Good morning. Happy Friday.
The Asian/Pacific markets posted solid, across-the-board gains. Japan, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, India, Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines all did great. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are currently doing great. The UK, Poland, France, Germany, Greece, Finland, Hungary, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Austria and the Czech Republic are up 1% or more. Futures in the States point towards a relatively big gap up open for the cash market.
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VIDEO: State of the Market
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The dollar is down. Oil is up; copper is down. Gold and silver are down. Bonds are down.
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
Oil prices rose 2% to $54.61/bbl overnight after Iranian officials said two rockets had struck a tanker belonging to the National Iranian Oil Company traveling through the Red Sea. The tanker is now ablaze off the Saudi port city of Jeddah, with investigators looking into the sources of the missiles. Recent attacks in the region have centered on crude facilities and tankers, including a drone-and-cruise-missile strike that halved Saudi Arabia’s output and mysterious attacks on oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz.
IEA cuts oil demand outlook
“We expect growth in 2019 to be the weakest since 2016, following evidence of a slowdown in several major consuming regions and countries,” according to the International Energy Agency. Demand growth estimates for 2019 were reduced by 65,000 barrels a day to 1M, while 2020 forecasts fell by 105K bpd to 1.2M. Cutting the figures for the second consecutive month, IEA’s revisions will add pressure on OPEC and its allies to make deeper output cuts in November.
Trade optimism
U.S. stock index futures are looking to build on yesterday’s gains, with Dow futures ahead by 244 points, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq up 0.9% and 1.1%, respectively. President Trump said trade talks between U.S. and Chinese officials on Thursday went very well, assuaging fears about a potential lack of progress before another meeting later today. Many are also looking out for a currency agreement, which could lead the U.S. administration to rescind a tariff rate hike scheduled for Oct. 15.
Brexit hopes
Brexit negotiations have shifted wildly over the past week, starting with a public row between London and Brussels. Yesterday, things took a turn for the better, with Boris Johnson and his Irish counterpart saying they had found a “pathway to a possible deal,” pushing the pound up 2%. Sterling climbed another 0.7% to $1.2523 this morning as EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier meets British Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay to pave the way for a deal at an Oct. 17-18 summit.
Moving past the Ghosn era
The board of French carmaker Renault (OTCPK:RNLSY) has voted in favor of ousting CEO Thierry Bollore, just days after partner Nissan (OTCPK:NSANY) chose a new chief executive. It’s a sign the automakers are working in sync to move past the Carlos Ghosn era and repair their troubled alliance. Resolving differences is a prerequisite to reviving any merger discussions with Fiat Chrysler (NYSE:FCAU), which were scrapped this year after Nissan failed to back the transaction.
FAA failed to properly review MCAS system
The Joint Authorities Technical Review, commissioned by the FAA in April to look into the agency’s oversight and approval of the anti-stall system on Boeing’s (NYSE:BA) 737 MAX, did not have great things to say in its latest findings. “MCAS was not evaluated as a complete and integrated function in the certification documents that were submitted to the FAA,” the panel of air safety regulators said in a 69-page report. “The lack of a unified top-down development and evaluation of the system function and its safety analyses, combined with the extensive and fragmented documentation, made it difficult to assess whether compliance was fully demonstrated.”
Vaping illnesses climb upward
A deadly lung illness linked to vaping has now taken the lives of more than two dozen people nationwide, according to the CDC. 219 probable new cases were diagnosed over the last week, bringing the total number of patients to 1,299, but health officials still don’t know what’s making people sick. Of the cases where doctors know what patients were using, roughly 76% of them said they vaped THC, while 13% said they exclusively used nicotine.
Walmart U.S. gets new CEO
The chief executive of Walmart’s (NYSE:WMT) U.S. operations, Greg Foran, announced he will be leaving the company early next year and will be replaced by the head of its Sam’s Club warehouse chain unit, John Furner. Foran’s departure is likely to be considered a blow for Walmart given the New Zealand native is credited with turning around the retailer’s American business by focusing on improving existing stores. Walmart reported 20 quarters of comparable sales growth under his leadership.
What else is happening…
SAP (NYSE:SAP) reverts to dual CEO appointments.
GM (NYSE:GM) asks UAW for ‘around-the-clock’ bargaining.
Citadel stake boosts Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) shares.
