Before the Open (Nov 11 – 15)

Good morning. Happy Friday. Happy Options Expiration Day.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mostly up. Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia and Indonesia did well; China was weak. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are currently mixed and little changed. Turkey, the UAE, Switzerland and the Netherlands are up; Greece and Norway are down. Futures in the States point towards a moderate gap up open for the cash market.
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The dollar is flat. Oil is flat; copper is up. Gold and silver are down. Bonds are down.
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
While major U.S. equity indexes recorded another flat close on Thursday, things are looking brighter ahead as DJIA futures climb more than 100 points before the open. Trade developments… White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow signaled talks over the first phase of an agreement with China were coming down to the final stages and said the two sides were in close contact. On Thursday, China also lifted a ban on American poultry that began in 2015, after the USDA made a similar decision to allow Chinese poultry into the U.S.
Amazon strikes back over JEDI contract
U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper is rejecting any notion of bias in a decision to award Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) the “up to $10B” JEDI cloud contract, which is part of a broader digital modernization process at the Pentagon. “I am confident it was conducted freely and fairly, without any type of outside influence,” he told a news conference in Seoul. Filing a notice that the company will formally protest the result, Amazon Web Services’ (NASDAQ:AMZN) CEO Andy Jassy said politics got in the way and it would be hard to award a contract objectively when President Trump was disparaging Jeff Bezos.
Biggest Starbucks Reserve Roastery
The largest-ever Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) is opening its doors today in Chicago, marking the company’s sixth Reserve Roastery across the globe. The 35,000-square-foot location has five floors, three coffee bars, a cocktail bar and an artisan bakery and cafe. The average Roastery customer spends three to four times more money than at a typical Starbucks cafe, according to spokeswoman Maggie Jantzen, and Roasteries, on average, can see more than 8,000 visitors per day.
Google antitrust probe expands
The 50 state and territory attorneys general investigating Google (GOOG, GOOGL) for antitrust violations are set to expand their probe into the search and Android businesses, after initially focusing only on its ad business. The AGs will write up civil investigation demands to help the inquiry, but sources told CNBC the subpoenas might not be served immediately. Google already received a $5B fine in the EU for favoring its Android operating system, and the U.S. Department of Justice is reviewing the tech giant’s business practices.
Improving weather forecasting
IBM (NYSE:IBM) became a major player in meteorology when it purchased The Weather Company in 2016. It’s now going live with a global weather model called GRAF – Global High-Resolution Atmospheric Forecasting. A new supercomputer, DYEUS, built to run the model, will issue 12T pieces of weather data every day and process forecasts every hour, providing the system with high-resolution weather forecasts and details for areas as small as 2 miles wide.
A new generation of Mustang
Ford (NYSE:F) is transposing its Mustang name on to its new electric sport utility vehicle, which up until now referred to a line of sporty coupes associated with the 1960s muscle car era. The Mustang Mach-E will debut at an event in Los Angeles on Sunday and is the first of more than a dozen all-electric automobiles Ford plans to launch by 2022. Although Mustang coupes are assembled in Michigan, the Mach-E will be built in Cuautitlan, Mexico.
EU ends funding for fossil fuel projects
Cutting €2B of yearly investments, the European Union will stop funding oil, natural gas and coal projects at the end of 2021, as it aims to become the first climate-neutral continent. Gas projects are still possible, but would have to be based on “new technologies” such as carbon capture and storage, combining heat and power generation, or mixing in renewable gases with the fossil natural gas. This is a “quantum leap in its ambition,” European Investment Bank President Werner Hoyer said after the decision, which comes as the ECB considers adding climate-related risks to its stress-test scenarios.
Annual recession coming to Hong Kong
As political unrest grips the territory, Hong Kong forecast GDP will contract 1.3% in 2019, marking the first annual contraction since the global financial crisis a decade ago. Anti-government protesters paralyzed parts of the city for a fifth day on Friday as university students barricaded campuses and authorities struggled to calm the violence. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission also said Congress should enact legislation that would suspend the special economic status Hong Kong enjoys under U.S. law, should China deploy forces to crush the demonstrations.
