| By Julia Horowitz • Monday, November 25 | | | | Happy Monday, everyone. In today's newsletter: Three major deal announcements, London strips Uber of its license and a potential olive branch from China on trade.
US stock futures point higher after top indexes on Friday snapped multi-week winning streaks. Markets in Europe gained in early trading, with the FTSE 100 up 0.7%, while stocks in Asia broadly rallied on trade optimism.
▸ Forwarded this newsletter? Want global markets news and analysis from CNN Business reporters every morning? You can sign up here. | | | What's happening now in markets: MARKET DATA AS OF 6:05 AM ET | | MARKET FLASH Deals ... and no deal
It's official: LVMH has cut one of the biggest deals in the history of the luxury sector.
The French luxury group will pay $135 per share for Tiffany & Co., valuing the New York jeweler at $16.2 billion, both companies said Monday. That's a sweeter deal than LVMH's initial unsolicited offer of $14.5 billion last month, which already included a hefty premium over Tiffany's stock price at the time.
Investors like the tie-up and clearly saw it coming. Shares of Tiffany closed Friday above $125, a 27% bounce since the companies confirmed they were talking. They're up another 6% in premarket trading Monday. | |
The big picture: LVMH is the world's biggest luxury group and home to 75 different brands, including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Bulgari. So why does CEO Bernaud Arnault, Europe's richest man, want Tiffany?
For LVMH, Tiffany — which has struggled in recent years — makes sense as a turnaround project, my CNN Business colleague Michelle Toh reports. The company would boost LVMH's jewelry and watch lineup, allowing it to better compete with players like Cartier owner Richemont. Tiffany has a large footprint in the United States, which accounts for about a quarter of LVMH's revenue. And it is a strong global brand. (Think: Audrey Hepburn and those little blue boxes.)
📲That's not all: Minutes ago, Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade announced their $26 billion deal to combine, creating a giant in the discount brokerage industry they hope can better withstand a race to the bottom on fees.
And Swiss drugmaker Novartis said this weekend that it would buy The Medicines Company, which makes cholesterol medication, for $9.7 billion.
But the dealmaking wins haven't been universal. HP has once again rejected Xerox's $33.5 billion takeover bid, claiming it "significantly undervalues" the company. Its message to Xerox: We don't need you.
"We believe it is important to emphasize that we are not dependent on a Xerox combination," the HP board wrote in a letter to the company. | | VOICES On historically low interest rates "If you're a saver and you're hoping to save for retirement, this is a really miserable environment."
JANET YELLEN, FORMER CHAIR OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE
Read more from CNN Business on the angry savers who emailed Yellen to complain. | | NEWS FLASH Uber loses its license to operate in London | |
In a shock decision, the city of London has stripped Uber of its license to operate in the city — dealing Uber a serious setback in one of its largest markets.
The announcement: The city's transportation agency said Monday that it had concluded that Uber is not "fit and proper" to hold the license, citing "a pattern of failures by the company including several breaches that placed passengers and their safety at risk."
London Mayor Sadiq Khan pointed to 14,000 Uber journeys completed by drivers who had fraudulently uploaded their photos to other drivers' accounts, circumventing the screening process.
Uber called the decision "extraordinary and wrong," and said it would appeal. The company said it had audited every driver in London in the last two months and strengthened its processes.
Key point: The company will continue operating as normal while the appeal process takes place. And it's been here before. The city first declined to renew its license in 2017, citing several concerns including how Uber responded to serious crimes. Uber appealed that decision and was later granted permission to operate for 15 months. In late September, the regulator granted Uber an additional two-month license.
But it's a blow to Uber at a time when competition is heating up. Bolt, which used to be called Taxify, returned to London this year. Kapten, a French startup backed by BMW and Daimler, has also been generating buzz. | | UP NEXT
▸ The Dallas Fed manufacturing survey arrives at 10:30 a.m. ET.
▸ Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gives a speech at 7 p.m. ET in Rhode Island.
Coming tomorrow: Alibaba shares begin trading in Hong Kong.
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WHAT WE'RE READING AND WATCHING
▸ US firms are putting the brakes on investment (Wall Street Journal)
▸ How Bloomberg News will cover Bloomberg's 2020 candidacy (CNN Business)
▸ Malls are now targeting millionaires (CNN Business)
▸ Don't count on a 'phase two' US-China trade deal, officials say (Reuters)
▸ Sprint may soon be a dead brand ... one way or another (CNN Business)
▸ Elon Musk says 146,000 people have ordered Tesla's Cybertruck (CNN Business) | | | FINAL WORD China extends an olive branch on trade
Asian stocks advanced Monday after China unveiled new guidelines about the protection of intellectual property. That move could mark a big step toward appeasing the United States, and may even help pave the way for a long-awaited trade truce, my CNN Business colleague Laura He reports.
Beijing's announcement Sunday was short on detail, though the country did indicate that it could introduce stronger IP protections and toughen punishments on those who infringe them. Such measures could address a longtime Washington concern.
"China is definitely offering up some pretty attractive olive branches," said Stephen Innes, chief Asia market strategist for AxiTrader.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng also advanced 1.5% after pro-democracy candidates made major gains in local elections. The race has been framed as a de facto referendum on the almost six months of ongoing protests in the city.
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