10May2016 Market Close: US Averages Closed Higher, DOW Up 222 Points, Crude Trending Higher, Short-Term Indicators Bullish, Investors Are Jumping Into The Casino With Abandon

S&P 500 has best day in two months; Amazon a boost

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks ended sharply higher on Tuesday, with a rally in Amazon.com helping propel the S&P 500 to its best day in two months.

Exclusive: U.S. investigates market-making operations of Citadel, KCG

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Federal authorities are investigating the market-making arms of Citadel LLC and KCG Holdings Inc, looking into the possibility that the two giants of electronic trading are giving small investors a poor deal when executing stock transactions on their behalf.

SWIFT rejects Bangladeshi claims in cyber heist, police stand firm

(Reuters) – SWIFT has rejected allegations by officials in Bangladesh that technicians with the global messaging system made the nation’s central bank more vulnerable to hacking before an $81 million cyber heist in February.

Saudi Aramco finalizes IPO options and plans global expansion

DHAHRAN, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant Aramco is finalizing proposals for its partial privatization and will present them to its Supreme Council soon, its chief executive said about the centerpiece of the kingdom’s efforts to overhaul its economy.

Oil jumps; Canada, Nigeria outages bolster prices

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Brent jumped more than 4 percent on Tuesday while U.S. crude settled up more than 2 percent, after a late burst of buying driven in part by expectations that record U.S. crude inventories would not swell by as much as they have in recent weeks.

U.S. Fed awards $31.04 billion in reverse repos

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve on Tuesday awarded $31.04 billion of one-day, fixed-rate reverse repurchase agreements to 24 bidders at an interest rate of 0.25 percent, the New York Fed said on its website.

After hot rally, solar shares turn ice cold

NEW YORK (Reuters) – After their hot rally at the end of last year, shares of solar energy firms have turned ice cold as concerns about slower growth and regulatory uncertainties plague the group.

U.S. job openings hit eight-month high, skills mismatch emerging

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. job openings increased in March to the highest level in eight months and layoffs continued to decline, indicating the labor market remains fairly robust despite April’s slowdown in employment gains.

This Is What The “Main Street Serving” Fed’s Wall Street Advisors Told It To Do About Future Rate Hikes

Yesterday, in an impassioned appeal to the hearts and minds of Americans everywhere, Minneapolis Fed Neel Kashkari said that the Fed is “here to serve Main Street” the same main street which currencly has $8.4 trillion in savings accounts currently earning exactly 0% in interest. Yet it wasn’t Main Street but Wall Street that the Fed listened to once again last Wednesday, May 4, when the Fed’s Advisory Council which comprises of 12 bankers such as James Gorman, Richard Holbrook, and John Stumpf, advised the Fed on how to conduct future monetary policy.

This is what the Fed’s non-Main Street advisors said about “the current stance of monetary policy.”

U.S. economic recovery remains fragile, and downside risks to the economy are still present. Provided the data improve, the Council believes one or two well-timed and well-communicated increases in the federal funds rate between now and year-end would be prudent to accomplish the Fed’s mandates, enhance central bank credibility, and create policy latitude in the event of an unexpected economic downturn.

The Fed responded appropriately to recent stress in the financial markets by providing additional monetary accommodation that has supported a rebound in global credit and equity markets. Financial markets have exhibited a moderate recovery rate, although economic growth remains fairly muted.

Investors see the stance of U.S. monetary policy as relatively restrictive. This is reflected by below-target inflation expectations, higher forward interest rates, and a very strong dollar, the latter being a major drag on the U.S. economy. They foresee slower real growth, lower inflation, and a lower traject …

Angry White, Rich, Educated Men? Trump Voters Are Smarter And Richer Than The Average American

It’s not just “angry blue collar white men,” that are supporting Donald Trump. Having received a record number of votes in a Republican nomination campaign and winning in some of the richest and best-educated counties in the country adding to victories in his more traditional strongholds of white working-class neighborhoods, statistician Nate Silver found – after reviewing exit poll data in 23 states – that Trump voters’ median household income was higher than the median in every state, sometimes by a wide margin; and that 44% of Trump voters have college undergraduate degrees, compared to 29% of US adults.

Coverage of 2016’s bizarre primary season has painted the stereotypical Donald Trump supporter as white, working class, and uneducated. As Quartz’ Corinne Purtill reports, Trump’s popularity with that demographic led some early pundits to dismiss his candidacy, as there simply aren’t enough such voters to propel a candidate to victory.

But an analysis of exit poll data by FiveThirtyEight finds that Trump voters have higher median household incomes than the typical American, and higher education levels too.

In fact Hillary only dominates mong the very lowest of income earners in America – which …

Caught On Tape: This Is What Happened When An MEP Tried To Read The TTIP Text

Submitted by Mike Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog,

TTIP is just one of several phony “trade” deals written by corporate lawyers and lobbyists, and negotiated in secret between the Obama administration and various world leaders. This particular scam involves the U.S. and Europe, and it has seen increased public resistance and attention as of late, something I highlighted in the post, Leaked Documents Expose the TTIP Trade Deal as a Subversive Imperial Scam.

Now watch what happened when a MEP (member of European parliament) tried to read the thing. It’s very blurry, but you’ll get the point.

Democracy this is not.

Noam Chomsky recently summarized the true purpose of these so-called “trade” deals eloquently in the following paragraph:

In the contemporary global order, the institutions of the masters hold enormous power, not only in the international arena but also within their home states, on which they rely to protect their power and to provide economic support by a wide variety of means. When we consider the role of the masters of mankind, we turn to such state policy priorities of the moment …

Hey Paul Krugman: That’s Not Insulin You’re Injecting; It’s Heroin!

Submitted by Samuel Bryan via SchiffGold.com,

In a recent New York Times column, economist Paul Krugman tried to justify central bank interventionist monetary policy by comparing it to giving insulin to a diabetic.

How should we think about these incredibly low interest rates? Recently Narayana Kocherlakota, the former president of the Minneapolis Fed, offered a brilliant analogy. Responding to critics of easy money who denounce low rates as ‘artificial’ – because economies shouldn’t need to keep rates this low – he suggested that we compare low interest rates to the insulin injections that diabetics must take. Such injections aren’t part of a normal lifestyle, and may have bad side effects, but they’re necessary to manage the symptoms of a chronic disease.”

Bob Murphy took apart Krugman’s reasoning in an episode Contra Krugman, utilizing an analogy Peter Schiff often employs. It isn’t insulin central bankers are injecting into the economy. It’s heroin.

Gap: Being Big Is Out of Fashion

Gap’s sales are slumping, and its massive store base may be further hindering its recovery.

Macy’s Stock Is Cheap for a Reason

Macy’s fiscal first-quarter results will likely reflect the difficult environment facing traditional department-store operators.

Tesla: The Cost of Elon Musk’s Model 3 Vision

Elon Musk’s electric ambition could turn into a problem for Tesla shareholders.

Currencies: Dollar hits highest level against yen in 2 weeks

The dollar rises to its highest level against the yen in two weeks as Japan’s finance minister says warnings from U.S. Treasury officials wouldn’t stop Japan from trying to weaken its currency by selling yen in the open market.

Market Snapshot: Dow, S&P 500 on track for best gains in 2 months as oil rebounds

The Dow industrials and the S&P 500 were on pace for their best daily gain in two months as oil prices rallied.

Bond Report: Treasury yields end little-changed as flurry of new bonds hit the market

Treasury yields ended little-changed Tuesday, as selling pressures resulting from a spate of new corporate bonds hitting the market this week were offset by strong demand for new Treasury notes auctioned today.