Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is approaching a significant $10 billion deal to acquire Occidental Petroleum Corp.'s petrochemical business, which would be its largest acquisition since the $13.7 billion purchase of Alleghany Corp. This move comes as Occidental announces nearly $4 billion in asset sales and is projected to achieve a pretax income of $800 million to $900 million from its OxyChem division this year. Concurrently, markets anticipate a potential 25 basis point rate cut by the Federal Reserve, reflecting a cautious economic outlook amid mixed employment indicators.
“markets · are pricing in · chance of a -25 bp rate cut · 97%”
“Sep ADP employment change · is expected to increase by · +51,000”
“Sep ISM manufacturing index · is expected to rise by · +0.3 · to 49.0”
“weekly initial unemployment claims · are expected to increase by · +7,000 · to 225,000”
“Aug factory orders · are expected to increase by · +1.4% · m/m”
“Sep nonfarm payrolls · are expected to increase by · +51,000”
“Sep unemployment rate · is expected to remain unchanged at · 4.3%”
“Sep average hourly earnings · are expected to increase by · +0.3% · m/m and +3.7% y/y”
“Sep ISM services index · is expected to slip · -0.2 · to 51.8”
“Euro Stoxx 50 · closed up by · +0.42%”
“China’s Shanghai Composite · closed up by · +0.52%”
“Japan’s Nikkei Stock 225 · closed down by · -0.25%”
