Before the Open (Jan 21-24)

Good morning. Happy Friday.
Except for China, which dropped 3%, the Asian/Pacific markets were very quiet. South Korea closed down; India posted a gain. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are currently doing very well. The UK, France, Germany, Norway, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Austria and Sweden are all up 1% or more. Futures in the States point towards a positive open for the cash market.
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VIDEO: Wayne Whaley’s TOY Barometer
BLOG: Wayne Whaley’s TOY Barometer
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The dollar is up. Oil and copper are down. Gold is down; silver is up. Bonds are up.
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
It’s been quite a week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where President Trump spoke about how the U.S. is in the midst of an economic boom and announced that the country would join a WEF initiative to restore a trillion trees by 2050. “Climate change,” “positive” and “impact” were trending terms on Twitter, highlighting the event’s focus to improve the state of the world. As the meeting comes to a close today, the conversation will shift to the global economic outlook, including reassessing geopolitical risks, the impact of climate change and prioritizing inclusive growth.
ECB not in a hurry
For all the hype about Christine Lagarde’s inaugural strategy review, yesterday proved to be a letdown for central bank watchers who wanted more. “It sounds like a dry proposal… but the biggest challenge is going to be to harness all of the views, assessments and convictions into a direction that will serve the purpose that we have been assigned to – which is to guarantee price stability and the economy,” she declared in Davos. “I don’t think an ECB president right from the get-go should say this is my view, because I don’t want to preclude others from expressing theirs and over-influence the debate. We will hopefully reach a consensus by December 2020.”
Futures slightly higher
Looking to avoid their first week of declines for 2020, U.S. stock index futures advanced 0.2% overnight, while oil continued to be spooked by demand signs from China. For the week, the DJIA is down nearly 0.7%, the S&P 500 is off about 0.2% and the Nasdaq is up slightly, as traders digested earnings and grappled with fears surrounding the coronavirus outbreak. China has widened a lockdown in Hubei province as the death toll climbed to 26 (with 830 confirmed cases), and instituted travel restrictions that will affect at least 20M people across 10 cities. On Thursday, the World Health Organization also stopped short of calling the new coronavirus a global health emergency, saying the outbreak remains a local crisis.
Prison time for the opioid crisis
Pharma executives linked to the opioid crisis have been put on notice after John Kapoor, the founder of Insys Therapeutics (OTCPK:INSYQ), was sentenced to 66 months in prison. Several other former Insys executives will also end up behind bars for bribing doctors to prescribe the dangerous painkillers. While Insys and Purdue Pharma have both gone bankrupt under the weight of legal liabilities, other opioid makers and distributors are trying to negotiate settlement deals with state and local governments.
Bayer looks to close out Roundup saga
Bayer (OTCPK:BAYRY) shares rallied into the close yesterday on headlines that the company is in talks to settle cancer cases involving its Roundup weedkiller for $10B. According to Bloomberg, Bayer’s lawyers say the company could set aside $8B to resolve the current cases and another $2B for potential future claims. What happened? Nearly two years ago, Bayer scooped up Monsanto in an ill-timed acquisition. U.S. lawsuits piled up almost immediately after the deal closed alleging Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller causes cancer.
Broadcom strikes $15B deal with Apple
Under two separate agreements, Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) will sell $15B of wireless components to Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), which will be used in forthcoming products launches. Broadcom has already supplied several chips used in the iPhone 11, including silicon for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and an Avago-branded RF front-end chip that helps the phone connect to wireless networks. Reports in December further suggested that Broadcom was looking to offload a wireless chip division that focused on “radio-frequency” chips. AVGO +2.6% premarket.
EV wars heat up
Volkswagen (OTCPK:VWAGY) is ready to hit back at Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) after the market value of the EV maker, which plans to establish a factory near Berlin, surpassed the German car giant for the first time this week. “The company which adopts fastest and is most innovative but also which has enough scale in the new world will make the race,” CEO Herbert Diess said at the World Economic Forum. “We’re doing the right things to be competitive.” He pointed out that Tesla is paving the way in electric cars, though VW is buying software companies and ramping up investments in sustainable vehicles and battery cells.
