02Mar2020 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street Futures Involved In Massive Swings, DOW Down 100 Points, WTI Up At 45.46, US Dollar Down To 97.55, 10-year Treasury Yield At Record Low Of 1.03%

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are mixed. The FTSE 100 is higher by 0.08%, while the DAX is leading the CAC 40 lower. They are down 1.19% and 0.84% respectively.

Britain’s demands for U.S. trade talks set to test special relationship

Britain unveiled its mandate for trade talks with the United States on Monday, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowing to drive a hard bargain in negotiations that are set to test the “special relationship” between the two countries.

UK to consider opposition to digital tax in pursuit of U.S. trade deal

Britain said on Monday it would consider opposition to its plan to impose a new digital tax on big tech companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon as part of its ambition to agree a free trade deal with the United States.

Oil up as hopes of OPEC cut, stimulus counter virus gloom

Oil prices rose on Monday, reversing an earlier fall to multi-year lows as hopes of a deeper cut in output by OPEC and stimulus from central banks countered worries about damage to demand from the coronavirus outbreak.

Nokia replaces CEO with Fortum boss Lundmark to revive 5G business

Nokia has rehired former executive Pekka Lundmark from energy group Fortum to lead the Finnish telecoms company’s efforts to revive its faltering 5G business.

Stocks cling to stimulus hopes, Treasuries slide towards 1%

World stock markets regained a measure of calm on Monday as hopes for a raft of global interest rate cuts to soften the economic blow of the coronavirus steadied nerves and drove U.S. Treasury yields close to 1%.

UK says any system for resolving U.S. investor disputes will be fair

The British government said any system to protect U.S. companies’ interests in the country after a free trade agreement – typically a sensitive issue for civil society groups worried about the power of multinationals – would have to be fair and transparent.

Britain says it will not compromise on food standards in U.S. trade talks

Britain will not lower its regulation around environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards as part of trade talks with the United States, it said in a document setting out its mandate on Monday.

Britain says health service, drug prices not up for negotiation in U.S. talks

Britain said on Monday that the price its state funded National Health Service (NHS) pays for drugs would not be on the table in trade talks with the United States.

Factbox: What Britain wants from a trade deal with the United States

Britain outlined its negotiating mandate for talks with the United States on Monday, with the hope of reducing tariffs while shielding the public health service and protecting food and animal welfare standards.

“March Is Looking Bleak” – Supply Constraints Strike India’s Tech Sector

“March Is Looking Bleak” – Supply Constraints Strike India’s Tech Sector

It was only a matter of time before smartphone and other electronic shortages from top brands, including Apple and Xiaomi, were seen in India amid supply chain disruptions in China. Many of these companies have production facilities in China, with factory output at half to idle speed because of the Covid-19 outbreak.

The Economic Times (ET) says supplies of made in China smartphones and electronics are dwindling at Indian shops. Suppliers told ET that in the last 7-10 days, only 10-20% of the average shipment had been sent to stores.

Supply disruptions have mainly hit iPhone X models, due mostly because iPhone XR and 7 are locally manufactured. Suppliers noted that TCL and Xiaomi smartphones and televisions from China are in short supply. Shenzhen-based Realme was another brand that was facing shipment delays to India.

French Death Toll Doubles On Monday; US Confirms 2nd Casualty As Gottlieb Warns Cases Already In The “Low 1000s”: Virus Updates

French Death Toll Doubles On Monday; US Confirms 2nd Casualty As Gottlieb Warns Cases Already In The “Low 1000s”: Virus Updates

Summary:

2nd US death reported in Washington State

Gottlieb warns US cases likely in ‘low thousands’

BMW tells 150 to quarantine after Munich employee infected

Jordan reports first two cases

Death toll in France doubles

OECD warns global growth could fall by half

Indonesia reports first cases

“Progress is being made” toward a vaccine

Cuomo says NY expects more cases

India confirms 2 more cases

‘Official’ Iran death toll hits 66

EU confirms 38 deaths across 18 members

First cases confirmed in Fla.

