David Rubenstein, the co-founder of the Carlyle Group and host of “Leadership Live,” discusses the current scope of the U.S. stock market and employment.

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(Bloomberg) — Oil retreated from its highest close in four months after the OPEC+ alliance confirmed it would start tapering output cuts from next month.Futures in New York dropped below $41 a barrel. Saudi Arabia and Russia said the producer bloc would proceed with its plan to add more supply next month and were confident that it wouldn’t hurt oil’s rally, with the tapering to be offset by extra cuts from countries that didn’t meet their targets.Oil was also under pressure from a drop in equities in Europe and Asia. That was despite figures that showed China’s economy returned to growth and expanded more than forecast last quarter.The recovery in China is in stark contrast to other corners of the globe, where the coronavirus continues to rage out of control. That’s leading to a patchy rebound in crude, though there are pockets of strength in some parts of the oil market, with North Sea contracts trading at their strongest levels in five months. All of that has left headline prices struggling to break far beyond $41.“Unless the market makes a convincing jump today, those with bullish inclination will become disillusioned and the recent highs will not be challenged in the near future,” said Tamas Varga, an analyst at brokerage PVM Oil Associates.The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies will withhold 7.7 million barrels a day from the market in August, compared with 9.6 million currently. The actual cut next month will be 8.1 million to 8.3 million barrels a day due to the compensatory curbs from members including Iraq and Nigeria.See also: U.S. Gasoline Stocks Mirror Nation’s Fractured Pandemic ResponseThere were also signs that supplies from Russia will remain low, at least in the short-term. It will ship three cargoes of Urals crude from its Baltic ports in the first five days of August, down from five a month earlier, according to a loading program. Urals loadings were planned at the lowest in a decade for July.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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Shares in Dell Technologies (DELL) surged 7% in pre-market trading as the PC maker said that it is considering a spin-off of its 81% stake in cloud computing software maker VMware Inc. (VMW), which could unlock value for shareholders.The stock soared to $56.40, while VMware rose 1.9% to $142.40 in Thursday’s early market trading. Dell said that a divestment could benefit both Dell and VMware shareholders by simplifying capital structures and creating additional long-term enterprise value. A potential spin-off is not expected to occur before Sept. 2021 and would qualify to become tax-free for U.S. tax purposes.If the PC maker decides to pursue a spin-off, it would set up a special committee to negotiate mutually beneficial commercial arrangements, including intellectual property agreements. In that event Dell would seek to negotiate the payment of a special cash dividend by VMware that would be paid on a pro rata basis to all VMware shareholders."For more than 20 years, we've innovated for our customers and created substantial growth and value for both companies and our teams. Regardless of the options we are exploring to create additional value, we are accelerating our strategy – which remains unchanged,” said Dell CEO Michael Dell. “We are focused on winning in the consolidating markets where we operate and innovating across the Dell portfolio to create integrated solutions that turn data into insights and action.”Dell added though that it continues to evaluate a range of strategic options concerning its ownership interest in VMware, including holding on to its current ownership in the company.Meanwhile, five-star analyst Daniel Ives at Wedbush, said that the Dell-VMware “soap opera” has been a multi-year ownership structure partnership that has been a “frustration point” for investors since EMC sold its 81% stake to Dell in 2015.“The likely path in our opinion and the one most appetizing to investors would be a tax-free spinoff for this stake,” Ives wrote in a note to investors. “The Dell ownership structure has been an albatross around the VMware story and ultimately causes the stock to trade at a discount, a dynamic that would be removed if Dell ultimately decided to head down this path.”Ives estimated that if Dell did not own VMware this would add $15 to $20 per share as he expects a positive knee jerk reaction from investors. However, the analyst cautioned that it was too early to pop the champagne yet as there could be many twists and turns in this strategic relationship which could potentially end with no deal at all.Ives maintains a Buy rating on VMware stock with a $175 price target given its “position in the cloud evolution with an expanding product footprint that could see an acceleration of growth for the coming years”.Overall, analysts have a cautiously optimistic outlook on the stock. The Moderate Buy consensus shows 12 Buy ratings vs 6 Hold ratings. The $170.67 average analyst price target implies 22% upside potential over the coming year. (See VMW stock analysis on TipRanks).Related News: Google Snaps Up 7.7% Stake In India’s Jio Platform For $4.5B Intel Capital Snaps Up $255M Stake In India’s Jio Platforms Medtronic To Buy Medicrea For About $154 To Bolster Spine Surgery Business More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * AstraZeneca Pops Ahead of Covid-19 Vaccine Data Report Due July 20 * Beyond Meat Shares Rise On Sale Of Plant-Based Meat In Brazil * Facebook To Increase Oculus Production To 2 Million Units- Report * Google Expands Android Subscription Service To Nine More Countries