GrubHub leaves merger door open
“We would totally evaluate any offer, but we haven’t had one yet,” GrubHub CEO Matt Maloney told CNBC following reports earlier this month that a possible sale was on the table. When asked if consolidation is necessary, Maloney said that “there’s a reckoning coming to the industry” and flagged that it could come within the next 12 months. DoorDash (DOORD) holds 33% market share, followed by GrubHub at 32%, Uber Eats (NYSE:UBER) at 10% and Postmates (POSTM) at 10%, according to analytics firm Second Measure.
Counterfeit crackdown
The Department of Homeland Security is set to release a report today outlining its immediate actions and longer-term goals for enlisting online players to combat counterfeits. “This is about e-commerce playing by a different set of rules that simultaneously hammer brick-and-mortar retailers, defraud consumers, punish workers and rip off intellectual-property rights holders,” said White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, who is helping lead the effort. “It’s Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Shopify (NYSE:SHOP), Alibaba (NYSE:BABA), eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY), JD.com (NASDAQ:JD), Walmart.com (NYSE:WMT) and a constellation of lesser players that provide the digital hubs.” The initiative comes the same month as a “Phase One” trade agreement with China that requires Beijing to take steps against counterfeiters or risk enforcement actions that could trigger new tariffs.
What else is happening…
Coronavirus scare shutters Shanghai Disneyland (NYSE:DIS).
DirecTV (NYSE:T) satellite, operated by Intelsat (NYSE:I), may explode.
Higher 5G costs weigh on Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) results.
JPMorgan’s (NYSE:JPM) Dimon gets $31.5M comp package for 2019.
GE medical equipment lands FDA cybersecurity warning.
Uber (UBER) accelerates U.K. charm offensive.
Fines for ex-Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) execs over sales scandal.
Thursday’s Key Earnings
American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) +5.4% after load factor improvement.
Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) -3.8% warning of video sub losses.
Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) -2.8% on production falls.
Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) +5.6 AH seeing chip demand recovery.
Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) +0.2% posting strong margin improvements.
Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) -0.5% amid baby care competition.
Skyworks Solutions (NASDAQ:SWKS) -2.5% AH despite beats, upside guidance.
Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) +3.6% powering through 737 MAX headwinds.
Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) +3.5% helped by cost cuts.
Today’s Economic Calendar
9:45 PMI Composite Flash
1:00 PM Baker-Hughes Rig Count
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Good morning. Happy Thursday.
Select Asian/Pacific markets posted big losses. Japan, China, Hong Kong and South Korea dropped 1-3%. India and the Philippines did well. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are currently mostly down. The UK, France, Germany, South Africa, Finland, Switzerland, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden and Saudi Arabia are down. Futures in the States point towards a down open for the cash market.
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VIDEO: Wayne Whaley’s TOY Barometer
BLOG: Wayne Whaley’s TOY Barometer
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The dollar is flat. Oil and copper are down. Gold and silver are down. Bonds are up.
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
A policy decision at the ECB today is set to be dominated by the central bank’s first strategic review since 2003 under new President Christine Lagarde. The framework is likely to last for most of the year and span topics from the inflation target to digital money and the fight against climate change. The ECB has fallen short of its inflation target of “just under 2%” for years despite increasingly aggressive stimulus under predecessor Mario Draghi, while yesterday marked the five-year anniversary of quantitative easing. In terms of actual decisions, economists expect the deposit rate to stay at -0.5% and QE to remain at €20B/month.
China shares tumble on Wuhan lockdown
Chinese authorities have halted travel from two cities, including Wuhan, in the latest bid to stop the spread of a coronavirus that has already claimed 17 lives and infected nearly 600 people. The travel ban comes before the country’s Lunar New Year holidays and ahead of a decision from the World Health Organization on whether to declare the outbreak a global health emergency. Asian stocks plunged on the news, with Shanghai off 2.8% and Hang Seng down 1.5%, though U.S. futures are hugging the flatline.
Crossing the Brexit finish line
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal has cleared its final hurdles in Parliament after four years of paralyzed British politics. The bill now goes to Queen Elizabeth II for signing, putting the U.K. on track to leave the EU by the end of the month. On the European side, the EU council and commission presidents are due to sign off on the agreement Friday, with the European Parliament voting it through next Wednesday, though that step is considered a formality.