Alibaba moving ahead with HK listing
Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) will issue 500M new ordinary shares plus 75M “greenshoe” options for its upcoming secondary listing in Hong Kong in which it could raise up to $13.8B. Of those 500M shares, 12.5M will be reserved for retail investors, though up to 10% of the total offering could be allotted. Set to be Hong Kong’s largest share sale in more than nine years, Alibaba plans to use the proceeds to drive user growth and fuel innovation.
What else is happening…
U.S. crude production jumps to new weekly record.
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) takes stake in RH (NYSE:RH).
Apple News+ (NASDAQ:AAPL) is struggling for subscribers.
Nike (NYSE:NKE) sees Foot Locker (NYSE:FL) as a better partner than Amazon (AMZN).
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Model 3 and S recommended again by Consumer Reports.
Thursday’s Key Earnings
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) +4% AH on Q4 beats, upside outlook.
Aurora Cannabis (NYSE:ACB) -11.9% AH following Canopy with a big Q3 dropoff.
Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC) -2.1% AH as revenue fell the most since pot legalization.
Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) +1% AH posting beats, gaming strength.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT) -0.3% giving up gains after topping EPS forecasts.
Today’s Economic Calendar
8:30 Retail Sales
8:30 Empire State Mfg Survey
8:30 Import/Export Prices
9:15 Industrial Production
10:00 Business Inventories
1:00 PM Baker Hughes Rig Count
5:00 PM Fed’s Daly Speech on Sunday
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Good morning. Happy Thursday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mixed. China, South Korea, New Zealand and Australia closed up; Japan, Hong Kong and India closed down. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are currently little changed. The UAE and Greece are up; Denmark, Turkey and Finland are down. Futures in the States point towards a down open for the cash market.
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FREE Online Course: Jason Leavitt’s Mini Masterclass in Trading
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The dollar is flat. Oil is up; copper is down. Gold and silver are up. Bonds are up.
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
Following yesterday’s disappointing guidance from Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO), market focus is turning back to the tail end of earnings season, with Walmart (NYSE:WMT) set to report before the opening bell. Major growth is expected across the retailer’s e-commerce business, supported by expansion of grocery pick-up and delivery. Chipmaker Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) will report after the close and should benefit from the post-crypto rebound in core gaming, as well as increased spending on data centers and the cloud. About three-fourths of S&P 500 companies have already topped earnings estimates in their Q3 reports, but they are still expected to have posted an overall 0.5% decline in earnings, according to Refinitiv.
Economic outlook and Fedspeak
U.S. stock index futures are pulling back slightly, edging down 0.2%, after Disney (NYSE:DIS) shares on Wednesday lifted the DJIA and S&P 500 to record closing highs. Talks between Washington and Beijing are thought to have hit a snag over agricultural purchases, while weak industrial output data was seen in China and Europe’s largest economy narrowly avoided a recession. Jerome Powell is also continuing his second day of testimony on Capitol Hill – before the House Budget Committee – after saying negative interest rates aren’t needed in the U.S. and monetary policy will remain in place unless there is a “material” change in the economic outlook.
Federal budget on ‘unsustainable path’
Powell further warned that the federal budget is on “an unsustainable path,” and with the national debt now topping $23T, it could make it difficult for the economy to recover from future market downturns. According to the Treasury Department, the federal deficit reached $134B in October – the first month of fiscal 2020. The figure has spiked following the GOP tax law and multiple bipartisan agreements to increase spending on defense and domestic programs.
Disney market cap now twice Netflix
Disney (DIS) shares surged 7.3% to a record $148.72/share on Wednesday after passing 10M subscribers to streaming service Disney+, which only debuted a day earlier. With a market capitalization now totaling $268B, the Mouse House is now twice as valuable as Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), which saw its market value tumble to about $124B amid slowing revenue growth and increasing competition. Important to note: Disney’s increase was aided by its $71B acquisition of 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets, which was completed in March.
Moderation efforts at Facebook
In its latest Community Standards Enforcement Report, Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) said it removed 3.2B fake accounts from April to September. That’s more than double the number of fake accounts taken down during the same period last year, when 1.55B accounts were removed. Some other figures… The social network removed more than 11.6M pieces of content depicting child nudity and sexual exploitation, 2.5M posts that depicted or encouraged suicide or self-injury, and 4.4M pieces involving drug sales.
