CNBC Morning Squawk
U.S. stock futures were flat this morning, following the worst one-day decline for the major averages since Aug. 17. The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all saw their win streaks end with Tuesday's decline. The Dow is coming off just its fourth decline of 1 percent or more for 2017. (CNBC)
*Goldman Sachs: North Korea tensions aren't pushing up gold prices; Trump is (CNBC)
*Why a massive surge in bond yields could be around the corner (CNBC)
Today's economic calendar has several items of note today, beginning with the July trade deficit at 8:30 a.m. ET. At 10 a.m. ET, the Institute For Supply Management issues its August nonmanufacturing index, its measure of the U.S. services economy. At 2 p.m. ET, the Federal Reserve releases its Beige Book. (CNBC)
HURRICANE IRMA
The most powerful Atlantic Ocean hurricane in recorded history made its first landfall in the islands of the northeast Caribbean this morning. Hurricane Irma was churning along a path pointing to Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti ,and Cuba before possibly heading for Florida over the weekend. (AP)
Frozen concentrated orange juice futures, the contract made famous in the 1983 Eddie Murphy movie "Trading Places," spiked higher Tuesday as Irma approached Florida. Before the storm formed, Florida was expected to produce more than half of the U.S. oranges and nearly half of the country's grapefruit. (CNBC)
Oil market trading was cautious this morning, with crude demand and shipments subdued due to refinery closures following Harvey and the arrival of the even bigger Hurricane Irma. But many refineries, pipelines, and ports that were knocked out by Harvey 10 days ago are now restarting. (Reuters)
* Lower mortgage rates push more borrowers to refinance, as Harvey mucks up the data (CNBC)
Royal Caribbean (RCL), Carnival (CCL), and Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) were under some pressure after falling the past two sessions on concerns about the financial impact of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Also on hurricane watch: airline stocks, including American Airlines Group (AAL), United Continental (UAL), Delta Air Lines (DAL), and Southwest Airlines (LUV), among others.
Irma is already setting records, including "the strongest hurricane in the Atlantic basin outside of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico." But as it continues to grow in size and intensity, much uncertainty still remains over if and how it will impact the coast of the southern United States. (CNBC)
Throughout American territories and other Caribbean islands in Irma's path, there was widespread fear that this ferocious and possibly historic Category 5 storm will mean a long, painstaking journey back to normality. (Washington Post)
Senate leaders are prepared to vote this week on legislation that would pair an increase in the federal government's borrowing limit with $7.9 billion in disaster relief for victims of Hurricane Harvey despite opposition from conservatives. (Washington Post)
IN THE NEWS TODAY
President Donald Trump said he would "revisit" the Obama-era policy shielding hundreds of thousands of young people from deportation in six months if Congress cannot legalize it. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Trump is ending the program that protects hundred of thousands of so-called dreamers. (CNBC)
*Trump just put the GOP Congress in an even tougher spot with his DACA decision (CNBC)
*DACA deportations could cost US economy more than $400 billion (CNBC)
The CEOs of Facebook, Google, and other tech companies slammed the Trump administration for its plans to end DACA. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a post "the decision to end DACA is not just wrong" but also "particularly cruel." (CNBC)
*Microsoft to Trump: You're going to have to go through us to deport dreamers who work here (CNBC)
*Read Barack Obama's response to Trump's decision to end DACA (CNBC)
Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in today after which he condemned North Korea's missile testing and called for talks to try to resolve the crisis. Putin said it was not possible to resolve the crisis with just sanctions and pressure alone. (Reuters)
*South Korea's Moon discusses 'unpredictable' North Korea situation with Putin (Reuters)
China is ramping up monitoring for signs of radioactive fallout from North Korea's nuclear test. The nation is concerned that contamination could provoke a public outcry and force Beijing to harden its approach to Pyongyang, diplomats and analysts say. (WSJ)
Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman, speaking on the company's quarterly earnings call, said "I actually am not going anywhere," following reports that she was in the running to be the next CEO of Uber. The ride-hailing company has chosen former Expedia chief Dara Khosrowshahi as its new CEO. (CNBC)
*HPE stock jumps as the company beats earnings expectations (CNBC)
New crash tests for small pickup trucks raise the question of whether smaller pickups are falling short when it comes to safety. Two were given the designation of "marginal," which is one notch above the lowest possible score of "poor." (CNBC)
STOCKS TO WATCH
Wal-Mart (WMT) kicked off its holiday layaway plan, hoping to provide a boost to slow toy sales. Under the program, customers can put as little as $10 down to hold items with a minimum sales price of $50.
Japanese automaker Nissan (NSANY) today unveiled its 2018 Leaf, a fully electric car boasting autonomous features and an improved driving range. It's priced at a relatively low $30,000, about $5,000 less than the upcoming Tesla Model 3.
Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) was upgraded to "overweight" from "equal-weight" at Barclays as speculation continues about the possible sale of the Jeep division or the company as a whole.
Dave & Buster's (PLAY) beat estimates by 2 cents with adjusted quarterly profit of 59 cents per share, but the restaurant chain's revenue fell below forecasts and it also cut full-year comparable restaurant sales guidance. The stock was sharply lower in the premarket.
CONTRIBUTORS
Matthew J.
Belvedere
Senior Producer
@Matt_Belvedere
Peter
Schacknow
Senior Producer
@peterschack
Tom
DiChristopher
Web and TV producer
