Written by Gary
Oil went below $20 this morning, likely to trade sideways (SPY +2.6%).Spread of coronavirus accelerates in U.S. jails and prisons.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
 | North and South American markets are broadly higher today with shares in U.S. leading the region. The S&P 500 is up 2.50% while Brazil’s Bovespa is up 1.53% and Mexico’s IPC is up 0.94%. |
What Is Moving the Markets
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
| Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica halts dividend as postpones AGMRay-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica is suspending its dividend due to the coronavirus pandemic and said on Monday it was delaying its annual shareholder meeting by a month. |
| Barclays sets 2050 ‘net zero’ carbon goal after investor pressureBarclays , one of the biggest lenders in Europe to the fossil fuel industry, on Monday set itself a target to reach “net zero” for its own carbon emissions and the activities it finances by 2050. |
| Standard Chartered freezes hiring, warns of bonus cuts: memoStandard Chartered has told staff it is freezing all external and internal hiring for two months and signalled it is likely to cut bonuses for 2020, as the Asia and Africa-focused lender grapples with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. |
| Lockdown set to stymie Fiat attempt to restart some Italian productionA probable extension of Italy’s lockdown could frustrate an attempt by Fiat Chrysler to resume some vehicle production at three Italian plants next week, a union representative said on Monday. |
| Spread of coronavirus accelerates in U.S. jails and prisonsSean Hernandez says he covers his mouth and nose with a t-shirt or towel when he leaves his cell, the only defense he can improvise against the coronavirus outbreak now sweeping through New York’s Rikers Island jail system. |
| Partisan divide returns in U.S. Congress on coronavirus next stepsFresh partisan divisions flared on Sunday on the next steps for the U.S. Congress in dealing with the coronavirus crisis, with the top House of Representatives Republican casting doubt on the need for more economic stimulus legislation while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signaled she plans to move forward with it. |
| Deaths, intubations swamp New Orleans doctors in coronavirus surgeEmergency room doctor Thomas Krajewski stopped at the hospital room door at 2 a.m. to glance at the chart. He knew instantly the long odds faced by the patient inside: A man in his 70s, with a fever, short of breath. |
| The U.S. weighs the grim math of death vs. the economyHollstadt Consulting CEO Molly Jungbauer has had to let go 30 of the 150 employees at her St. Paul, Minnesota firm to weather the drop in revenue from travel industry clients because of the coronavirus. |
| J&J, U.S. government plan 1 billion doses of coronavirus vaccineJohnson & Johnson said on Monday that it and the U.S. government will invest $1 billion to create enough manufacturing capacity to make more than 1 billion doses of a vaccine it is testing to stop the new coronavirus that has killed more than 35,000 people around the world. |
| In Late February, Nancy Pelosi Encouraged Large Groups To Congregate In ChinatownIn Late February, Nancy Pelosi Encouraged Large Groups To Congregate In Chinatown Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Summit News, A video clip from late February shows Nancy Pelosi encouraging large groups of people to congregate in San Francisco’s Chinatown before she would later go on to blame President Trump’s early œdenial for the spread of coronavirus. |
| Gov. Abbot Orders Texas State Troopers To Enforce Quarantine At Louisiana BorderGov. Abbot Orders Texas State Troopers To Enforce Quarantine At Louisiana Border Texans are used to hearing talk of securing the southern border with Mexico, but the idea of checkpoints at the border with Louisiana is something no one ever imagined. After late last week Louisiana and specifically New Orleans have emerged as the southern epicenter for the coronavirus outbreak in the US, with the Bayou State on Sunday reporting more than 3,500 positive cases – a number expected to grow rapidly following a busy Mardi Gras season, Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Sunday ordered all travelers entering Texas from Louisiana to enter a 14-day quarantine, now enforceable by state troopers. |
