15Mar2018 Midday Update: Wall Street Gains As White House Plays Down Trade War Chances, Dow Jumps By Triple Digits, Tops 25K, Venezuela Turmoil Could Push Oil Market Into Deficit

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

North and South American markets are mixed. The S&P 500 is higher by 0.23%, while the IPC is leading the Bovespa lower. They are down 0.98% and 0.86% respectively.

Wall Street gains as White House plays down trade war chances

(Reuters) – U.S. stocks rose on Thursday, lifted by technology companies and as industrials moved higher after the White House trade adviser said tariffs could be applied without provoking a trade war.

Balancing act: Chip giant Qualcomm caught between Washington and Beijing

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm Inc , blocked this week from a takeover bid amid national security fears, was already walking a Pacific tightrope: it has government and defense contracts in America, but two-thirds of its revenue comes from China.

Mexico, Canada should be set to continue with NAFTA without U.S.: minister

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Mexico and Canada should be ready to continue with a version of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) without the United States, the Mexican economy minister said on Thursday.

Toys ‘R’ Us goes out of business, 30,000 jobs at stake

(Reuters) – Iconic toy retailer Toys ‘R’ Us Inc the will shutter or sell its stores in the United States after failing to find a buyer or reach a deal to restructure billions in debt, putting at risk about 30,000 jobs.

Sky agrees to share information relevant to Fox-Disney deal

LONDON (Reuters) – Sky , the European pay-TV group at the center of a takeover battle, said on Thursday it had entered into a confidentiality agreement with suitor Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox and Walt Disney .

Exclusive: Wells Fargo faces sanctions for auto insurance payouts – sources

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. regulators are preparing to sanction Wells Fargo for receiving commissions on auto insurance policies it helped force on more than half a million drivers, people with direct knowledge of the probes told Reuters.

GM to invest $100 million to upgrade facilities to build self-driving cars

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – General Motors Co said Thursday it will invest more than $100 million in two facilities as it prepares to build production versions of its Cruise self-driving car next year at its Orion Township assembly plant in Michigan.

Alibaba plans listing in mainland China: WSJ

(Reuters) – E-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is working on a plan to list on a stock exchange in its home country, China, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Blue Apron plans to sell meal kits in stores in 2018

(Reuters) – Blue Apron Holdings Inc said on Thursday it plans to sell meal kits in stores this year, as it attempts to spur growth by attracting more people to its subscription-based service.

MLPs Crash After FERC Rule Changes

A slew of MLPs (Alerian down 11%) have tumbled this morning as FERC revises its policy – disallowing income tax allowance cost recovery in MLP pipeline rates.

FERC Revises Polices, Will Disallow Income Tax Allowance Cost Recovery in MLP Pipeline Rates

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) today responded to a federal court remand by stating it no longer will allow master limited partnership (MLP) interstate natural gas and oil pipelines to recover an income tax allowance in cost of service rates.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in United Airlines, Inc. v. FERC, (827 F.3d 122 (D.C. Cir. 2016) held that FERC failed to demonstrate there was no double recovery of income tax costs when permitting SFPP, L.P., an MLP, to recover both an income tax allowance and a return on equity determined by the discounted cash flow methodology.

The Commission today acted in response both to the court remand and comments filed in response to an inquiry issued after the court ruling. FERC will now revise its 2005 Policy Statement for Recovery of Income Tax Costs so that it no longer will allow MLPs to recover an income tax allowance in the cost of service.

The revised policy statement explains that, while all partnerships seeking to recover an income tax allowance will need to address the double-recovery concern, the application of the United Airlines court case to non-MLP partnerships will be addressed as those issues arise in subsequent proceedings.

In Docket Nos. IS08-390-008 and IS08-390-009, the Commission denies SFPP an income tax allowance and determines a real return on equity of 10.24 percent (Agenda Item G-3). In Docket Nos. IS09-437-008, et al., FERC accepts SFFP’s compliance filing, subject to the company submitting a f …

Trump: “Looks Like Russians Were Behind Poisoning”

Speaking in the Oval Office following a photo-op with the visiting Irish PM, US President Donald Trump has said it appears that Russia was behind the attack on former double agent Sergei Skripal.

A member of the press corps asked the president if he thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin was behind the attack, prompting Trump to respond that “it looks like it.”

“I’ve spoken with the [British] prime minister and we are in deep discussions. It’s a very sad situation,” he continued.

“It certainly looks like the Russians were behind it. Something that should never, ever happen and we’re taking it very seriously as, I think, are many others.”

Pres. Trump on whether Russia was responsible for nerve agent attack in the UK: “It looks like it…it certainly looks like the Russians were behind it.” https://t.co/DjUQ4Op9vr pic.twitter.com/IR9MWDJA3K

— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) March 15, 2018

The Illusion Of Free Trade

Authored by Valentin Schmid via The Epoch Times,

The current trading system was never free; Trump’s tariffs merely change who gets what…

Anything President Donald Trump does usually provokes a backlash from the status quo. In early March, the focus is on trade, as Trump walked the walk and slapped import tariffs on steel, aluminum, washing machines, and solar panels not just from China but also other countries.

The backlash from popular media and the affected countries’ politicians blames Trump for ruining the beautiful “free trade” system built up around the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its predecessor the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

As with anything Trump says or does, it’s important to step back and look at the bigger context he’s acting within.

Not Free

The first big-picture news flash is that neither the WTO nor the GATT was “free.” Free trade is trade without government intervention.

One country or industry may produce and export a lot of steel, but if it doesn’t get any subs …

Kudlow’s “Killing It” On His First Day…

Shortly before concluding his first interview as NEC Director last night, Larry Kudlow told CNBC “buy king dollar and sell gold.” That has been a dismal trade since Trump was elected…

but since Kudlow spoke, things have changed…

Kudlow’s “killing it” on his first day of trading advice!

Time for Pharma to Play Defense With Deals

Health-care payer consolidation continues at a rapid pace. Look for drug manufacturers to chime in with some larger deals of their own.

Ctrip’s Smooth Ride Has Been Rudely Interrupted

China’s largest online travel website facers slowing revenue, but still trades at a sky-high valuation.

Surprisingly Large Winners in a Bill to Help Small Banks

Three of the biggest winners, in a bill meant to help small and midsize banks, are anything but. Some large custody banks stand to get a healthy profit boost if the Senate bill goes through.

Paul Brandus: Kudlow’s history of bad economic calls

There’s no daylight between Cohn and Kudlow on the big stuff. And Cohn was even more qualified, frankly.

NewsWatch: S&P 500, Dow try to halt 3-session skid, as trade-war fears linger

U.S. stock-market indexes struggle to push higher in early Thursday trade as worries over President Trump’s protectionist stance against trading partners outweigh a flurry of solid economic data.

Capitol Report: The SEC called Theranos fraud ‘massive.’ But it didn’t get the company or founder to admit guilt.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday said Theranos committed a “massive” financial fraud, “raising more than $700 million from investors through an elaborate, years-long fraud in which they exaggerated or made false statements about the company’s technology, business, and financial performance.” What the SEC did not get from either Theranos or company founder Elizabeth Holmes — an admission of guilt.