Apple and iPhone update, Macron and elections, Asian markets, Nvidia split, corporate news

• Markets are cautiously assessing the implications of the success of right-wing parties in the European Union and what it could mean for the bloc's cohesion. EUROSTOXX 50 futures rose 0.2%, stabilizing after Monday's fall, while FTSE futures were little changed. The euro also held at $1.0766, above a one-month low of $1.0733. French President Emmanuel Macron has reportedly tried to pit left and center parties against the right, but so far without much success. The first public opinion poll showed that the far-right National Rally party could win early elections, but will not gain an absolute majority.

• Markets in Asia are mixed, with Japan, South Korea and Taiwan rising while China is lower as it faces pressure from its post-holiday payroll report on Monday. Beijing also set the yuan at a seven-month low to reflect a rise in the US dollar as investors cut bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts.

• The Fed meets on Wednesday, and many analysts are now speculating that its dot plot will no longer show three rate cuts this year, but two, or even just one. On the other hand, fewer cuts this year could mean easing returns in 2025, moving those schedules from three cuts to four.

• Apple Intelligence instead of classic AI. All new AI chips will work locally on the smartphone, only on devices with A17 (iPhone 15 Pro and higher), as well as the M1-M4 line of chips. So far, all new features are only in beta version for developers. They need time to create new cool applications.
AAPL's presentation did not please investors - shares fell by 2%. But just before that they had already become much more expensive. The rule “Buy in anticipation, sell in reality” worked.

• Elon Musk protests against the Apple-OpenAI agreement and threatens to ban the sale of iPhone in his companies. “If Apple integrates OpenAI at the OS level, then Apple devices will be banned from my companies. This is an unacceptable security breach."
“Apple has no idea what's actually going on when they feed your data to OpenAI. They will sell you."
Musk has been feuding with Apple and its CEO Tim Cook since last year, after Apple stopped advertising on X after Musk supported an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory and some Apple ads were placed next to pro-Nazi content.
In March, Musk sued OpenAI, arguing that it puts profit before humanity. OpenAI said Musk supports its commercial plans but wants control of the company.

• FT: Italy's prime minister says photovoltaic panels threaten food security, but many farmers disagree. The Italian government has issued a decree requiring solar panels to be installed at least 2.1 meters above the ground to allow cultivation underneath them, describing the panels as a "threat to food sovereignty."

• Shares of French banks fell after Macron announced early elections. French banks BNP Paribas SA and Societe Generale SA fell more than 5%.

• The Chinese authorities will pay $1,380 to citizens who change their car from an internal combustion engine to an electric car. This initiative was adopted to support domestic producers. Over the past three months, sales of top players Nio, Xpeng and Li Auto have fallen by 10%.

• Nokia CEO made the world's first phone call using technology that creates 3D sound, writes Reuters.
Thanks to him, the subscriber hears everything as if he were next to the interlocutor.
In addition to immersive calls, this technology can be used in conference calls. Thus, the votes of participants can be divided depending on their spatial location.

• World Gold Council on gold: The gold industry is struggling to maintain production growth as... precious metal deposits are becoming increasingly difficult to find - CNBC.

• Nvidia has carried out a stock split: the company's securities are now trading at $120. The company split its shares 10-for-1 based on Friday's closing price of $1,210.
Wall Street expects trading in Nvidia shares to be volatile following the 10-for-1 split as retail buyers flock to the company. Some strategists are calling the move a "generational opportunity."
Yesterday, NVDA shares rose within 1%.

• Forgotten subscriptions will not go through: Visa will allow customers to manage recurring payments from their mobile device. Visa announced the launch of Subscription Manager, a new comprehensive service for financial institutions that allows cardholders to easily and conveniently track subscriptions from their mobile device.

• Boeing's credit rating may fall to junk level - FT. Crisis-ridden airline giant Boeing faces a once-unthinkable prospect: its debt rating is expected to be downgraded to junk.

• Reuters: Bond investors are concerned about persistent inflation. So they reduced their holdings of longer-maturity US Treasuries ahead of the Fed's two-day meeting this week. Although changes are not expected from the Fed.
Along with the policy announcement, the Fed will release updated economic forecasts on Wednesday in its Summary of Economic Projections (SEP) report. The report will include a "scatter plot" that displays policymakers' expectations of where interest rates may be heading in the future.

• Bloomberg: Oil will rise to $86 a barrel this quarter on "robust summer demand" - Goldman Sachs.
Oil prices are expected to rise this summer due to demand for transportation and refrigeration. GS analysts predict an increase in Brent oil prices to $86 per barrel, which is almost 7% higher than current levels.

• Southwest (LUV) shares rose 7%. Activist investor group Elliott Investment Management reported a $1.9 billion stake in the airline and called for a management shake-up.

• Trump Media & Technology (DJT) shares fell 6% yesterday. The social media platform owned by former President Donald Trump has unveiled an updated audit of its finances conducted by a new accounting firm.
Trump Media replaced its previous auditor, BF Borgers CPA, after the SEC accused the firm and its owner Borgers of "massive fraud."

• GME shares fell 12% yesterday to $24. Roaring Kitten's huge position in $20 call options is in danger of burning out. But there is still a lot of time before the “party” ends.

• AMD shares fell 4.5% yesterday to $160. Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to Equal Weight, although it maintained its price target at $176.

• Elon Musk said over the weekend that "roughly 90%" of retail shareholders voted in favor of his compensation package at TSLA.
TSLA shares fell 2%.

• CRWD, KKR, GDDY will be included in the S&P 500 stock index.

• CRWD shares rose 7% yesterday, KKR up 11%, GoDaddy up 2%.

• Comerica (-2%), Robert Half (0%) and Illumina (-3%) were removed from the index.

• Dell Technologies, Apollo Global Management, Coinbase, Palantir and Workday could be among the next companies to join the S&P 500 index.

• Also available for introduction to the S&P 500 Index are Ares Management, Workday, Snowflake, DoorDash and TradeDesk.

• OpenAI names Nextdoor and Square veteran as new CFO and shuts down IPO rumors. Sarah Friar has previously played a key role in two IPOs - Nextdoor Holdings and Square (now known as Block).
Kevin Weil will become OpenAI's chief product officer. Weil, co-founder of the Libra cryptocurrency, was most recently president of product and business at Planet Labs (PL, a satellite imaging company). He has also held positions at Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Altman: “Sarah and Kevin will bring deep experience that will enable OpenAI to scale our operations, define strategy for the next phase of growth, and ensure our teams have the resources they need to continue to thrive.”

• Markets were trading neutral ahead of US inflation data and the upcoming Fed meeting.

• Bitcoin is still unable to gain a foothold above $70k due to the strong dollar.

Key events that could impact markets on Tuesday:

- UK claimants count for May, wages and unemployment data for April

- Various ECB officials speak, including Chief Economist Philip Lane and French Central Bank Governor François Villeroy de Gallo.

- Press conference of the Bank of Finland on the prospects of the Finnish economy

- NFIB US Small Business Optimism Survey

- Today OPEC will publish its monthly report on the oil market.