SQUAWK BOX, TUESDAY 18TH JULY, 2023

Wall Street’s top banks slash FY Chinese GDP with both Hong Kong and mainland shares underperforming and the property sector shedding value. U.S. equities are in the green at the start of a busy week of earnings, with major banks’ earnings in the spotlight. Microsoft’s deal for Activision Blizzard is closer to completion after Berkshire Hathaway reveals it has offloaded 70 per cent of its stock in the game maker. Russia crashes the Ukraine grain deal blaming the West for not upholding its side of the bargain. Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy slams the move, saying extortion will not be tolerated. And in retail news, the board of beleaguered French supermarket Casino approves rescue talks with Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky.