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Good morning. Happy Friday. Happy Employment Numbers Day.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mostly up. China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Indonesia and Singapore did well; India was weak. Europe, Africa and the Middle East currently lean to the upside. The UK, South Africa, Switzerland, Spain, the Netherlands and Sweden are up; Poland and Greece are down. Futures in the States point towards a positive open for the cash market.
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The dollar is flat. Oil is down; copper is up. Gold and silver are down small amounts. Bonds are up small amounts.
Here are the employment figures.
unemployment rate: 3.5% (from 3.6%)
nonfarm payrolls: +266K
private payrolls:
average workweek:
hourly wages: up 7 cents to $28.29
labor participation rate: unchanged at 63.2%
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
A solid jobs growth number for November should be on display today after striking GM (NYSE:GM) workers returned to the workforce. Economists expect to see 186,000 jobs added last month (vs. 128,000 in October), when the Labor Department releases nonfarm payrolls data at 8:30 a.m. ET. Wages likely rose by 0.3% M/M, while the unemployment rate remained at 3.6%. “Barring something that’s teeth rattling, it’s really not going to have an effect on monetary policy,” said Jefferies’ Ward McCarthy, ahead of the Fed’s December meeting next week.
Don’t forget trade
Settling slightly in the green on Thursday, U.S. stock index futures advanced by 0.4% overnight, ahead of the eagerly-anticipated jobs report. Market focus is additionally attuned to global trade developments, following an upbeat tone from President Trump. Adding to the positive sentiment, China’s finance ministry said on Friday it will waive import tariffs for some soybeans and pork shipments from the U.S. as the two sides aim to conclude a Phase One trade deal.
Uber releases U.S. Safety Report
Uber (NYSE:UBER) reported 3,045 sexual assaults across rides in 2018, as well as nine murders and 58 people killed in crashes. While the number of incidents represents a fraction – just 0.0002% – of Uber’s 1.3B rides in the U.S. last year, Chief Legal Officer Tony West said, “each of those incidents represents an individual who has undergone a horrific trauma.” Riders (not drivers) were also the accused party in 45% of the reports filed, and the incidents mark a 16% fall from the previous year in the five most serious categories of sexual assault. What’s Uber doing about it? Making driver background checks more rigorous, adding an “In-App Emergency Button,” and employing more than 300 employees “dedicated to safety.”
No new radiation threats from 5G
5G doesn’t pose new cellphone radiation threats, according to the FCC, which spent six years reviewing the issue and receiving public feedback. The regulator voted unanimously this week to keep in place standards for how much exposure to the radio-frequency energy cellphones and antennas emit is safe. The rules cover consumer devices, and the 5G infrastructure used on cell towers and rooftops, as the four major U.S. wireless carriers race to roll out the next-generation of wireless networks.
Aramco raises $25B in largest-ever IPO
Saudi Aramco (ARMCO) has priced its IPO at 32 riyals, the top of its indicative range of 30-32 riyals per share, valuing the company at $1.7T. With 1.5% of the oil giant being floated, the price puts Aramco on track to raise $25.6B, marking the IPO the largest in history (the company could also wind up hauling in $29.4B if a 15% greenshoe option is exercised). Trading is expected to commence on the Saudi Tadawul stock exchange starting December 11.
Crude awaits outcome of OPEC meeting
Cohesion among the group is in the spotlight as OPEC canceled its customary press conference yesterday following an acrimonious meeting in Vienna that ran late into the evening. Led by Saudi Arabia, the alliance agreed in principle to cut production by an additional 500K barrels per day through the end of March 2020, according to sources from CNBC and Reuters. But the group must still convince a faction of its non-OPEC allies, including Russia, in a bid to prop up oil prices. Crude futures flat at $58.41/bbl.
Jet order race
Airbus (OTCPK:EADSY) is poised to beat Boeing (NYSE:BA) after booking orders for 222 aircraft in November, driven mainly by the Dubai Airshow. The French planemaker sold a total of 940 jets during January-November, or 718 after cancellations, leaving it well ahead of Boeing, which sold 180 jets in the first nine months of the year, or 45 after cancellations. Not only is the 737 MAX crisis weighing on orders, but additional regulatory requirements or delays could cause Boeing to cut or temporarily halt production of the aircraft.
