Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
Welcome to Seeking Alpha's Wall Street Breakfast, where we cover the top news for investors every morning. It's good to be with you on this Wednesday, July 2nd. I'm Julie Morgan. Stress is apparently a good thing. CBS settles with Trump and Verint eyes a deal.
If you put the word stress in the search bar on Seeking Alpha, you'll see a host of articles about banks that have been published in the last day or so. The articles highlight the bank's actions as a result of the Fed's annual stress test.
You'll notice most of the articles say that the bank in question plans to raise, increase, or boost its dividend. For example, Citigroup plans to raise its quarterly dividend 7.1% to $0.60 per share from its current level of $0.56 as a result of the 2025 Federal Reserve Stress Test.
Wells Fargo plans to boost its quarterly dividend by 12.5% to 45 cents per share from its current level of 40 cents. And if those double digits seem high, Goldman Sachs is planning to increase its quarterly dividend by 33% to $4 per share starting July 1st from its current level of $3 per share.
It is important to note that all 22 banks passed the test. Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said in a statement last week following the stress test that large banks remain well-capitalized and resilient to a range of severe outcomes. I'll leave a link to an article in show notes that details the Fed's 2025 recession scenario.
Paramount Global, the parent firm of CBS, has reached an agreement to pay $16 million to settle President Trump's lawsuit over a 60-minutes interview with the former vice president. Trump sued CBS last year for $10 billion, alleging that it deceptively edited the interview with Kamala Harris to attempt to tip the scales in favor of the Democratic Party in the 2024 presidential election. The claim was later raised to $20 billion.
Paramount noted that the settlement does not include a statement of apology or regret. The money won't be paid directly or indirectly to President Trump, but will go towards his legal fees and costs and his future presidential library, which is similar to the ABC News $15 million settlement last year. The company also agreed to release transcripts of future 60 Minutes interviews with presidential candidates after the interviews have aired.
The settlement comes as Paramount awaits regulatory approval for its merger with Skydance Media. Paramount said the lawsuit is completely separate from and unrelated to the FCC approval process. In addition to the CBS and ABC News lawsuits, President Trump also sued the Des Moines Register over a pre-election survey.
Tama Bravo is negotiating the terms of a potential deal with Verint, which is working with an advisor. Bloomberg reported that there is no certainty the two sides will reach an agreement and the talks could end without one. Semaphore reported on Tuesday that Verint Systems, a $1.2 billion maker of software for call centers, has hired bankers to seek a buyer.
Varent Systems, whose stock is down over 30% year-to-date, is 12% higher in pre-market action. Now for a look at a few other articles that are trending on the homepage of Seeking Alpha. Baidu revamps its search engine with AI features and voice functionality, according to a report. Chinese investors dump $5.9 billion worth of Tencent, Xiaomi, and Alibaba shares in June.
And Intel's new CEO is set to weigh ending 18A marketing to new customers. On our Catalyst Watch for the day, Universal Pictures' Jurassic World Rebirth will open in the U.S. The film is expected to generate between $115 million and $135 million in its opening weekend in the U.S. And it's the five-year anniversary since Lemonade's IPO.
On Wall Street today, ahead of the opening bell, Dow, S&P and Nasdaq futures are in the green. Crude oil is up 0.2% at $65 a barrel. Bitcoin is up 1.9% at $107,000. The FTSE 100 is up 0.2% and the DAX is up 0.4%.
Centene is on our list of the biggest movers of the day pre-market. CNC is down 24% after the company withdrew its 2025 profit outlook. On today's economic calendar, at 8.15 a.m., the ADP employment report. Private payrolls are expected to increase by 103,000 after rising only 37,000 in May. And at 10.30 a.m., the EIA petroleum status report.
That's it for today's Wall Street Breakfast. Thanks for listening. To take full advantage of Seeking Alpha with coverage on significant stocks and ETFs, become a premium subscriber. Check out seekingalpha.com slash subscriptions. I'm your host, Julie Morgan. Go out and make it a great day.