Telecom Italia Discusses KKR Takeover Proposal
The board of Telecom Italia (TIM) met on Sunday to discuss a potential takeover from American equity firm KKR, which already holds a stake in the Italian phone group. Telecom Italia’s CEO, Luigi Gubitosi last year paved the way for a 1.8 billion euro ($2 billion) deal with KKR, handing the firm a 37.5% stake in FiberCorp, which is the organization managing TIM’s network which connects street cabinets to the homes of people.
MACROECONOMIC DATA ANALYSIS
The Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, noted that Japan is considering releasing oil from its crude reserves for the first time ever, in efforts towards offsetting the surging prices of oil. The move signals that the Asian nation is ready to counter the hiking oil prices, following an official request from the United States.
Next week, the United States and Taiwan will initiate a second session of an economic dialogue, which initially began last year, in order to solidify Taiwan’s state and strength in Asia as it faces pressure from China. Chinese leader Xi Jinping stated in a virtual meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden that supporters in USA of Taiwanese independence are “playing with fire”.
CURRENCIES
The U.S. dollar rises as investors & traders remained confident of the dollar greenback with Austria announcing that it will be the first country in Western Europe to re-impose a full lockdown, to curb the surging COVID-19 infections, with Germany stating that they shall follow suit. The dollar index jumped 0.56% to 96.075.
GOLD
Gold futures stumble, recording its first weekly loss in three weeks, with previous gains slashed as investors await the Federal Reserve’s outlook on interest rate hikes. However, the bullion remains firm above the $1,800 mark, edging 0.73% lower on Friday to value at $1,846 per ounce.
OIL
Crude oil prices collapse, miles away from the $80 mark, as the coronavirus continues to loom on major economies worldwide, despite demand for energy soaring. Brent futures crashed a whopping 3.41% to price at $78.47 a barrel, while WTI futures plummet by 3.49% to value at $75.67 a barrel.
INDICES
USA: S&P500 -0.14%, Dow Jones Industrial Average -0.75%, Nasdaq Composite +0.55%
Europe: FTSE 100 -0.45%, DAX -0.38%, CAC 40 -0.42%
Asia: Nikkei 225 +0.50%, Hang Seng -1.07%, CSI 300 +1.08%, Nifty 50 -0.75%
Newest
Shares of social media stocks, including Meta & Twitter plunged, the Snapchat stock collapsed by more than 40% on Tuesday’s trading session. The Snapchat parent of the popular social media platform has warned that it expects to miss profit & revenue estimates due to macroeconomic deterioration.
As a result, the company's market capitalization has plummeted to $20.92 billion, almost three-fold away from its highest levels of the year; nearly $82 billion in early February. The Snapchat stock (NYSE: SNAP) fell sharply from $22.49 to $12.79 on Tuesday, down from its debut price of $17 in 2017.
Samsung Electronics announced shall invest 450 trillion won ($356 billion) over the next five years to bolster growth in semiconductors, biopharmaceuticals, and other next-generation technologies.
Samsung stated on Tuesday that the investments will aid the firm in achieving long-term growth in pivotal spectrums like the chip industry, while also promising aggressive expenditures in the biopharmaceutical industry to make it as successful as its chip segment.