Before the Open (Feb 24-28)

Good morning. Happy Friday.

The Asian/Pacific markets suffered huge, across-the-board losses. Japan, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Italy, Australia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines all dropped at least 2%. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are suffering the same. The UK, Poland, France, Turkey, Germany, Russia, Greece, South Africa, Finland, Switzerland, Hungary, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Portugal, Israel, Austria and Sweden are all down big. Futures in the States point towards another big gap down for the cash market.—————
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The dollar is up. Oil and copper are down. Gold and silver are down. Bonds are up.

Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…

“The path of this scourge is unknown, therefore you can’t know the economic impact. You can roll the dice but it’s a guess,” said Brian Battle, director of trading at Performance Trust Capital Partners. On that note, stock sentiment swung wildly overnight, with DJIA futures plunging as much as 600 points only to recover those losses, and are now off 0.9%. It’s been an overall wild week: The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all entered correction territory on Thursday, as well as European stocks and seven major Asia-Pacific markets. Crude prices are down around 14% since Monday, while the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yield just hit another all-time low of 1.19%.

What’s driving the plunge?

Besides risks to global supply chains, travel restrictions and profit warnings, many are seeing other dangers as part of a worsening economic picture. “The risk to the global consumer is the real problem. Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) can reopen their stores in China, but few people will go into them,” said Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading. Uncertainty about the U.S. presidential election’s outcome is also starting to drive markets, while even before the selloff this week, equities were being measured at lofty valuations.

Change in forecasts

“U.S. companies will generate no earnings growth in 2020,” wrote David Kostin, Goldman’s chief U.S. equity strategist, despite a consensus from Wall Street that still calls for earnings to climb 7% this year. “We have cut our 2020 global growth forecast to 2.8% (from 3.2%). This would be the lowest reading since 2009,” economists at Bank of America added, saying it would also be the first time since the financial crisis that it was expected to be under 3%. “Cases of the new coronavirus disease are rising quickly outside China, and the odds of the outbreak turning into a pandemic have now doubled – from 20% to 40%,” according to a report from Moody’s Analytics.

New testing protocols

The CDC has revised its guidelines to give clinicians across the U.S. more power to test people suspected of carrying the new coronavirus. Under prior rules, clinicians only tested suspected COVID-19 patients if they had traveled recently from China or had been in contact with someone known to be infected. California recently confirmed the first U.S. coronavirus case of unknown origin, while Governor Gavin Newsom said the state is currently monitoring 8,400 people for the disease.

Masks run short

The Trump administration is considering invoking special powers through a law called the Defense Production Act of 1950 to rapidly expand domestic manufacturing of protective masks and clothing to combat the coronavirus. “We will have the ability to tell corporations, ‘No, you change your production line so it is now 80% of the N95 masks and 20% painter masks,” White House sources told Reuters. The biggest producers of face masks in the United States include 3M (NYSE:MMM) and Honeywell (NYSE:HON). Shares of Alpha Pro Tech (NYSEMKT:APT), another N-95 maker, has surged over 620% since the beginning of the outbreak.

DoorDash takes step toward IPO

Valued at $13B during its last funding round in November, DoorDash (DOORD) has confidentially filed for an IPO with the SEC. Not too many details were offered. The draft registration statement didn’t indicate a price range or number of shares that DoorDash wants to offer, and there was no proposed date for the offering. DoorDash has overtaken Grubhub (NYSE:GRUB) as the top digital food delivery company in the U.S., according to data analytics firm Second Measure.

Hungry for profits

Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) shares fell 6% AH on Thursday after reporting a Q4 net loss of $452,000, or 1 cent per share, falling shy of reporting a second profitable quarter. While Beyond continues to rack up partnerships with large chains including KFC (NYSE:YUM), Denny’s (NASDAQ:DENN), McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) and Starbucks (SBUX), its products don’t always become permanent menu additions. In September, Tim Hortons (NYSE:QSR) removed its Beyond burgers and sausage from all Canadian provinces except for Ontario and British Columbia.

