Qurate Retail Stock Continues To Spike
Qurate Retail, Inc. (QRTEB) shares are surging more than 105 percent on Wednesday morning after the company continued a gain since yesterday. The shares have reached a 3-month high.
There were no corporate announcements on the day to influence the stock movement.
Currently, shares are at $6.51, up 114.14 percent from the previous close of $3.04 on a volume of 3,473,633. The shares have traded in a range of $3.04-$12.85 on average volume 2,581.
Bioceres Crop Solutions Stock Gains 7%
Shares of Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp. (BIOX) are gaining over 7% on Wednesday morning. The company on Tuesday completed its previously announced merger with Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc.
BIOX is currently trading at $10.11, up $0.67 or 7.10%, on the Nasdaq. The stock opened its trading at $9.98 after closing Tuesday’s trading at $9.44. The stock has traded between $9.27 and $16.43 in the past 52-week period.
The merger was approved by Marrone stockholders at a Special Meeting held on July 8, 2022.
“The completion of this transaction represents an important milestone in our journey, cementing our leadership in the development and commercialization of sustainable agricultural solutions,” said Bioceres Chief Executive Officer, Federico Trucco. “MBI brings 15 years of experience in the development of biological solutions, and we are excited to add MBI´s unique product lineup and pipeline to Bioceres, a perfect fit to our own portfolio.”
Marrone will continue to operate its existing lines of business and products under the name ProFarm as a wholly owned subsidiary of Bioceres.
HSBC In Talks To Sell Russian Unit To Expobank: Reports
HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBA.L) is reportedly in talks to sell its Russian unit to local bank Expobank.
According to Bloomberg, citing people with the knowledge of the matter, HSBC’s talks are in advanced stage, as several major banks exit the country amid Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
HSBC exited retail banking in Russia several years ago. It currently serves corporate clients. The unit’s total assets stood at 89.9 billion rubles or ($1.4 billion as of June 2021. It has 249 employees in the country.
In April, HSBC said it wasn’t accepting new business or customers at its Russia unit, however, will continue its operations in the nation due to its responsibility to multinational corporate clients. The bank took a $250 million charge in the first quarter related to Russian counterparties.
Expobank, which is owned by Russian entrepreneur Igor Kim, has offices in over 50 Russian cities and covers corporate and retail banking and other financial segments.
Several of major financial companies are planning to exit or reduce their business interests in Russia since the Ukraine invasion.
France’s Societe Generale sold its Rosbank unit to oligarch Vladimir Potanin, while Italy’s UniCredit is exploring options for the future of its Russian business.
Thirty-Year Bond Auction Attracts Above Average Demand
The Treasury Department finished off this week’s announcements of the results of its long-term securities auctions on Wednesday, revealing this month’s sale of $19 billion worth of thirty-year bonds attracted above average demand.
The thirty-year bond auction drew a high yield of 3.115 percent and a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.44.
Last month, the Treasury also sold $19 billion worth of thirty-year bonds, drawing a high yield of 3.185 percent and a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.35.
The bid-to-cover ratio is a measure of demand that indicates the amount of bids for each dollar worth of securities being sold.
The ten previous thirty-year bond auctions had an average bid-to-cover ratio of 2.34.
Earlier this week, the Treasury revealed this month’s auction of $43 billion worth of three-year notes attracted average demand, while this month’s auction of $33 billion worth of ten-year notes attracted below average demand.
Veru Shares Maintain Upward Surge
Shares of oncology biopharmaceutical company Veru Inc. (VERU) are rising 4 percent on Wednesday’s trading. The stock has been on an upward trajectory since the past few days following the publication of positive results from a phase 3 clinical trial of its drug candidate sabizabulin as a treatment for people hospitalized with severe cases of COVID-19.
Currently at $15.47, the stock has traded between $4.34 and $17.50 during the past 52 weeks.
Canada To Throw Out 13.6 Mln AstraZeneca Vaccine Doses
Canada plans to throw out around 13.6 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine as it could not find any takers for the vaccine neither at home or abroad.
Canada had signed a contract with AstraZeneca Plc (AZN.L) in 2020 to get 20 million doses of its vaccine, and 2.3 million Canadians have received at least one dose of it, mostly between March and June 2021.
Following concerns in the spring of 2021 about rare but potentially fatal blood clots being discovered in patients, who were administered AstraZeneca, Canada focused on using its ample supplies of the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.
In July 2021, Canada had promised to donate the rest of its procured supply, about 17.7 million doses to other countries. However, in a statement made on Tuesday, Health Canada said that despite efforts to meet that pledge, 13.6 million doses have expired and will have to be thrown out.
Gold Futures Rebound After Early Weakness, Settle Higher
Gold prices climbed higher on Wednesday, as the dollar retreated despite data showing a faster-than-expected acceleration in U.S. consumer price inflation.
The dollar, which moved higher after the release of U.S. inflation data, turned weak subsequently and shed ground against some major rivals.
The dollar index, which rose to 108.58, dropped to 107.48 before recovering to 107.76, down nearly 0.3% from the previous close.
Gold futures for August ended higher by $10.70 or about 0.7% at $1,735.50 an ounce, recovering smartly from a low of $1,704.50.
Silver futures for September ended up by $0.236 at $19.194 an ounce, while Copper futures for September settled with a gain of $0.0345 at $3.3225 per pound.
Data from the U.S. Labor Department showed that the consumer price index shot up by 1.3% in June after jumping by 1% in May. Economists had expected consumer prices to leap by 1.1%.
With the bigger than expected monthly surge, the annual rate of consumer price growth accelerated to 9.1% in June, reflecting the biggest increase since November 1981. Economists had expected the annual rate of consumer price growth to accelerate to 8.8% in June from 8.6% in May.
The red-hot inflation data supported expectations for a more aggressive tightening path from the Fed in the coming months.
It is feared that aggressive policy tightening by the central bank could significantly slow down economic growth.