Books, Web Services, and ...Airlines? "Amazon Prime Air" got a designation from the FAA as an "Air Carrier" and will begin deliveries via Drones under a trial program. There are still many hurdles for them to be able to deliver packages on a routine basis, but they are getting started. UPS and Google's subsidiary, "Wing" have launched similar test programs..
In Turkey, a "High Level" ISIS leader has been arrested and officials are saying, "some important plans" were seized during the arrest. Geez. That gives you a nice warm and fuzzy feeling on a Tuesday. Think they'll "Share" the plans? Too bad its not the USA. Adam Schiff would have the plans leaked by lunchtime..
The Portland shooter that killed a man on Sunday identified himself online as, "100% ANTIFA" and was previously arrested at a protest for unlawfully carrying a gun and knife. For some reason, charges were dropped. The Mayor and the prosecutor that dropped the charges are responsible for this guy's death. They need to get control of their city. There were 4 other shootings across town yesterday and a 16 year old was killed.
Oregon Gov. Brown announced a plan to bring in more officers to quell the nightly riots. As soon as she did, the Sheriffs said, "No, we will not be doing that". (THAT is a little embarrassing, Gov Brown) .. The Governor never discussed her "plan" with them and they said that if she did, they would have told her that is not extra personnel that are needed. The problem is the DA and the Courts.
Sheriff Roberts told reporters, “The same offenders are arrested night after night, only to be released by the court and not charged with a crime by the DA’s Office. The next night they are back at it, endangering the lives of law enforcement and the community all over again,” Roberts continued. “The criminal justice system will need do its part and hold offenders accountable.” .. That guys has GOT to be a Rant Reader .. I've been saying that (mostly about Chicago) for YEARS !!!
New York City keeps setting records. There have been 1,004 shootings in NYC this year. That's up from 537 this time last year. In August, 10 people a day were shot. So, if you live in NY .. try to keep count... When it gets to 8 or 9 for the day its almost safe to go outside... and in other bone head moves in NY
NY State University in Oneota is shutting down for 2 weeks after they had 100 positive COVID-19 tests. Some are blaming large "back to school parties". Cuomo is praising the school Chancellor for "doing the exact right thing and should be an example around the country"...ummm... Really? So, you have a bunch of the lowest risk group.. and they were apparently partying together.. and not you're going to send them home for two weeks? Instead of keeping the infected and "possibly infected" in the same spot?.. It's a BETTER idea to send them home around the State? .. I would quarantine the infected and keep everyone ON CAMPUS and continuing their lives... but then again.. I said to shut down the nursing homes and you didn't listen... and..
In Da Swamp: Joe Fights Back!! (Sorta). Joe Biden headed to southwest PA to give a speech. He blamed the violence on the streets on the President and asked, "Do I look like a radical socialist with a soft spot for rioters?" .. well.. tour "team" is certainly more radical than your personal record .. but as for the soft spot.. That's a yes ..You should be pushing these mayors to take control of their cities. .. and...
The MAYOR of D.C. says she, "fears the USA is descending into a race war". Well, when you see everything as "racist" you WOULD think that. The most recent racially charged situation happened in LA last night. A black man on a bike was stopped by police and refused to comply. He fled and was chased down. Had a gun. Dropped the clothes he was carrying and knocked out one of the officers before he was shot. Was he killed because of race? or for having a gun and attacking police officers? .. HINT: The protesters that took to the streets are almost all minorities and no one is getting shot by police because they aren't shooting at or assaulting the police ...
Tuesday RIPs: R.I.P. to actor Chadwick Boseman, 43. The Black Panther star died of colon cancer that he discovered 4 years ago and did not disclose. He spent spare time at children's cancer hospitals entertaining the children and never letting on.. Great Man... and.. RIP to Big John Thompson, 78 of undisclosed reasons. Thompson was a legend College Basketball coach whom Alan Iverson credits for saving his life ..
SPORTS:
Churchill Downs is scrapping their plan for a "limited crowd" and going with no spectators for the Kentucky Derby.... CEO Kevin Flannery made the decision because of, "everything that's going on". (meaning both COVID and the Breona Taylor protests there in Louisville).. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said that he, "felt sorry for the local businesses that rely on this week for their income" .. The race is Saturday. Hopefully for the local bars and shops, people will buy Mint Julep kits and hats to use at home ..
NBA: Play resumed after the short boycott by players. Apparently, President Obama had a conversation with LeBron and convinced him not to boycott the rest of the season. I'm guessing its because Obama knows its better for them to maintain their platform. Obama suggested to restart but give the League their "Conditions".. To demand their empty home stadiums be used for voting and to have a civil rights commission with players, owners and the league. I guess that's good.. but.. they all kinda are, already.. Aren't they? .. and
Tennis: The US tennis Open is underway with no fans, no towel service and No Rafa Nadal. The normally raucous crowds are forced to stay home due to Covid restrictions. It certainly won't be the same.. but I don't watch until the finals anyway. ..
NHL: Tampa Bay wins in DOUBLE OT to take the series from Boston 4-1 .. Colorado wins but Dallas still leads series 3-2 ..
CELEBRIDIOTS: Uh Oh.. Don't do it Selena!!! Selena Gomez says she is taking a "new approach to beauty" .. She says, "It doesn't matter how I look -- It's how I Feel" .. HERE .. Umm.. actually NO .. No its not.. Eating twinkies and watching Netflix "FEELS GOOD" when you're doing it.. .. but the result after a while is NOT what anyone would describe as, "Beauty" .. Ill give you a "Before" picture.. HERE .. and pray she is kidding...
