US-China Trade Negotiations, Amazon, Verizon and Disney – 5 Things You Must Know
Here are five things to know for Monday, December 31:
1. – Stocks rise in signs of progress in US and China trade negotiations
US. Stock prices rose sharply on Monday, December 31, the last trading day in 2018, after Donald Trump tweeted over the weekend that "major advances" were made in US-China trade negotiations.
Just had a long and very good conversation with President Xi in China. Agreement is moving very well. If created, it will be very comprehensive, covering all subjects, areas and disputes. Great progress is being made!
̵[ads1]1; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 29, 2018
The two nations previously agreed on a temporary tariff truce, at least until March, and put Trump management's plans to increase tariffs of about $ 200 billion from Chinese imports from 10% to 25%.
Meanwhile, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman quoted by the official Xinhua News Agency said that "China is ready to work with the United States to relocate Forsink Chinese-American ties supported by coordination, cooperation and stability."
Contracts related to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 253 points on Monday, futures for the S & P 500 received 18 points and Nasdaq futures were up 70.50 points.
Stocks on Friday closed mixed in a season of high volatility, but ended the week higher for the first time in December. Dow gained 2.8% last week, S & P 500 rose 2.9% and Nasdaq jumped 4%.
The United States economic calendar Monday includes the Dallas Fed Manufacturing Survey in December at 10.30 ET.
2. – Amazon reported planning the entire food expansion
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) is planning to build and expand Whole Foods stores across the US to put more customers within reach of the ecommerce giant's two-hour delivery service. [19659012] The drawer would bring the whole food to several suburbs and other areas where the company quickly added customers since Amazon bought it in 2017 for around $ 13.5 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Amazon and Whole Foods refused to comment for Journal on new store building or expenses. In the Rocky Mountain region, a person familiar with the plans told the newspaper that Whole Foods employees have visited potential retailers in parts of Idaho, southern Utah and Wyoming, where the whole food does not have stores now.
Amazon rose 2.2% in market trading on Monday.
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3. – Verizon and Walt Disney Reach Carriage Deal for Fios
Last week, Verizon threatened to withdraw Walt Disney services such as Disney Channel, ESPN, and some ABC TV content over a money dispute.
Just after Christmas, Verizon had emailed Fios customers and said "Disney is currently suggesting that Verizon pay hundreds of millions more dollars for programming, despite many of its key networks experiencing declining viewers." [19659022] "The rising cost of programming is the biggest factor in higher TV bills, and we stand up for networks like Disney, and refuse to accept these huge increases," added Fios.
Without an agreement, ESPN and other programming would have been cut from Fios TV at 17:00 on Monday.
Verizon rises 0.9% in premarket trading. Disney shares rose 2%.
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4. – Sears receives last minute bid from chairman
Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLDQ) – Once known for its iconic catalog and shopping malls – narrow-ended liquidation when Eddie Lampert, the retailer's manager, made a last-minute $ 4.4 billion bid to buy and save the company.
Lampert made the bid through its hedge fund, ESL Investments. No other official bid had appeared by Friday.
ESL said the offer includes $ 1.3 billion in funding from three institutions. Reports say that Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and the Royal Bank of Canada will provide financing. Transform Holdco LLC, a subsidiary of ESL Investments, said it would buy 425 Sears stores and offer employment to up to 50,000 of the chain's 68,000 current employees.
The deadline for deciding eligible bidders is January 4, and if a bid by ESL Investments passes it, an auction will be canceled on January 14.
Without an accepted bid from ESL Investments – the chain's largest creditor and shareholder – liquidators would destroy the company.
5. – Tesla's name Larry Ellison to the board
Tesla Inc. (TSLA) was up 1.3% in premarket trading Monday after rising sharply Friday after the company's name for Larry Ellison and Kathleen-Wilson Thompson to the board.
Tesla closed with a gain of 5.61% to $ 333.87 on Friday.
Telsa said Ellison, current manager and chief technology manager at Oracle Corp. (ORCL), was added to the board as Wilson-Thompson, Global Human Resources Manager at the Dow component, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (WBA).
The board grants were part of a settlement achieved earlier this year between Tesla's CEO Elon Musk and the Securities and Exchange Commission, which allowed Musk to remain CEO of the electric carmaker he founded, but forced him to go down as a leader.