Foldable trend continues (comes back)
Motorola (OTCPK:LNVGY) has announced a new version of its iconic Razr, succeeding the Samsung (OTC:SSNLF) Galaxy Fold as the second foldable phone in the U.S. when it launches with Verizon (NYSE:VZ) for $1,499 in January. No keypad… The gadget has a full touch screen display inside, but still folds in half like the clamshell design from the 1990s and early 2000s. While the Razr’s outside features a 2.7-inch “Quick View” display, it opens vertically to a 6.2-inch screen (vs. the Galaxy Fold’s horizontal fold that enables a tablet-sized device).
Google gets into banking
The latest tech heavyweight to take on finance, Google (GOOG, GOOGL) expects to offer checking accounts to consumers next year under a project code-named Cache. The accounts will be run by Citigroup (NYSE:C) and a credit union at Stanford University. Big tech companies, such as Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Facebook (FB), see financial services as a way to learn more about consumers and reap valuable data, as well as opportunities to strengthen ties with users.
Taking new stake, Icahn pushes Xerox merger
Scuttling Xerox’s (NYSE:XRX) planned merger with Fujifilm (OTCPK:FUJIY) last year and taking control of its board, Carl Icahn is now pushing for a merger with HP (NYSE:HPQ). Xerox last week made an offer to buy HP for $33B, more than three times the printer maker’s market cap, aiming to unite the companies whose fortunes have waned in the digital age. In fact, Icahn, who owns a 10.6% stake in Xerox, has now taken a 4.24% stake in HP, valued at roughly $1.2B, sources told WSJ.
WeWork notches $1.25B loss in Q3
On an earnings call with qualified bondholders, WeWork (WE) revealed the soaring net loss for the final quarter under Adam Neumann’s leadership, according to slides viewed by Axios. The figure was up from $497M in last year’s quarter, while its annual revenue run rate was up 25% Q/Q to nearly $4.2B. The loss came ahead of a bailout in October by Japan’s SoftBank (OTCPK:SFTBY), which gave WeWork a $3B investment after its plans fell through for an initial public offering.
Germany dodges recession
“While the numbers show the country avoided a technical recession in the third quarter, economic development in the region is still fragile,” said German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier. The latest GDP growth figures showed the economy grew by 0.1% in Q3 following a “solid” rise in factory orders in September. “In some sense, this is the ‘worst’ of both worlds for markets,” wrote Claus Vistesen, chief eurozone economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. “Today’s data confirm that the German economy has now stalled, but the headlines are probably not dire enough to prompt an immediate and aggressive fiscal response from Berlin.”
What else is happening…
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) introducing a shared Apple Card (AAPL).
Smith & Wesson parent, American Outdoor (NASDAQ:AOBC), plans split.
Alibaba’s (NYSE:BABA) Ma disappointed with Singles’ Day sales.
Amazon (AMZN) dominated Q3 smart speaker market.
Netflix (NFLX), Nickelodeon (NASDAQ:VIA) team up on content deal.
New fitness machines, apps coming to Peloton (NASDAQ:PTON)?
SoftBank’s (OTCPK:SFTBY) Son wants Yahoo merger to rival Alibaba.
Wednesday’s Key Earnings
Cisco (CSCO) -5.1% AH forecasting a Q2 revenue decline.
Today’s Economic Calendar
5:30 Fed’s Quarles Speech
8:30 Initial Jobless Claims
8:30 Producer Price Index
9:10 Fed’s Evans Speech
9:10 Fed’s Clarida Speech
10:00 Powell To Testify Before The House Budget Committee
10:30 EIA Natural Gas Inventory
11:00 EIA Petroleum Inventories
11:45 Fed’s Daly Speech
12:00 PM Fed’s Williams Speech
12:20 PM Fed’s Bullard Speech
4:30 PM Money Supply
4:30 PM Fed Balance Sheet
5:00 PM Fed’s Kaplan Speech
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Good morning. Happy Wednesday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mostly down. Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, India, New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Singapore were all weak. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are currently mostly down. Turkey and Greece are doing well, but Poland, Germany, Russia, Finland, Norway, Spain, Italy, Austria and Saudi Arabia are weak. Futures in the States point towards a moderate down open for the cash market.
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FREE Online Course: Jason Leavitt’s Mini Masterclass in Trading
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The dollar is up. Oil and copper are down. Gold and silver are up. Bonds are up.
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
Another big speech is on the horizon today, this time from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who will speak to the Congressional Joint Economic Committee about the current economic outlook. DJIA futures are off 113 points ahead of the 11 a.m testimony. The last time we heard from Powell the Fed had cut interest rates for the third time this year and he signaled that moves to ease monetary policy could be nearing a pause. On the data front, there will be closely-watched CPI numbers this morning, though they are not expected to show inflation rising enough to change the Fed’s outlook.
Trump speech & auto tariff deadline
Investors on Tuesday were focused on comments from President Trump, who spoke at the Economic Club of New York, but didn’t deliver any specifics on trade developments. He said a “significant Phase One” deal could happen soon, but reiterated that the U.S. will substantially raise tariffs on Chinese goods if no agreement is struck between the two countries. Trump also criticized EU trade policies before a deadline tomorrow to decide on whether to raise tariffs on European and Japanese carmakers.
‘Made in Germany’
Just weeks after beginning trial production of cars in China, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) announced the location of its second factory outside the USA: Berlin, Germany. The facility, to be named Gigafactory 4, will build batteries, powertrains and vehicles, “starting with the Model Y.” Watching the news closely is Volkswagen (OTCPK:VWAGY), as the new plant will be built in the automaker’s backyard. The German group previously announced plans to invest €30B to electrify its entire product lineup over the next four years.
Green light for Alibaba secondary listing
Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing has reportedly approved a secondary listing for Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) in the city, a share sale that could raise $10B-$15B. A weeklong roadshow may begin as soon as this week, with pricing and the start of trading in the weeks after that. Alibaba reported a 40% rise in quarterly sales earlier this month and on Monday set another record for its annual Singles’ Day event, selling $38.3B worth of merchandise.
Mega bond offering
Encouraged by low funding costs amid narrowing credit risk premiums, U.S. drugmaker AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) sold the largest block of bonds of the year to finance its $83B takeover of rival Allergan (NYSE:AGN). $30B was raised from investors clamoring for investment-grade debt, in an offering split across 10 different maturities from 18 months to 30 years. The deal was the biggest bond sale since CVS (NYSE:CVS) raised $40B in March last year to fund its takeover of Aetna and ranked as the fourth-largest ever completed. ABBV -1.5% premarket.
Nike breaks up with Amazon
The sneaker giant is going to stop selling directly on Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), ending a pilot program that began in 2017 (in exchange for stricter counterfeit policing and restrictions on unsanctioned sales). Retail unease? Signals suggest the company is going even more aggressively after e-commerce following the hiring of ex-eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) chief executive officer John Donahoe as its next CEO. Nike (NYSE:NKE) will still continue to use Amazon Web Services to power its apps and Nike.com services.
Battle over digital information economy
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is urging the EU to claim “digital sovereignty” by developing its own platform to manage data and reduce its reliance on cloud services run by Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Google (GOOG, GOOGL). “So many companies have just outsourced all their data to U.S. companies,” she told German business leaders. “I’m not saying that’s bad in and of itself – I just mean that the value-added products that come out of that, with the help of artificial intelligence, will create dependencies that I’m not sure are a good thing.”
Unrest weighs on Hong Kong
The Hang Seng Index sank another 2% today as the five-month-old anti-government movement takes an increasingly violent turn. Gasoline bombs and fires lit up the night at the prominent Chinese University of Hong Kong, while tear gas was again fired in the heart of the business and financial district. Chief Executive Carrie Lam said last night the protesters wouldn’t achieve their goals through violence and Security Chief John Lee warned of “unthinkable consequences” if it continues.
OPEC under pressure from U.S shale
The U.S. shale revolution will reshape global energy markets in the years to come, according to the IEA’s annual World Energy Outlook. In fact, the country will account for 85% of the increase in global oil production to 2030, which will rise to 19M barrels a day and push down the share of the global oil market held by OPEC members and Russia to 47% (from 55% in the mid 2000s). “Countries whose economies are exclusively reliant on oil-and-gas reserves are facing serious challenges,” said Fatih Birol, the IEA’s executive director.
