Wall Street Breakfast: Investors Brace For Fed Minutes
Feb. 21, 2018 6:37 AM ET|
Includes: AAPL, AOBC, ATUS, CCOI, CMCSA, CTL, DFS, DISH, DUK, FTR, GM, HD, MDT, MMM, MRK, NAVI, NFLX, NNI, OLN, QQQ, RGR, S, SLM, SPACE, SPWH, SPY, T, TM, TMUS, TSLA, TWX, VRACY, VSTO, VZ, WMT
Wall Street Breakfast
Seeking Alpha's flagship daily business news summary, gives you a rapid overview of the day's key financial news. It is published before 7:00 AM ET every market day and delivered to over 900,000 email subscribers.
The Fed is set to release the minutes from its last gathering in January, which could have more impact than usual if they provide new insight on inflation or interest rates. Fears of rising inflation are at the heart of what's recently been ailing the stock market. The minutes could also be a window into what new Fed Chair Jerome Powell might say when he appears before Congress next week for his semi-annual testimony on the economy.
Economy
Britain could withhold payment of its £39B Brexit divorce bill if the EU doesn't give it a trade deal, according to Brexit Secretary David Davis. "We have been very plain... Article 50 says the withdrawal agreement has to take into account the future relationship. They're bound up in one, they're not a separate issue."
Emerging as one of the best-performing major economies last year, eurozone business growth remained robust this month despite indications that higher prices and a stronger currency were taking a toll. IHS Markit’s composite flash PMI fell to 57.5, from January's final reading of 58.8, but the reading was still one of the most expansionary - or farthest above 50 - in more than 11 years.
Sanctions bite? Mike Pence had been scheduled to meet with North Korean officials, including leader Kim Jong Un's sister, while in South Korea for the Winter Olympics earlier this month. But after the Vice President announced plans for new economic penalties, "they walked away from a meeting or perhaps they were never sincere about sitting down," said Nick Ayers, Pence's chief of staff.
The Trump administration is considering clarifying the stringent standard of "undue hardship," allowing more Americans to erase student debt in bankruptcy. While the Education Department can't change the law without Congressional approval, it can decide how aggressively to fight a borrower's request to cancel loans in court. Student debt more than doubled over the past decade to nearly $1.4T. Related tickers: SLM, NAVI, NNI, DFS
Stocks
Apple is in talks to buy long-term supplies of cobalt directly from miners for the first time, seeking to procure "several thousand" metric tons of cobalt per year for a period of at least five years, Bloomberg reports. The strategy is designed to buffer Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) reserves of the key lithium ion battery ingredient amid industry fears of a shortage driven by the electric vehicle boom.
In a similar vein, Toyota (NYSE:TM) is trying to make electrified vehicles less dependent on rare-earth elements, a market essentially controlled by China. The carmaker intends to use more lanthanum and cerium in the magnets for its EV batteries as a replacement for neodymium, and will include the magnets in electric power-steering motors by the end of 2025.
Restructuring options? General Motors (NYSE:GM) has proposed investing $2.8B into its struggling South Korean operations over the next 10 years and has asked Seoul to provide funds for the investment. The proposal is on top of a more than $2.2B debt-for-equity swap the automaker offered yesterday. GM Korea is one of the company's largest offshore operations.
SpaceX is planning a rocket launch early this morning. The recycled Falcon 9 is expected to carry Microsat 2a and 2b satellites into orbit as part of initial testing of a satellite internet system. Twist? One of the twelve ground stations being set up by SpaceX (Private:SPACE) to receive the communication signals from Starlink is at Tesla's (NASDAQ:TSLA) plant in Fremont, California.
It's the latest act of "cryptojacking." Hackers infiltrated Tesla's (TSLA) cloud environment and stole computer resources to mine cryptocurrency, while some proprietary data related to mapping, telemetry, and vehicle servicing was also reportedly exposed. The breach was swiftly rectified, according to a Tesla spokesperson, who added that there was "no indication" the breach impacted customer privacy or compromised the security of its vehicles.
