CNBC’s Caruso-Cabrera to challenge N.Y. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez

Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, the veteran CNBC host and contributor, plans to challenge influential Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a Democratic primary for New York’s 14th congressional district, according to a Monday filing with the Federal Election Commission. Caruso-Cabrera explained her bid as follows, according to a CNBC report: "As the daughter and granddaughter of working-class Italian and Cuban immigrants and having worked my way to a terrific career, I want everyone to have the chances that I had at the American dream."

U.S. Factory Orders Jump More Than Expected In December

Partly reflecting a significant rebound in durable goods orders, the Commerce Department released a report on Tuesday showing new orders for U.S. manufactured goods spiked by more than anticipated in the month of December.

The Commerce Department said factory orders surged up by 1.8 percent in December after tumbling by a revised 1.2 percent in November.

Economists had expected factory orders to jump by 1.2 percent compared to the 0.7 percent decrease originally reported for the previous month.

The bigger than expected rebound in factory orders came as durable goods orders soared by 2.4 percent in December after plunging by 3.1 percent in November. The rebound was unrevised from the previously reported data.

New orders for non-durable goods also showed a significant increase, surging up by 1.1 percent in December after climbing by 0.7 percent in November.

The report said shipments of manufactured goods also rose by 0.5 percent in December, as a 1.1 percent jump in shipments of non-durable goods more than offset a 0.2 percent dip in shipments of durable goods.

Inventories of manufactured goods also climbed by 0.5 percent in November after rising by 0.3 percent in the previous month.

With inventories and shipments both increasing, the inventories-to-shipments ratio was unchanged from the previous month at 1.40.

Vaccine for new coronavirus 'COVID-19' could be ready in 18 months: WHO

GENEVA (Reuters) – The first vaccine targeting China’s coronavirus could be available in 18 months, “so we have to do everything today using available weapons”, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva on Tuesday.

He said the virus had been named COVID-19, explaining that it was important to avoid stigma and that other names could be inaccurate.

Dead birds posing as cat food confiscated at Dulles airport

Coronavirus is China’s fault: Steve Hilton

‘The Next Revolution’ host Steve Hilton blames the coronavirus outbreak on China’s ‘disgusting animal welfare practices.’

CHANTILLY, Va. (AP) — A package of tiny dead birds passed off as pet food was confiscated by Customs agents at a Virginia airport.

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection says the package came in to Dulles International Airport on a flight from Beijing on Jan. 27.

Agents discovered the bag of dead birds in the baggage of a passenger who was on their way to Prince George's County, Maryland.

The passenger said the package was cat food. The plastic packaging had pictures of a cat and dog.

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The birds are barred from importation to prevent the spread of avian flu.

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Stock To Watch: United Technologies Corp. (UTX)

Shares of United Technologies Corp. (UTX) touched a 52-week high of $157.98 on Feb. 10, and closed Monday’s trading session at $156.55, down 28 cents or 0.18%. In the pre-market session today, the stock is currently up 1.25% trading at $158.50. Trading volume was 3.98 million versus an average volume of 3 million shares.

Recent Happenings

On Feb. 10, United Technologies’ unit Collins Aerospace Systems announced its plan to invest $225 million in Landing Systems facility expansions in Fort Worth, Spokane, and Pueblo, reflecting the growth of its Landing Systems business in recent years, driven by increasing demand for its wheels, brakes and landing gear from commercial, military and business aviation customers. The company expects to create more than 100 jobs through the completion of all these projects.

On Jan. 28, United Technologies reported better-than-expected Q4 results, fueled by continued aerospace strength and a return to profit growth at Otis.

The company’s Q4 net income was $1.14 billion or $1.32 per share versus $686 million or $0.83 per share last year. Adjusted net income increased to $1.68 billion or $1.94 per share from $1.62 billion or $1.95 per share a year ago. Wall Street analysts expected earnings of $1.84 per share for the quarter. Net sales rose to $19.6 billion from the previous year’s $18.0 billion.

The Farmington, Connecticut-based United Technologies provides technology products and services to the building systems and aerospace industries worldwide.

‘Record-breaking Year For American SMBs Selling In Amazon’s Stores’

American small and medium-sized businesses selling in Amazon’s stores had a “record-breaking year”, with more than 15,000 businesses surpassing $1 million in sales in 2019, Amazon reported.

Nearly 25,000 American small and medium-sized businesses surpassed $500,000 in sales in Amazon’s stores in 2019. Third-party sellers sold more than 700 million items in Amazon’s U.S. store that shipped with Prime Free One-Day Delivery or faster in 2019.

Amazon also invested billions of dollars in Prime Free One-Day Delivery last year. Driven by Prime Free One-Day Delivery, this was the largest one-year investment Amazon has ever made in Fulfillment by Amazon.

“More than half of the items sold in Amazon’s stores are from small and medium-sized businesses, so our success is deeply tied to their success,” said Nicholas Denissen, VP of Small Business at Amazon. “In many ways our store is a large collection of small businesses, and we love partnering with them to delight customers. With the investments we’re making, we are giving small businesses around the globe powerful tools and technology to help them reach hundreds of millions of customers and build successful brands.”