Written by Gary
US stock market index futures are pointing to a positive opening (SPY +0.5%) after revised GDP figures show U.S. economy grew slightly slower 2.2% in first quarter.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
European markets are mixed today. The DAX is up 0.60% while the FTSE 100 gains 0.25%. The CAC 40 is off 0.53%. |
Looking at the last three columns (below), the first one (Actual), is what was reported this morning. The second column (Forecast) is what analysts had forecast and the third column is the previous report. Full calendar HERE.
What Is Moving the Markets
Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
Stock futures steady after selloff due to Italy crisis(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday, suggesting a respite from a steep selloff that had pushed the S&P and the Dow Jones Industrial Average to their worst day in a month due to a political crisis in Italy. | |
China vows to protect its interests from ‘reckless’ U.S. trade threatsBEIJING (Reuters) – China lashed out on Wednesday at renewed threats from the White House on trade, warning that it was ready to fight back if Washington was looking for a trade war, days ahead of a planned visit by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. | |
Trump’s auto tariff plan threatens GM’s $7 billion South Korea rescueSEOUL (Reuters) – Fresh off a $7 billion rescue for its loss-making South Korean operation, General Motors faces a new threat as U.S. President Donald Trump considers higher vehicle import tariffs that could “make or break” its Asian subsidiary. | |
How Kinder Morgan won a billion-dollar bailout on Canada pipelineOTTAWA/HOUSTON (Reuters) – U.S. energy firm Kinder Morgan’s C$4.5 billion sale of an oil pipeline to Canada’s government marked an extraordinary escape from months of fraught negotiations among warring camps of Canadian officials. | |
Fox sets Disney deal vote for July 10(Reuters) – Twenty-First Century Fox Inc will hold a special meeting on July 10th for its stockholders to vote on a proposed merger with Walt Disney Co , the company said on Wednesday. | |
Sorrell plots comeback with new listed company after WPP exit(Reuters) – Martin Sorrell is staging a comeback just six weeks after he was ousted from WPP , using the same formula as in the 1980s when he transformed a little-known shell company into the world’s biggest advertising group. | |
Facebook’s size no barrier to deals in new areas: executiveRANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. (Reuters) – Facebook Inc believes it could acquire other large companies without running afoul of antitrust enforcers if the world’s largest social media network chose to enter a new market, Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said on Tuesday. | |
Rolls-Royce says tripling capacity to fix Trent 1000 engine problemsLONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s Rolls-Royce said it would add maintenance facilities and people to triple its capacity to fix problems with Trent 1000 engines that have grounded Boeing Dreamliner planes, but said this would not raise the cost of the work. | |
Lufthansa to query German cartel office over price analysisFRANKFURT (Reuters) – Lufthansa did not make any additional profit on domestic German routes after the collapse of local rival Air Berlin, and prices did not go up by as much as determined by the cartel office, an executive at the airline said on Wednesday. | |
Roseanne Blames Ambien For Tweetstorm That Got Her Show CanceledOne day after her shows was canceled by ABC/Disney and her talent agent fired her, Roseanne Barr blamed Ambien for her controversial tweetstorm, in which she compared a former Obama administration official to an ape, and said she was tired of “being attacked and belittled.” In a series of Tweets on Tuesday and early Wednesday, Roseanne said that what she did was “unforgivable” when she posted on Twitter that if the Islamist political movement “muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby = vj,” referring to Valerie Jarrett, a former aide to President Barack Obama. “Don’t feel sorry for me, guys!!,” Barr said in a Tweet late on Tuesday. “I just want to apologize to the hundreds of people, and wonderful writers (all liberal) and talented actors who lost their jobs on my show due to my stupid tweet.” “It was 2 in the morning and I was Ambien tweeting-it was memorial day too-i went 2 far & do not want it defended-it was egregious Indefensible,” she wrote. “I made a mistake I wish I hadn’t but…don’t defend it please.” Barr also said that she was tired of “being attacked and belittled more than other comedians who have said worse” and asked for people not to boycott ABC, saying that the network has the right to “do what … | |
ADP Employment Rebounds Off April Plunge But “Hot Job Market” Is CoolingMay’s ADP Employment printed a lower than expected +178k. This is the second lowest ADP print since October, thanks to a sharply revised lower April (from +204k to +163k). The Goods-producing sector of the economy added 64k jobs in May while the Service-producing segment aded 114k. Under the covers, only Trade/Transportation saw job losses. “The hot job market has cooled slightly as the labor market continues to tighten,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute.
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Italian Capital Markets Rebound As Rift Emerges Between Populist LeadersItalian bond markets are rallying, Italian bank stocks are up, and safe-haven US Treasury bonds are plunging as rumors of a rift between the populist leaders of Italy’s Five-Star and The League movements prompts hopes that a ‘worst case scenario’ is off the table. There is still no official proposal from technocrat Cottarelli for a second day, suggesting elections most likely outcome.
But the urgency of a new election is seen differently from the two leaders as Bloomberg notes, signs of a rift between the populist parties may reflect their differing fortunes after the March 4 inconclusive election and their subsequent failure to enter government. While Five Star support is down, the League has surged into second place in polls, strengthening Salvini’s hand in any subsequent coalition negotiations. | |
CIA: No Way North Korea Denuclearizes, But They Might Open A Burger JointAccording to a report by NBC News, a CIA analysis from last week concludes that North Korea won’t be giving up their nuclear weapons anytime soon, but they might be willing to put a Western hamburger franchise in Pyongyang as a show of goodwill, according to three national security officials who illegally leaked details of the alleged internal report. The CIA assessment casts doubt on whether Trump can achieve his stated goal for the negotiations – that being the complete elimination of North Korea’s nuclear weapons stockpile and a halt to their nuclear weapons program.
The analysis also concludes that a more realistic objecti … | |
The Real End Game for CBS-ViacomA little-noticed part of lawsuit says Redstone could sell a combined company and give up control. | |
Hong Kong’s Stock Market Is Running Short of IntegrityLeading lights of the hedge fund world have gathered in Hong Kong to float their big bets on stocks at the annual Sohn conference. One of their biggest challenges: The local market’s setup. | |
Red Flags Are Suddenly Rampant in MarketsEurope’s deepening troubles and disappointing global growth signals are sparking a sudden rally in haven bonds like U.S. Treasurys: Risk aversion is back. | |
Outside the Box: This investor rivals Warren Buffett — and you probably haven’t heard of himThe Berkshire Hathaway CEO so admired Lou Simpson that he suggested the Geico CIO could step in for him if needed. | |
CryptoWatch: Bitcoin holds steady; recent decline could hinder crypto minersAltcoins rise more than bitcoin | |
Economic Report: U.S. jobs growth continues in May as labor market tightens, ADP saysThe U.S. added 178,000 private-sector jobs in May, payrolls processor ADP said Wednesday. |
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