Arkema has agreed to acquire the performance-adhesives unit of Ashland Global Holdings Inc., the French specialty-chemicals company said. The deal values the business at $1.65 billion, around 15 times estimated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization this year, adjusted for related tax benefits, Arkema said. The acquisition will be fully funded by cash, the company said. Ashland's performance-adhesives business is set to make sales of around $360 million this year, with an Ebitda margin above 25%, Arkema said. The business employs 330 people. The acquisition supports Arkema's strategy of focusing on specialty materials, as well as boosting U.S. subsidiary Bostik's long-term growth, the company said. Integration of the business should prove accretive to earnings from the first year, the company said, adding that the deal is subject to antitrust approval in the relevant countries.

The Swiss stock market recorded slight losses on Tuesday. Near the record high, the air was becoming very thin on the upside, it was said. However, no major selling set in either. The SMI lost 0.2 per cent to 12,411 points. Among the 20 SMI stocks, there were 14 losers and six gainers. 47.59 (previously: 17.32) million shares were traded. Participants acted cautiously, which was reflected in the preference for defensive pharmaceutical stocks. Novartis rose 0.9 per cent and Roche 0.5 per cent. Financials were given as the low interest rate environment weighed on the sector. UBS fell 0.4 per cent and Credit Suisse 0.1 per cent. Cyclicals were also not in demand. ABB fell 1.3 per cent and Holcim 0.7 per cent. Luxury goods stocks were among the losers. Participants were worried about China, the most important market for the sector. Analysts at Kepler Cheuvreux see a clear risk for the sector as a result of the political change of course in the country. The consumption of luxury goods is to be subject to higher taxes.

European indices lost ground on Tuesday after weaker-than-expected indicators from China and the US, which suffered in August from the effects of the Delta variant on the economy. The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.2% to 473.54 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 and the SBF 120 each gained 0.1%. In Frankfurt, the DAX 30 advanced by 0.6% while the FTSE 100 in London gave up 0.1%. Vivendi SE said Tuesday that Pershing Square Holdings Ltd. has agreed to buy an additional 2.9% stake in Universal Music Group for a price of $1.15 billion. The French media group said the purchase price is based on an enterprise value of $35 billion for UMG’s full share capital. The closing of the deal is scheduled to take place by Sept. 9. Following the transaction, Pershing Square Holdings will own 10% of UMG’s capital, according to Vivendi. Prosus N.V. said Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire Indian payments platform BillDesk from IndiaIdeas.com Ltd. The Dutch internet conglomerate, a subsidiary of South Africa’s Naspers Ltd., said it will pay 345 billion rupees ($4.70 billion) for BillDesk. “PayU and BillDesk will be able to meet the changing payments needs of digital consumers, merchants and Government enterprises in India and offer state-of-the-art technology,” Prosus said. PayU is a subsidiary of Prosus.

U.S. stocks slipped Tuesday but posted gains for the month, buoyed by continued investor optimism even amid uncertainty surrounding the Delta variant of the coronavirus. All three major U.S. indexes logged strong advances for August, though the month had few dramatic trading days. The S&P 500 finished the month up 2.9%, marking its largest monthly rise since April. That helped the benchmark index notch a seventh consecutive month of gains-its longest winning streak since January 2018, when the index rose for 10 straight months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also finished the month higher, gaining 1.2% for August and notching its second consecutive monthly gain. The Nasdaq Composite added 4% for August, its third consecutive monthly win. Google and Apple Inc. will have to open their app stores to alternative payment systems in South Korea, threatening their lucrative commissions on digital sales. A bill passed Tuesday by South Korea’s National Assembly is the first in the world to dent the tech giants’ dominance over how apps on their platforms sell their digital goods. It will become law once signed by President Moon Jae-in, whose party strongly endorsed the legislation. The law amends South Korea’s Telecommunications Business Act to prevent large app-market operators from requiring the use of their in-app purchasing systems. It also bans operators from unreasonably delaying the approval of apps or deleting them from the marketplace—provisions meant to head off retaliation against app makers. AT&T Inc. is pushing U.S. businesses to adopt faster 5G wireless technology, a move the telecommunications company says will help its customers slash one gigaton of greenhouse-gas emissions by 2035. Faster wireless and internet-connected devices, known as the Internet of Things, can allow companies to do things like monitor and manage lighting, heating, cooling and other equipment, said AT&T’s sustainability chief, Charlene Lake. AT&T has used these methods to cut its own electricity use by about 10% and save millions of dollars, Ms. Lake added. AT&T said its goal of helping businesses cut 1 gigaton—or 1 billion metric.

Most of the stock exchanges in East Asia and Australia were up in the middle of the week. After initially being burdened by slightly negative US data, the indices turned mostly positive in the course of the week. The Shanghai Composite (+0.9%) and the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong (+0.6%) rose. Similar to the previous day, weak economic data did not weigh on the index. The Chinese purchasing managers' index for the manufacturing sector, calculated by Caixin, slipped below the expansion threshold in August.

The 10-year Treasury yield has its highest monthly increase since March, rising 0.064 percentage point in August to 1.303%, with Tuesday's increase breaking a two-day losing streak.

Citi rises CRH target to52 EUR – Buy
IR rises HHLA to Buy (Hold) – Target 21 (23) EUR
Metzler lowers Lufthansa to Sell – Target 7,20 (10) EUR

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