Morning News: US Markets Decline, Euro Markets Sink

Stocks that are expected to trade actively in U.S. markets on Monday include: Google Inc (GOOG), Apple Inc. (AAPL), Tenet Healthcare Corp (THC), Vanguard Health Systems, Inc. (VHS), Facebook Inc (FB), Theravance Inc (THRX), General Electric Company (GE), Flagstar Bancorp Inc (FBC), Assured Guaranty Ltd. (AGO)

US: Dow Futures: 14568.00 (-0.97%), S&P 500 Futures: 1568.20 (-1.00%), NASDAQ Futures: 2841.50 (-0.82%)

Europe: CAC: 3584.35 (-2.01%), DAX: 7688.99 (-1.29%), FTSE: 6031.86 (-1.38%)

Asia-Pacific: Australia: 4669.10 (-1.47%), China: 1963.24 (-5.60%), Hong Kong: 19813.98 (-2.27%), Japan: 13062.78 (-1.28%).

Metals: Gold: 1282.20 (-0.76%), Silver: 19.64 (-1.62%), Copper: 3.02 (-2.37%)

Energy: Crude Oil: 93.56 (-0.14%), Natural Gas: 3.78 (0.37%)

Commodities: Corn: 5.43 (-0.36%), Soya Bean: 12.58 (-1.40%), Wheat: 6.95 (-0.28%)

Currency: EUR/USD: 1.3075 (-0.36%), GBP/USD: 1.5371 (-0.31%), USD/JPY: 97.8900 (-0.01%)

10-year US Treasury: 2.633% (0.105)

Market and Economic News Update:

U.S. stock-index futures decline: U.S. stock-index futures are pointing to a lower open on Monday following the sharp global sell-off. In economic news, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index fell by 0.30 in May, compared to the 0.52 decline registered the month before, according to data released today by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Later in the day, Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher, a voting member of the FOMC next year, will deliver a speech on U.S. monetary policy.

European markets sink: European markets fell for a fifth straight session amid growth fears in China and concerns about a possible scaling back of U.S. bond purchases. On the economic front, Germany’s Ifo Business Climate Index rose to 105.9 in June, in line with expectations. The CAC 40 (INDEXEURO:PX1) lost 2 percent to 3584.35, while the DAX (INDEXDB:DAX) shaved off 1.3 percent to 7688.99. The FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE:UKX) gave up 1.4 percent to 6031.86. The euro zone blue-chip ESTX 50 PR.EUR (INDEXSTOXX:SX5E) (Euro Stoxx 50) fell 1.8 percent.

Asian markets end deep in the red: Asian stocks plunged in trade following concerns that the Chinese central bank will refrain from injecting funds into money markets, despite a liquidity squeeze. Interbank rates, which surged over the past two weeks, eased somewhat on Monday, but stayed above the 6 percent level. The SSE Composite Index (SHA:000001) (Shanghai Composite Index) fell below the 2,000 mark to close at a fresh 2013 low, led by a steep sell-off in banking stocks. The NIKKEI 225 (INDEXNIKKEI:NI225) gave up gains made earlier in the session to close down 1.3 percent. The S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) index slid close to 1.5 percent, with gold miners dragging the index lower.

Stocks in News:

Google Inc (GOOG)

Google Inc (GOOG) has confirmed that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is carrying out an antitrust examination of its $1.1 billion purchase of mobile mapping app Waze, The Wall Street Journal reported. The deal has come under criticism amid concerns that the online search specialist will become too dominant in mapping apps. Separately, analysts at JPMorgan raised their target price on Google Inc (GOOG) to $1025 from $860.

Apple Inc. (AAPL)

Apple Inc. (AAPL) announced late Friday that it had changed the way senior executives, including Chief Executive Tim Cook, will receive stock awards. Apple detailed the changes in a filing with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, according to which, the award size will now be partly subject to the performance of the shares.

Tenet Healthcare Corp (THC), Vanguard Health Systems, Inc. (VHS)

Hospital operator Tenet Healthcare Corp (THC) will acquire acute-care and specialty hospital operator Vanguard Health Systems, Inc. (VHS) for $4.3 billion including debt to broaden its geographic reach. Tenet will pay $21 per share, a premium of 70 percent to Vanguard Health’s Friday closing price of $12.37. The boards of both the companies unanimously approved the deal, expected to close before year’s end.

Facebook Inc (FB)

Facebook Inc (FB) shares will be in focus today after the social network giant said a security bug exposed the contact information of about six million users. The company said that the breach reported through its “White Hat” security research program left users’ contact information, such as email addresses and phone numbers, visible to other Facebook members who already had either a friend connection or some other contact information about that user.

Theravance Inc (THRX)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Theravance Inc (THRX)’s antibiotic, Vibativ, to treat adult patients with hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia. Nosocomial pneumonia, caused by Staphylococcus aureus, is a serious lung infection in patients on ventilators. Vibativ is already approved in Europe to treat adults with nosocomial pneumonia.

General Electric Company (GE)

General Electric Company (GE)’s finance unit will sell its trailer leasing and rental business to China’s HNA Group for an undisclosed sum. The deal comes less than a month after GE Capital agreed to offload an $807 million portfolio of properties to American Realty Capital Properties Inc (ARCP). GE’s Chief Executive Jeff Immelt has been examining a range of strategic options for GE Capital, including an initial public offering of some parts of the business.

Flagstar Bancorp Inc (FBC), Assured Guaranty Ltd. (AGO)

Flagstar Bancorp Inc (FBC) agreed late Friday to pay Assured Guaranty Ltd. (AGO) $105 million to terminate a lawsuit accusing the bank of misrepresenting the quality of loans that Assured Guaranty insured. Flagstar’s settlement with Assured followed an earlier $110 million settlement with bond insurer MBIA Inc. (MBI). Shares of Flagstar closed Friday at $13.24, and were inactive pre-market.

Economic Calendar for Monday, June 24, 2013:

08:30 A.M. ET: Chicago Fed National Activity Index (May)
10:30 A.M. ET: Dallas Fed Manufacturing Business Index (June)
11:30 A.M. ET: 3-Month Bill Auction
11:30 A.M. ET: 6-Month Bill Auction
01:00 P.M. ET: Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher speaks.