Tech Shares Fall as Bond Yields Rise – Wall Street Journal, 3/18/2021

• U.S. stocks fell Thursday as shares of technology companies and other high-growth stocks succumbed to another selloff in the government bond market.
• The moves are the latest shock tied to the sharp rise in Treasury yields. Signs of a recovering economy have led investors to dump government bonds, pushing yields higher.
• Stock future had started heading lower overnight after the 10-year Treasury yield, a key benchmark for lending costs, ticked up to 1.747%, breaching 1.7% for the first time since January 2020.
• A day earlier, the Fed had increased some projections for growth and inflation based on the latest round of stimulus doled out by Congress and the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines.
• Bond investors are betting that the Fed will raise interest rates within the next two years, despite data Wednesday that showed most policy makers still expect to maintain ultralow interest rates through 2023.
• Just seven of 18 Fed officials anticipated lifting rates in 2022 or 2023, up from five in December.
• Also Thursday, the number of Americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits rose to 770,000 in the week ended March 13, up from 725,000 in the week prior.
• While filings for jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, has fallen from its peak last year, they remain at historically high levels.
• In Asia, most major benchmarks closed higher. China’s Shanghai Composite Index added 0.5%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rallied 1.3%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.7%.

Covid-19 Live Updates: Newly Reported U.S. Cases Rise Slightly – Wall Street Journal, 3/18/2021

• Newly reported Covid-19 cases in the U.S. were up slightly from a day earlier but roughly in line with recent levels, as the decline in daily U.S. infections from their peak slows.
• There were more than 56,000 new cases reported for Wednesday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and published early Thursday morning Eastern Time. That number might update later in the morning.
• Wednesday’s figure was up from 53,579 a day earlier and down slightly from 57,939 a week earlier.
• More than 1,100 deaths were reported for Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins data, down from 1,286 a day earlier and 1,554 a week earlier.
• With the nation’s vaccine rollout continuing apace, Walt Disney said Wednesday that it would reopen the Disneyland and Disney California Adventure parks on April 30.
• The parks had been closed for more than a year, resulting in thousands of employee furloughs and a major shift in Disney’s strategy.
• The European Union’s health agency plans to announce its conclusions regarding the safety of AstraZeneca PLC’s Covid-19 vaccine on Thursday.
• Many European countries, including Germany, France and Italy, have suspended the vaccine’s use over the past week, following reports that people who had received it developed rare blood clots, and some had died, further slowing Europe’s already slow vaccine rollout.
• Analysis of the vaccine took on extra urgency this week after the Paul Ehrlich Institute, Germany’s medicines regulator, Monday recommended suspending the vaccine’s rollout pending further investigation.

Dollar General warns of dropping sales as pandemic boom peters out – Reuters, 3/18/2021

• Dollar General forecast annual sales and profit below estimates on Thursday, indicating the roll out of vaccines and a reopening economy would lead to a bigger-than-expected slowdown from a pandemic-fueled rush for discounted groceries.
• Same-store sales in the fourth quarter ended Jan. 29 rose 12.7%, beating analysts’ estimate of a 10.7% increase, helped by the $600 stimulus checks that boosted spending in January.
• Net income rose about 20% to $642.7 million, or $2.62 per share, but missed estimates of $2.72 per share.
• Dollar General said it expects full-year same-store sales to fall 4% to 6%, compared with analysts’ estimate of a 1.2% decline, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
• Overall net sales are expected to be flat to 2% lower, compared with estimates of a 1.4% increase.
• The company forecast annual earnings per share of $8.80 to $9.50, below estimates of $10.08.

U.N. body raises global economic growth forecast for 2021 to 4.7% – Reuters, 3/18/2021

• The global economy is set to grow by 4.7% this year thanks to a stronger-than-expected recovery in the United States, a report by the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said on Thursday, revising up its previous forecast of 4.3%.
• The upwards revision from its previous forecast made last September factors in an expected boost in U.S. consumer spending on the back of progress distributing COVID-19 vaccines and a vast stimulus package, the report said.
• Earlier this month, the OECD also revised higher its growth forecast for this year to 5.6 % from 4.2 %.
• The report estimates that last year there was a 3.9 % drop in output as the spread of the coronavirus sparked lockdowns across the world.
• It called the impact “exorbitant”, describing the “destruction of income on an unprecedented scale” with people in developing countries particularly hard hit.