China-made Tesla cars qualify for subsidies
Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) Model 3 has been included on a list of vehicles eligible for subsidies published by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. That means buyers will get a subsidy of as much as about 25,000 yuan ($3,550) from the government, a potential boon for the automaker as it prepares to start selling vehicles from its Shanghai car plant. In October, Tesla said locally-built Model 3s will be priced from about $50,000. TSLA +1.4% premarket.
World Bank loan qualification
The World Bank is adopting a new plan to aid China with $1B to $1.5B in low-interest loans annually through June 2025 despite objections from Steven Mnuchin. The U.S. Treasury secretary argues China is too wealthy for such international aid, pointing to the hundreds of billions of dollars it has loaned to poor countries through its Belt and Road Initiative. U.S. lawmakers are also increasingly concerned that taxpayer funds loaned through the World Bank to China will enable human rights abuses and unfair economic competition.
Renewed growth fears for Germany
Germany’s industrial output unexpectedly dropped in October, tumbling 5.3% from the same month in 2018. “Now the trepidation starts again about GDP growth in the final quarter,” said Jens-Oliver Niklasch, economist at Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg. Germany narrowly avoided recession in Q3, as higher household and government spending, as well as a rebound in exports, helped offset a decline in industrial production.
What else is happening…
New rules to rein in Airbnb (AIRB) parties.
Proposed local takeover of PG&E (NYSE:PCG) wins more followers.
HSBC urges selling Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) amid regulatory worries.
Embraer (NYSE:ERJ) investor seeks EU block of Boeing (BA) deal.
Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) unveils processors for budget laptops.
Verizon’s (NYSE:VZ) board membership expands to 11.
Thursday’s Key Earnings
American Outdoor (NASDAQ:AOBC) +4.4% AH on strong guidance.
Cloudera (NYSE:CLDR) +7.7% AH beating expectations.
CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) +4.4% AH posting its best-ever quarter.
DocuSign (NASDAQ:DOCU) +9.9% AH on beats, upside Q4 view.
Dollar General (NYSE:DG) +0.1% after an earnings topper.
Kroger (NYSE:KR) -3% as analysts questioned its execution.
TD Bank (NYSE:TD) -3.4% amid a rise in loan-loss provisions.
Tiffany (NYSE:TIF) -0.1% missing estimates in Q3.
Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) +9.3% AH following a comp sales beat.
Zoom Video (NASDAQ:ZM) -8.6% AH on slowing revenue growth.
Today’s Economic Calendar
8:30 Non-farm payrolls
10:00 Consumer Sentiment
10:00 Wholesale Trade
1:00 PM Baker-Hughes Rig Count
3:00 PM Consumer Credit
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Good morning. Happy Thursday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mostly up. Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, Indonesia and Singapore led. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are currently mostly up. Denmark, Poland, France, Turkey, Switzerland, Hungary, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic are leading. Futures in the States point towards a moderate gap up open for the cash market.
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The dollar is down. Oil and copper are up. Gold is flat; silver is up. Bonds are down.
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
Reports out of Vienna suggest OPEC and its allies led by Russia are discussing increasing current cuts of 1.2M barrels per day by more than 400K bpd, as well as extending their agreement from March, to June or later. Crude futures already soared 4.2% on Wednesday – the biggest gain since the attacks on Saudi Aramco’s (ARMCO) facilities – on output cut rumors and tightening American stockpiles. A final decision by OPEC+ is likely to come tomorrow afternoon. The group has curbed supply since 2017 to counter booming output from the U.S., which has become the world’s largest producer.
World’s biggest IPO
Saudi Arabia is expected to publish the initial share price of Aramco (ARMCO) today, which will list locally on the Tadawul stock exchange. The current price range puts the oil giant’s value at between $1.6T to $1.7T, a figure that’s set to beat the record $25B raised by Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) when it debuted in New York in 2014. A 1.5% stake in Aramco is being offered, with 0.5% available to individual retail buyers and 1% for institutional investors.
