Hello friends and Coins2Day readers.
Wall Street stock futures are broadly higher as the prospect of action to end the world glut in crude oil prices helps the street regain a little composure. Crude futures are at a three-week high of over $33.70 a barrel after Russia’s Energy Minister said OPEC was looking to call a meeting about production cuts in February, a meeting that non-OPEC member Russia could possibly take part in.
Today’s must-read story is from Coins2Day‘s Phil Wahba and it recounts the story of how sunglasses brand Ray-Ban recovered its mojo after a years-long decline turned the iconic shades into gas station staples as recently as two decades ago.
Here’s what else you need to know today.
1. Mattel is giving Barbie new body shapes
Barbie’s got a new body. Three new bodies, actually: petite, tall and curvy, and their maker, Mattel will put them on sale alongside the original busty, thin-waisted form on Barbie.com from today. The company hopes that the new dolls, with their diverse body types, along with the new skin tones and hair textures introduced last year, will more closely reflect their young owners’ world.
2. Microsoft looks to top Q2 estimates
Microsoft (MSFT) is expected to report toward the upper end of analysts’ second-quarter revenue estimates as CEO Satya Nadella sees success in transitioning the company’s focus to software and cloud services. Investors will be interested to see how the company’s cost-cutting and streamlining measures have helped improve the bottom line, while weakness in the PC market–and the take-up of Windows 10 in particular–will also be of interest.
3. Holiday sales boost Amazon.com earnings
The e-commerce giant will post fourth-quarter sales likely stamped by a strong holiday sales period that enabled it to pull in more than 40% of all online sales in the final two months of 2015. Cost-cutting measures are also likely to help the company post its third straight quarterly profit, while some investors will be curious to see if the company reveals any new viewership or expenditure details from the Amazon Prime Video unit.
4. Drugmakers report earnings
A handful of major drugmakers post their latest quarterly results today, led by the world’s largest biotech company, Amgen (AMGN), which is expected to report increased fourth-quarter revenue and profit, though investors will want an update on the company’s conservative outlook for the current year. Also reporting earnings today are Eli Lilly and Co. (LLY), Abbott Laboratories (ABT), and Celgene (CELG).
5. U.S. Durable goods
The Commerce Department posts figures on durable goods orders for December today, with the report likely to show a monthly decline. Reuters expects the decline to be by roughly 0.6% after orders were steady in November. Contributing to the drop in orders for long-lasting U.S.-manufactured goods was the strong U.S. Dollar and sluggish global demand, as well as less spending in the energy sector.
—Reuters contributed to this post.
