Good Evening. Following the release of June employment statistics that exceeded expectations, U.S. markets were little changed at the end of a bumpy session on Friday.
After stumbling for much of the trading day, all three major indices ended the week, which was shortened by the holiday, near breakeven. The Nasdaq closed in the green by about 0.12% while the benchmark S&P 500 (0.08%) and Dow (0.15%) were both just slightly below the flatline.
BETTER THAN EXPECTED
Shares of the renowned clothing company Levi Strauss & Co. (LEVI) rose sharply on Friday after it reported stronger-than-anticipated second-quarter earnings, reaffirmed its full-year profit predictions, and increased its dividend.
In comparison to the same period a year prior, Levi reported that its adjusted earnings for the three months ending on May 29 increased by 26% to a street-beating 29 cents per share. In the meantime, group revenues increased 15% to $1.47 billion, barely exceeding Street projections of a $1.43 billion total.
The company was able to maintain its adjusted profit margins at 58.20% in part because it was able to pass along price increases while attracting more customers to its digital channels.
On top of that, after returning around $80 million to shareholders in the form of dividends and buybacks over the second quarter, it will pay a quarterly dividend of 12 cents per share, up from its previous distribution of 10 cents.
ELON WANTS TO BACK OUT
Elon Musk has done the unthinkable: He has declared his intention to pull out of his agreement to pay $44 billion to acquire Twitter.
According to The Verge, Musk had been voicing misgivings about buying Twitter only a few weeks after he signed the contract in April. Musk, however, made it public by submitting a statement to the SEC in which he claimed that Twitter is in “material breach” of the terms of its agreement with him and that, as a result, he is attempting to pull out of the deal.
Twitter’s board responded to Musk’s statement by saying something no one has ever said in human history: “Let’s move to Delaware.” Bret Taylor, the chairman of Twitter, said that the board is dedicated to completing the transaction under the conditions and cost Elon Musk agreed to and that it will take legal action in the Delaware Court of Chancery to enforce the agreement.
The richest man in the world is currently engaged in a legal battle with the corporation he has worked so hard to avoid purchasing yet may be required to do so.