Futures point to more gains
Traders are closely monitoring the prospect of a Phase One trade deal with just 10 days to go before Washington is poised to impose another $156B of tariffs on Chinese goods. Trade optimism led the DJIA to break a three-day decline on Wednesday and rise nearly 150 points, while U.S. futures aimed to extend the gains overnight, climbing another 0.4%. On the data front, the latest weekly jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while earnings season wraps up with results from Tiffany (NYSE:TIF), Dollar General (NYSE:DG), Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) and DocuSign (NASDAQ:DOCU).
Shari Redstone’s dream comes true
Viacom (NASDAQ:VIA) and CBS (NYSE:CBS) have completed their re-merger, scaling up against big competition with more than 140,000 premium TV episodes, 3,600 film titles and $13B in annual content investment. ViacomCBS Class A “VIACA” and Class B “VIAC” shares will begin trading today on the Nasdaq. The new company accounts for 22% of TV viewership in the U.S., with the highest share of broadcast and cable viewing across key demographics.
Auto news roundup
Local United Auto Workers leaders nationwide have approved a new four-year labor contract with Fiat Chrysler (NYSE:FCAU), sending it to their rank-and-file members for final approval. Former GM (NYSE:GM) board member Joe Ashton, a retired UAW leader, also pleaded guilty to criminal charges as part of an ongoing federal corruption probe into the union. Lastly, General Motors announced it will be laying off more than 800 employees as it converts its Detroit Hamtramck plant to an electric vehicle facility, though most of the workers will be offered buyouts or jobs at other factories.
Mass strike paralyzes France
Protests are rocking France again and threatening to bring the country to a standstill over Emmanuel Macron’s plan for a top-to-bottom rebuilding of the pension system. Unions representing everyone from transport workers to lawyers, doctors, teachers and students are going on an indefinite “greve,” or strike, starting today. The walkouts come as German industrial orders fell unexpectedly in October and eurozone retail sales slumped a worse-than-forecast 0.6%.
Johnson pledges Brexit in 100 days
“This is the most important election in a generation – important because it will define if we go forward as a country or remain stuck, stalled, repeating the same arguments of the last three years with yet more damaging uncertainty,” Boris Johnson declared on the campaign trail. Should he win the general election, Johnson would bring his EU withdrawal agreement bill before MPs for an initial vote before Christmas, with the aim of leaving the EU by January 31. Britain would then enter a transition period for the remainder of 2020 as a trade deal is finalized with the bloc.
Brokerage disruption
“We’re delighted to share that more than 10M people have accounts on Robinhood,” the company wrote in a blog post, rapidly growing from 1M subs in 2016 and 6M accounts in October of 2018. To put that in context, the combined Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) and TD Ameritrade (NASDAQ:AMTD) brokerage giant will serve about 24M clients. The Schwab deal was announced last week after all major brokerages dropped stock trading commission fees to keep up with the trend set by Robinhood, which landed a $7.6B valuation in July after its latest funding round.
What else is happening…
General Motors (GM) sets sights on battery joint venture.
Top Boeing (NYSE:BA) engineer at center of 737 MAX crisis to retire.
WeWork (WE) opened 52 new buildings this week.
Stimulus packages from Hong Kong and Japan.
Huawei fights FCC rural carrier purchase ban.
RBI holds rates, slashes GDP forecast.
Remember the Takata (OTCPK:TKTDQ) crisis? It’s back.
Wednesday’s Key Earnings
Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) +1.9% with turnaround on track.
Slack Technologies (NYSE:WORK) +1.9% AH on beats, in-line outlook.
Today’s Economic Calendar
7:30 Challenger Job-Cut Report
8:30 Initial Jobless Claims
8:30 International Trade
10:00 Factory Orders
10:00 Randal Quarles: “Testimony Before the Senate Banking Committee”
10:30 EIA Natural Gas Inventory
4:30 PM Money Supply
4:30 PM Fed Balance Sheet
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Good morning. Happy Wednesday.
The Asian/Pacific markets were mostly weak. India did well, but Hong Kong, South Korea, Australia, Singapore and the Philippines closed down. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are currently mostly up. France, Germany, South Africa, Norway, Hungary, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal and Sweden are up more than 1%. Futures in the States point towards a moderate gap up open for the cash market.
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The dollar is down. Oil and copper are up. Gold is up; silver is flat. Bonds are down.
