27Mar2019 Market Close: Wall Street Ends Lower, Bond Yields Fall, DOW Closes Down 32 Points

Boeing unveils 737 MAX software fix after fatal crashes

Boeing Co said on Wednesday it had reprogrammed software on its 737 MAX to prevent erroneous data from triggering an anti-stall system that is facing mounting scrutiny in the wake of two deadly nose-down crashes in the past five months.

Wall Street ends lower and bond yields fall

U.S. stocks eased on Wednesday as U.S. Treasury yields fell again and a prolonged inversion in the yield curve fanned growth worries.

Swedish crime unit widens Swedbank inquiry to include suspected fraud

Sweden’s Economic Crime Authority said on Wednesday it had widened its ongoing probe into Swedbank to include suspected aggravated fraud after raiding the bank’s head office.

CEO says crime unit’s search of Swedbank HQ part of ongoing inquiry

Swedbank Chief Executive Birgitte Bonnesen said on Wednesday that a search of its head office by Sweden’s Economic Crime Authority (EBM) was part of a previously announced investigation.

American Airlines pilots ‘optimistic, but cautious’ on 737 MAX fix

Allied Pilots Association, which represents American Airlines Group Inc pilots, said on Wednesday they were pleased with Boeing Co’s progress on a 737 MAX fix but warned that the certification process should not be rushed or fast-tracked.

Exclusive: Told U.S. security at risk, Chinese firm seeks to sell Grindr dating app

Chinese gaming company Beijing Kunlun Tech Co Ltd is seeking to sell Grindr LLC, the popular gay dating app it has owned since 2016, after a U.S. government national security panel raised concerns about its ownership, according to people familiar with the matter.

Deutsche Bank considers further cost cuts after weak quarter one: Handelsblatt

Deutsche Bank is considering fresh cost cutting after a weak first three months of the year, German business daily Handelsblatt reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Southwest trims first-quarter outlook after 737 MAX groundings

Southwest Airlines Co on Wednesday was the first major U.S. airline to formally cut its financial outlook for the year after being forced to pull its new fleet of 34 Boeing 737 MAX planes out of service.

U.S. FAA says it has not granted initial approval for Boeing 737 MAX anti-stall upgrade

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration denied on Wednesday that it has granted provisional approval for Boeing Co’s announced anti-stall software upgrade of 737 MAX aircraft following crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

Banks, Big Tech, & Bond Yields Tumble As Fed-Cred Collapses

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A Catastrophic Media Failure: How America’s ‘Best & Biased-est’ Botched Russiagate From Birth To Death

Authored by Sean Davis, op-ed via The Wall Street Journal,

Robert Mueller’s investigation is over, but questions still abound. Not about collusion, Russian interference or obstruction of justice, but about the leading lights of journalism who managed to get the story so wrong, and for so long. It wasn’t merely an error here or there.

BMO’s Stunning Inversion Take: “We Are, More Than Any Other Point, On Bubble Watch”

While much has been said about the inversion of the 3M-10Y yield curve (even as the 2s-10s remain “normal”) with one bank after another presenting its pitch why the historical track record is no longer applicable and why “this time may be different” for this fail-safe recession indicator which has correctly predicted 6 of the past 6 recessions, less has been said about the actual mechanics of what curve inversion actually means.

As BMO chief economist Tom Porcelli writes in a note from this week, the reasons this metric “works” historically is because the long-end of the curve is supposed to reflect some longer-run speed limit for nominal GDP growth. Traditionally when the economy overheats, as the Fed tightens short-run policy too much to avert an overheating economy, long-run growth prospects will slip below current growth trends and a reflection of this in the rates-world would be an inversion.

However, the problem with the current inversion and the historical record is that according to BMO, “the yield curve at present is not a referendum on the path of economic growth in the United States, but rather a function of goings on globally.” As evidence, Porcelli says to look no further than the strong correlation between US and German 10-year yields (or any other DM benchmark paper) in recent months.

The other issue, of course, is the prevailing argument that the Fed has overtightened which as Porcelli correctly observes is “almost laughable”, especially when considering that just in October, Powell said that the Fed Funds rate is a “long way” from neutral. Even using the Fed’s (rapidly dropping) estimate of the neutral rate, which as we noted recently is largely a function of the excessive debt in the system…

What AOC And Bernie Sanders Don’t Understand About “Free Education”

Authored by Simon Black via SovereignMan.com,

Bernie Sanders believes that FREE university education a “right, not a privilege.”

His fellow Bolshevik, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also believes that tuition-free university “forms the basis of human dignity” and should be provided for free by any “moral society.”

They aren’t alone in holding these beliefs.

A recent survey conducted by CNBC shows that 60% of Americans support free university.

January 2019 Trade Data Mixed With Imports Slowing and Exports Improving

Written by Steven Hansen

Trade data headlines show the trade balance improved from last month – and the rolling averages for exports and imports declined.

Key Words: Barbara Bush was counting down the days until Trump left office

The late first lady kept a countdown clock for the time left in Trump’s first term at her bedside, according to a new book.

The Fed: Moore’s call for half-point rate cut sets him apart from would-be Fed colleagues

Stephen Moore, President Donald Trump’s pick for a seat on the Federal Reserve, said the central bank should immediately cut interest rates by half a percentage point.

Trump Today: Trump Today: President meets Venezuelan leader’s wife and pledges ‘far better’ health plan than Obamacare

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he’s “100%” behind Venezuela’s opposition as he met with the wife of leader Juan Guaido, and doubled down on a pledge that the Republican Party would improve health care in the U.S.