Tuesday Morning Reads

Rebound gains steam

U.S. futures are pointing to another green session (Dow +0.6%, S&P 500 +0.7%, Nasdaq +0.9%) after the market kicked off the week with a broad-based rally. The Federal Reserve is set to begin a two-day policy meeting, where it is expected to maintain a dovish stance after earlier saying it will shift to a more relaxed approach on inflation. On the earnings front, Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) and FedEx (NYSE:FDX) will report after the closing bell, while Sally is expected to make landfall as a Category 2 hurricane, shutting refineries and crude production.

Sounding the alarm on oil demand

"We expect the recovery in oil demand to decelerate markedly in the second half of 2020," the IEA wrote in its closely-watched monthly report, adding that "the path ahead is treacherous amid surging COVID-19 cases in many parts of the world." Global oil demand growth is now seen at 91.7M barrels per day, marking a contraction of 8.4M bpd Y/Y and more than the 8.1M bpd contraction predicted in the agency's August report. "The economic slowdown will take months to reverse completely, while certain sectors such as aviation are unlikely to return to their pre-pandemic levels of consumption even next year."

Oracle deal with TikTok under review

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) has confirmed it is part of a proposal submitted by TikTok parent ByteDance (BDNCE) to the U.S. government in which the American tech company would "serve as the trusted technology provider." "We will be reviewing that at the CFIUS committee this week and then will be making a recommendation to the president and reviewing it with him," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin declared. Oracle is expected to work with TikTok to move data on American users to its cloud computing infrastructure and house that information only in the U.S. ORCL +1.3% premarket.
Go Deeper: YouTube announces TikTok competitor in India.

Nikola shares go on wild ride

After days of volatile trading, the SEC is examining the merits of short-seller Hindenburg's allegations that Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) deceived investors about its business prospects, Bloomberg reports. On Monday, the electric-truck maker refuted the accusations, saying Hindenburg was attempting to profit from a "manufactured decline" in the company's share price. Shares of Nikola rebounded more than 11% yesterday, but the stock is down nearly 8% to $33 in premarket trade.
Go Deeper: General Motors CEO defends due diligence on Nikola.

Caffeine giant has a sleepy plan

A new wellness product from PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP), called Driftwell, is aimed at improving sleep quality. The enhanced water drink will contain L-theanine, an amino acid that is also found in green and black teas and some mushrooms, as well as 10% of the recommended daily allowance of magnesium. The product, which won't have sugar or calories, was conceived by Pepsi employees as part of an internal contest, and will be distributed in grocery stores by early 2021.

Brexit bill clears first hurdle

Brexit tensions are escalating as the U.K. House of Commons passed the Internal Market Bill by a comfortable 77 votes, sending it to the next stage in the parliamentary process. The measure would override key elements of the divorce treaty signed with the EU, but Prime Minister Johnson maintains that it is necessary because the bloc had refused to take a "revolver off the table" in trade talks. He noted the "absurd" threats from Brussels that risked U.K. unity, including putting up trade barriers between Britain and Northern Ireland and imposing a food blockade.

Singapore popularity

China's Tencent (OTCPK:TCEHY) has picked Singapore as its beachhead for Asia, according to Bloomberg, as it considers the shift of some business operations, including international game publishing, out of its home country. Southeast Asia has become a key battlefield after the U.S. had issued an executive order banning transactions with Tencent and India banned its games PUBG Mobile and Arena of Valor. TikTok parent ByteDance (BDNCE) is reportedly planning to spend several billions of dollars and add hundreds of jobs over the next three years in Singapore, while Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) is said to be in talks to invest $3B into Singapore's ride-hailing giant Grab.

What else is happening...

Citigroup (NYSE:C) to resume job cuts, reversing ground on planned pause.

AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) COVID-19 vaccine trial in U.S. on hold.

UBS examines election impacts on communications/media names.

Fiat Chrysler (NYSE:FCAU) chops dividend ahead of Peugeot merger.

Hummer EV (NYSE:GM) will be unveiled with 'Crab Mode' in October.

Sony (NYSE:SNE) slashes PlayStation 5 outlook due to chip issues - CNBC.