10 things you need to know before the opening bell
Here's what you need to know before markets open.
1. The Bank of England avoids 'last resort' negative rates and warns the UK economy will not recover to pre-pandemic levels until late 2021. The Bank of England said on Thursday that policymakers do not expect a swift economic rebound to pre-pandemic levels anytime soon, and held interest rates unchanged.
2. Warren Buffett plowed $2.1 billion into Bank of America in 12 days. Experts warn it could be years before he sees a return. Berkshire Hathaway now owns almost 12% of all Bank of America stock.
3. Goldman Sachs says investors are underestimating the chance of a COVID-19 vaccine in 2020, an event that could push the S&P 500 11% higher. Investors should price that at least one vaccine will be developed by year end which could drive the S&P 500 up 11%, Goldman Sachs said.
4. Berkshire Hathaway stock rallies to a five-month high. The rally comes after Warren Buffett's company made a $10 billion acquisition, apparently repurchased more than $5 billion of its own stock, and shelled out close to $2.1 billion on Bank of America stock in 12 days.
5. 3 ultra-growth fund managers who are crushing the market during a chaotic year told us how they're doing it — including their biggest themes and top picks for the future. They described what they've been doing in the wake of the dramatic April-June rally and how they're positioning their portfolios for future success.
6. Morgan Stanley's top auto analyst told us why space investing is in danger of dot-com-style hysteria — and shared his best ideas for profiting from the booming theme.When NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken successfully reached the International Space Station in their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule May 31, calls started pouring into Morgan Stanley's phone lines.
7. Fresh U.S. pandemic stimulus should be more targeted: Raghuram Rajan. The United States should take a more targeted approach with its new pandemic aid so it can save ammunition in case of a future economic slowdown or a second wave of infections, former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan said on Thursday.
8. Stocks are mostly down. European and Asian stocks are mostly down and US futures are pointing to a lower open of around -0.3%.
9. Earnings coming in: Novo Nordisk and T-Mobile US Q2 20 earnings are due.
10. On the economic front: US initial jobless claims and the EIA's Natural Gas Storage Change data are due.