Weekly Market Updates: 3/18/19

Mergers & Acquisitions: Nvidia’s Acquisition of Mellanox Technologies Highlights Last Week’s M&A Activity

​Data from Pitchbook shows that there were 23 M&A deals in the U.S. last week for total invested capital of $17.3 billion. The week before had four additional deals for $12.3 billion less capital. Nvidia had the largest deal of the week, a $6.9-billion acquisition of Mellanox Technologies. Also, two over-the-counter traded cannabis firms, Curaleaf and Acreage Holdings have made acquisition bids for a Nevada cultivation farm and an Oakland-area dispensary, respectively.

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Initial Public Offerings: Chance for Levi Strauss and Alight to Raise Over $1 Billion in IPOs This Week

​According to the New York Stock Exchange website, there were no new listings of public companies in the U.S. last week. However, according to Renaissance Capital, there are some big IPOs slated for this week, including Levi Strauss & Co and Alight, which could fetch a combined $1.3 billion in public market funding.

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Economy: Job Openings Near Record High

Among news last week:
 

• The U.S. consumer price index rose 0.2% last month after remaining unchanged over the prior three months. For the year ending in February, the index has risen 1.5% on an unadjusted basis, trending downward from recent months due to the string of unchanged indices. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, climbed only 0.1% from January, as rebounds in commodity prices drove the overall index during the month. Slower domestic and global growth has kept consumer prices in check recently, even with the labor market continuing to tighten and drive wages higher.

• Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the January 2019 job openings and labor turnover survey, showing that there were 7.6 million job openings at the end of the month, near the record high set in November. There are now nearly 1 million more openings than unemployed people. Additionally, there were 5.8 million hires and 5.6 million separations. Both are elevated levels, a healthy sign for the economy, as individuals usually leave their jobs for higher-paying positions.

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• U.S. retail sales increased unexpectedly in January, despite December sales being revised downward. Sales increased 0.2% in the month, while December was adjusted to a decline of 1.6% month-over-month from 1.2%. Over the last twelve months ending in January, retail sales increased 2.3%. Economists were expecting sales to remain unchanged during the month.