What’s moving markets today

General Motors sees better times ahead, despite its decision to close three US factories.

The company just announced that its full-year 2018 earnings would be better than what it forecast only 10 weeks ago. And GM said it expects 2019 earnings to rise more than it previously expected.

Shares of GM (GM) jumped 6% at the open.

A key measure of inflation fell for the first time since March. The Labor Department reported today its Consumer Price Index fell 0.1% in December.

Consumer prices rose just 1.9% in 2018. Inflation hadn’t risen by less than 2% over a 12-month period since August 2017.

What it means: Inflation typically picks up in a healthy economy, though inflation has been stubbornly low during the economic recovery since the Great Recession. Inflation had picked up just a bit in recent months, so this report is a reversal of a recent trend.

Why this report isn’t much to worry about: Oil prices had fallen sharply over supply concerns, dragging consumer prices down with them. Excluding food and fuel prices, consumer prices rose a much healthier 0.2% last month.

Starbucks (SBUX) might be the next Apple thanks to China. Shares of the coffee chain fell 2% in early trading after a warning from Goldman Sachs.

Analysts at the firm downgraded Starbucks’ stock due to concerns about China. The report cited a “number of points of caution” in the country, including increasing competition from rival Luckin Coffee, a weakening economy and cannibalization as Starbucks grows.

The chain plans to nearly double the number of coffee shops it has in China to 6,000 before the end of 2022.

Apple’s stock bellyflopped earlier this month because of lower than anticipated iPhone sales in China.

Starbucks reports earnings on January 24.

Calvin Klein is closing its flagship store on Madison Avenue in midtown Manhattan as part of a larger reorganization.

The store will shutter in the spring. The luxury brand said in a release it’s “evaluating options for future retail locations.” Calvin Klein currently operates more than 2,000 stores worldwide.

The brand also announced executive changes and said it’s relaunching its high-end “205W39NYC” line following the recent surprise departure of designer Raf Simons.

Shares of its parent company, PVH Corp., (PVH) rose 6% in premarket trading.

Other stores that have closed or remodeled their New York flagships:

Shares of Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer soared today after Brazil approved its joint venture with Boeing.

The deal: The joint venture will take over the commercial aircraft operations of Embraer, a leading maker of small passenger jets. Boeing will own 80%, and Embraer the rest.

Why this matters: The deal will help Embraer compete with Canadian rival Bombardier, which recently joined with Airbus in a similar partnership.

Shares of Embraer (ERJ) were up 7% in premarket trading, while shares of Boeing (BA) were little changed.

Slack, the buzzy workplace messaging tool, reportedly plans to go public through a direct listing.

It wants to make its stock market debut in the second quarter of 2019, but its plans aren’t final, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Slack declined to comment.

What is a direct listing?

It might sound familiar because Spotify recently went that route.

Unlike traditional IPOs, the companies that directly list their shares don’t raise new capital. Instead, they list existing shares directly on the exchange without relying on underwriters to help assess demand and set a price.

Apple is planning to release three new iPhone models this year, including a new version of the XR — the budget-friendly phone with an LCD screen that’s facing sagging sales.

The Wall Street Journal reports that it can’t scrap the planned released of the new XR because because it’s been in the pipeline for months and Apple’s plan “can’t be altered easily.”

Apple can’t end production of the LCD model until 2020, the report said. Apple eventually wants to sell only iPhones with the bright OLED-powered screens.

To get the XR moving off shelves, Apple has reportedly slashed prices in China where the phone is seen as too expensive compared to its locally made rivals.

It’s been a rough month for the iPhone. Apple (AAPL) warned earlier this month it would miss its sales target for the previous quarter, mainly because of weak iPhone demand in China.

US stock futures are pointing slightly lower, capping a relatively calm week on Wall Street.

The Dow and S&P 500 each added 0.5% on Thursday, while the Nasdaq advanced 0.4%.

Meanwhile, oil is enjoying its longest win streak since 2010.

Crude has climbed 10% so far this week, with US crude futures jumping 0.9% on Friday to above $53 per barrel.

The British pound briefly jumped as much as 0.5% to above $1.28 after the Evening Standard newspaper said Brexit could be delayed.

The London newspaper, which is edited by former UK treasury chief George Osborne, cited UK cabinet ministers as the source of the information.

The pound quickly gave back most of its gains. 

The UK is scheduled to leave the EU on March 29, but Prime Minister Theresa May has not yet secured parliamentary support for her divorce agreement, raising the prospect that the country could crash out of the trading bloc without a deal. 

Businesses, investors and the Bank of England say that would spell disaster for the British economy and the global companies doing business there.

The former Nissan chief remains stuck in jail after Tokyo prosecutors brought new charges of financial misconduct against him on Friday.

They allege he committed a breach of trust by transferring personal investment losses to the Japanese carmaker, and understated his personal income between 2015 and 2018.

The announcement came one day after Ghosn’s wife Carole spoke out, saying that she was “fearful and very worried” for her husband’s health after he developed a fever in jail. 

Ghosn’s legal team said Friday that they planned to apply for bail immediately.