Author: fortraders

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has begun shipping China-made Model 3 and Model Y vehicles to Canada, according to the company’s website. The cars qualify for federal incentives of C$5,000 ($3,700) in Canada, and are listed for C$61,990 in Canada, about 22% more than the equivalent vehicle costs in China before incentives.

Tesla’s move to export to Canada from Shanghai could help it keep vehicles made at its plants in California and Texas for sale in the United States, where they qualify for potential tax incentives of up to $7,500. The company’s Shanghai factory manufactures EVs for sale in China and exports to overseas markets, including Europe.

Tesla uses a code when listing vehicles for sale that corresponds to the first three digits of the vehicle identification number, or VIN. The VINs for Tesla models built by the Shanghai factory all start with the letters “LRW.” It was not clear how many China-made, Tesla vehicles were available for purchase in Canada or how many had been sold.

Tesla said last month that it would offer a new, cheaper version of its Model Y in Canada, a rear-wheel drive variant of the SUV-styled crossover that would qualify for Canadian government incentives. A Tesla production plan reviewed by Reuters showed the automaker had designed and tested Model Y vehicles for export to North America, with a target of producing nearly 9,000 for export this quarter.

Tesla’s move to export China-made vehicles to Canada could help the company keep vehicles made at its plants in California and Texas for sale in the United States, where they qualify for potential tax incentives of up to $7,500. It also opens a new market for Tesla Shanghai, which last year accounted for more than half of the company’s production.

Qantas Airways, Australia’s flagship carrier, has forecast a record annual profit for fiscal 2023 and increased its share buyback programme by up to A$100 million ($67.83 million). The airline expects an underlying profit before tax of A$2.43 billion to A$2.48 billion, slightly higher than a Refinitiv estimate of A$2.40 billion. This is nearly A$850 million higher than the carrier’s 2018 record of A$1.60 billion.

The better-than-expected forecast has not gone down well with the Transport Workers Union (TWU), which is currently involved in a court battle with Qantas regarding the sacking of nearly 1,700 ground staff at the peak of the pandemic. The union has called for the carrier to return welfare received during the pandemic.

Qantas has maintained that of the nearly A$2 billion it received from the government, about half of it was to maintain critical passenger and freight flights to keep exporters connected to overseas markets. The airline has also said that half of the A$850 million, received as JobKeeper subsidy, went directly to the staff.

The trading update by Qantas pointed towards higher demand, better cost management and lower debt. Jet fuel prices remained elevated, but a recent drop may deliver cost improvements in the second half. Qantas’ net debt is expected to be between A$2.70 billion and A$2.90 billion by June-end, significantly below a revised target range of A$3.70 billion to A$4.60 million.

Despite the positive cues, shares of Qantas were down 2.1% at A$6.365, versus a 0.1% gain in the benchmark stock index.

Slawomir Krupa has been appointed as the new CEO of Societe Generale, France’s third-largest lender. His mission is to remake the bank as a top-tier bank with a distinct identity. Krupa must improve returns for shareholders without taking undue risk against a shaky backdrop for bank stocks. He is due to lay out his plans for the bank by the autumn.

Krupa is seen as an outsider, having spent his whole career at SocGen, and his hard-driving style is seen as a contrast to his predecessor. He is focused on operational questions, such as finalising a joint venture with AllianceBernstein for global cash equities and equity research. This may offer a platform to grow in the United States.

Krupa has said that a big merger is not on the cards in the near term, but some investment bankers suggest that ultimately the group could be combined with a European rival. Ultimately, Krupa must find a way to improve profitability without mergers.

Weight loss drug Wegovy has revolutionized the obesity market, with pharmaceutical companies hoping the resulting demand will boost sales of their older, less effective but cheaper treatments. Wegovy, which was launched in the U.S. in June 2021, leads to an average weight loss of around 15%. However, supply issues and high cost have caused some insurers and governments to baulk at its use.

Vivus and Currax Pharmaceuticals, U.S.-based developers whose treatments have been on the U.S. market for around a decade, are hoping to benefit from the attention and supply shortage. Vivus plans to launch its pill, sold as Qsiva in Europe and Qysmia in the U.S., in several countries, while Currax’s drug, marketed as Contrave in the U.S. and Mysimba in Europe, is already approved in 40 countries.

Eli Lilly and Pfizer are likely to be the next to launch their drugs, while obesity experts say there is a role for the older drugs due to their lower cost. However, investors say the issues with the older drugs, notably efficacy and tolerability, could continue to hold them back.

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has unveiled the first global approach to regulating cryptoassets and digital markets. The proposed standards cover dealing with conflicts of interest, market manipulation, cross-border regulatory cooperation, custody of cryptoassets, operational risks, and treatment of retail customers. The 18 measures planned apply long-established safeguards from mainstream markets to eliminate conflicts of interest between the different parts of a crypto transaction.

IOSCO, an umbrella group of regulators such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Japan’s Financial Services Agency, Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority and Germany’s BaFin, is canvassing public opinion on the regulations. The move follows the European Union’s finalisation this month of the world’s first set of comprehensive rules, piling pressure on Britain, the United States and other countries to come up with their own norms.