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergei Brin are stepping back from their respective positions as chief executive and president at Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), extending a long retreat from public roles and active management of the company they co-founded in 1998. Remaining involved as board members, the two will still control a majority of voting power under the corporation’s dual-class share structure. Google’s existing CEO, Sundar Pichai, will take the reins of Alphabet, paving the future of the company and tackling the regulatory and political hurdles enveloping much of the tech industry.
Futures stage big turnaround
Despite a 550-point drop for the DJIA over the last two sessions, U.S. futures are now suggesting gains of 0.5-0.7% at the open after sitting deep in the red for most of the night. Trade-inspired movement… Bloomberg reported that the U.S. and China are moving closer to agreeing on the amount of tariffs that would be rolled back in a Phase One trade deal despite legislation over Hong Kong and Xinjiang. The pact would be completed before another tariff deadline on December 15, despite comments a day earlier from President Trump that cast doubt on a quick agreement.
Johnson backs digital services tax
The U.K. risks escalating a European trade war with the U.S. by vowing to push ahead with a British digital sales tax, a day after the Trump administration threatened to punish France for imposing a similar measure. “We need to sort that out and make sure they make a fairer contribution,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared. Britain is proposing a 2% tax on U.K. revenues of U.S. tech giants, while the French levy is set at 3%.
In need of a little slack
Slack (NYSE:WORK) investors are hoping for some positive news after the bell today as the collaboration-software company reports Q3 results. Slack has had a rough go in public markets since its IPO at $38.50 back in June, and is now trading near $22. Making matters worse, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) recently announced that Microsoft Teams now has 20M daily active users, making it almost twice the size of Slack. Teams achieved that in just two years since its launch, thanks in part to being bundled with Office 365.
ViacomCBS
CBS (NYSE:CBS) and Viacom (NASDAQ:VIA) have been “married” and “divorced” before, but the latest merger of the two is expected to finally close today. The combined company will be renamed ViacomCBS and shares will be listed on the Nasdaq under symbols “VIACA” and “VIAC.” All under one roof… The new media giant will have Paramount Pictures, the CBS network, CBS All Access, as well as cable players MTV, BET, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central, though analysts have expressed reservations about whether it will be big enough to compete with the likes of Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX).
Fresh blow to Boeing
United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) is buying 50 Airbus (OTCPK:EADSY) A321XLR jets for flights between the U.S. east coast and Europe, the latest setback for Boeing (NYSE:BA), which has fallen behind Airbus in their annual contest for orders and deliveries. The 737 MAX also remains grounded across the globe after two deadly crashes that killed 346 people. The new Airbus long-range jets, with a total list value of around $6.5B, will replace United’s aging fleet of 53 Boeing 757-200 planes beginning in 2024.
Bat-Bolas a reality
“LAPD takes a page from Batman,” reads a headline from the Los Angeles Times, which said the department has begun testing a device that tethers suspects without using force. The news sent shares of manufacturer Wrap Technologies (NASDAQ:WRTC) up 17% to $5.05 late Tuesday. The tool, called the BolaWrap 100, fires a Kevlar cord that ensnares an individual’s body to restrict mobility, giving officers time to swarm the person without using more extreme measures such as a Taser (NASDAQ:AAXN) or gun.
Record fine upheld against Qualcomm
The Seoul High Court has ruled in favor of South Korea’s antitrust regulator, saying its decision to impose a record $873M fine on Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) was justifiable. The case relates to patent licensing and modem chip sales, and maintains the U.S. chip giant abused its dominant position in the mobile communication market. Qualcomm will appeal the decision, which may affect its patent-related profit in South Korea, home to global mobile phone producers like Samsung Electronics (OTC:SSNLF).
Hyundai spends big on EVs, self-driving cars
Calling it “Strategy 2025,” the 61.1T won ($51.81B) figure will be spent on future technologies over the next five years, with a third of the expenditure focused on electric and autonomous vehicles. Hyundai Motor (OTCPK:HYMTF) is also looking at developing flying cars, which could be commercialized ahead of the most advanced self-driving cars, according to executive vice chairman Euisun Chung. “Its announcement of investment plan and goals is full of good words, but not real results yet,” said KTB analyst Lee Han-joon, as Hyundai shares pared gains of 2% during the session in Asia.
