17Feb2016 Market Update: Markets Trending Up, DOW Up 250 Points, WTI Crude Trading Near $31, FOMC Minutes Due At 2 PM

Written by Gary

US markets opened higher and continued to melt higher with periods of time where the averages traded sideways, always the trend was upward. Not much will happen until the USD U.S. Fed Releases Minutes from Jan. 26-27 FOMC Meeting are released at 2 pm.

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money
	North and South American markets are broadly higher today with shares in Brazil leading the region. The Bovespa is up 3.25% while U.S.’s S&P 500 is up 1.70% and Mexico’s IPC is up 0.77%.

What Is Moving the Markets

Here are the headlines moving the markets.
	Strong U.S. industrial output bolsters growth picture WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. industrial production in January rose by the most in 14 months as manufacturing and utilities output increased, the latest sign the economy regained some ground early in the year.
	Wall St. up as energy stocks gain from oil price rally (Reuters) – Wall Street was on track for a third straight day of gains on Wednesday after a surge in oil prices fired up energy stocks.
	Iran offers no action in support of global oil pact ANKARA/DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran on Wednesday stopped short of offering to restrain oil output as part of a global pact to freeze production to prop up prices, making clear it wants to recapture the market share it lost during years of sanctions.
	Bombardier wins Air Canada order for CSeries jets; shares surge MONTREAL (Reuters) – Bombardier Inc said it received the first order in 16 months for its CSeries aircraft, sending its shares up as much as 30 percent and overshadowing news of the planemaker’s lower-than-expected quarterly results and plan to cut 7,000 jobs.
	Boeing CEO sees no downturn in commercial airplane cycle (Reuters) – Boeing Co’s top executive reaffirmed on Wednesday the company’s outlook for strong growth and cash flow over the next five years, dismissing investor concerns that the aviation business cycle is on the cusp of a downturn.
	Oil climbs on output deal hopes, stocks rally NEW YORK (Reuters) – Global equity markets rallied on Wednesday, buoyed by an advance in oil prices on hope that top crude producers could lock down an agreement to curb production.
	T-Mobile profit nearly triples, adds 2.1 million customers (Reuters) – T-Mobile US Inc nearly tripled its profit in the fourth quarter as its “Binge On” video streaming service and lower-priced plans helped it add more than 2 million subscribers.
	Japan fund makes late move to thwart Hon Hai in Sharp battle: sources TOKYO (Reuters) – A Japanese state fund is making a final effort to secure a takeover of Sharp Corp as the ailing electronics maker considers a higher $5.8 billion offer from Taiwan’s Foxconn , criticizing the composition of the company’s board, sources said.
	Saab puts maritime spy kit on two new Bombardier planes SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Sweden’s Saab said on Wednesday it plans to put its Swordfish maritime patrol system on two new aerial platforms as demand rises for ways to tackle maritime threats, including the proliferation of submarines.
	MXN Shorts Crushed After Mexcian Central Bank Unexpectedly Hikes Rate By 50bps, Peso Soars It was already a torrid day for commodity currencies, among which the MXN, or Mexican Peso, which were surging on today’s latest crude short squeeze and then as if pulling a PBOC with just one intention – to crush the shorts – the Mexican Central Bank or Banxico, dealt a crushing blow on anyone short the MXN when it announced an unexpected 50 bps rate hike in the overnight rate to 3.75%. From the central bank: “The target for the overnight interbank funding rate is increased by 50 basis points.” Perhaps the reason for the dramatic move is that Banxico, like the PBOC, no longer wants to be selling dollars to keep the currency stronger, so it resorted to the nuclear option. Sure enough: BANXICO INCREASES OVERNIGHT RATE BY 50 BPS VIDEGARAY SAYS FX COMMISSION ENDING DOLLARS SALES BANXICO MAY CONTINUE DISCRETIONARY DOLLAR SALES: CARSTENS CARSTENS: IT WAS A FORM OF PROTEST CARSTENS: FX RATE ‘MISALIGNED’ W/MACROECON FUNDAMENTALS CARSTENS: CEN BANK COULD MAKE EXCEPTIONAL INTERVENTIONS Carstens also added that the decision for Banxico rate increase was unanimous. Now whether the strengthening effect persists is another matter, but for now one look at the chart below shows that anyone who was long the USDMXN just had a Swiss National Bank moment. And now we begin the countdown until the effect from this latest desperate central bank intervention is wiped out. Read more
	“Ultimate Banking” Monopoly Edition Goes Completely Cashless Submitted by Mike Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog, The war on cash has been in the works for a very, very long time, but the propaganda campaign to convince an always gullible public to accept the scheme seems to have been hatched in earnest late last spring. For example, here are a few excerpts from the post, Martin Armstrong Reports on a Secret Meeting in London to Ban Cash: Martin Armstrong noted at the time: I find it extremely perplexing that I have been the only one to report that there is a secret meeting in London where Kenneth Rogoff of Harvard University and Willem Buiter the chief economist at Citigroup will address the central banks and advocate the elimination of all cash to bring to fruition the day when you cannot buy or sell anything without government approval. When I Googled the issue to see who has picked it up yet, to my surprise Armstrong Economics comes up first. Others are quoting me, and I even find it spreading as the Central Bank of Nigeria, but I have yet to find reports on the meeting taking place in London when my sources are direct.
	Stocks Lifted by Oil Rally, Consumer Sector U.S. stocks advanced Wednesday as upbeat earnings lifted the consumer discretionary sector.
	Iran Falls Short of Commitment to Oil Production Cap Iran didn’t commit to requests from fellow OPEC members to limit its oil production to help raise fallen crude prices, denting hopes of coordinated action among the world’s big petroleum producers.
	The Real Crisis Is for Bank Bonds, Not Banks Buyer beware: The turmoil in European bank debt is more about investors than the banks they invested in.
	High-deductible health plans are hurting health care profits, analysts say Some analysts cited high-deductible plans as a œroot cause for the weak results from hospital management and operations company Community Health Systems.
	Amotz Asa-El’s View from Jerusalem: Expansion of the Syrian war could send oil prices higher An expansion of the Syrian war could threaten oil production in Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Iran and drive oil prices much higher, writes Amotz Asa-El.