What else is happening…
Disney+ (NYSE:DIS) hit by technical issues on launch day.
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) unites payment service across apps.
Vaping crisis may see more pot legalization.
HBO’s Plepler may be coming to Apple TV+ (NASDAQ:AAPL).
First big downturn for lithium producers.
JPMorgan puts a number to a Walgreens buyout.
Fed inquiry launched into Ascension-Google (GOOG, GOOGL) deal.
Tuesday’s Key Earnings
Cronos (NASDAQ:CRON) -3.1% following a revenue miss.
SmileDirectClub (NASDAQ:SDC) -8% AH after first earnings report since IPO.
Skyworks Solutions (NASDAQ:SWKS) -4.6% AH despite beats, upside EPS view.
Tilray (NASDAQ:TLRY) -2.4% AH with net selling price down 48%.
Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN) +7.4% on stronger guidance.
Today’s Economic Calendar
7:00 MBA Mortgage Applications
8:30 Consumer Price Index
10:00 Atlanta Fed’s Business Inflation Expectations
11:00 Powell To Testify Before The Congressional Joint Economic Committee
12:30 PM Fed’s Barkin: “The New Environment for Monetary Policy”
1:30 PM Fed’s Kashkari Speech
2:00 PM Treasury Budget
7:30 PM Fed’s Harker: Economic Outlook
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Good morning. Happy Tuesday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mostly up. Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore led the way. Europe, Africa and the Middle East currently lean to the upside. Turkey, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy and South Africa are posting the biggest gains. Futures in the States point towards a flat open for the cash market.
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FREE Online Course: Jason Leavitt’s Mini Masterclass in Trading
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The dollar is up. Oil is up; copper is flat. Gold and silver are down. Bonds are down.
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
Disney+ has gone live, challenging the likes of Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), Apple TV Plus (NASDAQ:AAPL) and HBO Max (NYSE:T) with a low price of $6.99/month (or $69.99/year). It’ll also offer a triple bundle – including Hulu and ESPN Plus – for $12.99/month. Waves were already made after the Mouse House gave Verizon (NYSE:VZ) customers a free year of the service, as well as broadening device support to nearly every platform: Apple OS, Android, Fire TV, Roku, etc. Disney (NYSE:DIS) has called the service – which will be the exclusive home of Star Wars, Marvel and Pixar – the future of the company, and is building out a slate of original shows and movies based on those brands like The Mandalorian.
Trump trade speech
Awaiting a key speech from President Trump at the Economic Club of New York, U.S. stock index futures are holding steady, while global stocks trade firmly in positive territory. “You can expect the president to highlight how his policies of lower taxes, deregulation, and fair and reciprocal trade have supported the longest economic recovery in U.S. history with record low unemployment, rising wages, and soaring consumer confidence,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said, without giving further details. Markets will still be hanging on to every word that could reference trade talks, and any suggestion that tariffs could be lifted or delayed.
More auto industry partnerships?
Tata Group (NYSE:TTM), the owner of Jaguar Land Rover, has approached carmakers including China’s Geely (OTCPK:GELYY), the owner of Volvo Cars, and BMW (OTCPK:BMWYY) as it seeks partnerships to share the cost of a new generation of vehicles, Bloomberg reports. Scale has become increasingly critical in the auto industry as carmakers pool resources to tackle electrification and self-driving capabilities. Volkswagen (OTCPK:VWAGY) this year decided to team up with Ford (NYSE:F), while PSA Group (OTCPK:PEUGF) last month agreed to merge with Fiat Chrysler (NYSE:FCAU) to create the world’s fourth-largest automaker.
WeWork may hire T-Mobile CEO
T-Mobile (NASDAQ:TMUS) CEO John Legere is reportedly in talks to become the new CEO of WeWork (WE) as the troubled office-share company looks to get a fresh face at the helm as soon as January. Legere has been busy trying to shepherd his company’s merger with Sprint (NYSE:S), a lucrative deal if he can get it past the multistate lawsuit set to go to trial in a few weeks. Legere would replace two execs (Artie Minson and Sebastian Gunningham) who have served as co-CEOs since the resignation of Adam Neumann, who left under pressure from majority holder SoftBank (OTCPK:SFTBY) following an IPO flop.