Restructuring at Bed Bath & Beyond

The plan includes a reorganization and simplification of Bed Bath’s (NASDAQ:BBBY) field operations, a 10% reduction of its corporate workforce (about 500 jobs) and the outsourcing of several functions. “This will reset our cost structure, allowing us to re-invest where it matters,” CEO Mark Tritton declared. The company sees the program reducing expenses by roughly $85M annually and re-establishing the retailer’s “authority in the home space.”

Fines for U.S. cellphone carriers

The FCC is looking to draw hundreds of millions of dollars from top U.S. wireless carriers after an investigation found the companies failed to safeguard critical data about customers’ real-time locations, WSJ reports. AT&T (NYSE:T), Verizon (NYSE:VZ), T-Mobile (NASDAQ:TMUS) and Sprint (NYSE:S) are set to receive notices of apparent liability. The companies reportedly continued sharing subscriber coordinates even after they told Congress they were cutting out middleman companies from those data feeds.

What else is happening…

All of Disney’s (NYSE:DIS) theme parks in Asia are now shut.

Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) begins new round of layoffs.

Coty (NYSE:COTY) +4.5% premarket on new chief executive.

Turkey bans shorting after its deadliest day in Syria.

Starbucks (SBUX) reopens 85% of stores in China.

JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) curbs global travel due to coronavirus.

California regulator proposes record $2.1B fine on PG&E (NYSE:PCG).

Thursday’s Key Earnings
Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE:BUD) -9.2% as coronavirus hit guidance.
Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) -2.9% AH expecting Q1 declines.
Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) -4.7% despite comp sales beat.
Beyond Meat (BYND) -10.4% AH following penny Q4 loss.
BP Midstream (NYSE:BPMP) +0.7% topping estimates.
Dell (NYSE:DELL) -2.3% AH after in-line EPS, $1B buyback.
J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP) -5% closing more stores this year.
Keurig Dr Pepper (NYSE:KDP) -1.7% with in-line EPS, revenue miss.
Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) +1.2% AH on mixed Q4 results.
Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL) -15% amid weak offshore drilling environment.
TD Bank (NYSE:TD) -5.4% missing EPS estimates.

Today’s Economic Calendar
8:30 International Trade in Goods
8:30 Retail Inventories (Advance)
8:30 Wholesale Inventories (Advance)
8:30 Personal Income and Outlays
9:15 Fed’s Bullard: U.S. Monetary and Economic Policy
9:45 Chicago PMI
10:00 Consumer Sentiment
1:00 PM Baker-Hughes Rig Count
3:00 PM Farm Prices

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Good morning. Happy Thursday.

The Asian/Pacific markets leaned to the downside. Hong Kong, Thailand and the Philippines closed up, but Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Taiwan, Austria and Indonesia posted sizable losses. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are currently posting huge losses. The UK, Denmark, Poland, France, Turkey, Germany, Russia, Greece, South Africa, Finland, Switzerland, Norway, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Portugal, Israel, Austria, Sweden and the Czech Republic are down 2% or more. Futures in the States point towards a huge gap down open for the cash market.

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VIDEO: State of the Market
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The dollar is down. Oil and copper are down. Gold and silver are up. Bonds are up.

Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…

Falling by nearly 400 points in the overnight session, Dow futures have pared losses to 115 points, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures are down 0.5%. President Trump told reporters late Wednesday that the coronavirus risk to Americans was “very, very low” and placed VP Mike Pence in charge of his administration’s response to the growing global health crisis, though the CDC confirmed that a California man contracted the disease despite having no known travel links or exposure to another patient. Elsewhere across the globe, the Euro Stoxx (NYSEARCA:FEZ) sunk 2.5%, as data showed new cases of the coronavirus outside of China exceeding those inside the country for the first time, while equities were quiet for most of the session in Asia.

Sounding the profit alarm

Sentiment was also dented by more corporate warnings, with AB InBev (NYSE:BUD) announcing it lost $170M in profits during the first two months of 2020 because of the coronavirus, as well as Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) joining Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and HP (NYSE:HPQ) in saying it would miss guidance for the current quarter. Trouble in the travel and tourism sector is also set to continue after Booking Holdings (NASDAQ:BKNG) cautioned that room nights booked would drop 5% to 10% in the first quarter, while noting difficulty in forecasting the future.

