Russia Presses Its Invasion of Ukraine, The U.S. and the E.U. Block Russia’s Central BankReserves
Good morning today is Tuesday March 1, 2022, I’m Pimm Fox.
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Coming up, Our top stories include: Russia Presses Its Invasion of Ukraine, The U.S. and the E.U. Block Russia’s Central Bank Reserves and The Star Wars Experience Takes an Expensive Turn
Those stories and more, but first let’s get caught up on where markets are trading.
U.S. equity futures are lower, with S&P 500 futures down 0.8%, Dow futures are lower by 0.7% - Nasdaq-100 futures are down 0.8%.
Oil is $103 a barrel.
European natural gas prices jumped 13%, while the U.S. and other major oil-consuming nations are considering releasing 70 million barrels of oil from their emergency stockpiles.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury is 1.73%
The Dollar is stronger vs the euro, slightly lower against the Japanese yen and steady against British pound.
Bitcoin is $44,000 , gold trades at $1925 an ounce.
Wheat futures are climbing more than 5% and corn futures are up nearly 4%.
At midday in Europe the Stoxx Europe 600 Index is down nearly 2%.
In Asia, China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.7% while Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed up more than 1%.
Stocks making moves before the opening bell include: Chevron, the shares are up nearly 2% after the oil giant doubled its guidance for per-year share repurchases and raised its target
for return on capital employed.
Target shares are up 11% after the retailer posted better-than-expected profit for the fourth quarter, Workday was up 7%.
Albertsons and New Fortress Energy are posting gains of at least 4%.
GoodRx Holdings is down 30% and Ambarella shares are down nearly 20%.
Kohl&'39;s shares slipped 2% after the company missed revenue expectations. Kohl&'39;s said it is doubling its annual dividend to $2.00 per share and is planning to repurchase at least $1 billion in shares in 2022.
Coming up today:
Bank of Nova Scotia, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Ross Stores, Nordstrom and Salesforce.com release earnings.
President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address.
U.S. construction spending for January is set to be released.
The ISM releases its Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index for February.
Autosales numbers for February are also due today.
OPEC+ is scheduled to meet today by videoconference.
Now our top stories:
Russian shelling pounded the central square in Ukraine’s second-largest city and other civilian targets Tuesday and a 40-mile convoy of tanks and other vehicles threatened the capital.
The head of Ukraine’s nuclear-power utility has called for an international intervention to ensure the safety of the country’s 15 atomic reactors.
President Vladimir Putin banned all Russian residents from transferring foreign currency abroad, hardening capital controls as part of a package of retaliatory measures for U.S. and European sanctions over his invasion of Ukraine.
The U.S. and European Union blocked Russia’s central bank from using its emergency reserves to protect the economy.
The coordinated action blocks the central bank from selling dollars, euros and other foreign currencies in its reserves stockpile to stabilize the ruble.
And Disney’s new Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser hotel is offering luxury suites that will cost as much as $20,000 for a two-night stay.
To stay at the immersive Orlando, Fla.-based Star Wars hotel, a family of four will pay about $6,000 for two nights, with lodging, meals and entertainment included. Those looking for a more
spacious suite can expect to shell out $20,000.
A stay at the hotel does not include alcohol, which runs around $13 for beer, $11 and up for wine and $23 for specialty drinks, or any fun “Star Wars” themed-extras.
For example, it costs a $99 minimum to hire a photographer for a portrait, or if you want to sit at the head of the captain’s table in the Starcruiser’s dining room, you’ll need to come up with an extra 30 bucks.
In other news:
Futures are pricing in zero chance the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates by a half-point in March.
An official gauge of China's factory activity registered its fourth straight month of expansion in February.
Aluminum hit another record high and concerns rose over global wheat supplies.
The Walt Disney Company announced it is halting the release of its upcoming movies in Russia – including the latest Pixar film – in protest of its invasion of Ukraine.
Disney is the first of the major studios to pull its movies from Russia. It’s not clear exactly how long the company plans new releases in the country.
Warner Brothers, meanwhile, still intends to release “The Batman,” at its scheduled release date on Thursday..
Microsoft said it would remove Russian state-owned media outlet RT’s mobile apps from the Windows App store and ban advertisements on Russian state-sponsored media.
Elon Musk said SpaceX is prepared to maintain operations on the International Space Station – days after the head of Russia’s space agency implied the ISS could crash to Earth following
international sanctions against the Kremlin.
WeWork’s boss said the real estate firm doesn’t plan to shut its business in Russia despite the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine — and noted that WeWork’s four locations in Moscow perform “incredibly well.”
The Swiss government agreed to enforce European Union sanctions against Russian companies and individuals including President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Airbnb wants to offer free, short-term housing to 100,000 refugees fleeing from Ukraine.
The artistic team behind Russia’s submission to the Venice Biennale resigned in protest of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Renault has temporarily halted production at its Moscow plant.
The Covid-19 vaccine maker Novavax expects sales of between $4 billion and $5 billion in 2022, it said Monday as it reported less revenue than expected for the fourth quarter.
LivePerson stock rose 7% in after-hours trading after Starboard Value disclosed an 8.5% stake in the customer-service technology company and nominated four members to LivePerson's board.
Hormel Foods reaffirmed its full-year 2022 sales and earnings guidance, saying that it expects supply-chain challenges to ease this year.
AutoZone reported higher earnings in the fiscal second quarter as sales increased, beating analysts' estimates, because of continued consumer demand and use of cars during the
pandemic.
The J.M. Smucker posted stronger-than-expected earnings for its fiscal third quarter, but lowered guidance to reflect continued supply chain issues and inflationary pressure.
Wendy's reported a fiscal fourth-quarter profit, revenue and same-store sales that beat expectations, and provided an upbeat full-year outlook.
Hostess Brands posted sales and profits that exceeded expectations.
Steel Dynamics raised its quarterly dividend by more than 30% and authorized an additional share-repurchase program of up to $1.25 billion.
Apple is reportedly set to unveil a new device that will combine the features of an iPad with a MacBook while making use of a 20-inch folding display
Toronto-Dominion Bank announced a more than $13 billion all-cash purchase of Tennessee-based First Horizon.
First Horizon has operations in Louisiana, Tennessee, Texas and Georgia.
Zoom Video Communications sales growth faltered in the fourth quarter.
HP raised its annual profit outlook, boosted by strong sales of computers to businesses.
Lucid Group Inc. stock fell more than 14% in after-hours trading after the luxury EV maker cut its production outlook, citing “extraordinary” supply-chain and logistics problems, and its quarterly losses increased to more than $1 billion.
Neil Diamond is the latest music legend to sell his song catalog and the rights to all recordings from his career to Universal Music Group. Diamond, 81, has sold more than 130 million albums with hit songs including “Sweet Caroline,” “Red Red Wine” and “I’m A Believer.”
Bill Gross’s ouster from the PIMCO bond-trading empire was triggered in part by his insulting his boss, according to a new, tell-all memoir from the billionaire.
Gross’s new, no-holds-barred memoir titled “I’m Still Standing,” is being self-published on Amazon.
And people are out to party as New Orleans’ first full-dress Mardi Gras since 2020 begins today, with back-to-back parades through the city and masks against COVID-19 required only in indoor
public spaces.
Parade routes are shorter than usual, because there aren’t enough police for the standard ones, even with officers working 12-hour shifts as they always do on Mardi Gras and the end of the
Carnival season leading up to it.
Thanks for listening have a successful day and a great weekend.