Coinbase shares closed at USD 328.28 on their debut on the Nasdaq yesterday, 31% higher than their USD 250 reference price, CNBC reports. This gave the cryptocurrency exchange — the first crypto firm to go public in the US — a market cap of USD 85.8 bn at the end of its first day. Shares opened at USD 381 and traded as high as USD 429.54 early on before falling back later in the session. The direct listing has been heralded as a watershed moment for a previously niche asset class that is rapidly growing in stature among mainstream investors.

European tax havens are expected to put up a fight against the US-proposed global minimum corporate tax rate. While many larger EU countries have welcomed the proposed 21% minimum corporate tax rate put forward earlier this month, Ireland, Malta and Cyprus are among a coalition European countries that are expected to try and water down the plans, the Financial Times reports. Despite agreeing in principle on the need to reel in corporate tax avoidance, Ireland has said smaller countries “need to be able to use tax policy as a legitimate lever to compensate for advantages of scale, resources and location enjoyed by larger countries.”

US banks are having a field day after first quarter earnings blow past performance expectations thanks to SPACs: JPMorgan Chase has seen 1Q2021 earnings soar 400% above expectations to USD 14.3 bn, supported by the release of USD 5 bn in covid-19 related loan loss provisions it had set aside when the pandemic hit, according to Reuters. Goldman Sachs enjoyed a similarly lucrative quarter that saw revenues more than double to USD 17.7 bn due to large volumes of SPAC-based public offerings.

Toshiba CEO Nobuaki Kurumatani has stepped down after his board objected to what it felt was a low-ball acquisition offer from CVC Partners, where he previously worked, Reuters reports. News of the USD 20 bn buyout and a rival offer from private equity firm KKR has since sent Toshiba’s shares surging 6% higher than its pre-offer price.

	EGX30	10,116	-1.9% (YTD: -6.7%)
	USD (CBE)	Buy 15.63	Sell 15.73
	USD at CIB	Buy 15.64	Sell 15.74
	Interest rates CBE	8.25% deposit	9.25% lending
	Tadawul	9,847	+0.1% (YTD: +13.3%)
	ADX	6,039	+0.3% (YTD: +19.7%)
	DFM	2,569	+0.2% (YTD: +3.1%)
	S&P 500	4,124	-0.4% (YTD: +9.8%)
	FTSE 100	6,939	+0.7% (YTD: +7.4%)
	Brent crude	USD 68.58	+4.6%
	Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 2.62	-0.1%
	Gold	USD 1,736.60	-%
	BTC	USD 63,193	-0.4% (as of midnight)

The EGX30 fell 1.9% yesterday on turnover of EGP 975 mn (28.4% above the 90-day average). Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is down 6.7% YTD.

In the green: Fawry (+5.3%).

In the red: MM Group (-7.9%), AMOC (-7.7%) and ElSewedy Electric (-6.9%).

Asian shares are mixed this morning, with stocks in Shanghai and Hong Kong in the red while the Nikkei and Kospi are clinging (barely) to the green. Futures suggest a mixed open for European stocks. Wall Street is set to open in the green, while Bay Street will likely start in the red.