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Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) car sales in California plunged by nearly a half in the quarter ending June, according to data released by marketing research company Cross-Sell on Wednesday.What Happened Vehicle registrations for the Elon Musk-led company fell nearly 48% to 9,774 units between April and June in the Golden State, compared with a similar period a year earlier, Cross-Sell said, as reported by Reuters.Registrations of Model 3, which is the cheapest vehicle in Tesla's lineup, fell 63% to 5,951 units.Total vehicle registrations fell across the 23 states, where the data was gathered, by approximately 49% to 18,702 vehicles.Registration data may not be a true representation of delivery numbers during the quarter as it takes almost 30 days for vehicles to be registered from the time they are sold in the United States, Reuters noted.Why It Matters The majority of the U.S. was under lockdown in the period between April to June to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which affected both production and auto sales in the country.Production at Tesla's Fremont factory, in California, was suspended between March and May due to the pandemic. Tesla revealed earlier this month it delivered 90,650 vehicles in the second quarter this year. The disclosure by the Palo Alto-based automaker indicates that it had restored production to levels as they existed before the shutdown.Price Action On Wednesday, Tesla shares traded 2.26% lower at $1,511 in the after-hours. The shares had closed the regular session 1.93% higher at $1,546.01.See more from Benzinga * Tesla To Debut In India By 2021, Expects Roth Capital's Irwin, Raises Price Target * Tesla Share Frenzy Means Elon Musk May Enjoy .8B Personal Windfall * Tesla Website Crashes As Musk Puts 'Short Shorts' On Sale(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Shares in AstraZeneca (AZN) spiked almost 5% in after-market trading amid a report that early-stage human trial data on the drugmaker’s coronavirus vaccine candidate will be disclosed on July 20.The stock rose to $60.60 in Wednesday’s extended trading after earlier jumping 7%. Data results from the Phase 1 trial of the potential coronavirus vaccine, also known as AZD1222, which AstraZeneca is developing with Oxford University, are slated to be published on Monday, according to the Lancet medical journal.The data is expected to demonstrate whether the potential vaccine is safe and whether or not it triggers an immune response. Earlier this month, the vaccine developers said they were encouraged by the immune response they had seen in trials so far.“We expect this paper, which is undergoing final editing and preparation, to be published on Monday, July 20, for immediate release,” a spokeswoman for the journal told Reuters.Meanwhile, the vaccine candidate is already in large-scale Phase III human trials to assess whether it can protect against COVID-19.AstraZeneca has in recent weeks signed supply chain agreements for the capacity to produce 2 billion doses of its vaccine candidate. The British drugmaker has inked supply deals with the U.S. and European Union countries.AZD1222 is one of several candidates supported by Operation Warp Speed (OWS), the U.S. government program to accelerate the development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines available for Americans by Jan. 2021.Shares have jumped 53% since mid-March as AstraZeneca joined the list of companies engaged in the development of a potential coronavirus vaccine. Despite the recent rally, the $61.67 average analyst price target still puts the upside potential at 6.3% in the coming 12 months. (See AstraZeneca stock analysis on TipRanks)Overall, the stock scores a Strong Buy consensus from the analyst community based on 4 unanimous Buy ratings.Related News: AstraZeneca’s Wins FDA Priority Review For Heart Drug Brilinta Novavax Spikes 42% Pre-Market On $1.6B U.S. Funding For Covid-19 Candidate Is Moderna (MRNA) Stock Still Worth Buying After Its Huge Rally? JPMorgan Says Yes More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Beyond Meat Shares Rise On Sale Of Plant-Based Meat In Brazil * Facebook To Increase Oculus Production To 2 Million Units- Report * Google Expands Android Subscription Service To Nine More Countries * Google Brings 5 Game Studios To Stadia To Make Exclusive Games

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(Bloomberg) — The rally in Chinese shares is unraveling almost as quickly as it began, with losses accelerating Thursday after state media criticized one of the country’s most popular stocks.The CSI 300 Index closed 4.8% lower, its biggest loss since markets reopened in February following the Lunar New Year break. Crowd favorite Kweichow Moutai Co. slumped 7.9%, wiping out a record $25 billion in value and dragging down an index of consumer shares by the most since 2018. The ChiNext Index, which had earlier this week turned hotter than any benchmark in the world, fell as much as 6.2%.This month’s frenzy in Chinese stocks had pushed the value of the country’s equity market to almost $10 trillion, a level that marked the top of the bubble five years ago. Policy makers have since taken steps to rein in speculation in equities, including effectively withdrawing liquidity from the financial system.The impact showed in Wednesday’s smallest increase in stock leverage since late June. The CSI 300, which was up almost 17% for the month on Monday, has now given up half those gains.An attack from the People’s Daily newspaper on Moutai was taken as another sign of Beijing’s desire to slow the recent run-up, after government-backed funds sold shares or announced plans to so in the past few days. Increasing tensions with the U.S., the central bank’s clampdown on easy money and a drop in retail sales are also adding up as reasons to start selling.Data Thursday showed the Chinese economy returned to growth in the second quarter, expanding a better-than-expected 3.2%. While industrial output rose 4.8% from a year earlier, retail sales shrank 1.8%, weaker than a projected 0.5% increase. That suggests the recovery is still largely industry-driven, with consumer sentiment remaining fragile.“Retail sales came worse than expected, which hurts sentiment towards some consumer stocks,” said Daniel So, a strategist at CMB International Securities Ltd. “A stabilizing economy means the scale of monetary easing may be smaller than expected. Ample liquidity was one of the key reasons for markets to jump.”Overseas investors continued to trim their holdings of mainland-listed shares, selling nearly $4 billion worth of the stocks through exchange links in the past three days.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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Yahoo Finance’s Rick Newman joins The Final Round to break down a recent poll taken by Quinnipiac University saying that Biden’s lead widen over Trump by 15 points, holding 52% over Trump’s 32% from the poll’s data.

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