Pressure mounts on Fed

Dipping into uncharted waters, benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond yields fell below 1.3% for the first time overnight, while the safe-haven yen rallied to 110.17 against the U.S. dollar. “I think the market is just pushing the Fed to cut rates,” said Stuart Oakley, Nomura’s global head of flow FX in Singapore. CME Group futures suggest at least a 41% chance of a March reduction, a 77% chance the Fed will move by April and a 90% chance of a cut by June.

Crude awakening

Even if OPEC slashes production by 600K barrels per day, the price of oil “could still be weak in March and April, before it improves in the summer,” said Kang Wu, head of Asia analytics at S&P Global Platts. “A lot of inventory build up right now needs to be absorbed in April” amid lower crude demand due to the coronavirus outbreak. Oil meanwhile extended declines by 2% to $47/bbl – marking a 52-week low after sliding into correction territory – as some analysts suggested the possibility of a recession in China.

Latest coronavirus updates

Brazil has confirmed Latin America’s first infection, while Pakistan, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Greece, Romania and Algeria also reported their first cases. The IMF and the World Bank are meanwhile considering scaling back their Spring Meetings in April or holding them by teleconference, and the U.S. and South Korea postponed joint military drills. Australia additionally initiated emergency measures, Taiwan raised its epidemic response to its highest level and Saudi Arabia banned pilgrimages to Mecca.

What to watch

On the economic menu for today is the second estimate for fourth quarter GDP, which is expected to be unchanged at 2.1%, while durable goods orders for January are likely to show a 1.5% decrease (vs. 2.4% increase in the previous month). Economists are also estimating 214K Americans filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, up from the previous week’s 210K claims. On the earnings front, we’ll get results from Best Buy (NYSE:BBY), Dell (NYSE:DELL) and Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU), as well as J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP), Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) and Keurig Dr. Pepper (NYSE:KDP).

Mass shooting at Molson Coors plant

At least seven people were killed yesterday in a mass shooting at a Molson Coors (NYSE:TAP) facility in Milwaukee (police sources say the gunman was fired earlier in the day and died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound). Molson Coors CEO Gavin Hattersley, who was in Houston for the company’s distributor convention, reportedly left the event early to fly to the plant. He said the office would be closed the rest of the week and the brewery shuttered “for the time being” to give people time to cope. TAP -2.7% premarket.

Self-driving milestone

California’s self-driving car companies covered 2.9M miles in 2019, according to the state’s DMV, with Alphabet’s (GOOG, GOOGL) Waymo and General Motors’ (NYSE:GM) Cruise leading the pack. However, a backlash is growing against the “disengagement” reporting metric, which reveals how frequently humans need to take control. Waymo had 13,219 miles between disengagements vs. 11,017 miles in 2018, while Cruise reported 12,221 miles between disengagements compared with 5,205 miles the previous year, though both companies say the stats are by no means definitive.

SpaceX Force

The U.S. Air Force, SpaceX (SPACE) and the newly created U.S. Space Force are teaming up for a “massive” live fire exercise in April that will conduct war games to practice intercepting an enemy missile and a drone. The test will also include submarines, battleships, and space-based weapons. While SpaceX has worked with the military before, sending up the top-secret Zuma spacecraft in 2018, its eventual Starlink constellation of more than 40,000 satellites (a division the company is thinking of taking public) is being viewed as a strategic asset.

Nokia rumors

Nokia (NYSE:NOK) finished the session 6.1% higher on Wednesday following reports that the company was exploring strategic options, though sources flagged by Reuters denied there was any truth to the rumors. According to Bloomberg, the firm hired advisers to explore a potential asset sale or combination, and even speculated about the prospect of a merger between it and Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC). The report didn’t point to any discussions between the businesses, however, and noted such a deal would be hard to consummate due to European regulations. NOK -2.1% premarket.

