Thursday, September 27, 2018

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What to watch today

Investors and traders may be a bit distracted today as Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is put in the spotlight as Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused him of sexually assaulting her, testifies before the Senate. “Many hours of productivity will be lost, no doubt. Traders say to expect a sleepy day on Wall Street as they stay glued to televisions,” Bloomberg reported.

With that in mind, there will be a healthy slew of economic data released. We’ll get the third estimate for second quarter GDP (+4.2% annualized pace of growth expected; +4.2% previously); August durable goods orders (+1.9% expected; -1.7% previously); weekly Initial jobless claims (210,000 expected; 201,000 previously); August pending home sales (-0.2% expected; -0.7% previously); and Kansas City Fed manufacturing activity index for September (16 expected; 14 previously).

Top news

Fed raises interest rates: The Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Wednesday for the third time this year and signaled they will raise rates again in December. The Fed announced an increase in the target range for its benchmark interest rate of 25 basis points to 2%-2.25%, setting the Fed funds rate at its highest level since April 2008. [Yahoo Finance]

Powell derides US health care system: The Federal Reserve may primarily deal with monetary policy and financial regulation, but Fed Chair Jerome Powell called out the U.S. health care system that’s contributing to a ballooning federal budget deficit during the Fed meeting press conference on Wednesday. [Yahoo Finance]

Bezos’s space startup to supply engines for Vulcan rocket: Amazon.com (AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos’s space startup Blue Origin LLC has won a contract to supply engines for United Launch Alliance LLC (ULA), the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. [Reuters]

More US corporate giants warn tariffs will mean price hikes: From Ford (F) to Walmart (WMT) to Procter & Gamble (PG), a growing number of iconic American companies are warning that President Donald Trump’s tariffs on U.S. imports are raising their costs and prices. [AP]

GM’s Cadillac to leave NY, return to Michigan roots: General Motors Co. (GM) said that Cadillac will switch its headquarters back to Michigan from New York after just three years to be closer to engineers and design teams as the luxury brand plans to roll out two new vehicles annually through 2020. [Reuters]

Yahoo Finance Originals

Trump profits from globalization, even though he bashes it

Why Amazon, Apple, and Google want Congress to pass a privacy law

Instagram could turn into a bigger money-maker with its co-founders gone

Activist short-seller Ben Axler reveals his first long position in over 3 years

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The Morning Brief provides a quick rundown on what to watch in the markets, top news stories, and the best of Yahoo Finance Originals.