Coffee With Greta: Traders Look Ahead to Jackson Hole
DJIA Futures: -342 (-1%)
SPX Futures: -52 (-1.2%)
NASDAQ Futures: -202 (-1.5%)
Good morning friends!
Futures are dropping as traders look ahead to Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium this week.
Let’s get right to it!
Economy, Fed’s Jackson Hole Symposium in Focus
Inflation and the Fed are back in focus this week ahead of some key economic data and a speech from Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
The Commerce Department releases its second estimate of Q2 GDP on Thursday after the first showed the economy shrank 0.9% last quarter.
Economists expect the revision to show a 0.5% contraction.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis then releases the July PCE Price Index on Friday, which is the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge.
Powell will also speak at the Jackson Hole Symposium on Friday.
The market is anticipating he will sound more hawkish during that speech than he did at his press conference following the last Fed meeting.
The bank is expected to continue aggressive rate hikes until they see a meaningful reduction in inflation.
AMC Shares Tank on Cineworld Bankruptcy Warning
AMC Entertainment (AMC) shares are plunging 37.9% ahead of the open after rival Cineworld said today it is considering filing for bankruptcy.
Cineworld Group, which owns Regal Cinemas in the U.S., said, “The strategic options through which Cineworld may achieve its restructuring objectives include a possible voluntary Chapter 11 filing in the United States and associated ancillary proceedings in other jurisdictions as part of an orderly implementation process.”
The company added that any filing “would be expected to allow the group to access near-term liquidity and support the orderly implementation of a fully funded deleveraging transaction.”
AMC also debuted its new class of preferred shares “APE” units today.
In a tweet Sunday, the CEO reminded shareholders, “the value of your AMC investment will be the combination of your AMC shares and your new APE units. An AMC share plus a new APE unit added together — compared to just an AMC share previously.”
Bed Bath & Beyond Continues to Tumble
Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) shares are tumbling 17.1% in premarket trade, after plummeting 40.5% on Friday.
The recent drop comes after GameStop (GME) Chairman Ryan Cohen sold off his entire stake in the retailer.
Bloomberg also reported over the weekend that some suppliers are restricting or halting shipments to Bed Bath & Beyond after the company fell behind on payments.
Tesla to Hike Price of Full Self Driving Software
Tesla (TSLA) shares are slipping 2.7% ahead of the open after after CEO Elon Musk announced the company will hike prices for its full self driving software.
In a tweet Sunday, Musk said, “After wide release of FSD Beta 10.69.2, price of FSD will rise to $15k in North America on September 5th. Current price will be honored for orders made before Sept 5th, but delivered later.”
Customers can currently pay $12,000 upfront for FSD or $199 per month on a subscription basis.
Musk did not address whether the subscription price would change.
Oil Prices Slump on Economic Growth Fears, Surging Dollar
Oil prices are lower today on continued fears over a recession and as the dollar surges higher.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures are down 0.4% to under $90.50 bbl while Brent crude futures are slipping 0.5% to $96 bbl.
The U.S. dollar index popped to a five-week high today after hawkish comments from Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin on Friday.
Aggressive rate hikes from the Fed are expected to cause a slowdown in economic growth, dragging down oil demand.
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