Slack (NYSE:WORK) active users top 12M in September.
WeWork (WE) bailout may come next week – FT.
Cracks found on 38 Boeing (BA) 737 NG jets.
Thursday’s Key Earnings
Delta (NYSE:DAL) -1.5% on light profit guidance.
Today’s Economic Calendar
8:00 Fed’s Kashkari Speech
8:30 Import/Export Prices
10:00 Consumer Sentiment
1:00 PM Baker-Hughes Rig Count
1:15 PM Fed’s Rosengren Speech
3:00 PM Fed’s Kaplan: Monetary Policy
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Good morning. Happy Thursday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mixed. China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Philippines did well while South Korea, India, New Zealand and Thailand were weak. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are trading quietly. Greece and South Africa are up; Denmark, Poland and Turkey are down. Futures in the States point to a down open.
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VIDEO: How Zero Commissions Can Help You Trade
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The dollar is down. Oil and copper are up. Gold and silver are down. Bonds are down.
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
Day (or night) traders are having a field day as headlines grab hold of market sentiment. While U.S. stocks rallied Wednesday on trade optimism, futures fell sharply after the close on reports that high-level trade talks between the U.S. and China – scheduled for today and tomorrow in Washington – might be cut short. A volatile session then ensued, with futures now back at the starting line. Among the rumors: There has been no change to the negotiation schedule, next week’s tariff hike could be suspended, concessions may be announced for blacklisted Huawei, a currency pact is underway, a partial trade deal is in the works and Beijing is offering to increase agricultural purchases.
Bed Bath nabs Target star
Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) +22% premarket after hiring Target (NYSE:TGT) Chief Merchandising Officer Mark Tritton to take the helm of the struggling home furnishings retailer. Tritton has been credited with launching Target’s private label development, which included more than 30 new brands in just 2.5 years, and helped the group grow comparable sales for eight consecutive quarters. Bed Bath trimmed its full-year profit guidance just a week ago following weak same-store sales for its fiscal second quarter.
Luxury revival
Earnings from LVMH (OTCPK:LVMHF) seem to have restored faith in luxury sales. The Louis Vuitton owner posted 19% growth in revenue from its fashion and leather goods in Q3 despite unrest in Hong Kong that had caused luxury labels to lose out on business there. A near 5% jump in LVMH in Paris saw shares of rivals Hermes (OTC:EUHMF), Burberry (OTCPK:BBRYF), Hugo Boss (OTCPK:BOSSY), Gucci-owner Kering (OTCPK:PPRUF), Christian Dior (OTCPK:CHDRF) and Moncler (OTCPK:MONRF) climb between 1.1% and 4.6% across Europe overnight.
China conundrum
Besides the NBA, many companies are suddenly finding things to be more complicated in China, including Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI). The videogame maker is facing a backlash in the U.S. after banning a Hearthstone league player who was publicly supportive of the Hong Kong protests. It’s pretty bad timing. Blizzard had been recently revived with the success of Call of Duty: Mobile following two quarters of slumping revenues and a stock price that is down 28% YTD.
Rethink possible
Looking to cut its massive debt pile, AT&T (NYSE:T) is selling its wireless and wireline operations in Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands to Liberty Latin America (NASDAQ:LILA) for $1.95B. 5G dreams? New reports suggest AT&T will start initial standalone deployments of 5G networks in 2020. Verizon (NYSE:VZ) is planning a standalone core in 2020-2021 and T-Mobile (NASDAQ:TMUS) is aiming for a virtualized standalone core next year, while Sprint (NYSE:S) sticks to its non-standalone approach.
Power cut in California
More than 700,000 households in the state were without electricity on Wednesday. The state’s largest utility, PG&E (NYSE:PCG), pulled the plug to prevent a repeat of the past two years when windblown power lines sparked deadly wildfires. If things couldn’t get worse, the judge overseeing PG&E’s bankruptcy case said he will allow for the consideration of alternative restructuring plans, stripping the company of the sole right to propose a Chapter 11 plan covering billions of dollars of damages. PCG -24% premarket.
More 737 problems
Boeing (NYSE:BA) is working with airline customers to procure parts, develop repair-and-replace plans and provide technical support to address structural cracks on its 737 NG jetliners. Brazilian airline Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes (NYSE:GOL) was forced to ground 11 737 NG aircraft to replace a specific part following inspections at the direction of the FAA. Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) said earlier it had also removed two of the planes from service. BA -0.5% premarket.
