STOCK NEWS

Twitter: registered an average of 243,000 viewers per minute during its first Thursday Night Football streamed on the platform. It had a total worldwide viewership of 2.1 million. In the second week of the football streaming initiative, average viewers reached 327,000 per minute which was an increase of 34%. Total viewership was 2.2 million. The stock is trading off of buyout speculation. This initiative may make the company more interesting to buyers. Disney is now rumored to be working on a bid for the beleaguered microblogging website.

Alphabet: is working on an operating system which is a hybrid of Android and Chrome. It is called Andromeda. An Andromeda powered Google Pixel laptop is set to be released in Q3 2017. The proposed specs include the following: 12.3 inch display, tablet functionality, 32GB/128GB storage and 8GB/16GB RAM, finger print scanner, USB-C ports, 3.5mm jack, stylus support, stereo speakers, quad microphones, 10-hour battery life, backlit keyboard, glass trackpad with haptic feedback, 10mm thickness.

Microsoft/Adobe: Azure is going to be the preferred cloud platform for Adobe Systems’ Marketing Cloud, Creative Cloud, and Document Cloud products. Adobe Marketing Cloud is going to be the preferred marketing service for Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 Enterprise edition. Microsoft’s CEO made the following statement about the partnership: "Business leaders in every industry are focused on how to better engage their digital customers, wherever they are. Together, Adobe and Microsoft are bringing the most advanced marketing capabilities on the most powerful and intelligent cloud to help companies digitally transform and engage customers in new ways."

Microsoft: signed a multiyear deal with Renault-Nissan Alliance in a connected-car partnership. Connected car services powered by the two firms will be powered by Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform. The services provided are the following: advanced navigation, predictive maintenance, remote monitoring, and services in focus. A VP at Renault-Nissan Alliance made the following statement about the deal: "A car is becoming increasingly connected, intelligent and personal. Partnering with Microsoft allows us to accelerate the development of the associated key technologies needed to enable scenarios our customers want and build all-new ones they haven't even imagined. We aim to become the provider of connected mobility for everyone with one single global platform."

ECONOMIC NEWS

The chart below shows the Dallas Fed’s manufacturing outlook. It has been in contraction for 21 months in a row. It was minus 3.7 which missed expectations for minus 2.5. New orders crashed.

The market is now focused on the presidential debate. The chances of a Donald Trump presidency have caught up with it finally, sending it lower today. The market may sell off later in the week if it becomes clear Donald Trump won the debate. I expect him to win the debate because he won the town hall a few weeks ago.