The proposed regulations are a response to the collapse of the FTX exchange last year, which highlighted the need for global standards to protect investors and ensure market integrity. IOSCO aims to finalise the standards by the end of the year, and expects its 130 members worldwide to use them to plug gaps in their rulebooks promptly.

Asian stocks retreated on Tuesday as investors weighed the prospect of a U.S. default and soft economic data from China. The Nikkei 225 index reversed early gains and fell 0.6%, while the TOPIX lost 0.4%. Chinese indexes were also headed for steep losses in May, with the Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes falling about 0.5% each. Hong Kong-listed Chinese stocks pulled the Hang Seng 0.4% lower.

The prospect of a U.S. default kept Asian markets on edge, as traders feared the economic fallout from such an event. Soft economic indicators from China also dampened sentiment toward Asian stocks. South Korea’s KOSPI rose 0.7%, aided by data showing a recovery in consumer sentiment, while Australia’s ASX 200 rose 0.3%. In Southeast Asia, Thailand’s SET Index fell 0.2%, remaining under pressure as markets awaited the formation of a new government.

Overall, investors remain cautious as they await further developments in the U.S. debt ceiling talks and economic data from China.

A judge has dismissed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Elon Musk, the world’s second-richest person according to Forbes magazine. The lawsuit claimed that Musk cheated Twitter shareholders several times last year in the course of buying the social media company for $44 billion.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco said plaintiff William Heresniak lacked standing to sue because he challenged “wrongs associated with” Musk’s buyout, not the fairness of the buyout itself. Breyer also found no proof that Musk helped two friends then on Twitter’s board, co-founder Jack Dorsey and Silver Lake private equity firm managing partner Egon Durban, breach their fiduciary duties by favoring their own and Musk’s interests.

The judge said letting Dorsey roll over his approximately $1 billion of Twitter shares into an equity stake in the new company merely reduced how much Musk had to pay at closing, and did not “improperly divert” money from other shareholders.

The case was dismissed on Monday, and Musk’s lawyers called Heresniak’s claims “a disjointed laundry list of – often irrelevant – grievances against Elon Musk.” Twitter has since struggled to maintain ad revenue, with some advertisers expressing concern that loosened content rules could leave their ads associated with hate speech or other “wrong messages.” On May 12, Musk named former NBCUniversal advertising chief Linda Yaccarino as Twitter’s new chief executive.

Asian stocks rose to two-week highs on Tuesday, buoyed by progress in U.S. debt ceiling negotiations and resilient economic data from Japan. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3%, while Japan’s Nikkei extended its winning streak into a ninth session and rose 0.6%.

President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy could not reach an agreement Monday on how to raise the U.S. government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, but vowed to keep talking. This spurred some hopes despite distinct risks of brinkmanship and blame-shifting remaining on the cards.

Japan’s manufacturing activity expanded for the first time in seven months in May, survey data showed, while the service-sector hit record growth, as the post-COVID recovery gains traction. Purchasing Managers Index surveys are due in Europe, Britain and the United States later in the day and strong services growth is expected to hold the composite readings in expansionary territory.

The U.S. dollar tracked the move and hit a six-month high of 138.88 yen in the Asia session. Benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.4% to $76.26 a barrel, while spot gold fell 0.4% to $1,960 an ounce. Overnight the S&P 500 was flat.

Mexico’s Supreme Court has invalidated a presidential decree that declared two major transport projects a matter of national security, reducing civilian oversight and making future legal challenges more difficult. The projects, the Mayan Train and the Inter-Oceanic Corridor, aim to link tourist spots in the Yucatan Peninsula and connect Mexico’s Pacific and Gulf coasts respectively.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has argued the decree is needed to protect the “strategic” nature of the projects, citing the government’s role in ensuring secure transport of goods and people. Critics, however, have derided the decree as part of a growing militarization of public works.

The Supreme Court’s ruling marks the second time the jurists have struck down Lopez Obrador’s bid to put the projects under national security protections. The president has said his government is willing to pay compensation – if necessary – and reach an agreement with the transport unit of mining and rail conglomerate Grupo Mexico, which holds the rights to tracks on the Inter-Oceanic Corridor.

The Inter-Oceanic Corridor aims to modernize freight cargo transport between the Pacific and Gulf coasts through the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico’s narrowest point, to create a trade route that could eventually rival the Panama Canal. Shares of Grupo Mexico’s transport unit closed down more than 4% on Monday, although services on the line have continued normally.

U.S stock futures were trading slightly higher during Monday’s evening deals, following a mixed session among major benchmark averages. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%, the S&P 500 finished flat and the Nasdaq Composite lifted 0.5%. Zoom Video Communications Inc (NASDAQ:ZM) added 0.8% after reporting better-than-expected Q1 results. Ahead in Tuesday’s session, building permits, new home sales, preliminary manufacturing and services PMIs will be closely monitored, as well as a speech from the Fed’s Logan. Among earnings, quarterly results are scheduled from companies including Intuit Inc (NASDAQ:INTU), Lowe’s Companies Inc (NYSE:LOW), Palo Alto Networks Inc (NASDAQ:PANW), BJs Wholesale Club Holdings Inc (NYSE:BJ) and Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc (NYSE:DKS). On the bond markets, United States 10-Year rates were at fresh 2-month highs of 3.721%.