More clarity needed
The minutes of the Fed’s September meeting released yesterday showed that “several participants” wanted the FOMC’s post-meeting statement to give more guidance on when they expected the monetary policy rate adjustments to end. Since the meeting, Fed officials’ standard line is “there’s no preset course,” and incoming data will help determine any further actions. As was already disclosed, there were some policymakers that wanted to keep rates unchanged and a couple that wanted to cut rates by 50 basis points instead of the 25-bp cut that was taken.
What else is happening…
Turkish lira on watch amid Syria incursion.
Fidelity cuts online trading commissions to zero.
Swiss central bank explores crypto for trading.
Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) outlaws e-cig sales to U.S. buyers.
First major airlines group commits to net zero CO2 emissions.
Today’s Economic Calendar
8:30 Initial Jobless Claims
8:30 Consumer Price Index
10:30 EIA Natural Gas Inventory
12:15 PM Fed’s Kashkari Speech
12:30 PM Fed’s Daly Speech
1:00 PM Results of $16B, 30-Year Note Auction
2:00 PM Treasury Budget
3:30 PM Fed’s Daly Speech
4:30 PM Money Supply
4:30 PM Fed Balance Sheet
5:30 PM Fed’s Mester Speech
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Good morning. Happy Wednesday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mostly down. South Korea and India did well, but Hong Kong, New Zealand, Taiwan, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines were weak. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are currently mostly up. The UK, France, Germany, Russia, Greece, Singapore, the Netherlands, Italy and Sweden are doing well; Turkey and Saudi Arabia are weak. Futures in the States point towards a relatively big gap up open for the cash market.
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VIDEO: How Zero Commissions Can Help You Trade
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The dollar is down. Oil and copper are up. Gold and silver are up. Bonds are down.
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
U.S. stock index futures rise as investors weigh the latest developments in the U.S.-China trade and foreign policy disputes. Reuters reports that China is planning visa restrictions for U.S. nationals with ties to anti-China groups. The Nasdaq is up 0.9%, the S&P gains 0.8% and the Dow increases 0.7%. The 10-year Treasury ticks up, pushing yield up 1 basis point to 1.54%. Crude oil slips 0.5% to $52.87 per barrel. Gold rises 0.3% to $1,508.40 per ounce. Asian stocks dropped the most in a week as the U.S.-China dispute over trade and foreign policy continues to escalate. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.6%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed down 0.8% and Japan’s Nikkei 300 Index sank 0.3%. In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 Index rises 0.2%, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index gains 0.4%, and Germany’s DAX advances 1.1%. On tap today, Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to deliver opening remarks at an event in Kansas City.
Brexit ‘resignation watchlist’
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces a rebellion in his cabinet, as a group of ministers are poised to quit amid concerns that he’s leading the country towards a no-deal Brexit, The Times reports, citing an unnamed cabinet member. Among those on a “resignation watchlist” are British Minister for Northern Ireland Julian Smith, Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan, Justice Secretary Robert Buckland, Attorney General Geoffrey Cox, and Health Minister Matt Hancock.
Aramco to publish IPO prospectus by month’s end
The Saudi Arabian Oil Co. – Aramco (ARMCO) – will reportedly put out its IPO prospectus by month’s end, seemingly putting a massive offering back on track for this year. The company delayed an IPO from last year, and attacks on oil facilities looked to postpone it once again. But Aramco has since said output has stabilized, and the prospectus is expected to be followed by November book-building and a go or no-go decision shortly after that, on a listing that could value it from $1.5T-$2T.
Jury ruled J&J must pay $8B in Risperdal case
A Philadelphia jury ruled that Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) must pay $8B in punitive damages to a man who previously won $680,000 over his claims that the company failed to warn that men using its Risperdal anti-psychotic drug could grow breasts. The verdict is the first case in which a Pennsylvania jury was able to consider awarding punitive damages in one of thousands of Risperdal cases pending in the state. If the track record for similarly large punitive damage awards holds up, the award is likely to be reduced on grounds that it violates due process.
