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| Snap's huge loss; Retail earnings; Electronics ban |
By Ivana Kottasová
Thursday, May 11th, 5:12am |
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| 1. Oh, snap!: Shares in Snap fell as much as 25% in extended trading after the company posted a staggering loss in its debut quarter as a public company. |
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| The parent company of Snapchat suffered a loss of $2.2 billion in the March quarter, while sales totaled only $150 million. |
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| Snap is facing fierce competition from Facebook, which has incorporated Snapchat-like camera features into Instagram and Whatsapp. |
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| 2. Retail earnings: Macy’s and Kohl’s are set to report earnings before the bell on Thursday. Both are expected to reveal shrinking profits. |
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| Retailers have been struggling with falling sales, and many have been forced to cut jobs and close stores. |
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| Shares in Macy’s and Kohl’s have lost about one-fifth of their value this year. |
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| Nordstrom will report after the closing bell, and it is expected to deliver a more upbeat message. The upscale retailer’s stock has outperformed many of its peers. |
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| 3. Laptop ban: Department of Homeland Security officials will speak with airline industry representatives on Thursday about the electronics ban on aircraft as the agency considers an expansion of a security measure, according to DHS and industry sources. |
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| According to media reports, the ban on large electronics could be expanded to include flights from Europe. |
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| European airline stocks were lower in early trading, but losses were mild. |
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| 4. Global market overview: U.S. stock futures were lower early Thursday. |
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| European markets opened mixed, while Asia finished the session mostly higher. |
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| The Dow Jones industrial average closed 0.1% lower on Wednesday, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were both 0.1% higher. |
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| 5. Stock market movers — Whole Foods: Shares in Whole Foods surged in extended trading after the company announced Wednesday it is getting a new chief financial officer, chairman and is replacing five board members. |
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| 6. Economics: A three-day meeting of G7 finance ministers starts in Italy on Thursday. |
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| Italian officials have said they will keep international trade off the official agenda, to avoid disagreements between the U.S. and other members. |
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| Britain’s central bank will announce a decision on interest rates and its monthly inflation report at 7 a.m. ET on Thursday. This will be followed by a press conference by the bank’s governor Mark Carney at 7:30 a.m. ET. |
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| The press conference comes at a sensitive time — the U.K. will hold a general election in early June. |
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| The European Commission published its spring economic forecast Thursday morning. It expects the euro area to grow 1.7% in 2017, up from the 1.6% rate it forecast in February. It expects “steady growth” for EU as a whole, but the picture will vary across member states. |
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