Liveblog Archief vrijdag 25 september 2020

TOP NEWS
• Europe regulator sees November lifting of Boeing 737 MAX flight ban
Boeing's grounded 737 MAX could receive regulatory approval to resume flying in November and enter service by the end of the year, Europe's chief aviation safety regulator said.
• Justice Department asks judge to allow U.S. to bar WeChat from U.S. app stores
The U.S. Justice Department asked a federal judge in San Francisco to allow the government to bar Apple and Alphabet's Google from offering WeChat for download in U.S. app stores pending an appeal.
• EU's Vestager appeals court veto of $15 billion Apple tax order
EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager appealed a court ruling dismissing her order to iPhone maker Apple to pay 13 billion euros in Irish back taxes, a landmark case in the European Commission's crackdown against sweetheart tax deals.
• U.S. House Democrats crafting new $2.2 trillion COVID-19 relief package
Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are working on a $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package that could be voted on next week, a key lawmaker said on Thursday, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reiterated that she is ready to negotiate with the White House.
• AstraZeneca gets partial immunity in low-cost EU vaccine deal
European governments will pay claims above an agreed limit against AstraZeneca over side-effects from its potential COVID-19 vaccine, under different terms to a deal struck with Sanofi, an EU official told Reuters.​


BEFORE THE BELLU.S. stock index futures fell as investors remained skeptical of more fiscal stimulus needed to shore up a domestic economy hammered by the pandemic-driven recession. European stocksslipped on fresh restrictions to contain a surge in coronavirus cases. Japanese stocks rose, tracking tech-led strength on Wall Street overnight, while China stocks ended lower. The dollar was on track for its best week since early April, driven by risk aversion. Meanwhile, oil prices slipped, and gold lost ground. Data on orders for durable goods is scheduled for release later in the day.

STOCKS TO WATCH
Results
• Costco Wholesale Corp (COST). The company recorded high coronavirus-related costs for the second straight quarter, overshadowing its better-than-expected results. The warehouse chain spent about $281 million on employee bonuses and sanitizing its warehouses in the fourth quarter, mirroring a trend of rising costs across U.S. retailers during the health crisis. Costco had estimated in May that COVID-19-realted costs would exceed $100 million, but would be lower than the $283 million incurred in the prior quarter. The company cited the $2-an-hour premium paid to employees as a factor for the jump in costs. The bonus costs Costco $14 million a week. Higher demand for fresh produce, appliances and gardening and sporting goods helped Costco's total revenue climb 12.4% to $53.38 billion in the quarter ended Aug. 30, beating the average estimate of $52.08 billion. Excluding items, Costco earned $3.04 per share, beating estimates of $2.84.

