Morning Briefing: 10 Things You Should Know
NEW YORK (
) -- Here are 10 things you should know for Monday, July 29:
1.
-- U.S. stock futures were pointing lower Monday ahead of a two-day meeting this week of the
Federal Reserve
and the U.S. jobs report for July on Friday.
European stocks were trading trading mixed Monday while Asian shares ended the session with losses. Japan's Nikkei 225 index dropped 3.3% to 13,661.13, as the yen rose.
2.
-- The
in the U.S. Monday includes pending home sales for June at 10 a.m. EDT.
3.
--
U.S. stocks
on Friday rose but posted their first weekly decline in July as investors balked at surpassing the 1,700 level on the
S&P 500
, unsure about the strength of the U.S. economic recovery and the
Federal Reserve's
commitment to maintain its stimulus program.
The S&P 500 rose 0.08% on Friday to 1,691.65 but slipped 0.03% for the week. The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
added 0.02% to 15,559.20, and added 0.1% for the week. The
Nasdaq
finished up 0.22% at 3,613.16 and gained 0.22% for the week.
4.
--
Omnicom
(OMC) - Get Report
and France's
Publicis
agreed to a
merger
that would create the world's largest advertising firm.
The deal -- which combines the companies in a "merger of equals" -- is valued at around $35.1 billion.
The combined company will be called Publicis Omnicom Group and be led jointly by Omnicom CEO John Wren and Publicis CEO Maurice Levy as co-chief executives.
The companies said they expect the deal to overcome any regulatory hurdles in the U.S. and Europe. They also would have to overcome any client conflicts since rivals such as
Coca-Cola
and
PepsiCo
, and
Johnson & Johnson
and
Procter & Gamble
, now find themselves under the same umbrella.
5.
-- Michigan-based drugmaker
Perrigo
(PRGO) - Get Report
reached a deal to buy Ireland's
Elan
(ELN)
for $8.6 billion.
Perrigo said it will pay Elan investors $6.25 a share in cash and $10.25 in Perrigo stock. The deal is 11% premium over Elan's closing price Friday.
Perrigo said it will become an Irish-based company and said it could cut its tax liabilities nearly in half, saving more than $150 million a year.
6.
--
JPMorgan Chase
(JPM) - Get Report
said it will explore the sale of its
.
Other strategic alternatives include a spinoff or a strategic partnership.
JPMorgan said Friday that during the process it will continue to operate the business as a going concern. The bank also said it remains committed to traditional activities in the commodities market, including financial derivatives and the vaulting and trading of precious metals.
7.
--
Apple
(AAPL) - Get Report
veteran
, senior vice president of technologies, "is no longer going to be on Apple's executive team" but will remain at the iPod and iPhone maker "working on special projects" reporting to Tim Cook, an Apple spokesman told
The Wall Street Journal
.
The newspaper noted that on Sunday Mansfield's biography information had disappeared from the company's Web site. The
Journal
said Apple in the past has removed biographies from its Web site as executive shakeups happen.
8.
--
Hertz
(HTZ) - Get Report
is forecast to post second-quarter earnings on Monday of 45 cents a share on revenue of $2.7 billion.
9.
--
Wynn Resorts
(WYNN) - Get Report
is expected by analysts on Monday to report second-quarter earnings of $1.57 a share on revenue of $1.34 billion.
10.
-- Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, the first in three years, are set to begin Monday evening in Washington. Pushing the talks forward was a decision by Israeli leaders on Sunday to release 104 Palestinian prisoners.
-- Written by Joseph Woelfel
>To contact the writer of this article, click here:
Joseph Woelfel
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