Tuesday Morning Reads
Reads:
- Resigned to Bubble Risk
- Tune Out The Noise
- After the Bust
- Thorn in Uber’s Side
- Beyond Meat
- Cell Tower REITs
- The Crucible
News:
- This just in: Bitcoin hits new 2019 high
- Twitter +6.5% on Q1 user growth surprise
- Futures point to a flat open for U.S. stocks
- Verizon beats by $0.04, revenue in-line
- Lockheed Martin Corporation beats beats on revenue
- Coca-Cola +4% after organic sales growth shines
- TD, Microsoft in digital pact
- Procter & Gamble beats by $0.02, beats on revenue
- NextEra Energy beats by $0.16, misses on revenue
- Procter & Gamble sees FQ3 volume and pricing gains
- Coca-Cola beats by $0.02, beats on revenue
- Strong quarter at United Tech includes 8% organic sales growth
Premium:
Morning Charts:
U.S. stock average futures point to a basically flat opening as investors await a flood of earnings this week, with Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG), Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), Verizon (NYSE:VZ) and Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) reporting before the market opens today. S&P futures are down less than 0.1%, while Dow and Nasdaq futures point to opening up less than 0.1%. In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 Index slips 0.1%, led by a drop by builders, partly offset by energy companies' advance. In Japan, the Nikkei closed up 0.2%, and in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng ended the session flat. Crude oil +0.82% to $66.09 per barrel.
Goldman Sachs sticks to its Q2 crude oil price view
Though acknowledging near-term upside price risks, Goldman (NYSE:GS) reiterated its forecast for Brent crude trading in the $70-$75 per barrel price range for the second quarter even after the U.S. decided to end waivers on sanctions for countries buying oil from Iran. Oil prices rose more than 2% on Monday, reaching their highest level of the year.
Patricio's focus at Kraft Heinz: 'Dusty' brands, organic growth
After analysts generally praised the move to put Miguel Patricio at the helm of Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC), he began to indicate a different approach than his predecessor. In interviews, he expressed a preference for building up flagging brands rather than selling them, and for pursuing organic growth rather than the big M&A that has been more of a hallmark at 3G Capital, which installed previous management. He also looks to depart from a singular focus on cutting costs as the answer to prosperity.
Tencent-backed game streamer DouYu files for U.S. IPO
DouYu, China's top live-streaming platform, has filed for a U.S. initial public offering for up to $500M, which would make it one of the largest by a Chinese company in the U.S. this year. The firm, backed by Tencent Holdings (OTCPK:TCEHY), focuses on game streaming and drew 159.2M monthly active users in Q1, up 25.7% year over year.
Ancestry.com preps for an IPO again
Ancestry.com is preparing to take the family tree research/DNA testing company public amid increasing consumer interest in DNA tests, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter. An IPO could take place in the second half of the year and would be its second iteration as a publicly traded company. It originally went public in 2009 under the ticker ACOM after raising $100M, then was taken private in 2012 in a $1.6B buyout led by Permira Advisers.
PG&E comes to terms with investor
PG&E (NYSE:PCG) has named a new independent director to its board and the board of Pacific Gas and Electric and has hired a special independent safety advisor under an agreement with BlueMountain Capital. The utility will add Fred Buckman, former CEO of Consumers Energy and PacifiCorp, to its board; Richard Kelly will resign as a director of both boards. It will also hire Christopher Hart, former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, as special independent safety advisor. Next, the company will also propose to increase the maximum size of the PG&E Corporation board to 15 directors, to be voted on at the annual meeting.
PG&E to seek rate hikes to boost wildfire safety, system reliability
The California utility has asked state regulators for higher rates to invest and increase the safety and reliability of its energy system amid the state’s year-round wildfire season. PG&E (PCG) wants the California Public Utilities Commission to raise its return on equity to 16% from the current 10.25%, which it says reflects the need to fund as much as $28B in energy infrastructure investments over the next four years.
Amazon and French food retailer expand partnership
French retailer Casino is expanding its partnership with online commerce behemoth Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) to add Amazon lockers at 1,000 of its stores in France and make Casino-branded products available on Amazon’s website and app. The upscale Monoprix-brand products will also be available to Amazon Prime Now customers outside of Paris.
What else is happening...
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) taps State Dept. official as new general counsel.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) aims for robotaxis next year.
Sprint (NYSE:S), AT&T (NYSE:T) settle suit over 'fake 5G.'
Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) plans up to 5% workforce cut.
Lilly (NYSE:LLY) to sell two antibiotics, plant in China for $375M.
Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) +1.7% AH on Q1 earnings beat.
Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) +8.2% AH on backing prior profit guidance.
Cadence Design Systems (NASDAQ:CDNS) +7.3% AH on Q1 beats, upside outlook.
Celanese (NYSE:CE) flat AH on mixed Q1 earnings.
American Campus Communities (NYSE:ACC) +3.6% AH on Q1 same-store NOI rising 5.1%.
Costamare (NYSE:CMRE) +11.9% AH on Q1 beats.
Rambus (NASDAQ:RMBS) -4% AH on surprise Q1 loss.
In Asia, Japan +0.19%. Hong Kong -0.14%. China -0.51%. India -0.15%.
In Europe, at midday, London +0.31%. Paris -0.24%. Frankfurt -0.23%.
Futures at 6:20, Dow -0.06%. S&P -0.09%. Nasdaq -0.09%. Crude +0.82%to $66.09. Gold -0.18% to $1,275.40. Bitcoin +4.7% to $5,576.70.
Ten-year Treasury Yield -0.7bps to 2.583%.
Today's Economic Calendar
8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales
9:00 FHFA House Price Index
10:00 New Home Sales
10:00 Richmond Fed Mfg.
1:00 PM Results of $40B, 2-Year Note Auction