Market News 7/11

Markets

Investors rebounded from last week's sluggish performance after the holidays, as all three major stock market indexes halted their three-day decline. They adopted a positive stance while anticipating additional economic data and the commencement of a new earnings season this week. Analysts provided their initial assessments of Cava, a popular lunch spot, following its initial public offering (IPO), and their outlook was predominantly optimistic. The bowl-making company has experienced significant growth, nearly doubling in value since its introduction to the market last month.

Politics

Turkey to roll out the NATO welcome mat for Sweden at last

Yesterday, Turkey reversed its yearlong objection to the meatball-loving nation's inclusion in the military alliance, even though it had previously insisted on Turkey's admission to the European Union before agreeing. However, Turkey's EU membership did not materialize. While there are still remaining procedures before Sweden officially joins NATO, the resolution of this issue paves the way. As a result, the focus of today's significant NATO summit in Lithuania is expected to center around how to address the eagerness of Ukraine, another country seeking to join the alliance.

Tech

Threads vs Twitter

After Elon Musk acquired Twitter for a whopping $44 billion in mid-2023, the platform experienced a decline in user activity. The situation worsened this month due to unpopular changes implemented on the platform, as confirmed by the CEO of Cloudflare. Interestingly, the CEO's tweet containing his company's data, which showcased this decline, went viral over the weekend on Twitter itself. If you happened to miss the tweet, it's likely because you were busy exploring Threads, Meta's Twitter clone, where popular brands like potato chip companies were engaging with users. Threads achieved a remarkable milestone by amassing 100 million users within just five days of its launch, surpassing ChatGPT as the fastest-growing platform ever. CNBC reported that Similarweb's data indicated a 5% drop in Twitter's traffic for the two days following the widespread release of Threads. However, Twitter still maintains a significant lead with around 250 million users engaged in heated discussions on the platform.

M&A

Microsoft Can Close Its $75 Billion Buy of Activision Blizzard

Microsoft, with a slight decrease in its stock value, has received a favorable ruling from a federal judge, allowing it to proceed with its $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. This decision poses a significant setback to the Biden administration's efforts to regulate large mergers. The merger would unite Microsoft's Xbox videogaming business with Activision Blizzard, the publisher behind popular franchises like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush. With the judge's ruling, there are currently no obstacles in the United States to prevent the merger between the two companies. However, the companies still need to obtain approval from the U.K., and their prospects improved when the Competition and Markets Authority expressed willingness to consider Microsoft's proposals to address competition concerns. U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley stated in her opinion that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had not presented sufficient evidence to demonstrate that Microsoft's ownership of Activision games would harm competition in the console or cloud-gaming markets. On the contrary, she pointed out that the evidence suggests the merger would provide consumers with increased access to Call of Duty and other Activision content.

Interesting Chronicles

Sam Altman-Backed Nuclear Startup Is Going Public Through Altman’s SPAC

On Tuesday, officials from Oklo, a nuclear-fission startup supported by Sam Altman, announced their intention to go public by merging with Altman's special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC). This merger adds to a series of recent SPAC mergers involving nuclear companies and serves as a test of investor interest in clean-energy startups. While such startups experienced a surge in popularity in 2020 and early 2021, they subsequently lost some favor. Companies like Oklo, which aim to construct a new generation of smaller nuclear power projects, face the challenge of demonstrating their ability to deliver projects within the allocated timeframe and budget. This stands in contrast to the larger nuclear plants that preceded them. Oklo, based in California, is focused on developing a design for small modular nuclear reactors. Their plans involve selling electricity in the competitive power market, including through agreements similar to those commonly made by wind and solar developers with corporate and industrial entities seeking to purchase carbon-free power.