They are cognizant that President Donald Trump may impose punitive tariffs on EU car imports if they wait too long. The European Commission has asked the EU's 28 countries to approve two negotiating mandates so that formal talks can begin. Germany, whose exports of cars and parts to the United States are worth more than half the EU total, wants to get started as soon as possible.But France, with very few U.S. car exports, is reluctant to move before the European Parliament election in May as they see no real political reason to forge ahead. "We need to start negotiating," EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom told reporters before Friday's meeting. The EU is looking now to start negotiations on tariff reductions, possibly including cars, as well as a separate set of talks on making it easier for companies to clear their products for sale on both sides of the Atlantic.

Kraft Heinz stock plunged -20% in pre-market trading Friday, a day after the company announced a write-down and revealed an ongoing Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)  investigation into its accounting policies. The processed food giant’s Kraft and Oscar Mayer brands took a $15 billion write-down in value.According to the firm, the dividend cut would help boost returns over time. What probably aggravated investor concerns was the disclosure by Kraft Heinz that it had received a subpoena from the SEC in October, regarding the company’s procurement accounting methods.

Stamps.com Inc. forecast full-year profit that was nearly half of the average of analysts’ estimates, as it ended a crucial partnership with the U.S.Shares plunged over 50 percent in post-market trade. Read More...

Oil prices fell on Friday after the United States reported its crude output hit a record 12 million barrels per day (bpd), undermining efforts by Middle East-dominated producer club OPEC to withhold supply and tighten global markets. Read More...

Samsung and Apple are increasingly losing their share of the smartphone market to China's Huawei, according to new research, with consumers put off by the high price tags attached to their premium models. Read More...

Chinese electric car maker, Kandi Technologies Group, saw shares soar as high as +40% on Wednesday following an approval from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of U.S. to import two of its cars. In fact, in the past year the automaker has witnessed a rise of more than 120%, hitting its highest on Wednesday of $8.53 a share. The two models ready for shipping are Model EX3 and Model K22 cars.It expects that the balanced price and quality of these two models will become popular with American drivers. However, Kandi is not an ‘all electric’ automaker like Tesla (TSLA) and Nio (NIO).

The world’s biggest crude oil producer and the world’s most profitable company, Saudi Aramco, plans to collaborate with Indian refining giant, Reliance Industries, as well as other companies to invest in refineries and petrochemical projects in India.$44 billion has reportedly been allocated by this collaborative venture between Aramco and India’s PSU oil companies to set up a refinery in Maharashtra. Saudi Arabia’s interest in India is part of its strategy to increase its share in Asia’s crude oil market and invest more in refining and petrochemicals to reduce its economy’s dependence on crude oil sales. Comparable projects of Aramco include a major investment in refining and petrochemicals projects in South Korea, as well as a $7 billion joint venture investment with Malaysia’s Petronas for a refinery that will buy at least half of its crude oil requirement from Saudi Arabia. Aramco has similar plans for India, given its status as one of world’s top energy consum

Shares of Devon Energy soared as much as 15% to its highest in three months, after the company announced the sale of its Canadian and Barnett Shale assets and raised its dividend. Analysts are divided in their opinions regarding the exact value of the Canadian asset sales.This uncertainly is due the fact that Alberta is currently facing forced production curbs designed to draw down a crude oil glut, coupled with a lack of long-term pipeline takeaway capacity in western Canada. Canadian oil sands companies like Imperial Oil, Canadian Natural, Husky Energy, and Suncor Energy are the usual suspects according to analysts to make purchases of DVN’s assets.

Apple and Goldman Sachs are close to testing a new jointly created credit card that syncs with the iPhone, according to a person with knowledge of the product. The card will be piloted with employees of the two companies in coming weeks, according to the person, who declined to be identified speaking before the product is available.READ MORE...

