BEFORE THE OPEN
Source: Thomson Reuters

• Futures for Canada's main stock index were subdued, as gains in crude prices were countered by weakness in metals and concerns over slowing global economic growth
• Oil prices rose, extending a cautious rally on signs of tight supply while the European Union (EU) wrangled with Hungary over plans to ban imports from Russia
• European shares were up aided by energy shares
• Japan's Nikkei ended lower, weighed by losses in chip-related stocks
• The U.S. dollar edged lower and gold prices fell, following the Fed’s tight monetary policy
• Retail sales data is on the economic radar

• Britain's competition regulator launched its second probe into the advertising practices of Google, saying the Alphabet-owned search giant could be distorting competition and may have illegally favoured its own services
• The Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) latest probe follows its investigation into Google and Facebook owner-Meta's "Jedi Blue" agreement earlier this year
• The CMA said it was examining three key parts of the ad tech stack chain, services that mediate ad tech, since Google owned the largest provider in each of those components
• "We're worried that Google may be using its position in ad tech to favour its own services to the detriment of its rivals, of its customers and ultimately of consumers," said CMA Chief Executive Andrea Coscelli in a statement
• Separately, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that reporters from Western countries will be expelled from Russia if YouTube blocks access to her briefings, TASS news agency reported

• The company plans to keep iPhone production for 2022 roughly flat at about 220 million units, as China's COVID-19 curbs, global supply chain issues, and cooling demand continue to hurt smartphone makers
• The iPhone maker's supplier Foxconn Industrial Internet Co Ltd has been able to keep its workers on-site in a "closed loop" system to limit the impact on production, but lockdowns in the country have pushed many to sound demand-related warnings
• The developments also comes as investors brace for a drop in consumer spending on tech gadgets and services as the war in Ukraine drives up the cost of oil, food, and other staples
• Separately, Apple will raise the starting pay for its U.S. employees, the iPhone maker said on Wednesday, as companies face a tight labor market and a surge in unionization efforts amid rising inflation
• The starting pay for the company's U.S. team members will rise to $22 per hour, or higher based upon the market, a 45% jump from 2018 levels, Apple said in a statement

• The Canadian data analytics software maker Telus made and then abruptly withdrew a $830 million buyout approach for Australian rival Appen Ltd, Appen said
• "Telus informed us that they were revoking their Indicative Proposal. No reasons were given," the Australian software seller said
• On Thursday, trading in Appen's shares was halted after they surged more than 29% to A$8.27, below the indicative offer price of A$9.50 a share, as investors positioned themselves for an eventual buyout — including from another company — while allowing for the possibility the talks could fall through
• A deal would have helped build the Canadian firm's offering at a time when corporate clients around the world are moving to automate many services for a customer base that has shifted online due to the COVID-19 pandemic

• The bank missed analysts' estimates for quarterly profit, on higher provisions for credit losses and expenses and lower investment banking revenue
• Net income excluding one-off items was C$1.65 billion, or C$1.77, in the three months ended April 30, compared with C$1.67 billion, or C$1.79 a year earlier, while analysts had expected C$1.78 a share
• Canada's fifth-largest lender reported overall net profit of C$1.52 billion, or C$1.62 a share, down from C$1.65 billion or C$1.78 a year ago

• The chip designer forecast its sales of video game chips would decline in the current quarter and startled some analysts by laying out new supply-chain issues resulting from China's COVID-19 lockdowns
• Nvidia forecast second-quarter revenue of $8.10 billion, plus or minus 2% while analysts on average expected $8.45 billion
• The lower revenue forecast included an estimated reduction of about $500 million relating to Russia and the COVID lockdowns in China
• Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress said the $500 million figure included about $400 million lost in gaming sales in China and Russia, and another $100 million lost in data center sales in Russia
• Chief Executive Jensen Huang said that Nvidia's gaming business revenue will post a percentage drop in the mid-teens for the current quarter compared with the previous quarter
• Nvidia shares fell in extended trading, even though the company's first-quarter revenues and earnings topped analyst estimates
• Revenue for the first quarter ended May 1 rose 46% to a record $8.29 billion
• Excluding items, the company earned $1.36 per share, beating estimates of $1.29

• The bank beat analysts' estimates for second-quarter profit, as the bank released provisions due to lower risks tied to the pandemic and had strong loan growth
• Net income excluding one-off items was C$2.99 in the three months ended April 30, compared with C$2.79 a year earlier, while analysts had expected C$2.70 a share
• The lender reported overall net profit of C$4.3 billion, or C$2.96 a share, up 6% from C$4 billion, or C$2.76, a year ago

• The bank beat analysts' estimates for quarterly profit, as strength in its Canadian retail banking units offset higher expenses and loan-loss provisions
• Net income excluding one-off items was C$3.71 billion, or C$2.02, in the three months ended April 30, compared with C$3.8 billion, or C$2.04, a year earlier, while analysts had expected C$1.93 a share
• The bank reported overall net profit of C$3.81 billion, or C$2.07 a share, up from C$3.7 billion or C$1.99, a year ago

• The company said it will buy VMware in a $61 billion cash-and-stock deal to further diversify the chipmaker's business into enterprise software
• Each VMware shareholder will get $142.50 per share, resulting in a premium of over 48% to the stock's close since the deal talks were first reported on May 22
• VMware shareholders will get $142.50 in cash or 0.2520 shares of a Broadcom common stock for each VMware share held

• The company has bought HCP Packaging Co Ltd, a global cosmetic packaging company from Barings Private Equity Asia, the companies said in a statement
• HCP is headquartered in Shanghai and has 10 production and manufacturing facilities around the world and more than 250 clients, the statement said
• Terms of the deal were not disclosed and the companies said the transaction was due to be finalised in the third quarter

• An update from Nvidia Corp. warned that supply chains problems, China's Covid policies and even the war in Ukraine are weighing on its outlook
• Shares in Nvidia dropped more than 5%
• The Federal Reserve has revised the forecast for the personal consumption expenditure index to 4.3% for this year before decelerating to 2.5% next year
• Twitter Inc. shares rose in pre-market trading after Elon Musk dropped plans to partially fund his purchase of the social network with a margin loan tied to his Tesla Inc. stake and increased the size of the deal’s equity component to $33.5 billion
• Futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 fluctuated between gains and losses
• The yield on the 10-year Treasuries fell 2 basis points to 2.7237% as of 5:30 a.m. New York time
• In cryptocurrencies, Ether fell more than 7% to the $1,800-level and Bitcoin dropped 2.4% to trade below $29,000