10 Things You Need To Know Before The Opening Bell
Good morning! Here's what you need to know.
Eric Cantor Loses Primary. The man many believed could succeed John Boehner as speaker of the House lost to a conservative economics professor in the Virginia primaries. BI's Brett LoGiurato says immigration reform is likely dead. But commentators say it probably doesn't portend much else for November.
Stocks Sink Worldwide. In Europe, Germany's DAX was down most at 0.8%. Most stocks in Asia were lower - only Japan's Nikkei was up. U.S. futures were down.
Lufthansa Shock Profit Warning. In an unscheduled announcement, Lufthansa has cut its 2014 operating profit to €1 billion, and its 2015 target to €2 billion. The German airline cited weaker revenues across the board, rising costs tied especially to pilot strikes, and the devaluation of the Venezuelan bolivar. Shares fell 13%.
Brent Breaks Out. Oil futures topped $110 a barrel ahead of Wednesday's OPEC meeting. "There's a strong market consensus that OPEC will maintain the current 30.0 mmbpd quota," Citi's Timothy Evans writes, "suggesting the contest following the summit will be over just what the implications will be for prices." We wrote yesterday why the deteriorating situation in Iraq appears ominous for oil exports.
UK Unemployment Hits Five-Year Low. The unemployment rate hit 6.6% for the period from February through April.
London Uber Strike. Up to 12,000 hacks are expected to demonstrate in Trafalgar Square over the red-hot start-ups incursion into the UK.
Google's Energy Push. Google plants to invest in tools that help utilities deliver electricity more efficiently, Bloomberg said.
EU Apple And Starbucks Probe. The EU is launching a probe into whether certain EU countries gave unfair tax credits to major American firms.
Japan Pension Fund Coming Alive. The Wall Street Journal says Japan's $1.26 trillion public pension fund will likely begin ramping up investment into stocks and foreign bonds, "potentially sending tens of billions of dollars into new markets."
No major data. We get the monthly Treasury Budget report at 2 p.m.