Morning Brief

Stock rally showing signs of wear as new week begins

Key Points

BY THE NUMBERS

U.S. stock futures were lower this morning. The ongoing market rally seems to be taking a pause, with the Dow and S&P 500 down for the past two sessions and both coming off their first weekly losses in nine weeks. The Dow last fell for three straight days in late September. (CNBC)

Dow stock General Electric (GE) was rising about 2 percent in the premarket after the company cuts its dividend in half to free up capital to fund a turnaround. Among other expected changes is a focus on three business lines: aviation, power, and health care, according to the Wall Street Journal.

* One major bull case for owning GE just flew out the window (CNBC)

Mattel (MAT) shares were soaring about 25 percent in premarket trading after reports that the company received a takeover offer from rival toymaker Hasbro (HAS), whose stock was up about 3 percent in the premarket. (WSJ)

Bitcoin was up about 12 percent this morning after a wild weekend saw the cryptocurrency briefly plunge 15 percent on Saturday before intermittently shooting back up to near $6,400, according to CoinDesk. Bitcoin was trading around $6,550 early Monday. (CNBC)

* Bitcoin cash briefly replaced ether as the second-largest cryptocurrency (CNBC)

Retail earnings will be in focus this week, with Wal-Mart (WMT) and Home Depot (HD) among those scheduled to report, but the food sector is in the spotlight this morning with Tyson Foods (TSN) scheduled to release quarterly numbers before the opening bell. (CNBC)

Wall Street bonuses may climb as much as 10 percent this year, in the first meaningful jump for the industry since 2013, according to a closely watched report. (Reuters)

IN THE NEWS TODAY

More than 300 people were killed in Iran when a magnitude 7.3 earthquake jolted the country on Sunday, state media said, and rescuers were searching for dozens trapped under rubble in the mountainous area. At least six have died in Iraq as well. (Reuters)

President Donald Trump said on Monday he had a "great relationship" with President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, making little mention of human rights at his first face-to-face meeting with an authoritarian leader accused of carrying out a campaign of extrajudicial killings in his nation's war on drugs. (NY Times)

* Trump teases Wednesday trade announcement at the White House (Politico)
* Trump bailed on a trade deal, and US businesses may suffer (CNBC)

Trump tried to have it both ways on the issue of Russian interference in last year's presidential race. He said he believes the intelligence agencies when they say Russia meddled and Russian President Vladimir Putin's sincerity in claiming that his country did not. (AP)

More than 400 millionaires and billionaires from the U.S. are reportedly planning to send a letter to Congress this week petitioning for lawmakers to raise taxes on the wealthy. The letter urges lawmakers not to pass any tax bill that "further exacerbates inequality." (Washington Post)

* Here are the hurdles the GOP tax plans face (CNBC)
* A middle-class tax cut? It depends who and where you are (NY Times)

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady says he would not accept elimination of a federal deduction for state and local taxes. That statement opposes a proposal from Senate GOP that would hike taxes for some middle-class Americans. (Reuters)

At least five companies said over the weekend that they will no longer advertise their products during Fox News' "Hannity" television show, in response to host Sean Hannity's coverage of the sexual misconduct allegations against Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore. (CNBC)

* Moore seeks to refocus campaign on conservative religious values (Washington Post)

The sequel to "Wonder Woman" reportedly may not star Gal Gadot, if filmmaker Brett Ratner remains on staff. Page Six, citing a source, said the actress will not continue with the franchise so long as Ratner, accused sexual harasser, can profit. (NY Post)

Boeing (BA) got a $15 billion order from Emirates airline for 40 of its 787-10 Dreamliner jets. The announcement was made at the start of the Dubai Airshow over the weekend. Deliveries will start in 2022. (CNBC)

U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm (QCOM) is making preparations to reject rival Broadcom's (AVGO) $103 billion bid as early as this week, four people familiar with the matter told Reuters, setting the stage for one of the biggest-ever takeover battles.

Uber's warring board members have struck a peace deal that allows a multibillion-dollar investment by SoftBank Group Corp to proceed, and which would resolve a legal battle between former CEO Travis Kalanick and a prominent shareholder. (Reuters)

Tesla (TSLA) is expected to pull back the curtain on its long-awaited semi truck on Thursday, CEO Elon Musk says, as he fanned expectations for the vehicle after production problems delayed its slated release. (CNBC)

* The Tesla Model S P100D is still the coolest car you can buy (CNBC)

STOCKS TO WATCH

GGP (GGP) received a $23 per share offer from Brookfield Property Partners to buy the shares of the mall owner that it doesn't already own, according to the Wall Street Journal. The offer is worth $14.8 billion, half in stock and half in cash.

Wal-Mart (WMT) is raising online prices for products also available in its stores, according to the Journal, which said that the retail giant is trying to boost profits and drive more traffic to its stores.

Alibaba's (BABA) Single's Day smashed its own record after the e-commerce giant sold more than $25 billion of product on China's biggest online shopping date. The sales represent a 39 percent increase over last year's.

Sony (SNE) shares could rise by 20 percent in the coming year, according to an article in Barron's. The paper said such a rise could be driven by stronger sales of smartphone camera chips and videogame systems and software.

WATERCOOLER

Sports broadcaster ESPN, owned by Disney (DIS) launched its flagship SportsCenter program on messaging app Snapchat (SNAP) today, reimagining the show that provides sports highlights and commentary into a short-form series. (Reuters)