Futures slide as investors weigh U.S. recession risk
U.S. stocks are set to open lower on Wednesday as investors continue to be gripped by growth concerns after an important recession indicator flashed red.
The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond dipped 0.45 basis below the yield on the 2-year U.S. Treasury early Wednesday, the narrowest since the global financial crisis. An inverted yield curve tends to spook economists and investors alike, considering it has preceded all but one economic recession since the 1960s.
At 05:30 AM ET, the S&P 500 futures contract was down 16.62 points or 0.57% to 2,915.38, the Dow futures contract was down 149 points, or 0.57% to 26,165, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Futures contract was down 54.50 points, or 0.7% to 7,693.50.
WeWork reveals IPO prospectus
WeWork, the co-working spaces company based in New York, has made its IPO paperwork available to the public. The company has a valuation of $47 billion and is widely expected to make its market debut next month.
WeWork filed its prospectus with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday. According to the prospectus, the company plans to raise $1bn though that figure is likely a placeholder and could change. It will sell shares of its stock under the ticker symbol “WE”.
CBS and Viacom agree to merge in $12 billion deal
CBS (NYSE: CBS) and Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB) have agreed to combined in an all-stock merger worth about $12-billion. The combined company will be called ViacomCBS, and is expected to bring together popular brands such as MTV, Showtime, CBS, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures, and Comedy Central.
According to a press release issued by the companies on Tuesday, ViacomCBS, will the largest market share of the U.S. television viewing audience and more than $28 billion in revenue. Shares of CBS were down 2.26% in premarket trade on Wednesday, while those of Viacom were little changed.
