Hello friends and Coins2Day readers.
Wall Street stock futures are lower again Thursday as the dollar continues to rise against a background of talk of interest rate hikes in the not-too-distant future. Crude oil futures have slumped back below $40 a barrel after data showing a sharp rise in U.S. Stockpiles (and the realization that the much-touted “restraint” of other big producers is taking place at record high output levels).
Today’s must-read story is from Coins2Day‘s Shawn Tully, who dug into GOP frontrunner Donald Trump’s financial records and found that the former reality television star’s total debt is nearly $1 billion—or, roughly double what Trump has claimed.
Here’s what else you need to know to start the day.
1. Starboard wants to remove Yahoo’s board
Hedge fund Starboard Value LP has launched a campaign to remove the entire board of underperforming web giant Yahoo Inc., according to The Wall Street Journal. The activist investor plans to announce Thursday morning that it will nominate nine directors to Yahoo’s board, making good on a threat made this year that it would seek to shake up the board if it felt the directors weren’t making changes fast enough.
2. Accenture Q2 earnings
The Dublin-based consulting services company is expected to post second-quarter earnings above Wall Street’s expectations. Accenture (ACN) has seen solid demand in North America as the company looks to expand its digital business offerings, including analytics and cloud services.
3. Durable goods
The Commerce Department is expected to report that orders for durable goods fell by 2.8% last month. Following a strong January rebound for durable goods orders, a February decline would represent a bump in the road to recovery for the manufacturing sector.
4. Weekly jobless claims
The Labor Department will likely report that the number of Americans who filed new applications for unemployment benefits last week increased from the previous week. Weekly jobless claims jumped by 3,000 claims, but the total number of weekly claims (268,000) still remained well below the threshold for a strengthening job market.
5. More earnings
Fourth-quarter sales for the world’s largest video game retailer, GameStop (GME), will likely fall short of expectations after the company cut its earnings and same-store sales forecast for the month. Other companies reporting quarterly earnings today include fast-casual restaurant chain Cosi (COSI) and motor home manufacturer Winnebago Industries (WGO).
—Reuters contributed to this article.
