5 Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day: Americas

Good morning. Apple announced a huge share buyback and its results rippled through tech stocks ahead of an important US jobs report. Here’s [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Good morning. Apple announced a huge share buyback and its results rippled through tech stocks ahead of an important US jobs report. Here’s what’s moving markets. — [Sam Unsted]( Want to receive this newsletter in Spanish? [Sign up to get the Five Things: Spanish Edition newsletter](. Apple’s record buyback Apple delivered quarterly results that weren’t as bad as feared, particularly in China, and predicted a return to growth that [provided some relief to investors](. That was accompanied by the board approving a $110 billion share buyback, [the biggest in US history]( and breaking Apple’s own record. In combination, that has sent shares in the group higher in premarket trading, after it had missed out on the tech rally earlier in the year, albeit with [some puzzling over the performance in China](. Tech ripples Those results from Apple have rippled into Asia and Europe, with tech stocks rallying. US stock futures are higher too, powered by Apple, following the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 both closing higher for the first time in three sessions. Oil prices are set for their [biggest weekly decline since February](. The yen also hit a three-week high against the dollar as traders ready themselves for all-important US jobs data. Big jobs report That report is expected to show that [strong jobs growth continued in the US in April](, even with a continued moderation in wage pressures. The median estimate is for 240,000 jobs to have been added in April, while average hourly earnings growth is seen at 4%, the slowest pace of increase in nearly three years. A weaker report [could send a stagflation signal]( and raise the odds of a selloff in stocks, according to Bank of America strategists. Fed expectations Another robust report, meanwhile, would support the wait-and-see approach taken by the Federal Reserve on interest rates. However, the jobs numbers also arrive as bond traders have [pulled forward expectations]( for the first quarter-point cut by the Fed to November. That followed the best two-day rally for short-end Treasuries since January in the wake of the Fed’s meeting earlier in the week. The Fed’s Austan Goolsbee is set to speak on Bloomberg TV later, with more Fed speakers due over the weekend too. M&A battles Takeover battles abound in the film and TV industry and in the mining space. Sony Group and Apollo Global are said to have made a [$26 billion offer]( to buy CBS and MTV-owner Paramount Global, which is already in the process of considering a merger with Skydance Media. Meanwhile, Glencore is [said to be weighing whether to make an approach]( for miner Anglo American, after the latter rejected a bid from BHP last week. What We’ve Been Reading This is what’s caught our eye over the past 24 hours. - Amgen soars after an update on its [experimental obesity drug](. - The [$11 billion fortune]( made for Carvana’s father-son duo. - Bill Gross says the [total return strategy]( he pioneered is dead. - The world’s [most-envied pension plan]( is falling short. - How [Gucci fell]( from luxury grace. And finally, here's what Garfield’s interested in this morning [April was a particularly brutal month for bonds]( as strong inflation and economic data in the US, and elsewhere, stunned investors. Rates traders further wound in bets on interest-rate cuts from the Federal Reserve, with some options action eyeing the potential for a hike. The policy path whiplash delivered the worst month for global bonds since last September’s meltdown, with Bloomberg’s gauge of worldwide debt securities sliding 2.5%. The pain was perhaps intensified by the fact that April has traditionally been among the more pleasant months for the index, posting only 11 declines over the past 30 years. Despite many saying yields are now high enough to bolster the long-term outlook, Bill Gross for one doesn't agree. The total return strategy he pioneered in the late 1980s is now “dead,” Gross wrote, arguing there’s just not the same room for price appreciation. “Don’t let them sell you a bond fund.” Garfield Reynolds is Bloomberg’s Markets Live team leader in Asia. [Bloomberg Markets Wrap: The latest on what's moving global markets. Tap to read.]( Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Five Things to Start Your Day: Americas Edition newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. 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