Morning Brief: Top Financial Stories Dominating on Tuesday, April 19

CNBC

US Calls For Global Agreement To End Anti-Satellite Missile Testing

• The U.S. government is looking to end the practice of anti-satellite missile tests, Vice President Kamala Harris announced, urging other nations to follow.
• An anti-satellite weapons test (ASAT) is a military demonstration in which a spacecraft in orbit is destroyed using a missile system. Historically, countries performing ASAT tests have targeted their assets in space.
• Plans for the move were set late last year after the Russian military destroyed a defunct satellite with an ASAT on November 15.

Reuters

Stellantis Suspends Production In Russia

• Stellantis NV STLA said it is halting its production in Russia owing to economic sanctions and logistical difficulties.
• The automaker has 1% of Russia’s car market, producing Peugeot, Citroёn, Opel, Jeep, and Fiat brands.
• “Given the rapid daily increase in cross sanctions and logistical difficulties, Stellantis has suspended its manufacturing operations in Kaluga to ensure full compliance with all cross sanctions and to protect its employees,” the company said in a statement.

Gogoro Confident Of Its Chip Supply

• Taiwanese electric scooter maker Gogoro Inc’s GGR Chief Executive Officer Horace Luke said that the company has an adequate amount of chips to meet its needs, Reuters reported.
• The report quoted Luke saying the company used far fewer chips than electric car makers and has a healthy supply of chips.
• Meanwhile, CEO Luke warned of a tightened chip supply scenario by year-end as it plans to grow in China, India, and Southeast Asia.

Here’s Why EV Demand Continues To Soar Amid Odds

• Global EV sales in Q1 jumped nearly 120%, even with sticker prices surging amid surging battery prices.
• Supply chain disruptions, sanctions on Russian metals, investor speculation, and environmental concerns drove the battery prices.
• Gasoline and diesel fuel costs for internal combustion vehicles also skyrocketed since Russia invaded Ukraine.
• Experts saw automakers passing the higher cost burden to consumers due to the battery industry’s wafer-thin margins.

Rolls-Royce Small Nuclear Reactor Likely To Win UK Approval

• A Rolls-Royce RYCEY RYCEF design for a small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) will likely win U.K. regulatory approval by mid-2024 and produce grid power by 2029, Reuters reports.
• In the meantime, Rolls-Royce will start manufacturing parts of the design that are most unlikely to change.
• Each 470 MW SMR unit costs 1.8 billion pounds ($2.34 billion). Rolls-Royce will build each SMR on a 10-acre site equivalent to 10 football fields.

Bloomberg

Blockchain.Com Is Considering An IPO As Early As This Year

• According to people familiar with the matter, cryptocurrency firm Blockchain.com is interviewing banks for an initial public offering that may take place as soon as this year, reported Bloomberg.
• An IPO may not occur until next year, and the company’s intentions may change, stated the people familiar with the matter.

Tesla Faces Federal’ Open Investigation’ Over Racism Allegations: What You Should Know

• Tesla Inc TSLA is facing an “open investigation” by a U.S. federal agency, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing the EV maker’s state court filing in Oakland.
• Elon Musk-led Tesla linked the investigation by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to a “turf war” with California’s state Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH).
• Austin, Texas-based Tesla, in its filing, accused DFEH of seeking a ‘quick publicity grab’ and asked a judge to pause a lawsuit filed in February by the agency over ignoring “rampant racism” in its factory in Fremont.

Financial Times

This Smaller Spotify Rival Looks To Go Public Via €1.05B SPAC Merger

• Spotify Technology SA’s SPOT smaller French rival Deezer looks to go public via a SPAC merger backed by billionaire Francois Pinault’s investment group and investment banker Matthieu Pigasse, the Financial Times reports.
• Deezer merged with I2PO, a Paris-listed special purpose acquisition company.
• The SPAC raised €135 million in the form of Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE) financing.

UK-Based Start-Up Working On Next COVID-19 Vaccine Using Animal Feces

• DIOSynVax, a UK start-up, hopes genetic sequences of viruses discovered in animal feces will give vital clues for creating a vaccine to help prevent future pandemics.
• The Cambridge university spinout is working on two vaccines that it believes will outlive the currently available Covid-19 jabs, including the one created by researchers at rival Oxford University.
• Jonathan Heeney first became interested in coronaviruses when he diagnosed them in cats and cheetahs during his studies.

Benzinga

Johnson & Johnson Suspends Sales Forecast For COVID-19 Vaccine, Trims FY22 Profit Outlook

• Johnson & Johnson JNJ has reported Q1 FY22 adjusted earnings of $2.67 per share, up 3.1% Y/Y and ahead of the consensus of $2.61.
• Net sales increased 5% Y/Y (7.9% on an operational basis) to $23.43 billion, missing the consensus of $23.67 billion.
• Pharmaceuticals contributed $12.87 billion in sales, +9.3%, due to Darzalex (daratumumab), Stelara (ustekinumab), Tremfya (guselkumab), Erleada (apalutamide), and paliperidone palmitate and COVID-19 vaccine.

Amazon Bows To Shareholder-Pressure And Conducts Racial Equity Audit: What You Need to Know

• E-commerce giant Amazon, Inc. AMZN said it is conducting a racial equity audit as part of its efforts to support and increase diversity in the workplace, a definitive proxy statement filed with the SEC as Form DEF 14A showed.
• Amazon said the focus of the racial equity audit would be to evaluate any “disparate racial impacts of its policies, programs and practices” on its nearly one million hourly employees. The audit team will be led by Loretta Lynch, a former U.S. Attorney General.

Why Alibaba, Bilibili, JD Are Trading Lower Today

• Chinese tech stocks are extending losses on Tuesday in the premarket session, seeing further erosion of their already-weakened valuations.
• A few things are working in the minds of investors ahead of the market open in the United States. The cues from Hong Kong, which opened after Monday’s public holiday, are not very encouraging. Alibaba Holdings, Inc. BABA shed over 4% in Hong Kong and Tencent Holdings Limited TCEHY ended 2.78% lower.
• The weakness seen in premarket trading is attributable to regulatory risk that has continued to pressure these stocks since the start of 2021.

$30 Per Hour And More: What Apple NYC Store Staff Looking To Unionize Are Demanding

• Apple, Inc. AAPL store workers in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal working toward unionizing have come up with some concrete demands.
• The store workers are urging Apple to pay a minimum hourly wage of $30, among other things, updated information posted on their website showed.
• Calling itself Fruit Stand Workers United, the union is seeking benefits such as increased tuition reimbursement, faster accrued, and more vacation time, among other things.

Apollo Global Said To Consider An Offer For Twitter, Ready To Team Up With Elon Musk

• Private equity firm Apollo Global Management APO is open to teaming up with Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk or any other bidder to finance a Twitter Inc TWTR buyout, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
• Apollo is the latest private equity firm after Thoma Bravo LP last week reportedly contacted Twitter to express interest in putting together an acquisition offer that would rival Musk’s $43 billion bid.
• Apollo’s participation to finance a deal would be through its credit investment platform and not its private equity business, according to the report.

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