BY THE NUMBERS
January has been a bullish month for stocks, but economic growth worries are weighing on sentiment as the shortened trading week opens. China posted its lowest growth in 28 years in 2018, and the IMF has trimmed its global growth forecast. (CNBC)
All this could interrupt a streak which has seen the Dow and S&P 500 compile four-session win streaks that put them at their highest closes since Dec. 6. Ahead of Tuesday trading on Wall Street, the Dow and S&P 500 were out of correction territory. (CNBC)
* Oil drops about 2% on China's GDP slowdown (Reuters)
On today's economic calendar, the National Association of Realtors releases existing home sales for December at 10 a.m. ET. Meanwhile, Dow components Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Travelers (TRV) are out with earnings this morning. Dow stock IBM reports after the bell. (CNBC)
* Johnson & Johnson beats Q4 earnings expectations (CNBC)
IN THE NEWS TODAY
Thousands of political, business, and cultural leaders are attending the World Economic Forum in the Swiss town of Davos this week. President Donald Trump won't be among them, after cancelling his trip due to the government shutdown. (CNBC)
* The next economic downturn is what 'scares me the most': Bridgewater's Ray Dalio (CNBC)
* 'We are in a worse place than we were a year ago,' top fund manager says at Davos (CNBC)
* 'Information is power': Blackstone gets better as its business gets bigger, CEO says (CNBC)
Senate Republicans released a measure designed around Trump's proposal for ending the government shutdown, now entering Day 32. The bill includes $5.7 billion for the president's border wall for temporary protections for so-called Dreamers. (AP)
* 10% of TSA workers call in sick as government shutdown continues (USA Today)
Rudy Giuliani, the president's lawyer, backtracked from earlier comments that Trump pursued a business deal to build a tower bearing his name in Moscow throughout 2016, saying his statements "were hypothetical and not based on conversations I had with the President." (NBC News)
Researchers said they discovered another secret ballistic missile base in North Korea, one of an estimated 20 such undeclared sites. On Friday, the White House announced a second summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in late February. (USA Today)
* U.S. and North Korean spies have held secret talks for a decade (WSJ)
The U.S. will reportedly proceed with the formal extradition from Canada of Meng Wanzhou, CFO of Chinese telecom giant Huawei. Meng, the daughter of Huawei's founder, was arrested on Dec. 1 in Vancouver over alleged violations of American sanctions on Iran. This according to Reuters. (CNBC)
Tesla (TSLA) signed a preliminary agreement with China's Tianjin Lishen to supply electric car batteries for its new Shanghai factory. Tesla is looking to reduce reliance on Japan's Panasonic. Meanwhile, Tesla gets approval for Model 3 deliveries to Europe (Reuters & MarketWatch)
* Toyota and Panasonic announced an electric vehicle batteries venture (Reuters)
Apple (AAPL) supplier Foxconn said it trying to hire more than 50,000 people for the January through March quarter. That's in contrast to reports that the contract manufacturer was in the midst of mass layoffs due to slowing iPhone sales. (Reuters)
Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google unit was fined about $57 million, the biggest so far under a new European privacy law. Google was accused of not going far enough in gathering user consent for data use. (AP)
STOCKS TO WATCH
UBS (UBS) missed estimates for its fourth quarter. The Switzerland-based bank also warned of a tough start to 2019 due to trade disputes and unresolved geopolitical tensions.
Amazon.com (AMZN) launched direct sales of merchandise in Brazil after months of delays as it worked around a variety of logistical issues.
Logitech (LOGI) raised its full-year outlook, after the maker of computer mice and other peripherals beat analyst estimates with its latest quarterly earnings.
FedEx (FDX) will take a charge of as much as $575 million for voluntary buyouts, as it trims its employee ranks to reduce expenses.
Apollo Global Management (APO) is close to a deal to acquire European packaging company RPC Group for more than $3.8 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal.
WATERCOOLER
M. Night Shyamalan's "Glass" debuted at No. 1 on the domestic box office charts over the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday weekend, bringing in $47 million. Another new releasing "The Upside," starring Kevin Hart and Bryan Cranston, came in second. (LA Times)
