Morning News Call U.S.

1 Morning NEWS CALL Powere d by Reute rs Edition Frtlllly. _.,..,;m, 2021 REFINITIV' DATA I ~ TH: 3 EGINNlt-.'2 '-TOP NEWS Amazon, Google face formal fake review inquiry in Britain Britain's competition regulator started a formal investigation into whether Amazon and Google may not have done enough to prevent or remove fake reviews. inflation likely to remain elevated for up to four years BofA BofA expects inflation to remain elevated for two to four years, against a rising perception of it being transitory, and said that only a financial market crash would prevent central banks from tightening policy in the next six months. Panasonic sells Tesla stake for $ billion Panasonic sold its stake in electric car maker Tesla for about $ billion in the year ended March, a spokesperson for the Japanese company said.

2 Fearing predators, Credit Suisse seeks new look or even merger-sources Credit Suisse's top management are under pressure to come up with an overhaul plan for the scandal-hit Swiss bank that could include a potential merger with rival UBS, three people familiar with its thinking told Reuters. Facebook rejects talks with Australia publisher, may test online law Australia's competition watchdog is looking into a claim that Facebook refused a publisher's request to negotiate a licensing deal, the regulator told Reuters, setting the stage for the first test of the world 's toughest online content law. BEFORE THE BELL Wall Street futures were up helped by gains in major lenders and a robust earnings forecast from Nike, as investors braced for the Federal Reserve's inflation data. European shares were mixed as a slide in healthcare-related stocks more than offset a boost from the financial sector. Japanese shares closed higher, as cyclicals and technology stocks tracked a strong finish on Wall Street.

3 The dollar fell as an agreement on infrastructure spending underpinned appetite for riskier currencies. Gold prices rose. Oil prices slipped, but remained on track for a fifth consecutive weekly gain on expectations demand growth will outstrip supply and OPEC+ producers will be cautious in returning more supply to the market from August. STOCKS TO WATCH Results FedEx Corp: Hiring difficulties tempered delivery firm FedEx's 2022 earnings forecast that missed Wall Street expectations. FedEx founder and CEO Fred Smith told analysts that operations at the Memphis-based company are being crimped by an inability to find enough workers. Widespread labor shortages are hitting FedEx in the form of "higher wage rates and lower productivity, particularly in the first quarter, and this is reflected in our overall outlook for the year," Chief Financial Officer Mike Lenz said. FedEx expects 2022 earnings, excluding some items, of $ to $ per share -less than analysts' average estimate of $ , according to Refinitiv data.

4 That sent its shares down $ to $ in extended trading. 1 Morning NEWS CALL - EDITION June 25, 2021 REFI N ITIV'" DATA IS JUST THE BEGINNING ~ Nike Inc: The sneaker maker on Thursday forecast fiscal full-year sales ahead of Wall Street estimates, betting on its online business, higher demand as lockdowns ease, and its tried-and-tested strategy of limiting stock for popular products. After staying at home for more than a year and limiting themselves to leisure-wear and comfortable pajamas, consumers are back to buying sneakers for running and hiking as they return to their routines, thanks to rapid vaccinations.

5 There were definite reasons for optimism and confidence, like the return to sport, Chief Financial Officer Matthew Friend said on an earnings call, adding that Nike has already begun to see an acceleration in its sport performance business. Beaverton, Oregon-based Nike said fiscal 2022 revenue is estimated to grow by low double-digits and surpass $50 billion. Analysts had expected revenue of $ billion for fiscal 2022, according to Refinitiv. First-half growth is expected to be slightly higher than second half growth, Friend said. In Other News Inc & Alphabet Inc: Britain's competition regulator started a formal investigation into whether Amazon and Google may not have done enough to prevent or remove fake reviews. The British regulator said it will gather more information to decide if the firms may have broken consumer law by taking insufficient action to protect shoppers. Both Google and Amazon said they were continuing to assist the CMA. CMA action last year over the trading of fake reviews resulted in Facebook, Instagram and eBay removing groups and banning individuals for buying and selling fake reviews on their sites.

