Economy
Stocks are lower today in Europe and Asia as comments made stateside by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen to IMG Managing Director Christine Lagarde continue to resonate. Germany's DAX and France's CAC both sliced off over 1%. London's FTSE is down 1.6% as Britons vote in a close general election. The euro has strengthened against the dollar to $1.1383. The stock market losses were even sharper in Asia, led by a 2.8% drop in China's Shanghai Composite Index.
The International Monetary Fund warns the balance of risk in the Asia-Pacific region is tilted toward the downside due to rising debts and a strong U.S. dollar. Although Asia is still seen as a global growth leader, the agency sees a slowing trend. The region is forecast to have a growth rate of 5.6% in 2015 and 5.5% in 2016, according to the new IMF survey. Positive factors for Asia in the near future include moderating commodity prices, strong labor markets, and solid demand from the U.S. and Europe.
Eurozone retail PMI recorded its highest reading in ten months at 49.5 for April, up from 48.6 in March. Growth of retail sales in Germany helped to offset falls in Italy and France. Gross margins continued to fall at a faster rate in a signal conditions are still demanding for retailers, according to the report.
The city council in Emmeryville, California has given approval to hike the minimum wage in the city to $16 per hour by 2019. The $16 minimum wage level planned for Emmeryville is higher than the minimum wage in any other U.S. city. Labor costs have become a bigger factor in Q1 earnings reports and 2015 guidance in the retail sector with the restaurant and apparel industries feeling the sharpest sting.
Stocks
Tesla Motors says its still on track to meet its 2015 deliveries guidance and with the planned launch of the Model X. The company reported revenue of $939.9M and EPS of -$0.36 for Q1. Model S deliveries for the quarter were 10,045 vehicles. Tesla (TSLA) says order rates have accelerated in Q2. Shares are up 2.3% in premarket trading.
General Motors reports sales in China fell 0.4% to 258,484 vehicles during April. Demand for the Buick and Chevrolet brands wavered during the month for GM (GM). Ford (F) saw flat sales in China for April at 96,889 units. Foreign automakers face more pressure in China from domestic sellers, leading to some concerns in the industry on pricing moving forward.
A planned multibillion-dollar IPO of a vast network of gas stations owned by China’s Sinopec (SNP, SHI) is not expected to take place until 2016 at the earliest because of the retirement of Chairman Fu Chengyu. The executive was considered the driver behind the plan to list the business, Sinopec Marketing Co., in a massive Hong Kong offering that had been expected to raise $5B-$10B.
Boeing is likely to clinch an order valued at more than $3B from Kuwait for 28 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets fighter jets in the coming weeks. Kuwait is reported to have signed a formal letter stating its firm plans to buy newer-model jets from Boeing (BA). The new order, as well as separate deals with the U.S. Navy, could allow Boeing to extend its St. Louis production line into 2019.
A major refined product storage renewal between Morgan Stanley (MS) and TransMontaigne Partners (TLP) has been inked early. The deal extends lease agreements for ~2.7M barrels of refined product storage in Mississippi. Morgan's move comes as it continues to seek a buyer for its physical oil business after a deal to sell it to Russia's Rosneft fell apart last year.
Kale and breakfast bowls are being tested at nine McDonald's (MCD) Southern California restaurants in a localization spin. A report from Janney Capital indicates the company is also testing kale as an ingredient in salads in California. Though the bowl menu option has been hugely successful for Chipotle (CMG) across dayparts and a spark for Taco Bell (YUM) in the morning, it could add kitchen complexity for McDonald's if the company were to roll the program out nationally.
Dow Chemical issued a strong defense of CEO Andrew Liveris after investigating allegations the executive misspent company funds. The accusations first became public in lawsuits filed against Dow (DOW) by whistleblowers. Liveris has also felt some heat from activist investors over the last year, including Third Point which is calling for a spinoff of the commodity business.
Sears Holdings CEO Eddie Lampert spent some time at the company's annual shareholder meeting highlighting the $2.5B in cash the Sears (SHLD) REIT spinoff is expected to churn up. Lampert said the tally should be enough to shake off liquidity concerns for several years. The exec also called the Shop Your Way loyalty program a meaningful asset that will increase the value of each Sears customer to the bottom line.