Goldman reviewing role in blacklisted firm’s IPO
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is re-evaluating its role as co-sponsor of the planned IPO of China’s Megvii Technology, an AI facial recognition specialist, after Megvii was added to the U.S. human rights blacklist. The United States put eight companies on the list, implicating them in repression of Muslim Uighur minorities in western China. Megvii was scheduled to debut in Q4 and raise $1B in the offering.
WeWork reportedly to cut third of tech employees
Struggling The We Company (WE) will shed a third of its employees in the technology division, according to a report in The Information. Some 500 of about 1,500 engineers, product managers and data scientists will be let go, with 350 cuts coming from the main corporate division while others would exit as the company cuts loose recent acquisitions like Teem and SpaceIQ, according to the report.
Oracle to hire 2,000 in cloud computing push
Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) will hire 2,000 employees for cloud computing, an effort to catch up a bit to rivals making inroads including Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). Enterprise firms like Oracle and IBM (NYSE:IBM) have fallen behind more nimble competitors, but Oracle argues there’s a lot of business to hunt for, saying only 20% of enterprise computing is currently in the cloud. The company will hire up and shift internal jobs toward the technology.
U.S. Steel CFO to resign amid operating model revamp
U.S. Steel (NYSE:X) CFO Kevin Bradley plans to resign as of Nov. 4 to be replaced by Christine Breves, as the steelmaker implements an enhanced operating model and organizational structure to accelerate its strategic transformation. The initiatives are intended to cut costs and more closely align its corporate structure with previously announced investments in advanced manufacturing. Breves joined U.S. Steel in 2013 after 14 years at Alcoa (NYSE:AA).
What else is happening…
Lions Gate (LGF.A, LGF.B) weigh Starz sale, spinoff.
Goldman (GS) sets up emergency trading floor in a WeWork (WE) space.
General Motors (NYSE:GM) suffers 165K vehicles in lost production.
Libra’s (NASDAQ:FB) head of product exits.
PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) expects $177M loss on strategic investments.
Tuesday’s Key Earnings
Levi Strauss (NYSE:LEVI) reports Q3 earnings beat.
Today’s Economic Calendar
7:00 MBA Mortgage Applications
10:00 Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey
10:00 Wholesale Trade
10:30 EIA Petroleum Inventories
11:00 Jerome Powell Speech
11:00 Fed’s George Speech
1:00 PM Results of $24B, 10-Year Note Auction
2:00 PM FOMC minutes
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Good morning. Happy Tuesday.
The Asian/Pacific markets post solid gains. Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, the Philippines and Indonesia all did very well; India was weak. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are currently mostly down. France, Turkey, Germany, Greece, Switzerland, Norway, Hungary, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Austria and Sweden are all down a bunch. Futures in the States point towards a relatively big gap down open for the cash market.
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The dollar is down slightly. Oil is down; copper is flat. Gold and silver are up. Bonds are up.
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
The economic war against China is moving in a new direction, though the Trump administration said it’s unconnected to trade negotiations set to resume in Washington in the coming days. 28 Chinese entities have been added to an export blacklist due to Beijing’s repression of Muslim minorities, a move that will bar them from buying American components without government approval. U.S. stock index futures fell 0.6% following the decision, as China signaled it would hit back over the measures and “urged the U.S. side to immediately correct its mistake.”
NBA trouble in China
Chinese state television CCTV is suspending current broadcast arrangements for the NBA’s pre-season games after NBA Commissioner Adam Silver defended Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey’s tweet in support of the Hong Kong protests. “We believe that any speech that challenges national sovereignty and social stability is not within the scope of freedom of speech,” CCTV said in a statement. Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) and JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) appear to have also removed items related to the Houston Rockets, while Tencent (OTCPK:TCEHY) said it would stop showing Rockets matches and news related to the team.
Samsung turnaround?
Samsung Electronics (OTC:SSNLF) expects Q3 operating profit to tumble 56% to 7.7T won ($6.44B) – as a slump in its memory chip business continued to weigh on earnings – though the figure was still better than that forecast by analysts. The news saw the stock rise 2.4% in Korea overnight, also boosted by enthusiasm that the tech giant could be nearing a rebound. Strong sales of the new Galaxy Note 10 have been recorded at home and in Europe, while there are early signs Samsung’s global memory chip business will stabilize next year.
