News Briefs (07-07-2020)

US stocks open strongerUS stocks open stronger

NEW YORK, July 6 : Wall Street opened higher after the long holiday weekend on Monday, extending last week's rally that was fueled by positive economic signs despite the coronavirus pandemic. About 15 minutes into the trading session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.4 per cent to 26,201.01. The tech-rich Nasdaq, coming off a record-setting Thursday close, climbed 1.6 per cent to 10,367.20, while the broad-based S&P 500 rose 1.3 per cent to 3,172.93. Markets have shrugged off worrying news about the spike in COVID-19 cases around the country, which has led local authorities to return to more strict controls including requiring masks and obliging some businesses to close down once again. Investors however also had some big deals to justify their optimism. Uber said Monday it was buying delivery startup Postmates for $2.65 billion in stock, in a move shaking up the sector, which has seen surging growth during the pandemic. And a unit of billionaire Warren Buffet's giant holding Berkshire Hathaway plans to acquire much of Dominion Energy's natural gas assets for $4 billion in cash in addition to debt. Uber rose more than four per cent, and Berkshire gained 1.8 per cent while Dominion fell four per cent. The lone economic report due out in a very thin week for data after last week's flurry is the ISM non-manufacturing index on Monday. That measures the state of the massive services sector, which has been hard hit by the pandemic shutdowns. — AFP 

London Stock Exchange's FTSE Russell joins Libor replacement race

London Stock Exchange's FTSE Russell joins Libor replacement raceLONDON, July 6 : London Stock Exchange index compiler FTSE Russell began publishing forward-looking interest rates on Monday, entering a four-way race for a new market opened up by the scrapping of Libor next year. Regulators want the London Interbank Offered Rate or Libor, which banks were fined for trying to rig, replaced with the Bank of England's Sonia rate for sterling denominated swaps, loans and futures by the end of 2021. But market participants have said that the Sonia overnight rate lacks the forward-looking variants or "tenors" that Libor has, making it harder to switch some contracts like interest rate swaps. FTSE Russell said its Term Sonia Reference Rates or TSRR will be published on an indicative basis for six months to allow potential users to track its performance first. — Reuters