Wednesday's key earnings
TRIP +4.8% premarket after reiterated guidance trumped an earnings miss. (link)
CLR +2.8% premarket on a lighter than expected Q1 loss. (link)
ZNGA +6.1% premarket after beating revenue expectations on strong bookings activity. (link)
WFM -8.4% premarket after comparable-store sales disappoint. (link)
ATVI -1.1% premarket after setting guidance below expectations. (link)
GMCR -2.8% premarket after a narrow FQ2 miss on both lines. (link)
VRNS -9.5% premarket on light guidance. (link)
Today's Markets:
In Asia, Japan -1.23% to 19292. Hong Kong -1.1% to 27604. China -2.8% to 4113. India -0.6% to 26568.
In Europe, at midday, London -1.6%. Paris -1.3%. Frankfurt -1.1%.
Futures at 6:20: Dow -0.1%. S&P -0.1%. Nasdaq -0.1%. Crude +0.4% to $61.15. Gold -0.9% to $1181.70.
Ten-year Treasury Yield +1 bps to 2.24%
Today's economic calendar:
8:30 Initial Jobless Claims
8:30 Gallup US Payroll to Population
9:45 Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index
10:30 EIA Natural Gas Inventory
3:00 PM Consumer Credit
4:30 PM Money Supply
4:30 PM Fed Balance Sheet
Notable earnings before today's open: AAON, ACHN, ACRE, AEE, AGIO, AKRX, ALE, ALU, AMRC, APA, APO, ARCP, ARIA, AXAS, BABA, BDBD, BDX, CBB, CCC, CCOI, CDW, CECE, CHD, CNK, CNQ, CNSL, CONE, COT, COTY, CRIS, CSIQ, DFT, DNOW, DWRE, ENZY, FIG, FSYS, GLP, GOGO, GOLD, GSM, HII, HILL, HL, HPT, INSY, INXN, IRC, IT, KATE, LEAF, LIOX, LPI, LQDT, LXP, MFC, MGA, MITL, MMS, MPEL, MPW, MT, MWW, MZOR, NCLH, NICE, NJR, NRP, NXST, OGE, ONE, OWW, PCLN, PDCE, PGEM, PMC, PPL, PRFT, RDEN, REGN, RESI, REV, RFP, RGEN, RICE, RRD, RSTI, RWLK, SATS, SEAS, SFY, SNAK, SNI, SPH, SRPT, SSTK, STE, SUNE, TA, TAP, TDC, THS, TIME, TLM, TLP, TU, USAC, VC, VTG, WAC, WIN, WPG, WPP, WRES
Notable earnings after today's close: ABTL, ACAD, ACET, ADVS, AGO, AHS, AHT, AIRM, AL, ALIM, ALJ, ALNY, ALSK, AMBR, AMH, ASYS, AVNW, BCEI, OTCPK:BEBE, BIOS, BKD, CA, CBS, CDXS, CERN, CNAT, CORT, CROX, CUTR, CYBR, DATA, DIOD, DXPE, EBS, ECPG, ECYT, ED, EGY, ENOC, ENV, ERII, ESPR, EVC, EZPW, FLDM, FRT, FTD, FUEL, GALE, GDOT, GEOS, GST, GXP, HTGC, IMPV, INWK, JAZZ, JCOM, JMBA, KEYW, KTOS, LBTYA, MAIN, MCHP, OTC:MDRX, MDVN, MED, MHK, MNST, MOH, MTD, MTRX, NGVC, NHI, NOG, NUAN, NVAX, NVDA, OLED, OMED, OUTR, PCTY, PETX, PLNR, POST, PRO, OTCPK:PSIX, RBA, OTC:RBCN, RIGL, RJET, RMAX, RMTI, RPTP, RRMS, SAAS, SEMG, SFM, SGMS, SLW, SPPI, SRC, SREV, SSNI, STMP, SWIR, TCX, TEAR, TGI, THOR, TLLP, TNGO, TPC, TRMR, TRUE, TWOU, UBNT, UEPS, WAIR, WIFI, XOMA, XOXO, YUME, ZNGA
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