Newmont Mining Corp.’s fourth quarter earnings edged past analysts’ expectations, on the back of strong gold and copper output coupled with operational cost reduction. The mining company raked-in earnings of 40 cents a share in the quarter, compared to analysts’ expected 25 cents (based on a FactSet survey).Adjusted total earnings of $214 million was higher than the year-ago quarter’s $206 million. Newmont’s revenue increased to $2.05 billion from the year-ago quarter’s $1.94 billion, with attributable gold production rising +8% year-over-year in the quarter. For the full year 2018, Newmont’s adjusted earnings came in at $718 million (or $1.35 a share), lower than 2017’s $774 million (or $1.45 a share).

Newmont Mining Corp.’s fourth quarter earnings edged past analysts’ expectation, on the back of strong gold and copper output coupled with operational cost reduction. The mining company raked in earnings of 40 cents a share in the quarter, compared to analysts’ expected 25 cents (based on FactSet survey).Adjusted total earnings of $214 million was higher than the year-ago quarter’s $206 million. Newport’s revenue increased to $2.05 billion from the year-ago quarter’s $1.94 billion, with attributable gold production rising +8% year-over-year in the quarter. For the full year 2018, Newmont’s adjusted earnings came in at $718 million (or $1.35 a share), lower than 2017’s $774 million (or $1.45 a share).

Federal Reserve officials discussed at their meeting three weeks ago ending the reduction of bonds on the central bank's balance sheet before the end of 2019, according to minutes released Wednesday.READ MORE...

Johnson & Johnson has received subpoenas from the U.S. Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission related to litigation involving alleged asbestos contamination in its signature Baby Powder product line. The company said it intends to “cooperate fully with these inquiries and will continue to defend the Company in the talc-related litigation.” The disclosure in Johnson & Johnson’s annual report on Wednesday is the first time that the company disclosed it had received subpoenas from federal agencies regarding its talc powder products. Johnson & Johnson faces lawsuits involving 13,000 plaintiffs who allege use of its talc products, including Baby Powder, caused cancer.

home sales fell in January to their lowest level in more than three years and house prices rose only modestly. The National Association of Realtors said on Thursday existing home sales dropped 1.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.94 million units last month. That was the lowest level since November 2015 and well below analysts’ expectations of a rate of 5.0 million units.December’s sales pace was revised slightly higher. The drop in January came after months of weakness in the U.S. housing market.

Top U.S. and Chinese trade officials are working this week to hash out language on six broad agreements that aim to resolve the most contentious issues in their seven-month trade war. Read more...  

Wendy’s reported lower-than-expected growth in same-store sales, and had marginally higher earnings compared to analysts’ estimates. The fast food restaurant chain raked in 16 cents per share for the three months ending December, beating analysts’ estimates by only a penny.It is 9 cents a share higher compared to the year-ago quarter. Total revenues rose +3.6% year-over-year to $397.8 million in the quarter, shy of analysts’ expectation of $400 million (according to the Street).

Domino's Pizza’s same-store sales grew at the slowest pace in four years, and the pizza chain reported lower-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter. The company’s earnings for the quarter increased +25% year over year to touch $2.62, but fell short of Wall Street consensus estimate of $2.69 per share.  Its same-store sales in the U.S. rose +3.6%, lagging behind the consensus estimate of +6.6%.  Domino’s group revenues grew +13% to $1.08 billion, missing the consensus forecast of $1.1 billion. The company hiked its quarterly dividend by 18% to 65 cents a share, which is scheduled for payment for March 29 to shareholders of record on March 15.

At least one auto industry analyst is skeptical about Tesla CEO Elon Musk's bold claim that the electric car maker will have all the features necessary for full autonomy by the end of the year. Read More...

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) is growing online sales faster than any other major competitor in the United States.By comparison, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), the market leader, grew its revenue from online sales in North America at about half that rate. Read More...

It seems Federal Reserve officials widely favored ending the runoff of the central bank’s balance sheet this year, while expressing uncertainty over whether they would raise interest rates again in 2019, minutes of their January meeting showed. “Almost all participants thought that it would be desirable to announce before too long a plan to stop reducing the Federal Reserve’s asset holdings later this year,” according to the record of the Federal Open Market Committee’s Jan. 29-30 gathering released Wednesday.The minutes said that “many participants suggested that it was not yet clear what adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate may be appropriate later this year.”