Written by Gary
US stock index futures inched higher, Target CEO credits canceled vacations (SPY +0.06%). Lowe’s reports blow-out quarter with 30% surge in revenue.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
 | European markets are higher today with shares in Germany leading the region. The DAX is up 0.26% while London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.12% and France’s CAC 40 is up 0.04%. |
What Is Moving the Markets
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
 | Target reports a monster quarter ” profits jump 80%, same-store sales set recordTarget reported dramatic growth among its online services, such as curbside pickup, and had sales growth across all of its merchandise categories. |
| Target CEO credits canceled vacations, not stimulus checks, for blowout quarterTarget CEO Brian Cornell said Americans shopped because they couldn’t go on vacation or spend money on typical summer activities during the pandemic. |
| Southwest reports ‘modest’ improvement in travel demand but cuts back on flights in coming monthsSouthwest said its third-quarter cash burn was slightly better than expected and said capacity in quarter would be lower than previously expected. |
| 5 things to know before the stock market opens WednesdayThe S&P 500 was pacing to add to Tuesday’s record close as Target and Lowe’s reported blowout earnings. |
| How to manage any credit card debt you may have racked up the last few monthsNo matter how you choose to pay down credit card balances, here are the hard truths. Paying the minimum on a card will keep you in the red ” and from using it again ” for years. |
| Coronavirus live updates: Britain to ramp up mass testing; Roche and Regeneron team up on new drugThe coronavirus has infected more than 22.1 million people around the world as of Wednesday, killing at least 781,500 people. |
| Lowe’s reports blow-out quarter with 30% surge in revenueLowe’s said its second-quarter revenue surged 30% as consumers shifted spending from restaurants and travel to home improvement projects during the coronavirus pandemic. |
| Notre Dame temporarily shifts to remote classes to try to curb coronavirus outbreak, warns it may send students homeThe University of Notre Dame will move undergraduate instruction online for two weeks in an attempt to curb the coronavirus. |
| J&J strikes $6.5 billion deal for autoimmune disease specialist MomentaJohnson & Johnson said on Wednesday it would buy Momenta Pharmaceuticals for about $6.5 billion in cash to expand into the area of autoimmune disease treatments. |
| German institute says coronavirus vaccinations could start in early 2021The head of Germany’s vaccines regulator said some groups of people living in Germany could be vaccinated early next year. |
| Australia PM walks back coronavirus vaccine comments after saying it should be mandatoryAustralia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison has backtracked on comments that he was expecting to make a coronavirus vaccine as mandatory as possible. |
| Wall Street pushes for GM to spin off its electric vehicle businessPressure is mounting from Wall Street for General Motors to spin off its electric vehicle business in an attempt to better position the operations against Tesla and a fleet of expected startup companies. |
| Roche and Regeneron link up on a coronavirus antibody cocktailRegeneron and Roche are teaming up on an investigational antibody cocktail against Covid-19, with the U.S. company to sell it in the United States and the Swiss drugmaker to sell it elsewhere, should the drug win approval. |
| NIH Shakes Down Researchers For Information On Mysterious Chinese Lab Where COVID-19 Was KeptNIH Shakes Down Researchers For Information On Mysterious Chinese Lab Where COVID-19 Was Kept Tyler Durden Wed, 08/19/2020 – 08:35 The White House is intensifying its search for evidence that SARS-CoV-2 might have leaked from a Chinese Level 4 BSL laboratory called the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan. Democrats and their allies in the press have dismissed claims that the virus may have leaked either deliberately or accidentally, from the institute – citing the disappearance of a scientist suspected of being “patient zero” as possible evidence. |
| Stolen Mailboxes? Don’t Fall For Dems’ Latest Conspiracy TheoryStolen Mailboxes? Don’t Fall For Dems’ Latest Conspiracy Theory Tyler Durden Wed, 08/19/2020 – 08:18 Authored by Liz Harrington via RealClearPolitics.com, Democrats and the media are meddling in our elections again. But this is getting absurd… |
| Futures At All Time High As Target Reports Record QuarterFutures At All Time High As Target Reports Record Quarter Tyler Durden Wed, 08/19/2020 – 07:58 S&P futures edged higher, alongside European stocks, flirting with record highs and just shy of 3,400 following blockbuster earnings from retailers Target and Lowe’s, a day after the S&P 500 completed its fastest recovery from a bear market in history. The dollar headed for a sixth daily drop while Treasuries rose again, the 10Y yield sliding to 0.6477%. |
| Chinese Regulator Says COVID-19 Vaccines Must Be At Least 50% Effective, Last For 6 MonthsChinese Regulator Says COVID-19 Vaccines Must Be At Least 50% Effective, Last For 6 Months Tyler Durden Wed, 08/19/2020 – 07:23 Beijing is stepping up the drumbeat toward the eventual launch of CanSino’s adenovirus-vector COVID-19 vaccine by lowering China’s standards for vaccine efficacy. Days after approving a patent for CanSino’s vaccine, a ploy that we joked was drummed up because President Xi was jealous of all the attention afforded Putin, China is now saying that any vaccines approved by its regulators must be only 50% effective, and demonstrate efficacy for a period of at least 6 months. |
| Rail fares to rise 1.6% in January despite passenger slumpPassenger groups call for an overhaul of fares, after commuter numbers collapsed during lockdown. |
| PPE costs add to surprise jump in UK inflation in JulyExtra cost of personal protection equipment for dentists and hairdressers helped send UK inflation to 1%. |
| Coronavirus: Lockdown budgeting exploited by fraudstersInvestment scams rise during the summer as con-artists take advantage of coronavirus uncertainty. |
| News: Airports to be leased via partnershipNews: Airports to be leased via partnershipAs part of the partnership, the Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram airports will be leased out, says Union Minister Prakash Javdekar. |
| Tinder’s CPO, OLX founder invest in ChingariTinder’s CPO, OLX founder invest in ChingariGrinda has more than 200 investments in several big firms including Alibaba Group, Airbnb, Beepi, FanDuel, Palantir, and Windeln. |
| CCI throws out complaint against WhatsAppCCI throws out complaint against WhatsAppA case in March alleged that WhatsApp was bundling its digital payment facility – WhatsApp Pay – within its messaging app for which it already has a large user base. The case alleged WhatsApp was abusing its position by forcing its payments feature on to its existing users. |
| A financial-markets whodunit is rocking the exchange-traded worldWhen an exchange-traded note in a death spiral was taken off the exchange where it traded, someone may have seen an opportunity to put the screws on a short seller. |
| U.K. and EU trade talks are stuck again ” here’s whyNegotiations about a future trade treaty between the U.K. and the European Union look stalled again. |
| Key Words: ‘COVID has reduced to tatters the illusion of American exceptionalism,’ anthropologist writes in Rolling Stone op-edThe critique from the U.S.’s sister country to the north may be a hard pill for some to swallow, as Davis says that America’s obsession with individual rights and liberty at the expense of community has been a key point of weakness for the nation. |
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