EM LATAM CREDIT: Mexico's Bimbo (BIMBOA; Baa1/BBB+/BBB+) 4Q 2024 Earnings

Potential crossborder M&A flow - Japan's NEC Corp is weighing a bid for US-listed CSG Systems, according to Reuters sources.

• CSG Systems valued at $1.6bln. The report does not disclose preferred financing of any potential deal, but flags that discussions are at a preliminary stage.

E-minis finding a bit of a base as RTRS reports that “Chinese AI startup DeepSeek's chatbot achieved only 17% accuracy in delivering news and information in a NewsGuard audit that ranked it tenth out of eleven in a comparison with its Western competitors.” 

• NASDAQ 100 futures ~40 points off lows, but still ~45 points lower on the day.

US President Donald Trump's nominee to serve as Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, is shortly due to appear for a nomination hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee. LIVESTREAM

• Commerce chair, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), said in a statement Lutnick, "will play a key role in unleashing unprecedented innovation and ensuring our nation’s job creators are well equipped to expand opportunities for good-paying jobs.”
• Democrats reportedly intend to discredit Lutnick by questioning conflicts of interest that could undermine his trade portfolio and highlighting alleged connections to Tether, “the go-to cryptocurrency of the criminal world,” per Bloomberg.
• Markets will be looking for any clues on Trump's tariff agenda, particularly in light of recent comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hinting at a more restrained approach to tariffs.
• Lutnick is widely seen as one of the more hawkish members of Trump's trade team. He has suggested that tariffs could in part replace income tax and has aligned himself with trade counsellor Peter Navarro and USTR nominee Jamieson Greer - two of the most dogmatic proponents of tariffs in the administration.  
• The WSJ reports: "Lutnick and deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller have been advocating for a tariff-first, talk-second approach when it comes to targeting Mexico and Canada as soon as this weekend with a 25% levy..."
• While Lutnick is expected to clear the confirmation process comfortably, Democrats may seek to delay the process as long as possible in response to recent Trump executive actions.