10 things you need to know in markets today
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at an all-time high overnight, extending its post-election rally but losing grip of early gains. Global bonds sold off again, sending Treasury yields to their highest levels of this year as investors continued to bet that President-elect Donald Trump's fiscal policy will boost inflation.
The cigarette-seller Reynolds American has rejected British American Tobacco's $47 billion (£37.6 billion) buyout offer, according to Bloomberg's Ruth David, Dinesh Nair, and Manuel Baigorri. The American company is seeking a higher price, according to the report, and BAT is willing to increase its offer slightly.
Oil is popping. Prices have been pushed higher by expectations of falling shale output and renewed optimism that OPEC will deliver on touted production cuts. US crude is up by 1.71% to $44.06 (£35.31) at the time of writing (6.30 a.m. GMT/1.30 a.m. ET) and Brent is up 1.44% to $45.07 (£36.12).
Inflation figures are coming. Multiple different measures of inflation for October will be released at 9.30 a.m. GMT (4.30 a.m. ET), with economists watching closely for any signs of rising prices as a result of the post-Brexit vote fall in the pound. The consumer price index is forecast to show prices rising by an average of 1.1% annually.
Mark Carney faces MPs. The Bank of England governor will appear before the Treasury Select Committee in Parliament at 10.00 a.m. GMT (5.00 a.m. ET) to answer questions about the inflation report. Fellow Bank officials Michael Saunders, Minouche Shafik, and Ian McCafferty will appear alongside him.
Trivago, the online hotel reservation company backed by Expedia, has filed to go public. JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley are leading the deal, which will list on the Nasdaq under the ticker "TRVG."
Asian markets are mostly flat. Japan's Nikkei stock market closed down 0.03%, China's Shanghai Composite is off 0.28% at the time of writing (6.30 a.m. GMT/1.30 a.m. ET), and the Hong Kong Hang Seng is up 0.25%.
It looks as if President-elect Donald Trump's advisers have a clear top pick for Treasury secretary: ex-Goldman Sachs banker Steven Mnuchin, who served as the national finance chair on Trump's presidential campaign. That's according to Bloomberg's Saleha Mohsin, Kevin Cirilli, and Jennifer Jacobs, who report that Trump's transition team has recommended the banker. Mnuchin spent 17 years with Goldman Sachs.
Digital wealth manager Nutmeg has raised £30 million ($37.3 million) after changing CEOs in the spring. British Chancellor Philip Hammond says the deal "confirms the UK's position as the global FinTech capital" in a statement.
Apple is considering expanding into wearable glass headsets and has talked about the project with potential suppliers, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter. The wearable headset would show images, along with other information and may use augmented reality, according to the report.
Executives at Elliott Management, a near $30 billion (£24 billion) US-based hedge fund, say that the European Union could end up undergoing a "very painful" unraveling in the coming years. Writing to clients in late September, the fund headed by Paul Singer says that the basic premise of the European Union, as well as the single currency area, is fundamentally "unsound" and Brexit is just a symptom of a wider discontent that threatens the existence of the 28-nation bloc.