Stock index futures opened mixed Sunday evening after major indexes closed down on Friday.
Tonight, Dow futures were down 3 points, or about 0.02% in New York and S&P 500 E-mini futures were up 0.01%. Nasdaq 100 E-mini futures were lower by 0.02%. The euro fell 0.04% against the dollar.
Over the weekend, we learned that the Israel-based drug maker Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA) is in talks to combine with Allergan's (AGN) generic-drug business in a $45 billion deal, the Wall Street Journal reported. TheStreet's Jim Cramer owns Allergan in his charitable trust Action Alerts PLUS.
Deutsche Börse said Sunday it is buying over-the-counter trading platform 360T for about $796.4 million as the German exchange operator moves to strengthen trading operations, the Journal reported.
Pearson (PSO) confirmed it is in talks over the potential sale of its 50% stake in the Economist Group, the Journal reported. Pearson recently agreed to sell the FT Group, publisher of the Financial Times, to Nikkei.
McGraw Hill Financial (MHFI) is reportedly in talks to buy SNL Financial, the financial news and data services provider owned by buyout firm New Mountain Capital, sources told Bloomberg.
And Federal regulators are getting set to hit Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) with a record $105 million fine for recall lapses with millions of vehicles, sources told the Journal.
Looking ahead, earnings reports will share the stage with China and the Federal Reserve this week.
This market is all about China and Federal Reserve worries, not just earnings, Cramer warned his CNBC "Mad Money" viewers Friday. But Cramer said investors should keep their powder dry and pounce when the markets put some high-quality domestic stocks on sale.
Also on the economic front, investors will get the numbers on second-quarter GDP, with an annual rate rise of 2.5% expected.
On Monday, we'll be listening to Norfolk Southern (NSC) to see if coal shipments are continuing to decline. We'll also be listening to Baidu.com (BIDU) for any news on how bad things really are in China.
On Tuesday, homebuilder D.R. Horton (DHI) reports, along with Gilead Sciences (GILD), DuPont (DD) and Twitter (TWTR), another Action Alerts PLUS holding. Cramer said housing should still be stable, and Gilead should be good, but Twitter will likely disappoint, again, while the chemical business also remains challenging.
Panera Bread reports Tuesday as well, after the bell, and the shares could see some demand before the report after a bullish Barron's article on the stock, highlighting progress in the company's Panera 2.0 initiative.
Wednesday we'll be listening to the Federal Reserve and paying special attention to any hint of a rate hike in September. That should give investors the weakness they need to buy, Cramer said. Also on Wednesday, Facebook (FB), another Action Alerts PLUS name, reports. Cramer still recommends the stock on any weakness.
On Thursday, Procter & Gamble (PG) and Mondelez (MDLZ) report. These are two defensive stocks that investors turn to when the market declines. Both are attractive on a pullback, Cramer said.
On Friday, oil titans ExxonMobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) report in what has become one of the worst oil markets ever. Cramer advised listening and learning from these important companies' reports, but it's not the time to be a buying.
Separately, Barron's' cover story this weekend looked at Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK.A, BRK.B) "bright future." Berkshire's Class A shares are down about 6% this year, around $212,000, trailing the Standard & Poor's 500 index, which has gained 1%. The company's Class B shares, equal to 1/1,500 of the A, have declined by about the same to around $141. The stock looks attractive, trading for less than 1.5x its March 31 book value of $146,963 a share, Barron's noted.
With its notable earnings power and strong balance sheet, it should remain an "above-average company" capable of high-single-digit annual shareholder returns for the foreseeable future, Barron's said, adding that with or without Warren Buffett, Berkshire probably deserves a place in investors' portfolios.
For even more information on reports in the week ahead, you can reference TheStreet's weekly earnings calendar.
