Stock market futures were red across the board this morning (Thursday) following yesterday's trading session that saw U.S. markets post their largest gains in five weeks. Also this morning, the Commerce Department announced that orders for durable U.S. goods sunk by a record 18.2% in August due to fewer airplane contracts. The decline came after a record high 22.5% gain in July.
Morning Jolt: Shares of Starbucks Corporation (Nasdaq: SBUX) were up more than 1.5% on Wednesday on news that the company plans to purchase the remaining 60.5% stake of its Japanese joint venture Starbucks Coffee Japan. According to the company announcement, the deal will be worth roughly $913.5 million.
The Big Reveal: Shares of BlackBerry Ltd. (Nasdaq: BBRY) were up marginally in after-hours trading after the company unveiled its 4.5-inch square-shaped Passport smartphone on three continents simultaneously. The new device is the first major product launch by Blackberry in nearly two years, so BBRY has a long way to go if it aims to make its mark in the smartphone industry. According to data from International Data Corp., the company controls less than 1% of the global smartphone market, which is dominated by Apple Inc.'s (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone and Android devices powered by Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOGL).
Users Revolt:Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) device users were revolting on Wednesday after the company was forced to withdraw updates to its new iOS 8 operating system. The update disabled phone service and prevented use of the device's fingerprint scanner. More bad news came when there were multiple reports of a hardware problem that some models of the iPhone 6 Plus are bending when carried in pants pockets.
Taking Off: The Chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE: RBS), Philip Hampton, announced plans to leave the company after serving more than five years at the helm. Hampton will become the chairman of global healthcare giant GlaxoSmithKline Plc. (NYSE ADR: GSK) in 2015. The news comes one day after RBS' banking arm Citizens Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: CFG) debuted on the markets, registering a 7.3% gain from its offer price of $21.50.
Today's Economic Calendar: Today's schedule features weekly jobless claims, the EIA Natural Gas Report, and a speech from Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Dennis Lockhart.
Earnings Reports: Stay tuned for earnings reports from Micron Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: MU), Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE), Scholastic Corp. (Nasdaq: SCHL), and Thor Industries Inc. (NYSE: THO).
Full U.S. Economic Calendar September 25, 2014 (NYSE: all times EDT)
Durable Goods Orders at 8:30 a.m.
Jobless Claims at 8:30 a.m.
PMI Services Flash at 9:45 a.m.
EIA Natural Gas Report at 10:30 a.m.
Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Index at 11 a.m.
3-Month Bill Announcement at 11 a.m.
6-Month Bill Announcement at 11 a.m.
7-Yr Note Auction at 1 p.m.
Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Dennis Lockhart speaks at 1:20 p.m.
Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, consultant, and political risk analyst with decades of trading experience and degrees in economics, cybersecurity, and business from Johns Hopkins, Purdue, Indiana University, and Northwestern.