1. Sky-high tariff: Shares in Bombardier are set to move Wednesday after U.S. trade officials recommended a 220% tariff on its C Series jetliner.
Boeing says that Bombardier received financial backing from the Canadian government that allowed it to stay afloat and sell the aircraft to Delta for “absurdly low prices.”
“The U.S. values its relationships with Canada, but even our closest allies must play by the rules,” said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in a statement. “The subsidization of goods by foreign governments is something that the Trump Administration takes very seriously, and we will continue to evaluate and verify the accuracy of this preliminary determination.”
Bombardier said in response: “The magnitude of the proposed duty is absurd and divorced from the reality about the financing of multi-billion dollar aircraft programs.”
The ruling announced Tuesday is the first of two in the case. The second is expected as early as Oct. 5 and may add even more to Bombardier’s tariff penalty.
The move could have serious implications for the renegotiation of NAFTA, the free trade deal between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The third round of talks concludes Wednesday in Ottawa.
2. From planes to trains: Europe is creating a train giant by merging French manufacturer Alstom with the transportation unit of Germany’s Siemens.
Siemens will own a slightly larger stake in the combined firm.
Shares in Alstom surged about 5% in early trading while Siemens shares added 2%.
The deal is more bad news for Bombardier, which is also in the train business. The Canadian firm had reportedly been conducting its own talks with Siemens, but was left at the altar.
3. Trump’s team on taxes: President Trump is expected to lay out a framework for his highly-anticipated tax plan on Wednesday. Investors will be looking for details about potential tax cuts and information on how Republicans will be able to pay for those cuts.
4. Global market overview: U.S. stock futures were pointing up a bit as the U.S. dollar strengthens.
The currency move comes after Fed chair Janet Yellen suggested Tuesday that interest rates could rise sooner rather than later.
Most European markets advanced in early trading. Asian markets ended the day mixed.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 0.1% on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 was flat and the Nasdaq gained 0.2%.
5. Market movers — Nike, Essilor, Luxottica: Shares in Nike are down by about 4% premarket after the company released its latest earnings.
Shares in eyewear firms Essilor and Luxottica Group are under continued pressure after Europe’s main competition watchdog said it was launching an in-depth investigation into their proposed merger.
Luxottica is the Italian firm behind Ray-Ban and Oakley sunglasses frames. Essilor is a French company that makes lenses.
6. Coming this week:
Wednesday — U.S. Energy Information Administration releases weekly crude inventories report
Thursday — Earnings from Accenture and BlackBerry; Report released on U.S. gross domestic product for the second quarter
Friday — Twitter meets with Senate Intelligence Committee; Brazil unemployment data released; Elon Musk speaks about his Mars plans at a conference in Australia
