20Jun2016 Market Update: Opening Highs Slipping As WTI Crude Climbs And The US Dollar Falls, Brexit Remains High On Investors Minds

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

North and South American markets are sharply higher today with shares in Brazil leading the region. The Bovespa is up 2.45% while Mexico’s IPC is up 1.31% and U.S.’s S&P 500 is up 1.04%.

In the shadow of a murder, Britain to vote on EU membership

LONDON (Reuters) – Britons will shape the future of the United Kingdom and Europe on Thursday when they decide whether to stay in the European Union following a campaign that has shown the potency of anti-establishment feeling in the West.

With oil price near $50, resilient U.S. shale producers eye new chapter

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Two years into the worst oil price rout in a generation, large and mid-sized U.S. independent producers are surviving and eyeing growth again as oil nears $50 a barrel, confounding OPEC and Saudi Arabia with their resiliency.

Wall Street rebounds as Brexit worries subside

(Reuters) – Wall Street rose sharply on Monday, with the S&P and the Dow recovering last week’s losses after the latest polls showed an increased possibility of Britain remaining in the European Union.

Apple to lose weighting in Russell index, shares could fall

NEW YORK (Reuters) – After dropping more than $200 billion in market capitalization in one year, Apple shares could fall further as they are set to lose their weighting and be reclassified in the annual reconstitution of the widely followed Russell indexes.

VW says prosecutors’ new probe offers no fresh facts on former CEO

BERLIN (Reuters) – The new probe by German prosecutors against former Volkswagen Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn and another senior executive does not provide fresh facts that indicate a possible severe neglect of duty by the accused managers, VW said.

Too-tough capital rules may stifle U.S. lending: Fed’s Kashkari

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Regulators may hurt the economy and push borrowers toward non-bank lenders if they set too-high capital standards for Wall Street, Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, said on Monday.

Fiat Chrysler to investigate crash that killed ‘Star Trek’ actor

(Reuters) – Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said on Monday it would investigate a crash that killed “Star Trek” actor Anton Yelchin in his recalled 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Starbucks customers may seek damages over underfilled lattes: judge

(Reuters) – A federal judge said two Starbucks customers may pursue a lawsuit accusing the coffee chain of cheating patrons by underfilling lattes.

Oil up more than 2 percent as Brexit chances dim, Cushing stock draw

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil prices rose more than 2 percent on Monday, a second straight day of gains, as polls showing a lower likelihood of Britain leaving the European Union weakened the dollar, boosting commodities priced in the U.S. currency.

The Brexit Debate Is So Out Of Hand Because Nobody Understands What It’s Really About

Submitted by Raul Ilargi Meijer via The Automatic Earth blog,

The reason the Brexit debate has gotten so out of hand is nobody understands what it’s about.

The Brexit campaigns have started anew in the UK, and from what I’ve seen here from left field barely a thing has changed since the murder of MP Jo Cox. Neither side has any qualms about using her death to make their respective points. The main, and perhaps only real, point is that nobody understands what the vote is about. Jo Cox, bless her soul, didn’t either.

This lack of understanding is also, at the same time, the reason why the debate has gotten so out of hand. Nobody seems to understand it’s not about Cameron or Nigel Farage, or Michael Gove vs Boris Johnson, it’s about voting for or against the EU, for or against Juncker and Tusk and five other unelected presidents having a say in one’s life.

And that’s not all either. It’s about voting to leave, or remain in, a Union that is already dead and preserved only in a zombie state. Brexit is just one vote and many more will inevitably follow. Brexit is not the first, Grexit had that ‘honor’ last year. Later this month, elections in Italy and Spain have the potential to turn into preliminary Italix and Spexit votes. And then there will be more.

The reason why these things are taking place, and will be, going forward, is that the economies of all these countries are fast deteriorating. The sole reason why people have accepted the rule of Brussels coming from far away over their daily lives, is the promise that it would make those lives better and more comfortable.

That promise has been shattered. The EU has made things worse for most Europeans, not improved them. And w …

European Stocks Surge Most In 10 Months (To One-Week Highs)

Europe’s Stoxx 600 index surge 3.7% today – the biggest rip since the bounce after August 2015’s crash – as hope runs wild that The UK will stay in the zombified European Union. Spain and Italy are leading the surge, as are banks (especially UK banks)…

led by Spain and Italy…

Just a little context here – the last 2 days have seen UK Banks soar 7.8%, but remain down 15% YTD…

As Sterling Soars Above 1.47, Citi Admits That It Is “Stunned” – Here’s Why

One look at cable this morning, which moments ago hit 1.47, continuing its unprecedented move higher, which already was the biggest intraday move sine 2008, and traders would be allowed to conclude that the Brexit vote had come and gone, with Remain winning by a wide margin.

After all, with less than a 100 pips remaining to Citi’s “extreme print” forecast in case of a Remain victory, the move today has practically priced in the entire outcome of the “remain” vote.

So what is Citi’s take? Well, in a word, CitiFX’s Brent Donnelly is speechless. Here’s why:

“It is stunning how quickly we have spun to the assumption that Remain is a done deal. I understand why, of course. But still. Stunning. So markets have moved considerably since Friday and there is interesting variation among the reactions. I created a chart of vol-adjusted performance of assets and you can see it in Chart 1. For ease of comparison, I flipped anything where risk on = down. For example, USDCAD or bunds, I show the reaction as a positive number not a negative number so that it is all apples to apples.”

Chart 1: Vol-adjusted performance of assets since Friday’s close

Citi’s takeaways: . . .

Brexit: The Only Question Markets Care About for Now

Monday’s extraordinary swings in markets underline just how much Thursday’s U.K. vote matters.

Brexit or Not, London House Prices Are Under Threat

A remain vote in Britain’s referendum on EU membership won’t end fears that the London housing boom has run out of steam

Why China’s Developers Can’t Stop Overpaying for Property

Chinese prices for land have hit record highs, even though making money from that land will prove exceedingly difficult.

Outside the Box: The big reason the U.K.’s Brexit vote matters for U.S. investors: systemic risk

Yes, the U.K. is a systemically important country for financial markets, says George Magnus

Market Snapshot: U.S. stocks jump over 1% on ebbing Brexit worries

U.S. stocks trim opening gains but remain firmly in positive territory Monday, following the lead of European markets on a swing in support for the U.K. remaining a member of the European Union.

What employers can —and can’t — ask when it comes to background checks

Job applicants aren’t the only ones who should be on their best behavior.