STOCKS/ECONOMY
-Stock futures are modestly higher after Tuesday's 154-point loss for the Dow, similar 0.3 percent decline for the S&P 500, and a 0.3 percent fall for the Nasdaq. Investors are reacting with some mild relief to the November consumer price index report.
-That November CPI showed an annual inflation rate of 2.7 percent, as expected and an increase from the 2.6 annual rate from October.
-The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond is up to 4.24 percent.
-The average 30-year mortgage rate fell to 6.67 percent last week from 6.69 percent the week before. That pushed refinance applications up by 27 percent. But applications for a new mortgage still fell by 4 percent.
-Gold is up to the $2,723 per ounce level. Bitcoin is at the $98,800 level.
-Asian markets closed mixed today. The Hang Seng fell 0.8 percent, the Nikkei broke even, and the Shenzhen gained 0.3 percent.
OIL/ENERGY
-U.S. crude prices are up and at the $69 a barrel level.
-Gasoline prices are back up again slightly to $3.02 a gallon, national average.
MACY'S MESS
-Macy's (M) says it's wrapped up its internal investigation into an employee it accuses of hiding $151 million worth of delivery expenses. As a result, Macy's has revised its financial reports for the last three years. Macy's shares are down 11 percent in the premarket.
GM BAILS AGAIN
-General Motors (GM) is moving away from another one of its non-core business ventures. It's scrapping its Cruise self-driving/robotaxi program after nearly a decade and $10 billion in development, citing the time and costs needed to scale the business and rising competition. GM shares are up 1 percent in the premarket.
DEALS/NO DEALS
-A federal judge has sided with the Biden administration and is blocking Kroger's (KR) $25 billion deal to buy supermarket rival Albertsons (ACI). The court agreed that the merger would likely raise grocery prices for customers, despite Kroger's argument that it would lower them. Kroger shares are flat in the premarket, Albertsons shares are down 2 percent.
WEIGHT LOSS WARS
-Direct-to-consumer health-care startup Ro said its platform will now offer more affordable single-dose vials of the weight loss drug Zepbound through a new partnership with Eli Lilly (LLY). Eli Lilly shares are still down 1 percent in the premarket.
DRUG STORE DEAL
-Walgreens (WBA) is reportedly in talks to sell itself to private equity firm Sycamore Partners. Walgreens shares are down 3 percent in the premarket, but they were up 18 percent Tuesday when the report first broke.
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