The Traderszone Network

Activity in China’s factory sector seemingly contracted at the fastest pace in 15 months in July, a preliminary private survey showed on Friday in a blow undercutting recent signs of stabilization in the struggling economy. It also added to the woes of emerging market nations already struggling with the risk of a rise in U.S. interest rates later this year. The flash Caixin/Markit China Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped to 48.2, the lowest reading since April last year and the fifth straight month under 50, the level which the survey-makers say separates contraction from expansion.

Combined with a bullish forecast for the third quarter, upbeat comments from company executives on Amazon’s Prime delivery service and rapid growth in its cloud computing service, Amazon delivered the kind of results Wall Street is looking for. Seattle-based Amazon, which last reported a profit in the 2014 fourth quarter, has often faced worries by investors that its heavy spending on new ventures will not actually pay off. Amazon’s shares had languished for much of last year as the company failed to deliver sustainable profits.

World Trade Organization (WTO) members finalized a deal on Friday to cut tariffs on $1 trillion worth of information technology products in a boost for producers of goods ranging from video games to medical equipment. The agreement to update the WTO’s 18-year-old Information Technology Agreement (ITA) adds more than 200 products to the list of goods covered by zero-tariff and duty-free trade.

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Twenty-two financial companies that have served as primary dealers of U.S. Treasury securities were sued in federal court on Thursday, in what was described as the first nationwide class action alleging a conspiracy to manipulate Treasury auctions that harmed both investors and borrowers.

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AT&T Inc’s (T.N) proposed $48.5 billion purchase of DirecTV (DTV.O) has cleared its final regulatory hurdle as the U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted on Thursday to approve the merger, according to people familiar with the votes. At least three of the five FCC commissioners have voted in favor of the deal with conditions, according to the sources, who spoke anonymously because the votes have not yet been made public. The FCC’s vote, likely to be completed and announced on Friday, was the last regulatory step toward the completion of the merger between the second-largest U.S.

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Wall Street says Intel Corp (INTC.O) is the best suitor for Qualcomm Inc’s (QCOM.O) chip unit, if the maker of Snapdragon mobile processors decides to break itself up. “The chip deal to end all chip deals,” says Cowen and Co analyst Timothy Arcuri, would give Intel’s smartphone chip making business a much-needed boost. It would also allow Intel to expand its footprint in the key Chinese market.

Japan’s Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co [MEIJY.UL] said on Friday it has agreed to buy U.S.-based StanCorp Financial Group Inc (SFG.N) for $5 billion, the latest multi-billion deal by acquisitive Japanese insurers. Meiji Yasuda, Japan’s third-largest life insurer by premium revenue, has said previously it was looking for targets in the world’s largest life insurance market to act as an engine for future growth.

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