In Other News
• Alphabet Inc (GOOGL), Facebook Inc (FB), & Twitter Inc(TWTR). The ranking Democrat on the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee rejected a request by Republicans on Thursday to subpoena three top tech executives to testify at an upcoming hearing, accusing them of trying to use the subpoena power for political gain. The committee, chaired by Republican Senator Roger Wicker, had planned to send out subpoenas if the chief executives of Twitter, Google and Facebook did not agree to testify by the end of Thursday at a hearing about a law that protects internet companies over content posted by users. That sparked sharp pushback from ranking Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell. "I will not participate in an attempt to use the committee's serious subpoena power for a partisan effort 40 days before an election," she said.
• Apple Inc (AAPL) & Alphabet Inc (GOOGL). The U.S. Justice Department asked a federal judge in San Francisco to allow the government to bar Apple and Alphabet Inc's Google from offering WeChat for download in U.S. app stores pending an appeal. The filing asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler to put on hold her preliminary injunction issued Saturday. That injunction blocked the U.S. Commerce Department order which was set to take effect late on Sept. 20 and that would also bar other U.S. transactions with Tencent Holding's WeChat, potentially making the app unusable in the United States. The Justice Department filing said Beeler's order was in error and "permits the continued, unfettered use of WeChat, a mobile application that the Executive Branch has determined constitutes a threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States."
• Apple Inc (AAPL). EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager appealed a court ruling dismissing her order to the iPhone maker to pay 13 billion euros in Irish back taxes, a landmark case in the European Commission's crackdown against sweetheart tax deals. The Luxembourg-based General Court in July scrapped the Commission's 2016 ruling, saying that EU competition enforcers had not met the requisite legal standard to show that Apple had enjoyed an unfair advantage. Vestager said the case was important, a sign that her drive to get multinationals pay their fair share of taxes would continue unabated. She said legislation is required to close the tax loopholes and ensure transparency, in a call to EU countries to revamp rules.​
• AstraZeneca Plc (AZN). European governments will pay claims above an agreed limit against the company over side-effects from its potential COVID-19 vaccine, under different terms to a deal struck with Sanofi, an EU official told Reuters. The deals reflect different strategies by two of the world's top drugmakers for protecting themselves as a debate rages about liabilities for vaccines aimed at ending the pandemic. AstraZeneca has secured the European Union's backing in a confidential agreement which reflects the lower price sought by the British drugmaker, the official said.
• Boeing Co (BA). The company's grounded 737 MAX could receive regulatory approval to resume flying in November and enter service by the end of the year, Europe's chief aviation safety regulator said. "For the first time in a year and a half I can say there's an end in sight to work on the MAX," said Patrick Ky, executive director of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). EASA expects to lift its technical ban "not long" after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), probably in November, but national operational clearances needed for individual airlines to resume flying in Europe could take longer, he said.​
• Harley-Davidson Inc (HOG). The company is in advanced talks with India's Hero MotoCorp for a distribution deal which will allow the U.S. firm's iconic motorcycles to be sold in India, after it stops local manufacturing there, three sources told Reuters. The company said on Thursday it will stop sales and shut its manufacturing plant in India, effectively abandoning the world's biggest motorcycle market after a decade of unsuccessful efforts to gain a foothold. Harley however is in talks with Hero MotoCorp to enter into a distribution arrangement that will allow the Indian company to import and sell Harley bikes as its sole distributor, two sources with familiar with the talks said.
• Novavax Inc (NVAX). The company on Thursday started a late-stage trial of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine in the United Kingdom in partnership with the government's Vaccines Taskforce. The study is expected to enroll up to 10,000 participants aged between 18 and 84 years and comes after the vaccine candidate produced high levels of antibodies against the novel coronavirus in a small, early-stage clinical trial. Data from the trial - likely over the next four to six weeks - will support regulatory submissions for license in the UK, EU and other countries. The company has previously said it expects to file for U.S. approval of the vaccine in December.


COLUMN
Big funds circle EdTech as post-pandemic mega-trend :Mike Dolan
Tech, pharma, climate -- and now education. In the race to pick mega-trends amplified by this year's pandemic, education, or at least new technology within that market, is being circled by asset managers seeking alternatives to the already super-expensive tech and pharma sectors. EdTech -- which has been growing since universities moved to provide open-access Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, more than a decade ago -- is one sector expected to be supercharged by the COVID-19 shock.


ANALYSTS' RECOMMENDATION
• Accenture Plc (ACN). JPMorgan cuts price target to $252 from $256 , saying the company’s Q4 revenue and FY21 FXN revenue guidance came in a little light versus consensus.
• Caesars Entertainment Inc (CZR). JPMorgan raises price target to $63 from $55, based on strong regional trends and attractive setup for sports betting/iGaming through year-end.
• Costco Wholesale Corp (COST). RBC raises price target to $412 from $400, after the company posted another very strong quarter during Q4.
• Darden Restaurants Inc (DRI). Jefferies raises price target to $90 from $75, factoring the company’s exceptional margin progress and menu simplification.
• Vail Resorts Inc (MTN). Jefferies raises price target to $216 from $175, stating the company’s stronger-than-expected pass sales suggest long-term recovery of the business model.​


ECONOMIC EVENTS (All timings in U.S. Eastern Time)
0830 Durable goods for Aug: Expected 1.5%; Prior 11.4%
0830 Durables goods ex-transport for Aug: Expected 1.2%; Prior 2.6%
0830 Durables goods ex-defense mm for Aug: Prior 10.1%
0830 Non-defense capital goods ex-air for Aug: Expected 0.5%; Prior 1.9%


COMPANIES REPORTING RESULTS
No major S&P 500 companies are scheduled to report for the day.