Wearable tech
The race is on to replace our smartphones with smart glasses as Big Tech transforms how we interact with the world around us. The latest report from The Information suggests Apple (AAPL) could release its planned AR headset in about two years and a pair of AR glasses in 2023, while Snap (NYSE:SNAP) releases its $380 Spectacles 3 today, which will allow pictures/videos to be overlaid with special AR effects in Snapchat. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Google (GOOG, GOOGL), Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Magic Leap are also working on some form of smart glasses or headset.
Boeing takes off on 737 MAX progress
Boeing (NYSE:BA) shares rose nearly 5% on Monday after the planemaker said deliveries of the 737 MAX could begin in December. The company has completed a test of flight control software with the FAA in a simulator, though regulators still must sign off on new pilot training and Boeing needs to conduct a certification flight with officials. Airlines have said they will need at least a month to complete training and install revised software before flights can resume.
Meatless craze goes global
Capitalizing on the rollout of its Impossible Whopper in the U.S., Burger King (NYSE:QSR) today is launching a vegetarian burger in more than 20 markets across Europe. The Rebel Whopper, made with patties from Unilever-owned (NYSE:UN) The Vegetarian Butcher, will be available in more than 2,500 locations across the continent. Boosted by the success of the Impossible Whopper, Burger King’s U.S. same-store sales grew by 5% during the third quarter, its biggest jump since 2015.
Anheuser-Busch drinks down Craft Brew
Craft Brew Alliance (NASDAQ:BREW) soared 120% premarket after Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE:BUD) agreed to purchase the remaining 70% of the company it doesn’t already own for $16.50/share. The transaction is subject to closing conditions, including shareholder and regulatory approvals, but is expected to close in 2020. Craft Brew Alliance operates a variety of beer brands including Kona Brewing Company, Appalachian Mountain Brewery, Cisco Brewers, and Redhook Brewery.
Tighter regulation on vaping industry
“Will be meeting with representatives of the Vaping industry, together with medical professionals and individual state representatives, to come up with an acceptable solution to the Vaping and E-cigarette dilemma. Children’s health & safety, together with jobs, will be a focus!” President Trump wrote on Twitter. So far there have been 2,051 confirmed and probable U.S. lung injury cases and 39 deaths associated with use of vaping products, and additive Vitamin E acetate is thought to be the “one very strong culprit,” according to the CDC.
Google secret project gathers health data
Google’s (GOOG, GOOGL) Project Nightingale is collecting personal health data from Ascension facilities in 21 states without patient or doctor knowledge, according to WSJ sources. The data includes lab results, diagnoses, and other information, including patient names and dates of birth. Privacy experts say Project Nightingale appears allowable under the federal HIPAA law, which lets hospitals share data with business partners if the information helps “the covered entity carry out its healthcare functions.”
What else is happening…
Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) Singles’ Day sales hit record $38B.
Central bank digital currencies are pointless – Greenspan.
Formula One (NASDAQ:FWONA) to become carbon neutral by 2030.
Nissan (OTCPK:NSANY) slashes forecast after 70% profit plunge.
Nat gas slumps to biggest loss since January.
PG&E (NYSE:PCG) offers $13.5B compensation to fire victims.
Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) adding Topics, taking on ‘deepfakes.’
Goldman (NYSE:GS) explores ways Apple Card users can share accounts.
Today’s Economic Calendar
6:00 NFIB Small Business Optimism Index
8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales
1:00 PM Fed’s Harker: “What’s Next for the U.S. Economy and the Fed?”
6:00 PM Fed’s Kashkari Speech
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Good morning. Happy Monday. Hope you had a good weekend.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mostly down. Australia did well, but China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines were weak. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are currently mostly down. Saudi Arabia is doing well, but the UK, Poland, Greece, Russia, South Africa and Hungary are weak. Futures in the States point towards a moderate gap down open for the cash market.
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FREE Online Course: Jason Leavitt’s Mini Masterclass in Trading
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The dollar is down. Oil and copper are down. Gold and silver are flat. The bond market is closed.
