What to watch today: Dow to rise, House passes budget deal, and SoftBank debuts mega fund
On the corporate front, Dow component McDonald's (MCD) and Twitter (TWTR) are among the companies reporting quarterly earnings this morning, along with AbbVie (ABBV), Colgate-Palmolive (CL), Goodyear Tire (GT), and Phillips 66 (PSX). There are no earnings reports of note after today's closing bell.

On today's economic calendar, the government is out with its first reading of second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of the U.S. economy, at 8:30 a.m. ET. (CNBC)

U.S. stock futures were pointing to a modestly higher Wall Street open this morning, following a Thursday slide that saw both the Dow and Nasdaq post their biggest one-day losses in a month. The Dow also closed at a two-week low. Despite all that, the Dow is just below breakeven for the week, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq remain on track for their third positive week in four weeks. (CNBC)

The Trump administration decides today whether to renew a license this week for energy company Chevron's (CVX) operations in Venezuela, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo supporting a renewal and other officials opposing it. At issue is a six-month U.S. Treasury Department license that has allowed Chevron to keep operating despite U.S. sanctions on the OPEC nation's oil sector. (Reuters)

The House passed a bill to raise the U.S. debt ceiling and set budget levels for two years, taking a step toward avoiding a calamity that threatens to disrupt the economy. The House vote sends the measure to the Senate, which is expected to pass it in the coming days and send it to Trump's desk. The president is expected to sign the bill. (CNBC)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are meeting today after weeks of public tensions between the two Democrats. The two have recently unified after President Donald Trump told four congresswomen, including Ocasio-Cortez, to "go back" to where they came from. (USA Today)

The Trump administration outlined the details of a $16 billion aid package for farmers damaged by bad weather and the U.S. trade war with China. The U.S. Department of Agriculture program includes $14.5 billion in direct payments to farmers for a range of crops. Sign-ups for aid start Monday, while payments begin next month. (CNBC)

The Justice Department is pushing state officials to support T-Mobile's (TMUS) merger with Sprint (S), through the selling of assets to Dish Network (DISH), The Wall Street Journal reported. The discussions come in response to some of the state attorneys general who have already filed a federal antitrust suit seeking to block the more than $26 billion merger.

The Senate Intelligence Committee reported that election systems in all 50 states were targeted by Russia in 2016. The attack was larger than previously acknowledged, and is just the first report of several to be released from the committee's investigation into the election interference. (NY Times)



* It's not just the Russians anymore as Iranians and others turn up disinformation efforts ahead of 2020 vote (Washington Post)

Executives at Wall Street's biggest banks have begun throwing financial support to their early favorites in the 2020 Democratic presidential field: Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Pete Buttigieg. All three candidates combined are to receive contributions during the second quarter from at least 15 bank executives, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. (CNBC)

SoftBank announced today its second mega fund to invest into technology companies developing artificial intelligence technologies around the world. Prominent corporations that are expected to participate in Vision Fund 2 include: Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), iPhone assembler Foxconn, Standard Chartered Bank, and a handful of Japanese financial giants. (CNBC)

Chinese authorities suspect U.S. package delivery company FedEx violated the law by not making shipments of goods from the tech company Huawei to their recipients, the Xinhua state news agency reported today. Investigators reportedly found that FedEx had held back more than 100 Huawei-related shipments. (Reuters)



* China wants to track and grade each citizen's actions — it's in the testing phase (CNBC)

The Australian government released a report today recommending tighter oversight over multinational digital platforms including Alphabet (GOOGL) and Facebook (FB), to ensure fairness for other media businesses and give people more control over how their data is used. (AP)

Apple (AAPL) has agreed to buy the majority of Intel's smartphone modem division. Some 2,200 Intel employees are joining Apple, according to the announcement. Apple paid $1 billion for staff, intellectual property, and other equipment from Intel (INTC). The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019. (CNBC)