people with knowledge of the deal, Milton purchased the designs of the vehicle for several thousand dollars from Rimac Automobili's designer Adriano Mudri in 2015.
• Rio Tinto PLC (RIO). New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that she will negotiate to extend the operations of Rio Tinto's aluminum smelter in the country by 3-5 years if she is returned to power in the Oct. 17 election. New Zealand Aluminum Smelter's (NZAS) planned closure is a hot election topic as it puts thousands of jobs at risk, and would hit the bottom line of top power producers, at a time when the country is reeling from the economic impact of coronavirus. The government could provide support to Transpower to enable reduced transmission charges, the ruling Labour party said in a statement announcing details.•Sina Corp (SINA). The owner of social media platform Weibo will be taken private by a holding company led by Chief Executive Officer Charles Chao in a $2.6 billion deal, the Chinese internet company said. The offer price of $43.3 represents an 18% premium to stock's close on July 2, the last trading day before Sina received the preliminary offer of $41 per share. Chao-controlled holding company, New Wave, owns a 12.15% stake in Sina as of July 10 and is the largest shareholder of the company, according to Refinitiv-Eikon data. • Tesla Inc (TSLA). Piedmont Lithium said it signed a five-year deal with Tesla to supply high-purity lithium ore mineral to the U.S. electric carmaker. The initial five-year agreement implies that Piedmont will supply about a third of its planned 160,000-tonnes-per-year spodumene concentrate produce from its deposits in North Carolina. Both companies have an option to extend the deal for another five years.
• Tyler Technologies Inc (TYL). The software vendor said Saturday that some of its customers have reported suspicious logins in the days since Tyler warned that it had been hacked with ransomware. In a post on its website and an email to customers, which include many U.S. counties and cities, Tyler said it had "received reports of several suspicious logins to client systems." The company, which had said Wednesday that the hack appeared confined to its internal network, on Saturday urged clients to reset passwords that Tyler staff would use to access customer versions of its software. Tyler said it is cooperating with the FBI, which has declined to comment. It declined to say which customers had detected improper logins or when those suspected intrusions occurred.• Uber Technologies Inc (UBER). The company has won a legal bid to restore its London operating licence which was taken away over safety concerns, after a judge ruled that the company was a fit and proper operator. Transport for London (TfL) refused to grant the Silicon Valley-based company a new licence in 2019 due to what it called a "pattern of failures". Uber argued it has since assuaged concerns over insurance verification and driver identification. "I am satisfied that they are doing what a reasonable business in their sector could be expected to do, perhaps even more," Judge Tan Ikram said. "Despite their historical failings, I find them, now, to be a fit and proper person to hold a London... operator’s licence."

INSIGHT
'Take home' lawsuits over COVID infections could be costly for U.S. employers
U.S. businesses with COVID-19 outbreaks are facing an emerging legal threat from claims that workers brought coronavirus home and infected relatives, which one risk analysis firm said could cost employers billions of dollars.


ANALYSTS' RECOMMENDATION
• Expedia Group Inc (EXPE). RBC cuts rating to sector perform from outperform, considering rising competitive risk and very slow recovery in online travel.
• Huntsman Corp (HUN). JPMorgan raises target price to $21 from $17 reflecting on stronger-than-expected Polyurethane earnings.
• Mettler-Toledo International Inc (MTD). JPMorgan cuts rating to underweight from neutral citing a disconnect between current valuation and the long-term fundamental outlook.
• Netflix Inc (NFLX). Jefferies raises target price to $570 from $550, factoring that a potential price hike will boost FY21 revenue.


ECONOMIC EVENTS (All timings in U.S. Eastern Time)
1030 (approx.) Dallas Fed Manufacturing Business Index for Sep: Prior 8.00


COMPANIES REPORTING RESULTS
No major S&P 500 companies are scheduled to report.


CORPORATE EVENTS
No major events are scheduled for the day.


EX-DIVIDENDS
J & J Snack Foods Corp (JJSF). Amount $0.57
Main Street Capital Corp (MAIN). Amount $0.20

Goedemorgen
Een groene start van de week na dat de koersen op Wall Street vrijdag al behoorlijk opliepen, het is nu zoeken naar het kantelpunt op Wall Street want anders zou het kunnen dat de markt verder doorstoot mocht alles weer boven het 50-MA uitkomen. De vraag is alleen of die weerstand dat zal toelaten, we kijken dan vooral naar de Nasdaq ofwel de technologie krachtpatsers die het zullen moeten doen. Dat terwijl juist deze groep de correctie op gang bracht enkele weken geleden en terwijl de bedrijven nog steeds zwaar overgewaardeerd blijven in de fase waar we ons nu in bevinden.

