-European stocks have opened mixed
-US stocks closed slightly higher yesterday despite the terror attack in NYC
-France’s Unibail-Rodamco (AS:UNBP) is buying Australian shopping centre firm Westfield (AX:WFD) for $24.7bn
-Ashtead (LON:AHT), Balfour Beatty (LON:BALF) shares gain after earnings
-Carpetright (LON:CPRC) shares drops 7% after forecast cut
-Dollar is steady on first day of FOMC meeting
-Sterling still soft vs USD and euro going into BoE meeting on Thursday
-Bitcoin cash-futures differential plunged overnight - as we suggested yesterday
-Oil prices jumped after closure of Forties pipeline in the UK, Brent > $65 pb
Europe opens higher
Shares in Europe opened mixed in subdued trading on the first day of the Federal Reserve two-day meeting. The disproportionately large representation of oil giants BP (LON:BP) and Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSa) helped the FTSE 100 outperform after a jump in crude oil prices.
Another day another merger in retail
It seems the owners of retail property think bigger is better. France’s Unibail-Rodamco will buy Westfield for $24.7bn. It’s the second merger of its kind in as many weeks. As well as size, the deal also provides geographical diversification. The trouble is that competition from online shopping means declining shopping centre footfall is global phenomenon. The poor performance of US shopping malls have seen Westfield shares fall 23% since 2015. Unibail-Rodamco is in-effect doubling down on an industry undergoing a generational decline.
Brent above $65 per barrel for first time since 2015
Some supply disruption in the UK provided the perfect catalyst for oil prices to continue the run of good form. The shutdown of the Forties pipeline can have a durable impact on the price because it adds to the tighter supply picture brought about by OPEC’s output cuts. We have been surprised by the brevity of the post-OPEC pullback. It seems that some weaker short positions have been squeezed by an oil market that is overwhelming positioned for higher prices. We suspect any pullback after this latest surge will be limited and that Brent is on its way to challenge the 2015 high near $68 per barrel.