What else is happening…

Gilead (NASDAQ:GILD) initiates two Phase 3 studies for Covid-19.

U.S. stock exchanges prepared for coronavirus.

Trump says more NYT (NYSE:NYT) lawsuits are on the way.

Citi, BAML analysts see progress in GE’s (NYSE:GE) annual report.

Canada warns freight rail delays to last ‘many weeks.’

Wednesday’s Key Earnings
Booking Holdings (BKNG) -0.8% AH as coronavirus hit guidance.
Box (NYSE:BOX) +9.4% AH on strong subscription growth.
Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK) -30.5% on reverse split plan.
Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) +11% AH following an earnings smasher.
L Brands (NYSE:LB) -3.4% AH on $700M charge for Victoria’s Secret.
Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW) -4.4% disclosing weaker outlook.
Marriott (NASDAQ:MAR) +1.5% AH with guidance above consensus.
Nutanix (NASDAQ:NTNX) -17.7% AH giving downside Q3 forecast.
Papa John’s (NASDAQ:PZZA) -8.7% shutting 50 restaurants in China.
Square (NYSE:SQ) +6.9% AH on spectacular Q4 beat.
TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) +7.2% dazzling with comp sales.

Today’s Economic Calendar
8:30 Durable Goods
8:30 GDP Q4
8:30 Initial Jobless Claims
10:00 Pending Home Sales
10:30 EIA Natural Gas Inventory
11:00 Kansas City Fed Mfg Survey
11:30 Fed’s Evans Speech
1:00 PM Results of $32B, 7-Year Note Auction
4:30 PM Money Supply
4:30 PM Fed Balance Sheet

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Good morning. Happy Wednesday.

The Asian/Pacific markets suffered stiff, across-the-board losses. Japan, China, South Korea, Hong Kong, India, New Zealand, Taiwan, Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines were all very weak. Europe, Africa and the Middle East currently lean down. Turkey, Hungary, Italy and Sweden are up; the UK, Poland, Germany, the UAE, Greece, Kenya, Norway, Austria, Saudi Arabia and the Czech Republic are down. Futures in the States point towards a positive open for the cash market.

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VIDEO: State of the Market
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The dollar is up. Oil and copper are down. Gold and silver are down. Bodns are down.

Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…

Will the global equity selloff extend for another day? That’s the question traders are asking this morning as U.S. futures hovered between significant gains and losses overnight (they’re currently up by 0.2%-0.5%). Nearly 6.3% and an estimated $1.7T in value has been wiped off the S&P 500 over the last two days as the CDC warned the coronavirus is “likely” to spread across the U.S. amid increasing deaths and confirmed cases outside of China. While analysts and policymakers are finding it hard to quantify the economic impact of the virus, many are pricing in a slowdown in world growth, though it’s still unclear how far that will extend.

Too early to tell

Reinforcing other central bank officials’ recent comments, Fed Vice Chairman Richard Clarida said the central bank is keeping a close eye on how coronavirus will affect the global and U.S. economies. The outbreak is likely to have a “noticeable impact on Chinese growth… and could spill over to the rest of the global economy,” he said at a speech in Washington, DC. So far, he sees no need to change the Fed’s current monetary policy, which he feels is in a “good place” and should continue to support sustained growth and inflation returning to the Fed’s 2% target.

Handouts part of Hong Kong stimulus

Hong Kong has announced $120B Hong Kong dollars ($15.4B) worth of measures to support an economy that’s been dragged down by political unrest and the new coronavirus outbreak. One of the notable features is a payment of HK$10,000 ($1,284) to each permanent resident of the city aged 18 or older, aiding the population “overwhelmed by a heavy atmosphere.” Financial Secretary Paul Chan estimated the deficit will reach an “an all-time high” of HK$139.1B in 2020/21 and also flagged deficits for the next five years.

Disney’s 7th CEO

In a shock announcement late Tuesday, Bob Iger stepped aside as Walt Disney’s (NYSE:DIS) chief executive officer, handing the reins of the world’s biggest entertainment company to theme parks head Bob Chapek. While Iger will stay to direct the company’s creative endeavors as executive chairman through 2021, the news confused Wall Street, sending the shares down 3.6%. Disney’s future is supposed to be streaming, not theme parks, and media industry insiders almost unanimously expected streaming chief Kevin Mayer to be Iger’s successor.

