Market wrap for July 15th
End of the Day: S&P 500 up 2.3 to 1,682.50; Dow Jones up 20.0 to 15,484.26; Nasdaq up 7.4 to 3,607.49
* The U.S. Commerce Department today reported that retail sales rose 0.4 percent in June, from a 0.5 percent gain in May and expectations calling for an increase of 0.8 percent. Excluding autos, building materials, and gasoline, sales were up 0.1 percent, with consensus views calling for a 0.4 percent rise.
* Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) reported Q2 EPS of $1.25 excluding CVA/DVA, $0.07 better than the analyst estimate of $1.18. Revenue for the quarter came in at $20.5 billion versus the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. Revs were $20 billion flat excluding CVA/DVA.
* Late last Friday, AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and Leap Wireless International Inc. (Nasdaq: LEAP) announced entering an agreement for AT&T to acquire Leap for $15 per share in cash. Under the terms of the agreement, AT&T will acquire all of Leap’s stock and wireless properties, including licenses, network assets, retail stores and approximately 5 million subscribers. As of April 15, 2013, Leap had $2.8 billion of net debt. Leap shareholders will also receive a contingent right entitling them to the net proceeds received on the sale of Leap’s 700 Mhz “A Block” spectrum in Chicago, which Leap purchased for $204 million in August 2012.
* Boeing (NYSE: BA) rebounded today following news over the weekend that lithium-ion batteries weren’t deemed as cause of the fire to a 787 Dreamliner owned by Ethiopian Air. The assessment was made by U.K. Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).
* Berry Plastics Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: BERY) said it sees June-quarter revenue of $1.217 billion to $1.227 billion, while the Street is at revs of $1.26 billion. For more color, click here.
* Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) signed an agreement to acquire Commerzbank’s Hypothekenbank Frankfurt (formerly Eurohypo) U.K. commercial real estate portfolio. The transaction includes a £4.0 billion ($6.05 billion) portfolio of commercial real estate loans comprised of high-quality institutional assets throughout the U.K. with a focus in London. A portion of the portfolio, consisting of approximately £1.3 billion ($1.96 billion) of non-performing assets, will be acquired by Lone Star Funds, with Wells Fargo providing the financing. The transaction is expected to close in Q3 2013.
* Third Point Reinsurance Ltd. (NYSE: TPRE) filed a registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an Initial Public Offering of its Common Stock. The proposed maximum offering price s $250 million. The company plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker, “TPRE.”
*Fitch Ratings downgraded the European Financial Stability Facility’s (EFSF) guaranteed and long-term debt Long-term rating to ‘AA+’ from ‘AAA’. The EFSF’s short-term (less than 12 months contractual maturity) guaranteed debt instruments’ Short-term rating has been affirmed at ‘F1+’
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