Euro jumps to 3-year high above $1.21 after German lawmakers agree on coalition blueprint

The euro jumped to its highest level against the dollar since early 2015 on Friday after German lawmakers agreed on a coalition blueprint, more than three months after the country’s general election. The euro bought $1.2118, trading around its highest level since early January three years ago, according to FactSet data. The shared currency bought $1.2034 late Thursday in New York. The pop came after reports Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU party and Martin Schulz’s center-left SPD after all-night talks agreed to a blueprint for formal coalition negotiations. The Germans voted in a general election on Sept. 24, where Merkel’s party came out with the most votes, but fell short of an outright majority. Merkel first tried to form a coalition with the Greens and the FDP, but turned to the social democrats after those talks collapsed. The SPD was also in a coalition with the CDU in the previous government, but had vowed not to take on the role as junior partner again.

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Dow industrial futures jump 100 points as dollar sags

U.S. stock futures were indicating a stronger open for Wall Street on Friday, keying off a sharply weaker U.S. dollar, said analysts. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures jumped 102 points, or 0.4%, to 25,658, while S&P 500 futures rose 5.75 points, or 0.2%, to 2,775.25. Nasdaq-100 futures gained 11.25 points, or 0.2%, to 6,738.25. The jump in stock futures coincided with news that German lawmakers had reached a deal on a ruling coalition. That news sent the euro flying to three-year highs against the dollar, which weakened across the board. Investors will get important updates on U.S. consumer price inflation and retail sales later on Friday.

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DJIA futures jump 100 points as dollar sags

U.S. stock futures were indicating a stronger open for Wall Street on Friday, keying off a sharply weaker U.S. dollar, said analysts. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures jumped 102 points, or 0.4%, to 25,658, while S&P 500 futures rose 5.75 points, or 0.2%, to 2,775.25. Nasdaq-100 futures gained 11.25 points, or 0.2%, to 6,738.25. The jump in stock futures coincided with news that German lawmakers had reached a deal on a ruling coalition. That news sent the euro flying to three-year highs against the dollar, which weakened across the board. Investors will get important updates on U.S. consumer price inflation and retail sales later on Friday.

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Euro jumps to 3-year above $1.21 after German lawmakers agree on coalition

The euro jumped to its highest level against the dollar since early 2015 on Friday after German lawmakers agreed on a coalition, more than three months after the country’s general election. The euro bought $1.2119, trading around its highest level since January three years ago. The shared currency bought $1.2034 late Thursday in New York. The pop came after reports Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU party has reached an agreement with Martin Schulz’s center-left SPD to form a governing coalition. The Germans voted in a general election on Sept. 24, where Merkel’s party came out with the most votes, but fell short of an outright majority. Merkel first tried to form a coalition with the Greens and the FDP, but turned to the social democrats after those talks collapsed. The SPD was also in a coalition with the CDU in the previous government, but had vowed not to take on the role as junior partner again.

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Trump expected to extend waiver on Iran sanctions: reports

President Donald Trump plans to extend a waiver on sanctions against Iran as part of the 2015 nuclear deal, according to news reports. The Associated Press and Bloomberg News reported that Trump will announce the waiver Friday morning. Failure to waive the sanctions would effectively kill the deal reached between Iran and the West that limits Iran’s nuclear program. Trump has vowed to end the agreement, calling it the “worst deal ever.” Congress requires the president to renew the waiver every 90 days. But Bloomberg also said the Trump administration is preparing new targeted sanctions related to Iran’s ballistic missile testing, human rights record and hacking activities.

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Trump cancels trip to London over protest fears: reports

President Donald Trump has canceled plans to visit London next month over fears of mass protests, according to news reports late Thursday. The Guardian and Sky News both said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will instead travel to the U.K. to mark the opening of the new U.S. Embassy in London. The Guardian said plans for a state visit had been previously scaled back to a “working visit” for Trump for the ribbon-cutting and for meetings with Prime Minister Theresa May, but that even that more modest trip appears to have been abandoned. Trump’s travel ban targeting largely Muslim countries and his retweeting of a British far-right group has spurred much criticism in the U.K. Trump is expected to fly to Europe for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, at the end of January.

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Fiat Chrysler to invest more than $1 billion in Michigan plant, plans $2,000 bonus for U.S. employees

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said late Thursday it plans to invest more than $1 billion to modernize a plant in Michigan to make the next generation of its Ram heavy-duty trucks by 2020. The production of the trucks will be relocated to the Michigan factory from a plant in Mexico, Fiat Chrysler said. The move will create 2,500 new jobs, the company said, adding the announcement was made possible in part by the U.S. tax overhaul. The Mexican plant will be “repurposed” to make future commercial vehicles for the global market, the car maker said. In the same statement, Fiat Chrysler said it will pay a $2,000 bonus to about 60,000 hourly and salaried U.S. employees, excluding senior executives, in the second quarter. American Depositary shares of Fiat Chrysler rose nearly 5% in late trading after ending the regular session up 7.2%.

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S&P cuts Brazil’s sovereign rating by one notch to BB-

S&P Global Ratings on Thursday cut Brazil’s long-term foreign and local
currency sovereign credit ratings by one notch to ‘BB-‘ from ‘BB’. The outlook on the ratings is stable. “The stable outlook reflects our view that there is a less than one-in-three likelihood that we could raise or lower the ratings on Brazil over the coming year,” said credit analyst Lisa Schineller in a statement. It also is indicative of Brazil’s stable external position and the strength of its monetary policy that help to offset fiscal weakness and lower economic growth outlook than its peers. BB- is generally viewed as “speculative” by lenders.

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AMD shares slide as chip maker admits greater Spectre vulnerability

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. admitted late Thursday that its exposure to the Spectre chip vulnerability is wider than first thought. AMD shares fell 3.1% to $11.76 after hours. AMD said in a statement it defined additional steps “through a combination of processor microcode updates and OS patches that we will make available” to Ryzen and EPYC customers starting this week. Last week, AMD said there was a near zero risk of its chips being susceptible to the so-called Spectre chip exploit.

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Finisar CEO Jerry Rawls to retire, company appoints Michael Hurlston new CEO

Finisar Corp. said late Thursday co-founder and Chief Executive Jerry Rawls has retired, and that Michael Hurlston, a former Broadcom executive, has been appointed CEO and a director, effectively immediately. Hurlston and Rawls “will work together to ensure a smooth transition,” and Rawls will continue to serve as a director, the company said in a statement. Shares of Finisar rose 2% in late trading after ending the regular session up 2.4%.

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