Diamonds and Dogs

10/15/18

Merger in the defense space. Military communication equipment providers Harris Corp (HRS) and L3 Technologies (LLL) are both up over 8% after announcing an all-stock merger that will create the United States' sixth-largest defense contractor with a market value of $34 billion. President Donald Trump and the Republican-led Congress is driving contractors to pursue mergers so they have more scale to bid on bigger projects, spanning everything from upgrading computer systems to space exploration. In August, Trump signed a defense policy bill that authorized $639 billion in military spending such as buying weapons, ships, aircraft and paying troops.

Chinese stocks continue lower. On-line retailer, Alibaba (BABA) is down 2% today on a downgrade from Susquehanna. Alibaba and the rest of the large cap Chinese stocks have been in a tailspin since this spring due in part to trade tariffs between the two countries. Last week the Chinese Internet stocks bounced on reports President Trump is set to meet Chinese President Xi at the G20 summit in Argentina in November. But so far today, the Chinese stocks are lower again.