More C-suite changes

Keith Block became co-CEO alongside Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) head Marc Benioff less than two years ago, though he’s now stepping down. Block was widely seen as a potential heir to Benioff, who founded the company in 1999, and will continue as chairman. As well as reporting Q4 results that beat expectations, Salesforce said it would acquire cloud and mobile software company Vlocity for $1.33B in cash, adding additional muscle to its suite of cloud products.

Virgin loss

Virgin Galactic’s (NYSE:SPCE) Q4 net loss widened to $73M from a year-ago loss of $46M, in the space company’s first results as a publicly traded company. The space firm said it received 7,957 registrations of interest in flight reservations during the quarter, and will begin collecting $1,000 deposits to secure a place in line as seats become available. While Virgin Galactic didn’t offer any updates on its spaceflight timetable, it previously said it aimed for a first commercial flight later this year with Richard Branson on board. SPCE -6% premarket.

Beyond Meat is coming to Starbucks

It’s the first time the world’s biggest coffee chain will offer an imitation meat product. The Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) sandwich, which will be topped with cheddar cheese and egg on an artisanal bun, will be available at Starbucks’ (NASDAQ:SBUX) nearly 1,200 coffee shops across Canada on March 3. It comes as the company aggressively works to build out its food business, which currently makes up at least 20% of revenue at company-operated stores, as well as a surge in popularity for alternative proteins.

Debut of Walmart Fulfillment Services

Looking to position itself better in its fight against Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Walmart (NYSE:WMT) is launching a new service that allows third-party vendors to hire the big-box retailer to store, pack and ship items. Both sellers (low storage and shipping fees) and customers (brand choice and easier returns) will benefit from the new service, according to the company. Walmart’s online sales grew by 37% last year, topping its own internal growth targets of 35%.

Eyes on Tesla’s solar business

Panasonic (OTCPK:PCRFF) plans to exit solar cell production at Giga New York, though Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has informed the state it will have “no bearing on its current operations.” The firm has already secured over 1,500 jobs in the city of Buffalo, clearing its 1,460 commitment before April and thereby avoiding a $41M penalty. The withdrawal puts a spotlight on Tesla’s solar business, but also comes as the company diversifies its battery suppliers (Panasonic will reportedly retain its battery JV with Tesla in Nevada).

Surge in streaming

Streaming accounted for 80% of recorded-music sales in 2019, marking the industry’s fourth consecutive year of growth, according to a report from the Recording Industry Association of America. In fact, with revenue of $8.8B in 2019, streaming alone was larger than the entire U.S. recorded-music market in 2017. That includes premium subscription services, like Spotify (NYSE:SPOT), Apple Music (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon Music, ad-supported on-demand services, such as YouTube (GOOG, GOOGL) and Spotify’s ad-supported tier, and streaming radio services such as Pandora and Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI).

What else is happening…

Covid-19… Clinical trials begin for Gilead’s (NASDAQ:GILD).

Juul (JUUL) targeted by state AGs across the U.S.

Tesla (TSLA) slammed at NTSB hearing, criticized over Autopilot.

Closer look at Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT) accounting error.

Diageo (NYSE:DEO) warns on sales hit from coronavirus.

EU sees transatlantic ‘mini deal’ with the U.S.

Tuesday’s Key Earnings
Amarin (NASDAQ:AMRN) -2% AH despite a Q4 beat.
Home Depot (NYSE:HD) -1% amid a broad market selloff.
Macy’s (NYSE:M) -5.5% on a 1.4% drop in revenue.
Salesforce (CRM) -2.3% AH as co-CEO stepped down.
SmileDirectClub (NASDAQ:SDC) -21.3% AH posting higher costs, big loss.

