S&P futures fell 50 bps on Friday and were down 30 points pre-open on Monday. They closed up roughly 35 points yesterday, but are now 15 points lower premarket. "It's like going to a casino," traders are saying in frustration. A large part of the trading community has thrown up its hands already and blamed high-speed trading, but there are those still arguing about the Fed's next move and the presidential election. Is it just better to sit this one out?
Economy
So what happened at Fedspeak yesterday? Fed Governor Lael Brainard said she wanted to see a stronger trend in U.S. consumer spending and evidence of rising inflation before the Fed raises rates, while Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said that economic data warrants a serious discussion about the speed and path of future hikes. The result: Policymakers will go into the September meeting pretty divided.
Hillary Clinton will release additional medical information this week, according to a spokesman, after her campaign was criticized for waiting to reveal that she had pneumonia. "I'm feeling fine and getting better," she said in a tweet. "I'm just anxious to get back out there. See you on the trail soon."
British inflation held steady in August, keeping the chance of another Bank of England rate cut on track despite a big rise in raw material costs after June's vote to leave the EU. The average cost of everyday household goods and services went up by 0.6%, as lower prices for clothing, hotels and wine offset an upward effect from fuel prices, food and airfares. Sterling -0.3% to $1.3292.
China's economy picked up steam last month, as demand rebounded thanks to higher government spending and a year-long credit and property boom. Industrial output rose 6.3%, retail sales expanded by 10.6% and fixed asset investment was unchanged at 8.1%, beating expectations across the board in August. While economic activity in China has cooled this year, it now appears less at risk of a hard landing than feared in 2015.
President Duterte has called for the withdrawal of U.S. special forces troops from a group of islands in the southern Philippines, saying their presence could complicate offensives against Islamist militants notorious for beheading Westerners. More tensions? China has lashed out at the U.S. after Washington accused Beijing of not doing enough to arrest North Korea's nuclear ambitions.
The cessation of hostilities in Syria that came into effect yesterday appears to be holding well into its first day, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights saying it had recorded no civilian deaths in the first 15 hours of the truce. The deal, described by Secretary of State John Kerry as the "last chance to save a united Syria," was struck over the weekend after months of talks between Russia and the U.S.
Global oil demand growth is slowing at a faster pace than first thought, according to the International Energy Agency, which warned that investors would have to wait "a while longer" for markets to rebalance. "For 2016, a gain of 1.3M bpd is expected," the IEA said in its latest market update, equating to a downgrade of 100K bpd from its previous forecast. The prediction will be worrying for oil markets at a time when a delicate rebalancing of supply and demand was thought to be taking place.
Stocks
Just a year after landing the world's first reusable booster on a landing pad, Jeff Bezos has unveiled plans for a giant rocket - named after iconic 1960s astronaut John Glenn - and powerful enough to blast people as well as satellites into high-Earth orbit. If it flies by the end of the decade as intended, the proposed booster could vault Blue Origin (Private:BORGN) into head-to-head commercial rivalry with SpaceX's (Private:SPACE) future Falcon Heavy rocket and United Launch Alliance's (LMT, BA) Delta IV Heavy.
Chinese airlines are likely to purchase 6,810 planes worth $1.025T in the next 20 years as they expand fleets to cater to a robust growth in tourism, Boeing (NYSE:BA) declared, raising its forecast from last year by 7.6%. The U.S. planemaker will also unveil its T-X trainer plane today, designed jointly with Sweden's Saab AB (OTC:SAABF). The company is counting on the model to train generations of U.S. fighter pilots, and keep alive its St. Louis manufacturing base.
An engine failure on a Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) plane last month released debris that tore a 5"x16" hole in the plane before it made a safe emergency landing in Pensacola, Florida, according to crash investigators. In an update to its probe of the Boeing 737 (BA), the U.S. agency said a fan blade separated from the engine, but it has still not solved the precise cause of the "uncontained" failure.
With its first long-range electric car, General Motors (NYSE:GM) has released figures that show it's focused on beating Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) at its own game. The new Bolt will be rated at 238 miles on a single charge when it comes to showrooms later this year, giving it a longer range than the Model 3, which is expected to have a range of least 215 miles and isn't expected to go on sale until 2017. The Bolt is also likely to be priced at about $37,500, close to the same price point as Tesla's first mass-market car.
The South Korean government, long a bastion of support for the country's big conglomerates, is sticking to its hard-line stance on Hanjin Shipping (OTC:HNJSF), whose collapse is roiling global supply chains. Government money will not be allowed to help firms undergoing restructuring in the ailing shipping company, although aid may be extended to small-to-medium sized businesses jolted by the process.
