Friday, September 21, 2018

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What to watch today

The Dow and S&P 500 closed at record highs on Thursday. Will markets extend their rallies?

Meanwhile, investors will face a fairly light schedule with only the preliminary readings on manufacturing and services-sector activity from Markit Economics due out on the economic data side while no members of the S&P 500 will be reporting results.

Google workers discussed tweaking search function: Days after the Trump administration instituted a controversial travel ban in January 2017, Google employees discussed ways they might be able to tweak the company’s search-related functions to show users how to contribute to pro-immigration organizations and contact lawmakers and government agencies, according to internal company emails. [The Wall Street Journal]

Walmart warns Trump tariffs may force price hikes: Walmart Inc. (WMT) said that it may hike prices of products if the Trump administration imposes a tariff on Chinese imports, according to a letter the company wrote to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. The letter said the tariff would impact prices of everything from food products to beverages and personal care items. [Reuters]

Tesla loses supply management chief: Another Tesla Inc. (TSLA) vice president is leaving the company, according to people familiar with the matter, as Elon Musk struggles to contain an exodus of senior executives. Liam O’Connor , vice president of global supply management, has resigned from the electric-car maker, who requested anonymity because the information hadn’t been made public. [Bloomberg]

Eventbrite soars 60% at market debut: Online ticketing company Eventbrite (EB) soared in its stock market debut Thursday. Shares opened at $36 and climbed above $37 in its first few minutes on the public markets. The company priced shares at $23 on Wednesday, at the high end of its range, nudging its implied valuation above $1.76 billion as it raised $230 million. [CNBC]

Online luxury goods hub Farfetch’s IPO raises $885M: Farfetch Ltd., which sells luxury clothing online, sold shares above its marketed range in a U.S. initial public offering that raised $885 million. The London-based company said Thursday in a statement that it and an existing shareholder sold a combined total of 44.2 million shares for $20 each. [Bloomberg]