Asian stocks set for steady open; Crude oil jumped
Asian stocks look set for a steady open Thursday after easing concerns about the economic growth outlook and a jump in energy shares bolstered U.S. stocks. Treasury yields advanced.
Futures rose in Japan and Australia and were steady in Hong Kong, while U.S. contracts edged up. The $S&P 500 Index(.SPX.US)$posted the biggest jump since August, narrowly avoiding a break of its 50-day moving average. The $NASDAQ 100 Index(.NDX.US)$climbed. A dollar gauge slipped.
TD's U.S. Head sees 'sort of a pause' in the economic recovery
$The Toronto-Dominion Bank(TD.US)$'s top U.S. executive said the American economic recovery has hit some speed bumps over the past month and a half, with Covid-19's delta variant spreading and businesses finding it difficult to hire qualified workers.
"We've seen sort of a pause and in some spaces or industries -- a little bit of a tapping on the brakes," Greg Braca, Toronto-Dominion's head of U.S. retail banking, said at a $BARCLAYS PLC(BCLYF.US)$conference Wednesday. "And we're watching how this plays out."
Fannie-Freddie poised to get less stringent capital requirements
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are poised to get less stringent capital requirements, with their regulator planning a revamp of tough rules approved at the end of the Trump administration.
In a Wednesday statement, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said it's proposing amendments to the November rules that would specifically target so-called credit risk transfer securities -- assets that transfer the risk of mortgages defaulting to private investors. Under the overhaul, Fannie and Freddie would get more capital relief when issuing such securities.
Lucid rises on report EPA recognized EV as having longer range
Shares of electric vehicle maker $Lucid Group(LCID.US)$rose on Wednesday following reports that a version of its debut sedan was recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as having the longest range ever for an EV. Lucid shares rose 5.1% to $19.91 on Wednesday.
The EPA awarded a version of Lucid’s battery-electric Air Dream Edition with an official rating of 520 miles of range on a single charge, Autoweek reported. The reported range of 520 miles would eclipse that of $Tesla(TSLA.US)$'s highest range model -- the S, which has an EPA-estimated range of 405 miles.
Democratic tax proposal takes aim at ETFs
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden’s proposal aims to tax ETFs' use of "in-kind" transactions that currently avoids triggering capital-gains taxes. By closing a decades-old tax regulation loophole, the proposal stands to eliminate one of the ETF industry's key selling points: tax efficiency.
Over the past decade, ETFs have boomed in popularity, with assets of such U.S. registered funds quintupling to $5.4 trillion by the end of 2020, according to the Investment Company Institute. Investors have turned to ETFs because of their low fees, tax benefits, easy trading and broad market exposure.
Pfizer says Israel data shows third Covid shot restores protection from infection to 95% as it makes case to FDA for boosters
While the effectiveness of the mRNA vaccine wanes over time, a booster shot was shown to elicit an immune response similar to the protection generated after a second dose, $Pfizer(PFE.US)$ said. The company and its partner on the Covid vaccine, $BioNTech(BNTX.US)$, are seeking the agency's OK to distribute booster doses to people 16 and older across the U.S.
The FDA released the data as the agency faces pressure from the Biden administration to authorize booster shots for the general population as early as next week.
Southeast Asia's online marketplace Carousell is now a 'unicorn' valued at $1.1 billion
Southeast Asia's online classifieds business Carousell on Wednesday said it raised $100 million in fresh funds that valued the company at over a billion dollars. South Korean private equity firm STIC Investments led the investment round.
The Singapore-based Carousell said it is now valued at $1.1 billion — which makes it Southeast Asia's latest unicorn, or start-ups worth more than a billion dollars.
Goldman to buy speciality lender GreenSky for $2.2bn
$Goldman Sachs(GS.US)$has agreed to buy online loans provider $GreenSky Inc(GSKY.US)$for $2.2bn, as the Wall Street investment bank continues to build its presence in consumer lending. GreenSky provides the "buy now pay later" service, typically in the home improvement industry.
It is Goldman's second multibillion-dollar acquisition in under a month, highlighting the intention of chief executive David Solomon to transform Wall Street's most revered investment bank into a more consumer-focused financial institution.
Source: Bloomberg, WSJ,CNBC, Financial Times

$Palantir(PLTR.US)$ I miss the boat again. is only different of 2 hours

The indicator shown Bias Way Overbought. Maybe its time to sell or short it.
$Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3x Shares ETF(SOXL.US)$

Elon Musk denies he discussed Apple-Tesla merger with Tim Cook
$Tesla(TSLA.US)$Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said on Friday that he never met with $Apple(AAPL.US)$about a potential takeover and slammed the tech giant’s App Store fees, calling them a “global tax on the internet.”
He was responding to an upcoming book that says Apple CEO Tim Cook called Musk in 2016 about taking over Tesla.
The book claims that merger discussions en...