President Trump has signed a memorandum directing the DOJ to come up with rules prohibiting "bump stocks" and "all devices that turn legal weapons into machine guns." White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also told reporters that Trump hasn't "closed the door" on a potential ban of assault-style weapons and "hasn't yet determined" whether there should be a federal age limit for purchasing semiautomatic rifles. Related tickers: AOBC, RGR, OLN, SPWH, VSTO
Settling a case over chemical disposal and groundwater contamination, 3M (NYSE:MMM) is paying $850M to the state of Minnesota and will record a related Q1 charge of $1.10 to $1.15 a share, inclusive of related legal fees. It wasn't immediately clear whether the perfluorochemicals settlement included an admission of wrongdoing by the company. 3M faces at least 11 other class-action lawsuits in state and federal courts related to PFCs.
Already one of the leaders in the hot area of cancer immunotherapy, Merck & Co (NYSE:MRK) has agreed to buy Viralytics (OTCQX:VRACY) for A$502M ($394M) to expand its drug pipeline. The deal comes at a time of booming merger and acquisition activity in the biotechnology sector, with $27.5B of transactions agreed in January alone.
In a blow to AT&T and its $85B bid for Time Warner (NYSE:TWX), a judge has ruled that the DOJ doesn't need to identify whether there was contact about the deal between the White House and Attorney General Jeff Sessions. AT&T (NYSE:T) had hoped to use the information to show that the DOJ's opposition to the deal was spurred by President Trump's disapproval of Time Warner's CNN. The case goes to trial next month.
The FCC will publish its reversal of net neutrality regulations tomorrow after releasing it to the public later today, Reuters reports. Putting the December order into the Federal Register will permit opponents to file suit against it, in an effort to block the new order from taking effect. It also starts a deadline of 60 legislative days for Congress to vote on overturning the decision. Related stocks: ATUS, CMCSA, CTL, CHTR, FTR, T, VZ, NFLX, DISH, CCOI, S, TMUS
Tuesday's Key Earnings
Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) -1.3% with forecasts dented by tax reform.
Home Depot (NYSE:HD) flat despite shining comparable sales.
Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) -2.1% after profit margins declined.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT) -10.2% on slowing e-commerce growth.
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan +0.2%. Hong Kong +1.8%. China closed. India +0.4%.
In Europe, at midday, London -0.2%. Paris -0.4%. Frankfurt -0.8%.
Futures at 6:20, Dow -0.2%. S&P -0.2%. Nasdaq flat. Crude -0.9% to $61.25. Gold flat at $1331. Bitcoin -2.5% to $10948.
Ten-year Treasury Yield flat at 2.88%
Today's Economic Calendar
7:00 MBA Mortgage Applications
8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales
9:00 Fed's Harker: Economic Outlook
9:45 PMI Composite Flash
10:00 Existing Home Sales
11:30 Results of $13B, 2-Year FRN Auction
1:00 PM Results of $35B, 5-Year Note Auction
2:00 PM FOMC minutes
Companies reporting earnings today »
After the Close:
AAC AAC Holdings, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
AAOI Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
ACHC Acadia Healthcare Co. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
AKR Acadia Realty Trust 02/21/2018 Post-Market
ANIK Anika Therapeutics Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
ANSS ANSYS, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
ATH Athene Holding 02/21/2018 Post-Market
ATNI ATN International, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
AXTI AXT Inc 02/21/2018 Post-Market
BAND Bandwidth, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
BPI Bridgepoint Education, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
CAKE The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated 02/21/2018 Post-Market
CAR Avis Budget Group, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
CCDBF CCL Industries Inc.B 02/21/2018 Post-Market
CECO Career Education Corporation 02/21/2018 Post-Market
CIB Bancolombia S.A. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
CLI Mack-Cali Realty Corp. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
CLR Continental Resources, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
CONE CyrusOne 02/21/2018 Post-Market
COTV Cotiviti Holdings 02/21/2018 Post-Market
CPA Copa Holdings, S.A. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
CSGP CoStar Group, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
CSLT Castlight Health, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
CVG Convergys Corporation 02/21/2018 Post-Market
CW Curtiss-Wright Corporation 02/21/2018 Post-Market
DMRC Digimarc Corporation 02/21/2018 Post-Market
DOOR Masonite International Corporation 02/21/2018 Post-Market
DYN Dynegy Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
ECPG Encore Capital Group Inc 02/21/2018 Post-Market
EIFZF Exchange Income Corp. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
EIG Employers Holdings, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
ELGX Endologix Inc 02/21/2018 Post-Market
