Thursday Morning Reads

Futures point to slight losses

U.S. stock index futures are losing a bit more ground as investors look to the continuing first-quarter earnings season for clues about the strength of businesses and the economy. Political tensions are popping up in the background ahead of the release of the Mueller report and amid news of renewed weapons tests by North Korea that threatened to unravel President Trump's broader Asia strategy on trade and security. Dow futures are down 53 points, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures are 0.1% lower ahead of the open.

More gloom for German manufacturing

The euro slipped 0.3% to $1.1259 after PMI data showed the German manufacturing sector contracting for the fourth month in a row, pushing investors into the safety of eurozone government bonds. While activity in Germany's services sector rose to a seven-month high in April, the focus surrounded the 44.5 reading for the manufacturing sector, well below the 50.0 mark that separates growth from contraction. The reading comes a day after Germany slashed its 2019 growth forecast to 0.5% - marking the second time the government cut its outlook in just three months.

Impressive results from Nestle and Unilever

Nestle (OTCPK:NSRGY) shares hit a new all-time high of 96.34 francs as organic sales growth - boosted by baby and pet food - rose 3.4% in the first quarter, well ahead of the 2.8% consensus forecast. The group is also advancing its reviews of its skin-care and processed meat operations, increasing hopes that it will raise more cash for shareholders through disposals. Meanwhile, Anglo-Dutch rival Unilever (NYSE:UL) shares are up 2.8% premarket as organic sales rose 3.1%. The company further upped its dividend by 6%, while CEO Alain Jope said that its acquisitions over the last three years collectively grew by "double-digits."

Latest privacy misstep from Facebook

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) has admitted to yet another potential data breach, saying it "unintentionally" uploaded the email contacts of up to 1.5M new users since May 2016. "Last month we stopped offering email password verification as an option for people verifying their account when signing up for Facebook for the first time. We've fixed the underlying issue and are notifying people whose contacts were imported. People can also review and manage the contacts they share with Facebook in their settings." FB -0.5% premarket.

Behind Apple's surprise settlement with Qualcomm

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had "four terrible options" to get the iPhone to 5G, so it went with the least of all evils, writes CNBC's Steve Kovach. 1) Settle with Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) - the leader in 5G chips, 2) Wait for Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) to catch up in 5G (although the company subsequently abandoned plans to make a 5G modem), 3) Choose Huawei (despite political and security concerns) or, 4) make its own 5G chips (which could take several years). Unfortunately for Apple, it seems like the multibillion-dollar settlement with Qualcomm was the best bet.

Samsung's Galaxy Fold already breaking?

Gadget reviewers who got the device are seeing flickering or disconnecting screens after just two days of use. Some think because a protective film was removed, but units have also broken on which the film was not peeled off. Samsung (OTC:SSNLF) started taking pre-orders for the $1,980 Galaxy Fold last weekend, but quickly ran out of availability, suggesting supply is constrained at least until its retail launch on April 26. The news sent Samsung shares down 3.1% in South Korea.

Wisconsin wants to renegotiate Foxconn contract

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers wants to renegotiate the state's nearly $3B contract with Foxconn (OTC:FXCOF), saying it's "unrealistic" to think the company will employ 13K people as originally promised. Also in question are pledges to build advanced LCD panels and hiring a manufacturing workforce. Under terms of the original deal struck by Evers' predecessor Gov. Scott Walker, Foxconn could get more than $4B in state and local tax credits if it employs 13K people and invests $10B in the state.

737 MAX certification flight ready for takeoff

Boeing (NYSE:BA) is making "steady progress" on the path to certifying a software update to the grounded 737 MAX and has made the final test flight before a certification flight, according to CEO Dennis Muilenburg. The reprogramming of 737 MAX software would prevent erroneous data from triggering an anti-stall system that came under scrutiny following two deadly nose-down crashes. Boeing must deliver the fix to international regulators for their review, which is expected to last about 90 days.

What else is happening...

Contributor Mark Hibben gives some investor takeaways from the Apple (AAPL)-Qualcomm (QCOM) settlement.

Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) slips amid $20B Russian money-laundering allegations.

Facebook (FB) is working on a voice assistant to rival Alexa and Siri.

Cloud wars continue to host government's secret classified data.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) holdings slashed by funds of top investor T. Rowe Price.

EU, Canada vow to fight U.S. Cuba shift and defend their companies.

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) makes latest C-Suite changes.

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) plans to close its marketplace for Chinese consumers.

Uber (UBER) nears an investment deal its for self-driving car unit.