In the U.S.: The U.S. Senate voted 97-2 for fresh sanctions in response to a trio of Russian actions, including interference in the 2016 election, engagement in Syria, and the invasion of Crimea. Of note, the sanctions would prohibit President Trump from lifting the sanctions without Congressional approval. Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) announced the acquisition of Whole Foods Market, Inc. (WFM) for $13.7B. The blockbuster deal shocked the markets with the bulk of grocers down over 10% and subsequent strip center REITs falling over 5% for the session. Analysts noted that the investment by Amazon could change the fundamental grocery space and put pressure on food manufacturing margins going forward. Whole Foods Market operates 440 stores in 42 states, and the acquisition

In the U.S.: The House of Representatives passed the Financial Choice Act aimed at undoing many of the Dodd-Frank banking reforms that limit risk taking. The bill is expected to be revised in the Senate where democrats look to preserve the Consumer Financial Protection Board and the Volcker Rule REIT Focus: Digital Realty Trust Inc. (DLR) agreed to buy Dupont Fabros Technology Inc. (DFT) in a $4.95B stock deal. The deal will give Digital Realty access to key data markets in Virginia, Chicago, and Silicon Valley and greatly improve Digital’s ability to serve the ever growing cloud computing market. In China: May PPI rose 5.5% y/y versus April’s 6.4% y/y reading. The ongoing deceleration in materials was cited as the

In the U.S.: May ADP private-sector employment report showed an increase of 253K jobs versus April’s upwardly revised 177K reading. Economists noted that the strong gains in employment may lead to headwinds as employers would struggle to find qualified candidates in a tightening labor market. May nonfarm payrolls were up a disappointing 138K versus April’s downwardly revised 174K reading. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.3% from April’s 4.4% level, with labor force participation dropping to 62.7% from April’s 62.9%. REIT Focus: American Tower Corp. (AMT) is said to be exploring a bid for Spain’s Cellnex Telecom SA. Any offer that AMT would move forward on is contingent on the successful combination of Cellnex’s largest shareholder, Abertis Infraestruturas SA, with

In the U.S.: The CBO released its score of the G.O.P Health Bill which estimated that the bill would leave 14M less people insured than Obamacare and could leave up to 23M people uninsured 2026. The health bill would also reduce the federal budget by $119M over ten years. The reaction to the score was mostly negative leading to speculation that the bill would likely never pass the Senate and calls for the house majority to move on to the budget. REIT Focus: Taubman Activist Jonathan Litt won the support of proxy advisors ISS, and Glass Lewis to replace two directors at mall owner Taubman Centers (TCO). The two proxy firms, whose corporate-governance advice is influential among fund managers, recommended

In the U.S.: Turmoil continued for the Trump administration as Justice Department named former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to probe Russian interference into 2016 US presidential election. The special counsel received bi-partisan support as republican leaders seemed to back away from the Trump White House as conflicting accounts by White House officials and President Trump surfaced about the motivations behind the firing of FBI Director Comey. REIT Focus: Taubman Activist Jonathan Litt filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Taubman Centers Inc. (TCO) challenging the Taubman family’s control of the board, ratcheting up an ongoing proxy fight at the mall operator. Mr. Litt is asking a federal judge in Michigan to stop the Taubman family from voting more than