Wall Street set to open lower
U.S equity futures were slightly higher on Tuesday as the second quarter of 2019’s earnings season rolls out. Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) and other companies including Johnson & Johnson(NYSE: JNJ) and Domino’s Pizza (NYSE: DPZ) are scheduled to release Q2 earnings results before the opening bell.
As of 5:04 a.m. ET, futures on the blue-chip Dow were up 9.5 points, or 0.03% to 27,351.5. Futures on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose 8.87 points, or 0.11% to 7,995.62 while those on broader S&P 500 climbed 2.37 points, or 0.08% to 3,019.62.
Judge lowers Bayer Roundup damages to $25.27 million over weed killer case
U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria of California on Monday reduced a payout over Bayer’s Roundup weed killer from $80.2 million to $25.27 million for a Sonoma County man who contracted non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after spraying the product on his property for more than two decades.
The judge said the $80.2 million award violated U.S. laws on the ratio of punitive to compensatory damages. Bayer, which acquired Roundup-owner Monsanto last year for $62.5 billion, said it would appeal the ruling. Shares of the German pharmaceutical giant rose 3% in early trading in Frankfurt following the ruling.
Lawmakers to grill Facebook on Libra cryptocurrency
David Marcus, the head of Facebook’s (NASDAQ: FB) blockchain subsidiary Calibra is scheduled to appear before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee today to explain the social media giant’s vision for Libra digital currency. The cryptocurrency has been met with opposition from both Republicans and Democrats.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said during a White House press briefing Monday that money launderers and terrorist financiers could misuse Libra and other cryptocurrencies. President Trump also blasted the digital coin last week saying it will have “little standing or dependability.”
