Closing Bell
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed a mercurial day in the red Tuesday while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 continued their record-setting pace.
The Nasdaq gained 0.71%, or 52 points, to 7,460.29 while the S&P 500 rose 0.22%, or 6 points, to 2,839.15. The Dow meanwhile fell 0.01%, or 4 points, to 26,210.81.
Kimberly-Clark Plans Layoffs, Plant Closures
Consumer products maker Kimberly-Clark (KMB) says that it is planning to cut as many as 5,500 jobs and close or sell as many as 10 plants in an effort to combat sluggish sales and a bloated production base.
The maker of Kleenex tissue and Huggies diapers plans to cut between $500 million and $550 million in liabilities before 2022.
The job cuts account for between 12% and 13% of the company's entire workforce.
Budweiser Slips to Fourth
Budweiser (BUD) is no longer one of the top three beers in America, based on shipping volume tabulated by trade publication Beer Marketer's Insights, which has been tracking sales since the 70's.
Budweiser was the king of beers until 2001 when Bud Light overtook it. Then Coors Light took over the number 2 spot in 2011. And now Miller Light is the third most drank beer in the country.
Bud light's shipping volume from the U.S. fell by 2 million barrels last year, the biggest yearly drop Beer Marketer's has ever recorded. Corona (STZ) rounded out the top-five.
Here's How JPMorgan Is Celebrating Tax Reform
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) announced that it is giving $22,000 employees an hourly pay raise between $15 and $18. The bank will also open 400 new branches in the U.S.
JPMorgan plans to spend $20 billion over the next five years, add 4,000 jobs and increase its charitable giving.
"Having a healthy, strong company allows us to make these long-term, sustainable investments," said J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon in a statement Tuesday. "We are excited about further investing in our outstanding workforce and expanding into new U.S. markets."
Tesla's Compensation for Musk Is a Signal for Investors
Tesla (TSLA) announced Tuesday that it offered Musk a compensation package that stipulates that if Tesla's market cap never rises above $100 billion that Musk will get nothing by the end of his tenure with the company in ten years.
"While this clearly ties performance to shareholder interest, we believe the ulterior motive here is to downplay concerns Musk doesn't remain with Tesla. However, the plan does give leeway for CEO succession as Elon can still achieve vesting if he serves as both Executive Chairman and Chief Product Officer with all leadership ultimately reporting to him," RBC's Joseph Spak wrote.
If Musk does guide the company to a $650 billion value, or Tesla achieves revenues of $20 billion annually or earnings of $1.5 billion, then Musk will receive 1% of the company's stock. The high-end of the 10-year milestones laid out in the plan stipulates that sales should reach $175 billion, or 15 times the company's current levels.
Fox's Bid for Sky Rejected by U.K. Regulator
21st Century Fox's (FOXA) bid to buy British broadcaster Sky was dealt another setback Tuesday after British regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority, provisionally rejected the media company's bid.
The CMA says that Fox would have too much control over Britain's media landscape if the $16.3 billion deal went through. The regulator said that the move was not in the country's public interest.
Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch founded Sky in 1989 and Fox currently owns a 39% stake in the company.
Bitcoin Briefly Dips Below $10K
Bitcoin prices briefly fell below the $10,000 threshold Tuesday morning, as the digital currency continues to level off following its explosion late last year.
Bitcoin is back above $10,000 currently but is still down more than 3% over the past 24 hours to $10,426.25. Bitcoin is down about 25% year to date.
Increased scrutiny from regulators in South Korea, China and the U.S. has dampened some of the optimism surrounding the cryptocurrency.
Twitter COO Resigns to Join SoFi
Twitter (TWTR) is down another C-Suite executive.
The social media company announced that Chief Operating Officer Anthony Noto notified the company yesterday that he is resigning from his position to accept the CEO role at SoFi.
Noto will begin his new role at SoFi on March 1.
"We are simply thrilled to have found someone of Anthony's expertise and knowledge to lead SoFi," interim CEO Tom Hutton said. "The SoFi board unanimously agrees that Anthony's deep understanding of technology, consumer, and financial businesses make him the perfect fit to be SoFi's CEO. We could not be more excited to have someone of his caliber on board."
This Is a New and Improved Uber, New CEO Says
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi isn't pulling any more punches when it comes to discussing his predecessor Travis Kalanick, telling CNBC that the moral compass of the company under the former regime was not pointed in the right direction.
"The relationship with Travis is fine, but it's strained because obviously there was a lot that happened in the past that wasn't right," Khosrowshahi said.
Uber has been under scrutiny for a corporate culture that fostered sexism, according to critics and failing to inform customers or authorities about hacks in the past that have exposed vulnerabilities.
The World Needs to Work to Make Globalization Appealing Again
The post-Brexit and MAGA world shows that globalization is losing ground, especially in the West, according to India Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Modi was speaking at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday, the first time India's leader has visited the annual forum in 21 years.
"Instead of globalization, the power of protectionism is putting its head up. Their wish is not only to save themselves from globalization but to change the natural flow of globalization," Modi said. "The result of this is that we are seeing new types of tariff and non-tariff-based barriers being imposed. Bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations appear to have come to a halt."
Premarket
U.S. futures were indicating a soft opening for markets as the Nasdaq futures contracts were the only ones to trade in the green ahead of the morning bell.
Dow futures were flat and S&P 500 futures were down 0.1%.
Asian markets had a strong session with all three major indices gaining well over 1%. The Hang Seng led the way, rising 1.66% while the Nikkei and Shanghai Composite both closed trading up 1.29%.
In Europe, markets were also showing strength, except for the CAC 40 in France, which was down 0.1%.