Nikola, Lordstown shares drop in latest sign of turbulence for EV sector – Reuters, 3/18/2021

• Shares of Nikola, hit by a key investor cutting its stake, and Lordstown Motors, targeted by a regulatory inquiry, slumped on Thursday in the latest sign of pressure for once high-flying electric-vehicle makers.
• Nikola shares were down 3.5% in premarket trading while Lordstown was trading 4.8% lower, adding to declines of roughly 50% from their highs this year amid concern about the electric truck makers’ ability to delivery on technology, as well as worries about rising yields and valuation.
• Nikola said on Wednesday that South Korea’s Hanwha has decided to sell up to half of its stake in the company.
• Lordstown on Wednesday disclosed that it received a request for information from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regarding accusations by Hindenburg Research, a short seller that accused the electric truck startup of misleading consumers and investors.
• Last week, Hindenburg accused Lordstown of using “fake” orders to raise capital and claimed that its upcoming truck was years away from production.

II-VI Makes Revised Bid for Coherent – Wall Street Journal, 3/18/2021

• II-VI Inc. has submitted a new takeover offer for Coherent valued at roughly $7 billion, as a frenzied bidding war for the laser maker nears a climax.
• II-VI, which has been locked in a battle with Lumentum Holdings for Coherent, submitted a bid valued at roughly $285 a share, according to people familiar with the matter.
• It follows the latest offer from Lumentum, unveiled earlier Wednesday and worth around $275 a share.
• Santa Clara, Calif.-based Coherent’s board was planning to meet late Wednesday to compare the bids, the people said.
• Should II-VI’s be deemed superior, Lumentum would likely have a window to make a new offer or walk away—with a $200 million-plus breakup fee.

BNY Mellon invests in cryptocurrency storage firm Fireblocks – Reuters, 3/18/2021

• Bank of New York Mellon has invested in Fireblocks, a platform that allows banks and other financial institutes to store, move and issue cryptocurrencies, as the world’s largest custodian bank deepens its focus on digital assets.
• BNY Mellon’s investment was part of a $133 million funding round that also saw participation from hedge fund Coatue Management, investment firm Ribbit Capital, growth equity firm Stripes and SVB Capital, Fireblocks said on Thursday.
• The latest round values Fireblocks at close to $1 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Disney to Reopen Parks in California on April 30 – Wall Street Journal, 3/18/2021

• Walt Disney on Wednesday said it would reopen the Disneyland and Disney California Adventure parks on April 30.
• The company said that more than 10,000 cast members would be returning to work.
• Chief Executive Bob Chapek said he could have never guessed Disneyland would be closed for more than a year when the gates closed last March.
• Mr. Chapek said the company was still calculating what its capacity limits at Disneyland would be, saying it would be “well above” the minimum attendance required to turn a profit each day it is open.
• The company expects an onslaught of demand for the limited number of tickets, one indication of consumers’ urge to resume activities after 12 months of stay-at-home orders and business restrictions.

Google Invests $7 Billion Across U.S. as It Bets on the Post-Pandemic Office – Wall Street Journal, 3/18/2021

• The Alphabet unit said it would spend $7 billion this year expanding its footprint of offices and data centers across the U.S., including pouring $1 billion into its home state of California.
• It said it would hire at least 10,000 new full-time staff over the course of the year, positioning the search-engine giant for what it said it expects to be a post-pandemic recovery in the U.S.
• The company said the investment commitment is aimed at existing sites but that it was also creating three new office sites, in Minnesota, Texas and North Carolina, expanding Google’s presence to 19 states.

Exclusive: Google’s privacy push draws U.S. antitrust scrutiny – sources – Reuters, 3/18/2021

• Google’s plan to block a popular web tracking tool called “cookies” is a source of concern for U.S. Justice Department investigators who have been asking advertising industry executives whether the move by the search giant will hobble its smaller rivals, people familiar with the situation said.
• Alphabet’s Google a year ago announced it would ban some cookies in its Chrome browser to increase user privacy. Over the last two months, Google released more details, leading online ads rivals to complain about losing the data-gathering tool.
• The questions from Justice Department investigators have touched on how Chrome policies, including those related to cookies, affect the ad and news industries, four people said.
• Investigators are asking whether Google is using Chrome, which has 60% global market share, to reduce competition by preventing rival ad companies from tracking users through cookies while leaving loopholes for it to gather data with cookies, analytics tools and other sources, the sources added.

Boeing Faces New Hurdle in Delivering Dreamliners – Wall Street Journal, 3/18/2021

• Federal air-safety regulators have stripped Boeing’s authority to inspect and sign off on several newly produced 787 Dreamliners, part of heightened scrutiny of production problems that have halted deliveries of the popular wide-body jets.
• The Federal Aviation Administration said its inspectors, rather than the plane maker’s, would perform routine pre-delivery safety checks of four Dreamliners that Boeing has been unable for months to hand over to its airline customers while it grapples with various quality lapses.
• The wide-body jets have an excellent safety record and are used frequently on international routes.
• Boeing learned of the FAA’s move in January and has already factored the FAA signoffs into its expected delivery schedule, a person familiar with Boeing’s planning said.