U.S. casino mogul Sheldon Adelson will cut the ribbon on his fifth Macau resort today, as signs emerge of a turnaround in the territory's fortunes following two years of weak revenues. Sands China (OTCPK:SCHYY), a subsidiary of Adelson's Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS), will open the $3B Parisian just three weeks after another Las Vegas tycoon, Steve Wynn, opened his latest pleasure palace in the Chinese gambling hub.
State-owned Postal Savings Bank of China has launched an initial public offering in Hong Kong worth up to $8.1B, which could become the world's biggest share sale this year. The vast majority of the deal is being covered by six cornerstone investors, who will buy as much as 72% of the IPO, underscoring tepid demand for Hong Kong offerings from retail investors and fund managers in the city.
Despite the penalties imposed on Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), there is probably no broader problem in the U.S. banking industry over abusive sales practices, according to the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Regulators fined the company a total of $185M last Thursday, while Moody's warned the episode would negatively affect the bank's debt. Wells paid another $5M to customers for creating more than 2M fake accounts.
Building its U.S. consumer bank, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has established a team to put its deposits to work on Wall Street, sources told Reuters. The existence of the team, which has not been previously reported, was set up in mid-2015 and is formally known as the institutional lending group. Lately, it has ramped up activities as Goldman looks to do more lending broadly.
The board of ailing Italian lender Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (OTCPK:BMDPY) is meeting today to appoint a new chief executive. According to Italy's finance minister, the bank will have a new CEO by tomorrow, but a cash call will happen "when the markets are ready to absorb it." Weekend reports alleged the ECB had given preliminary approval to the appointment of Marco Morelli, currently head BofA Merrill Lynch Italy.
Oprah Winfrey will help Weight Watchers (NYSE:WTW) pick a new leader, about a year after the media mogul disclosed a 10% stake in the company. Yesterday, CEO James Chambers announced his resignation after he and the board of directors, which includes Winfrey, made a "joint decision" that he should leave. The stock, which dropped 5% AH, is down 55% YTD.
After meeting with the top four congressional leaders on Monday, President Obama said he was encouraged that lawmakers would be able to reach an agreement on funding to fight the Zika virus. In February, Obama had asked Congress to approve $1.9B in emergency funds to battle Zika with diagnostic tools and vaccines, but disagreements over side issues related to abortion led to divisions about full funding. Related tickers: SNY, ABT, INO, AEMD, XON,CEMI, BCRX, TMO, OSUR, OTCQB:GOVX
Shares of Freeport-McMoRan rose more than 1% in AH trade after Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC) announced it would buy its deepwater Gulf of Mexico assets for $2B. The deal is expected to close before year's end and add 80,000 net barrels of oil equivalent per day to Anadarko's sales-volume outlook. Anadarko also said it will use the proceeds of a public offering of about 35.3M common shares to pay Freeport (NYSE:FCX), bringing sharesdown 4.8% AH.
Renesas Electronics has agreed to buy Intersil (NASDAQ:ISIL) for $3.22B amid a wave of consolidation in the global semiconductor industry. Slowing growth in computers and smartphones has fueled a wave of mergers globally for scale, with chipmakers turning to areas such as auto electronics for sales growth. Renesas (OTCPK:RNECF) aims to complete the cash transaction by June 2017. ISIL +7.7% premarket.
Beginning September 19th, Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) will cut down on exactly which types of content count toward the platform's 140-character limit, The Verge reports, putting a firm date on when the shift will occur. Media attachments and quoted tweets will no longer reduce the count and extra room for text will give users more flexibility in composing their messages.
"Job changes" are ahead for Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) as it heads for a merger with AOL (NYSE:VZ), AOL chief Tim Armstrong declared, but that doesn't necessarily mean cuts. "Google (GOOG, GOOGL) is search, Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) is social, we're going to be brand," he added, outlining a strategy that builds its media brands to leverage ads across all its platforms.
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan +0.3% to 16729. Hong Kong -0.3% to 23215. China +0.1% to 3023. India closed.
In Europe, at midday, London +0.2%. Paris +0.2%. Frankfurt +0.2%.
Futures at 6:20, Dow -0.6%. S&P -0.6%. Nasdaq -0.7%. Crude -2.4% to $45.20. Gold +0.4% to $1330.90.
Ten-year Treasury Yield -2 bps to 1.65%
Today's Economic CalendarIn Europe, at midday, London +0.2%. Paris +0.2%. Frankfurt +0.2%.
Futures at 6:20, Dow -0.6%. S&P -0.6%. Nasdaq -0.7%. Crude -2.4% to $45.20. Gold +0.4% to $1330.90.
Ten-year Treasury Yield -2 bps to 1.65%
6:00 NFIB Small Business Optimism Index
8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales
1:00 PM Results of $12B, 30-Year Note Auction
2:00 PM Treasury Budget
Companies reporting earnings today »8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales
1:00 PM Results of $12B, 30-Year Note Auction
2:00 PM Treasury Budget
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