Coffee With Greta: Elon Musk Has Commitment Issues, Dumps Twitter
DJIA Futures: -201 (-0.6%)
SPX Futures: -30 (-0.8%)
NASDAQ Futures: -103 (-0.8%)
Good morning friends!
Futures are falling as traders gear up for inflation week and the beginning of Q2 earnings season.
But first, Elon Musk's commitment issues are on full display as he seeks to dump his Twitter deal.
Let’s get right to it!
Musk Seeks to Terminate Twitter Buyout
Twitter (TWTR) shares are down 6.3% ahead of the open as the company gears up for a legal battle with Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk.
Musk informed the social media company on Friday that he wants to terminate his $44 billion takeover deal.
But it’s not as simple as paying a fee and walking away.
In a tweet, Twitter Chairman Bret Taylor said, “The Twitter Board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement. We are confident we will prevail in the Delaware Court of Chancery.”
Musk alleges Twitter violated the terms of the agreement by misrepresenting the number of spam users on the platform.
TSLA shares are up 1.1% in premarket trade on optimism over Musk’s desire to ditch the deal.
Traders Brace for Inflation, Earnings
This week is all about inflation after the hot June jobs report on Friday.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the June consumer price index Wednesday morning.
Economists expect the CPI to show prices rose 8.8% annually last month which would be an increase from 8.6% in May.
That jump would mostly be due to higher energy prices, particularly gas.
The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, is expected to decrease to an annual pace of 5.7% from 6% in May.
The producer price index will also be released Thursday morning and is a leading indicator for consumer prices.
It’s also the beginning of Q2 earnings season with big banks reporting later this week.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Morgan Stanley (MS) report Thursday morning followed by Citigroup (C) and Wells Fargo (WFC) Friday morning.
Klarna Valuation Tumbles in Latest Funding Round
Buy now, pay later service Klarna’s valuation plummeted in its latest funding round.
The company raised $800 million in financing at a valuation of just $6.7 billion.
That’s down sharply from a $45.6 billion valuation in June 2021.
The company said, “the adjustment in Klarna's valuation is on par with its public peers”.
A partner at one of Klarna’s investors, Sequoia, said, “The shift in Klarna's valuation is entirely due to investors suddenly voting in the opposite manner to the way they voted for the past few years.”
The company is reportedly considering going public this year but the CEO has previously said market volatility makes him “nervous” about an IPO.
The drop in Klarna’s valuation is weighing on other buy now, pay later firms with Affirm (AFRM) shares falling 2.2% ahead of the open.
Oil Prices Fall
Oil prices are lower as the market continues to weigh recession fears against supply concerns.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures are down 3.5% at just over $101 bbl while Brent crude futures are down 2.9% at just under $104 bbl.
The drop comes after both contracts posted weekly losses last week.
Gas Prices Still Tumbling
Lower oil prices are pushing U.S. gas prices even lower as the national average fell for the 26th day in a row.
AAA shows the national average for regular gas fell to $4.678/gal today.
Diesel also fell to $5.642/gal.
The continued decline comes despite an increase in gasoline demand.
The Energy Information Administration reported gas demand rose to 9.41 million barrels per day from 8.92 million bpd ahead of the 4th of July.