Rough times for solar business
The U.S. solar industry has lost 62K new jobs and $19B in investments because of the Trump administration’s tariffs on imported panels imposed nearly two years ago, according to a new report from the U.S. Solar Industries Association. Despite the tariffs, global panel prices have continued to fall due to an oversupply in top producer China, while U.S. prices are among the highest in the world for solar. A meeting today at the International Trade Commission could decide whether President Trump makes changes to, or even cancels, the four-year tariff that was imposed in early 2018.
What else is happening…
Ford (NYSE:F) making parts from McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) coffee waste.
Strength seen in China’s services sector.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) confirms no asbestos in Baby Powder.
AWS (AMZN) designs more powerful data center chip.
Nintendo (OTCPK:NTDOY) turns on the Switch in China.
Tuesday’s Key Earnings
Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) -1.8% planning to cut 5% of global workforce.
Marvell Technology (NASDAQ:MRVL) +3.2% AH meeting EPS estimates, beating on revenue.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) -1% AH giving downside EPS outlook.
Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) -1.9% AH hit by an early forecast for 2020.
Today’s Economic Calendar
Auto sales
7:00 MBA Mortgage Applications
8:15 ADP Jobs Report
9:45 PMI Services Index
10:00 ISM Non-Manufacturing Index
10:00 Randal Quarles: “Testimony Before the Committee on Financial Services”
10:30 EIA Petroleum Inventories
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Good morning. Happy Tuesday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mostly down. China posted a gain, but Japan, South Korea, India, New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia and Singapore were weak. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are currently mostly down. The UAE is up, but the UK, Poland, France, Russia, Greece and Austria are posting sizable losses. Futures in the States point to a relatively big 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 flat. Oil and copper are down. Gold and silver are up. Bonds are up.
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
A barrage of trade actions was announced by the Trump administration on Monday, beginning with tariffs on steel and aluminum from Argentina and Brazil due to a “massive devaluation” of those countries’ currencies. The U.S. Trade Representative also said it would review hiking tariffs on EU products and adding new ones, because of what it called “lack of progress” in resolving a dispute over aircraft subsidies. After the markets closed, the USTR said it planned to slap punitive duties of up to 100% on $2.4B of French products – like Champagne, handbags and cheese – after concluding that a new French digital services tax (DST) would harm U.S. tech companies.
Action against DST may go global
The USTR also threatened that such tariffs could be enacted in the future against Austria, Italy and Turkey, all of which have digital-services taxes. It added that French officials “repeatedly referred to the French DST as the ‘GAFA tax,’ which stands for Google (GOOG, GOOGL), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN).” Before moving forward with the levies, the agency will hold public hearings on the proposed tariffs on Jan. 7 and will accept public comments through at least Jan. 14,.
Trade deal may not happen until after 2020
U.S. stock futures are sinking back into the red, now down 0.5%, a day after the DJIA fell 270 points and the S&P 500 posted its worst one-day decline since Oct. 8. “In some ways, I like the idea of waiting until after the election for the China deal, but they want to make a deal now and we will see whether or not the deal is going to be right,” President Trump told reporters in London. Worsening the mood, The Global Times said China will release an “unreliable entity list” soon – aimed at punishing businesses deemed harmful to Chinese interests – that reportedly includes U.S. entities.
Zuckerberg doubles down on ad policy
Challenged on CBS over the policy, Facebook (FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended the company’s decision to not take down political advertising that contains false information. “What I believe is that in a democracy, it’s really important that people can see for themselves what politicians are saying, so they can make their own judgments,” he said. “And, you know, I don’t think that a private company should be censoring politicians or news.” Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) has banned all political ads, while Google (GOOG, GOOGL) has taken more of a middle-of-the-road approach and is receiving less scrutiny on the subject.
Amazon unveils quantum computing service
The fully managed service lets customers explore, evaluate, and experiment quantum hardware from three startups (D-Wave Systems, IonQ, and Rigetti Computing). Rival IBM (NYSE:IBM) has offered cloud service to its own quantum hardware since 2016. Amazon (AMZN) also announced the AWS Center for Quantum Computing – adjacent to the California Institute of Technology and the Amazon Quantum Solutions Lab – which connects AWS customers with quantum computing experts from Amazon and select partners.
