Berkshire Hathaway increases Stake in Occidental Petroleum to 16.3%

One of the largest oil companies Exxon Mobil Corp. has begun preparations for a gradual shutdown of production at its oil refinery in Foz-sur-Mer in southern France due to a strike launched by trade unions, employees are demanding higher wages to cover inflation. Salary negotiations are scheduled for September. The unions want the management to also commit to paying the bonus. The workers' strike began on June 28.ExxonMobil said in a statement that the situation with the suspension of the plant in difficult conditions in the energy market may affect customers, contractors, suppliers and employees. The company hopes that the problem will be resolved through dialogue and the search for a fair solution.The capacity of the Exxon refinery in Fos-sur-Mer is 7 million tons per year, or about 10% of the production volume in France.

Technology corporation Meta Platforms expects that the second half of the year will become more difficult, as the company faces macroeconomic pressures and problems with data privacy in the advertising segment. The company's management believes that in difficult times, Meta should prioritize more ruthlessly and work flawlessly in conditions of slower growth, when you should not expect a large influx of budget funds and new engineers.The fact that Meta expects growth to slow down is not surprising. The corporation earns mainly from advertising, and due to the crisis and rising inflation in the world, many commercial organizations are reducing advertising costs, which means that the income of social networks, including Meta, will grow more slowly. However, in this case, questions are raised by the fact that it was this year that Meta rebranded and is trying to transform from a social network into a "metaverse", which means that it remains an intrigue how appropriate it was for the corporation to carry out such transformations this year. Meta stock quotes on the premarket are falling by 0.4% today.In addition, Meta Platforms has lowered its target for recruiting engineers this year to 6000-7000, compared to the original plan of 10 thousand new engineers. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has warned employees to prepare for a deep economic downturn."If I had to bet, I'd say it could be one of the worst downturns we've seen in recent history," Zuckerberg told workers at a weekly Q&A session.

Google, owned by Alphabet Inc, has agreed to pay $90 million to settle a legal dispute with app developers. Earlier, developers accused Google of using agreements with smartphone manufacturers and technical barriers to make most payments through its Google Play payment system, for the use of which you have to pay a commission of 30%.In addition, Google said it would charge developers a commission of 15% of their first million Google Play Store revenue each year. This began to be done in 2021.As part of the proposed settlement, Google said it would invest $90 million in a fund to support app developers whose annual revenue in 2016-2021 was $2 million or less. The court must approve the proposed agreement.According to Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, which represented the interests of the plaintiffs, 48 thousand application developers could apply for $90 million, and the minimum payout amount is $ 250.At the moment, in Washington, Congress is considering a bill that obliges Google and Apple to allow side loading or the practice of downloading applications without using their own stores. Google claims it already allows side loading. The new bill will also prohibit companies from requiring app developers to use Google and Apple payment systems.This is great news for American app developers. Google probably compromised and reached a settlement agreement with application developers without waiting for Congress to pass an appropriate antitrust law, which would probably provide for much larger fines for monopolists than the $90 million paid by Google to developers. Now we can expect the same compromise from Apple, which has already been fined in the Netherlands for monopoly. Alphabet's stock quotes on the premarket are growing very moderately today.

The market the day beforeThe session on June 30, the main American stock exchanges ended in the red zone. The S&P 500 lost 0.88%, closing at 3,785 points. Nasdaq and Dow Jones fell by 1.33% and 0.82%, respectively. Eight of the 11 sectors in the S&P 500 ended the day in negative territory. Real estate companies (+0.33%) and utilities (+1.10%), as well as representatives of industry (+0.28%) looked better than the market.Company newsMeta Platforms (META: -1.6%) reported a likely decrease in the growth rate of financial indicators in the second half of the year due to the deterioration of the macroeconomic situation and data privacy issues.Apple Inc (AAPL: -1.8%) has raised the cost of the iPhone in Japan by almost 20%, thereby trying to offset the effect of changes in the exchange rate and rising inflation in the country.We expectThe growth of consumer prices in the eurozone in June, according to Eurostat, accelerated from 8.1% to 8.6% with a consensus of 8.4%. This dynamic is mainly due to record levels of energy prices, although food and services are also noticeably more expensive. Thus, the cost of fuel rose by 41.9%, and the cost of food increased by 11.1%. Inflation excluding the prices of these two categories of goods accelerated from 4.4% in May to 4.6%, which is still more than twice the ECB's target of 2%. However, the indicator excluding alcohol and tobacco dropped by 3.7% from 3.8%. The European regulator continues to keep the key rate at a minimum, although other central banks launched monetary policy tightening programs a few months ago. The ECB plans to start a rate hike cycle in July (according to preliminary data, by 25 bps). At the same time, statistics for June, indicating a continued acceleration of inflation, serves as a reason to raise the rate by 50 bps in September.In Germany, an increase in the number of unemployed was recorded by 133 thousand, to 2.4 million, although analysts expected a decrease in this indicator by 5 thousand. In turn, in the United States, the number of initial applications for unemployment benefits for the week ended June 25 decreased by 2 thousand, to 231 thousand, with a consensus of 234 thousand. In our opinion, employment growth in the States has almost stopped, so in the coming weeks statistics will reflect the deterioration in this segment. However, unemployment remains low.The yield of two- and ten-year treasuries decreased by 14 and 12 bps - to 2.93% and 2.97%, respectively.Trading on July 1 at most sites in Southeast Asia ended in the red zone. China's CSI 300 lost 0.41%, Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 1.73%, although Hong Kong's Hang Seng remained unchanged.Brent crude futures are quoted at $108 per barrel. Gold is trading at $1,794 per troy ounce.In our opinion, the S&P 500 will hold the upcoming session in the range of 3750-3800 points.MacrostatisticsThere are no plans to publish important statistics today.Sentiment IndexThe sentiment index remained unchanged.Technical pictureSince the beginning of the year, the S&P 500 has adjusted down by 26%, including 19% for the second quarter. This was one of the worst results in the history of this statistics. However, in the coming weeks, the market may begin to play rebalancing in stocks by portfolio managers. The nearest support for the broad market index is in the range of 3600-3660 points.

