Trump and Biden square off
Stocks are poised to open muted on Tuesday as President Trump and Democrat Joe Biden prepare to face off in the first of three general-election presidential debates tonight. The debate will be held at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland beginning at 9 p.m. ET.
As of 5:30 a.m. ET, the blue-chip Dow futures were indicated 34 points, or 0.12% lower to 27,448. The S&P 500 futures dropped 4.5 points, or 0.13% to 3,341.50 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures shed 32 points, or 0.28% to 11,362.75.
LVMH files countersuit against Tiffany
LVMH has filed a countersuit against jewelry brand Tiffany (NYSE: TIF) seeking to walk away from what was expected to be one of the biggest luxury industry takeover deals in decades.
LVMH, which owns brands like Fendi, Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs – wants to back out on a $16.2 billion deal it signed with Tiffany late last year ago after claiming a series of poor decisions made by Tiffany’s board since the signing of the deal.
Tiffany dismissed the claims and filed a lawsuit force the French luxury conglomerate to go through with its bid, and a U.S. court in Delaware, approved a fast-track trial scheduled to begin in January.
Analysts believe the two companies may eventually complete the deal – although it might be at a lower price – or Tiffany could remain a stand-alone company searching for a buyer once more.
McAfee wants to go public again
McAfee is looking to come back on the public market, the cybersecurity company announced in a filing on Monday, filing an initial public offering request through the SEC.
The San Jose, California-based company, partly owned by Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is working with Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) as well as a full banking syndicate for the offering.
McAfee listed the size of the offering as $100 million, though that is a placeholder that will likely change. The company intends to list its shares on the Nasdaq under the ticker “MCFE.”
Former Amazon employee charged with insider trading
A former employee of Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and two of her family members have been charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for their roles in an insider trading ring.
According to the SEC, Laksha Bohra abused his position as a finance manager at Amazon’s tax department to obtain “highly confidential” information that helped her and the two family members to earn roughly $1.4 million by trading the company’s securities.
Bohra, who routinely analyzed and reviewed numbers ahead of Amazon’s quarterly and annual earnings reports, allegedly obtained the information and tipped off her husband from 2016 to 2018. The SEC charged Bora, her husband and his father with violating anti-fraud laws.
