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Las Vegas hospitality workers vote for strike against hotels, casinos. (00:25) Johnson Controls (JCI) hit with data breach, ‘massive ransomware attack’. (01:17) Evergrande (OTC:EGRNF) stock trading suspended in Hong Kong as chairman under surveillance. (02:01)
This is an abridged transcript of the podcast.
The Culinary Workers Union in Las Vegas voted this week to authorize a strike. However, no walkout date has been set as negotiations continue.
If a walkout happens it could impact nearly two dozen casinos and hotels including the largest properties like Caesars (CZR), MGM Resorts (MGM) and Wynn (WYNN).
Workers are bargaining for better pay, benefits and working conditions. There was overwhelming support for a strike with 95% voting in favor.
The Culinary Workers Union represents more than 60,000 hospitality workers in Nevada. 53,000 are based in Las Vegas and negotiating a new 5-year deal.
Computer networks at Johnson Controls International (NYSE:JCI) were disrupted by what the industrial conglomerate described as a “cybersecurity incident,” according to a regulatory filing.
According to technology news site Bleeping Computer, citing an unnamed source, the breach was described as a “massive ransomware attack,” .
It originated in Asia and encrypted company devices such as VMware ESXi servers. The bad actors are said to be demanding a ransom of $51 million in exchange for a decryptor and to delete 27 terabytes of stolen data.
Johnson Controls (JCI) is working to assess what information was impacted and whether the incident will affect its financial reporting.
Shares of China Evergrande (OTC:EGRNF) were suspended from trading in Hong Kong on Thursday after reports of its chairman, being placed under police watch.
On Wednesday, Evergrande’s shares ended about 16% lower.
Trading in its stock had been halted in March of last year and did not resume until August 28, a 17-month gap.
Evergrande (OTC:EGRNF), which has over $300B in debt, has been trying to generate money by selling assets and shares to pay its suppliers and creditors.
Other headlines to look out for on Seeking Alpha:
Meta Platforms shows off Quest 3 headset, AI updates, as the face race heats up
Morgan Stanley’s top picks for high dividend-paying industries
Exercise shocker: Lululemon and Peloton enter broad strategic partnership
Bank of America CEO still expects soft landing as consumer spending stays strong
On our catalyst watch for the day,
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Shareholders with Stratasys (SSYS) will vote on the deal for the company to be acquired by Desktop Metal (DM). Shares of Stratasys have fallen more than 12% over the last six weeks amid the deal drama.
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5:00 p.m. – Nike (NKE) will hold its earnings conference call.
U.S. stocks on Wednesday stumbled through a volatile trading day.
The Nasdaq (COMP.IND) closed 0.22% higher. The S&P (SP500) gained a small fraction, 0.02%. And the Dow (DJI) retreated 0.20%.
Of the 11 S&P sectors, six ended in negative territory, led by Utilities and Real Estate. Energy was the top gainer.
The 10-year yield (US10Y) was up 5 basis points to 4.61%, while the 2-year yield (US2Y) was up 1 basis point to 5.14%.
Now let’s take a look at the markets as of 6 am. Ahead of the opening bell today, Dow, S&P and Nasdaq futures are mixed. The Dow is up 0.1%, the S&P 500 is up 0.1% and the Nasdaq is down 0.03%. Crude oil is down 0.2% at more than $93 a barrel. Bitcoin is up 0.7%.
In the world markets, the FTSE 100 is down 0.1% and the DAX is down 0.5%.
The biggest stock movers for the day premarket: Peloton (NASDAQ:PTON) is up more than 14% after the announcement of a five-year partnership with Lululemon that could change the exercise equipment and services landscape dramatically.
On today’s economic calendar, at 9am the Feds Austan Goolsbee will give a policy speech before the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
At 1pm the Feds Lisa Cook gives closing remarks before the Minorities in Banking Forum hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
At 4pm, Fed chair Jerome Powell will speak. The topic, “Conversation with the Chair: A Teacher Town Hall Meeting”.
And at 7pm the Feds Thomas Barkin speaks on “The New Job Hierarchy” before the Money Marketeers of New York University.
Editor’s Note: This article discusses one or more securities that do not trade on a major U.S. exchange. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.
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