The U.S. lead M&A globally in the second quarter of 2019 as companies seized on strong equity and debt capital markets to agree on mega combinations. Among the top deals were the $121B agreed merger of United Technologies with Raytheon, AbbVie's $63B agreement to acquire Allergan, and Occidental Petroleum's $38B deal to buy Anadarko Petroleum.  U.S. M&A totaled $466B in Q2, down just 3% from a year ago, while deal-making in Europe plunged 54% to $152B and Asia M&A dived 49% to $132B. (SA)

All 18 banks – including Deutsche Bank AG which repeatedly failed past exams – passed the Federal Reserve stress tests, with many of the largest lenders in the U.S. announcing increased payouts to shareholders in the wake of the results. The total from dividends and buybacks will hit $173 billion, a record high amount for the group. Shares in Deutsche Bank gained more than 4% in German trading, while JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. all showed pre-market rises of around 2%. (Bloomberg)

Nike reported earnings after the bell yesterday – shares initially fell on the news after-hours, but have now turned higher. The largest company based in Oregon earned 62 cents a share in its fourth quarter ended May 31, slightly missing analyst expectations.  Nike said strong sales growth was offset by higher expenses and higher taxes.  Nike earned $989 million in the quarter, on total revenue of $10.2 billion, 4 percent higher than the same period last year. It was the first time Nike cracked the $10 billion mark for quarterly sales. (Oregonian)

With Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management, a Registered Investment Advisor I am Josh Fenili.