Today’s Economic Calendar
7:00 MBA Mortgage Applications
10:00 New Home Sales
10:00 State Street Investor Confidence Index
10:30 EIA Petroleum Inventories
11:00 Survey of Business Uncertainty
11:30 Results of $18B, 2-Year FRN Auction
1:00 PM Results of $41B, 5-Year Note Auction

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Good morning. Happy Tuesday.

The Asian/Pacific markets closed mixed. South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand did well; Japan, New Zealand, Australia and the Philippines were weak. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are currently mostly down. Greece and Israel are up, but the UK, Denmark, Poland, France, Germany, Russia, Switzerland, Kenya, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Spain, Belgium and Austria are down. Futures in the States point towards a moderate gap up open for the cash market.

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VIDEO: State of the Market
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The dollar is down. Oil is up slightly; copper is down. Gold and silver are down. Bonds are up.

Stories/News from Seeking Alpha…

A relief rally was in the works overnight as investors retraced some of yesterday’s historic losses, though markets are still trying to find their footing. Up by as much as 1% earlier, U.S. stock index futures are now hugging the flatline after briefly dipping into the red ahead of today’s earnings from Home Depot (NYSE:HD) and Macy’s (NYSE:M). Monday’s coronavirus-driven plunge saw the Dow record its third-worst drop ever by tumbling more than 1,000 points, the S&P 500 shed $920B in value in a session that wiped nearly all YTD gains, and curve inversions deepen as bond yields hit fresh record lows.

Congress asked for coronavirus funding

The more than $1B the White House is allocating for vaccine development is part of a broader $2.5B request to combat the coronavirus outbreak. The rest of the money would be used for therapeutics and the stockpiling of personal protective equipment such as masks. The DHHS had already tapped into an emergency infectious disease rapid response fund and is seeking the immediate transfer of more than $130M from other HHS accounts.

Amazon Go Grocery

Diving deeper into the U.S. grocery industry, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is opening its first full-size, cashierless store in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. The 10,400 sq. ft. location has been five years in the making, and will stock roughly 5,000 items, including fresh produce, meats, bakery treats and alcohol. It incorporates the same technology found in the two dozen or so Amazon Go locations, and will source some items similar to Whole Foods, which it paid $13.7B for in 2017.

Smallest GE workforce since WWII boom

General Electric (NYSE:GE) shed almost 78,000 employees in 2019, or more than a quarter of its workforce, as divestitures left the conglomerate with the same number of personnel as it had in 1951. GE sold its oil and gas business to Baker Hughes (NYSE:BKR) in 2017 but kept a majority stake until last year, while its transportation business was merged with Wabtec (NYSE:WAB) in early 2019, transferring those workers. “Our work is by no means finished, but we are on the right path,” CEO Larry Culp wrote in his second annual letter to shareholders.

OPEC+ hasn’t ‘run out of ideas’

OPEC and its allied oil-producing nations are still working to rebalance global crude markets amid speculation of tensions in the alliance over whether to cut output further. “We do communicate with each other and we did not run out of ideas,” Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said at the ICCUS conference. Crude tumbled more than 5% at its session low on Monday, falling into bear market territory as the number of coronavirus cases surged outside of China.

Age lock for vapers

Juul Labs (JUUL) plans to present to federal regulators a new version of its vaporizer designed to unlock only for users at least 21 years old, WSJ reports. It’s part of an application that the company must file to keep its products in the U.S. market as vape manufacturers face a May 12 deadline to submit their devices to the FDA for review. Marlboro maker Altria (NYSE:MO), which owns a 35% stake in Juul, has been assisting Juul with the application.

Expedia slashes 3,000 jobs

“Following our disappointing 2019 business performance… we recognize that we have been pursuing growth in an unhealthy and undisciplined way,” Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE) wrote to staff in an internal email. As a result, the travel group is laying off 12% of its workforce, or about 3,000 employees, in an effort to “streamline and focus” under chairman Barry Diller following the removal of its CEO and CFO late last year. The cuts are not connected to the coronavirus outbreak, though Expedia said earlier it expects a $30M-$40M loss in the current quarter due to the disease.