Earnings today – What to watch
Earnings season continues in earnest as several heavyweights report before and after the bell. Investors will be watching for how Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) is working to combat market share loss, especially to AMD (NASDAQ:AMD), while Procter & Gamble’s (NYSE:PG) strong organic sales momentum is expected to have continued. Both American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) and Southwest (NYSE:LUV) are also set to report quarterly results after their stocks were hit this week due to concerns that the coronavirus outbreak would dent international travel.
Attempt to pause work on JEDI
Calling it “common practice,” Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has filed a motion in court to pause Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) from carrying out an up to $10B cloud computing deal until a court rules on its protest of the contract award. Most recently, Amazon has attributed the contract loss to President Trump’s “bias” against the company and for improperly pressuring the Pentagon. The JEDI project is designed to consolidate the Defense Department’s cloud computing infrastructure and modernize its technology systems.
McDermott unveils bankruptcy plan
The Chapter 11 proposal would pay bondholders a minimal recovery and wipe out existing shareholders. $4.6B in debt would also be exchanged for equity, giving existing lenders approximately 94% of the reorganized company and bondholders 6% of the post-bankruptcy company. HPS Investment Partners, Baupost Group and Octagon Credit Investors are among the largest lenders in McDermott’s (NYSE:MDR) $3.3B of secured debt, and are said to be poised to control the engineering firm following the restructuring.
Pension plans weigh on Ford
Ford (NYSE:F) expects to record a pre-tax re-measurement loss of about $2.2B related to its pension and other post-retirement employee benefits plans, according to an SEC filing. The re-measurement loss will reduce Q4 net income by around $1.7B, though the loss will not impact the adjusted earnings per share as it is a special item. Reason for the charge? It’s largely related to a drop in discount rates as that leads to an increase in the amount of money to be contributed for future pension benefits.
Note on Tesla scratches heads
UBS just more than doubled its price target on Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), lifting the figure to $410 from $160, but still kept its Sell rating on shares. While Tesla has the potential to become the most profitable original equipment manufacturer (OEM), the positives are “taken for granted” at the current price, according to the team led by Patrick Hummel, who sees the company’s volumes doubling by 2022. “This is a stretch because it requires perfect execution, strong EV demand growth and at the same time failure of the incumbent OEMs to launch competitive EVs.” TSLA -1% premarket.
Conference call with Dave Calhoun
The new Boeing (NYSE:BA) CEO said the planemaker will not cut its dividend despite the extended grounding of the 737 MAX and expects to resume MAX production “months” before the mid-year return to service. The latest delay was triggered by the company’s recommendation that pilots should undergo simulator training. He’ll also “start with a clean sheet of paper” on a decision whether to launch a new midsize airplane seating 220-270 passengers, effectively halting current plans worth $15B-20B.
Tense relations overshadow digital tax talks
While both the U.S. and France stepped back from the brink of a trade war this week, the delicate truce over digital taxation is on a knife-edge. Another round of crunch talks between U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire will take place today as the latter’s position faces criticism at home for capitulating under U.S. pressure. France has argued its digital tax would ensure that the world’s tech giants pay appropriate duties, while the U.S. maintains the tax unfairly discriminates against U.S. technology companies.
What else is happening…
Largest environmental penalty in Canadian history.
STMicro (NYSE:STM) tops estimates on next-gen chip demand.
Payroll software provider Paycom (NYSE:PAYC) joins S&P 500.
CA governor balks at PG&E (NYSE:PCG) bankruptcy deal.
Southwest Airlines (LUV) part of whistleblower complaint.
Wednesday’s Key Earnings
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) +2.4% posting a quarterly revenue beat.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) -0.7% as blockbuster drugs disappointed.
Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) +0.3% AH on Gulf Coast Express strength.
Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN) -0.7% giving an in-line outlook.
Today’s Economic Calendar
8:30 Initial Jobless Claims
10:00 Leading Indicators
10:30 EIA Natural Gas Inventory
11:00 Kansas City Fed Mfg Survey
11:00 EIA Petroleum Inventories
4:30 PM Money Supply
4:30 PM Fed Balance Sheet
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Good morning. Happy Wednesday.
The Asian/Pacific market mostly bounced back from yesterdays losses. Japan, China, South Korea, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Australia did well; India and Malaysia were weak. Europe, Africa and the Middle East lean slightly down. Hungary, Israel and the Czech Republic are up; Turkey, Russia, Italy, Austria and Sweden are down. Futures in the States point towards a moderate gap up open for the cash market.
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VIDEO: Wayne Whaley’s TOY Barometer
BLOG: Wayne Whaley’s TOY Barometer
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The dollar is flat. Oil and copper are down. Gold is flat; silver is down. Bonds are flat.
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
Tesla shares are up another 3% premarket to $565, lifting gains over the last 24 hours past 10% and extending a record run with a market cap of over $100B. That figure means Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) would steal Volkswagen’s (OTCPK:VWAGY) title as the second-most valuable global carmaker during today’s session after topping the combined value of Ford (NYSE:F) and GM (NYSE:GM) earlier this month (#1 Toyota (NYSE:TM) is valued at $198B). Pedal to the metal… Shares of the EV maker have more than doubled over the past six months as investors reset profit expectations amid stronger delivery figures, an ongoing expansion of production facilities and a more disciplined approach from CEO Elon Musk.
GM’s Cruise unveils driverless shuttle
The boxy, all-electric vehicle, named “Cruise Origin,” will be used for GM’s (GM) planned autonomous ride-sharing service as Cruise CEO Dan Ammann aims to “move beyond the car.” Features: It’s about the size of a large SUV with sliding doors on each side, but does not have manual controls such as pedals or a steering wheel. Cruise has raised $7.25B from investors including Honda (NYSE:HMC), SoftBank Vision Fund (OTCPK:SFTBY) and T. Rowe Price (NASDAQ:TROW). The latest investments, announced in May 2019, valued the firm at $19B.
Netflix numbers, IBM revenue
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) beat on the top and bottom lines, sending shares up 2.3% AH, but gave disappointing Q1 guidance as the streaming wars heat up. The company also missed its forecast for U.S. subscriber growth for the third straight quarter, but blew through its expectations for an overseas expansion. Meanwhile, IBM’s (NYSE:IBM) stock moved nearly 4% higher AH as revenue grew on an annualized basis for the first time in more than a year. The gain was driven by the company’s high-margin cloud computing business and revenue from Red Hat, a $34B acquisition that closed in July, which was up 24% in the quarter.
Equities rebound
World stock markets are getting back to full strength as investors cheered measures to contain the outbreak of a potentially deadly coronavirus. Ministries and local governments are arranging refunds on plane and train tickets, banning tourist groups from Wuhan, and organizing coverage of medical expenses, analysts at Everbright Sun Hung Kai wrote in a note. Guidelines are also in place to minimize public gatherings in the most affected regions, while President Trump said the U.S. has it “totally under control” after the first case was confirmed in Washington state. DJIA futures are pointing to a 100-point gain at the open, while tech rallies on earnings from Netflix (NFLX) and IBM (IBM).
‘Amazon Pharmacy’
While a trademark filing doesn’t necessarily indicate a near-term international expansion, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has filed to trademark “Amazon Pharmacy” in Canada, the U.K. and Australia. The filing in Canada lists other potential areas for Pharmacy, including surgical and dental instruments and medical and veterinary preparations. Amazon started moving into the drug space in 2017, when it began exploring whether to build out a team, and the following year, it acquired online pharmacy PillPack.
Saudis dismiss Bezos phone hacking
“Recent media reports that suggest the Kingdom is behind a hacking of Mr. Jeff Bezos’ phone are absurd,” Saudi’s U.S. embassy wrote on Twitter. “We call for an investigation on these claims so that we can have all the facts out.” A report from the Guardian yesterday said Bezos’ phone was hacked in 2018 after receiving a WhatsApp message that had been sent from the personal account of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and had extracted large amounts of data within hours.
Another 737 MAX delay
Airbus’ (OTCPK:EADSY) shares rose to record highs overnight as archrival Boeing (NYSE:BA) plunged to 52-week lows after warning of new issues with the 737 MAX. The U.S. planemaker does not expect to win approval for its return to service until mid-2020 due to further potential developments in the certification process and regulatory scrutiny of its flight control system. The delay would pose another headache for carriers who already missed one peak travel season without the planes.
