-- The euro area's M3 money supply rose 3.2% year over year in March, following a 3% increase in February, the European Central Bank said Wednesday.
Analysts expected 3.1% growth for the month.
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Asia
StarHub Names Consumer Business Chief as Deputy CEO
StarHub (SGX:CC3) named Matt Rhys Williams as deputy chief executive officer, effective May 1, according to a Wednesday filing with the Singapore Exchange.Williams will concurrently continue in his role as chief of the consumer business group, the filing stated.
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Sectors
Crude Oil Prices Continue Rising as Strait of Hormuz Remains Blocked, Commerzbank Says
Crude oil prices remain on an upward trajectory as the Strait of Hormuz has not yet been opened despite a halt in hostilities, as the situation has worsened due to the U.S. naval blockade against Iran, Commerzbank said in a Tuesday note.Talks between the U.S. and Iran have also come at a standstill, with a new offer from Iran to open the strait unlikely to be considered acceptable by the U.S., the bank noted. Iran is demanding an end to the blockade and the postponement of talks on the nuclear program.Concerns are also growing about a prolonged supply shortage in the oil market. This is also evident in the widening of time spreads, or the price differences between the various contract maturities along with Brent futures curve, according to Commerzbank.The spread between the nearest-month and the next-month Brent futures contracts is once again just under US$7, while the spread between the nearest-month and the seven-month contract is more than $20. These are the highest price premiums for oil available for immediate delivery in three weeks, the bank said.
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US Markets
Finland's Kone Strikes EUR29.4 Billion Deal to Acquire Germany's TK Elevator
Kone (KNEBV.HE) will merge with German peer TK Elevator in a 29.4-billion-euro cash-and-stock deal to create one of the biggest elevator and escalator companies globally, the companies said Wednesday.The Finnish elevator and escalator maker will purchase the entire issued share capital of Vertical Topco II, which holds all of TK Elevator's assets, from a consortium led by private equity firms Advent and Cinven. Under the planned combination, Kone will pay Advent and Cinven's jointly owned holding company, Vertical Topco I, 5 billion euros in cash and a maximum share consideration of 270 million newly issued Kone class B shares worth 15.2 billion euros.The combined group will be led by Kone President and Chief Executive Officer Philippe Delorme. Kone Chief Financial Officer Ilkka Hara and Chairman Antti Herlin will also continue in their roles at the merged entity.Kone said the combined group, which will be headquartered in Finland and have over 100,000 employees across 100 countries, would have generated annual sales of 20.5 billion euros in the last financial year.The deal is expected to complete in the second quarter of 2027, at the earliest, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals."Our first impression is that the deal value looks somewhat above previous media suggestions (~EUR25bn). It is interesting to us that TKE is being valued ahead of Kone (which has an EV of EUR28.5bn, trades at 18.5x 2026 EV/EBITA), a company with a long track record of solid growth and operational execution," analysts at RBC Capital Markets said in a quick take note, with a negative sentiment on the transaction. "Deal economics look OK if giving full benefit for synergies, but there is obvious execution and potentially antitrust risk here. In a nutshell, we worry that the Kone equity case - industry-leading growth, strong sales execution and healthy margin expansion - will now, for the next two years or more, be subsumed by the TKE deal."Kone shares were down over 3% in Helsinki on Wednesday midday trade.
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