Here are five things you must know for Monday, April 22:
1. -- Stock Futures Slide as Oil Prices Spike
U.S. stock futures pointed lower Monday as investors came off the three-day Easter break confronted with a sharp spike in oil prices on reports the State Department was preparing to announce that the U.S. will impose sanctions on any countries that refuse to stop importing Iranian oil.
Contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 81 points, futures for the S&P 500 declined 9.15 points, and Nasdaq futures tumbled 33.25 points.
West Texas intermediate crude oil, the U.S. benchmark, was rising 2.3% to $65.55 a barrel after the Washington Post reported that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will announce Monday that as of May 2, the State Department will no longer grant sanctions waivers to any country "that is currently importing Iranian crude or condensate." Futures for Brent crude, the European benchmark, rose 2.5% to $73.74 a barrel.
Iran is one of the world's largest global producers of oil, pumping out about 4.5 million barrels a day in 2018, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. But its output is far lower than that of the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Russia. The U.S., for example, produced nearly 11 million b/d during the same year, followed closely by Russia and Saudi Arabia.
2. -- Whirlpool and Halliburton Report Earnings Monday
3. -- Tesla to Discuss Its Autonomous Future
Tesla (TSLA - Get Report) will show off its autonomous driving capabilities at an event on Monday.
The electric vehicle maker and its CEO, Elon Musk, are expected to talk about the future of the company's autonomous driving system, highlighting its capabilities, laying out an aggressive rollout timeline and talking up the potential for autonomous ride-hailing and ride-sharing.
While autonomous driving has improved rapidly, fully autonomous level 5 capabilities across the entire country won't be seen anytime soon, according to TheStreet's Bret Kenwell. That doesn't mean some of the features and capabilities Tesla talks about on Monday won't come to fruition, but at the very least it may not be in the timeframe some investors are thinking. Musk already has talked about the price of Tesla's autonomous driving features increasing substantially in the future and said he believes buying a Tesla will result in an appreciating asset, rather than a depreciating asset.
The event, from Tesla's headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif., will begin at 2 p.m. ET, and comes two days before the company issues quarterly earnings.
Meanwhile, Tesla disclosed Friday it plans to cut its board to seven from 11 in a move the company said would allow the board to act more quickly and efficiently.
The four departing directors aren't leaving because of any disagreement with the company.
The board has come under closer scrutiny since August, when Musk tweeted that he had lined up funding and was considering taking Tesla private at $420 per share. That didn't happen, and regulators accused Musk of securities fraud.
4. -- Boeing Plant in South Carolina Plagued by 'Shoddy Production' - Report
A Boeing (BA - Get Report) plant in South Carolina that makes the 787 Dreamliner has been plagued by shoddy production and weak oversight that have threatened to compromise safety, said a report over the weekend in The New York Times.
A Times review of hundreds of pages of internal emails, corporate documents and federal records, as well as interviews with more than a dozen current and former employees, "reveals a culture that often valued production speed over quality. Facing long manufacturing delays, Boeing pushed its work force to quickly turn out Dreamliners, at times ignoring issues raised by employees," the report said.
Qatar Airways stopped accepting planes from the factory after manufacturing mishaps damaged jets and delayed deliveries, the Times reported, while workers have filed nearly a dozen whistle-blower claims and safety complaints with federal regulators, describing issues like "defective manufacturing, debris left on planes and pressure to not report violations," the Times reported. Others have sued Boeing, saying they were retaliated against for flagging manufacturing mistakes, according to the newspaper.
The Times report comes as Boeing deals with the grounding of its workhorse 737 MAX following two deadly crashes.
A team of international experts will meet next week for a review of the Boeing (BA - Get Report) 737 MAX to check fixes to the aircraft's automated flight system.
Civil aviation authorities from nine nations and international bodies - including Australia, China, Japan and the European Union - have confirmed they will join in the so-called Boeing 737 MAX Joint Authorities Technical Review, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Earlier in April, the FAA created the review team, which has participants from NASA, the FAA, and other authorities. It's chaired by Chris Hart, a former head of the National Transportation Safety Board.
5. -- CBD Burgers Are a Hit at Carl's Jr. in Denver
CBD burgers from Carl's Jr. were a smoking success on Saturday, April 20 (or 420 - the international stoner holiday).
According to Alex McConnell, the Carl's Jr. district manager, the restaurant in Denver hosting the promotion "had a full parking lot (and) people waiting in the drive-thru" just before its 6 a.m. opening, said a report from Leafly.
"As soon as we opened the doors we had about 30 people in line and about 10 cars deep (in the drive-thru) so we hit the ground running, that's for sure," he told Leafly.
The store reportedly sold 102 burgers in the first hour of the promotion, and around 274 by 9 a.m.
The Rocky Mountain High: CheeseBurger Delight sold for $4.20 each, with a two per customer limit.
https://www.thestreet.com/markets/5-things-you-must-know-before-the-market-opens-monday-14931035
2019-04-22 12:23:00Z
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