ESND Essendant 02/21/2018 Post-Market
ESRT Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
ETE Energy Transfer Equity, L.P. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
ETP Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
EVBG Everbridge 02/21/2018 Post-Market
EVTC EVERTEC 02/21/2018 Post-Market
FARO FARO Technologies, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
FIVN Five9, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
FR First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
FTI TechnipFMC plc 02/21/2018 Post-Market
GDOT Green Dot Corporation 02/21/2018 Post-Market
GMED Globus Medical 02/21/2018 Post-Market
GMKYY GRUMA SAB DE CV ADR 02/21/2018 Post-Market
GPOR Gulfport Energy Corporation 02/21/2018 Post-Market
GXP Great Plains Energy Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
HASI Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital 02/21/2018 Post-Market
HBM Hudbay Minerals Inc Ordinary Sh 02/21/2018 Post-Market
HST Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
HT Hersha Hospitality Trust 02/21/2018 Post-Market
IAG IAMGOLD Corporation 02/21/2018 Post-Market
INN Summit Hotel Properties, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
INVH Invitation Homes 02/21/2018 Post-Market
IPAS iPass Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
JACK Jack In The Box Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
KALU Kaiser Aluminum Corporation 02/21/2018 Post-Market
LDL Lydall, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
LGCY Legacy Reserves LP 02/21/2018 Post-Market
LGND Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated 02/21/2018 Post-Market
LMAT LeMaitre Vascular, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
LOPE Grand Canyon Education, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
LSI Life Storage, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
MANT ManTech International Corporation 02/21/2018 Post-Market
MB Mindbody 02/21/2018 Post-Market
MIC Macquarie Infrastructure Corp 02/21/2018 Post-Market
MTDR Matador Resources 02/21/2018 Post-Market
MYTAY Magyar Telekom Telecommunications Plc. ADR 02/21/2018 Post-Market
NE Noble Corporation plc 02/21/2018 Post-Market
O Realty Income Corporation 02/21/2018 Post-Market
OGS ONE Gas, Inc 02/21/2018 Post-Market
P Pandora Media 02/21/2018 Post-Market
PALDF NORTH AMER PALLADIUM LTD 02/21/2018 Post-Market
PE Parsley Energy, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
PODD Insulet Corporation 02/21/2018 Post-Market
PRA ProAssurance Corporation 02/21/2018 Post-Market
PRAH PRA Health Sciences 02/21/2018 Post-Market
QDEL Quidel Corporation 02/21/2018 Post-Market
QEP QEP Resources, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
RGR Sturm, Ruger & Company Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
ROIC Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
ROKU Roku Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
RPXC RPX Corporation 02/21/2018 Post-Market
SAM Boston Beer Co. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
SBRA Sabra Healthcare REIT, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
SD SandRidge Energy, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
SJW SJW Corp. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
SM SM Energy Company 02/21/2018 Post-Market
SNPS Synopsys, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
SP SP Plus Corporation 02/21/2018 Post-Market
SPTN SpartanNash Company 02/21/2018 Post-Market
SRCI SRC Energy Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
SRCL Stericycle, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
STMP Stamps.com Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
SUI Sun Communities Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
SUN Sunoco LP 02/21/2018 Post-Market
SWM Schweitzer-Mauduit International Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
TG Tredegar Corporation 02/21/2018 Post-Market
TGB Taseko Mines Limited 02/21/2018 Post-Market
TILE Interface Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
TREX Trex Co. Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
TRN Trinity Industries Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
TS Tenaris S.A. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
TSLX TPG Specialty Lending 02/21/2018 Post-Market
TUSK Mammoth Energy Services 02/21/2018 Post-Market
TYL Tyler Technologies, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
UCTT Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
UGP Ultrapar Participacoes S.A. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
UIHC United Insurance Holdings Corp. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
VDSI VASCO Data Security International, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
VMI Valmont Industries, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
WEN The Wendy's Company 02/21/2018 Post-Market
WLL Whiting Petroleum Corporation 02/21/2018 Post-Market
WPG Washington Prime Group, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
WPX WPX Energy, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
WR Westar Energy, Inc. 02/21/2018 Post-Market
WRI Weingarten Realty Investors 02/21/2018 Post-Market
Y Alleghany Corporation 02/21/2018 Post-Market