Down one day, up another

Mallinckrodt (NYSE:MNK) tanked 19% into the close on Monday following a report stating that the company was considering a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing for its U.S. generics business. The company was also said to have begun confidential discussions with creditors as it deals with fallout (debt maturities and liabilities) from the opioid crisis. Shares are now up 19% in premarket trade after disclosing a settlement that would resolve all opioid-related claims, and earnings that beat expectations.

More coronavirus updates

Shares of Mastercard (NYSE:MA) fell 3% in extended trading after the company warned that the coronavirus could hurt its 2020 revenue due to “cross-border travel, and to a lesser extent cross-border e-commerce growth.” United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) further withdrew its FY 2020 guidance, citing “heightened uncertainty” surrounding the current outbreak. Moving in the opposite direction are shares of Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA), which climbed 15% AH on news it shipped the first batch of its mRNA-1273 vaccine to U.S. government researchers to be used in a planned phase 1 study.
Go deeper: Coronavirus fears are putting IPOs on hold.

Global developments

The number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. has jumped to 53, most of them connected to the Diamond Princess (NYSE:CCL) cruise ship. Moving east… Hong Kong extended school closures till mid-April, a cabin crew member of Korean Air tested positive for the coronavirus and the CDC raised the U.S. travel advisory alert for South Korea, where cases have risen to 893. Japan’s health minister also said it’s too early to talk about canceling the 2020 Olympics, while China fully banned trade and consumption of illegal wildlife.

What else is happening…

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) reopens more than half of China stores.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) shells out $7.1B for Credit Karma.

Deere (NYSE:DE) partners with ‘Uber of tractors’ in Africa.

New revenues? Uber (NYSE:UBER) pilots vehicle ads.

HP (NYSE:HPQ) outlines plan to battle Xerox (NYSE:XRX) takeover.

Supreme Court questions blocked Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

Monday’s Key Earnings
Hertz (NYSE:HTZ) -3.7% AH as EBITDA fell short.
HP Inc. (HPQ) +3.4% AH on raised guidance, strategic plan.
Palo Alto Networks (NYSE:PANW) -13.5% lowering outlook.
Shake Shack (NYSE:SHAK) -12.9% AH posting its slowest revenue growth.

Today’s Economic Calendar
8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales
9:00 S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index
9:00 FHFA House Price Index
9:45 Fed’s Kaplan Speech
10:00 Consumer Confidence
10:00 Richmond Fed Mfg.
1:00 PM Results of $40B, 2-Year Note Auction
3:00 PM Fed’s Clarida Speech

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Good morning. Happy Monday. Hope you had a good weekend.

The Asian/Pacific markets got crushed. Hong Kong, South Korea, India, New Zealand, Taiwan, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines all suffered huge losses. Europe, Africa and the Middle East are currently down big. The UK, Denmark, Poland, France, Turkey, Germany, Greece, South Africa, Finland, Switzerland, Norway, Hungary, Spain, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Belgium, Portugal, Austria and Sweden are posting 2-5% losses. Futures in the States point towards a gigantic gap down open for the cash market.

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VIDEO: State of the Market
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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…

A major selloff in equities is making its way across the globe as the number of new coronavirus cases flares outside China, with the disease now spreading to at least 28 countries. Italy has canceled all public events in Venice and Milan as it confirmed 150 cases (and four deaths) of the virus over the weekend, while those diagnosed in South Korea – which raised its disease alert to the highest level – are nearing 800. A steep drop is also being seen in the U.S., with Dow futures plunging over 800 points and crude oil down 3.6% at $51.46/bbl. Gold is up 2.4% to a seven-year high of $1689/ounce and the 10-year Treasury yield is 8 bps lower to 1.38%.

Latest updates

“Infections that are now emerging in people who haven’t traveled to China or come into contact with confirmed cases show it’s not clear how the virus is spreading,” said Margaret Harris, a spokeswoman for the World Health Organization. “We’re seeing some cases that don’t have a clear epidemiological link.” Other developments: Hong Kong’s finance chief warned the virus threatened a “tsunami-like cataclysm,” Austria halted train traffic with Italy, and Iran’s neighbors announced travel restrictions on the Islamic Republic, which reported 43 cases of the disease.

