19Jun2018 Midday Update: Wall Street Joins Global Sell-off As Trade Fears Intensify, DOW Erases 2018 Gains, DOW Down More Than 300 Points, Investors Alarmed Over Escalating Tariff Spat

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

North and South American markets are mixed. The Bovespa is higher by 2.49%, while the S&P 500 is leading the IPC lower. They are down 0.68% and 0.30% respectively.

Wall Street tumbles, Dow erases 2018 gains as trade worries worsen

(Reuters) – U.S. stocks slumped and the Dow Jones Industrial Average erased its gains for the year on Tuesday, as a sharp escalation in U.S.-China trade dispute jolted the markets and triggered a rush to safer assets.

Trump determined to hit China as tit-for-tat tariff war erupts

WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) – China has underestimated President Donald Trump’s resolve to press ahead with tariffs unless Beijing changes its “predatory” trade practices, a top U.S. trade advisor said on Tuesday, in comments that undercut the chances of a negotiated settlement to a looming trade war between the world’s economic superpowers.

ZTE, U.S. suppliers shares tank after Senate puts Trump reprieve in doubt

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Shares of ZTE Corp and its American business partners took a hit on Tuesday after the U.S. Senate’s passage of a defense bill set up a potential battle with the White House over whether the Chinese telecoms firm can resume business with U.S. suppliers.

Britain happy with Murdoch’s Sky News guarantees

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain said Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox had answered its remaining doubts about the independence of Sky News if the U.S. company buys all of its parent Sky, paving the way for a takeover battle over the pay-TV group.

VW names interim Audi boss, seeking to steady brand after CEO arrest

MUNICH (Reuters) – Volkswagen suspended Audi boss Rupert Stadler and announced an interim replacement on Tuesday, seeking to steady its most profitable business after German authorities arrested Stadler as part of an emissions probe.

Russia, Saudi push for big hike in oil output despite Iran opposition

VIENNA/MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia and Saudi Arabia are pushing OPEC and its allies to raise oil output steeply from July to meet growing demand and cover supply outages in Venezuela and Libya despite opposition from several members of the producer group including Iran.

Activist Icahn gains control of board in proxy fight at SandRidge Energy

OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) – Activist investor Carl Icahn on Tuesday won a battle for control of SandRidge Energy, winning at least four of seven seats on the board of the U.S. shale producer that he wants to sell.

Italian prosecutor appeals against Morgan Stanley case ruling

ROME (Reuters) – Italian prosecutors said on Tuesday they would appeal against a decision by an administrative court not to hear a case over derivatives that targeted Morgan Stanley .

Apple CEO to advocate end to ‘inhumane’ immigrant children separation: Irish Times

DUBLIN (Reuters) – Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook has described the separation of children from immigrant parents at the U.S.-Mexico border as “inhumane” and promised to be a “constructive voice” in seeking to end the issue, the Irish Times newspaper reported.

Trump Doubles Down On Immigrant Crackdown: Vows To Stop Illegals Who “Infest” The US

President Trump lashed out at Democrats in a series of morning tweets on immigration – the latest defense of his administration’s new “zero tolerance” policy of enforcing rules created and enforced under the Bush and Obama administrations – while the left is now making “internment camp” comparisons.

“Democrats are the problem,” said Trump. “They don’t care about crime and want illegal immigrants, no matter how bad they may be, to pour into and infest our Country, like MS-13.”

The President then said that since Democrats “can’t win on their terrible policies” they view illegals as “potential voters” – ostensibly referring to granting undocumented migrants amnesty.

Democrats are the problem. They don’t care about crime and want illegal immigrants, no matter how bad they may be, to pour into and infest our Country, like MS-13. They can’t win on their terrible policies, so they view them as potential voters!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2018

In a subsequent tweet, Trump said “We must always arrest people coming into ou …

Trump To Withdraw From UN Human Rights Council Today

Two years after Russia was kicked out of the UN Human Rights Council, while that paragon of humanitarian virtue Saudi Arabia was reelected, the WaPo reports that the Trump administration is set to withdrawal from the United Nations Human Rights Council as soon as today, making good on a pledge to leave a body that Trump has repeatedly accused of hypocrisy and criticized as biased against Israel.

