Jun 2, 2023

Today at 06:16 am As China Risks Grow, Manufacturers Seek Plan B-and C and D SINGAPORE-For much of the past decade, Western companies have sought an alternative to China to manufacture goods-a shift executives call "China plus one." Increasingly, the strategy looks more like China plus many. Apple, with a sprawling production base in China, is rapidly expanding in Vietnam and India, an emerging smartphone-making hub. Crocs, which shifted production of a large share of its colorful shoes from China to Vietnam, recently stepped up sourcing from Indonesia and is also setting up in India. When Markets Melt Down, These Traders Cash In As investors fretted about the possibility that the White House and Republican lawmakers would fail to raise the debt ceiling, one $20 billion firm wasn't concerned about the potential stock-market mayhem. That's because Miami-based Universa Investments reaps huge rewards in market crashes. It made billions in 2008 when the market collapsed during the global financial crisis, as well as in the 2020 crash sparked by the Covid-19 pandemic. Cybersecurity Risks and Privacy Rules Add Pressure on Boards Companies shouldn't wait for new rules around cybersecurity, privacy and emerging technologies to be finalized before preparing for them, lawyers say, particularly as senior executives with the right experience can be hard to come by. Proposed cybersecurity rules from the Securities and Exchange Commission would require public companies to disclose which board members have security knowledge or experience, along with details about the board's approach to cyber oversight. The SEC published draft rules in March 2022 and is expected to finalize them in the coming months. U.S. Is Willing to Begin Nuclear Arms Dialogue With Russia The Biden administration is prepared to begin talks without preconditions with Moscow on steps to limit nuclear arms after the New Start treaty expires in 2026, national security adviser Jake Sullivan plans to say in a speech Friday. But the limits on U.S. nuclear forces that the administration might accept at that point will be influenced not only by the size of Russia's nuclear arsenal but also by the pace of China's nuclear buildup, according to senior administration officials familiar with the address. Ukraine Says It Stopped Russia's Latest Missile and Drone Attacks on Kyiv Russia continued its aerial campaign against the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, launching cruise missiles and drones against the city Thursday night, according to Ukraine's armed forces. The Ukrainian air force said its air defenses intercepted all 15 of the Russian cruise missiles and all 21 of the Iranian-made Shahed drones. Debt-Limit Bill Cancels Almost $30 Billion in Pandemic Relief Funding WASHINGTON-A deal between President Biden and congressional Republicans to lift the debt ceiling claws back billions of dollars in unspent pandemic relief funding but leaves money in place for front-line Covid-19 investments such as next-generation vaccines and testing. Almost $30 billion in unspent funding approved during the pandemic will be rescinded under the legislation, which passed the Senate Thursday and is headed to Biden's desk, but most of that is unrelated to Covid-19. Instead, it will be taken from a host of agencies that have been looking at spending the money on such programs as highway infrastructure, disaster loans, and rural broadband expansion, according to people familiar with the deal. Debt-Ceiling Deal Makes It Kevin McCarthy 3, Detractors 0 WASHINGTON-For House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, pursuing a bipartisan deal to avoid defaulting on the nation's debt meant putting his own job at risk. Now he is taking a victory lap, even as threats to his leadership endure in corners of his party. On Wednesday, the California Republican successfully shepherded a must-pass bill through the House to suspend the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling into early 2025 in exchange for reining in federal spending. The bill, crafted in breakneck talks with the White House, then headed to the Senate, where lawmakers quickly passed it Thursday, to make a June 5 deadline and avoid an unprecedented U.S. default. Write to ina.kreutz@wsj.com TODAY IN CANADA Earnings: Stocks to Watch: MCAN Mortgage Names Don Coulter as CEO, President, to Board; Names Derek Sutherland as Interim CEO; Sutherland Succeeds Karen Weaver; Coulter to Succeed Sutherland on Dec. 1 --- StorageVault Purchases Brossard, Quebec Property With Automotive Properties REIT; StorageVault and Automotive Properties Real Estate Investment Entered 50/50 Joint Venture to Acquire Automotive Dealership Property --- Expected Major Events for Friday 06:45/FRA: Apr Industrial production index 08:30/UK: 1Q Bank of England external business stats 12:30/US: U.S. Weekly Export Sales 12:30/US: May U.S. Employment Report All times in GMT. Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones. Expected Earnings for Friday Andrea Electronics Corp (ANDR) is expected to report for 1Q. Environmental Tectonics Corp (ETCC) is expected to report for 4Q. Exicure Inc (XCUR) is expected to report for 1Q. Hurco Cos (HURC) is expected to report for 2Q. Ocean Biomedical Inc (OCEA) is expected to report for 1Q. Odonate Inc (ODTC) is expected to report $-1.17 for 1Q. Webco Industries Inc (WEBC) is expected to report for 3Q. Wins Finance Holdings Inc (WINSF) is expected to report for Interim. Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones. ANALYST RATINGS ACTIONS Advance Auto Parts Cut to Market Perform From Strong Buy by Raymond James Advance Auto Parts Cut to Neutral From Buy by Goldman Sachs Advance Auto Parts Cut to Neutral From Overweight by JP Morgan Alteryx Raised to Buy From Neutral by B of A Securities AutoZone Raised to Neutral From Underperform by B of A Securities bluebird bio Raised to Overweight From Equal-Weight by Barclays https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://C3.ai__;! !F0Stn7g!HhngI5El2PYbhgh7jbLyCbKbyrbnV6e_G5NTJ_KWjE4kblTeB4wxH5kk8rk-uW3MS0oWs6lvt7MaHQf61BXtDw6_ON9s_TBfXnJrWGPaHQo$ Cut to Neutral From Buy by DA Davidson https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://C3.ai__;! !F0Stn7g!HhngI5El2PYbhgh7jbLyCbKbyrbnV6e_G5NTJ_KWjE4kblTeB4wxH5kk8rk-uW3MS0oWs6lvt7MaHQf61BXtDw6_ON9s_TBfXnJrWGPaHQo$ Raised to Outperform From Neutral by Wedbush Cheniere Energy Partners Cut to Underperform From Peer Perform by Wolfe Research Chevron Raised to Outperform From Sector Perform by RBC Capital Chewy Raised to Buy From Hold by Gordon Haskett CSX Corp Raised to Buy From Neutral by UBS Domino's Pizza Raised to Overweight From Neutral by JP Morgan DZS Cut to Market Perform From Outperform by Northland Capital Markets Entergy Cut to Neutral From Outperform by Evercore ISI Group Equitrans Midstream Raised to Outperform From Peer Perform by Wolfe Research Exxon Mobil Cut to Sector Perform From Outperform by RBC Capital First Solar Raised to Hold From Sell by GLJ Research Genuine Parts Raised to Buy From Neutral by B of A Securities Lear Raised to Outperform From Neutral by Exane BNP Paribas NextEra Energy Partners Raised to Neutral From Underperform by B of A Securities Novan Cut to Perform From Outperform by Oppenheimer Nucor Raised to Peer Perform From Underperform by Wolfe Research Okta Cut to Neutral From Overweight by JP Morgan Phillips 66 Raised to Outperform From Market Perform by TD Cowen Presto Automation Raised to Buy From Neutral by Chardan Capital Salesforce Cut to Hold From Buy by Societe Generale Sphere Entertainment Cut to Neutral From Outperform by Macquarie US Steel Cut to Underperform From Peer Perform by Wolfe Research Veeva Systems Raised to Buy From Neutral by Guggenheim Veritone Cut to Neutral From Buy by Roth MKM This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today. (END) Dow Jones Newswires