21Jul2017 Market Update: Wall Street Gapped Down At The Opening And Has Since Regained Some Losses, DOW Off 48 Points, Crude Prices Fall Along With The US Dollar

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

North and South American markets are mixed. The IPC is higher by 0.57%, while the Bovespa is leading the S&P 500 lower. They are down 0.28% and 0.09% respectively.

Wall Street pares losses but GE-led industrials weigh

(Reuters) – U.S. stock indexes pared losses, helped by a rise in Visa in early afternoon trading on Friday, but weak earnings from industrial heavyweight General Electric weighed.

GE shares fall as profit slumps, investors await new CEO’s targets

(Reuters) – General Electric Co’s shares dropped sharply on Friday after it posted a 59-percent decline in second-quarter profit and put off an expected cut to 2018 earnings targets until November, when new CEO John Flannery will be four months into his job.

Ford to petition to avoid U.S. recall of 2.5 million vehicles

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co will petition to avoid a U.S. recall of about 2.5 million vehicles with Takata air-bag inflators that the Japanese auto supplier declared defective last week, U.S. regulators and the automaker said Friday.

FTC probing allegations of Amazon’s deceptive discounting

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – As part of its review of Amazon’s agreement to buy Whole Foods, the Federal Trade Commission is looking into allegations that Amazon misleads customers about its pricing discounts, according to a source close to the probe.

Global pizza brands battle for Russia’s far-flung regions

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Global pizza brands Domino’s and Papa John’s are preparing an assault on Russia’s provinces, betting they can turn a profit far from Moscow as online card payments become more widespread and consumers get to know foreign brands better.

Court blocks $18 billion British class action against MasterCard

LONDON (Reuters) – A 14 billion pound ($18 billion) class action lawsuit against MasterCard for allegedly overcharging more than 45 million people in Britain over a 16-year period was blocked by a British court on Friday.

Bank of America picks Dublin as EU base after Brexit

LONDON/DUBLIN (Reuters) – Bank of America on Friday became the first Wall Street lender to pick Dublin as its new base for its European Union operations as Britain prepares to leave the bloc.

Crimean scandal prompts Siemens to retreat from Russian energy

FRANKFURT/MOSCOW (Reuters) – Germany’s Siemens tried to distance itself from a Crimean sanctions scandal on Friday, halting deliveries of power equipment to Russian state-controlled customers and reviewing supply deals.

German carmakers may have colluded on diesel systems: Spiegel

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Germany’s carmakers VW , BMW, Audi, Porsche may have colluded to fix the prices of diesel emissions treatment systems using industry committees, German magazine Der Spiegel reported on Friday.

“Everything Will Collapse” German Judge Warns As Refugees Flood System With Appeals

Hundreds of thousands of migrants who’ve appealed decisions by Germany’s immigration courts have brought the country’s legal system to the brink of collapse, a German judge warned on Friday.

More than 1.3 million migrants have arrived in Germany since the beginning of 2015. Since then, the sheer number of cases filed has overwhelmed the civil courts of the country, said Robert Seegmuller, chairman of the Association of German Administrative Law Judges, speaking to the publishing house Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland.

“The situation is dramatic for administrative courts,” Seegmuller told RND. “We are now completely stretched to our limits.”

Seegmuller had been complaining since spring about the number of lawsuits being filed against the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. Thousands of applicants have challenged decisions delivered on their cases by the office, including deportation orders back to potentially unsafe countries such as Afghanistan. RND estimates there are approximately 250,000 asylum-related cases waiting to be brought before the courts.

“The administrative court system cannot endure such a figure in the long run. At some point, everything will collapse,” Seegmüller warned. “Things may go well for a while, but not permanently.”

Just like in the US, where illegal immigrants have plotted to launch mass appeals to slow down the immigration process, the German legal system is struggling with a shortage of judges and other personnel, the judge added.

…

5 Articles About the State Taking Parent’s Rights

Via The Daily Bell

The state is deciding who is fit to be parents, keeping parents from treating their sick kids, and arresting parents if their kids skip school. Oh but don’t worry about that smart device in the home. All that info it’s collecting on your kids could never fall into the wrong hands.

