The Traderszone Network

Oil prices eased on Friday as investors turned cautious ahead of U.S. jobs data that is expected to play into the Federal Reserve’s decision on the timing of any U.S. rate hike. “There’s been a little bit of up and down and range-bound movement, which has all the hallmarks of a market marking time,” said Ben Le Brun, market analyst at Sydney’s OptionsXpress. Brent crude for October delivery (LCOc1) fell 58 cents to $50.10 a barrel as of 0519 GMT, after ending the previous session 18 cents higher.

The U.S. economy likely added jobs at a steady pace in August and the unemployment rate probably fell to a near 7-1/2-year low of 5.2 percent, which could allow a cautious Federal Reserve to consider a September interest rate hike. “We don’t think it will detract from the possibility that the Fed is considering a September rate hike, only if we saw ominous signs of a deterioration elsewhere in the data,” said Sam Bullard, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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The “flight to safety” into bonds many expected when U.S. stocks slumped last week never took off, making big losers out of prominent fund managers and further confusing investors at a volatile time in the market. Stocks plunged in the second half of August, largely on fears of China’s worsening economy, but U.S. Treasury yields did not see the kind of safety bid that many were expecting and has been typical in times of stock-market stress in the past.

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The FT cited three U.S. officials as saying the sanctions probably would come next week in advance of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit later in the month. Suspicions that Chinese hackers were behind a series of data breaches in the United States have been an irritant in relations between the United States and China. The United States is also considering sanctions against Russian individuals and companies for cyber attacks, U.S. officials have told Reuters.

Qualcomm Inc’s (QCOM.O) President Derek Aberle, under pressure from activist hedge fund Jana Partners to improve the licensing and chip design firm’s stock performance, on Thursday sounded a cautionary note about a potential breakup of the company. Stressing that the board and management do not expect to complete a review of a possible split until the end of the year, Aberle told Reuters that Qualcomm agrees with Jana that its stock is undervalued.

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The Detroit Three automakers are showing increased interest in the United Auto Workers union’s proposal that they pool their healthcare systems, a sign that contract talks between the union and manufacturers are down to the big money issues. The UAW and bargainers for General Motors Co (GM.N), Ford Motor Co (F.N) and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCHA.MI) (FCAU.N) face a Sept. 14 deadline to negotiate new labor agreements for 142,000 U.S. workers. Rising healthcare costs have emerged as a stumbling block in the way of raises for blue collar workers.

Gun maker Colt Defense and its creditors are close to a deal on a plan to bring the company out of bankruptcy, but if it fails, the business will go on the auction block next month, a company lawyer told a judge on Thursday. The company’s private equity owner has been battling its bondholders for control of the West Hartford, Connecticut-based business, and the parties are pressured by Colt’s dwindling cash. “It’s fair to say the parties are very close to a deal,” Colt lawyer John Rapisardi told the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware.