Trade War, Jobs Report, Amazon, Samsung and MoviePass - 5 Things You Must Know
Here are five things you must know for Friday, July 6:
1. -- Trade War Goes Next Level
U.S. stock futures pointed lower on Friday, July 6, and global stocks booked modest gains after China and the United States slapped tariffs of $34 billion on one another in the opening round of what officials in Beijing called "the largest-scale trade war in economic history."
The state-run China Daily newspaper confirmed the Chinese government responded to the U.S. imposition of a 25% levy on 818 China-made goods with around $34 billion of tariffs on imported U.S. goods including autos and agricultural products.
China's retaliation essentially ensures that Donald Trump will follow through on his threat to boost those tariffs to $50 billion, and possibly as high as $500 billion, as he continues to press for generational changes in the trade relationship between the world's two biggest economies.
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2. -- The June Jobs Report
The U.S. and China trade war was overshadowing the release Friday of the official U.S. jobs report for June at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists surveyed by FactSet expect the U.S. to have added 195,000 in June, down from 223,000 in May. The unemployment rate is forecast to remain steady at 3.8%. Average hourly earnings are forecast to rise 0.3% month over month.
Investors will be monitoring Donald Trump's Twitter feed early Friday for indications of a positive jobs report because last month -- hours before Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics published a report on May's employment trends -- Trump tweeted that he was "looking forward" to seeing the numbers, which turned out to be well above expectations.
The economic calendar also includes International Trade for May at 8:30 a.m.
3. -- Amazon to Publish a Holiday Toy Catalog
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) plans to publish a holiday toy catalog following the demise of Toys "R" Us Inc., Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of online retailer's strategy.
The printed guide will be mailed to millions of U.S. households and handed out at Whole Foods Market locations, the grocery chain Amazon acquired in 2017, the people said.
The move is part of Amazon's push to incorporate traditional retailers' tools into its business model, Bloomberg noted. It even looked at acquiring some Toys "R" Us locations earlier this year, according to people familiar at the time.
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4. -- Samsung's Profit Growth Slows
Samsung Electronics Co. (SSNLF) forecast its slowest profit growth in a least a year on Friday as global smartphone demand slows and competition from low-cost rivals intensifies, suggesting the Apple Inc. (AAPL) rival may miss full-year sales targets.
Samsung said it expects operating profit of around $13.2 billion for the three months ended in June, a figure that fell modestly shy of analysts' forecasts but was still 5.2% higher than the same period last year.
However, disappointing demand for Samsung's flagship Galaxy S9 and ongoing concerns related to its chip sector sales and a price fixing investigation in China weighed on shares Friday and pointed to a tough road ahead in the second half of the year.
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5. -- MoviePass Launches 'Peak Pricing'
MoviePass rolled out "peak pricing" on Thursday, July 5.
MoviePass, a subsidiary of Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc. (HMNY) , said under the new policy users will be charged extra if they plan on seeing a popular movie during a sought-after time slot.
"You may be asked to pay a small additional fee depending on the level of demand. You can avoid the surcharge by selecting a different showtime or movie," MoviePass wrote in an email to subscribers.
MoviePass told CNET that peak pricing fees will range from $2 to $6 depending on the film.
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