WORLDWIDE : HEADLINES
Visa’s deal to buy fintech startup Plaid faces antitrust scrutiny
Payment processor Visa Inc’s V.N $5.3 billion deal to buy fintech startup Plaid Inc is facing antitrust scrutiny at the U.S. Justice Department, which filed a petition with a court on Tuesday demanding more information about the business.
The Justice Department is reviewing the proposed transaction to determine if it is in violation of antitrust law.
The Wall Street Journal had reported on Tuesday that the department could decide soon whether it will sue to block the deal.
The government on Tuesday filed a petition with a U.S. district court in Massachusetts, asking it to require consulting firm Bain & Co to turn over documents wanted as part of the antitrust review, including some that discuss Visa’s strategies around pricing and competition with other debit card networks.
Full coverage: REUTERS
Musk’s SpaceX pegs initial Starlink internet price at $99 per month: email
SpaceX is offering its Starlink broadband satellite internet service to test users for $99 a month, plus $499 for a setup kit, according to emails seen by Reuters, as Elon Musk’s space company pushes to offer fast internet speeds to rural customers with limited options.
People in states like Washington, Wisconsin and Idaho who signed up to test Starlink internet received invitations from SpaceX Monday night to join its “Better Than Nothing Beta” test.
SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment.
SpaceX has launched to orbit more than 800 satellites of the several thousand needed to offer broadband internet globally, a $10 billion investment it estimates could generate $30 billion annually to help fund Musk’s interplanetary rocket program dubbed Starship.
The Starlink Beta program comes as rivals like OneWeb, the collapsed satellite operator rescued by the British government, India’s Bharti Group and Jeff Bezos’ Amazon AMZN.O set out to offer their own broadband satellite networks.
Full coverage: REUTERS
WORLDWIDE : FINANCE / MARKETS
Global Markets: Asian shares seen lower on coronavirus, election uncertainty
Asian markets looked set for another weaker open on Wednesday as worries about a surge in coronavirus cases and dwindling hopes for a U.S. stimulus package kept investors gloomy.
Australia’s ASX 200 .AXJO opened down about 0.43%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures were down 0.36%. The Nikkei 225 index .N225 closed down 0.04% on Tuesday. The futures contract was down 0.62% from that close .
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures .HSI.HSIc1 were up 0.4%.
MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS was down 0.27%.
“Markets had a risk-off tone as U.S. consumer confidence data disappointed, COVID-19 cases continue to rise, and the chances of a fiscal deal before the U.S. election faded,” ANZ analysts said in a note.
Full coverage: REUTERS
Oil falls on oversupply fears after build in U.S. crude stocks
TOKYO – Oil prices slid more than 1 percent on Wednesday, paring the previous day’s gains, as a jump in U.S. crude inventories and surging COVID-19 cases raised fears of an oversupply of oil and weak fuel demand.
In early Asia, Brent crude LCOc1 was down 61 cents, or 1.5%, at $40.59 a barrel by 0033 GMT, having climbed nearly 2% the previous day. U.S. oil CLc1 was down 66 cents, or 1.7%, at $38.91 a barrel, after gaining 2.6% on Tuesday.
U.S. crude oil and gasoline stocks rose last week, data from industry group the American Petroleum Institute showed, with crude inventories rising by 4.6 million barrels to about 495.2 million barrels, against analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a build of 1.2 million barrels. [EIA/S]
“The higher-than-expected build in U.S. crude stocks prompted fresh selling while concerns over supply disruption from Hurricane Zeta have receded,” said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, general manager of research at Nissan Securities.
Full coverage: REUTERS
Euro under pressure on lockdown fears ahead of Macron address
TOKYO – The euro fell against the dollar on Wednesday following a media report that France’s government was leaning toward reinstating a national lockdown to curb a resurgence in coronavirus cases.
The dollar, however, gave up early gains against other major currencies as sentiment turned bearish due to uncertainty about the outcome of the U.S. presidential election next week.
The spike in infections “is certainly a concern for France and southern Europe, so the euro’s upside is heavy”, said Junichi Ishikawa, senior foreign exchange strategist at IG Securities in Tokyo.
He added that he does not expect the dollar to gain much against other currencies, “because people have been overly complacent about how markets will react after the U.S. election”.
The euro EUR=EBS fell 0.14% to $1.1780 in Asia on Wednesday, down for a third consecutive session.
Sterling GBP=D3 held steady at $1.3035, supported by hopes for a last-minute trade deal between Britain and the European Union.
The dollar was little changed at 104.46 yen JPY=D3 after a 0.4% decline on Tuesday brought it close to a one-month low.
Full coverage: REUTERS
