29Jan2019 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street To Open Fractionally Higher, DOW Up Double Digits, SP 500 Futures Higher 0.1%, Gold Inched Up Into 1300’s

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are broadly higher today with shares in London leading the region. The FTSE 100 is up 1.42% while France’s CAC 40 is up 1.09% and Germany’s DAX is up 0.31%.

Verizon sees no increase in 2019 profit, misses fourth-quarter revenue estimate

Verizon Communications Inc on Tuesday missed quarterly revenue estimates, but added almost twice as many new wireless subscribers as analysts expected.

Mnuchin says Huawei case ‘separate issue’ from China trade talks

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said on Tuesday he expected to see significant progress in trade talks with Chinese officials this week and that U.S. charges against telecommunications giant Huawei were a separate issue.

Three Abu Dhabi lenders agree to create $114 billion bank

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Union National Bank and Al Hilal Bank agreed a merger on Tuesday to create the third-largest bank in the United Arab Emirates.

Harley’s shares tumble on disappointing earnings

Harley-Davidson Inc reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday amid a prolonged struggle to revive demand for its bikes in the United States where sales dived yet again, sending its shares down over 6 percent.

PG&E, owner of biggest U.S. power utility, files for bankruptcy

Power provider PG&E Corp filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, succumbing to liabilities stemming from wildfires in Northern California in 2017 and 2018.

British lawmakers tell banks that no deal Brexit will not spell disarray

Britain would have “fully functional” rules to remain a top global financial center even if it left the European Union without a Brexit deal, its lawmakers said on Tuesday.

Xerox profit, forecast beat estimates; shares jump

Xerox Corp beat analysts’ expectations for profit in the fourth quarter and forecast full-year profit above estimates, suggesting moves to refocus under new management were paying off and sending its shares up 6 percent.

Lockheed Martin profit misses estimates, shares slip

Pentagon’s No.1 weapons supplier Lockheed Martin Corp missed analysts’ estimates for quarterly profit on Tuesday, as margins slipped in its aeronautics unit that makes the F-35 stealth fighter jets.

Huawei lawyer says CFO Meng a ‘hostage’ after U.S. presses charges

Huawei’s CFO “should not be a hostage” in Sino-U.S. relations, her lawyer said on Tuesday, after the United States announced criminal charges against herself and the Chinese firm just days before crunch trade talks with Beijing.

Colombia Says It’s Puzzled Over John Bolton’s “5,000 Troops To Colombia” Note

Colombia is downplaying Monday’s incident in which US national security advisor John Bolton perhaps inadvertently flashed the contents a yellow notepad he was holding during a White House press briefing to reveal handwritten text “5,000 troops to Colombia,” which was picked up by photographers. The words were seen scribbled behind “Afghanistan – welcome the talks” in apparent notes made while previously discussing White House foreign policy and national security.

Close-up of the AP photo published by NBC

Colombian Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes dismissed the possibility of any impending joint action with its close ally the US, saying in a brief address late Monday that he does not know the “importance and reason” for Bolton’s note. Holmes further said noting that his country will only act “politically and dip …

Huawei CFO’s Lawyer Accuses US Of “Hostage Taking” After DOJ Indictment

With the US reportedly preparing to formally request the extradition of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou following a series of indictments against Meng and the telecoms giant that her father founded, her lawyers are stepping up their rhetoric, accusing the US of “hostage-taking” and using Meng as a political “pawn”.

According to Reuters, Meng’s lawyer said Tuesday that the Huawei’s CFO “should not be a hostage” to Sino-US relations. The remarks come ahead of trade talks between President Trump and a coterie of his senior trade officials, with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He leading a delegation on the Chinese side.

Her lawyer Reid Weingarten, partner at Steptoe & Johnson, pointed to “complex” Sino-U.S. relations. “Our client, Sabrina Meng, should not be a pawn or a hostage in this relationship. Ms. Meng is an ethical and honorable businesswoman who has never spent a second of her life plotting to violate any U.S. law, including the Iranian sanctio …

Democrats Plan Starbucks Boycott If “Egotistical, Billionaire Asshole” Schultz Runs For President

Angry Democrats are planning to boycott Starbucks if former CEO Howard Schultz runs for president. The 65-year-old billionaire has said that he may run as an independent – a move which could peel votes away from whoever wins the Democratic nomination to face President Trump.

Photo: Marketwatch.com

Putting it bluntly was a heckler at a New York Barnes & Noble, who told Schultz: “Don’t help elect Trump, you egotistical, billionaire asshole.”

Here’s the video. A heckler shouts at Howard Schultz during an event in New York: “Don’t help elect Trump, you egotistical, billionaire asshole.” Via CNN pic.twitter.com/oabwfNnsmp

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1)

HOG Gets Slaughtered After Harley Reports Biggest Miss In Ten Years

The stock of America’s iconic motorcycle maker, Harley Davidson, is in full-blown slaughter mode this morning, after the company reported dismal earnings, barely breaking even in the last quarter of a year in which HOG got caught up in President Donald Trump’s trade wars.

Harley-Davidson fell over 8% pre-market after the company reported 4Q EPS and revenue that not only missed the lowest Wall Street estimates, but were the biggest miss to consensus since 2009.

GAAP EPS was $0.000 in the fourth quarter, and 17 cents a share on a non-GAAP basis which excluded “incremental tariffs” and restructuring costs (somehow excluding tariffs is now part of non-GAAP), missing analysts’ average estimate for 29 cents (range of 19c to 42c) while revenue was only $955.6 million, far below the consensus estimate $1.05 billion (range $1 billion to $1.10 billion, while 4Q gross margin 27.6% was modestly better than the estimated 27.5%.

Yet while Harley was quick to exclude tariff costs from non-GAAP EPS, it had no problem taking full credit for sharply lower taxes, and reported that for the full-year 2018, Harley’s effective tax rate was 22.6 percent compared to 39.6 percent in 2017 (thanks “to the favorable impact of the 2017 Ta …

The Wall Street Journal: U.K.’s May plans to renegotiate Brexit deal

British Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday tells her cabinet that she will seek to renegotiate the Brexit deal that her government spent months hashing out with the European Union.

Tax Guy: New tax law eliminates alimony deductions — but not for everybody

Some divorcing taxpayers will want to delay their divorces, while others will want to get it done as soon as possible.

Metals Stocks: Gold prices head for 8 ½-month high

Gold futures on Tuesday climb solidly above the psychologically important level of $1,300, shaking off gains in global stock markets and a dollar that was edging up.