Author: fortraders

At the close of trading in Frankfurt, the DAX index was down 0.32%. Losses in the Construction, Retail and Industrials sectors led shares lower. Commerzbank AG O.N. (ETR:CBKG) was the best performer, rising 2.37% or 0.23 points to 10.02. The worst performer was Munich Reinsurance (ETR:MUVGn), which fell 1.71% or 5.80 points to 333.70.

On the MDAX, Fraport AG (ETR:FRAG) rose 2.98% to 50.46, while the worst performer was Delivery Hero AG (ETR:DHER), which was down 6.19% to 37.11. On the TecDAX, Atoss Software AG (ETR:AOFG) was the top performer, rising 2.42% to 203.00, while SMA Solar Technology AG (ETR:S92G) was the worst, falling 4.37% to 100.60.

The DAX volatility index, which measures the implied volatility of DAX options, was up 4.15% to 16.58. Gold Futures for June delivery was down 0.03% or 0.65 to $1,980.95 a troy ounce. Crude oil for delivery in July rose 0.96% or 0.69 to hit $72.38 a barrel, while the July Brent oil contract rose 0.97% or 0.73 to trade at $76.31 a barrel. EUR/USD was unchanged 0.07% to 1.08, while EUR/GBP unchanged 0.20% to 0.87. The US Dollar Index Futures was unchanged 0.00% at 103.08.

The EMEA Credit Derivatives Determination Committee (CDDC) ruled on Monday that a bankruptcy credit event had not occurred in relation to Credit Suisse, quashing investors’ efforts to trigger a payout on credit insurance linked to the Swiss lender.

The DC reviewed the public information submitted with the question and decided that such information did not confirm that a Credit Event had occurred. Credit Suisse was not part of the convened committee regarding the question that was posed to the committee as the bank abstained under the committee’s rules.

Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed over terms of the emergency deal to save Credit Suisse, which was hammered out over a March weekend amid turmoil in the global banking sector. The amount of gross notional outstanding CDS linked to Credit Suisse bonds stood at more than $19 billion in March, according to Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation data.

The ruling was a major setback for investors who had hoped to secure a payout on the credit default swaps (CDS) linked to Credit Suisse debt. A payout on the instrument that insures investor’s exposure against default of a company or country only triggers if the committee rules that a credit event has happened.

Members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) are striking for better compensation and staffing commitments from Hollywood’s studios. Streaming services have significantly undercut their compensation, and the writers are seeking to recover lost income by proposing streaming payments that take into account the number of times an episode is viewed, and the number of subscribers outside the U.S.

Broadcast networks used to pay writers multiple times for their work, including a script fee for each episode and residuals every time the show aired again. Streaming changed the compensation structure and now accounts for the largest share of TV residuals. Writers have seen their residuals drop significantly, with some receiving only a few hundred dollars for their work.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the group negotiating on behalf of the studios, says streaming has been a boon for writers, giving them more opportunities for assignments and allowing them to earn income on shows that were canceled or would not otherwise reach syndication. The guild is looking to close the gap in domestic and international residual payments, and is proposing a 200% increase in foreign streaming residuals.

Writers are hoping for a fair share of the profits from streaming services, which have become the dominant force in television. With streaming, residual payments are not based on the number of times an episode is viewed, but rather a fixed annual fee that takes into account the number of subscribers. Writers are hoping for a system that reflects the value of their work and the success of the shows they write.

On Monday, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 rose as investors turned to megacap stocks while awaiting updates on a fresh round of talks about raising the U.S. debt ceiling. Microsoft, Tesla and Alphabet were up between 0.6% and 2.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.31% as shares of Micron fell after China’s ban on its memory chips.

President Joe Biden and House Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy will meet for talks on Monday after their discussions almost fell apart on Friday. Investors are looking back to prior periods where the debt ceiling debate ultimately got resolved.

In a move that was perceived as ramping up trade tensions between Beijing and Washington, China barred chipmaker Micron Technology from selling memory chips to key domestic industries, sending its shares down 2.4%. Apple slipped 0.6% after a report that Loop Capital downgraded the iPhone maker’s stock to “hold” from “buy”.

Dow component Chevron fell 0.7% as the oil major said it would buy PDC Energy in a stock-and-debt transaction for $7.6 billion. PacWest Bancorp rose nearly 15% after the regional lender entered into an agreement to sell a portfolio of 74 real estate construction loans to a subsidiary of Kennedy-Wilson Holdings Inc.

Investors now await key data points this week, including a reading on April personal consumption expenditure (PCE) index, considered to be the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, due on Friday. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari and St. Louis Fed chief James Bullard both commented on the possibility of the Fed raising rates this year.