The market the day beforeTrading on June 29, the main benchmarks of the US stock market ended in different directions. The S&P 500 dropped 0.07%, closing at 3,819 points, the Nasdaq lost 0.03%, the Dow Jones added 0.27%. Issuers from the healthcare sectors (+0.87%) and discretionary consumer goods (+0.49%) showed positive dynamics. Energy companies (-3.43%) and representatives of the real estate industry (-0.76%) looked worse than the market.Company newsTesla Inc. (TSLA: -1.79%) is closing one of its offices in California and laying off 200 employees as part of a cost-cutting strategy, the Wall Street Journal reports.FedEx Corp. (FDX: -2.62%) presented a revised forecast ahead of the investor meeting. The new targets for fiscal year 2025 imply an increase in total annual revenue and adjusted EPS by 4-6% and 14-19%, respectively.Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY: -23.58%) reported an adjusted quarterly loss of more than the consensus forecast and did not meet revenue expectations. Amid the weak results of the first quarter, the company announced the resignation of its CEO, which could be a positive signal for investors.We expectOn June 29, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell spoke at the ECB forum, acknowledging during the discussion that efforts to combat high inflation and the tightening of the PREP are accompanied by risks of a serious slowdown in economic activity and, although a "soft landing" of the economy is still possible, this process will be difficult, and its result is not guaranteed by the regulator. In an interview with CNBC, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said that she considers it necessary to further increase the discount rate by 75 bps in July and expects to reach 3-3.5% by the end of the year. Today's release of the price index of personal consumption expenditures (PCE), reflecting the dynamics of inflation, will be a key moment for market participants, as it will allow them to predict the next steps of the Federal Reserve.According to the final estimate, in the first quarter, US GDP decreased by 1.6% QoQ, whereas previously a possible drop was estimated at 1.5%. At the moment, the consensus forecast of economists assumes the growth of the US economy in the current quarter by 2.5% QoQ, while the Atlanta Fed expects zero dynamics of the country's GDP. At the same time, according to preliminary estimates, the US trade deficit is shrinking, and the volume of inventories in the country increased by 2% in May, which acts as a factor in supporting economic growth. In addition, the presence of excess stocks at the largest retailers pushes them to the decision to lower prices to free up filled warehouses and attract buyers. It is expected that this will also contribute to a slowdown in commodity inflation. In turn, price stabilization will serve as a signal for the Fed to raise interest rates less aggressively.The stock exchanges of the Asia-Pacific region completed the trading session on June 30 in different directions. Japan's Nikkei dropped by 1.54%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.62%, China's CSI 300 rose by 1.44%. EuroStoxx 50 has been adjusted by 1.94% since the opening of trading.Brent crude futures are trading at $116 per barrel. The price of gold is $1813 per troy ounce.In our opinion, the S&P 500 will hold the upcoming session in the range of 3770-3840 points.MacrostatisticsThe PCE index for May will be published today. The overall indicator is expected to increase to 6.5% YoY after 6.3% at the end of April. The growth of the underlying PCE (excluding volatile components), on the contrary, may slow down to 4.8% YoY after 4.9% a month earlier.Sentiment IndexThe sentiment index dropped by one point to 28.Technical pictureThe S&P 500 ended the last trading session in the red. The RSI is held near neutral values. MACD indicates the bulls' attempts to hold positions, but the probability of a trend reversal in favor of buyers in the near future is still weak. The next resistance level is located around the psychologically significant mark of 3990-4000 points, the closest support is still the range of 3600-3660 points.

