Kroger-Albertsons Merger Faces Legal Scrutiny Amid Middle East Tensions

Wall Street Breakfast Podcast: Kroger, Albertsons In Court

Nordstrom's Q2 earnings report is anticipated to show a Y/Y decline in profits, but Seeking Alpha's Quant Rating remains bullish on the stock. Listen below or on the go on Apple Podcasts and Spotify Kroger (KR) set to battle in court with FTC over $25B Albertsons (ACI) deal on Monday. (00:25) Elon Musk's SpaceX to bring astronauts sent on Boeing (BA) Starliner. (01:43) Earnings preview: Nordstrom (JWN). (02:45) This is an abridged transcript of the podcast. Kroger (KR) will start battling in court with the Federal Trade Commission over its plan to block the $24.6 billion purchase of Albertsons (NYSE:ACI). The FTC is set to start its trial today against the supermarket operators before a federal district court judge in Portland, Oregon. The trial, in front of Judge Adrienne Nelson, is scheduled to end with closing arguments on Sept. 13. The judge expects to make a decision 10 days after the trial ends, according to an April 12 court filing. The FTC sued to block the combination in February,saying the supermarket deal would lead to higher prices for consumers. Eight states and Washington, D.C. teamed up with the regulator to halt the deal. Colorado and Washington also separately filed lawsuits to try to put an end to the deal. Kroger has been trying to appease the FTC by offering to divest hundreds of stores to make the deal more palatable. Albertsons (ACI) in April announced an updated divestiture package that increased the total store count by 166 to include 579 stores that will be sold C&S Wholesale Grocers. Kroger originally announced a plan in September to sell 413 stores for $1.9 billion to C&S. NASA on Saturday decided that astronauts sent to orbit through Boeing's (BA) Starliner spacecraft should remain at the International Space Station (ISS) until next year before getting a ride back home with SpaceX (SPACE), the space exploration company led by Elon Musk. The decision comes as Boeing (BA) and NASA grapple with what to do with their return journey amid safety concerns over the Starliner capsule. Instead of the usual four, SpaceX (SPACE) will send two astronauts for a routine six-month journey in late September to accommodate Boeing's (BA) test pilots. Boeing launched its first two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, into space in June for what could have been a weeklong test flight. The potential return with SpaceX (SPACE) means Wilmore and Williams will have to remain on the ISS until late February, spending about eight months in total in orbit. Meanwhile, the empty Starliner capsule is expected to undock from the ISS in a week or two, and begin its return home on autopilot. And looking ahead to Nordstrom (JWN) reporting earnings after the market closes on Tuesday. With the release of its Q2 earnings report, analysts are anticipating a Y/Y decline in profits, reflecting the challenges faced by the retail industry. Despite the mixed analyst sentiment, Seeking Alpha's Quant Rating system remains bullish on Nordstrom, rating the stock as a Buy. This contrasts with the more cautious Hold rating from Wall Street analysts. SA author Young Investor Analytics points out that the growth of Nordstrom Rack could put pressure on margins. Additionally, the company's high debt levels and operational challenges remain areas of concern. Consensus EPS Estimates: $0.73 Consensus Revenue Estimates: $2.89B Earnings Insight: JWN has beaten EPS estimates in 7 of the past 8 quarters, missing revenue expectations twice in that span. More articles on Seeking Alpha: Oil prices on watch as Israel, Hezbollah strikes fuel fears of wider Mideast conflict This sector is seen as being the most impacted by the 2024 U.S. election Telegram backs CEO Pavel Durov as his arrest prompts online backlash Canada labor board orders rail employees back to work, imposes binding arbitration Catalyst watch: The three-day VMWare Explore event will begin in Las Vegas. Broadcom (AVGO) CEO Hock Tan will address attendees during the general session keynote titled "Shaping the Future of Cloud and AI Innovation." The event has been used to announce strategic partnerships in the past. The Nasdaq short interest report will be released. 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 in the green. Crude oil is up 1.3% at $75/barrel. Bitcoin is flat at $63,000. In the world markets, the FTSE 100 is up 0.4% and the DAX is down 0.2%. The biggest movers for the day premarket: XPeng (NYSE:XPEV) shares surged over 7% after Chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng boosted his stake in the company to restore investor confidence. On today's economic calendar: 8:30 Durable Goods 10:30 Dallas Fed Manufacturing Survey Wall Street Breakfast, Seeking Alpha's flagship daily business news summary, is a one-page summary that gives you a rapid overview of the day's key financial news. It is designed for easy readability on the site or by email (including mobile devices), and is published before 7:30 AM ET every market day. Wall Street Breakfast's readership of over 3.4 million includes many from the investment banking and fund management industries. Sign up here to receive the Wall Street Breakfast in your inbox every business day.Check out our Podcast RSS feed

