05Jan2016 Market Update: US Markets Trend Down, Crude Slips, US Dollar Higher And Steady, Investors Await Mr. Market's Next Move

Written by Gary

U.S. Markets are ‘moderately’ down as the Spooz (SP500) trades just below its ‘Pivot Point’ (2013.51). Crude has slipped precariously towards a minor support adding worry to the already concerned investors troubled with China’s financial markets close to collapse (say some analysts). The trend is down, but not a time to buy or sell.

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money
	North and South American markets are mixed. The Bovespa is higher by 0.43%, while the IPC is leading the S&P 500 lower. They are down 0.40% and 0.25% respectively.

Traders Corner – Health of the Market

What Is Moving the Markets

Here are the headlines moving the markets.
	Oil slides toward 11-year low as traders shrug off Mideast tensions NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil prices fell about 2 percent towards its 11-year low on Tuesday, as traders shrugged off growing tensions between two of the world’s biggest oil producers, and focused instead on a stronger U.S. dollar and swelling U.S. crude inventories.
	Whistleblower sues Viacom, alleges Ninja Turtles tax fraud plan NEW YORK (Reuters) – Viacom Inc was sued by a former vice president who said the media company wrongfully fired her in retaliation for opposing its alleged plan to illegally avoid paying U.S. taxes on the international licensing rights for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
	Volkswagen struggling to agree on fix for U.S. test cheating cars: source BERLIN/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Volkswagen is struggling to agree with U.S. authorities a fix for vehicles capable of cheating emissions tests, a VW source said on Tuesday, showing how relations between the two sides remain strained four months after the cheating came to light.
	Major U.S. airlines up fares in sign of first sector-wide hike since June (Reuters) – Three of the largest U.S. airlines have inched up fares in what could mark the first industry-wide hike since June.
	Wall St. watchdog homes in on high-frequency trades to combat spoofing (Reuters) – Wall Street’s industry-funded watchdog is ramping up its scrutiny of high-frequency trading firms as efforts to manipulate U.S. markets through the technology grow more sophisticated, the regulator’s chief said on Tuesday.
	Wall St. muted as investors recover from selloff (Reuters) – U.S. stocks recovered on Tuesday from a bruising selloff on the first trading day of the year, but early gains evaporated as investors remained wary of a global economic slowdown.
	Spirit Airlines appoints new CEO; shares soar (Reuters) – Spirit Airlines Inc on Tuesday named board member Robert Fornaro as chief executive officer, sending its shares up nearly 7 percent.
	U.S. auto sales on pace for record year in 2015 after strong December DETROIT (Reuters) – Automakers on Tuesday reported strong U.S. sales in December, indicating that 2015 would smash records, and most forecasters said the new year will be even better.
	Meet The “Trader” Who Earns $30K “On A Bad Month” Working Just One Hour A Day On Sunday, July 12, 2015, 21-year old Elijah Oyefeso had a bad morning. Somehow, he managed to crash his blue Bentley Continental into his metallic gold Lamborghini Gallardo. Before: After: But for Oyefeso, the crash was of no consequence. “Life goes on,” he said, laughing off the accident. Why was a wreck involving nearly a half million in luxury cars no big deal for Oyefeso, you ask? Because this college dropout makes between Â£70,000 Â£80,000 on a “good month” trading stocks just one hour a day – or so he claims. According to the Daily Mail, Oyefeso “started by using his student loan” which he apparently pyramided into a small fortune. His Instagram profile reads: “MY NAME IS ELIJAH, & BEFORE I TURNED 20 I BOUGHT A LAMBO/BENTLEY WHICH REALLY PISSED ME OFF CUS I WAS TOO BROKE TO BUY A JET,” a riff on a now famous line from the big screen adaptation of Jordan Belfort’s story. In addition to luxury cars, Oyefeso has a thing for fine watches and flashing his wealth on social media. Have a lo …
	Are We Headed For Another Bust? Submitted by Frank Shostak via The Mises Institute, On Wednesday December 16, 2015, Federal Reserve Bank policymakers raised the federal funds rate target by 0.25 percent to 0.5 percent for the first time since December 2008. There is the possibility that the target could be lifted gradually to 1.25 percent by December next year. Fed policymakers have justified this increase with the view that the economy is strong enough and can stand on its own feet. “The Committee judges that there has been considerable improvement in labor market conditions this year, and it is reasonably confident the inflation will rise over the medium term to its 2 percent objective,” the Fed said in its policy statement. Unwarranted Optimism Various key economic indicators such as industrial production don’t support this optimism. The yearly growth rate of production fell to minus 1.2 percent in November versus 4.5 percent in November last year. According to our model the yearly growth rate could fall to minus 3.4 percent by August. Although the yearly growth rate of the CPI rose to 0.5 percent in November from 0.2 percent in October according to our model the …
	Some Folks Are Buying More Gun Stocks Day 2 of Obama’s gun sales push is going well… It’s been quite a year already…
	U.S. Stocks Slip After China Turmoil U.S. stocks slipped Tuesday as investors remained cautious on the heels of a sharp selloff.
	Dollar Soars to Strongest Since 2002 The dollar gained against most major and emerging-market currencies Tuesday, driving the U.S. unit to the strongest level in more than 13 years.
	Oil Slides on Indications of Weak Demand Oil prices are falling after a round of bearish economic data out of the U.S. and China raised questions about demand for crude in an oversupplied market.
	Capitol Report: Study finds higher minimum wage hurting youth employment The Great Recession was especially devastating for people between the ages of 16 to 30 who lack a high school education. And the opportunities have not gotten much better for them despite a surge in hiring and a plunge in unemployment over the past few years.
	The New York Post: Fast food may be making a comeback Some analysts predict that when McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King parent Restaurant Brands International report 2015 results in the next six weeks, the numbers will surprise on the upside.
	Capitol Report: Shadow banking becomes fault line for Sanders, Clinton A dispute over shadow banking is heating up between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton as the Democratic presidential hopefuls sharpen their messages to voters ahead of the first votes of the 2016 presidential campaign.