Hello friends and Fortune readers.
U.S. stock futures are trending up this morning. European markets are back at it today after the Easter holiday and are trading higher. Asian indexes closed mostly higher, as well.
Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
1. FedEx buys Dutch logistics company TNT.
FedEx (FDX) will shell out 4.4 billion euros ($4.8 billion) to buy TNT Express, the Netherlands-based package delivery company. FedEx is hoping it can close the deal two years after its bigger rival UPS was blocked from buying TNT by regulators. TNT shareholders will receive 8 euros a share in cash, a 33% premium to the stock’s closing price on April 2 and lower than UPS’s 9.50 euro offer in January 2012. The combination would give FedEx greater reach across Europe, while TNT would have the support to continue its ongoing turnaround strategy.
See FedEx in Fortune’s 25 Best Global Companies to Work For.
2. Samsung beats expectations as it stems its losses.
Samsung Electronics’ operating income fell 31% to 5.9 trillion won ($5.4 billion), though that drop wasn’t nearly as bad as many analysts had expected. Samsung has been pushing sales of its memory chips and displays used in other smartphones, which has offset a slump in its own cellular devices. The South Korean company is hoping to turn the tide on Friday when it debuts its new Galaxy S6 smartphones and lure back buyers.
3. Rand Paul is the latest presidential hopeful.
Kentucky Republican Rand Paul is the latest candidate to throw his hat in the ring for the upcoming 2016 presidential election. He is the second candidate to officially declare his bid, joining Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the race for the Republican nomination. Paul rode into the Senate on a wave of Tea Party support in 2010 to become one of the movement’s most visible supporters and has tried to build up a reputation of mainstream libertarianism. He will work to set himself apart from his father, Ron Paul, who ran for the presidency three times in 1988, 2008 and 2012, and he has already been courting Silicon Valley with his tech skills.
[fortune-brightcove videoid=4152115473001]
4. Another look at the jobs market today.
The Labor Department releases its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey today at 10 a.m. ET. It will reveal more details on the state of the job market after Friday’s monthly jobs report fell short of economists’ expectations. The U.S. economy added just 126,000 jobs in March, roughly half the number economists were expecting. The JOLTS report is expected to show that the number of job openings topped 5 million in February. Quits are also expected to be elevated, which can be a leading indicator of upcoming wage growth as companies work to keep current employees, or attract new ones.
5. Dropbox partners with Japan’s SoftBank as it boosts overseas growth.
Online file sharing company Dropbox is ready to boost its international presence — and it has turned to Japanese telecommunications giant SoftBank to help make that happen, according to Fortune. The partnership will leverage SoftBank’s commerce and service arm to push Dropbox’s business products in Japan, which could net over one million new Dropbox for Business licenses. “This is going to turbocharge our growth in Japan,” said Marc Leibowitz, Dropbox’s vice president of partnerships and platform. Fortune has the exclusive on Dropbox’s latest deal.
[fortune-brightcove videoid=4156894542001]
