Morning Brief

What to watch today: Dow set to fall, Democrats debate and another possible streaming service

BY THE NUMBERS

U.S. stock futures point to a lower Wall Street open, after an extremely bullish first four days of the trading week. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all closed at record highs Thursday. The Dow and S&P 500 are currently on pace for their best weekly gains in eight months, while the Nasdaq is on track for its largest weekly advance since November 2018. (CNBC)

On today's economic calendar, the January employment report is out at 8:30 a.m. ET. The government releases December wholesale inventories at 10 a.m. ET. AbbVie (ABBV), Canada Goose (GOOS), and Hanesbrands (HBI) are among a handful of companies set to release quarterly earnings this morning. No earnings reports are scheduled after today's closing bell. (CNBC)

* Treasury yields slide ahead of jobs data (CNBC)
* Payroll gains seen picking up, benchmark revisions under spotlight (Reuters)

Uber (UBER) shares were jumping about 6% in premarket trading after the ride-hailing company announced a fourth-quarter loss that was narrower than analysts had expected and moved its forecast on a key measure of profitability forward. Revenue in Q4 of $4.07 billion was basically in-line with estimates. (CNBC)

* Travis Kalanick left more than $1 billion on the table by dumping his Uber stake last year (CNBC)

Online mattress maker Casper's (CSPR) stock closed up more than 12% on its first day of trading. It's little changed in Friday's premarket. Following its IPO, Casper shares opened at $14.50. The stock surged more than 30% in trading on the NYSE, to a high of $15.85. After giving up some of those gains, Casper shares closed at $13.50. (CNBC)

IN THE NEWS TODAY

The Democratic Party's seven strongest presidential contenders are preparing for what could be the fiercest debate stage clash of the 2020 primary season tonight as candidates look to survive the gauntlet of contests that lie ahead. Sen. Bernie Sanders, ex-Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Vice President Joe Biden, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar, and billionaire activist Tom Steyer and New York entrepreneur Andrew Yang take the stage at 8 p.m. ET tonight at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire. (AP)

* After Iowa, Buttigieg likely to be in crosshairs at New Hampshire debate (Reuters)
* DNC opens door to late-comer Mike Bloomberg in Nevada debate later this month (NY Times)

The Iowa Democratic caucus results are rife with potential errors and inconsistencies that could affect the outcome of the election, according to a review by the NBC News Decision Desk. The apparent mistakes call into question the accuracy of the outcome of Iowa's caucus, which was held on Monday night, where Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders led the vote.

* Andrew Yang fires dozens of campaign staffers after weak showing in Iowa (CNBC)

An additional 41 people on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which arrived at a Japanese port earlier this week, have tested positive for the coronavirus. This brings the total number of confirmed cases from the cruise ship to 61. Throughout mainland China, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases is 31,161, with the death toll at 636. (CNBC)

* Luxury days 'are gone' — guest describes life in quarantine (CNBC)
* China grows isolated as airlines cancel more than 50,000 flights (CNBC)
* Chinese social media censors hashtag 'I want freedom of speech' after coronavirus whistleblower doctor dies (CNBC)

Newly combined ViacomCBS (VIAC) is working on combining media assets for a new streaming service that will build on CBS All Access. While ViacomCBS executives haven't made any firm decisions, they are considering creating a service with advertisements that will combine CBS All Access with Viacom assets including Pluto TV, Nickelodeon, BET, MTV, Comedy Central and Paramount Pictures. (CNBC)

Goldman Sachs (GS) plans to raise $8 billion in only its second buyout fund since the 2008 financial crisis, bolstering its ability to secure deals worldwide, Reuters reported. Undeterred by a coronovirus epidemic in China that has cast a shadow over the global economy, the Wall Street heavyweight will kick off the fundraising next week via its private equity arm West Street Capital Partners.

* Paul Singer's Elliott Management invests more than $2.5 billion in SoftBank (CNBC)

Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam is stepping down on Feb. 14 in the wake of a spying scandal, and will be replaced by Thomas Gottstein who currently heads the bank's Swiss unit. An internal investigation by law firm Homburger into the scandal which rocked the bank in 2019 was said to have found "zero evidence" that Thiam was aware of the surveillance. (CNBC)

SpaceX is considering spinning off its Starlink satellite business and taking it public in the next several years. The move would take the fledgling satellite division of Elon Musk's space company and stand it up as a separate company through an initial public stock offering. (CNBC)

* Tesla passes Apple as No. 1 holding on SoFi as young investors rush into surging stock (CNBC)

STOCKS TO WATCH

T-Mobile US (TMUS) reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue, as it added more monthly phone subscribers.

Pinterest (PINS) beat Wall Street estimates with adjusted quarterly earnings and better-than-expected revenue. Pinterest also beat Street forecasts for average revenue per user and gave an upbeat 2020 outlook.

Verizon (VZ) announced a new $100 million share buyback plan, replacing a program that was due to expire Feb. 29.

Amazon (AMZN) CEO Jeff Bezos sold another $666 million in Amazon shares, bringing his total share sales to nearly $3.5 billion over the past week. The transactions were part of a pre-arranged sales plan.

Aurora Cannabis (ACB) announced the retirement of CEO Terry Booth, with Executive Chairman Michael Singer taking over as interim CEO. The Canada-based cannabis producer also said it would cut about 500 jobs and take a nearly $753 charge against earnings.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) was ordered to pay $750 million in punitive damages to four people in a New Jersey case. The plaintiffs claimed J&J's talcum powders caused a rare form of cancer. Johnson & Johnson plans to appeal.

EBay (EBAY) shares are under pressure after New York Stock Exchange owner Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) said it was no longer interested in exploring deal options with the e-commerce platform.

WATERCOOLER

The long-awaited comic book film featuring the delightfully psychotic Harley Quinn hits theaters this weekend and has charmed critics. "Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)" is certified Fresh with an 87% Rotten Tomatoes score from more than 124 reviews. (CNBC)