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Gold futures add to record in eight-day win streak; Citi sees gold up to $3,500 by year-end. (00:22) Nike turns lower after guiding for a double-digit FQ4 revenue decline amid global headwinds. (01:12) Florida to weigh proposal to end property taxes. (02:10)
This is an abridged transcript.
Gold futures eked out another record high on Thursday, marking the eighth straight session that front-month gold settled higher, climbing 5% over that span.
Front-month Comex gold (XAUUSD:CUR) for March delivery finished +0.1% to a new record high settlement of $3,040.00/oz, but front-month March silver (XAGUSD:CUR) ended -0.5% to $33.786/oz, its third loss in four sessions.
ETFs: (NYSEARCA:GLD), (NYSEARCA:GDX), (GDXJ), (IAU), (NUGT), (PHYS), (GLDM), (AAAU), (SGOL), (RING), (BAR), (OUNZ), (SLV), (PSLV), (SIVR), (SIL), (SILJ)
Citi Research raised its price forecast for gold futures to $3,200/oz within the next three months, up $200/oz from the firm’s previous outlook, possibly climbing as high as $3,500 by the end of the year if fears of growing U.S. economic woes take hold.
Nike (NYSE:NKE) turned lower in the postmarket session after the company warned that it faces a tough quarter.
During the earnings conference call, Nike (NYSE:NKE) management said the company saw momentum with consumers through athlete storytelling, performance products, and big sports moments. The year-over-year revenue decline was led by a 17% drop in Greater China and consumer discretionary pressures in North America. The lower gross margin rate during the quarter was said to be due to higher markdowns, the impact of clearing inventory, and channel mix headwinds.
For FQ4, Nike (NYSE:NKE) expects headwinds to revenue and gross margin to be at a peak amid volatile F/X, tariff pressure, and global macroeconomic weakness. Revenue during the quarter is expected to be down at the low end of a negative mid-teens range, while gross margin is seen retreating quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year.
Premarket Nike is down nearly 5%.
Florida lawmakers have put forward multiple bills aimed at easing the burden of homeownership- including reducing property taxes and even ditching them completely.
State Sen. Jonathan Martin (R-Fort Myers) this week filed a bill, calling for an official study to establish a framework for eliminating property taxes in Florida. The framework should aim to replace property tax revenues through budget cuts, sales-based consumption taxes, and locally determined consumption taxes.
Florida Rep. Ryan Chamberlin (R-Belleview) has filed a proposal that would create a $100,000 tax exemption on all properties, and a bill for a 2% cap on annual property tax revenue growth. State Sen. Blaise Ingoglia (R-Spring Hill) proposed expanding the homestead exemption to $75,000 from $50,000.
Florida’s property taxes make up 18% of county revenue, 17% of municipal revenue, and 50%-60% of school district revenue, according to the nonprofit Florida Policy Institute.
It said eliminating property taxes could create a revenue shortfall of about $43B, requiring substantial cuts to essential services or additional sales taxes to fill the gap. This would disproportionately impact low- and middle-income residents.
In his recent State of the State Address, Governor Ron DeSantis said he supports lawmakers’ efforts to bring relief to property owners, but affirmed that state taxes would not be raised to achieve this.
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Now let’s take a look at the markets ahead of the opening bell. Dow, S&P and Nasdaq futures are in the red. Crude oil is down 0.2% at $67/barrel. Bitcoin is down 2% at $84,000.
In the world markets, the FTSE 100 is down 0.4% and the DAX is down 0.5%.
The biggest movers for the day premarket: Quantum Computing (NASDAQ:QUBT) -11% – Shares of quantum computing firms plunged after Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang expressed skepticism about the industry’s near-term viability.
On today’s economic calendar:
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