1/15/2021
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Give a Little Whistle….
Exxon Mobil (XOM) is coming under pressure this morning after a reported SEC probe was just opened in response to a recent whistleblower complaint. Their Permian Basin project which was purchased back in 2019 was allegedly being inflated to reflect unrealistic value and production assumptions. A million barrels a day by 2024 was being touted which may be well outside the expected production range. Some employees were also allegedly fired after pushing back on the lofty assumptions. Shares of the global oil company are down 3% ahead of the open after being up the past nine sessions in a row.
Photo Finish?
Sudden plans to close all Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) photo departments by February 14th shocked members as the need for printed photographs continue to decline in the digital age. Ink refills and passport photos will also be discontinued at all of their roughly 800 warehouse locations with some services still available online. Shares of the bulk-goods wholesaler are down nearly 4% since the turn of the new year despite reporting sale growth of 12% over the month of December.
Market Movers and Shakers (as of this writing)
S&P 500 futures (/ES) -0.58%, near 3769
U.S. Crude Oil futures (/CL) -1.38%, near $52.89 a barrel
CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) +3.78%, near 24.22
U.S. Gold Futures (/GC) -0.62%, near $1840.00 an ounce
Major Economic Reports:
7:30 am CT – Empire State Manufacturing Index
7:30 am CT – Retail Sales
7:30 am CT – PPI – Final Demand
9:00 am CT – Business Inventories
9:00 am CT – Consumer Sentiment
12:00 pm CT – Baker Hughes Rig Count
Notable Earnings
Friday:
A.M. –C, JPM, PNC, WFC
P.M. – N/A
Monday:
A.M. – Markets Closed
P.M. – N/A
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1/14/2021
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Feeling Some Turbulence
Delta Airlines (DAL) reported worse than expected earnings this morning, but the CEO, Ed Bastian sees an air travel recovery starting this spring. Delta’s earnings have been hit hard by the pandemic, with the airline losing nearly $12.4 billion in 2020, which marked its worst year ever. The company lost $2.53 per share for the quarter which was slightly worse than analysts’ expectations of a $2.50 per share loss. On the bright side, revenues totaled $3.97 billion, which was slightly higher than estimates of $3.59 billion. DAL is trading over 2% higher in the pre-market.
Jobless Claims and Stimulus
U.S. jobless claims came in well above expectations of a 786,000 increase, with claims rising to 965,000 for the week ending January 9th. The four-week moving average rose by 18,250 to 834,250, after falling the week earlier. President-elect Biden is expected to unveil a Covid stimulus package tonight that could be upwards of $2 trillion. The plan is made up of $2,000 direct payments, an extension of unemployment benefits, tax credits, and money for state and local governments.
Market Movers and Shakers (as of this writing)
S&P 500 futures (/ES) +0.17%, near 3810
U.S. Crude Oil futures (/CL) -0.66%, near $52.55 a barrel
CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) -0.2%, near 22.17
U.S. Gold Futures (/GC) -0.5%, near $1843 an ounce
Major Economic Reports:
7:30 am CT – Jobless Claims
7:30 am CT – Import and Export Prices
7:30 am CT – Export Sales
9:30 am CT – EIA Natural Gas Report
11:30 am CT- Jerome Powell Speaks
3:30 pm CT – Fed Balance Sheet
3:30 pm CT – Money Supply
Notable Earnings
Thursday:
A.M. – APHA, BLK, DAL, TSM
P.M. – N/A
Friday:
A.M. – C, JPM, PNC, WFC
P.M.– N/A
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1/13/2021
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Hitting a Bullseye
Target (TGT) reported that winter holiday sales rose solidly as more shoppers bought goods online, adding to a series of strong results from the company during the Covid-19 pandemic. Comparable sales (from stores or digital channels operating for at least 12 months) rose 17% in November and December from a year earlier. Same store sales increased 4.2%, while digital sales more than doubled during the period. The retailer also reported a 4.3% increase in traffic and a 12.3% increase in their average ticket over the holiday season. TGT shares are trading slightly higher in the premarket.
Forever not Plaid for Visa
Visa (V) has abandoned its $5.3 billion planned acquisition of financial-technology firm Plaid amid a Justice Department antitrust lawsuit that challenged the deal. The department sued to block the deal in November, alleging the deal would allow Visa to unlawfully maintain a monopoly in the online debit-card market. San Francisco-based Plaid provides the technological infrastructure underpinning an array of next-generation financial apps, including Venmo, the digital money-transfer service owned by PayPal Holdings (PYPL). Shares of the credit card giant V are 1% higher in premarket trading.
