Written by Gary
US markets closed up nicely, over one percentage point and the $RUT over two percentage points. The SP500 seems to have moved into the 2080 / 2085 resistance ‘zone’ and that is a bullish move. However, the SP500 needs to keep moving upwards to confirm this potential breakout. Crude oil prices were very volatile, but could not keep a leg up and settled in the mid 41’s.
Todays S&P 500 Chart
The Market in Perspective
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
 | U.S. economic activity expanded, several regions see pickup in wage growth: FedWASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. economy continued to expand from late February to early April and low unemployment appears to be spurring an uptick in wage growth, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday. |
| Banks lead Wall Street to second straight gainNEW YORK (Reuters) – Wall Street rallied for a second straight day on Wednesday, led by gains in beaten-down financial shares after JPMorgan’s quarterly results. |
| Weak U.S. retail sales reinforce Fed caution on rate hikesWASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. retail sales unexpectedly fell in March as households cut back on purchases of automobiles and other items, further evidence that economic growth stumbled in the first quarter. |
| About 40,000 unionized Verizon workers walk off the jobNEW YORK (Reuters) – Nearly 40,000 Verizon workers walked off the job on Wednesday in one of the largest U.S. strikes in recent years after contract talks hit an impasse, and got a boost as U.S. Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders joined them at a Brooklyn rally ahead of the New York primary next week. |
| Wells Fargo poses increasing threat to global financial system: report(Reuters) – Wells Fargo & Co poses an increasingly serious threat to the global financial system, while risks posed by other large U.S. banks have changed relatively little, according to an annual report released Wednesday by a U.S. government research group charged with monitoring such threats. |
| U.S. regulators fail ‘living wills’ at five of eight big banksWASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. regulators gave a failing grade to five big banks on Wednesday, including JP Morgan and Wells Fargo, on their plans for a bankruptcy that would not rely on taxpayer money, giving them until Oct. 1 to make amends or risk sanctions. |
| JPMorgan beats Wall Street expectations in tough quarter for banks(Reuters) – JPMorgan Chase & Co , the No. 1 U.S. bank by assets, reported a quarterly profit that topped low market expectations as lower costs and better-than-expected trading revenue helped soften the blow from a fall in investment banking fees. |
| Chipotle investor seeks board shakeup for more diversity(Reuters) – Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc shareholder CtW Investment Group on Wednesday urged investors not to re-elect two long-time board members, saying the chain’s recent food safety crisis shows the company needs a board that is more independent and also more diverse in race and gender. |
| UAW election by set of VW Tennessee workers upheld by NLRB(Reuters) – The U.S. National Labor Relations Board voted 2-1 to uphold a December election in which a small group of workers at Volkswagen AG’s Chattanooga, Tennessee plant voted to join the United Auto Workers union, the NLRB said on Wednesday. |
| Squeezenado Sends Stocks Soaring To 2016 Highs As Crude CrumblesRemember, the stock market is not the economy… Collaping retail sales, soaring inventory-to-sales ratiosm and entirely fictitious China trade data…
Can mean only one thing… The biggest 2-day short squeeze in 6 months…
Which has sent Trannies and Small Caps up most this week…
Nasdaq and Small Caps remain red for the year… but are at their highest close for 2016…
With Trannies roaring today… but everythiong slowed after Europe closed… |
| EIA Inventory Report Analysis 4-13-2016 (Video)By EconMatters Strong Gasoline Demand and another drop in U.S. Oil Production were both positives in the EIA Summary Report. Overall, for this time of year, a pretty healthy Inventory Report as we are still technically in the building season. If imports came in similar to last week`s report and refineries pushed more Gasoline through the system, we would have had a drawdown in Oil Stocks. © EconMatters All Rights Reserved | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Email Digest | Kindle |
| Why The Goldman Sachs Settlement Is An “Abomination And Insult To All Americans”Submitted by Mike Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog,
The American public should be out in the streets by the hundreds of thousands demanding the resignation of President Barack Obama in response to the total sham settlement just announced by the U.S. government with Goldman Sachs. This farce should be seen for what it really is; a gigantic establishment middle finger waving contemptuously in the face of the reliably neutered and long-suffering American public. A criminal financial organization that engaged in billions upon billions in fraud against the “muppet” public is once again getting off with barely … |
| Billion Dollar Baby Bye Bye: Regulators Seek To Ban Theranos Founder Elizabeth HolmesIt seems billion dollar baby of Silcon Valley, Elizabeth Holmes, is facing yet another unicorn-slaying moment as the fairy-take ending for Stanford drop-out looks increasingly distant after WSJ reports regulators are seeking ban the so-called “billionaire” from the blood-tsting business for two years after U.S. health inspectors have found serious deficiencies at Theranos Inc.’s laboratory in Northern California.
As The Wall Street Journal, which has broke and has been on this story from day one, reports,
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| J.P. Morgan Earnings: Being Big Isn’t So BadJ.P. Morgan Chase struck a blow against its critics with earnings that showcased the benefits of being big and diversified. |
| What Citigroup’s ‘Living Will’ Win Means for Big BanksFive big banks’ living wills were deemed to be not credible by regulators. That Citi passed is significant. |
| BlackRock: Why It Will Stay Ahead of the PackBlackRock continues to outpace rivals, a trend that is poised to remain on track ahead of Thursday’s earnings report. |
| April 2016 Beige Book: Reading Between The Lines – The Economy Improved A Little.
The consolidated economic report from the 12 Federal Reserve Districts (Beige Book) shows the economy “continued to expand in late February and March, though the pace of growth varied across Districts”. The previous report said “that economic activity expanded in most Districts since the previous Beige Book report”. My interpretation is that the Fed is saying the rate of economic expansion has improved since the last report. |
| Emerging Markets Report: China’s first-quarter GDP growth likely slowed to a seven-year lowChina’s economy is expected to have lost more momentum in the first quarter with its gross domestic product growth slowing to the weakest level in seven years. |
| Market Extra: The hottest story in currency markets today isn’t what you’d thinkWhile investors and market strategists have been focused on the rally in the yen and broader weakness in the dollar, one developed market currency has been walloping the buck in recent months. |
| Capitol Report: Auditor warnings on large company solvency reach highest level since crisisRecent 10K filings show a significant increase in going concern warnings for large company filers, a red flag for a potential future bankruptcy |
Written by Steven HansenSummary of Economic Releases this Week
Earnings Summary for Today
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