22Jan2019 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street To Open Lower, DOW Futures Off Triple Digits, Global Stocks Fall, Bonds Rise, Oil Down 2%

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are lower today with shares in London off the most. The FTSE 100 is down 0.50% while Germany’s DAX is off 0.44% and France’s CAC 40 is lower by 0.41%.

Elliott urges eBay to restructure business to double market value

EBay Inc shareholder Elliott Management Corp on Tuesday urged the e-commerce platform to restructure its business and sell some businesses to double its market value in the next two years.

Britain’s P&O re-flagging its UK ships to Cyprus ahead of Brexit

British ferry and shipping freight operator P&O will re-flag its entire UK registered fleet to Cyprus ahead of Britain’s departure from the European Union to keep tax arrangements in the bloc, the company said on Tuesday.

Brazil investor group to file lawsuit against Boeing-Embraer deal

Brazilian investors’ association Abradin said it would file a lawsuit claiming a proposed tie-up between U.S. planemaker Boeing Co and Embraer SA should come with a public tender offer, escalating its fight against the proposed deal.

Huawei to seek swift resolution for detained executive

China’s Huawei Technologies will call for a quick resolution of the case regarding its detained executive in Canada who is accused of violating U.S. sanctions on Iran, the company’s chairman, Liang Hua, said on Tuesday.

Barclays weighs 280 redundancies, relocations at Leeds call center

British bank Barclays has warned nearly 300 staff they could face redundancy or relocation from its Millshaw Court call center in Leeds, northern England, following unspecified “changes to its business”.

Halliburton profit beats on international demand, North America lags

Halliburton Co beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit on Tuesday, as higher demand for its oilfield services in international markets offset a slowdown in North America.

IMF pessimism + trade tensions = sickly stocks

Pessimism about global growth drove down world shares and commodity markets on Tuesday and left investors seeking refuge in the dollar, government bonds and gold.

Oil drops nearly 2 percent as China slowdown bites

Oil prices fell nearly 2 percent on Tuesday on signs that an economic slowdown in China is spreading, stoking concerns about global growth and fuel demand.

Johnson & Johnson 2019 revenue forecast misses expectations

Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday forecast 2019 sales that fell short of analysts’ estimates after reporting better-than- expected fourth-quarter profit and revenue.

Nomura: Stocks Begin Their Re-Correction; Watch Out Below 2,600

Has Nomura’s cross-asset strategist, Charlie McElligott done it again: after calling the market’s last two inflection points, did he time the latest market mini peak to the day?

Readers will recall that one week ago, when sharing his tactical perspective for the immediate future, Nomura’s strategist – referring to the bank’s Sep 2018-Jan 19 S&P “comp” to the Oct 2007-Oct 08 analog…

… predicted that Friday could mark a “local high” in the SPX before resumption of a -5% selloff over the 9 sessions thereafter, before then commencing another extended rally thereafter (see day count table below)

‘Hedge Fund Hotel’ Arconic Crashes 25% As Sale Plan Abandoned

Widely-held by hedge funds (e.g. Elliott Mgmnt with 52mm shares), aerospace company Arconic has decided to no longer pursue a potential sale of the company. The shares are down over 25% pre-market…

What changed in 4 days?

Jan.18: Arconic Hopes to Finalize Sale to Apollo This Weekend: NY Post

Apollo Global Management is nearing a deal to buy aluminum giant Arconic in a deal valued at roughly $22 a share, or $10.6 billion, The Post has learned.

Jan 22: Arconic no longer pursuing sale of company

we did not receive a proposal for a full-company transaction that we believe would be in the best interests of Arconic’s shareholders

As a reminder, a UK-based unit of Arconic sold construction panels that were blamed for the quick spread of a 2017 fire at Grenfell Tower in London that killed 72 people.

And as the crowd rushes for the exit, the door gets narrower and narrower…crashing the stock to a new record low.

In Unprecedented Speech, President Xi Warns Of “Serious Dangers” To Communist Party Rule

Since the days of Deng Xiaoping, the Chinese Communist Party has maintained its absolute authority over China’s roughly 1.4 billion people via an explicit social contract: the CCP would engineer an economic miracle that would lift hundreds of millions of people into the middle class, and in return, the Chinese people would accept the limitations on political freedoms demanded by the CCP.

But with China’s economy growing at its slowest pace in three decades and private sector businesses struggling with an unprecedented credit squeeze, President Xi Jinping must scramble to find a way to stabilize the country’s economy in the face of the US’s trade war escalation threats in order to ensure his legitimacy in the eyes of the public.

And in the latest sign that another crackdown on dissenters might lie ahead (remember when China started locking up short-sellers a few years ago?), Xi called an abrupt meeting of top party officials in Beijing on Monday, where he issued a warning about the need to maintain “political stability” in what

Tesla’s Customer Service E-Mail Address Implodes, Returning “Mailbox Full” Errors

For Tesla, production hell wound up turning into delivery hell. And now delivery hell may very well be turning into customer service hell.

After Friday’s announcement that the company would be laying off 7% of its staff and cutting its guidance, skeptics started to ask the question of how the company was going to continue to run its business with what already felt like a bare bones staff.

Current owners are about to experience what it’s like to have zero customer support. All $TSLA cost centers are in service/repair, the opposite of every other auto co., because of terrible initial product quality. https://t.co/1JJaYGDkRi

— Paul Huettner, CFA (@Paul_M_Huettner) January 18, 2019

I suppose with thousands fewer employees the $TSLA customer service and post-sales experience will be that much better.

— Keubiko (@Keubiko) January 18, 2019

This tiny fund you’ve never heard of was up 22% last year, but it has a risky strategy

Think everyone lost money last year? Think again.

Another woeful effect of the government shutdown: More spam calls

Systems meant to thwart robocalls and other spam phone calls are not working as they should.

Need to Know: The investor known as the ‘Warren Buffett of Boston’ rattles Davos crowd with this warning

Dark clouds are swirling on the global economic front, with plenty for investors to wrap their heads around on — trade worries, global growth concerns. But our call of the day says investors are overlooking some big elephants in the room.