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The Federal Open Market Committee will issue the minutes from
its meeting of Jan. 26-27, where the U.S. Federal Reserve kept
interest rates unchanged and said it was "closely monitoring"
global economic and financial developments. (1400/1900)
Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James
Bullard will give a presentation on the U.S. economy and
monetary policy before the Fed Forecast Dinner hosted by the CFA
Society of St. Louis. (1930/0030)
The U.S. Labor Department is expected to report that its
producer price index fell 0.2 percent in January, reflecting
lower oil prices and a strong dollar, after a similar drop in
December, according to a Reuters survey of economists.
(0830/1330) Also, the Commerce Department will likely report
that housing starts increased to a 1.17 million-unit rate in
January from 1.15 million units in December. (0830/1330) A
report from the Federal Reserve is expected to show industrial
production increased 0.4 percent in January, the first increase
in four months, lifted by a rebound in manufacturing and
utilities output. Industrial output fell 0.4 percent in
December. (0915/1415)
Marriott International Inc, the U.S.-based hotel chain, is
expected to post a rise in both its fourth-quarter profit and
revenue, boosted by higher occupancy and room rate. Investors
would be looking for comments on how travel demand is holding up
and on the company's forecast.
T-Mobile U.S. Inc, the No. 3 U.S. wireless carrier, is expected
to report fourth-quarter revenue slightly above estimates,
according to Thomson Reuters StarMine. Once confronted with
looming subscriber losses, T-Mobile has since revamped its
pricing plans, launched aggressive marketing campaigns to turn
its business around and entice customers away from bigger rivals
Verizon and AT&T (N:T). T-Mobile, led by outspoken chief executive
John Legere, is expected to benefit from lower postpaid churn
and postpaid net adds over the Black Friday holiday weekend,
according to analysts.
Chipmaker Nvidia Corp is expected to report a
bigger-than-expected rise in fourth-quarter revenue, according
to Thomson Reuters StarMine. The company has benefited from
strong demand for its chips used in gaming, fueled by new gaming
releases such as "Star Wars: Battle Front", "Need for Speed" and
"Call of Duty: Black Ops III". However, analysts expect a weak
first-quarter forecast. Rival Advanced Micro Devices (O:AMD) last month
forecast first-quarter revenue below analysts' estimates due to
lower demand for its graphic chips used in consoles and an
economic slowdown in China. Intel Corp (O:INTC) has also warned of lower
demand in China.
Oil and gas producer Noble Energy Inc (N:NBL) is expected to report a
loss for the fourth quarter, compared with a year-ago profit,
hurt by a steep fall in crude oil prices. Investors will be
looking for the company's forecast for production and cash
flows. Noble, considered one of the most resilient U.S. shale
producers, has slashed its quarterly dividend and 2016 capital
spending by nearly half to shore up its finances. Also, Marathon
Oil Corp is expected to report a fourth-quarter loss as the U.S.
shale exploration and production company sees results hit by the
collapse in crude prices.
CF Industries Holdings Inc (N:CF) is scheduled to announce its
fourth-quarter results. The fertilizer producer's quarterly
profit is expected to tumble, hurt by weak nitrogen fertilizer
prices. Of interest to investors will be an update on the
company's expansion of nitrogen plants in Louisiana and Iowa,
and an update of its plans to acquire plants from OCI NV.
Web-hosting company GoDaddy Inc is expected to report
fourth-quarter revenue slightly above analysts' average
estimate, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine. The company
said in November that it expected to be profitable in the
quarter. GoDaddy has been benefiting from strong growth in its
international markets, where it been investing heavily. The
company plans to be in the greater Asia region, including China,
Indonesia and Vietnam, by the end of 2016.
GPS-based gadgets maker Garmin Ltd (O:GRMN) is expected to report
fourth-quarter revenue below analysts' average estimate,
according to Thomson Reuters StarMine. Garmin's fitness products
have been hit by competition from Fitbit Inc and various other
smartwatches. A weak business jet environment has also hit its
aviation business. Investors will look for the impact of a
strong dollar as the company gets about half its revenue from
outside the United States.
Solar-panel maker SunPower Corp is expected to report a higher
fourth-quarter profit, helped by stronger demand from utilities
and lower costs. The focus this quarter will be the company's
growth forecast, after an unexpected extension beyond 2016 of
investment tax credits for solar systems.
Boeing (N:BA) Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg is scheduled to give a
presentation and answer questions at the Barclays (L:BARC) Industrial
Select Conference in Miami Beach, Florida.
Debt-laden Canadian plane maker Bombardier Inc is expected to
report a fall in fourth-quarter profit, hurt by lower sales.
Investors will be looking to see if the company has managed to
attract further investment for its CSeries program, which has
already cost it billions of dollars. Quebec made a $1.3 billion
investment last year, and the province is considering additional
investments, according to media reports. The focus this quarter
will be on new orders for Bombardier's new 100-150 seat CSeries
jets as well as business jets.
Air Canada, Canada's biggest airline, is expected to report a
rise in fourth-quarter profit, helped by lower fuel costs.
Airline companies have been benefiting from a 70 percent fall in
oil prices since mid-2014. But the fall in oil price is also
hurting demand in Canada, where a number of people work in oil
and related industries. Competitor WestJet reported a fall in
profit, hurt by lower demand from Alberta, where it is scaling
back operations. Investors will look to see if AirCanada will
take similar measures.
Barrick Gold Corp, the world's biggest bullion producer, is
expected to post a smaller quarterly profit, hurt by lower gold
prices in the fourth quarter. The company said last month it
would have to take an impairment charge of up to $3 billion for
2015. Investors will focus on the company's cost-cutting
measures.
Shopify Inc, a Canadian company that helps customers set up
online stores, will report fourth-quarter results for the first
time. The company is expected to report a wider loss due to high
start-up costs. The company went public in May last year and has
been expanding its platform to Facebook (O:FB) and Twitter (N:TWTR). Shopify has
also tied-up with Uber to ensure same-day delivery to its
customers. Investors will want to know how the company will cut
costs and when it will turn profitable.
Statistics Canada will report net worth of foreign investments
in Canadian securities and foreign securities bought by Canadian
investors in January. (0830/1330)
Brazil's central bank will release the data for forex outflow
from the country in the calendar month through Feb. 12.
Colombia's retail sales are expected to have risen 0.8 percent
in December compared with the same month a year earlier. Their
industrial production, meanwhile, is likely to have increased
4.4 percent in the same period.
LIVECHAT with celebrated investor Richard Bernstein
CEO and CIO of eponymous Richard Bernstein Advisors, Richard was
a much-honored chief investment strategist at Merrill Lynch and
champions macroeconomic-led securities selection, which includes
the newly minted Asset Allocation 2.0 designed for increasingly
volatile global markets. Richard will take questions in the
forum on the 2.0 program used with RBA's clients, investment
trends and central banks policies. (1000/1500) To join the
Global Markets Forum, click here: By Nayyar Rasheed in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju
Samuel)