Stock futures continue to indicate a positive start to Thursday's
session, though to a lesser extent than earlier: S&P futures vs
fair value: +9.3. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +13.0.
Crude prices reversed direction in early electronic trading Thursday as
the dollar climbed. U.S. crude for July delivery dropped $2.14 to
$134.24 a barrel in electronic trading.
The government reported increases to retail sales as well as weekly jobless claims.
Retail sales increased 1% in May, compared to an expected increase of
0.5% from analyst expectations. Retail sales, excluding automobiles and
gas, rose 1.2% in May, compared to expectations of a 0.7% increase.
The government reported that new jobless claims jumped to 384,000 for
the week ended June 7, up from 357,000 for the prior week, and
exceeding analyst expectations of 370,000.
Company news: Battered mortgage lender Thornburg Mortgage (TMA) swung to a first-quarter loss of $3.31 billion. The company blamed the loss on delinquent loans.
Citigroup said it plans to close down its hedge fund Old Lane
Partners. Citi paid more than $800 million last year for the fund that
was co-founded by CEO Vikram Pandit.
Starbucks said it entered a deal with European beverage vender SSP to open more than 150 Starbucks stores in Europe