Disney, Amazon, Bed Bath & Beyond, National Enquirer – 5 Things You Must Know
Here are five things you must know for Thursday, April 11:
1. – Stocks Futures Turn Higher
U.S. Stock futures were higher Thursday as minutes from the Federal Reserve meeting in March showed that most central bank officials believe that today's pace of US economic expansion guarantees leaving interest rates at their current level for the rest of this year.
But several officials said the FED's "patient" approach to monetary policy "needs to be reviewed regularly when the economic outlook and uncertainties surrounding the outlook evolve. to make political adjustments when considered appropriate, "according to the protocol released Wednesday.
Contracts related to the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 25 points, futures for the S & P 500 were up 2.75 points and Nasdaq futures got 5 points. Stocks ended Higher Wednesday after the release of the Fed minutes.
European shares met mixed Thursday after EU leaders agreed to postpone Brexit for up to six months until October 31[ads1].
The United States economic calendar on Thursday includes weekly jobless claims 8.30 ET and the producer price index for March at 8.30 [19659004] Results reports are expected Thursday from Rite Aid (RAD – Get Report), Fastenal (FAST – Get Report) and KushCo Holdings (KSHB.
2. – Walt Disney to uncover its streaming service
Walt Disney (DIS – Get Report) is set to create the streaming world with its long-awaited Netflix competitor (NFLX – Get Report).
The media giant is scheduled to preview Disney + on an investor day on Thursday, making it the latest player for an ever-crowded streaming services market. Netflix is the dominant player of 139 million subscribers from its latest earnings report, while Apple (AAPL – Get Report) aims to leverage its 1.4 billion installed base in Apple TV channels and TV +, the recently announced a la carte streaming service.
AT & T's (T – Get Report) WarnerMedia is also expected to launch its own service this year, and of course, Amazon (AMZN – Get Report) Prime Video has been folded to its Prime subscriptions for many years.
Apple, Amazon and Disney are holdings in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Member Club . Want to be notified before Jim Cramer buys or sells AAPL, AMZN or DIS? Learn more now.
3. Amazon Buys Canvas, a Warehouse Robotics Maker
Amazon (AMZN – Get Report) acquired Canvas Technology, a Boulder, Colo. -Based startup that builds warehouse robotics.
Amazon confirmed the agreement in a statement to TheStreet writing that Amazon and Canvas "share a common vision for a future where people work together with robotics to further enhance security and workplace experience." The agreement was first reported by TechCrunch.
Shares of Amazon rose slightly in premarket trading on Thursday.
The Canvas Acquisition is the latest development in Amazon's ongoing investment in inventory automation, which started with its acquisition of Kiva Systems in 2012 (now Amazon Robotics) for $ 775 million. Amazon operates over 75 fulfillment centers in North America, some using their "8th generation" automation model that merges robotics with human oversight.
Amazon did not disclose the terms of the Canvas Agreement, but Canvas has increased $ 15 million since it was founded in 2015, according to its Crunchbase profile.
Separately, Amazon and Microsoft (MSFT – Get Report) were the two companies that were selected to continue competing for a Pentagon Shoot (Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure, or JEDI) contract worth $ 10 billion, said Ministry of Defense Wednesday.
Microsoft is a stake in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS membership club . Want to be notified before Jim Cramer buys or sells the stock? Learn more now.
4. – Bed Bath & Beyond Sinks After Posting Fiscal Year Loss
Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY – Get Report) sank in premarket trading on Thursday despite reporting fourth quarter earnings that topped analysts' expectations.
Adjusted earnings in the quarter was $ 1.20 a share of revenue of $ 3.31 billion. The loss for the period was $ 1.92 per share. Wall Street expected the company to receive an adjusted $ 1.12 per share on sales of $ 3.33 billion. For the financial year, the company had a loss of USD 137.2 million – the first annual loss that was reduced by 2.6%.
Sales in comparable stores fell 1.4% in the quarter against analysts' expectations of a 1.3% decline.
"During the fourth quarter and through fiscal 2018, we have made significant fundamental changes throughout our business," says CEO Steven Temares. "The pace of our transformation increased during fiscal 2018."
" We are operating profit, even with investments in initiatives, to stabilize, and earnings per share will grow slightly, and for both to accelerate as the impact of many of our key actions grows, and we exploit the significant business of our business, CEO.
The company now expects an income of 2019 between $ 2.1 and $ 2.20 per share, except for certain costs. Analysts asked by FactSet had expected Bed Bath & Beyond to earn $ 1.80 per share in the fiscal year.
The stock fell 10.6% in premarket trading to $ 17.36.
Shares in Bed Bath & Beyond have risen 71.5% in 2019 amid a pressure from three activist companies – Legion Partners, Macellum and Acora Advisors – to improve the company's performance. Companies propose to nominate 16 candidates to replace the company's current board.
5. – National Enquirer is for sale
American Media, the company that owns the National Enquirer, said it appears to sell the supermarket's tabloid, along with its other tabloid magazines.
According to reports, American Media CEO David Pecker has confirmed that the tabloids were up for sale after the Washington Post reported that the company has come under pressure to stand out from Enquirer.
The tabloid, which has flourished on scandal, was itself obsessed with scandals among reports of hush payments to women who claimed they had affair with Donald Trump.
Pecker said in a statement that AMI is more focused on their teenage and active lifestyle brands and other platforms.
The Washington Post reported the pressure to sell the tabloid came from Chatham Asset Management, which manages AMI. Chatham refused to comment on the post. Company representatives could not be reached late Wednesday for comment.
US media is apparently under the supervision of federal prosecutors on how it handled a story of an extramarital affair by Amazon.com founder, CEO and chairman Jeff Bezos.
