Macro Focus
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 13 points to 19,733.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell
4 points to 2,262.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 10 points to 5,048.25.
Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures dropped 0.79 percent to trade at $55.05 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures
also fell 1.11 percent to trade at $52.63 a barrel.
- The Treasury is set to auction 3-month bills at 11:30 a.m. ET.
Bz News Desk Focus
-
Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) Q4 EPS $0.04 vs
$0.02 Est, Revenue $4.02B vs $4.09B Est
-
McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) Reports Q4 EPS
$1.44 vs. Est. $1.41, Rev. $6.03B vs. Est. $5.99B; Q4 Global Comps Up 2.7%
We are in the heart of Q4 earnings season, and more than a third of the 30 Dow Jones Industrial Average components are expected
to share their results this week. Wall Street consensus forecasts call for mixed results from most of these companies, but a few
stand out. Chevron (NYSE: CVX) and
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) are expected to
post solid growth on both the top and bottom lines. Note that these results are for the period in which oil supermajor sold some
geothermal assets and announced a nearly $20 billion capital and exploratory budget, while the health care giant pursed an
acquisition of Actelion and it was a Barron's pick for its growth potential.
Among the many companies on deck to share their latest results this week are Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) and E I Du Pont (NYSE: DD). These two are in the process of merging to form the world's largest agrochemical
entity, which reportedly will later be split into three separate companies. Note that these results are for the period in which
there were questions about how the incoming administration might influence the merger and what part Warren Buffett and
Berkshire Hathaway might play, and also DuPont faced more than $10 million in damages in a lawsuit. Also note that
Citigroup upgraded both stocks to Buy at the beginning of the quarter, citing potential shareholder value unlocked by the
merger/split plan.
Sell-Side's Most Noteworthy Calls
- Nomura downgraded Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) to Neutral.
- Goldman Sachs downgraded Cenovus Energy (NYSE: CVE) to Sell.
- Morgan Stanley upgraded Dish Network (NASDAQ: DISH) to Overweight.
- BMO Capital upgraded CSX (NASDAQ: CSX)
to Outperform.
Deal Talk
Walgreens’ (NASDAQ: WBA) plan to receive
U.S. antitrust clearance for its takeover of Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) hasn’t gone far enough to preserve competition, according to sources as reported
by Bloomberg on Friday. FTC lawyers aren't satisfied with Walgreen's plan to sell 865 drugstores to Fred's
(NASDAQL: FRED), sources said. Rite Aid closed Friday at $7.46, down 13.26 percent.
Cynosure (NASDAQ: CYNO) is said to be
considering strategic options, including a potential sale, according to sources as reported by Bloomberg on Sunday. Allergan (NYSE:
AGN) and some medical device companies are said to be
interested acquiring the maker of lasers for medical and cosmetic treatments, sources said.
Verizon's (NYSE: VZ) $4.83 billion
acquisition of Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) could
close soon, according to a report from the NY Post on Sunday. The companies could provide insight into the status of the deal
during their earnings calls this week. Yahoo reports its Q4 earnings on January 23 after the close, while Verizon reports its Q4
earnings on January 24 before the open. Verizon has been reconsidering the deal after multiple reports of hacks at Yahoo. Late
Sunday, Dow Jones reported Yahoo was under SEC investigation.
In The News
President Trump starts his first week with a packed schedule—from pushing
through his slate of cabinet nominees to a raft of executive orders and setting the direction on trade.
Former President Barack Obama could be followed @Potus, but with his term's end, the handle switched to Donald Trump. However,
many Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) users awoke
Saturday to find they were following the new president after having unfollowed or even blocked the name. One incident has gone
beyond the scope of the supposed glitch. A Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) post from Benzinga's senior editor Rebecca Sheppard regarding the situation was
changed
Blogosphere
Blockchain's
rude awakening: "The finance world's attempt to build a white-collar version of blockchain -- the shared-ledger technology that
underpins rebellious virtual currencies such as Bitcoin -- has generated Silicon Valley quantities of buzz. There hasn't been much
genuine risk-taking, though, nor have we seen much of a result."
24 year later: "What started as an experiment has
proved to be an unequivocal success. Twenty-four years ago today, SPY was listed on the American Stock Exchange. Today, there are
more than 6,000 ETFs/ETNs, which give investors the ability to trade baskets of stocks all day, unlike traditional mutual
funds."
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