6 Google said on Thursday it would delay blocking tracking cookies on its Chrome browser following intervention by the CMA. Bank of America Corp, Goldman Sachs Group Inc & JPMorgan Chase & Co: Large banks will no longer face pandemic-era restrictions on how much they can spend buying back stock and paying dividends, the Federal Reserve announced Thursday after finding the firms would remain well capitalized in its latest stress test. The central bank said the test found 23 of the largest firms would suffer a combined $474 billion in losses under a hypothetical severe downturn, but that would still leave them with more than twice as much capital required under Fed rules. As a result, the Fed will lift limits on buybacks and dividends it had put in place at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The results were met by a sigh of relief on Wall Street, where firms had been limited on what they can pay out to investors. Analysts expect banks like JPMorgan, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs will be able to pay out more than $100 billion together over the next four quarters.

7 BlackRock Inc: The company's Chief Executive Larry Fink said on Thursday the company would create new support channels for employees and start evaluating the conduct of senior leaders, including himself, after a legal review of intolerant behavior at the world 's top asset manager. Fink described the steps in an all-hands memo following a review by the law firm of Paul, Weiss that was led by partner Loretta Lynch, a former Attorney General. The review came after employees complained about racial and sexual harassment, and the conduct of executives, in a series of reports this spring. In a Feb. 1 Medium post, for instance, a former BlackRock analyst described being sexually harassed and discriminated against as an Arab-American Muslim woman, including being taunted for not wearing a Christmas holiday sweater. Little happened after she complained to human resources, she wrote. Cisco Systems Inc: Rakuten said that it plans to use new routing technologies from network gear maker Cisco to expand its capacity to support business customers with 5G and so-called Internet of Things (IoT) services.

8 The Japanese firm has become the first mobile operator to deploy a network based on Open Radio Access Network (RAN) technology that uses software to run network functions on the cloud, reducing the requirement for physical equipment. Rakuten, with 4 million subscribers, will use the new technology to make the entire network more automated to deploy services faster, reduce latency and lower power consumption. "We are going big into enterprise now, in a very elegant cost-efficient manner, without having to incur cost addition," Chief Technology Officer Tareq Amin told analysts on a telephone call. Credit Suisse Group AG & UBS Group AG: The bank's top management are under pressure to come up with an overhaul plan for the scandal-hit Swiss bank that could include a potential merger with rival UBS, three people familiar with its thinking told Reuters. The bank's executives fear the flagship Swiss lender, left vulnerable by scandals, could be challenged by investors demanding its break-up, or that its shrinking stock-market value makes it a target for a foreign hostile takeover, those people said.

9 New chairman, Antonio Horta-Osorio, announced a strategic review in late April, telling investors he would take time in reaching hard decisions that lay ahead. The bank's senior management are due to meet next week, one source said, while another person with knowledge of the matter said top executives wanted to examine restructuring proposals in early July. 2 Morning NEWS CALL - EDITION June 25, 2021 REFI N ITIV'" DATA IS JUST THE BEGINNING ~ Exelon Corp: Five Democrats in the Senate introduced a bill on Thursday that would allow some existing nuclear power plants to receive a tax credit equal to an incentive already given to operators of wind power turbines.

10 The bill, led by Senator Ben Cardin, provides a production tax credit of $15 per megawatt hour for existing nuclear plant owners or operators in states such as New York, Illinois, and Pennsylvania which have deregulated power markets. Cardin's state, Maryland, has two reactors at Exelon's Calvert Cliffs plant. The bill, if passed by the Senate and House, could help President Joe Biden, who has also supported a production tax credit for nuclear plants, in his goal to put the country on a path to decarbonize the power grid by 2035. Facebook Inc: Australia's competition watchdog is looking into a claim that Facebook refused a publisher's request to negotiate a licensing deal, the regulator told Reuters, setting the stage for the first test of the world 's toughest online content law. The Conversation, which publishes current affairs commentary by academics, said it asked Facebook to begin talks as required under new Australian legislation that requires the social media firm and Alphabet's Google to negotiate content-supply deals with media outlets.