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HSBC on Monday downgraded U.S. equities, citing uncertainty around tariffs, while turned bullish on European stocks following boost from Germany loosening its fiscal reforms. The brokerage lowered U.S. equities to “neutral” and raised rating on European stocks, excluding UK stocks to “overweight” from “underweight.” The Trump administration’s massive moves on trade and other policies have injected uncertainty, while a proposed $1.2 trillion European fiscal bazooka and the emergence of China as the tech race leader are marking a potential turning point for investor capital away from the United States. The S&P 500 has pulled back about 6.1% from its February 19 record high on worries that the trade war will hurt corporate profit and slow growth. “It is important to stress that we are not turning negative on US equities but tactically, we see better opportunities elsewhere for now,” said HSBC’s Global Equity Strategist Alastair Pinder said. Morgan Stanley Equity Strategist Michael Wilson believes the S&P 500 could fall another 5% to 5,500 points by mid-year, before ending the year at around 6,500, which is a 12.7% upside from the benchmark index’s last close. “The path is likely to be volatile as the market continues to contemplate these growth risks, which could get worse before they get better,” Morgan Stanley’s Wilson said in a note on Monday. Kanchana Chakravarty and Medha Singh, Reuters
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E-Commerce
Detroit-based fintech platform Rocket Companies (NYSE: RKT) has reached an agreement to acquire the Seattle mortgage services company Redfin (NASDAQ: RDFN) in an all-stock transaction valued at $1.75 billion, the companies announced on Monday. Each Redfin share will be exchanged for 0.7926 shares of Rockets Class A common stock, with the deal expected to close in mid-2025, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals. Following the announcement, Redfins stock soared nearly 70%, reaching $9.91 in premarket trading. This surge came after Rocket Companies agreed to acquire Redfin for $12.50 per share, representing a premium of 63% over Redfin’s recent average price. On the other hand, Rockets stock dropped around 13%. Forming a real estate-lending powerhouse The acquisition brings together two major players in real estate and mortgage lending. Redfin, founded in 2004, operates one of the nations most visited real estate platforms, with nearly 50 million monthly users and a network of over 2,200 agents. Rocket Companies, known for its mortgage and financial services, views the deal as a step toward streamlining the home-buying process. Rocket and Redfin share a unified vision of a better way to buy and sell homes, said Rocket CEO Varun Krishna. Together, we will enhance the experience by connecting traditionally separate steps of the search and financing process with leading technology. The acquisition is expected to drive Rockets mortgage growth, giving Redfin users direct access to Rockets financing products. Rocket anticipates over $200 million in synergies by 2027, including cost savings and new revenue opportunities.
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E-Commerce
When U.S. President Donald Trump first suggested buying Greenland in 2019, people thought it was just a joke. No one is laughing now.Trump’s interest in Greenland, restated vigorously soon after he returned to the White House in January, comes as part of an aggressively “America First” foreign policy platform that includes demands for Ukraine to hand over mineral rights in exchange for continued military aid, threats to take control of the Panama Canal, and suggestions that Canada should become the 51st U.S. state. Why Greenland? Increasing international tensions, global warming and the changing world economy have put Greenland at the heart of the debate over global trade and security, and Trump wants to make sure that the U.S. controls this mineral-rich country that guards the Arctic and North Atlantic approaches to North America. Who does Greenland belong to? Greenland is a self-governing territory of Denmark, a long-time U.S. ally that has rejected Trump’s overtures. Denmark has also recognized Greenland’s right to independence at a time of its choosing.Amid concerns about foreign interference and demands that Greenlanders must control their own destiny, the island’s prime minister called an early parliamentary election for Tuesday.The world’s largest island, 80% of which lies above the Arctic Circle, is home to about 56,000 mostly Inuit people who until now have been largely ignored by the rest of the world. Why are other countries interested in Greenland? Climate change is thinning the Arctic ice, promising to create a northwest passage for international trade and reigniting the competition with Russia, China, and other countries over access to the region’s mineral resources.“Let us be clear: we are soon entering the Arctic Century, and its most defining feature will be Greenland’s meteoric rise, sustained prominence and ubiquitous influence,” said Dwayne Menezes, managing director of the Polar Research and Policy Initiative.“Greenlandlocated on the crossroads between North America, Europe, and Asia, and with enormous resource potentialwill only become more strategically important, with all powers great and small seeking to pay court to it. One is quite keen to go a step further and buy it.”The following are some of the factors that are driving U.S. interest in Greenland. Arctic competition Following the Cold War, the Arctic was largely an area of international cooperation. But climate change, the hunt for scarce resources, and increasing international tensions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are once again driving competition in the region. Strategic importance Greenland sits off the northeastern coast of Canada, with more than two-thirds of its territory lying within the Arctic Circle. That has made it crucial to the defense of North America since World War II, when the U.S. occupied Greenland to ensure that it didn’t fall into the hands of Nazi Germany and to protect crucial North Atlantic shipping lanes.The U.S. has retained bases in Greenland since the war, and the Pituffik Space Base, formerly Thule Air Force Base, supports missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance operations for the U.S. and NATO. Greenland also guards part of what is known as the GIUK (Greenland, Iceland, United Kingdom) Gap, where NATO monitors Russian naval movements in the North Atlantic. Natural resources Greenland has large deposits of so-called rare earth minerals that are needed to make everything from computers and smartphones to the batteries, solar, and wind technologies that will power the transition away from fossil fuels. The U.S. Geological Survey has also identified potential offshore deposits of oil and natural gas.Greenlanders are keen to develop the resources, but they have enacted strict rules to protect the environment. There are also questions about the feasibility of extracting Greenland’s mineral wealth because of the region’s harsh climate. Climate change Greenland’s retreating ice cap is exposing the country’s mineral wealth and melting sea ice is opening up the once-mythical Northwest Passage through the Arctic.Greenland sits strategically along two potential routes through the Arctic, which would reduce shipping times between the North Atlantic and Pacific and bypass the bottlenecks of the Suez and Panama canals. While the routes aren’t likely to be commercially viable for many years, they are attracting attention. Chinese interest In 2018, China declared itself a “near-Arctic state” in an effort to gain more influence in the region. China has also announced plans to build a “Polar Silk Road” as part of its global Belt and Road Initiative, which has created economic links with countries around the world.Then-U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo rejected China’s move, saying: “Do we want the Arctic Ocean to transform into a new South China Sea, fraught with militarization and competing territorial claims?” A Chinese-backed rare earth mining project in Greenland stalled after the local government banned uranium mining in 2021. Independence The legislation that extended self-government to Greenland in 2009 also recognized the country’s right to independence under international law. Opinion polls show a majority of Greenlanders favor independence, though they differ on exactly when that should occur. The potential for independence raises questions about outside interference in Greenland that could threaten U.S. interests in the country. Danica Kirka, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
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