September 10th
Daily Market Commentary
ECONOMIC NEWS
- Capacity Utilization in Canada was reported at 82.7%.
- MBA Mortgage Applications were reportedly down 7.2% in the U.S.
Commodities:
- Brent held below $100 a barrel for the longest period since April 2013, amid speculation that slowing economic growth will add to an excess of supply. West Texas Intermediate was steady in New York.
- Gold traded little changed near a three-month low in London as investors weighed a stronger dollar against speculation lower prices may spur more purchases. Platinum fell to the lowest since February.
Canada:
- Apollo Global Management LLC is sweetening the terms of a junk bond funding a C$2 billion ($1.8 billion) bet on a recovery in natural-gas prices and its first acquisition of Canadian gas assets. Proceeds will fund the C$2 billion acquisition of Bighorn fields in west-central Alberta from Encana Corp., scheduled to close at the end of September.
- Agnico-Eagle Mines said it has agreed to buy Cayden Resources, a mineral-exploration company, for about $205 million in cash and stock.
- Canexus said it will resume construction to tie in the Cold Lake pipeline system to the MEG Energy pipeline after the court ruled to allow the tie-in to proceed.
United States:
- U.S. stock-index futures were little changed, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slid the most in a month on investor concern about the timing of Federal Reserve interest-rate increases.
- Dollar General Corp., spurned twice in its attempt to buy Family Dollar Stores Inc., took its $9.1 billion offer directly to shareholders in a hostile bid.
- Apple Inc. will reap fees from banks when consumers use an iPhone in place of credit and debit cards for purchases, a deal that gives the handset maker a cut of the growing market for mobile payments.
- General Mills agreed to buy Annie’s for $46 a share, or about $820 million, in a deal the packaged-food company said would significantly expand its presence in the rapidly growing organic and natural-foods category.
International:
- European stocks dropped for a fourth day, their longest streak of losses in five weeks, as the region’s governments weighed tougher sanctions on Russia and concern grew the U.K. may be heading for partition.
- France slashed its growth forecasts and said the budget deficit will widen for the first time in five years in what Finance Minister Michel Sapin characterized as ‘telling the truth’ on the economy.
- Asian stocks fell, with the benchmark index poised for its lowest close in four weeks, following a retreat in U.S. equities on concern about the pace of Federal Reserve interest-rate increases.
- Qualcomm Inc. is working with 90 partners on devices in China and sees opportunities for growth even as the chipmaker grapples with an anti-monopoly probe in the world’s largest smartphone market.
- Recruit Holdings co., a Japanese provider of staffing services, and its owners plan to raise about $1.7 billion in an IPO next month to fund acquisitions.
*All information is taken from Bloomberg, unless otherwise noted.
