24Oct2019 Pre-Market Commentary: Jobless Claims Fall, Still No Sign Of Rising Layoffs, DOW Up 35 Points, Durable-goods Orders Fall 1.1%, Business Investment Shrinks Again

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are higher today with shares in London leading the region. The FTSE 100 is up 0.92% while Germany’s DAX is up 0.58% and France’s CAC 40 is up 0.38%.

3M cuts profit forecast after sales miss on slowing Asia demand

U.S. industrial conglomerate 3M Co fell well short of Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue and cut its full-year profit forecast on Thursday, adding to signs of U.S. corporations suffering from trade tensions with China.

Raytheon profit beats estimates, raises 2019 forecast on higher weapons demand

U.S. weapons maker Raytheon Company reported better-than-expected third-quarter profit on Thursday and raised its full-year earnings and sales outlook, helped by higher demand for space programs, weapons and missile warning systems.

American Airlines profit beats estimates on lower fuel costs

American Airlines Group Inc beat Wall Street estimates for third quarter profit on Thursday as lower fuel costs boosted margins, but it raised its 2019 cost estimates related to the Boeing 737 MAX grounding to $540 million.

Southwest profit jumps 7.2% as demand, MAX cancellations push up fares

Southwest Airlines Co reported a 7.2% rise in third-quarter profit on Thursday, driven by strong travel demand and higher fares following flight cancellations due to the grounding of its Boeing 737 MAX jets.

Oil steadies above $61, weak demand outlook weighs

Oil steadied above $61 a barrel on Thursday as concern over the demand outlook offset a surprise drop in U.S. crude inventories and the prospect of further action by OPEC and its allies to support the market.

Stocks rise, euro holds gains before Draghi’s farewell

Europe’s traders were sending European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi off in style on Thursday, raising the region’s stocks to their highest in more than a year and nudging the euro towards its best month since January 2018.

Futures rise as better earnings ease nerves

U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Thursday, as solid results from Microsoft, Lam Research and Tesla lifted sentiment following lackluster reports from big bellwether companies in the previous session.

Hershey ups full-year sales forecast after third-quarter beat

Hershey Co raised its full-year revenue forecast after posting third-quarter results that beat Wall Street estimates on Thursday, driven by price increases and investments in snacking brands.

Chemicals maker Dow cuts costs as global slowdown bites

Dow Inc beat Wall Street estimates for profit in the third quarter as it cut costs to offset a sharp slowdown in demand for the chemicals it makes for plastics and other manufacturing, sending shares almost 2% higher.

Watch Live: Mario Draghi’s Last Press Conference As ECB Chief

Watch Live: Mario Draghi’s Last Press Conference As ECB Chief

After eight years of leadership, Mario Draghi is stepping down from the helm of the European Central Bank. This final press conference as ECB president is expected to be something of a lovefest for the man whom many economists have credited with saving the euro (for better or worse).

Beijing Won’t Raise US Agri Purchases Until Year Two Of Trade Deal

Beijing Won’t Raise US Agri Purchases Until Year Two Of Trade Deal

Thursday’s big trade news isn’t actually all that impressive. According to Bloomberg, Beijing has offered to buy $20 billion in American agricultural products a year if ‘Phase One’ of President Trump’s trade deal is eventually ratified. There is just one problem: that’s what China was buying in 2017 before President Trump started slapping tariffs on Chinese goods.

So China promises to buy $20BN… or what it was buying in agri products before trade war started pic.twitter.com/c3Ww0byjog

” zerohedge (@zerohedge) October 24, 2019

The escalation in purchases wouldn’t come until the second year after all punitive tariffs are removed (i.e. when Trump may or may notbe president): at that point, those purchases could rise to $40-$50 billion, according to BBG’s sources, who didn’t offer any specifics about the timing beyond that.

Twitter Loses a Fifth Of Its Market Cap On Huge Guidance Miss

Twitter Loses a Fifth Of Its Market Cap On Huge Guidance Miss

Twitter shares are crashing in the premarket after Trump’s favorite social network not only missed third-quarter revenue expectations but missed Q4 revenue expectations “bigly.” With the social media company expecting headwinds from revenue product issues, such as advertising issues and product bugs to significantly weigh on overall performance through year-end, and as a resulted, Twitter now sees 4Q revenue of only $940 million to $1.01 billion, far below the consensus estimate $1.06 billion.

First, the historical stuff: Twitter’s Q3 adjusted EPS of 17 cents missed exp. of 20 cents, on revenue of $823.7 million, which while rising +8.7%, missed Wall Street’s expectations of $875.6 million. More problematic is that 3Q adjusted Ebitda tumbled 11% to $262.8 million, badly missing the estimate of $303.1 million.

As Parting Gift Draghi Leaves Europe With QEternity, Never Hiking Rates Once In 8 Years

As Parting Gift Draghi Leaves Europe With QEternity, Never Hiking Rates Once In 8 Years

After Mario Draghi restarted QE, cut rates and unveiled QEternity last month as his parting gift – and welcome present for Christine Lagarde – there were few surprises this morning from Draghi’s final appearance as ECB president.

The central bank kept all three rates unchanged as expected, noting, as before, that it “expects the key ECB interest rates to remain at their present or lower levels until it has seen the inflation outlook robustly converge to a level sufficiently close to, but below, 2% within its projection horizon.” The ECB also reiterated the parameters of its restarted QE, which it expects to “run for as long as necessary to reinforce the accommodative impact of its policy rates, and to end shortly before it starts raising the key ECB interest rates”, in other words, QEternity.

In short no surprises, and perhaps the only thing that matters, as DB’s Jim Reid notes, is what color tie Draghi tie will be during his press conference.

Meanwhile, as Bloomberg notes, unlike his predecessors, Draghi was never able to raise rates during his term, instead pumping ever-more liquidity into the financial system as he fought one crisis after another. He’ll be remembered for his pledge to do œwhatever it takes to save the euro during the regional debt meltdown in 2012, and he claims credit for the creation of 11 million jobs since 2013, but he’s fallen short of his primary mandate.

Here is the full press release:

At today’s meeting the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) …

Tax cut in February Budget? Govt mulls move to boost growth

A tax cut in February Budget? Govt mulls move to boost growthGovt may hike taxable income limits, especially the Rs 10 lakh slab, which attracts a 30% rate at present.

ITC Q2 profit up 36% YoY to Rs 4,023 crore

ITC Q2 profit up 36% YoY to Rs 4,023 core analysts in an ETNow poll had projected a net of Rs 3,656 crore.

Rs 92,000 cr blow to telcos as SC backs govt

Rs 92,000 cr blow to telcos as SC backs govt. The ailing sector had claimed that the AGR includes only license and spectrum fees.

Economic Report: Jobless claims fall to 212,000 in late October, still no sign of rising layoffs

The number of people who applied for jobless benefits in late October fell slightly and clung near a 50-year low, showing the resilience of a strong labor market that’s held up well in the face of a slowing U.S. economy. A rough measure of layoffs known as initial jobless claims declined by 6,000 to 212,000.

Economic Report: Durable-goods orders fall 1.1%, business investment shrinks again in a negative sign for U.S. economy

Orders for long-lasting or durable goods fell in September for the first time in three months and business investment shrank again, reflecting widespread weakness in manufacturing that’s acted as a drag on the broader U.S economy. Orders dropped 1.1% last month.

Outside the Box: Why giving equity shares to top executives and employees is a costly mistake

Offer employees performance bonuses instead of outright ownership, writes Bruce Willey.