Morning Brief: Top Stories Dominating Financial Media on Wednesday, March 30

Reuters

Carrefour Aims To Install EV Charging Stations

• French retail giant Carrefour (OTC: CRRFY) is planning to install electric vehicle charging stations in its hypermarkets, Reuters reported.
• The company will install 700 electric vehicle charging stations and 5,000 charging points by 2025.

Inverted Key US Yield Curve Slice Probably Warns Of Recession

• The U.S. Treasury yield curve inverted on Tuesday for the first time since September 2019, reflecting market concerns that the Federal Reserve could tip the economy into recession as it tackles inflation.
• Reuters reported that the 2-year, 10-year spread briefly fell as low as minus 0.03 of a basis point before bouncing above zero to 5 basis points.

Toyota, Honda Register Higher February Sales Despite Chip Supply Crisis

• Japanese automakers Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE:TM) and Honda Motor Co (NYSE:HMC) seem to shrug off supply chain constraints.
• For February, Toyota said its group, including Daihatsu and Hino Motors Ltd, produced 884,528 vehicles globally, an 11% increase year on year.
• Reuters notes that outside Japan, Toyota produced a record number of vehicles in February despite parts shortage due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Tesla, UAW Haven’t Talked About Potential Union Vote At EV Maker’s Fremont Plant

• Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) and United Auto Workers (UAW) have not held any discussions over a potential union vote by workers at the electric-car maker’s Fremont factory.
• Earlier this month, Tesla CEO Elon Musk dared the UAW to hold a vote at their “convenience” at the Fremont factory in California and see if they managed to win.
• Curry told reporters in an online press event on Tuesday that Tesla could drop an appeal of a U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruling and “reinstate some workers who were actually terminated.”

WSJ

Omicron BA.2 Variant Represents More Than 50% COVID-19 Cases, Says CDC Estimates

• According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates, the omicron BA.2 variant represents approximately 55% of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S., as signs suggest infections are edging higher again in parts of the Northeast.
• According to the Wall Street Journal report, the region has the highest BA.2 concentrations, including more than 70% in an area including New York and New Jersey.

President Biden’s Quest For More Oil Meets Resistance Amid Climate Change Tackle Fears

• Republicans have criticized President Biden for scolding the U.S. oil industry and pushing for alternative-energy sources even as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has emphasized the world’s dependence on fossil fuels.
• Analysts said the situation reflects Mr. Biden’s limited options in addressing an energy shortfall precipitated by several factors, including the economic rebound following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bloomberg

Who Is the Unlikely Cast Behind Nickel’s Big Squeeze?

• It’s been three weeks since nickel was suspended on the London Metal Exchange after a 250% price spike, and while trading has resumed, the market remains all but paralyzed.
• Accusations have started to make rounds as the crisis worn-out. Investors are preparing lawsuits; the LME and its regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, are likely to run investigations.

Oak View Group Plans $3B Entertainment Hub In Las Vegas

• Sports and entertainment investment company Oak View Group is planning to build an arena in Las Vegas, serving as the centerpiece of a new entertainment hub that includes a casino and hotel.
• The company has acquired 25 acres on a 66.5-acre plot located near Harry Reid International Airport.

Philip Morris, British American Tobacco At Loggerheads As Industry Evolves

• Arch-rivals Philip Morris International Inc (NYSE:PM) and British American Tobacco PLC (NYSE:BTI) now chased top patent lawyers to win disputes following intensifying inventions to deliver nicotine minus the harmful smoking effects.
• The situation could intensify as the big players looked to exit Russia, the fourth-largest cigarette market by volume and an essential region for heated tobacco products.
• More litigation is looming as the companies move into the smokeless category.

Financial Times

Sharp Uptick In Home Prices, Mortgage Rates Are Acting As Deterrents For Buyers and Investors

• The U.S. housing market indicated signs of stress as a sharp uptick in mortgage rates and high home prices discouraged potential buyers and investors.
• The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index rose 19.2% year on year in January.
• Average interest rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in the U.S. swung to 4.42% after hitting a record low of 2.65% in January 2021.
• Investors sought long-term cash flows concerned with rental properties and were more likely to start deploying capital elsewhere as the Fed raised interest rates.

Here’s How Arm Looks To Speed Up Its US IPO

• SoftBank Group Corp (OTC:SFTBY) (OTC:SFTBF) owned Arm Ltd, looks to transfer shares in its China joint venture to a SoftBank special purpose vehicle to speed up its U.S. IPO, the Financial Times reports.
• SoftBank will hold 28% of Arm China after the transfer, Bloomberg reports. Arm will hold less than 20% of Arm China and treat it as an uncontrolled affiliate.
• Arm will continue receiving licensing revenues from Arm China but will not need to audit the company’s financials.

Benzinga

AMC CEO Is Preparing Some ‘Aromatic Crow Soup, Crow Stew And Crow Pie’ For Wall Street Pros: Here’s Why

• AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE:AMC) CEO Adam Aron has taken a dig at Wall Street professionals who criticized the movie theatre chain’s recent investment in gold and silver miner Hycroft Mining Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:HYMC).
• Aron took to Twitter to say he is preparing some “aromatic” crow dishes for the critics.
• The CEO also noted that AMC and Hycroft Mining were the most active stocks on the stock exchanges for the second straight day on Tuesday.

Dogecoin Co-Creator Says Community Needs To Do This To Make The Meme Coin A Success

• Dogecoin DOGE/USD co-creator Billy Markus said the meme cryptocurrency needs to market itself as a digital currency.
• Markus said there was no dearth of digital utility tokens and “pointless speculation tokens,” which are fueling “infinite digital speculation.”

This Ethereum Rival Is Seeing An Explosion Of Large Transactions On High Institutional Demand: Here’s What You Need To Know

• The surge in large on-chain transactions on the Cardano ADA/USD network this year point toward an increase in institutional demand.
• The volume of on-chain transactions larger than $100,000 has risen by 50x in 2022, according to a tweet by IntoTheBlock, a cryptocurrency intelligence firm.
• “Yesterday, a total of 69.09b $ADA were moved in these large transactions, representing 99% of the total on-chain volume,” said IntoTheBlock on Monday.