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
The event regularly racks up bigger sales than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined, but Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) already topped last year’s record in 16.5 hours with gross merchandise value of 213.5B yuan ($30.5B). That’s equal to 87% of Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) online store sales in its latest quarter, and the figure is set to rise further. Held back by a slowing overall e-commerce industry and the trade war, sales growth for the full 24-hour event is still likely to fall short of last year’s 27%, according to analysts. Alibaba first latched on to Singles’ Day – symbolized by the four lonely 1s of 11/11 – in 2009, and has transformed the holiday into the world’s biggest online sales event. BABA -0.7% premarket.
Hong Kong chaos rattles stocks
Traders are closely following the events in Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng Index lost almost 3% after the city’s start-of-week commute descended into turmoil. A day after three pro-democracy lawmakers were arrested, police fired gunshots at protesters as they tried to block roads and delay trains, sending one man to the hospital in critical condition. Dow futures also fell 115 points on the news in the U.S., where the bond market is closed Monday due to Veterans Day.
Another cash windfall for Alibaba
Alibaba (BABA) has added Citigroup (NYSE:C), JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) to the sales force for its secondary market listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and invited several Chinese banks to do the same. The deal is being led by Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) and China International Capital Corporation, according to Bloomberg. Alibaba plans to start taking investor orders on Nov. 15 and price the “up to $15B” offering on Nov. 20.
Saudi Aramco releases IPO prospectus
Up to 0.5% of shares will be allocated to individual investors in what could be the biggest initial public offering in history (the process will begin on November 17 and close on December 4). Other crucial information was lacking, like the total percentage of the company to be sold, the level at which the shares will be priced, and an estimate of the total value of Aramco (ARMCO). Give or take a trillion… Analyst valuations of the state-backed oil giant have so far varied greatly, ranging from between $1.2T to $2.3T.
‘Sexist’ Apple Card algorithm
New York’s Department of Financial Services has initiated a probe into the credit card practices of Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) following a series of tweets from David Heinemeier Hansson, the creator of Ruby on Rails. He slammed the Apple Card (NASDAQ:AAPL) for giving him 20x the credit limit than his wife – despite filing joint tax returns and his wife having a better credit score – and alleged that gender discrimination was present in algorithms that determined credit limits. Launched in August, the Apple Card is a joint venture between Apple and Goldman, which is responsible for all credit decisions related to the card.
Keystone pipeline reopens
Crude resumed flowing on Sunday after 9,120 barrels of oil leaked out in North Dakota in late October, marking Keystone’s largest-ever spill. Pipeline operator TC Energy (NYSE:TRP) said the line will now operate it at a reduced pressure, gradually increasing the volume of crude moving through the system. Users of the pipeline are also concerned that Keystone’s transportation exemption – for higher than standard pressure levels – may be at risk after four significant leaks over the past decade.
Cannabis-based medicines milestone
Two cannabis-based medicines – manufactured by GW Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:GWPH) – have been recommended for use by the NHS for the first time. Epidyolex has been approved for two rare types of epilepsy, Lennox-Gastaut and Dravet syndromes, while the spray Sativex has been recommended for muscle spasms in multiple sclerosis. Campaigners welcomed the decision, but said thousands of other people with a range of conditions who could benefit from cannabis-based medicines were left in limbo.
Britain avoids a recession
The U.K. economy welcomed a return to growth in the third quarter as GDP expanded 0.3% following a 0.2% contraction in Q2. Things are still looking weak. On an annual basis, U.K. GDP only rose by 1%, marking the lowest rate since the first quarter of 2010, when Britain clawed its way out of the financial crisis. “Manufacturing, the largest sub-sector of production, was also flat in the three months to September 2019,” according to the Office for National Statistics. Sterling +0.4% to $1.2824.
What else is happening…
Blow to Amazon (AMZN) in Seattle City Council election.
Restaurants are leaning on pricing for growth, according to TDn2K.
Tencent (OTCPK:TCEHY) eyes U.S. market via Nintendo (OTCPK:NTDOY) partnership.
North Sea retreat… Chevron (NYSE:CVX) completes $2B deal amid price pressure.
Iran adds to reserves with new oil field of over 50B barrels.
Today’s Economic Calendar
No event scheduled
Veterans day
Bond market closed