CORPORATE EVENTS (All timings in U.S. Eastern Time)
0830 Fluor Corp (FLR). Q4 earnings conference call
1200 AeroVironment Inc (AVAV). Annual Shareholders Meeting


EXDIVIDENDS
American Tower Corp (AMT). Amount $1.14
Covanta Holding Corp (CVA). Amount $0.08
Danaher Corp (DHR). Amount $0.18
General Electric Co (GE). Amount $0.01
Independent Bank Corp (Massachusetts) (INDB). Amount $0.46
Toro Co (TTC). Amount $0.25

Goedemorgen
Een zeer bewogen dag op Wall Street gisteren waar we alle kanten van het spectrum hebben gezien, de volatiliteit in beide richtingen blijft aanwezig waardoor de uitslagen groter worden. De indices konden in de plus eindigen maar veel overschot was er niet op slotbasis, zeker niet na de sterke opening waar er even meer dan 1% winst stond.

Vanmorgen zien we via de futures wat hogere standen maar het loopt niet over, we zullen zien welke richting de markt zal kiezen in de loop van de dag. Technisch bekeken zie ik nog altijd een omlaag gerichte markt nu alle indices onder hun 50-daags gemiddelde staan, ook is het zo dat de markt breekbaar aan het worden is want we zien dat de dalingen als die er komen heel snel gaan. Ook gisteren was dat weer het geval, je ziet een mooie plus staan maar in no-time draait deze markt naar verkopen en staan we weer onderaan op de grafieken waar het nu belangrijk wordt om de laatste steunpunten te verdedigen. Lukt dat niet, en zakken de indices onder de bodems van deze week waar niet veel voor nodig is dan staat alles er snel 1 tot 2% onder. Iets om in de gaten te houden en om gepositioneerd te blijven met posities gericht in deze richting.

Berichten over de onderhandelingen voor een nieuw steunpakket om de economie in de VS te redden blijven zorgen voor grote uitslagen op Wall Street, men leeft dus tussen hoop en vrees op dit moment en dat zorgt voor de volatiliteit tussendoor maar nogmaals, de markt wil eerder omlaag dan omhoog en dat betekend dat we in een andere fase terecht zijn gekomen dan enkele weken geleden waar er toen maar 1 richting aan de orde was. Beleggers zien dat de problemen niet opgelost geraken maar spelen dus ook in op een berg nieuw geld dat richting de markt komt. Nogmaals, op veel vlakken zie ik dat de negatieve trend zich door aan het zetten is en dat de bodems van eerder deze week onder druk komen te staan.

Dat zei ook de minister van Financiën in de VS, er is een nieuw steunpakket nodig, hij zet in op 2,4 biljoen dollar. Tot nu toe krijgt hij het niet voor elkaar want de democraten blijven dwars liggen en willen het over de verkiezingen heen tillen merken we. Ook FED voorzitter Jerome Powell zei nogmaals dat het waarschijnlijk noodzakelijk zal zijn en zeker nu er een 2e golf van het virus gaande is en we nog altijd moeten wachten op een vaccin.

Als we Trump moeten geloven, wat we beter niet kunnen doen, dan komt dat vaccin er volgende week al, tenminste dat zei hij pakweg 3 weken geleden dat het vaccin er binnen 3 tot 4 weken zou zijn. Zo zie je maar weer ... Overigens zie ik aan de berichten dat Trump zich zal verzetten mocht hij verliezen. Het wordt nog een spannend einde van 2020 als we dat allemaal meepakken, de zenders in de VS geraken er niet over uitgepraat en wil 80-85% van de media dat hij weg moet uit het Witte Huis ...

Wat kunnen we doen wat betreft nieuwe posities:
We zitten in de markt met wat short posities die ik met deze daling nog even wil aanhouden. De maand verloopt tot nu toe goed en we staan overal op winst. Er komen zeker meer kansen aan de komende periode, daar ben ik van overtuigd gezien het verloop van de markt momenteel. U kunt als lid meteen meedoen met de posities die ik uitstuur, lid worden kan via de aanbieding die loopt tot 1 DECEMBER voor €39 ...