Market Movers and Shakers (as of this writing)
S&P 500 futures (/ES) -0.22%, near 3786
U.S. Crude Oil futures (/CL) +0.80%, near $53.60 a barrel
CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) -3.7%, near 22.45
U.S. Gold Futures (/GC) +0.75%, near $1858 an ounce
Major Economic Reports:
Wednesday:
6:00 am CT – MBA Mortgage Applications
7:30 am CT – CPI
9:00 am CT –Atlanta Fed Business Inflation Expectations
9:30 am CT – EIA Petroleum Status Report
1:00 pm CT – Beige Book
1:00 pm CT – Treasury Statement
Notable Earnings
Wednesday:
A.M. – N/A
P.M. – N/A
Thursday:
A.M. – APHA, BLK, DAL, TSM
P.M. – N/A
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1/12/2021
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Baby Needs a New Pair of Shoes
Retailers have continued to benefit from the outpouring of stimulus as consumers crack their wallets wide-open for the non-discretionary items that may have been passed over earlier last year. The footwear space is a prime example as several stocks in the group scream higher. Boot Barn (BOOT), Crocs Inc. (CROX), and UGG- owner Decker’s Outdoor (DECK) have all recently broke to fresh all-time highs. Foot Locker Inc. (FL) has also joined the party with an amazing 166% rally since its March pandemic lows.
Zoom’s Breakout Room
Shares of Zoom (ZM) are active ahead of the opening bell after the company just announced plans to offer an additional $1.5 billion worth of new shares in a secondary offering scheduled for tomorrow. The stock price peaked in mid-October near $588 a share before seeing a rapid decline which began near the time of the vaccine rollout to rest at $337.71 after Monday's close. The technology company also shared news of a major milestone reaching one million customers signed up for "Zoom Phone" which was launched just two years ago. The service offers a suite of: video meetings, chat, and tele-conferencing capabilities which has been an integral part of keeping businesses functioning during the pandemic. ZM is currently down nearly 3% pre-market in reaction.
Market Movers and Shakers (as of this writing)
S&P 500 futures (/ES) -0.01%, near 3790.25
U.S. Crude Oil futures (/CL) +1.14%, near $52.85 a barrel
CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) -0.45%, near 23.99
U.S. Gold Futures (/GC) -0.70%, near $1838.20 an ounce
Major Economic Reports:
All Day – Monthly Motor Vehicle Sales
5:00 am CT – NFIB Small Business Optimism Index
7:55 am CT - Redbook
9:00 am CT – JOLTS
Notable Earnings:
Tuesday:
A.M. –N/A
P.M. – N/A
Wednesday:
A.M. – N/A
P.M. – N/A
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1/11/2021
The Week Ahead
Companies Retreat and Banks Withdraw
Corporations and banks are reviewing their contributions to political action committees (PAC’s) in the wake of last week’s riot at the Capitol. Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance and hotelier Marriott International (MAR) have come forward saying they would suspend donations to Republican lawmakers who objected to President-Elect Biden’s Electoral College win. Megabanks, JPMorgan (JPM) and Citigroup (C) have decided to pause all PAC donations to Republicans and Democrats for the foreseeable future. JPMorgan and Citigroup PAC’s have raised $900,000 and $740,000, respectively for federal candidates in the 2019-2020 cycle.
Parler Games
Parler, a social media service that has gained popularity among conservatives, had support of their service halted by Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) over the weekend. Amazon stopped providing cloud computing services for Parler, and Apple pulled the company’s app from the App Store. Both companies were concerned that Parler was not adequately addressing threats of violence on the platform. The service has seen increased interest since November, as larger social media companies such as Twitter (TWTR) and Facebook (FB) increased their policing of content. On Friday, Twitter banned President Trump’s personal account, TWTR is trading 8% lower in the pre-market
Market Movers and Shakers (as of this writing)
S&P 500 futures (/ES) -0.9%, near 3783
U.S. Crude Oil futures (/CL) -1.1%, near $51.60 a barrel
CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) +12.55%, near 24.27
U.S. Gold Futures (/GC) +0.03%, near $1836 an ounce
Bitcoin Futures (/BTC) -15.4%, near $33,420
Economic Releases (01/11-01/15):
Monday:
10:00 am CT – Export Inspections
10:30 am CT – 3-Month and 6-Month Bill Auction
Tuesday:
Motor Vehicle Sales
5:00 am CT – NFIB Small Business Optimism Index
7:55 am CT - Redbook
9:00 am CT – JOLTS
Wednesday:
6:00 am CT – MBA Mortgage Applications
7:30 am CT – CPI
9:00 am CT –Atlanta Fed Business Inflation Expectations
9:30 am CT – EIA Petroleum Status Report
1:00 pm CT – Beige Book
1:00 pm CT – Treasury Statement
Thursday:
7:30 am CT – Jobless Claims
7:30 am CT – Import and Export Prices
7:30 am CT – Export Sales
9:30 am CT – EIA Natural Gas Report
3:30 pm CT – Fed Balance Sheet
3:30 pm CT – Money Supply
Friday:
7:30 am CT – Empire State Manufacturing Index
7:30 am CT – Retail Sales
7:30 am CT – PPI – Final Demand
9:00 am CT – Business Inventories
9:00 am CT – Consumer Sentiment
12:00 pm CT – Baker Hughes Rig Count
Major Earnings for the Upcoming Week (01/11-01/15):
Monday:
A.M. – CCL
P.M. – N/A
Tuesday:
A.M. – N/A
P.M. – N/A
Wednesday:
A.M.– N/A
P.M. – N/A
Thursday:
A.M. – APHA, BLK, DAL, TSM
P.M. – N/A
Friday:
A.M. – C, JPM, PNC, WFC
P.M.– N/A
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*BOLD above indicates important and potential market-moving news and information
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