Toch iets om in de gaten te houden in de loop van de dag, zetten we een top neer? Of zoekt de markt naar een nieuwe uitbraak omhoog om nog een keer de topzone op te zoeken. Of krijgen we uiteindelijk een lagere top in de markt? Allemaal vragen waar we deze week antwoord op kunnen krijgen ...

Europa gaat weer niet zo snel als Wall Street tijdens de poging tot herstel, dat hebben we vrijdag al kunnen merken. De koersen op Wall Street liepen op maar Europa bleef vrijwel de gehele dag negatief en moest ook afsluiten met verlies. Ook op weekbasis verloor Europa behoorlijk terwijl dat op Wall Street slechts deels zo was, de Nasdaq stak er bovenuit met een winst bekeken over de gehele week. Vanmorgen zien we dat Europa in ieder geval hoger wil starten, ook hier moeten we afwachten of de indices dat kunnen vasthouden na de start. Technisch bekeken ligt Europa er momenteel slechter bij dan Wall Street. Bij de AEX blijven we letten op de 538 en de 528 aan de onderkant en op de 552-553 en de 558 aan de bovenkant. Bij de DAX is dat de 12.500 en de 12.250 punten aan de onderkant terwijl de weerstand rond de 12.750 en de 12.850 punten wacht.

Wat kunnen we doen wat betreft nieuwe posities:
We zitten in de markt met wat short posities die ik met deze daling nog even wil aanhouden. De maand verloopt tot nu toe goed en we staan overal op winst. Er komen zeker meer kansen aan de komende periode, daar ben ik van overtuigd gezien het verloop van de markt momenteel. U kunt als lid meteen meedoen met de posities die ik uitstuur, lid worden kan via de aanbieding die loopt tot 1 DECEMBER voor €39 ...

Om u in te schrijven ga meteen naar de link https://www.usmarkets.nl/tradershop en dan staat u vandaag nog op de lijst ...

Guy Boscart

GLOBAL TOP NEWS
A U.S. judge has temporarily blocked a Trump administration order that was set to bar Apple and Alphabet's Google from offering Chinese-owned short video-sharing app TikTok for download at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and fellow Democrats made it clear on Sunday that their opposition to President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, would focus on the possibility she could cast a decisive vote to strike down the Obamacare health law.

A judge is set to tell Uber whether it has won back its London operating licence after it was removed over safety concerns, the latest stage of a long-running battle with the regulator in one of its most important markets.​


EUROPEAN COMPANY NEWS
ArcelorMittal is exploring a deal to merge its U.S. operations with Cleveland-Cliffs, the largest U.S. producer of iron ore pellets, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

The nomination of Manfred Knof as chief executive of Germany's Commerzbank paves the way for an overhaul that could close hundreds of branches and shrink its foreign operations, though any major changes may still take months to formalise.

Investors welcomed former Daimler chief executive Dieter Zetsche's decision to forego his role as chairman of the German carmaker, announced at the weekend and starting a race to find an independent head of the company's supervisory board.


TODAY'S COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Ceres Power Holdings PLC FY 2020 Earnings Call
Challenger Acquisitions Ltd Annual Shareholders Meeting
Christie Group plc Annual Shareholders Meeting
Diageo PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Eddie Stobart Logistics PLC Shareholders Meeting
Europacorp SA Annual Shareholders Meeting
Mulberry Group PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Murray Income Trust PLC FY 2020 Earnings Release
Quadient SA HY 2020 Earnings Release
Rockfire Resources PLC Shareholders Meeting
Rush Factory Oyj Annual Shareholders Meeting
Time Out Group PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
TitanMet SpA Shareholders Meeting
Van Elle Holdings PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting​


ECONOMIC EVENTS (All times GMT)
0730 Sweden Retail sales mm for Aug: Prior 1.9%
0730 Sweden Retail sales yy for Aug: Prior 4.8%
0730 Sweden Trade balance for Aug: Prior 2.9 billion SEK
0730 Sweden Swedish exports for Aug: Prior 103.8 billion SEK
0730 Sweden Swedish imports for Aug: Prior 100.9 billion SEK
0800 Austria Purchasing Managers Index for Sep: Prior 51.0