What you need to know before the US open
US stocks are expected to open lower today, following the distinctly choppy trading seen last week.
Trading in government bonds continues to be solid, with nothing in the way of economic data to provide a guiding light for equity and fixed-income markets.
The Fed’s April meeting minutes are due Wednesday, with some numbers from US retailers due out before that.
Japan's yen has being doing well against the dollar, as the latter struggled to maintain its position, sliding to a three-month low.
Meanwhile, the pound’s been under pressure, following this morning’s news that AstraZeneca has rejected Pfizer’s latest takeover bid. European markets are also feeling the heat, with Deutsche Bank adding to the negativity.
And the EU’s got the task of resolving a dispute between Russia and Ukraine over gas prices, with a further round of talks expected next week, the energy commission said earlier today.
Corporate news
The $48.5bn deal that’ll see AT&T buy DirecTV also includes a break-up fee, should the deal collapse, it transpires. DirecTV would pay AT&T $1.4bn.
And Campbell Soup has lowered its sales forecast for this financial year to three per cent, from between four and five per cent. Waning demand for soup meant its sales fell one per cent in the last quarter, with profits up slightly from $181m to $184m.