Hello friends and Fortune readers.
Wall Street stock futures are bouncing a little Thursday after a couple of rocky days
Today’s must-read story is from Fortune‘s Robert Hackett and it looks at the steps connected car manufacturers are taking to ensure their vehicles are secure against remote hacking attacks — and why they aren’t doing enough keep drivers safe.
Here’s what else you need to know today.
1. Bank of America shakes up its management
The nation’s second-largest bank by assets said its CFO Bruce Thompson will step down as it puts together a new team for dealing with the Federal Reserve’s annual stress tests and resolution planning demands. The shake-up comes after BofA finally appears to be putting its crisis-era troubles behind it.
2. Can Amazon reverse the disappointing tech trend?
The online retail giant looks to avoid becoming the latest tech company to report disappointing quarterly earnings this week. Both IBM (IBM) and Microsoft (MSFT) saw their stock prices dinged by falling sales after they reported quarterly results earlier this week, while Apple’s (AAPL) stock plunged despite sales that increased more than 30% (Apple’s iPhone sales figures fell short of expectations). Amazon (AMZN) reports its second-quarter results this afternoon and it is expected to continue reporting losses due to the company’s aggressive investments in products ranging from film and television content to drone delivery.
3. Restaurant chains report results
McDonald’s is expected to report second-quarter sales figures that outpace Wall Street’s forecasts as the fast-food giant looks to kick its turnaround under new CEO Steve Easterbrook into high gear. McDonald’s has been cutting costs and trimming its menu — along with making breakfast available all day — in an attempt to end its streak of declining quarterly sales. Meanwhile, two food chains that sell a lot of coffee — Starbucks (SBUX) and Dunkin Donuts-owner Dunkin Brands Group (DNKN) — are expected to report strong quarterly results today.
4. Weekly jobless claims
The U.S. Labor Department puts out its weekly unemployment data today and it looks like fewer Americans filed for jobless claims last week. The government is expected to report that the number of applications for unemployment benefits filed last week dropped by 1,000 claims, to 280,000, from the previous week.
5. Trump toes the line
Billionaire real estate mogul and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump travels to Laredo, Texas today to walk along the U.S.-Mexico border with a cadre of U.S. border patrol agents. The publicity stunt marks the latest campaign stop for Trump, who has drawn a bit ire for his derogatory comments about Mexican immigrants. Trump, who also had a dust-up over negative comments he made about U.S. Senator John McCain this week, is currently leading the pack of Republican presidential hopefuls in several polls. However, despite the billionaire’s political momentum, Trump has also watched a growing list of corporate partners cut ties with him and his brand in response to some of his more controversial comments.
— Reuters contributed to this report.
