Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:
1. Stumbling toward the weekend
Stocks are on track for a losing week as we head into Friday’s session. Thursday was an especially weak showing for the bulls as all three major indices fell, led by a 1% decline in the tech-heavy Nasdaq. For the week, the Nasdaq heading toward a 1.8% loss, while the S&P 500 is also down more than 1%. Lackluster earnings continue to pop up. Lyft, for instance, tanked more than 30% in off-hours trading. Investors will hear more about the Federal Reserve’s strategy later Friday, when Fed Governor Christopher Waller and Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker speak during the afternoon. Read live markets updates.
2. Disney’s Hulu dilemma
Bob Iger just kept making news this week. After unveiled a broad restructuring of Disney, including billions of dollars in cost cuts and 7,000 layoffs, the CEO spelled out his vision in an exclusive interview with CNBC’s David Faber. While Disney’s shares slid more than 1% Thursday during a broader market selloff, Iger’s message resonated on Wall Street. Activist investor Nelson Peltz even called in to CNBC after the Faber-Iger interview to say he was dropping his proxy fight against Disney. But the most eyebrow-raising part of the interview had to be when Iger, who wants to focus less on general entertainment, signalled he was open to potentially selling the rest of Disney’s stake in popular streaming service Hulu. Disney owns two thirds of it, and Comcast owns the other third. It’s been long expected that Disney would buy the rest of it in 2024, but Iger’s comments marked a huge shift in strategy, as CNBC’s Alex Sherman and Lillian Rizzo report.
3. Russia to cut oil output
Russia will reduce its oil output by 500,000 barrels per day in March, according to a top government official. The move follows Western nations’ bans on Russia’s oil and oil products as Vladimir Putin’s forces continue their invasion of Ukraine. The production cut amounts to about 5% of Russia’s most recent crude oil output. Oil prices jumped on the news. Meanwhile, Russia has continued its aerial onslaught on Ukraine, while Moldova said a Russian missile violated its airspace. Read live war updates.
4. Adidas’ Yeezy hangover
The ghost of Ye continues to haunt Adidas. The company said it could lose about $1.3 billion in revenue this year if it can’t sell the rest of its stock of Yeezy products. The German company terminated its partnership with the rapper and fashion designer formerly known as Kanye West in October, after he made several racist and antisemitic comments. Adidas said that it’s still trying to figure out what to do with all Yeezy product, saying it has already experienced a “significant adverse impact” for not selling it off. The company could write it off, as well. Shares of Adidas fell more than 10%.
5. PayPal CEO checks out
PayPal CEO Dan Schulman will retire from the company at the end of this year. He became the company’s head honcho after it split from eBay in 2015. He’ll stick around on the board of directors after he leaves the CEO role. The board, meanwhile, is hiring a search firm to find his successor. The announcement comes weeks after the company announced it would lay off about 7% of its workforce, or about 2,000 employees. activist investor Elliott Management accumulated an undisclosed stake in PayPal. Activist investor Elliott Manaagement had acquired a stake in PayPal last summer, but Schulman told CNBC’s Kate Rooney that he hadn’t been pressured by the firm to step down.