New low-cost iPhone model?
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) suppliers plan to begin assembling a cheaper iPhone in February, with an official unveil happening as early as March, Bloomberg reports. It will be the first lower-cost iPhone model since the iPhone SE, and will look similar to the iPhone 8 from 2017 with Touch ID built into a 4.7-inch screen. A discounted offering may help Apple better compete in the most price-competitive and fast-growing emerging phone markets, particularly India.
Vodafone bids farewell to Libra Association
Vodafone (NASDAQ:VOD) has become the eighth company to abandon Facebook’s (NASDAQ:FB) digital currency initiative, joining the likes of Visa (NYSE:V), Mastercard (NYSE:MA), PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL), eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY), Stripe (STRIP), Booking Holdings (NASDAQ:BKNG) and Mercado Pago (NASDAQ:MELI). “We will continue to monitor the development of the Libra Association and do not rule out the possibility of future co-operation,” a Vodafone spokesman said in a statement. Since Facebook announced Libra in June, the crypto project has been stonewalled by concerns from lawmakers and regulators around the world.
Closing auctions in the spotlight
The SEC has dealt a blow to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:ICE) and Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) by allowing traders placing orders through Cboe Global Markets (NYSE:CBOE) to bypass paying fees to its rival exchanges when they seek to buy or sell shares at daily closing prices. NYSE and Nasdaq have long held a tight grip on the market by determining the official end-of-day price of stocks. The rising popularity of index-based investing strategies has been a major factor behind the growing importance of closing auctions, which landed 7.2% of trading volumes in U.S. equities last year, up from about 5% in 2016.
What else is happening…
Honda (HMC), Toyota (TM) recall 6M vehicles over air bags.
Bike-share project… Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT), LeBron James team up.
Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) rallies as Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) eyes plant-based food.
Eaton (NYSE:ETN) to sell hydraulics business for $3.3B.
Xerox (NYSE:XRX) is preparing to seek control of HP’s (NYSE:HPQ) board.
Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) announces new board chairman.
BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) eyes initial $500M for climate fund.
Burying PG&E (NYSE:PCG) power lines could cost $240B – Bloomberg.
Tuesday’s Key Earnings
Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) -0.8% boosted by international growth.
IBM (IBM) +3.8% AH as cloud unit drove revenue gains.
Netflix (NFLX) +2.3% AH amid a global subscriber bump.
United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) +0.8% AH on cheaper fuel, strong demand.
Today’s Economic Calendar
7:00 MBA Mortgage Applications
8:30 Chicago Fed National Activity Index
8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales
9:00 FHFA House Price Index
10:00 Existing Home Sales
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Good morning. Happy Tuesday. Hope you had a good weekend.
The Asian/Pacific markets are mostly down big. New Zealand closed up, but Japan, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and the Philippines posted big losses. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are currently mostly down. The UK, France, Russia, South Africa, Finland, Norway, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy and Austria are leading to the downside. Futures in the States point towards a moderate gap down open for the cash market.
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VIDEO: Wayne Whaley’s TOY Barometer
BLOG: Wayne Whaley’s TOY Barometer
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The dollar is down. Oil and copper are down. Gold and silver are down. Bonds are up.
Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…
Stocks dropped across the globe following a big selloff in Asia on concerns that a mysterious coronavirus emanating from China will spread through the region as travel heats up for the Lunar New Year holidays. The disease has already infected 224 people and killed six, and is reminiscent of the SARS epidemic that subtracted an estimated 0.8 percentage point from GDP growth in China in 2003. The World Health Organization will meet tomorrow to discuss whether to declare the outbreak an international public health emergency.
Davos 2020
The world’s political and business leaders, plus the usual smattering of celebrities, are gathering for the World Economic Forum in the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos. The official theme of the 2020 meeting is “Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World.” According to forum founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab, “business has now to fully embrace stakeholder capitalism, which means not only maximizing profits, but use their capabilities and resources in cooperation with governments and civil society to address the key issues of this decade.”