Om u in te schrijven ga meteen naar de link https://www.usmarkets.nl/tradershop en dan staat u vandaag nog op de lijst ...

Guy Boscart

GLOBAL TOP NEWS
Britain's government launched scaled-back job support on Thursday for workers hit by the resurgent COVID-19 pandemic, but warned not everyone could be helped during an economic meltdown that is threatening millions of jobs.​

G7 finance ministers are expected to signal their support for extending a debt relief programme aimed at helping the poorest countries weather the coronavirus pandemic, three sources briefed on the issue said.​

A U.S. judge said Thursday the Trump administration must either delay a ban on U.S. app stores offering TikTok for download or file legal papers defending the decision by Friday.


EUROPEAN COMPANY NEWS
Airbus is set to reaffirm its aircraft production rates, despite warnings that the coronavirus crisis will be deeper and longer than expected, industry sources told Reuters on Thursday.

France's richest man Bernard Arnault ratcheted up a tug-of-war over Paris Match publisher Lagardere on Thursday, revealing he had built up a direct stake in the firm, which is under siege from several other investors.

Danske Bank helped Deutsche Bank facilitate suspicious trades worth over $600 million through its branch in Lithuania between 2012 and 2015, Danish media outlets reported on Thursday.​


TODAY'S COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENTS
2Crsi SA Annual Shareholders Meeting
Catenae Innovation PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Compagnie Aerienne Inter Regionale Express SA Annual Shareholders Meeting
DBT SA Annual Shareholders Meeting
Eurasia Fonciere Investissements SA Annual Shareholders Meeting
Fusion Antibodies PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Groupe LDLC SA Annual Shareholders Meeting
HELLA GmbH & Co KGaA Annual Shareholders Meeting
Hydrogen Group PLC Shareholders Meeting
ICG Longbow Senior Secured UK Property Debt Investments Ltd Annual Shareholders Meeting
Ifa Systems AG Annual Shareholders Meeting
India Capital Growth Fund Ltd Annual Shareholders Meeting
Marble Point Loan Financing Ltd Annual Shareholders Meeting
Naga Group AG Annual Shareholders Meeting
Natuzzi SpA Q2 2020 Earnings Release
OKYO Pharma Ltd Annual Shareholders Meeting
OTAQ PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Schroder Real Estate Investment Trust Ltd Annual Shareholders Meeting
Soc Conseil en Externalisation en Market SA Annual Shareholders Meeting
Societe Anonyme Des Bains De Mer Et Du Cercle Des Etrangers A Monaco SA Annual Shareholders Meeting
Solo Oil PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Stagecoach Group PLC Annual Shareholders Meeting
Tivoli A/S Annual Shareholders Meeting
Vienna Insurance Group AG Wiener Versicherung Gruppe Annual Shareholders Meeting
Weaccess Group SA Annual Shareholders Meeting​


ECONOMIC EVENTS (All times GMT)
0600 (approx.) United Kingdom PSNB Ex Banks for Aug: Expected 38.000 bln GBP; Prior 26.669 bln GBP
0600 (approx.) United Kingdom PSNB for Aug: Expected 35.050 bln GBP; Prior 25.944 bln GBP
0600 (approx.) United Kingdom PSNCR for Aug: Prior 16.491 bln GBP
0700 (approx.) Austria Ind Prod yy for Jul: Prior -10.3%
0730 Sweden Household Lending Growth yy for Aug: Prior 5.2%
0730 (approx.) Sweden Broad Money for Aug: Prior 4,078,947 mln SEK
0730 Sweden PPI mm for Aug: Prior -0.7%
0730 Sweden PPI yy for Aug: Prior -4.9%
0800 Italy Manufacturing Business Confidence for Sep: Expected 87.5; Prior 86.1
0800 Italy Consumer Confidence for Sep: Expected 100.8; Prior 100.8
0800 (approx.) Euro Zone Money-M3 Annual Growth for Aug: Expected 10.2%; Prior 10.2%
0800 Euro Zone Loans to Households for Aug: Prior 3.0%
0800 Euro Zone Loans to Non-Fin for Aug: Prior 7.0%
0800 (approx.) Euro Zone Broad Money for Aug: Prior 14,003,368 mln EUR