HKEX pulls bid for LSE
Conceding it hadn’t won over management, Hong Kong’s bourse (OTCPK:HKXCY) has dropped an unsolicited £32B offer for the London Stock Exchange (OTCPK:LDNXF), but said it still believed a combination would be “strategically compelling.” Political turmoil engulfing Hong Kong and the perceptions of Beijing’s growing influence over the city was another key obstacle to any deal. In walking away from the transaction, HKEX clears the way for LSE to conclude its own $14.5B plan to acquire data and analytics company Refinitiv (TRI, BX).
5G backing
The U.S. is looking at ways to funnel money to Huawei’s European rivals, as officials warn that the Chinese company is becoming dangerously dominant in the global race for 5G, FT reports. Officials have suggested issuing credit to companies such as Nokia (NYSE:NOK) and Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) to enable them to match the generous financing terms that Huawei offers to its customers. Others have asked U.S. companies Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) and Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) whether they would consider entering the radio transmission market, though the companies have warned it would be too expensive and time-consuming to do so.
Brexit breakdown
Boris Johnson told German Chancellor Angela Merkel on a call this morning that a Brexit deal is “essentially impossible” if the EU demands Northern Ireland should stay in the bloc’s customs union. Brexiteers fear the backstop would limit the capacity for new independent trade deals, as well as a commitment to EU rules with no influence over them. Merkel responded that a deal would never be possible unless Northern Ireland stayed in a customs union, a juncture the two called a “clarifying moment.” Sterling -0.6% to $1.2220.
Federal deficit
The federal budget deficit for 2019 is estimated at $984B, a hefty 4.7% of gross domestic product and the highest since 2012, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Unsustainable path? The deficit, which has grown every year since 2015, is $205B higher than it was in 2018, a jump of 26%. Higher levels of debt increase borrowing costs, making it hard for the government to battle economic downturns and increase the share of future spending allocated to paying off interest costs.
Study ties vaping to cancer
E-cigarette vapor causes lung cancer and potentially bladder cancer in mice, according to researchers at New York University. Out of 40 mice exposed to e-cigarette vapor with nicotine over 54 weeks, 22.5% developed lung cancer and 57.5% developed precancerous lesions on the bladder, while none of the 20 mice exposed to e-cigarette smoke without nicotine developed disease. The finding backs up a separate vaping study by the University of Southern California on the molecular change in the oral tissue that causes cancer.
Facebook probe
About 40 state attorneys general will participate in an antitrust investigation of Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, according to The Washington Post. In September, James had announced a probe with seven other states and the District of Columbia into whether the social media giant has “endangered consumer data, reduced the quality of consumers’ choices, or increased the price of advertising.” Facebook, which owns one-time rivals Instagram and WhatsApp and has 2.4B monthly users, agreed in July to pay a $5B FTC settlement for various privacy violations.
SoftBank’s investment damage
The botched IPO of WeWork (WE) and a sharp decline in shares of Uber (NYSE:UBER) and Slack (NYSE:WORK) has analysts beginning to calculate the damage for Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Group (OTCPK:SFTBY). Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities cut its profit estimate for SoftBank’s Vision Fund, its main investment vehicle, by ¥580B ($5.4B) to an operating loss of ¥367.6B. Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. estimates that the Vision Fund’s writedown alone could be as much as $5.93B, with another $1.24B drop for the portion of WeWork owned by SoftBank.
What else is happening…
Unexpected rise in German industrial output.
PG&E (NYSE:PCG) may cut power for 600K customers.
Airbus (OTCPK:EADSY) ahead of Boeing (NYSE:BA) in aircraft sales race.
Southwest pilots sue over lost wages in 737 MAX (BA) grounding.
Cutting debt… GE (NYSE:GE) pulls plug on pension plans.
NBCUniversal (NASDAQ:CMCSA) appoints new boss for streaming service.
Oracle (ORCL) gets aggressive in cloud push.
Today’s Economic Calendar
6:00 NFIB Small Business Optimism Index
8:30 Producer Price Index
8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales
1:00 PM Results of $38B, 3-Year Note Auction
1:35 PM Fed’s Evans Speech
1:50 PM Jerome Powell: “A View from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors”
5:00 PM Fed’s Kashkari Speech
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Good morning. Happy Monday. Hope you had a good weekend.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed with a lean to the upside. New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and Thailand did well; India and Indonesia were weak. China and Hong Kong were closed. Europe, Africa and the Middle East currently lean up. Denmark, Turkey, the UAE, Russia, Finland, Switzerland, Norway and the Netherlands are up; Sweden, Saudi Arabia and the Czech Republic are down. Futures in the States point towards a down open for the cash market.