Nick Cannon interviewed Kanye West on his podcast and asked him about his Presidential run. Cannon asked what Kanye thought about people saying he was a "Pawn" of the Republicans and he was being paid to help Trump win. Kanye said, "Ain't no one paying me. Im Richer than Trump" !!! and he said, "I'm not running for President.. Im Walking" ... HHAHAHA.. Love him or hate him.. He is ENTERTAINING ...
Singer Ed Sheeran and his wife, Cherry, announced the birth of their Daughter, "Lyra Antarctica Seaborn Sheeran" umm.. What? The Seaborn Sheeran part makes sense .. but... ok.. I'm going with.. "Lyra so she's not made fun of at school" and "Antarctica" because they did a "Mile High Club" thing when flying over Antarctica when they conceived her? .. Just a guess..
From Seekingalpha.com
Shares of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) are up another 7.5% to $533 premarket, adding to the 12.5% rally seen yesterday after the company split its stock 5-for-1. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares are meanwhile ahead by 2.6% to $132 in early trade, following their 3.4% advance on Monday (the two stocks are up 34% and 81%, respectively, since announcing the splits just a month ago). In fact, the high trading volumes of the "Retail Bros." appear to be taking down popular brokerages like Robinhood and TD Ameritrade, with outages reported for many users at the market open on Monday.
Prior to the stock breakups, some were saying that splits are not impactful anymore as fractional shares are becoming widely available at brokerages, while market caps of the companies essentially stay the same. Regardless of the rationality, that doesn't seem to be the sentiment of the new trader, which has created frustration for the old guard. "Look at Tesla and Apple: Everybody understands that [stock] splits don't create value," said Leon Cooperman, who founded Omega Advisors. "My dad once told me if you gave me five singles for a $5 bill, I'm no better off." Go Deeper: Are price targets now passé?
Overnight, S&P 500 and Dow futures rose 0.3% and 0.1%, respectively, though contracts tied to the Nasdaq powered ahead by 1.1%, led by outsized gains for Apple (AAPL) and Tesla (TSLA). Zoom Video (NASDAQ:ZM) also brought cocktails to the party, jumping 27% AH after quarterly revenue more than quadrupled due to stay-at-home trends, while the video-conferencing company raised its sales outlook. The results cemented the Nasdaq's best monthly performance since 2000, while the S&P recorded one of its best Augusts since the 1980s.
Position your portfolio for the rising odds of President Trump winning re-election, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co., which says the spread between him and challenger Joe Biden is now nearly even. That's largely due to the impact on public opinion of violence around protests, as well as potential bias in polls, said strategist Marko Kolanovic. "Implications could be significant for the performance of factors, sectors, COVID-19 winners/losers, as well as ESG, though certainly a lot can happen in the next ~60 days."
AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) is starting Phase 3 trials of its experimental coronavirus vaccine in the U.S., becoming the third company to start late-stage trials to prevent COVID-19. Trial centers across the nation are recruiting up to 30K adults aged 18 years or over. AstraZeneca's vaccine, known as AZD1222, was developed in partnership with Oxford University and has the backing of the U.S. government. Rivals Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)/BioNTec (NASDAQ:BNTX) already have Phase 3 trials under way, also with federal funding.
Escalating tensions with Canberra, Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) said it will stop Australians sharing news content on its platforms if a proposal to make it pay local media outlets for their content becomes law. The country would become the first to make the giant social network and Google (GOOG, GOOGL) - which is also opposed to the legislation - pay for news sourced from local providers under a royalty-style system. "We don't respond to coercion or heavy handed threats wherever they come from," Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said in response, adding that the proposed law was in the national interest and followed 18 months of public inquiry.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT) is finally going head to head with Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) via a nationwide membership program, though the retailer says the new service is "really about doubling down with the customers we have and getting more share of wallet and more share of mind." The program, which costs $98 annually, or $12.95 a month, will launch on Sept. 15. Biggest difference: Walmart+ customers will have to spend a minimum of $35 for each online order to avoid fees, while rival Amazon Prime touts free two-day (and some same-day) shipping on every item.
Amazon (AMZN) has received approval from the FAA to operate its fleet of Prime Air delivery drones, allowing the e-commerce giant to expand autonomous packaged delivery. It's not alone. UPS (NYSE:UPS) and Wing, a unit of Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) have already gained clearance to operate unmanned air fleets in the U.S. While routine drone deliveries to American consumers are still years away, Amazon is targeting package delivery to customers in 30 minutes or less (it began testing in 2018).
What else is happening...
Eurozone inflation turns negative for first time since 2016. J.C. Penney (OTCPK:JCPNQ) plans sale to lenders after talks hit stalemate. Eastman Kodak (NYSE:KODK) up 20% premarket as D.E. Shaw takes stake. Cowen sees big demand for Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) spaceflights. Anthem (NYSE:ANTM), Cigna (NYSE:CI) can't collect damages over failed merger. Delta (NYSE:DAL) and American (NASDAQ:AAL) follow United (NASDAQ:UAL) in dropping U.S. change fees.
Monday's Key Earnings
Rackspace (NASDAQ:RXT) +4.9% AH in first earnings since new IPO. Zoom (ZM) +27% AH boosting outlook on remote work trends.
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan flat. Hong Kong flat. China +0.4%. India +0.7%. In Europe, at midday, London -1.2%. Paris +0.5%. Frankfurt +0.8%. Futures at 6:20, Dow +0.1%. S&P +0.3%. Nasdaq +1.1%. Crude +1.1% to $43.07. Gold +1% to $1997.60. Ten-year Treasury Yield +3 bps to 0.72%
Today's Economic Calendar
8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales 9:45 PMI Manufacturing Index 10:00 ISM Manufacturing Index 10:00 Construction Spending 1:00 PM Fed's Brainard Speech
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