01Mar2016 Market Update: DOW Up 300 Points, NASDAQ Up 111 Points, US Dollar Stronger, Is This Where We See The Averages Fall?

Written by Gary

US Averages are in the rally mode as the SP500 has climbed past the R2 level (1967) and major resistance. The DOW is above 300 points and the SP500 is up over2.1%. WTI crude on the other hand is volatile and can’t seem to push past mid $24’s gold is trading sideways in the 1231 area and the US dollar is showing strength.

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 2.66% while U.S.’s S&P 500 is up 2.02% and Mexico’s IPC is up 0.94%.

What Is Moving the Markets

Here are the headlines moving the markets.
	Apple lawyer, FBI director to face off before Congress (Reuters) – Apple Inc and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation will make their cases before a congressional panel on Tuesday regarding a court order to force the technology company to give the FBI data from the iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters.
	Fiat Chrysler CEO says not in tie-up talks at present GENEVA (Reuters) – Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is not in tie-up talks with anyone at present, and a potential partner would need to have the same multi-brand strategy as FCA for a merger to work, Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said on Tuesday.
	Wall St. surges as U.S. data points to economic recovery (Reuters) – Wall Street surged on Tuesday, led by financial and technology stocks, after encouraging U.S. factory and construction data suggested the economy was regaining momentum after slowing in the fourth quarter.
	Volkswagen flaunts supercars at Geneva auto show GENEVA (Reuters) – Bugatti unveiled the world’s fastest road car at the Geneva auto show this week: the 2.4 million euro ($2.6 million) Chiron with a 1,500 horsepower engine that can hit 420 kilometers per hour.
	Mercedes, Opel say tighter EU border controls could hit production GENEVA (Reuters) – The auto industry’s lean manufacturing system is extremely vulnerable to any tightening of Europe’s border controls in the wake of the refugee crisis, the chief executives of Opel and Daimler said on Tuesday.
	United Tech keeps to solo path as Honeywell drops bid (Reuters) – Aircraft parts maker Honeywell International Inc said Tuesday it scrapped its $90.7 billion offer to buy rival United Technologies Corp , citing the company’s unwillingness to engage in negotiations.
	U.S. February auto sales jump, no sign of slowdown DETROIT (Reuters) – U.S. February auto sales soared to a 15-year high for the month, carmakers reported on Tuesday, in the latest sign of continued consumer confidence.
	Volkswagen says UK car sales to fall in first quarter, signs of recovery ahead GENEVA (Reuters) – Sales of Volkswagen-branded cars in Britain will fall in the first quarter, hit by the diesel emissions scandal, but strong orders mean there are signs the carmaker is bouncing back, its UK managing director said on Tuesday.
	Former wealth management executive joins Digital Asset Board NEW YORK (Reuters) – Digital Asset Holdings LLC, a New York-based startup focused on blockchain technology in the financial services industry, said on Tuesday that Sallie Krawcheck, former head of Bank of America Wealth Management, has joined the company’s board.
	London Bubble Trouble – Visas Issued To Wealthy Foreigners Plunge 84% Submitted by Mike Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog, It appears the music may have finally stopped for one of the world’s largest luxury real estate bubbles: London. It’s well known that foreign oligarchs love London real estate as a means to launder funds, typically “earned” by soaking their host countries dry via corruption and fraud. This has caused absurd and irrational spikes in high-end residential real estate in the English capital, as well as a flood of new construction. With emerging markets now completely collapsing, the seemingly endless flood of foreign money is drying up, and with it, London real estate. So has the London real estate bubble popped? Probably. – From the September 9, 2015 article: Luxury London Home Sales Plunge 26% – Has this Mega Real Estate Bubble Finally Burst? London’s luxury property bubble seems to have popped sometime during the second half of last year, something I’ve written about repeatedly over the past several months. One of the primary drivers behind the weakness in this “asset class” is a sharp reduction in the numbers of foreign criminals laundering money via London real estate. Just in case you still harbored any doubts about high-end London property being little more than …
