Markets Defused is an easy-to-understand and straightforward recap of the day’s most engaging business and stock market news.
- BT shares rocked as Sky’s CityFibre deal reignites rivalry
- Tesco hiked the price of its popular ‘meal deal’
- Walkers launched 'smokin' new flavour
- Eli Lilly shares boosted by diabetes results
- Tesla’s EU import tariffs won’t be as bad as feared
- J&J bought a heart med-tech maker for $1.7bn
- Amazon-backed AI firm sued by authors
- Google's Waymo hits rides milestone
BT shares rocked as Sky’s CityFibre deal reignites rivalry
BT Group PLC (LSE:BT.A) shares closed more than 6% lower on Tuesday as old rival Sky once reignited competition – with a new team-up with CityFibre putting down the gauntlet in BT’s arena.
Sky announced a long-term partnership with CityFibre to offer broadband services through CityFibre's network starting next year. It aims to give Sky the capacity to expand its broadband services via CityFibre’s network, especially in rural areas.
BT's Openreach currently provides broadband infrastructure for Sky's 5.7 million customers.
Meanwhile, CityFibre's network aims to cover 8 million premises.
City analysts reacted by noting that while CityFibre's current reach is smaller than Openreach's, the growing competition could pressure BT to reconsider its pricing and service strategies.
In London, BT shares dropped 9.3p or 6.4% to finish Tuesday’s dealing at 136.30p.
Tesco hiked the price of its popular ‘meal deal’
Tesco PLC (LSE:TSCO) has upped the price of its sandwich meal deal, a staple for Britain’s convenience-shop-working-lunch class. It’s ‘the second price rise in two years’, according to tabloid media coverage, as the supermarket chain revealed the change on Tuesday.
Putting some ready-salted in the wound, Tesco even hiked the price for its Clubcard holders.
Regular customers will now pay £4.00 for the ‘meal’ deal that comprises a prepackaged sandwich, a packet of crisps and a drink, whilst members of Tesco’s Clubcard ‘loyalty’ scheme will pay £3.60. It is an increase from £3.90 and £3.40 respectively.
Over in the City of London, Tesco shares were down 2.6p or 0.76% closing Tuesday at 338.80p whilst Sainsbury shares were down 1.69% closing at 279.4p.
Walkers launched 'smokin' new flavour
Walkers has introduced a new crisp flavour, ‘Smokin' BBQ Sauce’, after a period of ‘strong demand’ from customers and fans.
The PepsiCo owned British snacks company revealed that the flavour has been in development for some time, because of the popularity of BBQ flavors, and it is now available across various packets - single packs, grab bags, and multipacks.
It comes amid a new strategy, as the snacks firm seeks to boost sales in the savoury category.
Eli Lilly shares boosted by Mounjaro and Zepbound diabetes test results
Eli Lilly and Co (NYSE:LLY) shares gained nearly 3% on Tuesday with the latest research data finding that its in-demand weight loss medication tirzepatide, marketed under the Mounjaro and Zepbound brand names, had shown a significant reduction in the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
The risk of type 2 diabetes was reduced by 94% in a late-stage clinical trial, the pharmaceutical firm reported.
It was also noted that during a 17-week off-treatment follow-up, patients began regaining weight and showed some increase in the progression to diabetes.
In New York, Eli Lilly stock gained $24.11 or 2.62% changing hands at $945.51- after reaching as high as $976, which was a new high for the share.
Tesla’s EU import tariffs won’t be as bad as first feared
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is now expected to face a significantly lower than feared import tariff in the European Union, after it moves its China-built electric vehicles.
Elon Musk’s EV firm will pay a 9% tariff on the imports, rather than the 20.8% rate previously expected.
Tesla has factories in China that would be subject to these European tariffs.
The European Commission meanwhile confirmed it revised tariffs will impact Chinese automakers – such as BYD, Geely, and SAIC - more heavily, with those tariffs set at 17%, 19.3%, and 36.3% respectively.
A final decision, to set tariffs for five years, is expected to be published at the end of October.
In New York, Tesla stock was down $1.66 or 0.74% on Tuesday, at $221.05.
J&J bought a heart med-tech maker for $1.7bn
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) has struck a $1.7 billion deal to acquire V-Wave Ltd, a private company that’s developing devices to treat heart failure.
It sees the pharma and med-tech giant pay $600 million upfront, followed by contingent milestone-based payments of up to $1.1 billion.
V-Wave's Ventura Interatrial Shunt (IAS) is described as a novel implantable device, designed to address heart failure – in J&J’s words, it is described as minimally invasive and aims to reduce cardiovascular events and hospitalizations.
The deal builds on a prior relationship, which saw J&J previously invest in V-Wave.
It is expected to close by the end of 2024, subject to regulatory approvals.
Google-backed robotaxi firm Waymo hit an important rides milestone
Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) robotaxi firm Waymo revealed it has doubled its weekly rides to 100,000, which it reported as an important milestone in its operations.
It comes just three months after Waymo expanded its services across key markets in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix.
Waymo has a fleet comprising hundreds of fully autonomous electric vehicles, without drivers.
The Google company’s announcement, which came via social media, is timely, preceding an anticipated rollout of Tesla’s ‘robotaxi’ plans in October. Meanwhile, other robotaxi ventures are also progressing – namely General Motors’ Cruise and Amazon's Zoox.
Amazon-backed AI firm Anthropic sued by authors and musicians
Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) part-owned AI firm Anthropic is facing new legal scrutiny with lawsuits landing from authors.
Through a class-action lawsuit the authors allege that Anthropic used pirated versions of their books and potentially hundreds of thousands of others to train its AI-powered chatbot, Claude.
The group of writers claim that Anthropic’s actions constitute large-scale theft, which they say has impacted their rights as creators. They are seeking monetary damages and a court order to prevent further misuse of their work.