1. U.S. Markets Climb to Record Highs
U.S. stocks moved up with data signalling that economic recovery is in full swing. President Joe Biden and senators are close to an agreement on a $559 billion(~Rs 40 lakh crore) infrastructure plan to boost the economy.
The Federal Reserve is set to release results of a stress test on the banking system, with all major banks expected to pass.
Stoxx Europe is up by 0.89%
Dow Jones is up 0.67%
NASDAQ is up by 0.90%
2. Siemens Forecasts Higher Growth Target And Announces Share Buyback
German industrial manufacturing company Siemens on Thursday said it has raised the target for growing annual revenue to a rate of 5-7%, against Siemens’s previous target at 4-5%. The company made Rs 46,940 crore as revenue in 2020. A new Rs 26,547 crore share buyback, begins in coming October to 2026.
3. Blackstone Group Raises Its Buyout Offer For St. Modwen Properties
Private equity firm Blackstone Group raised its buyout offer for British-based property investment and development business St. Modwen Properties to Rs 12,979 crore. The latest offer is Rs 578 per share against the previous offer at Rs 559 per share. St. Modwen Properties builds homes, owns and manages several industrial and logistics assets in Britain.
According to latest reports, this offer has been accepted by St. Modwen.
4. Starlink Will Go Public Only When The Cash Flow Is More Clear And Predictable: Musk
Starlink- The Space Internet Venture of SpaceX will go public only when its cash flow is clear and reasonably predictable, Elon Musk said in a tweet. He thinks going public before that will be painful and bad for the shareholders. Starlink is a planned network of tens of thousands of satellites, expected to offer faster internet speeds.
5. Visa To Buy Banking Platform Tink For Rs 190 Billion
Payments technology company Visa on Thursday announced the agreement to buy the European open banking platform Tink for Rs 19,000 crores. Tink would retain its brand and management team, and its headquarters would stay in Stockholm.
6. Brazil’s Consumer Confidence Is At A Seven-month High: Survey
A survey indicates that consumer confidence in Brazil in June increased to a seven-month high. The Getulio Vargas Foundation’s (FGV) consumer confidence index rose moved 4.7 points to 80.9 points in June, the highest since November last year
7. Accenture Beats Q3 Results Estimates; Raises Guidance
IT services major Accenture has reported better than expected results for the third quarter. Revenue is up 21% YoY to $13.3 Billion. The company also raised growth guidance for 2021 to 10-11% from 8.5% earlier estimated.
With Accenture reporting such great numbers, Indian IT services players also will see a positive outlook this quarter. Nifty IT closed more than 2.5% up today, and might continue to move.
8. India Urges OPEC+ to boost Oil Supply
India has once again urged OPEC+ to increase supply while expressing “deep concern” over the high prices of crude. “High crude prices are adding significant inflationary pressure on India,” Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told OPEC on Thursday.
Top analysts expect the prices of crude to keep increasing from their current multi-year high levels.
9. Biden Bans China-made Solar Products. Opportunity for India?
U.S President Biden’s administration has today imposed a very focused ban on Chinese-made solar products. The ban will affect the import of silica-based products from Hoshine Silicon Industry Co., and is aimed to confront human rights abuses in Xinjiang region. Out of the 4 major companies from the region, 3 have been blacklisted.
According to reports from UN experts, Uyghur Muslims and other minorities are being forced to work against their will in these regions. China has all denied allegations, as always.
Interestingly, Mukesh Ambani said today that Reliance is heavily investing in green energy with heavy investments above Rs 75,000 crores in Jamnagar.
10. Renault seals Battery-Supply Deal for France EV Hub
French automaker Renault is said to be sealing a deal with China’s Envision AESC to produce batteries for a future electric vehicle manufacturing hub in France.
The partnership is said to be a part of a larger plan to be announced by French President Emmanual Macron on Monday. Renault’s rush for batteries adds fuel to the fire of traditional car manufacturers pushing to EV tech. Waiting for such a revolution in India too!
