(Protesters in Minneapolis blocking the southbound lane of Interstate 35W in protest of the killing of Philando Castile.Reuters/Eric Miller)
Here is what you need to know.
The Bank of England unexpectedly holds. In a shocking decision, the Bank of England kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.50% for an 88th straight meeting. The decision follows the UK's historic decision on June 23 to leave the European Union. The vote was 8 to 1. Following the announcement, the British pound is higher by 1.4% at 1.3335.
The Japanese yen keeps sliding. The Japanese yen is stronger by 1.0% at 105.47 per dollar as it continues to claw its way back from the steep losses suffered in the wake of the Brexit vote. The yen, which strengthened to 99.02 per dollar on June 23, has come under significant pressure since Sunday's election, which saw Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party secure a majority in the Upper House election. Abe has already ordered more stimulus, and there is speculation the Bank of Japan could announce more easing. Reuters' chief markets correspondent, Jamie McGeever, tweeted, "USD/JPY +5% this week, on track for biggest weekly rise since 1999, 6th biggest since Bretton Woods end in early 70s."
Australia added a bunch of full-time jobs. The Australian economy added 7,900 jobs in June, missing the 10,000 print that economists were hoping for. The report was stronger than expected, however, in the sense that full-time employment surged by 38,400 jobs while part-time employment fell by 30,500 jobs. Australia's unemployment rate ticked up to 5.8%. The Australian dollar is higher by 0.3% at .7632.
JPMorgan beats. The investment bank reported adjusted earnings of $1.46 a share on revenue of $25.20 billion. Those numbers were ahead of the $1.43 and $24.50 billion that were expected by the Bloomberg consensus. Trading revenue surged 23% year-over-year to $5.6 billion and was ahead of the $5.16 billion that analysts were hoping for. "Throughout the recent uncertainty and turbulence in the markets, we continued to be there for our clients — solid and steadfast to meet their needs, execute their transactions, and provide liquidity," CEO Jamie Dimon said in the earnings statement.
Monsanto is considering a deal with BASF. The seed giant is considering the acquisition of BASF's agriculture-solutions unit, Bloomberg reports. While the price tag of the potential deal is unknown, people familiar with the talks told Bloomberg that Monsanto would probably pay in newly issued shares. The talks come after Monsanto rejected a $62 billion takeover bid by Bayer in May.