CNBC
U.S. stock futures were under pressure this morning after the Nasdaq on Thursday extended its winning streak to 10 sessions and logged another record high close. The S&P 500 finished down slightly from all-time highs. The Dow was also lower. (CNBC)
Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were on track for a third straight winning week, and the Dow can join them if it can make up a nearly 26 point deficit in Friday trading. The Dow was nearly 29 points away from another record high. (CNBC)
Dow stock General Electric (GE) leads this morning's list of quarterly earnings reports. The industrial conglomerate beat estimates on adjusted profit and revenue. However, revenue dropped 12 percent from the year-ago period. GE shares seesawed in premarket trading. (CNBC)
Two more Dow components, Microsoft (MSFT) and Visa (V), issued earnings late Thursday. Microsoft beat on quarterly profit and revenue with strong gains in its cloud computing business. Visa exceed estimates on earnings and revenue. (CNBC)
The dollar was trading at about two-year lows against the euro after what markets perceived as hawkish comments from ECB President Mario Draghi on Thursday. Meanwhile, oil prices were lower ahead of next week's meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC members. (CNBC & Reuters)
Bitcoin was under some pressure this morning after trading near its all-time high late Thursday. The intense debate over the cryptocurrency's future appears to be swinging positive again after emerging doubts hurt prices in recent sessions. (CNBC)
* Bitcoin bubble dwarfs tulip mania from 400 years ago, Elliott Wave analyst says (CNBC)
* A digital currency that's not bitcoin or ethereum gained nearly 4,000% this year (CNBC)
IN THE NEWS TODAY
President Donald Trump is expected to name former transition official Anthony Scaramucci as White House communications director, a position vacant since Mike Dubke resigned in May. Scaramucci sold his stake in hedge fund SkyBridge Capital earlier this year. (NBC News)
Trump's lawyers, spurred by the president's own inquiries, are exploring his power to grant pardons to aides, family, and even himself as a means of undermining special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. (Washington Post)
* Trump's personal lawyer reportedly resigns (The Hill)
* Spokesperson for Trump's outside legal team resigns (Reuters)
Exxon Mobil (XOM) is suing the federal government over a $2 million fine assessed by the Treasury on Thursday for allegedly "reckless disregard" of U.S. sanctions against Russia in 2014, a time when Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was Exxon's chief. (CNBC)
The regulatory agenda released by the Trump administration contained a signal the U.S. government has halted its work on restricting bonuses and other pay incentives for Wall Street executives. (Reuters)
The FTC is reportedly looking into accusations that Amazon (AMZN) misleads customers about the size of discounts as part of the agency's investigation into the e-commerce giant's proposed $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods (WFM). (Reuters)
* Amazon buys products from some US retailers at full price to build global inventory (CNBC)
EBay (EBAY) shares were down about 4.5 percent in premarket trading after the online marketplace warned on outlook due to investments being made in marketing and in revamping its platforms. EBay matched on earnings and slightly beat estimates on revenue. (Reuters)
A consortium of Blackstone (BX) and CVC Capital Partners has made a $3.71 billion bid for digital payments firm Paysafe. Separately, Britain's Paysafe has agreed to buy U.S. rival Merchants Choice Payments Solutions for $470 million. (Reuters)
T. Boone Pickens, a titan of the U.S. oil patch, on Thursday said his health is deteriorating following several strokes, but he remains "mentally strong" and will keep working. (CNBC)
STOCKS TO WATCH
Honeywell (HON) reported adjusted quarterly profit of $1.80 per share, 2 cents a share above estimates. Revenue also beat forecasts. The company also raised its 2017 full-year guidance as aerospace and performance materials sales exceed prior expectations.
Colgate-Palmolive (CL) matched estimates on adjusted quarterly per-share earnings of 72 cents. But revenue fell short of expectations.
Capital One (COF) beat expectations on quarterly earnings and revenue. However, Capital One wrote off more delinquent loans than in the year-ago period, and also increased the amount set aside to cover bad loans.
E-Trade Financial (ETFC) beat estimates on quarterly earnings and revenue, aided by net additions of about 41,000 new clients. The online brokerage also unveiled a new $1 billion stock buyback program.
Skechers (SKX) fell short of forecasts with quarterly earnings of 38 cents per share, even though the shoe seller's revenue exceeded consensus estimates. Skechers said it had record sales during the first half of the year.
AstraZeneca (AZN) CEO Pascal Soriot appeared to rebuff rumors that he plans to leave to join rival Israel-based Teva (TEVA), telling the U.K. drugmaker's employees he's looking forward to a key medical meeting.
CONTRIBUTORS:
Matthew J. Belvedere
Peter Schacknow
Tom DiChristopher
