Chapter 1: What emergency auction is Trump proposing for tech firms?
Welcome to Seeking Alpha's Wall Street Breakfast, where we cover the top news for investors every morning. It's good to have you here on this Friday, the 16th of January. I'm Julie Morgan. Energy names are moving fast on Washington headlines. Disney resets the force at Lucasfilm. And Jamie Dimon draws a clear line on the Fed while keeping one door cracked open.
Power producers such as Constellation Energy and Vistra, as well as NRG Energy, are on our biggest movers list this morning. According to multiple media reports, the White House is expected to issue a directive today to propose an emergency power auction in which tech companies would bid for new plants built.
According to the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, under the directive... Power grid operator PJM Interconnection will be told to hold a power auction for tech companies to bid on 15-year contracts to build new power plants. PJM is the largest grid operator in the U.S., spanning 13 states.
Data centers built amid the AI boom have strained grid capacity and raised costs in recent power auctions. The White House said its National Energy Dominance Council and the governors of several states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia, want to try to push the grid operator to take urgent steps to boost energy supply and curb price hikes.
CEG is up 1.1 percent in pre-market action after rising 3.2 percent on Thursday. Vistra is up 2 percent after seeing a 6.6 percent increase, and NRG is up 1.8 percent after closing 5.8 percent higher.
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Chapter 2: What leadership changes are happening at Disney's Lucasfilm?
By the way, you probably hear a beep in the back. It just happened. That's, of course, one of my smoke detectors. And as soon as I find a ladder, I'm going to do something about it. It's time for a new wave to pick up the lightsaber for Disney. as Kathleen Kennedy is stepping down from her longtime position as the sensei of Star Wars.
Kennedy is departing Lucasfilm, where she's held a leadership position for nearly 14 years. She joined the production company as a co-chair with Star Wars creator-director George Lucas, and became its only leader shortly thereafter when Disney bought the company and Lucas exited.
Dave Filoni, the chief creative officer and a Lucas protege, will take over creative leadership of Lucasfilm, while the president general manager, Lin-Wen Brennan, will act as co-president and lead the business side. They'll report to Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman.
Kennedy plans to return to full-time producing, including finishing upcoming Lucasfilm projects, The Mandalorian and Grogu, and Star Wars Starfighter. Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase, indicated he has no interest in becoming chair of the Federal Reserve.
When he was asked whether he would consider the role, Dimon replied that there was absolutely, positively no chance, no way, no how, for any reason. However, he was more open to the idea of leading the U.S.
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Chapter 3: Why does Jamie Dimon reject the idea of becoming Fed chair?
Treasury. He said when the president calls you up and asks you to do something, you should consider it, so he would take the call and consider it. Dimon also said he wants to remain CEO of JPMorgan Chase for at least another five years. Dimon, who is 69 years old, has led the bank since 2006 and is one of the longest-serving CEOs on Wall Street.
I have a few other trending articles to tell you about. France is warning the U.S. against a Greenland seizure as Europe sends troops to the island. U.S. megabanks reduced the headcount by the most in nearly a decade, according to a report. And according to Wedbush, tech earnings should be an AI validation sign. On Wall Street at this early hour, Dow, S&P and Nasdaq futures are in the green.
Crude oil is up 1% at $59 a barrel. Bitcoin is down 0.3% at $95,000.
Chapter 4: How are power producers responding to new energy directives?
Gold is down 0.2% at $4,607. The FTSE 100 is little changed and the DAX is up 0.2%. JB Hunt Transport Services is on our list of the biggest movers of the day pre-market. JBHT is down 4.9%. Shares slipped after mixed results. The logistics company earned a better-than-expected profit despite a 2% drop in revenue. And on today's economic calendar at 9.15 a.m., industrial production.
And at 10 a.m., the housing market index. Another item to add to your calendar, but it's not for today. It's for less than two weeks from now. It's our Investing Experts Live Top Ideas for 2026 event. Investing Experts is the sister podcast to Wall Street Breakfast, but this is a live event.
Chapter 5: What warnings is France giving regarding U.S. actions in Greenland?
It starts at noon on January 27th. You'll hear from experts about where growth and income opportunities are emerging this year. They'll discuss fundamentals and navigating market volatility with confidence. I'll leave a link to register for the free event in the show notes section. And don't forget, Monday is a market holiday, so that means we'll be back here again on Tuesday, dark and early.
I'll see you then. That's it for today's Wall Street Breakfast. Thanks for listening.
Chapter 6: What economic indicators should investors watch for today?
For a full offering of news, analysis, ratings, and data on stocks and ETFs, become a premium subscriber. Learn more at seekingalpha.com slash subscriptions. I'm your host, Julie Morgan. Go out and make it a great day.