U.S. Silica To Be Taken Private By Apollo In $1.85 Bln Deal

Sony Pictures Entertainment, affiliated to Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corp., is in discussions with US private equity group Apollo Global for making a joint takeover bid for entertainment giant Paramount Global, reports said citing people familiar with the matter. The talks are said to be in an early stage. Following the news, Paramount Global shares were gaining around 10.7 percent...

PK Airfinance, an aviation lending platform backed by Apollo Global Management, LLC (APO), agreed on Monday to acquire the majority of an approximately $920 million portfolio of secured aviation loans from Standard Chartered plc (SCBFF.PK, STAC.L, STAN.L), with Apollo affiliates agreeing to purchase the balance of the portfolio.

Performance materials company U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. (SLCA) announced Tuesday that its Industrial and Specialty Products segment will increase prices for most of its non-contracted silica sand, aplite, limestone, diatomaceous earth, perlite, engineered clays and non-activated clay products used primarily in glass, filtration, foundry, paints, coatings, elastomers, roofing, chemicals, recreation, building products and other applications.

Apollo Global Management Inc. (APO) reported Thursday a second-quarter net loss attributable to common stockholders of $2.05 billion or $3.53 per share, compared to net income of $649 million or $2.70 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Ahead of Monday's holiday for Children's Day, the South Korea stock market had ended lower in two straight sessions, slipping more than 15 points or 0.6 percent in that span. The KOSPI now sits just above the 2,675-point plateau although it figures to stop the bleeding on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on renewed optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian markets are predicted to open in similar fashion. The KOSPI finished slightly lower on Friday as losses from the technology stocks and automobile companies were mitigated by support from the financial sector. For the day, the index lost 7.02 points or 0.26 percent to finish at the daily low of at 2,676.63 after peaking at 2,705.26. Volume was 329.8 million shares worth 7.7 trillion won. There were 477 decliners and 390 gainers. Among the actives, Shinhan Financial rallied 1.42 percent, while KB Financial jumped 1.94 percent, Hana Financial collected 1.75 percent, Samsung Electronics shed 0.51 percent, Samsung SDI retreated 1.24 percent, LG Electronics advanced 0.98 percent, SK Hynix fell 0.23 percent, Naver soared 3.07 percent, LG Chem was down 0.37 percent, Lotte Chemical strengthened 1.59 percent, S-Oil rose 0.29 percent, SK Innovation added 0.55 percent, POSCO climbed 1.13 percent, SK Telecom slid 0.39 percent, KEPCO lost 0.47 percent, Hyundai Motor plunged 3.21 percent, Kia Motors plummeted 4.77 percent and Hyundai Mobis was unchanged.

The Canadian market ended sharply higher on Monday, extending gains to a third straight session, thanks to firm commodity prices and rising optimism about interest rate cuts by several central banks, including the Federal Reserve and the Bank of India, by the later part of the second quarter, or early third quarter.

The Reserve Bank of Australia will wrap up its monetary policy meeting and then announce its decision on interest rates, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. The RBA is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 4.35 percent.

The U.S. dollar shed ground against its major counterparts on Monday with investors growing increasingly confident about a rate cut in the coming months.