Yesterday, U.S. producer prices were much stronger than expected, casting doubt on the Federal Reserve's interest rate reduction timeline.
Vodafone's shares jumped 4% after Swisscom agreed to purchase Vodafone Italia for 8 billion euros, with Vodafone planning to return half of the proceeds to shareholders. It announced a 4-billion-euro capital return to shareholders following the sale.
The Berkeley Group, a British high-end homebuilder, highlighted ongoing challenges in the housing market, with sales rates remaining about a third lower than the comparative period. The company reaffirmed its pre-tax profit forecast for the current financial year at 550 million pounds.
Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust revealed a plan to buy back shares worth 1 billion pounds over the next two years, citing strong operational results from its portfolio.
Reckitt Benckiser's unit Mead Johnson was ordered to pay $60 million related to its Enfamil baby formula.
Oil prices dipped slightly but were on track for a nearly 4% weekly increase due to significant declines in U.S. crude and fuel inventories, drone strikes on Russian refineries, and a rise in energy demand forecasts.
Things to read today:
- A Millenium trader made $40m thanks to the fall of the Egyptian currency (Bloomberg).
- Drone swarms are about to change the balance of military power (Wall Street Journal).
- Can Reddit survive its own IPO (Wired).
- Google announces its new products on May 14... AI, AI and more AI... (The Verge).
- Mistral AI's success infuriates the EU! (The Conversation).
- The mystery of US interest rates (Project Syndicate).