Auto sales
Monthly vehicle sales numbers will be released today from the Bureau of Economic Analysis as labor deals conclude with the last of the Big Three carmakers in Detroit. Economists are expecting 17M total light vehicles sold in November, up from October’s 16.5M, according to FactSet. A year ago, November sales totaled 17.4M vehicles. Shares of Ford (NYSE:F) are flat over the past month, while General Motors (NYSE:GM) is off by nearly 7% and Fiat Chrysler (NYSE:FCAU) is down by 9% in the same period.
Chicken sandwich wars
McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) kicked off December by entering into the so-called “Chicken Wars,” a food fight Popeyes challenged Chick-fil-A with in August by releasing its now-infamous Chicken Sandwich. The contender from the Golden Arches is reported to feature a fried chicken filet served on a buttery potato roll, with butter and pickles (a deluxe version also includes tomatoes, lettuce and mayo). McDonald’s is testing the new sandwich in Houston, Texas and Knoxville, Tennessee until January 26.
Flying car reboot
Kitty Hawk, the secretive flying car company that’s bankrolled by Google co-founder Larry Page, has been folded into a joint venture company with Boeing (NYSE:BA) named Wisk Aero. Two Boeing executives and Wisk’s CEO, who previously worked for Boeing, hold three seats on the five-member board. The news comes after Forbes published a piece saying Kitty Hawk had faced many technical issues, safety problems and unresolved questions about the practical use of its battery-powered aircraft.
Hong Kong retail sales worries
Hong Kong’s retail sales in October fell by their steepest on record, sliding 24.3% to HK$30.1B ($3.85B), as ongoing anti-government protests gripped the city. Tourist arrivals also plunged 43.7% from a year ago to 3.31M, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board. “It’s very hard to imagine that the retail sales numbers and tourist arrival numbers will be any better in November given how much of a step-up in protest and violence that happened during that time,” said Martin Rasmussen, China economist at Capital Economics.
Sweden hopes to abandon negative rates
Despite a weakening economy, Sweden’s Riksbank this month expects to swim against the tide of global monetary policy by ending its negative rate experiment. Policymakers are worried about some of the effects of a prolonged period of sub-zero rates, such as penalizing good savers, supporting companies that might otherwise collapse and inflating bubbles in the property market. But with a steady stream of gloomy economic data, it’s still to be seen if the country can simply kick its unconventional addiction that began in 2015.
What else is happening…
Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) adds external bankers to top ranks.
State probe finds PG&E (NYSE:PCG) helped cause deadliest California fire.
Battle over Balkan-EU accession talks.
Huawei’s U.S. research center heads to Canada.
Protests prompt $5.5B recovery plan in Chile.
Today’s Economic Calendar
Auto Sales
8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales
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Good morning. Happy Monday. Hope you had a great weekend.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mostly up. Japan, Hong Kong, Indonesia and the Philippines did well; Thailand was weak. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are currently mostly down. Turkey is doing well, but Poland, France, Germany, the UAE, Greece, South Africa, Spain, Italy and Saudi Arabia are down. Futures in the States point to a slight up 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 down. Bonds are down.
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
Online sales rose more than 19.6% to $7.4B on Black Friday, marking the day’s largest revenue grab ever, according to Adobe Analytics, which tracks transactions at 80 of the top 100 U.S. retailers. For Thanksgiving, it estimated web sales grew 14.5% to $4.2B, while Small Business Saturday and Super Sunday sales are projected to surpass $7.6B. Keep an eye today on the usual suspects like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Walmart (NYSE:WMT), Target (NYSE:TGT) and eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY), as Cyber Monday spending is expected to hit a record $9.4B, an 18.9% jump from a year ago.
Futures advance with stocks near highs
U.S. stock index futures are pointing to gains at the start of the week, with DJIA futures ahead by 112 points and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq up 0.4%. Depicting a bright spot in the American economy, consumer spending is basking in the limelight with Thanksgiving weekend shopping estimated near $30B. Twin manufacturing surveys from China also boosted sentiment, with growth picking up to a near three-year high due to recent government stimulus and slow-but-steady trade progress with the U.S.
