Morning Brief

Dow futures higher | Congress scrambles to avoid shutdown | JP Morgan rolls out cryptocurrency

BY THE NUMBERS

U.S. stock futures were higher this morning, possibly extending a streak that has seen the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rise for the past four sessions and the Dow gain for the past two days. The Dow and Nasdaq are on track to post an 8th straight weekly gain. (CNBC)

* Cramer: There's a looming threat for the stock market and it has nothing to do with China (CNBC)

The first cryptocurrency created by a major U.S. bank is here – and it's from J.P. Morgan (JPM). Engineers at the lender have created the 'JPM Coin,' a digital token that will be used to instantly settle transactions between clients of its wholesale payments business. (CNBC)

Dow component Coca-Cola (KO) reports its fourth quarter earnings this morning before the opening bell. After-the-bell earnings reports today include Applied Materials (AMAT), Canopy Growth (CGC), CBS (CBS), Chemours (CC), Nvidia (NVDA), and Redfin (RDFN). (CNBC)

* Coca-Cola shares drop after earnings in line with estimates (CNBC)

On the data front this morning, the government is out with December (not January!) retail sales at 8:30 a.m. ET. At the same time, the January Producer Price Index is expected. The Labor Department will also issue its weekly report on initial jobless claims. (CNBC)

IN THE NEWS TODAY

Congress today aimed to end a dispute over border security, and avoid another government shutdown, with legislation that includes nearly $1.4 billion for new physical barriers but not a concrete wall. A stalemate in December over President Donald Trump's request for $5.7 billion to help build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border led to a record-long government shutdown. (Reuters)

Trump is considering a 60-day extension of the March 1 deadline for higher tariffs on Chinese imports, according to a Bloomberg report. The president was considering the extension so as to give two-way talks more time, the report said.

* Pentagon warns of 'weaponization of space' by China and Russia (CNBC)

Trump demanded California return the $3.5 billion it received from the federal government for a "disaster" high-speed rail project. The bullet train project, a planned system linking San Francisco to L.A., faced cost overruns and delays. (CNBC)

CNBC has learned former Vice President Joe Biden has been reaching out to top Democratic donors to discuss possibly running for president in 2020. He signaled to donors he is leaning toward running but had not made a final decision.

A federal judge ruled Paul Manafort violated the terms of his plea deal with special counsel Robert Mueller. The judge said because of this breach, the special counsel is no longer obligated to recommend a lighter sentence for Manafort. (CNBC)

Europe's Airbus announced plans to scrap production of the world's largest airliner today, abandoning its A380 superjumbo program in favor of smaller, more nimble jets. Airbus said the last A380 will be delivered in 2021. (CNBC)

NASA's Opportunity, the Mars rover that was built to operate just three months but kept going and going, has been pronounced dead, 15 years after it landed on the red planet. Opportunity outlived its twin, the Spirit rover, by several years. (AP)

Equifax's (EFX) data breach stunned consumers, but where the data of those 143 million people disappeared to has remained a mystery. The prevailing theory is that the data was stolen by a nation-state for spying purposes. (CNBC)

Apple (AAPL) is targeting April to debut a new streaming product that will include original content free for Apple device owners and a platform to subscribe to other services. HBO hasn't signed on to the service yet but still may do so. (CNBC)

* Former Apple lawyer used inside knowledge to trade ahead of earnings, claims SEC (CNBC)

Recess is just the latest internet-born retailer to begin opening brick-and-mortar stores so customers can experience the brand, and buy its products, in real life. It hopes to tap into the seemingly booming market for CBD, short for cannabidiol. (CNBC)

* CVS Health shows off new HealthHUB store design (CNBC)
* Pfizer holds lead in erectile dysfunction market (CNBC)

Disney (DIS) dropped its first teaser trailer for "Frozen 2." Audiences have been patiently awaiting the sequel's release since the voice actors of Anna and Olaf, Kristen Bell and Josh Gad, first tweeted about it in 2017. (CNBC)

STOCKS TO WATCH

Cisco Systems (CSCO) reported adjusted quarterly profit of 73 cents per share, beating consensus estimates by a penny. The networking equipment maker also saw revenue beat street forecasts, helped by growth in cyber security and applications software. Cisco also announced a six percent dividend hike to 35 cents per share and increased its stock buyback program by $15 billion.

Apple (AAPL) will resume selling older iPhone models in Germany. That comes two months after it had stopped sales because a court had ruled that Apple had infringed a patent held by Qualcomm (QCOM). The phones that will go back on the market in Germany will contain Qualcomm chips

Yelp (YELP) earned 37 cents per share for the fourth quarter, well above the 10 cent consensus estimate. The online review site operator's revenue also came in above estimates, with the improved results following a revamp of Yelp's board of directors.

MGM Resorts (MGM) came in one cent above estimates with adjusted quarterly profit of 14 cents per share, with the casino and resort operator seeing revenue beat forecasts as well. MGM also announced an eight percent dividend hike to 13 cents per share from 12 cents.

AIG (AIG) posted an unexpected loss of 63 cents per share, after consensus forecasts had predicted a profit of 42 cents per share. The insurance company did see revenue beat estimates, but its results were hurt by weaker returns in the equity and credit markets.

AstraZeneca (AZN) posted better than expected product sales for the fourth quarter, and also forecast a second consecutive year of growth.

Credit Suisse (CS) posted its first annual profit in four years in 2018, and was also profitable during the fourth quarter despite weakness in its trading unit.

NetApp (NTAP) reported adjusted quarterly profit of $1.20 per share for its latest quarter, beating consensus estimates by five cents. However, revenue fell below forecasts, and the data management company also gave weaker than expected revenue guidance.

WATERCOOLER

Beware this Valentine's Day: Romance scams could cost you. The Federal Trade Commission received 21,000 reports of romance scams in 2018 — its highest reported number yet —with victims losing a total of $143 million. (CNBC)