Kamala Harris picks Governor Tim Walz for VP

Good morning. Here's what happened overnight and what you need to know today.

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1.

Kamala’s mate: Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris picked Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate, elevating the 60-year-old former football coach and US Army National Guard veteran to vice-presidential candidate, following his recent takedowns of Republican nominee Donald Trump. His selection is seen as a strategic move to connect with voters in states like Wisconsin and Michigan, which are crucial for the upcoming election. "As a governor, a coach, a teacher, and a veteran, he's delivered for working families like his. It's great to have him on the team,” Harris said in a social media post. Her decision comes hours after securing the Democratic nomination for president with 99% support from the 4,567 delegates who voted virtually over five days instead of at a convention. Walz, whose "weird" description of Republican nominee Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance has gone viral and has been swiftly adopted by the Harris campaign, said he felt honoured and energised. The pair will make their debut at a rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday. (Capital Brief)(The New York Times)(Reuters)

2.

Market rebound: Stocks on Wall Street showed recovered on Tuesday in a volatile session following Monday’s global market rout. The S&P 500 gained 1.7%, partly recovering from its 3% fall on Monday—the largest drop since 2022. The Dow Jones rose 1.3% and the Nasdaq Composite was 1.6% higher. Japan’s Nikkei 225 also reversed some of the previous day’s losses, surging 10% but remaining below pre-Monday levels following its largest drop since 1987’s Black Monday. Bargain hunting and supportive comments from Fed officials dispelling fear of a recession helped. Nvidia shares gained 5.4% after analysts shrugged off reports that deliveries of its Blackwell AI chips could be delayed by three months, stressing the company’s long-term prospects remained sound. Apple shares were little changed. The Cboe Volatility Index, a measure of market fear, fell to around 28, down from the above 60 level it reached the previous day. European stock indices showed little movement. Data-analytics company Palantir Technologies, ride-hailing company Uber, and Kenvue, the former consumer health division of Johnson & Johnson, saw gains after earnings reports. (Capital Brief)(Bloomberg)(The Wall Street Journal)

3.

PwC’s Evergrande audit: China Evergrande's liquidators have launched court proceedings against PwC, alleging "negligence" and "misrepresentation" in its audit work for the now-collapsed property group. Court documents cited by the Financial Times say the proceedings were initiated in March against PwC Hong Kong and PwC Zhong Tian, its mainland China branch. The claims relate to PwC’s 2018 audit report and other work done for Evergrande. The liquidators are seeking damages for "breach of contract, breach of duty… misrepresentation, negligence by, and/or unjust enrichment," the filing says. The amount sought has not been disclosed in the documents. Evergrande's liquidators are also pursuing claims against CBRE and Avista Valuation Advisory over valuation reports from 2018, the FT said, citing a separate set of court documents. PwC is already facing potential fines from Chinese regulators for its role in Evergrande's collapse. In March, China’s securities regulator said Evergrande's mainland unit had overstated its revenues by USD78 billion in 2019 and 2020. The FT said PwC partners were concerned they might face some of the largest penalties ever levied on a Big Four firm in China. (The Financial Times)

4.

Boycott battle: Elon Musk’s social media company X filed an antitrust lawsuit against an advertising industry coalition, alleging it illegally boycotted the platform, Reuters reported, citing court documents. The lawsuit, filed in Texas on Tuesday, accuses the World Federation of Advertisers, CVS Health, Orsted, Mars and Unilever, of conspiring to withhold billions in advertising dollars since Musk acquired Twitter in November 2022. X claims this boycott was a coercive market manoeuvre to force the platform to adhere to specific safety standards. The WFA’s Global Alliance for Responsible Media aims to remove harmful content from social media. X argues the boycott caused major economic harm even as the social media group worked to win back advertisers. “We tried peace for 2 years, now it is war,” Musk said in a post. (Reuters)(The Wall Street Journal)

5.

Wirecard saga: Two former executives of collapsed payments company Wirecard, Alexander von Knoop and Susanne Steidl, were charged with breach of trust by German prosecutors, Reuters reported, citing a statement from the Munich public prosecutor’s office. Four years after the group collapsed with a €2 billion ($3.35 billion) accounting hole in one of Europe’s largest accounting scandals, the officials were charged over their failure to fulfil their legal obligations when they approved more than €100 million of potentially fraudulent loans to companies linked to fugitive then COO Jan Marsalek. It adds to a string of several former executives charged, including former CEO Markus Braun, former deputy finance chief Stephan von Erffa, and the former Dubai manager Oliver Bellenhaus, all of whom are on trial for alleged fraud and falsifying financial statements. Von Knoop and Steidl face potential prison terms of up to 15 years, although their charges are less severe compared to those faced by the other executives. Burkhard Ley, von Knoop’s predecessor, has also been charged with fraud, breach of trust, accounting, and market manipulation. (Reuters)(Bloomberg)(The Financial Times)

6.

Saudi EV boost:Shares in EV manufacturer Lucid Group soared 6% after it reported better-than-expected revenue in the second quarter and said it will receive a cash injection of up to USD1.5 billion ($2.30 billion) from its largest shareholder, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). The capital, in the form of USD750 million worth of convertible preferred stock and a similar amount in a credit line, will help support the production of Lucid's upcoming Gravity SUV and to build a new factory in Saudi Arabia with a capacity of 150,000 vehicles annually. Lucid reported revenue of USD200.6 million in Q2 2024, beating estimates, driven by strong sales amid price cuts. The company, which produced 3,838 vehicles in the first half of the year, remains on track to meet its annual target of 9,000 units. PIF currently holds about 60% of Lucid. (Lucid statement)(Reuters)

7.

Boeing fix: Boeing said it will change the design of its planes to prevent future mid-air cabin panel blowouts like the January incident in an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9. At the first of a two-day National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) hearing in Washington, Boeing’s quality VP Elizabeth Lund said new safety procedures and visual alerts will be introduced to prevent similar issues. "They are working on some design changes that will allow the door plug to not be closed if there's any issue until it's firmly secured," Lund said. The NTSB released 3,800 pages of reports and interviews from the ongoing investigation into the incident. Investigators have said the plug in the new Alaska Max 9 was missing four key bolts. Lund said the company planned to start implementing the design changes within a year. The accident resulted in a two-week grounding of the MAX 9, a ban on expanding production, a criminal investigation and the departure of several key executives. (Reuters)

8.

Hezbollah’s vow: Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday vowed a "strong and effective" response to Israel's killing of its military commander, Fuad Shukr, in Beirut last week, pledging to act either alone or with regional allies. Reuters reported Nasrallah said the Lebanese militant group would not ignore the attack, but did not specify the timing or nature of the response. Reuters also said Israeli warplanes flew over Lebanon’s capital on Tuesday and Hezbollah launched drone strikes on Israeli military targets. The Israeli military reported intercepting some drones and conducting air strikes on Hezbollah facilities in southern Lebanon. The military also reported killing 45 Palestinian fighters in Gaza in the past 24 hours, in airstrikes that also claimed the life of local journalist Mohammad Abu Saada, raising the death toll of Palestinian journalists to 166 since the war began on 7 October, according to a statement by the Hamas-run Gaza government. (Reuters)