AWS re:Invent
Thousands of technologists and business executives are descending on Las Vegas this week for one of the biggest tech conferences of the year: AWS re:Invent 2019. Keynotes will likely include numerous incremental additions to Amazon Web Services’ (AMZN) product portfolio as rivals build up their own cloud offerings. In the past year, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) has invested heavily in Azure with a string of acquisitions, IBM (NYSE:IBM) has switched focus with its mega Red Hat deal and Google is plowing so deeply into its cloud it’s hurting Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) earnings.
‘Frozen II’ nabs Thanksgiving record
The movie garnered $124M domestically over the five-day Thanksgiving weekend, becoming the highest-grossing film ever for the holiday period in the U.S. Frozen II also brought in another $249M at the worldwide box office, resulting in a global tally of $738M. Anna, Elsa and the gang are set to propel the studio to more records, with the movie soon to become Disney’s (NYSE:DIS) sixth to gross more than $1B globally this year.
U.S. cements status as net oil exporter
Amid the shale boom and President Trump’s drive for American energy independence, the U.S. has posted its first full month as a net exporter of crude oil and petroleum products since government records began in 1949. The nation exported 89K barrels a day more than it imported in September, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. Analysts at Rystad Energy predict the U.S. is only months away from achieving total energy independence, citing surging oil and gas output, and the growth of renewables.
COP25 centers on carbon offset market
Delegates from nearly 200 countries are gathering in Madrid for COP25 – the first big climate meeting since the U.S. declared it would pull out of the Paris accord. On the menu is finding an agreement over the global carbon offset market and to encourage signatories to the Paris pact to submit bolder climate goals in 2020. Dozens of countries have already adopted targets for net zero emissions by 2050, but almost none have yet enacted specific policies to reach that objective.
Fiat, UAW reach tentative labor deal
Fiat Chrysler (NYSE:FCAU) has announced a tentative four-year labor contract with the United Auto Workers union as it looks to complete a $50B merger with Peugeot-owner PSA Group (OTCPK:PEUGF). The agreement includes $4.5B in new plant investments and 1,400 new jobs (adding to the $4.5B in investment and 6,500 jobs Fiat announced earlier this year). Other details weren’t released, but they are expected to echo contracts the UAW already concluded with Ford (NYSE:F) and General Motors (NYSE:GM).
UPS employees busted in massive drug scheme
A group of UPS (NYSE:UPS) employees allegedly helped to import and traffic massive amounts of drugs and counterfeit vaping oils from Mexico during the past decade, the Washington Post reports. The scheme exploited a vulnerability in the company’s distribution system, according to police, and at times involved moving thousands of pounds of marijuana and narcotics each week. Standard cardboard boxes were carefully routed through UPS’s trucking and delivery systems, and obscured the origin and destination of drug shipments.
EU probes Google data collection
“The European Commission has sent out questionnaires as part of a preliminary investigation into Google’s practices relating to Google’s collection and use of data,” the EU regulator told Reuters in an email. The probe relates to data from local search services, online advertising, online ad targeting services, login services, web browsers and others. European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager already handed out fines totaling more than €8B to Google (GOOG, GOOGL) in the last two years and has ordered the tech giant to change its business practices.
Facebook complies with ‘fake news’ law
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) has added a “correction notice” to a post that Singapore authorities alleged contains false information, becoming the first tech company to comply with the territory’s controversial “fake news” law. “As it is early days of the law coming into effect, we hope the Singapore government’s assurances that it will not impact free expression will lead to a measured and transparent approach to implementation,” a Facebook spokesman said in a statement. The rule is the first to demand that Facebook publish corrections when directed to do so by the government.
What else is happening…
Oil advances on talk of supply cut extension.
DOJ probes Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) role in Danske (OTCPK:DNSKF) scandal.
Macau casino revenue tumbles 8.5% in November.
Hostess Brands (NASDAQ:TWNK) eats up Voortman Cookies for $320M.
Today’s Economic Calendar
9:45 PMI Manufacturing Index
10:00 ISM Manufacturing Index
10:00 Construction Spending