Opening Bell: 1.18.18
Congress to vote Thursday for funding bill to avoid government shutdown [Reuters]
Republicans hold a 51-49 majority in the Senate and most legislation, including spending bills or an immigration deal, will require 60 votes to pass.
A vote on the bill is expected to come after 2:30 p.m. EST (1930 GMT), House Republican Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said in a statement.
Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the chamber would take up the short-term funding measure as soon as the House approves it.
Morgan Stanley earnings: 84 cents per share, vs 77 cents EPS expected [CNBC]
Morgan Stanley posted fourth-quarter earnings and revenue on Thursday that beat analyst expectations, excluding a charge related to the tax bill, as strong results in wealth management offset a big drop in fixed income trading revenue.
Wealth management revenue grew by 10.5 percent on a year-over-year basis, helping offset declines in the bank's trading revenue. Fixed income, commodities and currencies trading revenue decreased by 46 percent. Equities trading revenue fell 5 percent.
The company's stock rose 1.5 percent in the premarket Thursday. Morgan Stanley shares are up 4.1 percent this year, slightly outperforming the S&P 500, which is up 3.9 percent.
Apple to Pay $38 Billion in Taxes on Cash Overseas, Build New U.S. Campus [WSJ]
Apple said it would invest $30 billion in capital spending in the U.S. over five years that would create more than 20,000 jobs. The total includes a new campus, which initially will house technical support for customers, and $10 billion toward data centers across the country. It also will expand from $1 billion to $5 billion a fund it established last year for investing in advanced manufacturing in the U.S.
Apple’s $38 billion tax commitment is the largest such sum announced in response to the major overhaul of the U.S. tax code that President Donald Trump signed into law late last year. That law included an incentive for U.S. companies to bring home offshore holdings, with companies required to pay a one-time tax of 15.5% on overseas profits held in cash and other liquid assets.
Bitcoin Holds Ground as Frantic Rally Sets $10,000 Support Level [Bloomberg]
The world’s largest digital currency climbed 3.9 percent to $11,822 at 7:40 a.m. in New York, Bloomberg composite pricing showed. It steadied in Asian and European trading as investors paused for breath following a frantic 24 hours in which the token swung through a $2,600 range. Rivals ethereum and litecoin rose about 2 percent each, while Ripple jumped 17 percent.
Goldman Sachs Once Looked Invincible. Now It’s Losing Money. [NYT]
The bank’s per-share earnings and revenue were both higher compared with a year earlier without the tax charge. But the results announced on Wednesday also revealed a decline in Goldman’s trading might, which has been drained by a potent combination of placid markets and quiet clients. Revenue in its business of buying and selling bonds, commodities and currencies — historically an engine of Goldman’s results — sank to $1 billion in the fourth quarter, half of what it was during the same period in 2016. For the year, net revenue in that business fell 30 percent.
The drop sent Goldman’s shares down 3 percent on Wednesday.
West Village penthouse owner wants to keep hedgie’s $2M deposit [NYPost]
William Monaghan put it on the market in 2015, and hedgie Eric Cole agreed to buy it on July 28, according to court papers.
Cole put down an $1.8 million deposit, sources said
Everything was seemingly proceeding smoothly until Cole suddenly alerted Monaghan on Dec. 20 that he wanted to back out.
So, Monaghan sued Cole for breaching the contract and has asked the court to order Cole to forfeit the cash.
Cole, 45, a protégé of hedge fund billionaire David Tepper, runs Warlander Asset Management, a $1 billion credit-focused hedge fund launched in 2015.
Burmese python and alligator caught in incredible fight to the death on Florida golf course [Mirror]
A deadly battle between a giant python and an alligator was captured on camera at a Florida golf course when the enormous reptiles raised the stakes on the field of play to a critically high level.
Dr Richard Nadler photographed the battle to the death at the 10th hole as he was playing golf at Fiddler's Creek club in Naples...
"As far as I know the gator won. There was no evidence of either animal the next day. We all assume that the snake was eaten by the gator," he said after photographing the entangled animals.