Stocks set to fall at opening bell
Wall Street looks poised to start the new trading week lower as investors continue to react to the partial U.S.-China trade deal that was announced by President Donald Trump on Friday.
The Trump administration agreed to forestall a tariff hike on at least $250 billion worth of Chinese products from 25% to 30% set for Tuesday. However, the administration did not roll back a tariff increase it implemented in September.
As part of the deal, China pledged to purchase as much as $50 billion a year in U.S. agricultural products.
At 5:23 a.m. ET Monday, the blue-chip Dow futures were down 64.5 points, or about 0.24% to 26,710.5, the S&P 500 futures dropped 7.75 points, or around 0.26% to 2,963, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures declined 26 points, or roughly 0.33% to 7,833.
Meanwhile, the U.S. bond market will be closed today for the Columbus Day.
Dennis Muilenburg removed as Boeing chairman, but will remain CEO
Dennis Muilenburg has relinquished the role of Boeing (NYSE: BA) chairman as the aerospace giant rushes to get its grounded 737 Max planes to return to the skies, the company announced late Friday.
However, the 55-year-old executive will get to keep his job as CEO, president, and a director. The board elected David Calhoun – currently the independent lead director – to serve as its non-executive chairman.
According to a statement issued by Boeing, the decision to split the chairman and CEO positions was made in order to allow Mr Muilenburg to concentrate on daily operations, including the task of fixing the 737 Max problem.
Boeing shares were up $4.02, or 1.08% to $374.92 premarket trade on Monday.
SoftBank said to be eyeing control of WeWork
SoftBank has reportedly prepped a financing package for WeWork, which would give it control over the shared office space startup.
The Japanese investment group’s deal could value WeWork below $10 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal, which reported the news on Sunday. People familiar with the matter told the Journal that SoftBank is looking to invest several billion dollars in new debt and equity to turning around WeWork’s operations. SoftBank already about one-third of WeWork.
Last month, WeWork shelved plans for an initial public offering after investors raised concerns about its corporate-governance structure and conflicts of interest.