2 Amazon employees test positive in Milan

Virus now in 7 US states: Washington, California, Illinois, Rhode Island, New York, Florida and Oregon

San Antonio virus patient re-hospitalized after testing positive

China warns it could face ‘locust invasion’

* * *

Update (0820ET): The French death toll doubled Monday morning when health officials reported 2 new deaths, bringing the total to four.

* * *

Update (0800ET): Former FDA Director Scott Gottlieb, who has been far more vocal than the current FDA director thanks to his regular appearances on CNBC and other cable news channels, warned during an interview on CNBC Monday morning that the public shouldn’t trust the administration’s rhetoric.

The fact is, things are far from ‘okay’, Gottlieb said. Now that the government is expanding testing, the US case count will ‘gr …

The Limits Of Force: A Bayonet In The Back Will Not Restore China’s Economy

The Limits Of Force: A Bayonet In The Back Will Not Restore China’s Economy

Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,

Force cannot restore legitimacy, trust or confidence, nor can it magically erase the consequences of a still-unfolding national trauma.

The Chinese authorities threatening to punish workers who refuse to return to work are getting a lesson in the limits of force in an unprecedented national trauma:Â a bayonet in the back will not restore the legitimacy and confidence that have been lost.

There are two enormous blind spots in conventional media coverage of the pandemic:

1. The limits of force in restoring China’s economy to pre-pandemic levels.

2. The longer term (i.e. second-order) consequences of the immense trauma experienced by the Chinese people.

While the media focuses on questionable statistics and economic claims–factories are already back to 60% capacity, etc.– little attention has been paid to the tremendous losses. For me, a photo of a young woman weeping inconsolably as the body of her mother was unceremoniously hauled away to the crematorium crystallized the cost, the losses and the national trauma.

For this was not the first tragedy of the pandemic to befall this young person; her father had also died 20 days earlier of the coronavirus. This young person lost both parents in the space of a month to the pandemic.

Everyone knows the Chinese government uses statistics to fashion positive political optics of t …

Market Mutates Into A Harrowing Rollercoaster As Futures Soar Then Tumble

Market Mutates Into A Harrowing Rollercoaster As Futures Soar Then Tumble

A lot has happened since Friday’s cash close, which itself was a furious 600-Dow point squeeze on expectations of a coordinated central bank intervention… that never came.

On Sunday night, US equity futures initially tumbled after Powell failed to satisfy rumors that he would make an emergency rate cut announcement ahead of the 6pm trading open; however, subsequent jawboning attempts by the BOJ and BOE that they are ready to stabilize markets helped futures surge above 3,000.

œThe market is coming back because there is perception that there will be a coordinated G7 policy response, said BlueBay Asset Management’s head of credit strategy David Riley. œWe have Fed and ECB meetings coming up in the next couple of weeks. The Fed is the key one and it will be very hard for them to hold off (from rate cuts) if we are in a situation where the economic downsides are becoming more prevalent.

Alas, it wasn’t meant to last because once Europe opened, futures tumbled as much as 100 points in just over under three hours as traders felt compelled to make their case for 2 rate cuts to the Fed’s front door.

Coronavirus hits Delhi as pandemic fears intensify

Coronavirus hits Delhi as pandemic fears intensifyThe patients had a travel history from Italy and Dubai in the UAE, the government said.

Taxmen’s pay depends on Vivad se Vishwas

Taxmen’s pay depends on Vivad se VishwasThe ‘Vivad se Vishwas’ scheme for resolving income tax cases was announced during the 2020-21 Budget.

A Rs 13 lakh cr-hit for Sensex in 7 days

A Rs 13 lakh cr-hit for Sensex in 7 daysIn the seven days of fall, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms has slumped by Rs 13L cr.

Futures Movers: Oil rebounds sharply as traders pin hopes on OPEC cuts this week

Oil prices rebounded sharply on Monday, as investors grew increasingly optimistic that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will announce production cuts later this week.

The situation in China is even worse than you think, says this analyst with a history of accurate calls

The China Beige Book surveys thousands of private-sector participants in China to get a sense of what’s going on in the real economy. Right now the situation is grim, says its CEO.

OECD calls for ‘swift and forceful’ global fiscal stimulus to counter ‘severe’ impact of coronavirus

World economy œat risk if nothing is done, organization says