	Apple, FBI Square Off On Capitol Hill Over iPhone Encryption – Live Feed The most valuable company on the planet is set to square off against the FBI on Tuesday before the House Judiciary Committee in a highly publicized dispute regarding the iPhone that belonged to Syed Farook who, along with his wife, murdered more than a dozen people in December at a San Bernardino county holiday party. The director of the FBI will appear, as will Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr, who will argue that œtechnology companies should not be able to dictate who can access key evidence in criminal investigations. œNo device or company, no matter how popular, should be able to exempt itself from court obligations unilaterally, Vance’s prepared statement reads. œAnd they should not be able to write their own laws. œBuilding that software tool would not affect just one iPhone; it would weaken the security for all of them, Apple’s general counsel Bruce Sewell counters. œMembers of the House Judiciary Committee are considering filing a ‘friend of the court’ brief in Apple’s encryption dispute with the U.S. government to argue that the case should be decided by Congress and not the courts, Reuters reports. œThe filing would argue that the Feb. 16 order from a federal court in California that instructs Apple to write special software to unlock an iPhone 5c used by one of the San Bernardino shooters threatens the constitutional separation of powers. Meanwhile, in a related case, a federal magistrate declined to grant the government’s request that Apple pull data from an iPhone in a drug case in New York. As
	Today’s Rally “Explained” In Just Two Headlines At precisely 10:00am this morning, Reuters’ journalist Abhiram Nandakumar issued a report which tried to “explain” what is going on and why stocks are soaring. This is what he came up with (link): However, appears that someone did not like Reuters “peddling fiction” that the only reason stocks are soaring is for the same reason they have gone up for the past 7 years, namely hopes (either realized or not) of more central bank stimulus to fix the deteriorating economy, and Abhiram got a tap on the shoulder. As a result, here is what the above article was promptly revised to in under two hours (link). To summarize: the “bad” data which was originally so poor it prompted hope of more stimulus and let Wall Street surge, was subsequently seen as “data” that no longer spurs stimulus hopes but now points to economic recovery. Wall Street surged some more. And now you know all there is to know.
	According to Larry “Ban $100 Bill” Summers, Donald Trump Is The “Greatest Threat To American Democracy” Last week, Larry Summers took on the $100 bill. Now, he’s taking aim at the man who, if it were up to him, would be on that banknote. In a new Op-Ed for The Washington Post, Summers calls Donald Trump œthe greatest present threat to the prosperity and security of the United States. While we’re reasonably sure readers will disagree with Summers on any number of points, it’s worth reflecting on the following essay because whatever you think about Summers and whatever you think about Trump, some of what you’ll read below is worth serious consideration, if only for what it says about why Trump is the dominant force in American politics. * * * From “Donald Trump Is A Serious Threat To American Democracy” While comparisons between Donald Trump and Mussolini or Hitler are overwrought, Trump’s rise does illustrate how democratic processes can lose their way and turn dangerously toxic when there is intense economic frustration and widespread apprehension about the future. This is especially the case when some previously respected leaders scurry to make peace in a new order — yes Chris Christie, I mean you. The possible election of Donald Trump as president is the greatest present threat to the prosperity and security of the United States. I have had a strong point of view on each of the last ten presidential elections, but never before had I feared that what I regarded as the wrong outcome would in the long sweep of history risk grave damage to the American project. The pr …
	Dow Rises More Than 300 Points on Upbeat Data U.S. stocks started the month higher, as upbeat economic data helped calm fears of a slowdown.
	NYSE Owner ICE, CME Mull LSE Bids Intercontinental Exchange and CME Group are considering bidding for London Stock Exchange, potentially gate-crashing the British company’s proposed $28 billion merger with Deutsche BÃ¶rse.
	Barclays Shares Plummet on Dividend Cut, Wider Loss Shares in Barclays dropped more than 10% after the bank said it would slash future dividends and set out plans to sell down its African business.
	January 2016 Construction Spending Growth Rate Improved Written by Steven Hansen The headlines say construction spending improved – and above expectations. The backward revisions make this series very wacky – but the rolling averages insignificantly improved.
	Beer Goggles: Craft beer brewers learn to live with, and love, private equity Victory Brewing and investment firm Ulysses Management each stick to what they do best, writes Jason Notte.
	A bad start for stocks in 2016 could set up profitable opportunities The stock market may get worse before it gets better, but it will get better, says Tim Clift.