Wall Street Breakfast: Mideast On Edge

Listen on the go! A daily podcast of Wall Street Breakfast will be available by 8:00 a.m. on Seeking Alpha, iTunes, Spotify. Survey Monday Nvidia's Q2 earnings release will be a high-stakes event this week, with the numbers indicating trends, demand and spending in the booming AI industry. The results will: · Power the market to new highs · Be limited to the AI trade · Lead to some selling pressure · It's a wildcard as usual Take the survey here and don't forget to share your thoughts in the WSB comments section. Mideast on edge Oil prices will be on watch as Israel and Lebanese paramilitary group Hezbollah engaged in the heaviest missile exchange on Sunday following 10 months of warfare, fueling fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East. The exchange of fire does not appear to have set off a long-feared war, but tensions remain high. What happened: Hezbollah launched hundreds of missiles at northern Israel in retaliation for the assassination of a senior commander last month. Israel said it launched airstrikes targeting rocket launchers across southern Lebanon to stop an imminent Hezbollah attack. At least three people were killed, including a fighter with the Hezbollah-allied Amal group, and two were wounded in the strikes on Lebanon. Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesman, said an initial assessment showed "very little damage" in Israel. De-escalation: Both sides have signaled their intention of avoiding further escalation. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the group had targeted an intelligence base and the operation had concluded. "At this current stage, the country (Lebanon) can take a breath," he added, seeking to assuage fears of repercussions. Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant said he spoke with U.S. secretary of defense Lloyd Austin on avoiding regional escalation and working together to ensure Israel's defense. Oil on watch: Oil futures were higher on Monday. Front-month Nymex crude (CL1:COM) for October delivery rose 2.7% at the time of writing, and October Brent crude (CO1:COM) was up 2.5%. Warren Patterson, head of commodities strategy at ING, said the rise was driven by Fed Chair Powell's speech and Middle East developments. "We would expect any rally on the back of these (Middle East) developments to be rather short-lived except if Iran were to become more directly involved, as this would raise oil supply risks more meaningfully." (4 comments) Telegram CEO arrest French authorities on Saturday arrested Pavel Durov, billionaire CEO of messaging app Telegram, who is reportedly still being detained for questioning. The arrest is part of an investigation into an alleged lack of moderation on Telegram, which police claim has allowed criminal activity to continue undetected on the app. "Durov has nothing to hide," said Telegram. "It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform." The arrest has prompted widespread backlash, including from Elon Musk, Rumble (RUM) CEO Chris Pavlovski and Edward Snowden. (155 comments) Antitrust showdown Kroger (KR) will start batting in court with the Federal Trade Commission today over its plan to block the supermarket behemoth's $24.6B purchase of rival Albertsons (ACI). The hearing in Portland, Oregon is scheduled to end with closing arguments on September 13, with the judge's decision expected 10 days after the trial ends. The FTC sued to block the combination in February, saying the deal would lead to higher prices for consumers. The companies have been trying to appease the FTC by offering to divest hundreds of stores to make the deal more palatable for the regulator. (22 Comments) Astronauts' return Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who were sent to orbit on Boeing's (BA) Starliner in June, will remain at the International Space Station until next year, before hitching a ride back home on a SpaceX (SPACE) spacecraft. This would extend their stay in orbit from the originally planned one week to about eight months. The decision comes as Boeing and NASA have struggled to decide on the astronauts' return journey amid safety concerns over Starliner. Meanwhile, the empty Starliner capsule is expected to undock from the ISS in a week or two, and begin its return home on autopilot. (171 comments) Today's Markets In Asia, Japan -0.7%. Hong Kong +1.1%. China flat. India +0.8%. In Europe, at midday, London +0.5%. Paris +0.2%. Frankfurt -0.2%. Futures at 7:00, Dow +0.1%. S&P +0.2%. Nasdaq +0.1%. Crude +2.3% to $76.54. Gold +0.6% to $2,560.50. Bitcoin -0.3% to $63,774. Ten-year Treasury Yield unchanged at 3.80%. Today's Economic Calendar 8:30 Durable Goods 10:30 Dallas Fed Manufacturing Survey Companies reporting earnings today " What else is happening... Analysts see string of 25-bp rate cuts after Powell's latest speech. Bronfman wants Paramount to partner with big tech for streaming. Chinese tech giants continue AI splurge despite U.S. chip curbs. Oil majors, OPEC+ face risks as crude supply outstrips demand. Fire at Rivian's (RIVN) Illinois plant damages several vehicles. XPeng (XPEV) soars 6% as CEO boosts stake in EV maker. Deadpool & Wolverine retakes No.1 spot at movie box office. This sector is seen as being most impacted by U.S. election. Lilly (LLY), Novo (NVO) to maintain lead in weight loss market. Stocks most loved and shunned by hedge and mutual funds. Wall Street Breakfast, Seeking Alpha's flagship daily business news summary, is a one-page summary that gives you a rapid overview of the day's key financial news. It is designed for easy readability on the site or by email (including mobile devices), and is published before 7:30 AM ET every market day. Wall Street Breakfast's readership of over 3.4 million includes many from the investment banking and fund management industries. Sign up here to receive the Wall Street Breakfast in your inbox every business day.Check out our Podcast RSS feed