Nordstrom to be privatized, Wall Street Bullish led by AI, housing numbers out, MicroStrategy is falling, and Unilever to spin off Ben & Jerry

Nordstrom's founding family is making a new attempt to privatize the U.S. retailer, according to sources.

• The Nordstrom Inc founding family is exploring the possibility of taking the U.S. department store chain private, six years after an unsuccessful attempt, according to sources familiar with the situation.

• As Nordstrom and other American retailers face challenges due to consumers reducing their non-essential spending amid rising inflation and interest rates, the company is considering a private acquisition. Macy's Inc, another retailer, has also emerged as a potential acquisition target.

• To assess interest in a possible transaction, Nordstrom has enlisted Morgan Stanley and Centerview Partners to approach private equity firms, the sources added.

Wall Street trends upward as Nvidia recovers, with attention on the Federal Reserve meeting"

• On Tuesday, Wall Street's major indexes advanced, with semiconductor stocks recovering from earlier declines. Nvidia's shares rallied, erasing previous losses, as the company announced pricing and shipping details for its eagerly awaited Blackwell B200 artificial intelligence chip. This new chip is touted to be up to 30 times faster than its existing models.

• In anticipation of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting conclusion on Wednesday, investors are keenly awaiting insights into future interest rate policies. Following robust inflation figures, expectations for an initial rate reduction in June have decreased to approximately 59.6%, down from around 69% at the beginning of the previous week, as indicated by the CME FedWatch Tool.

'The initiation of single-family homes in the US, along with permits, are at their highest point in nearly two years.'

• In February, U.S. single-family home construction experienced a significant recovery, reaching its peak in nearly two years. This surge was propelled by mild weather conditions and a continuous scarcity of existing homes for sale.

• Despite higher mortgage rates posing challenges for many first-time purchasers, builders are implementing price reductions and other incentives to boost sales. Additionally, they are downsizing the homes they construct to accommodate rising material costs.

• Last month, single-family housing starts, which constitute the majority of home construction, leapt 11.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.129 million units, as reported by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau. This rate marks the most robust performance since April 2022.

'Shares of MicroStrategy plummeted by 13% following the announcement of a convertible deal aimed at acquiring bitcoin.'

• MicroStrategy's shares fell by 13% on Tuesday, coinciding with a decline in bitcoin value, subsequent to the company's announcement of completing a $603.75 million convertible debt offering. This event marks their second such offering within a week, aimed at accumulating funds for bitcoin purchases.

• This recent financial maneuver follows closely on the heels of an $800 million convertible offering, which the company disclosed was finalized just the previous week.

• Additionally, on Tuesday, MicroStrategy revealed the acquisition of 9,245 bitcoins, amounting to $623 million, purchased between March 11 and March 18. This disclosure came alongside a significant drop in their share value, plunging to as low as $12,750 - a nadir not seen since March 7. Concurrently, bitcoin's value was observed to be down by 5.9%, standing at $63,424.

'Unilever plans to separate its ice cream division and reduce its workforce by 7,500 positions to achieve cost savings.'

• Unilever announced on Tuesday that it will separate its ice cream division, which includes well-known brands like Magnum and Ben & Jerry's, into an independent entity. Additionally, the company revealed a new cost-saving plan that will eliminate 7,500 jobs, which resulted in an increase in share prices during early trading.

• The separation process is set to commence immediately and is anticipated to be finalized by the end of 2025, according to a statement from the consumer goods conglomerate based in London.

• Following the division, Unilever anticipates achieving mid-single-digit growth in underlying sales and a modest improvement in margins.