China goes back to work

While a major coronavirus-driven selloff was seen across the globe overnight, stocks in China were largely unaffected by the movement, where the Shanghai Composite only closed down 0.3%. That’s in part due to large regions of China relaxing curbs on transport and movement of people as President Xi told low-risk provinces to restore economic activity and output, while high-risk areas focus on controlling the epidemic. Figures released on Monday showed 24 out of China’s 31 regions – including Beijing, Shanghai and populous provinces such as Henan and Anhui – reported zero cases of new infections on Feb. 23.

Economic impacts?

The coronavirus epidemic will likely cut 0.1% from global growth this year, according to the IMF, and drag down growth for China’s economy to 5.6%, which is 0.4% lower from its January outlook. The U.S. is waiting for a clearer picture. “It’s tough to have strong predictions on the economic issues, without being able to predict the health outcome,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC. “I think we’re going to need another three or four weeks to see how the virus reacts, until we really have good statistical data.”

Warren Buffett’s annual letter

“If something close to current rates should prevail over the coming decades and if corporate tax rates also remain near the low level businesses now enjoy, it is almost certain that equities will over time perform far better than long-term, fixed-rate debt instruments,” the Oracle wrote in his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) shareholders. The conglomerate’s Q4 operating earnings fell to $4.42B from $5.72B a year earlier as insurance underwriting took a hit, while it bought back $2.2B of its stock in the last three months of 2019, the most it has ever done in a single quarter.

More consumer finance dealmaking

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU), the maker of TurboTax, is close to buying financial technology portal Credit Karma for about $7B in cash and stock, WSJ reports, adding that the purchase could be announced today. Credit Karma would function as a standalone business with its chief executive, Kenneth Lin, remaining in charge. Other recent transactions in the space include Morgan Stanley’s (NYSE:MS) $13B deal for E*Trade (NASDAQ:ETFC) last week and Visa’s (NYSE:V) $5.3B acquisition of startup Plaid announced last month.

Goldman pleads not guilty over 1MDB

Three units of Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) have pleaded not guilty to charges of misleading investors regarding $6.5B in bond sales that were raised for state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad. Charges were filed in December 2018 against the units – based in London, Hong Kong and Singapore – for misleading investors by “making untrue statements and omitting key facts.” Malaysia has said it was seeking up to $7.5B in reparations from Goldman over the 1MDB dealings, though the company has denied wrongdoing, saying it was lied to about how proceeds from the bond sales would be used.

Meatless craze

Agricultural giant Cargill, one the world’s largest privately held companies, is launching plant-based hamburger patties and ground “fake meat” products in April. Competitors like Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND), Impossible Foods (IMPF), Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN) and Nestle (OTCPK:NSRGY) are watching moves into the sector. “We believe we’re uniquely positioned to be very effective and efficient in the supply chain,” said Elizabeth Gutschenritter, managing director of Cargill’s alternative protein team.

Trade with India in focus

Bilateral trade between the U.S. and India stands at $160B as President Trump arrives in the country for a two-day visit. During a rally in Narendra Modi’s home state, Trump said the two nations would shortly announce an “incredible” trade deal, but repeated the line that the prime minister was a “very tough negotiator.” India wants to restore trade concessions under a tariff system called the Generalized System of Preferences, which Trump terminated in 2019 and provides additional benefits for products from least developed countries.

What else is happening…

Samsung (OTC:SSNLF) confirms coronavirus case at phone factory.

Sony (NYSE:SNE) launches its first 5G smartphone.

Climate change referenced on G20 finance communique.

Teck Resources (NYSE:TECK) drops C$20.6B oil sands Frontier project.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) buys Chinese online snacks retailer.

MGM Resorts (NYSE:MGM) sued over guest data breach.

Boeing (NYSE:BA) widens 737 MAX debris inspections.

Today’s Economic Calendar
8:30 Chicago Fed National Activity Index
10:30 Dallas Fed Manufacturing Survey