Morning Brief: Top Financial Stories Dominating on Thursday, June 9

Reuters

Blackstone Closes In Crown Bid After Australia Approvals: Reuters

• Blackstone Inc BX, the investment management company, is likely to take the reins of Australia’s Crown resorts after the country’s regulators approve the bid.
• The Blackstone - Crown Resorts Ltd buyout is expected to be about $6.3 billion.

United States Helps To Keep Taiwanese Warships In Service

• The U.S. has cleared a possible $120 million sale of parts to assist Taiwan in maintaining its warships, which the island’s defense ministry said would help assure combat readiness in the face of China’s “frequent activities” near the island.
• The U. S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency stated that it had submitted the requisite certification to Congress following State Department approval for the sale, which was requested by Taiwan’s de facto embassy in Washington.

State Street Might Tap Credit Suisse As Takeover Interest

• Credit Suisse Group AG CS could receive a takeover offer from U.S. financial giant State Street STT, stated a media report a day earlier.
• What happened: According to Reuters, State Street indicated overnight that it was focused on the pending acquisition of Brown Brothers Harriman’s Investors Services business, following a report by Inside Paradeplatz on Wednesday that it was planning a takeover attempt and may approach Credit Suisse.

Wall Street Journal

US Schedules Covid-19 Vaccines For Children Below Five Years

• The U.S. government is preparing to launch vaccines for children below five in conjunction with educational and outreach efforts, pending approval by federal regulators, the Wall Street Journal reports.
• The government looks to provide ten million initial doses as the virus spreads nationwide, leaving the parents anxious.
• The vaccinations could begin by June 21, subject to the regulatory approval for Moderna, Inc MRNA, Pfizer, Inc PFE, and partner BioNTech SE BNTX

Bloomberg

Here’s Why Alibaba Shares Are Trading Lower Premarket After Brief Jump

• Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA shares gave up the gains in premarket trading after China snubbed previous reports of the revival of the IPO of its fintech affiliate Ant Group Co.
• The news of revival reflected possible ease in China’s domestic tech crackdown, Bloomberg reports.
• China had reportedly formed a team to reassess Ant’s share sale plans.

India’s Apollo Global, Reliance Make a Binding Offer For UK’s Boots

• Apollo Global Management Inc. APO and Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd. led consortium have made a binding offer for Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.’s WBA international arm, reported Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter.
• The source stated that the proposal values Boots at more than £5 billion ($6.3 billion). Walgreens is seeking a valuation of around £7 billion for Boots.
• After competing suitors began to reconsider, the move might put Apollo and Reliance in pole position to buy Boots.

Financial Times

Palantir Plans To Bid For £360M UK NHS Contract

• Palantir Technologies Inc PLTR, the data analytics company, is planning to expand its role in U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS)
• ·The company is planning to bid a £360 million contract to be the underlying working system for the UK’s Nationwide Well- being Service.

Benzinga

Key Takeaways From US’s New Standards for National EV Charging Network

• The U.S. Transportation Department (USDOT) proposed minimum standards and requirements for electric vehicle (EV) charging projects funded under a $5 billion government program.
• The government sought 50% of all new vehicles sold to be electric or plug-in hybrid electric models and 500,000 new EV charging stations by 2030, which could serve as a significant breakthrough for EV makers like Tesla, Inc TSLA and others.
• The new standards made charging EVs convenient, reliable, and affordable for all Americans, including driving long distances.

Tesla Blocked By California Judge From Challenging Race-Bias Lawsuit

• Tesla Inc TSLA cannot halt The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing’s (DFEH) lawsuit alleging widespread race discrimination at an assembly plant, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing a judge.
• The electric automaker has challenged DFEH’s ability to sue employers after the agency in its lawsuit claimed Tesla’s flagship Fremont plant was racially segregated and Black workers were harassed and discriminated against in terms of job assignments, discipline and pay.

Google Maps Will Now Display Air Quality: How To Enable It

• Alphabet, Inc.’s GOOGL GOOG Google Maps, currently the most used navigation application, has added a new feature that lets you gauge a vital piece of information.
• Both Android and iOS users in the U.S. can now use Google Maps to check air quality, an update rolled out by the tech giant earlier this month on its Pixel smartphones.
• This feature can be accessed from the ‘air quality layer’ on Google Maps.

Australia Sues Airbnb With Allegations Of Duping Customers Into Paying More

• Amid the widening scrutiny against global technology platforms, the Australian antitrust watchdog has filed a lawsuit against Airbnb Inc ABNB, accusing it of misleading users into paying more.
• The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), in a court filing, said the vacation rentals company, between at least January 2018 and August 2021, misled customers by advertising and charging room rates in U.S. dollars without indicating the figures in Australian dollars.

Why Is Shiba Inu (SHIB) Buying Pressure Surging On Coinbase?

• Meme-based cryptocurrency Shiba Inu SHIB/USD saw an uptick in buy orders on Coinbase Global Inc COIN on Thursday.
• According to trading data from the cryptocurrency exchange, 63% of Coinbase traders increased their SHIB position over the last 24 hours.
• “Increased buying activity can signal that the asset is gaining popularity,” read Coinbase’s description of its trading activity metric.

Tesla Bounces Back With Strong May Sales In China, Clocking 2000% Sequential Rise

• Tesla, Inc. TSLA has bounced back big in China in May after a grossly underwhelming performance in the previous month.
• Tesla’s wholesale sales of China-made vehicles totaled 32,165 units in May, Reuters reported, citing data from the China Passenger Car Association. This represented a 3.8% year-over-year decline from the 33,463 cars sold in May 2021.
• The May performance is a notable 2000% improvement from the 1,512 cars Tesla sold in China in April. The company did not export any cars during the month.

Alibaba Faces US Lawsuit Over Selling Defective Printer That Led To A Death In Fire Accident

• Alibaba Group Holding, Inc. BABA is reportedly facing a legal challenge in the U.S. over a defective product that was sold on its website.
• Parents of a San Francisco man, who died in 2020 when the 3D printer caught fire, have sued Alibaba over allegedly selling a defective device through its U.S. website, called AliExpress, Bloomberg reported.
• The printer was reportedly manufactured by Chinese electronics company Tronxy Technology.

Apple Spins Off BNPL Unit, Quietly Plans Another Financial Initiative

• Apple Inc AAPL has spun off a wholly-owned subsidiary to handle lending for its recently introduced ‘buy now pay later’ Service.
• Apple Financing LLC has acquired state lending licenses and will function independently of Apple to facilitate the new pay later service, reported Apple Insider, citing a Bloomberg report.
• This marks Apple’s foray into incorporating loans and credit assessments and other financial businesses into the company, according to the report.

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