Here's what happened on Wall Street Wednesday, December 13.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a record high for the fourth straight session, climbing 0.33%. The S&P 500 reversed its earlier gains to close the day down 0.05%. The Nasdaq rose 0.2% on the day.
Boeing Rival Airbus Secures Large Order From Delta
Delta Air Lines (DAL) will announce a deal to order the Airbus A321neo Wednesday, sources told CNN Money. The move would be a blow to rival plane-maker Boeing (BA) , which was in negotiations to sell 100 of its 737 Max 10 airliners to Delta, according to CNN Money sources.
Delta is at the center of a dispute between Boeing and Canadian rival Bombardier. Delta recently purchased a fleet of Bombardier C Series planes that Boeing claims were sold at unfairly low prices thanks to subsidies from the Canadian government. The U.S. Commerce Department has recommended a preliminary 300% tariff on the import of the jets.
Tidal Denies Reports of Stalled Subscriber Growth
Apple Music (AAPL) rival Tidal is having money troubles amid stalled user growth, according to a report by Norwegian newspaper Dagens Næringsliv, even after a $33 million infusion of capital from new partner Sprint (S) earlier this year.
The Jay-Z-owned music streaming service has previously said that it expects to break-even and eventually turn a profit by mid-2018, but reports have stated that the company lost $44 million in 2016. The company denied the money troubles to TheVerge.
"We have experienced negative stories about Tidal since its inception and we have done nothing but grow the business each year," a company spokesperson told TheVerge.
Target Beefs Up Delivery Capabilities with $550 Million Shipt Purchase
Target (TGT) doesn't want to lag rivals Amazon (AMZN) and Walmart (WMT) with its same-day delivery capabilities, so the company purchased tech startup Shipt for $550 million Wednesday.
The company expects to be able to offer same-day delivery at about half of its 1,800 stores by next summer. The full rollout will hit all of its stores by next year's holiday season.
Target shares were up 1.4% Wednesday morning.
CEO Turnover in November Lowest Since 2004
Only 94 CEO's left their companies in November, according to an analysis by Challenger, Gray & Christmas. That number is down 11.3% year over year and about 11% month-to-month.
In fact, the 94 number is the lowest monthly total since 2004.
So far in 2018 Challenger has tracked 1,065 CEO changes, down 7.3% from last year. It's still nearly double the 2004 11-month total when 607 CEO's left.
"Several factors could explain the low number of CEO changes this year," said John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. "The uncertainty surrounding tax reform and health care may be keeping leaders in place until companies have more clarity. Meanwhile, the booming economy and high corporate profits are likely giving boards no reason to replace leadership."
T-Mobile to Launch TV Service in 2018
Mobile carrier T-Mobile (TMUS) announced plans to launch a "disruptive new TV service" in 2018 after acquiring TC tech innovator Layer3 TV.
"People love their TV, but they hate their TV providers. And worse, they have no real choice but to simply take it - the crappy customer service, clunky technology and outrageous bills loaded with fees! That's where we come in. We're gonna fix the pain points and bring real choice to consumers across the country," said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile. "It only makes sense for the Un-carrier to do to TV what we're doing to wireless: change it for good! Personally, I can't wait to start fighting for consumers here!"
The company said that it wants to disrupt the traditional pay TV model that features long contracts and bloated bundles. However, it did not go into detail about what the service will actually offer.
Google Opens AI Research Center in China
Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google cash cow is still banned in China, but that won't stop the company from attempting to attract the country's top engineering talent.
Google announced that it's opening an artificial intelligence center in China, matching a directive from Chinese authorities for the country to focus on developing the technology.
The center will be located in Google's Beijing offices.
Barclays Has an Overweight Rating on Delta Air Lines
Analysts at Barclays are bullish on the airline industry in general and Delta Air Lines (DAL) in particular. In a note Wednesday, the firm gave Delta a $73 price target, ahead of the company's previous closing price of $53.62.
"To achieve a higher equity valuation in line with other 'quality' large-cap industrial stocks, we think delivering cyclical upside is paramount as the inevitable downturn looms large in the minds of many shareholders. Of course we understand most of the recent headwind has come in form of higher labor rates as the industry's newfound profitability has enabled employees to finally benefit following nearly two decades of concessions," the note said.
Premarket
U.S. futures dipped into the red ahead of the market open, indicating a soft opening for the Nasdaq and Dow Jones Industrial Average. S&P 500 futures were down 0.07%.
Markets will be watching the Federal Reserve today as the central bank begins its meeting. Investors are fairly certain that the Fed will raise interest rates for the third time this year as an improving economy and unemployment rate prompt the move. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will be giving her last speech as head of the bank.
European markets were also in the red with about three hours left in trading. In Asia, the Hang Seng closed the day up 1.49% while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.68%.
