WORLD FINANCIAL NEWS ON MAY 19, 2015

Dow component Wal-Mart (WMT) today reported quarterly earnings and revenue that fell short of expectations, hurt by the stronger dollar. (CNBC) Home Depot (HD), another Dow stock, today delivered quarterly earnings, revenue, and same-store sales that topped expectations. The home improvement retailer also raised full-year profit guidance. (CNBC) U.S. stock futures were higher in early trading, after the S&P 500 closed Monday at its third record in a row and the Dow joined with its own all-time high. The Nasdaq ended about 20 points away from its record. (CNBC) The euro was trading lower this morning-moving away from Friday's three-month high on renewed Greek debt concerns and dovish comments by an executive member of the European Central Bank. (CNBC) Apple (AAPL) reportedly shelved plans to make a TV more than a year ago, after deciding that attempts to build a truly unique product to compete with industry leader Samsung were not that compelling. (WSJ) Starbucks (SBUX) has announced a partnership with music-streaming service Spotify, which includes allowing Starbucks rewards program members access to Spotify music. (CNBC) Almost one in 10 viewers accessing video-streaming services are using somebody else's login, with Netflix (NFLX) account owners the most likely sharers, followed by Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime. (CNBC) Major investment banks have raised their standard base salary this spring for recent college graduates to $85,000, the first rise after five years in which the salaries hovered near $70,000. (NY Times) In a new financial industry survey, more than a third of the respondentssaid they witnessed or knew of wrongdoing in the workplace. And nearly half said regulators were ineffective in stopping it. (NY Times) Obama administration officials are calling for patience, even as they call the Islamic State militant capture of the capital of Iraq's Anbar province a setback.Ramadi fell over the weekend. (AP) The State Department does not intend to make approximately 55,000 pages of former Secretary of State and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's emails public until Jan. 15, 2016. (USA Today)

	BY THE NUMBERS

China stocks today surged more than 3 percent, after Beijing published guidelines for economic reforms, prioritizing further opening of the capital market there and the restructuring of state enterprises. Oil prices fell this morning as slow economic growth and high supplies meant that markets remain oversupplied. However, U.S. crude got a bit of support from rising demand ahead of the Memorial Day travel weekend. Housing is once again in the U.S. economic spotlight, as the government releases April housing starts and building permits at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists are looking for a 9.1 percent jump in starts, on top of the 2.0 percent increase in March. Permits are seen up 2.7 percent last month, after a 5.4 percent decline in March. JPMorgan Chase (JPM) holds its annual shareholder meeting this morning in Detroit, and the company is making a live audio webcast available. Among the short list of earnings reports after-the-bell include, Analog Devices (ADI), Autodesk (ADSK), and Etsy (ETSY), which releases its first quarterly results since the online marketplace for homemade goods went public last month.

	STOCKS TO WATCH

Vodafone (VOD) announced its first quarterly sales rise in almost three years. The U.K.-based mobile phone operator also predicted 2016 earnings growth after seven straight years of decline. Urban Outfitters (URBN) missed estimates by 5 cents with quarterly profit of 25 cents per share. Revenue was also well below estimates. Comparable store sales increase of 4 percent was below forecasts. Yahoo's (YHOO) chief information officer Mike Kail has left the company, just nine months after joining from Netflix, which has sued Kail, accusing him of accepting kickbacks from vendors.

	WATERCOOLER

President Barack Obama's new personal Twitter account reached 1 million followers faster than any other, and he's already trash talking after Bill Clinton tweeted a question. (Re/code) Access to parks and paths for jogging, walking and biking helped make theWashington, D.C., area the fittest of the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S., according to a new study.