Trump’s bond cut to US$175m as he appeals NY fine

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

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1.

Slashed bond: A New York appeals court has slashed Presidential candidate Donald Trump’s bond to USD175 million ($267.62 million), delaying a USD454 million civil-fraud penalty while he appeals the full amount. Trump has 10 days to come up with the funds, which he has said he will pay in cash or will post a bond to cover. If Trump loses his appeal he will be on the hook to pay the full amount. Pressure had been mounting on the former President, as Monday marked the end of a 30-day grace period for him to come up with the full bond, or risk his assets being seized. The court did not offer explanation behind the decision to reduce the bond, but stated that that Trump still faces accountability and the judgment still stands. The news comes as dates were set for Trump’s NY criminal trial over alleged hush money sent to a porn star, which will begin on April 15. (Wall Street Journal)(Bloomberg)

2.

Big rules for big tech: The European Commission has opened non-compliance investigations against Alphabet, Apple and Meta under its sweeping new Digital Markets Act (DMA). Announced Monday, the Commission’s proceedings against Apple and Alphabet will assess whether the measures the companies have implemented regarding their app store obligations are in breach of the DMA. The rules require gatekeepers to allow app developers in the region to “steer” consumers to offers outside of the tech firms’ in-house offering. The probe will also investigate whether the new subscription model for EU users of Meta’s platforms comply with the DMA’s data consent rules. The Commission plans to complete the investigations within 12 months. Should the firms be found to be in breach of the DMA, the Commission can impose fines of up to 10% of the company’s total worldwide turnover, or 20% in cases of repeated infringement. (Capital Brief)(European Commission press release)

3.

Management shake-up: CEO of Boeing, Dave Calhoun, will step down at the end of 2024, as the embattled aircraft maker launches an executive reshuffle in the wake of a mid-flight cabin door blow-out in January. Since the 737-Max 9 incident in January, Boeing has being dealing with the fallout of regulatory investigations into its safety and quality assurance practices, as well as the grounding of its planes and a streak of smaller incidents that have exacerbated scrutiny on the company. In addition to Calhoun, board chair Larry Kellner has notified the board that he does not intend to stand for re-election at the upcoming annual shareholder meeting. Steve Mollenkopf has been appointed the new chair in Kellner’s place. Boeing’s commercial airplanes president and CEO, Stan Deal, will also retire from the company, with the current chief operating officer, Stephanie Pope, taking on his role. (Boeing press release)(Capital Brief)

4.

Fisker flounders: Beleaguered electric vehicle maker, Fisker, entered a trading halt on Monday after the company announced that its talks with a large automaker for a potential deal have collapsed. Shares in Fisker plunged almost 30% during early trading on Monday. Early last week, Fisker paused production and announced that it had secured USD150 million in financing from an existing investor on the condition that it could reach an agreement with an unidentified automaker. Without this agreement Fisker will need to renegotiate the terms of the financing or seek other avenues. An SEC filing submitted by Fisker on Monday explains that the automaker terminated the negotiations, and that it will seek alternative measures which may include bankruptcy. (Capital Brief)(Fisker SEC filing)

5.

US home sales: New home sales in the US fell unexpectedly in February, decreasing 0.3% to a 662,000 annual pace last month. The figures show the first drop in new home sales in three months and could signal an uneven recovery. Despite the drop, the US housing market had been showing signs of a sustained recovery as mortgage rates stabilise around 7% and builders offer incentives amid limited listings of previously owned properties. The data shows that the median sales price of a new house decreased 7.6% from 12 months ago to USD400,500 in February. The supply of new homes rose to 463,000 during the month, the highest since October 2022. (Bloomberg)(United States Census Bureau release)

6.

Doling out sanctions: The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on China-linked hackers for targeting US critical infrastructure. The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Wuhan Xiaoruizhi Science and Technology Company, Limited (Wuhan XRZ), a Wuhan, China-based Ministry of State Security (MSS) front company that it says has served as cover for multiple malicious cyber operations. OFAC is also designating two Chinese nationals affiliated with Wuhan XRZ, for their roles in malicious cyber operations targeting US entities that operate within US critical infrastructure sectors, directly endangering national security. OFAC also announced on Monday that it would impose sanctions on 13 Russian fintechs and two individuals for developing or offering services in virtual assets aimed at evading US sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. (OFAC China sanctions)(OFAC Russia sanctions)

7.

EV lifeline: EV maker Lucid has received a USD1 billion injection from a Saudi investor, extending the carmaker a much needed lifeline. The investment from Ayar Third Investment Co., an affiliate of the Saudi Public Investment Fund takes the form of a private placement for convertible preferred stock and will be used in part for capital expenditure and as working capital. The US-based EV maker has been struggling to scale output, telling investors recently that it will build around 9,000 of its premium sedans this year, far less than the tens of thousands it had hoped to deliver. The news comes as competitor Fisker entered a trading halt on Monday, after plans to strike a deal with a large automaker collapsed. (Bloomberg)

8.

Pharma deal: Novo Nordisk has signed a €1 billion deal to acquire German biotech, Cardior Pharmaceuticals, to help the pharma giant break into heart disease therapies. The Danish Novo Nordisk currently specialises in diabetes and is the maker of blockbuster weight loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic. The acquisition, made possible by the staggering success of its weight loss products, will see the company diversify into the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Martin Holst Lange, head of development at Novo Nordisk, told the Financial Times that Cardior’s drug had the “potential to become a first-in-class therapy designed to halt or partially reverse the course of disease for people living with heart failure”. The acquisition gives Novo Nordisk expertise in the growing field of RNA-based therapies. (Financial Times)