U.S. Consumer Sentiment Shows Slight Deterioration In January

A report released by the University of Michigan on Friday showed a slight deterioration in U.S. consumer sentiment in the month of January.

Preliminary data showed the consumer sentiment index edged down to 99.1 in January from the final December reading of 99.3. Economists had expected the index to come in unchanged.

The slight decrease by the headline index came as the index of consumer expectations dipped to 88.3 in January from 88.9 in December.

On the other hand, the report said the current economic conditions index crept up to 115.8 in January from 115.5 in December.

Surveys of Consumers chief economist Richard Curtin noted the impeachment of President Donald Trump was mentioned but just 1 percent of consumers.

“While those that mentioned impeachment were also somewhat less optimistic than other consumers, the small numbers had a negligible impact on the overall level in consumer sentiment,” Curtin said.

With regard to inflation, one-year inflation expectations rose to 2.5 percent in January from 2.3 percent in December, while five-year inflation expectations climbed to 2.5 percent from 2.2 percent.

The University of Michigan noted the data was initially unavailable on its website due to an accidental cut of fiber networking on the campus that caused complete internet outage.

CDC confirms second coronavirus case in U.S., a Chicago resident who returned from Wuhan on Jan. 13

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday it has confirmed a second case in the U.S. of the coronavirus that has led to the quarantine of the Chinese city of Wuhan. The patient is a female Chicago resident in her 60s, who returned from a visit to Wuhan on Jan. 13, the CDC said on a call with reporters. Another 63 patients in 22 states are being investigated for signs of the virus, said the agency. The Chinese authorities have said more than 800 cases of the illness have been confirmed and at least 25 patients have died. The illness is understood to have broken out at a seafood market in Wuhan and is being spread human-to-human. People in Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Macao, and one other man in the U.S. have been infected.

GOP senators told their heads ‘will be on a pike’ if they vote against Trump: report

The Trump administration is getting medieval in the impeachment trial, according to a CBS News report.

As House Democrats continued to present their opening arguments in the impeachment trial accusing President Trump of abusing his power on Thursday, a Trump confidant told CBS News that Republican senators were warned about voting against the commander-in-chief.

That warning went viral, with #HeadOnAPike trending on Twitter on Friday morning. Some critics argued that this amounts to witness tampering, or compared them to “mob tactics” or something that “Game of Throne’s” fictional King Joffrey would say.

Others expressed dismay at the country’s devolving political discourse

But Trump supporters questioned the credibility of an unnamed source. “An anonymous CBS reporter, is allegedly reporting that a ‘POTUS confidant’ has anonymously warned GOP Senators who have not been named or confirmed, that an alleged warning has been received from an anonymous source,” mused one under the Twitter handle UTChargerTom.

The president is widely expected to be acquitted in the Senate trial, as Republicans hold 53 of the Senate’s 100 seats. Read MarketWatch’s impeachment coverage here.

NBCUniversal Introduces Free Premium Ad-supported Streaming Service ‘Peacock’

NBCUniversal unveiled Peacock, a free premium ad-supported streaming service with subscription tiers offering more than 600 movies and 400 series.

Peacock will be available on April 15 for Comcast’s Xfinity X1 and Flex customers and on July 15 for the rest of the country.

NBC is offering Peacock on two options– a free, ad-supported service and a premium subscription.

Peacock Free gets you next-day access to current seasons of new broadcast TV series, complete classic series, popular movies, and select episodes of Peacock-exclusive originals.

Peacock Premium will offer subscribers what Peacock Free offers as well as new premium content on top of that. Comcast and Cox cable TV subscribers will get Peacock Premium at no extra cost. For others, Peacock Premium will be available for $4.99 a month with ads and $9.99 with no ads.

“This is a very exciting time for our company, as we chart the future of entertainment,” said Steve Burke, Chairman of NBCUniversal. “We have one of the most enviable collections of media brands and the strongest ad sales track record in the business. Capitalizing on these key strengths, we are taking a unique approach to streaming that brings value to customers, advertisers and shareholders.”

The Big Tech Show: Don’t tweet angry

Twitter is an angry place. It can drain your natural sense of goodwill and manners.

This week, we look at how to behave on the world’s narkiest social network.

Adrian is joined by Victoria Turk, features editor of Wired UK and author of the international hit book, ‘Digital Etiquette’.

European Economics Preview: Eurozone Flash PMI Data Due

Flash Purchasing managers’ survey data from euro area and the UK are due on Friday, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

At 1.00 am ET, Statistics Finland is scheduled to issue labor force survey and producer prices for December.

At 3.00 am ET, Spain’s INE releases producer prices for December.

At 3.15 am ET, IHS Markit publishes France flash composite PMI data. Economists expect the PMI to remain unchanged at 52.0 in January.

At 3.30 am ET, Germany’s flash composite PMI survey results are due. The index is seen at 50.5 in January versus 50.2 in December.

At 4.00 am ET, Eurozone flash PMI data is due from IHS Markit. The composite PMI is expected to rise to 51.2 in January from 50.9 a month ago.

At 4.30 am ET, the UK CIPS/Markit composite PMI survey results are due. Economists forecast the index to climb to 50.5 in January from 49.3 in December.