The American pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc and the German BioNTech have signed a deal with the US government worth $3.2 billion for the supply of 105 million doses of their joint COVID-19 vaccine, which can be delivered as early as the end of this summer. The updated vaccine is specially adapted to the "omicron" strain and caused a higher immune response.The mass use of booster doses of the updated vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech in order to prevent infections with the Covid-19 coronavirus, including the omicron strain, has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. The agency also allowed children aged 12 to 15 to be vaccinated with it.Most of the new cases of Covid-19 coronavirus infection in the United States in 2022 were due to infections with the omicron strain, which is spreading quite quickly, so the delivery of 105 million doses of the vaccine this summer will help contain the spread of coronavirus infection at the peak of the disease, which most often falls during the cold season. Today, Pfizer's stock prices are rising by 0.4% on the premarket, a slight increase is due to the fact that this transaction was most likely expected.

The market the day beforeThe session on June 28, the main American stock exchanges ended in the red zone. The S&P 500 fell by 2.01% to 3,821 points, the Dow Jones lost 1.56%, the Nasdaq adjusted by 2.98%. 10 of the 11 sectors included in the broad market index showed a decline. The exception was the energy sector, which added 2.70%. Among the leaders of the fall were manufacturers of durable goods (-4.03%) and technology companies (-3.01%).Company newsAccording to analysts, QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM: +3.48%) may remain the main supplier of modem chips for Apple Inc (AAPL: -2.98%) in 2023.Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRK-A: -1.32%) announced the purchase of 794.4 thousand more ordinary shares of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY: +4.77%).In the first quarter, the number of hotel bookings on the platforms Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM: +10.79%) outside China exceeded the pre-pandemic level.We expectBeijing and Shanghai reported no new cases of COVID-19 for the first time since February, which gives hope for the full opening of China's economy. In addition, some of the largest US banks have increased their plans for dividends and share buybacks after the Fed stress test. However, it seems that these positive factors are offset by the consumer confidence index released yesterday for the current month: the indicator fell to 98.7 against the expected value of 101 points. This is the lowest level since February 2021 and significantly less than 127.3 points in June a year ago. Additional pressure on the stock market was exerted by the statement of the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, John Williams, that the Fed may raise the rate at the July meeting by 75 bps. Also today, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will make a speech. Perhaps the head of the American financial regulator will try to calm the market somewhat, which will allow investors to revise expectations about the prospects for US GDP in the direction of improvement: from the inevitability of a recession to a temporary slowdown in economic growth.The yield of ten- and two-year treasuries on the eve increased by 1 bps compared to the values on June 20, to 3.21% and 3.14%, respectively. The indicator for 30-year bonds reached 3.31%.Trading on June 29 at the sites of Southeast Asia ended in the red zone. Japan's Nikkei 225 declined by 0.91%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost by 1.88%, and China's CSI 300 dropped by 1.54%. EuroStoxx 50 has been adjusted by 0.87% since the opening of the session.Brent crude futures are quoted at $117.98 per barrel. Gold is trading at $1817.5 per troy ounce.In our opinion, the S&P500 will hold the upcoming session in the range of 3810-3860 points.MacrostatisticsData on the dynamics of US GDP for the first quarter will be published today. It is expected to fall by 1.5% QoQ in accordance with the indicators observed a month earlier.Sentiment IndexThe sentiment index from Freedom Finance dropped one point to 29.Technical pictureThe S&P 500 continues its correction within the downtrend. The RSI has approached the neutral level. The MACD signals the possible development of an upward movement.

Toyota Motor Corp's global production for the first five months of 2022 decreased by an average of 9.7% compared to the target, which raises the question of whether the Japanese automaker will be able to maintain the desired level of production in the current fiscal year.The world's largest automaker reported that 634,940 vehicles were produced worldwide in May, which is 5.3% less than in the same month last year, and falls short of the target of 700,000. For the third month in a row, Toyota has not fulfilled its monthly plan.The company is sticking to its goal of producing a record 9.7 million cars a year, but admits the possibility that its production plan may be lower. In June, the automaker reduced its production figures twice. The latest forecast is 750,000 vehicles, which is about 12% lower than the original estimate of 850,000.Toyota explains the lag behind the plan by the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, which led to a shortage of components and microchips manufactured in China. Recall that this situation at Toyota enterprises has been going on for the fourth month: since March, the corporation has been forced to periodically stop production and reduce the total output of cars due to the lack of components. Today, at the premarket in the United States, the ADR quotes of the Japanese corporation are rising by 0.53%, as the market apparently expects that adjustments in Toyota's production plans will benefit it.