Here are five things you need to know for Tuesday, January 26th:
1. Equity futures can delay the delays package of worries
Equity futures slipped on Tuesday as market sentiment faltered over the possibility of a U.S. coronavirus relief package being delayed.
Contracts linked to the Dow Jones industrial average fell 29 points, S&P 500 futures fell 9 points and Nasdaq futures fell 46 points ahead of earnings reports from some of the largest technology companies.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday that an aid package is unlikely before mid-March. This is when federal unemployment benefits authorized by the last $ 900 billion package will expire.
President Joe Biden has said he is open to negotiations on his proposed $ 1.9 billion plan to send $ 1,400 to most Americans and provide other support to the economy, including funds for the distribution of vaccines.
A dual group of senators has already come up against the size of Biden’s plan.
The coronavirus pandemic has meanwhile killed more than 421,000 people in the US and concerns have grown about the bumpy rollout of vaccines in the country. Biden said he expects vaccines to be available in the United States by spring, but to meet the projection vaccine manufacturers will have to sharply increase production.
Shares were mixed on Monday amid questions about whether the Biden White House would be able to deliver another round of stimulus. However, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq managed to close at record highs.
2. – Tuesday’s calendar: earnings from Microsoft and AMD, Federal Reserve
Earnings reports expected from Microsoft on Tuesday (MSFT) – Get report, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) – Get report, Starbucks (SBUX) – Get report, Verizon (VZ) – Get report, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) – Get report, General Electric (GE) – Get report, Lockheed Martin (LMT) – Get report, American Express (AXP) – Get report, 3M (MMM) – Get report, Xilinx (XLNX) – Get report, Raytheon Technologies (RTX) – Get report and Texas Instruments (TXN) – Get report.
General Electric’s earnings: here’s what the charts say
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The U.S. economic calendar Tuesday marks the first day of a two-day meeting of the Federal Reserve. The central bank is not expected to move up interest rates and has indicated that it will hold almost zero until 2023.
Mark Heppenstall, chief investment officer of Penn Mutual Asset Management, said the central bank was likely to repeat its “commitment to long-term monetary accommodation” at the meeting.
“Uncertainty surrounding the course of the short-term pandemic and signs of a weakening labor market suggest that recent taper talks by Fed officials are still premature,” Heppenstall added, referring to when the Fed might start reducing asset purchases.
The calendar also includes the Case-Shiller Home Price Index for November at 09:00 ET and Consumer Confidence for January at 10:00
3. – Leon Black retires as CEO of the Apollo of Private Equity
Leon Black, Founder and CEO of private equity giant Apollo Global Management (APO) – Get report, is stepping down as CEO after it came to light that he had made larger-than-expected payments to the infamous Jeffrey Epstein.
In the five years to 2017, Black paid Epstein $ 158 million in fees for planning trust and estate taxes, far more than was previously known, according to a report by law firm Dechert.
The review by Dechert found no evidence that Black was involved in the criminal activities of the late Epstein, who was indicted in 2019 on charges of federal sex trafficking with underage girls. Epstein committed suicide in prison while awaiting child sex charges.
Apollo also never retained Epstein for any services, the report concluded.
Black wrote in a letter to Apollo’s fund investors that he would relinquish the role of CEO to co-founder Marc Rowan on or before his 70th birthday on July 31, while retaining the role of chairman.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on the contents of the report and the letter.
Shares of Apollo Global rose 3.86% to $ 47.65 on Monday.
4. – BlackBerry shares rise again
BlackBerry (BB) – Get report rose more than 17% in pre-market trading on Tuesday, after rising more than 28% from the stock in the previous session as it gained a boost from retailers and was heavily relied on online messages such as Reddit.
BlackBerry, the security software and service company, said in a statement that it was not aware of the reasons for the stock move.
Shares of BlackBerry rose 17.36% to $ 21.16 on Tuesday. The share has risen by 172% so far in 2021.
RBC analysts cut the share to underperformance of the sector’s performance, citing valuation, saying there is no change to the company’s fundamental outlook. Analyst Paul Treiber maintained his price target at $ 7.50.
BlackBerry has become a favorite on the Reddit message board, just like GameStop (GME) – Get report and Express (EXPR) – Get report.
What happens to GameStop inventory? Jim Cramer explains
5. – Apple Lead Hardware Engineer Moves to ‘New Project’
appeal (AAPL) – Get report said its chief hardware engineer, Dan Riccio, is moving to a new project and will be replaced by John Ternus, currently a vice president of hardware engineering.
Riccio has been with Apple since 1998 and during that time has worked on most of the company’s key products, from the first iMac computers to the latest 5G phones.
Apple did not specify which project Riccio will lead. Recent speculations, however, have focused on the company’s efforts to develop a high-end virtual reality headset or a complement to the reality glasses.
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