Oil jumps as wildfire ravages part of Canada

Wall Street is aiming for a win after back to back losses. All three major averages (^DJI, ^GSPC, ^IXIC posted modest gains in early trading as oil prices (CLM16.NYM) raillied after the lastest industry data showed U.S. ouput fell for the first time in eight months and wildfires disrupted production in Canada's oil sand city of Alberta.

On the economic front, more Americans than expected filed for first-time jobless benefits last week. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 17,000 to a seasonally adjusted 274,000 for the week ending April 30, according to the U.S. Labor Department. This comes after Wednesday's weaker-than-expected private payroll data and ahead of Friday's closely watched government employment report.

Tesla’s Promises

Telsa (TSLA) shares got a nice pop in early trading. The luxury electric car maker lost less money than analysts were expecting in the first quarter, while revenue matched estimates, with sales jumping nearly 46% from a year ago to $1.6 billion. Tesla plans on revving up production of its Model 3 sedan in order to have 500,000 cars built in 2018. That would put them two years ahead of schedule.

Fitbit (FIT) posted stronger-than-expected earnings and revenue for the first three months of the year, with sales soaring 50% from a year earlier. The company provided a weaker-than-expected forecast for the current quarter as it continues to increase spending on research and development, as well as marketing of new products.

Alibaba (BABA) reported a miss on profit for its fiscal fourth quarter, but revenue blew past estimates with sales rising nearly 39% to $3.7 bllion as more shoppers flocked to its platforms and it saw a big jump in its cloud business. Our parent company Yahoo has a 15% stake in Alibaba. 

Synacor (SYNC) shares surged in early trading after AT&T (T) ended a 15-year hosting partnership with Yahoo (YHOO) and awarded Synacor a portal services contract that could bring in about $100 million a year in revenue beginning in 2017. Yahoo is the parent company of Yahoo Finance.

Tribune Publishing (TPUB) is in focus this morning after the owner of The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune rejected Gannett's (GCI) $815 million unsolicited takeover offer late yesterday, saying "it undervalues the company, and it's not in the best interests of its shareholders."

YouTube streaming service

YouTube (GOOGL) is working on its own online TV service, Bloomberg first reported. The streaming service will be called "Unplugged" and will debut as soon as next year. Executives at the company are calling it a major priority. They’re in the works of having NBC (CMCSA), Viacom (VIAB), Fox and others stream content but nothing is official yet.  Different packages would be available for less than 35 dollars a month.

Easier to shop online

New trade rules are making it easier for you to buy foreign items online,  but they're also causing problems for some retailers in the United States, according to the Wall Street Journal. Americans can now import up to $800 at a time in foreign goods before having to pay a tax. That’s quadrupled from the previous $200.  Shipping companies like UPS (UPS) and FedEx (FDX) are already seeing a jump in packages being shipped.  Vendors around the world are happy, but U.S. retailers say this is increasing competition and will lead to a drop in sales at some point.