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The dollar is flat. Oil and copper are up. Gold and silver are down Bonds are down.
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
Broadly positive U.S. jobs data has quelled some fears about an economic slowdown, but nervousness over U.S.-China trade talks is setting in, as well as more weak economic data out of Europe (see below). The mood is once again weighing on U.S. stock index futures, which have started the week down 0.5%. While Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is expected to resume discussions with U.S. counterparts later this week, there have been a number of reports that Beijing may not be as willing to compromise on a number of issues or agree to a broad trade deal pursued by President Trump.
HSBC to axe 10,000 jobs
HSBC (NYSE:HSBC) is planning the mass layoffs as interim CEO Officer Noel Quinn seeks to reduce costs across the banking group and help prop up share prices, sources told FT. Quinn became interim CEO in August after the bank announced the surprise departure of John Flint, saying it needed a change at the top to address “a challenging global environment.” HSBC could announce the start of the cuts when it reports Q3 results later this month.
Libra network pullout
PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) is officially withdrawing from the group of companies Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) had assembled to launch a global crypto-based payments network. Reports first surfaced a week ago that Visa (NYSE:V), Mastercard (NYSE:MA) and other partners would reconsider their support following a backlash from U.S. and European government officials. Libra was envisioned to be a way to send money between people and pay for goods and services online, running on a blockchain network backed by a pool of real assets and currencies.
Germany’s factory slump continues
The data was in focus overnight after a weak reading last month gave weight to concerns that Europe’s biggest economy was teetering toward recession. Factory orders slumped by 6.7% Y/Y in August due to the the U.S.-China trade war, the slowdown in the eurozone, and economic problems at home. Last week, a flurry of PMI and ISM reports showed that global manufacturing is shrinking, hitting markets and equites across the globe.
George isn’t worried about inflation
“The U.S. economy is currently in a good place with low inflation, low unemployment, and an outlook for continued moderate growth,” Kansas City Fed President Esther George said Sunday. George, who dissented against the quarter-percentage-point rate cuts made at the July and September FOMC meetings, didn’t rule out supporting another rate reduction if it’s warranted, but appeared skeptical over the need for further action. “The moderation of economic growth in 2019 has been in line with my own outlook that calls for a gradual decline to a trend level over the medium term.”
Mouse House Bullseye
The partnership between Target (NYSE:TGT) and Disney (NYSE:DIS) has taken another step forward with new Disney stores now open inside 25 Target locations. The large store-in-a-store concept arrives just ahead of the merchandise blitz for the films Frozen 2 and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Disney is anticipated to debut stores in 40 more Target locations by October of next year. Disney items also have a special page on the Target website.
October cinematic history
According to preliminary estimates, Joker hauled in $93.5M in the U.S. and Canada in its opening weekend, becoming the highest-grossing October debut in history. An additional $140.5M internationally gave Warner Bros. (NYSE:T) another reason to smile, bringing the movie’s total gross to $234M worldwide. Produced for considerably less than the hundreds of millions of dollars often spent making comic-book films, Joker could end up being one of the studio’s most profitable films of 2019.
GM strike drags on
Contract talks aimed at ending the three-week strike by the United Auto Workers against General Motors (NYSE:GM) have “taken a turn for the worse,” a union official wrote in an email to members. GM made an offer to the union that essentially repeated one already rejected by the UAW, according to Terry Dittes, the UAW VP in charge of the GM department. Analysts estimate the strike has cost GM more than $1B, while LMC Automotive estimates the company has lost production of 118K vehicles through Oct. 2.
What else is happening…
Merck’s (NYSE:MRK) Keytruda becoming world’s no. 1 selling drug.
Unilever (UN, UL) to halve use of new plastic.
Internal struggle for Nissan (OTCPK:NSANY) control.
Lira weakens 1.1% on Syria military operation.
Socialists retain power in Portugal amid economic reforms.
Today’s Economic Calendar
10:20 Fed’s Kashkari Speech
12:30 PM TD Ameritrade IMX
1:00 PM Jerome Powell: “Marriner Eccles: Father of the Modern Federal Reserve”
3:00 PM Consumer Credit