Analog Devices Q3 adjusted earnings Beat Estimates

Below are the earnings highlights for Analog Devices (ADI):

-Earnings: $362.67 million in Q3 vs. $362.37 million in the same period last year.
-EPS: $0.97 in Q3 vs. $0.97 in the same period last year.
-Analysts projected $1.28 per share
-Revenue: $1.46 billion in Q3 vs. $1.48 billion in the same period last year.

-Guidance:
Next quarter EPS guidance: $1.22 – $1.42
Next quarter revenue guidance: $1.37 – $1.51 Bln

Homebuilder Confidence Improves To Record High In August

Homebuilder confidence matched a record high in the month of August, according to a report released by the National Association of Home Builders on Monday.

The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index jumped to 78 in August after soaring to 72 in July. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 73.

With the much bigger than expected increase, the housing market index matched the record high set in December of 1998.

“The demand for new single-family homes continues to be strong, as low interest rates and a focus on the importance of housing has stoked buyer traffic to all-time highs as measured on the HMI,” said NAHB Chairman Chuck Fowke.

He added, “However, the V-shaped recovery for housing has produced a staggering increase for lumber prices, which have more than doubled since mid-April. Such cost increases could dampen momentum in the housing market this fall, despite historically low interest rates.”

The HMI index gauging current sales conditions rose six points to 84, the component measuring sales expectations in the next six months increased three points to 78 and the measure charting traffic of prospective buyers posted an eight-point gain to reach its highest level ever at 65.

SpaceX Raises $1.9 Bln In New Funding

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, has raised $1.90 billion in new funding. The private rocket company, founded by Elon Musk, revealed the funding in a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

As per the filing, the company was planning to sell $2.07 billion offering, and now plans to sell further $165 million in equity and preferred stock.

The latest funding reportedly is SpaceX’s largest single fundraising round to date.

Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that the company will have an equity value of $46 billion with the new round of funding.

The news comes as the company launched sixth flight for its Falcon 9 rocket booster and delivered 58 of its Starlink satellites, along with three SkySat satellites for Planet Labs Inc. to orbit.

As of now, the company has launched more than 600 satellites for Starlink for its high-speed satellite-based Internet service. The project, which began development in 2015, is aiming to provide service in the Northern U.S. and Canada this year, expanding to near-global coverage by 2021.

Earlier, on August 2, SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying two U.S. astronauts from the International Space Station safely landed in the Gulf of Mexico after completing a historic mission. It was the first commercially built and operated American crew spacecraft.

SpaceX’s first regular taxi flight for NASA is scheduled for mid-October.

Migrant boy, 16, found dead on beach in Calais

A 16-year-old boy has been found dead on a beach in Calais.

The Sudanese migrant, who disappeared at sea, was found on the beach of Sangatte on Tuesday morning.

UK Home Secretary Priti Patel said the incident was an “upsetting and tragic loss of a young life”.

She added: “This horrendous incident serves as a brutal reminder of the abhorrent criminal gangs and people smugglers who exploit vulnerable people.

“Working together we are determined to stop them.”

Gold Dips Below $2,000 Per Ounce As Dollar Steadies

Gold fell below $2,000 an ounce on Wednesday and the dollar steadied as investors await the release of the minutes from the July 28-29 FOMC meeting for directional cues.

Spot gold dropped 0.7 percent to $1,988.18 per ounce, after having hit a one-week high of $2,014.97 on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures were down 0.9 percent at $1,995.05.

The dollar index steadied after hitting a more than two-year low in the previous session amid stimulus uncertainty and concerns surrounding the economic recovery as new Covid-19 cases continued to rise at a modest pace.

The minutes of the Fed’s latest meeting might give more clues on the interest rate outlook as well as the Fed’s approach to inflation that could be negative for the dollar.

Analysts believe that the sentiment towards gold is still very upbeat in the mid to long term because of the ultra-loose monetary policy pursued by central banks across the globe.

J&J to Buy Momenta for About $6.5 Billion for Autoimmune Drugs

Johnson & Johnson agreed to buy Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc. for about $6.5 billion to expand in treatments for autoimmune diseases.

The deal involves an all-cash tender offer of $52.50 per Momenta share, J&J said Wednesday in a statement. The offer is 70% more than the target’s closing price on Tuesday. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company’s shares had gained about 56% this year.

Momenta traded 68% higher at $52 in pre-market trading in the U.S.

The transaction will help its Janssen Pharmaceutical unit broaden its leadership in immune-mediated diseases, J&J said, and includes full global rights to Momenta’s experimental drug nipocalimab. Momenta received positive news on the drug in June when it hit its main goal in a phase 2 trial as a treatment for myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune neuromuscular disorder.

The purchase follows French drugmaker Sanofi’s deal earlier this week to acquire U.S. biotech company Principia Biopharma Inc. for about $3.4 billion. That all-cash agreement gave Sanofi treatments for multiple sclerosis and a range of autoimmune disorders.