| Italy Reports Lowest Number Of New Cases In 2 Weeks: Live UpdatesItaly Reports Lowest Number Of New Cases In 2 Weeks: Live Updates Summary: Dr. Fauci says 100k-200k Americans may die from COVID-19 Trump extends guidelines to April 30 Spain case total passes China Maryland Gov. issues ‘stay at home order’ Italy reports slowest rise in new cases in 2 weeks South Korea reports worrying rebound in cases around Seoul Russia expands Moscow lockdown throughout country NYC remains undisputed center of US outbreak Seattle area reports optimistic slowdown in new cases, deaths New York surpasses 1k deaths Indian migrant workers ‘washed’ with disinfectant Netanyahu goes on quarantine Trump: US has enough medical equipment & ventilators to deal with peak of virus outbreak Mnuchin says front-line workers deserve ‘hazard pay’ Spike in cases should arrive around Easter, Trump said, deaths expected to be “very low” JNJ announces encouraging progress on vaccine Mexico refuses “to implement state of siege” as case numbers remain low Russia ramps up testing Chinese press publishes photo of Xi standing in public without mask UN proposes $2.5 trillion global rescue program Australia launches worker subsidy program Tokyo Olympics officially delayed until 2021 Poland imposes more restrictions on life Amazon workers planning strike *Â Â *Â Â * Update (1212ET): This is huge: Italy has reported its smallest jump in new cases in 2 weeks. Italy reports 4,050 new cases of coronavirus and 812 ne … |
| Kunstler: When Americans Wake From The Corona-Coma, This Will Be A Different CountryKunstler: When Americans Wake From The Corona-Coma, This Will Be A Different Country Authored by James Howard Kunstler via Kunstler.com, People, Get Ready! The cable news announced the other day that Covid-19 patients placed in critical care may have to be on ventilators for 21 days. Only a few years ago, I went in for an ordinary hip replacement. A month or so later, I got the hospital billing statement. One of the line-items went like this:Â Room and board: 36 hours ¦$23,482.79. I am not jiving you. That was just for the hospital bed and maybe four lousy hospital meals, not the surgery or the meds or anything else. All that was billed extra. Say, what ¦? Now imagine you have the stupendous good fortune to survive a Covid-19 infection after 21 days on a ventilator and go home. What is that billing statement going to look like? Will the survivors wish they’d never made out of the hospital alive? Right now, we’re in the heroic phase of the battle against a modern age plague. The doctors, nurses, and their helpers are like the trembling soldiers in an amphibious landing craft churning toward the Normandy beach where the enemy is dug in and waiting for them, with sweaty fingers on their machine guns and a stink in the pillbox. Some of the doctors and nurses will go down in the battle. The fabled fog-of-war will conceal what is happening to the health care system itself, while the battle rages. After that, what? |
| Economic outlook for India is turning grim day by dayEconomic outlook for India is turning grim day by dayS&P Global Ratings has further slashed India’s growth forecast to 3.5% for the coming fiscal. |
| Relief package may not reach poor on timeRelief package may not reach poor on timeThe govt’s relief package involves the direct transfer of such handouts through Aadhaar-linked bank accounts. |
| How Covid is shaking up the moral universeHow Covid is shaking up the moral universeCovid’s a test, too, in the strength of the ideas humans choose to help them form moral judgments. |
| February 2020 Pending Home Sales Growth Strong. Wait Until Next Month To See The Affect of CoronavirusWritten by Steven Hansen The National Association of Realtors (NAR) seasonally adjusted pending home sales index improved. Our analysis shows the year-over-year rate of growth rate improved. The quote of the day from this NAR release:
|
| Coronavirus update: 741,030 cases world-wide, 35,114 deaths; Italy, Spain and New York City struggle to copeThe number of cases of COVID-19, the illness created by the novel coronavirus, continued to climb on Monday, with the U.S. tally nearing 145,000 as President Donald Trump extended social restrictions until at least the end of April. |
| Encore: Why are so many pleading for financial help?Easy answer: most households have little savings, and many jobs provide little flexibility |
| In One Chart: This chart reflects the panic investors have felt amid recent weeks’ turmoilInvestors are moving their money to the sidelines. |
Earnings Summary for Today
leading Stock Positions
Current Commodity Prices
Commodities are powered by Investing.com
Current Currency Crosses
The Forex Quotes are powered by Investing.com.
To contact me with questions, comments or constructive criticism is always encouraged and appreciated:
