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WHO's Europe regional director says authorities are aware how to control spread of mpox. (0:15) Lowe's issues lowered guidance. (1:18) Twitter buyout the worst finance deal for banks since crisis. (3:02)
This is an abridged transcript of the podcast.
Our top story so far. A World Health Organization official stressed in a media briefing that mpox, which was recently declared a global health emergency, is “not the new COVID.”
Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, stressed that regardless of whether it is the clade I strain behind the ongoing outbreak in east-central Africa or the clade II strain behind the 2022 outbreak, authorities are aware of how to control its spread.
The 2022 outbreak in Europe was controlled thanks to direct engagement with the most affected communities, he said. Mpox is a viral infection that causes flu-like symptoms and lesions, and WHO designated the current outbreak in Africa as a public health emergency of international concern last week.
PHEIC is the WHO’s highest level of warning, previously issued for the COVID-19 pandemic and Ebola.
“Today, we’re seeing about 100 new mpox clade II cases in the European Region every month. However, the current state of alert due to clade I gives Europe the opportunity to refocus on clade II to strengthen mpox surveillance and diagnostics,” Kluge said.
Among active stocks, Lowe's (LOW) posted a mixed Q2 earnings report and lowered its full-year guidance. The retailer said quarterly comparable sales decreased by 5.1%, which was below the consensus estimate for a decline of 4.4%.
Based on lower-than-expected DIY sales and a pressured macroeconomic environment, Lowe's said it expects total sales of approximately $82.7 billion to $83.2 billion for the full year vs. $84.2 billion consensus, comparable sales to be down -3.5% to -4.0% compared to a year ago, and adjusted EPS of $11.70 to $11.90 vs. a prior outlook for $12.00 and $12.30, and $12.09 consensus.
Paramount (PARA) is back in play after investor Edgar Bronfman Jr. reportedly submitted a $4.3 billion bid for Shari Redstone's stakes in Paramount and parent company National Amusements, a move coming before a Wednesday deadline tied to Paramount's merger deal with Skydance Media.
The bid comes under the wire for a 45-day go-shop period tied to NAI's deal to merge Paramount with David Ellison's Skydance Media production company. Bronfman, who is heir to the Seagram Fortune, had previously talked with private-equity firm Bain Capital and Roku (ROKU) about partnering on a bid.
And BofA applauded J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT) for authorizing a $1 billion buyback, the largest in the company's history and about 5.7% of all the outstanding shares.
Analyst Ken Hoexter, who kept his Buy rating on JBHT with a $189 price target, said: “We believe the company will be able to generate free cash flow after dividends to cover a measured buyback pace without additional debt issuance. Through the end of 2026, we estimate JBHT will generate approximately $850 million of cash flow after dividends and capex."
In other news of note, Elon Musk's $44 billion acquisition of Twitter has become the worst merger-finance deal for banks since the 2008-'09 financial crisis.
A group of seven banks, including Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), lent $13 billion to Musk to take Twitter private in October 2022. Usually, banks quickly sell such loans to get them off their balance sheets, generating money from fees in the process.
But Twitter, now named X, soon saw its financial performance falter. As a result, the banks that financed the deal were unable to sell the debt without racking up big losses. In industry jargon, the debt has become "hung."
The Wall Street Journal, citing data from PitchBook LCD, said Twitter loans have been hung longer than every similar unsold deal (for which the research firm had complete records) since the financial crisis. While there were many more hung deals during the financial crisis, most were either sold or written off within about a year after the loans were issued.
A professor of finance at the University of Chicago goes as far as to say that Twitter is the biggest hung deal by dollar amount of all time. Steven Kaplan says, "The loans have weighed on the banks for much longer than other hung deals we’ve seen."
Other banks involved in the Twitter financing are Barclays (BCS), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), BNP Paribas (OTCQX:BNPQF) (OTCQX:BNPQY), Mizuho (MFG), and Société Générale (OTCPK:SCGLF) (OTCPK:SCGLY).
And in the Wall Street Research Corner, Oppenheimer is out with more buy-sell pair trades from every S&P sector. Analysts wrote that the early August rate breakdown favors large caps over small and growth over value.
“We believe later-cycle risk can also be mitigated by increasing exposure to the momentum factor because high-momentum has outpaced low-momentum by one of its widest margins after a Fed cut when the yield curve is inverted,” they said.
Among the trades are:
- Buy Marathon Petroleum (MPC) and Sell EQT (EQT) in Energy.
- In Consumer Discretionary Buy Ferrari (RACE) and Sell LKQ (LKQ).
- In Financials, Buy Blackstone (BX) and Sell Franklin Resources (BEN).
- Buy Monolithic Power Systems (MPWR) and Sell Roper Technologies (ROP) in Info Tech.
- And in Communication Services, Buy Meta Platforms (META) and Sell Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO).
Editor's Note: This article discusses one or more securities that do not trade on a major U.S. exchange. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.
