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U.S. national debt exceeds $35T for the first time ever. (00:23) J.M. Smucker exploring sale of Voortman cookie brand – Reuters. (01:21) Delta hires law firm following CrowdStrike software outage – report. (02:13)
This is an abridged transcript of the podcast.
The latest data from the Treasury Department shows U.S. national debt has crossed $35T for the first time ever.
Recall that national debt hit $34T early this year and passed $33T just three months before that.
Maya MacGuineas, president of independent think tank Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act was an “excellent start” to reducing the deficit. “We should extend FRA caps, we should find new revenues, and we should fix our dangerously close to insolvent Social Security and Medicare trust funds.” To note, Social Security and Medicare are the biggest drivers of national debt.
The Congressional Budget Office last month projected that national debt would rise from 99% of GDP this year to a record 122% in 2034, driven by increased interest costs and mandatory spending.
Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) has hired a law firm to pursue damage after the CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) and Microsoft (MSFT) software outage that began on July 19.
Delta hired famed attorney David Boies of Boies Schiller Flexnie, according to a CNBC report on Monday. The airline is seeking compensation from CrowdStrike (CRWD) and Microsoft (MSFT) after the outage crippled the carrier for several days.
No lawsuit has been filed as of yet, according to the CNBC report. Delta didn’t immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Wall Street analysts are pegging the cost of the disruption to as much as $500M to Delta’s (DAL) bottom line, or $0.60 per share in Q3 and FY24 according to Citigroup.
Last Thursday, Delta said it started the day with zero cancellations and they expected normal operations to continue Friday and beyond.
J.M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) is exploring a possible sale of its Voortman Bakery unit in a deal that could be valued at more than $350 million.
Smucker (SJM) is working with Goldman Sachs to gauge interest for the cookie and wafer brand, according to a Reuters report on Monday, which cited people familiar with the matter.
Smucker (SJM), known more for its jams and jellies, is looking to sell Voortman after it acquired the brand in its $5.6 billion acquisition of Hostess Brands last year.
Hostess acquired Voortman from Swander Pace Capital in January 2020 for $320 million.
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Catalyst watch:
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Vista Outdoor (VSTO) will hold a special shareholder meeting to vote on the CSG transaction.
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Concord Medical Services (CCM) will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis following the company’s 1-for-30 stock split.
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The IPO lockup period for blocks of shares of Amer Sports (AS) expires. The stock trades below its IPO pricing level of $13 per share.
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Hawaiian Holdings (HA) will hold its earnings call at 4:30pm. Traders will be watching for an update on the planned merger with Alaska Air (ALK). The Department of Justice has to weigh in on the airline merger before August 5.
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 down 0.2% at $75 per barrel. Bitcoin is down 4.2% at $66,000.
In the world markets, the FTSE 100 is down 0.3% and the DAX is up 0.3%.
The biggest movers for the day premarket: Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ:LSCC) shares plunged over 15% after the company reported a downbeat Q2 and outlook.
On today’s economic calendar:
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