1. State Decides If You Are Smart Enough to Keep Your Kids

Parents in Oregon have had two of their children taken away by the state. There is no evidence, or even accusation, of abuse or neglect. But the parents have low IQs. So the state can take your kids if they decide you are too dumb.

2. Charlie Gaurd’s Parents Still Fighting- U.S. Dad Speaks Out

Is Iran In Our Gun Sights Now?

Authored by Patrick Buchanan via Buchanan.org,

“Iran must be free. The dictatorship must be destroyed. Containment is appeasement and appeasement is surrender.”

Thus does our Churchill, Newt Gingrich, dismiss, in dealing with Iran, the policy of containment crafted by George Kennan and pursued by nine U.S. presidents to bloodless victory in the Cold War.

Why is containment surrender? “Because freedom is threatened everywhere so long as this dictatorship stays in power,” says Gingrich.

But how is our freedom threatened by a regime with 3 percent of our GDP that has been around since Jimmy Carter was president?

Fortunately, Gingrich has found a leader to bring down the Iranian regime and ensure the freedom of mankind. “In our country that was George Washington and … the Marquis de Lafayette. In Italy it was Garibaldi,” says Gingrich.

Whom has he found to rival Washington and Garibaldi? Says Gingrich, “Maryam Rajavi.”

Who is she? The leader of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, or Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, which opposed the Shah, broke with the old Ayatollah, collaborated with Saddam Hussein, and, until 2012, was designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. Department of State.

At the NCRI conference in Paris in July where Gingrich spoke, and the speaking fees were reportedly excellent, John Bolton and Rudy Giuliani were also on hand.

Calling Iran’s twice-elected President Hassan Rouhani, “a violent, vicious murderer,” Giuliani said, “the time has come for regime change.”

Bolton followed suit.

Spicer Resigns As White House Press Secretary, Replaced By Anthony Scaramucci

It’s official: moments ago the much anticipated departure of (now former) White House press secretary and communications director, Sean Spicer took place, when according to the NYT, Spicer resigned on Friday morning, “telling President Trump he vehemently disagreed with the appointment of New York financier Anthony Scaramucci as communications director.”

Mr. Trump offered Mr. Scaramucci the job at 10 a.m. The president requested that Mr. Spicer stay on, but Mr. Spicer told Mr. Trump that he believed the appointment was a major mistake, according to person with direct knowledge of the exchange.

News of Spicer’s resignation was promptly greeted with trolling by many…

R.I.P. Sean Spicer as White House Press Secretary, 2017 – 2017 pic.twitter.com/y7QmJAroYH

— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) July 21, 2017

… including Maxine Waters:

Congratulations Sean Spicer. You’ve got more guts than Jeff Sessions!

— Maxine Waters (@MaxineWaters) July 21, 2017

To all those who bought the “No” contract: congratulations: it’s payout time:< …

Don’t Trust Capital One’s Math

Capital One sees default rates declining after a worrying jump, but investors should stay skeptical.

The Euro May Be Rising, But Money Is Still Easy

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said Thursday that the euro’s gains had “received some attention” on the ECB Governing Council, but the currency isn’t the only factor that counts for financial conditions.

BHP Sees a Hungry Planet, Elliott Sees Another Shale Disaster

BHP has written off billions in U.S. shale investments, but it is poised to plow a substantial amount of funds into potassium fertilizer, or potash. Activist shareholder Elliott is kicking up a fuss.

The Tell: Euro rally has room to run if this pattern continues to hold true

The euro’s continued tear higher marks a renewed correlation with the relative performance of government bonds issued by the eurozone’s most financially stressed countries.

Amazon’s foray into groceries means more mergers of food companies, experts say

The pace of mergers and acquisitions in the food industry has gained steam in 2017, and experts are expecting more to come as companies struggle with shrinking margins in a low-price world..

London Markets: FTSE 100 ends lower, but retains grip on weekly gain

U.K. stocks finishes in the red on Friday, falling along with a selloff in European stocks as investors brace for the possibility the European Central Bank will soon say it will start winding down stimulus measures for the eurozone economy.