Jun. 2 at 1:12 AM
$BAC $CLF $BASFY $HSBC $SKX
TOP 5 WEEKEND STORIES:
1) The Trump administration is preparing to ease rules imposed on big banks in response to the 2008 financial crisis, Michael Stratford of Politico reports. Trump-appointed regulators are close to completing a proposal set to relax rules on how much of a capital cushion the nation's largest banks must have to absorb potential losses and remain solvent during periods of economic stress. Publicly traded companies in the space include Bank of America (BAC), Citi (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), JPMorgan (JPM), Morgan Stanley (MS), U.S. Bancorp (USB) and Wells Fargo (WFC).
2) U.S. President Donald Trump said he would raise tariffs on steel to 50% from 25%, claiming such an action would help protect American steelworkers during a visit to a U.S. Steel (X) factory on Friday, Bloomberg's Josh Wingrove and Joe Deaux report. The president was visiting the plant to champion the expected tie-up between U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel (NPSCY) as one that would ensure the American company continues to be U.S.-owned and operated, even as details on the pact are still scarce, the authors say. Trump said the new tariffs would benefit the new entity's U.S. operations, the authors note. Other publicly traded companies in the space include ArcelorMittal (MT), Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF), Nucor (NUE), and Steel Dynamics (STLD).
3) BASF SE recently sent out information to potential suitors for of its coating business, in a process that could value the union at
$6.8B, Dinesh Nair, Eyk Henning, Swetha Gopinath, and Pamela Barbaglia of Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter. Carlyle Group (CG) is considering bidding for the coating business with Sherwin-Williams (SHW), the sources added.
4) HSBC (HSBC) is exiting its business banking portfolio in the U.S., as it continues to simplify its operations and shift its focus to Asia and Middle East markets, Jaiveer Shekhawat and Saeed Azhar of Reuters reports. "Following a strategic review of our business, we have decided to exit our Business Banking portfolio in the United States," it said in a statement, according to Reuters.
5) A Skechers (SKX) shareholder has sued the company for more details on its
$9.4B buyout by private equity firm 3G Capital, saying the decision by Skechers' founder to sell raises "red flags," Jonathan Stempel of Reuters reports. According to a complaint filed on Thursday in Los Angeles federal court, founder Robert Greenberg and his family appear to have "controlled the sales process to a single bidder and deprived the minority stockholders of any legitimate bidding process," Reuters adds.
