Closing Bell
Markets turned negative Tuesday after starting the day's session solidly in positive territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average breached the 26,000 point threshold but closed the day in the red.
The Dow ended the day down 0.04%, or 10 points, to 25,793, the Nasdaq dropped 0.5%, or 37.38 points, to 7,234 and the S*P 500 declined 0.35%, or 10 points, to 2,776.42.
BlackRock CEO Wants Companies to Pay Attention to Social Issues
BlackRock (BLK) CEO Larry Fink sent a letter to the CEOs of public companies telling them to start accounting for their societal impacts instead of just their bottom line.
"Society is demanding that companies, both public and private, serve a social purpose. To prosper over time, every company must not only deliver financial performance, but also show how it makes a positive contribution to society. Companies must benefit all of their stakeholders, including shareholders, employees, customers, and the communities in which they operate," Fink said in the letter.
Global Tourism Rose in 2017, but the U.S. Missed Out on It
The number of global travelers rose by 7% last year, according to the UN World Tourism Organization, but travel to the U.S. fell by 4%.
The decline allowed Spain to overtake the U.S. as the world's second-most visited country. About 82 million people visited Spain last year, compared to 73 million for the U.S.
France was the world's top tourist destination with travel to the country rising 8% to 89 million.
McDonald's Wants 100% of Its Packaging to be Recycled by 2025
McDonald's (MCD) is going green by mandating that 100% of its packaging come from recycled sources by 2025. Currently, only 10% of its packaging is recycled.
The company admitted that some of its 37,000 locations worldwide would struggle to meet its recycling specifications due to infrastructure, regulations and customer behavior.
In spite of this, the company said that it "plans to be part of the solution."
Telsey Isn't Sure About JCPenney
JCPenney's (JCP) 80% jump since November is looking shaky after a more than 5% pullback Friday as investors begin to take profits. Analyst firm Telsey is unsure about the stock and remains sidelined.
Analyst Dana Telsey says that she's unconvinced that the company's positive sales are sustainable in the current retail environment and that the firm prefers "to take a wait-and-see approach" to the stock until they get some clarity on future sales performance.
JCPenney was down another 6% Tuesday afternoon.
Electric Ferrari Supercar Is on the Way, Marchionne Says
Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Ferrari NV (RACE) , says that the automotive industry needs to adapt or die off, and at the Detroit North American Auto Show this week Marchionne hinted at his own company's plan to adapt.
"If there is an electric supercar to be built then Ferrari will be the first," Marchionne said, according to Bloomberg. "We do it because we have to do it. While there is work to be done, the new plan for Ferrari being released in March will include hybrid cars."
Ferrari shares had one of the best 2017s of any car company, rising more than 80%. The rich are getting richer, and luxury companies like Ferrari are reaping the benefits.
Bitcoin Drops as Government Controls Tighten
Crackdowns on crypto exchanges from the U.S., South Korea and China have taken their toll on the value of bitcoin, sending the digital currency tumbling more than 11% over the past 24 hours.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has said that his office has put together a group to investigate the best ways to regulate the popular currency. South Korea has said that it could rely on taxation, or even closing the currency exchanges altogether as ways to regulate cryptocurrencies. China has ordered large bitcoin-mining operations to close.
Bitcoin is down about 40% from its all-time high of $19,783, which it reached in December. Bitcoin was trading at $12,033.33 Tuesday morning.
Dow Trades Above 26,000
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading above 26,000 for the first time ever Tuesday, crossing another milestone during an unprecedented hot streak for the blue-chip index.
It took just seven trading days for the Dow to move from 25,000 points to 26,000 points. It took 23 sessions for the average to move from 24,000 to 25,000.
2018 is the first time since March 2000 that the Dow has recorded two consecutive 500 point weekly gains.
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 were also showing strength Tuesday, rising 0.71% and 0.93% respectively.
GM to Take $7 Billion Q4 Tax Writedown
GM (GM) , the country's largest automaker said that it expects a lower statutory corporate tax rate in 2018, positive economic impact on its long-term cash tax position and a reduced cash tax in the medium term.
The company also said that it expects the tax to be favorable for its consumers and for the industry at large.
The company will take a $7 billion write-down in the fourth quarter thanks to the tax bill.
Ford More Than Doubles Down on EV Investment
Ford Motor Co. (F) announced that it will invest $11 billion in electric vehicle production and research by 2022, up from its previously announced target of $4.5 billion.
The company estimates it will have 40 hybrid and fully electric vehicles in its lineup by 2022.
The money will be used to develop dedicated EV architectures.
Legacy Long-Term Care Insurance Business is a $6.2 Billion Money Pit for GE
General Electric (GE) said that it expects to take a $6.2 billion fourth-quarter pretax charge related to its long-term care insurance business. After the taxes, including the GOP tax overhaul, the company said that it expects the charge to be $7.5 billion.
At the company's November shareholder meeting, CFO Jamie Miller said that the company expected the charge to be in excess of $3 billion.
"At a time when we are moving forward as a company, a charge of this magnitude from a legacy insurance portfolio in run-off for more than a decade is deeply disappointing," CEO John Flannery said.
GE shares were down 4.58% premarket.
Premarket
U.S. futures were rising across the board as markets come back online following the extended Martin Luther King day weekend.
Dow futures were showing the most promise, rising 0.81%, while Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures contracts also climbed 0.52% and 0.38% respectively.
Markets are looking to build off a strong end to the week after all three indices bounced back from a down day Wednesday to finish the final two sessions of the week in record territory.
World markets were also showing strength, especially in Asia where the Hang Seng jumped 1.81% and the Nikkei climbed 1%. The Shanghai Composite gained 0.77% in the session.
In Europe, the FTSE 100 in the U.K. was the lone major index in the red, falling 0.15% while the DAX and CAC 40 rose 0.93% and 0.21% respectively with about four hours left in trading.
