The world has entered a bear market. On Thursday, the MSCI All-Country World Index ended down 20% from its May peak, marking the start of a global bear market. The index tracks large and mid-cap stocks in 23 developed and 23 emerging countries.
Greece is back in recession. Greece's economy contracted 0.6% in the fourth quarter, dropping it back into a recession for the second time in a year. The reading was an improvement from the 1.4% decline in the third quarter, but raises concerns about the viability of the country's bailout program. According to Bloomberg, the European Commission expects Greece's economy to contract 0.7% in 2016 before growing 2.7% in 2017.
OPEC is reportedly ready to agree on a production cut. Thursday afternoon, Wall Street Journal OPEC correspondent Summer Said tweeted, "OPEC is ready to cooperate on a cut, but current prices are already forcing non-opec producers to at least cap output, says UAE Energy min." The tweet lifted oil off its more than 12-year low of $26.14 per barrel. WTI has rallied more than 5% on the news and is currently trading near $27.50 per barrel.
The head of the Eurogroup isn't afraid of a banking crisis. Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem is downplaying the prospects of another banking crisis in the region, according to the AFP. "I believe that in the eurozone, structurally, we are in a much better place than we were a few years ago. That also goes for our banks," Dijsselbloem said at a meeting of eurozone finance ministers. Additionally, German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble noted markets are exaggerating the region's problems.
It looks like Christine Legarde will lead the IMF for a second term. Christine Legarde looks poised to be the head of the International Monetary Fund for another five years. Wednesday's 11:59 p.m. ET deadline for nominating candidates came and went without any opposition to Legarde. However, Bloomberg notes that Legarde's future at the IMF might be complicated by her upcoming trial in France for "negligence" related to a settlement the French government reached with businessman Bernard Tapie while Legarde was finance minister.
Jamie Dimon loaded up on JPMorgan stock. A person familiar with the matter told Dow Jones that JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has purchased 500,000 shares of his company's stock. The $26 million purchase is said to be a sign of Dimon's confidence in the bank. Shares of JPMorgan are higher by 2.7% in early trade.
Carl Icahn and John Paulson had a big win at AIG. Activist investors Carl Icahn and John Paulson received seats on AIG's board of directors. While Paulson will be taking the seat for himself, Icahn will be awarding it to an analyst at his firm. "I hope and believe that we will work with AIG's board to enhance value as we have done with so many other boards and companies in the past," Icahn said in a statement. Recent filings disclosed Icahn owns 42.2 million shares of the company and Paulson owns 14.6 million. AIG shares are up 1.7% ahead of the opening bell.
Groupon is surging after its earnings beat. The online discount marketplace announced adjusted earnings of $0.04 per share, beating the breakeven quarter that was expected by the Bloomberg consensus. Revenue edged up 3.8% to $917.2 million, topping the $845.9 million that was anticipated. "Following a stronger than expected fourth quarter, we enter 2016 with a continued focus on streamlining our global operations, reducing our reliance on low margin products in our shopping business and rekindling our customer acquisition efforts to set the stage for accelerated growth," CEO Rich Williams said in the earnings release. The stock is higher by 23% in pre-market action.
Global stock markets are mixed. Japan's Nikkei (-4.8%) led the sell off in Asia and Germany's DAX (+1.5%) paces the gains in Europe. S&P 500 futures are higher by 17.50 points at 1842.00.
US economic data picks up. Import/export prices and retail sales will cross the wires at 8:30 a.m. ET, and will be followed by business inventories and University of Michigan consumer sentiment at 10 a.m. ET. US markets are closed on Monday in observance of Presidents' Day. The US 10-year yield is up 3 basis points at 1.69%.