Per The Washington Post, the decision to leave the 47-nation body, as most observers anticipate, would be more definitive than the lesser option of staying on as a nonvoting observer.

It would represent another retreat by the Trump administration from international groups and agreements whose policies it deems out of sync with American interests on trade, defense, climate change and now, human rights.

And it would leave the council without the United States playing a key role in promoting human rights around the world. This is the first time since the Human Rights Council was formed in 2006 that a sitting member would volunteer to step aside, though Libya was suspended in 2011 after a government crackdown on unarmed protesters.

However, a U.S. departure would deprive Israel of its chief defender at a forum where Israel’s human rights record comes up for discussion at every single meeting, a standing “Item 7” on the agenda.

“It’s true, the Human Rights Council continues to disproportionately focus on Israel,” said Peter Yeo, an official with the United Nations Foundation that connects the org …

John McAfee Says He’s No Longer Pitching ICOs “Due To SEC Threats”

The SEC crackdown on ICOs has, apparently, finally extended to one of the industry’s most enthusiastic and prolific promoters: former software security pioneer John McAfee, who has earned a reputation for outrageous behavior (including promising in July 2017 to eat his dick on national television if bitcoin doesn’t hit $500,000 in three years) in recent years.

McAfee, who hasn’t been affiliated with his namesake company since 1994 and lost most of a fortune once worth $100 million in the years since the crisis, was at one point pitching a new ICO every day. And since before last year’s boom, McAfee has been a regular on the cryptocurrency conference circuit and is part of what Bloomberg calls “a vast network of social media influences” who have helped ICOs raise billions.

In his characteristic voice, McAfee said the SEC had warned him about recommending ICOs, forcing him to step aside, despite declaring the treatment “unjust.”

“Due to SEC threats, I am no longer working with ICOs nor am I recommending them, and those doing ICOs can all look forward to arrest,” McAfee wrote from his verified Twitter account, which has …

EU Backs Effort To Prosecute Israeli Military Officials For Human Rights Violations

Via Middle East Monitor,

The European Union is funding a project to prosecute Israel Defence Forces (IDF) officers for committing violations against Palestinian civilians, according to Israel Hayom, which quotes a local human rights organisation.

The pro-Israel group NGO Monitor analyses the funding and performance of non-governmental organisations which keep an eye on violations committed by the IDF.

“Following the request of Israeli human rights organisations,” it reported, “the European Union has begun funding a project for the prosecution of Israeli military staff involved in the violation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories.”

Human rights groups have confirmed their belief that Israel “does not conduct serious investigations into the violations its soldiers are committing against the Palestinians.”

What’s more, they added, the military judiciary “almost always” acquits IDF personnel suspected of violations, especially those committed during raids on Palestinian homes.

The Other Yield Curve Investors Should Watch as Trouble Mounts

Escalating trade tensions have helped push the U.S. Treasury yield curve to its flattest in more than a decade. But another curve deserves attention—and it is getting steeper.

Xiaomi Will Have to Dial Down Valuation Hopes

The tech company has postponed plans for a mainland Chinese listing—a blow to its hopes of a high valuation.

Can’t Anyone Here Cook Anymore?

Delivery apps like Grubhub, meal kits and takeout are a rising threat to supermarkets like Kroger and Walmart and packaged food companies like Kraft Heinz

Capitol Report: China can’t match Trump in a tariff fight, but it does have other weapons

China can’t go toe to toe with the U.S. in a widening tariff war because it simply doesn’t buy enough stuff from America. But the Chinese are not defenseless.

Men and women have very different relationships with their credit cards

Women who have struggled financially are more reluctant than men are to use plastic to buy luxury products

London Markets: FTSE 100 logs 3rd straight drop as U.S.-China trade fight intensifies

U.K. stocks dropped Tuesday, with trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies escalating after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered his administration to look for further tariffs on $200 billion in imported goods from China.