Digital tax truce
Averting another trade war – for now – the U.S. and France have agreed to put aside their digital tax dispute until the end of 2020. Negotiations at the OECD will continue during that period as France postpones the levy and the U.S. delays retaliatory tariffs. The measure had imposed a 3% tax on digital revenues of companies like Google (GOOG, GOOGL), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) – which have more than €750M in global revenue, including at least €25M in France – while the U.S. had threatened to place duties of up to 100% on $2.4B of French imports.
Netflix, IBM report earnings
Wall Street analysts are expecting Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) to have earned $0.52 per share (+73.3% Y/Y) in the fourth quarter and will pay close attention to subscriber growth in light of increased competition in the streaming space. Shares of Netflix have soared 15% in the past three months despite the launch of Disney+ in mid-November. IBM (NYSE:IBM) will also report results after the bell and will likely be asked about its cloud progress and Red Hat deal during a conference call with analysts.
Boeing looks to borrow
Bloomberg reported that Boeing (NYSE:BA) is close to agreeing to a two-year credit facility with a group of banks led by Citigroup, while CNBC said the borrowing commitment could be as high as $10B. The figure would likely match the company’s estimate for costs and compensation linked to the 737 MAX’s two fatal crashes in 2017 and 2018 and the aircraft’s global grounding. Boeing is also likely to take a significant MAX-related charge as part of its Q4 earnings report, scheduled for Jan. 29. BA -0.6% premarket.
Human spaceflight coming back to U.S.
Since the end of the Space Shuttle program in 2011, the U.S. has paid Russia to fly NASA’s astronauts to the International Space Station at a cost of as much as $86M per seat. That’s about to change as SpaceX (SPACE) completed the in-flight abort test of its Crew Dragon capsule. The inaugural launch of NASA astronauts will likely take place in the second quarter of this year, according to CEO Elon Musk, with NASA expected to pay about $55M per astronaut to fly to the ISS.
Path to profitability
Uber (NYSE:UBER) has agreed to sell its Indian food delivery unit to local rival Zomato (FOOD), a deal that will give it a 9.99% stake in the latter (worth around $300M). CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has said the company would seek to be the No. 1 or No. 2 food delivery operator in any market where it competes, but if it can’t reach that level, he would exit the market. Uber discontinued food delivery operations in Vienna in March, and in September, it pulled out of South Korea.
Megxit deal
Are Prince Harry and Meghan Markle following the Obamas to Netflix (NFLX)? Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s chief content officer, said he would be interested in working together with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, telling the Press Association over the weekend: “Who wouldn’t be interested?” A video also emerged last week of Harry highlighting his wife’s talents to Disney (NYSE:DIS) CEO Robert Iger during the European premiere of The Lion King in July.
Amazon Palm
Amazon (AMZN) is working to allow customers to connect their credit card information to their hands, WSJ reports, creating retail checkout terminals that could work with the technology. The company recently began partnering with Visa (NYSE:V) to test out transactions, and has discussed the project with Mastercard (NYSE:MA), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) and Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF). Patent ready… Amazon has even filed an application for what it described as a “non-contact biometric identification system” that includes “a hand scanner that generates images of a user’s palm.”
Battle over facial recognition technology
Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) CEO Sundar Pichai has come out in support of an EU proposal for instating a temporary ban (for up to five years) on the use of facial recognition in public areas until officials beef up privacy regulations. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) President Brad Smith, on the other hand, has warned against pumping the brakes so quickly, arguing instead for methodical reform that addresses the issue “with a scalpel instead of a meat cleaver.” While U.S. officials have adopted a less interventionist approach to the technology, their EU counterparts seem more concerned with protecting citizens’ data and privacy.
What else is happening…
McDermott (NYSE:MDR) on verge of bankruptcy – Bloomberg.
UBS (NYSE:UBS) misses targets, trims guidance.
Extradition trial begins for Huawei CFO.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) secures land for European factory.
Subaru (OTCPK:FUJHY) targets mid-2030s for all-EV lineup.
Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) opens probe into CEO’s personal conduct – WSJ.
New smartphone chief at Samsung Electronics (OTC:SSNLF).
Chevron (NYSE:CVX) gets temporary waiver for Venezuela operations.
Today’s Economic Calendar
No event scheduled