22Jul2016 Market Close: Wall Street Closes Fractionally Higher, US Dollar Climbs Higher As WTI Crude Settles In The Low $44’s

Wall St. edges higher, led by telecoms; GE weighs

(Reuters) – Wall Street edged up on Friday back toward record levels, as AT&T and Verizon led telecom stocks higher, but gains were limited by weakness in industrials after General Electric’s tepid quarterly report.

Verizon emerges as front-runner in Yahoo auction: sources

(Reuters) – Yahoo Inc is focusing on U.S. telecommunications company Verizon Communications Inc as the buyer of its core business after reviewing final bids that it received this week, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Fiat Chrysler recalling 410,000 vehicles

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said on Friday it is recalling nearly 410,000 vehicles worldwide because of a defect that can lead to a loss of propulsion.

Eyes on Fed, BOJ, Europe’s bank stress test

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Central banks from Washington to Tokyo take center stage next week, although policymakers are likely to remain cautious as they wait for the dust to settle from Britain’s shock vote to leave the EU.

IMF’s Lagarde to stand trial in Tapie case

PARIS (Reuters) – France’s highest appeals court ruled on Friday that International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde must stand trial for her role in a 400 million euros ($440 million) state payout in 2008 to businessman Bernard Tapie.

JPMorgan to stop settling government securities for dealers

NEW YORK (Reuters) – JPMorgan Chase & Co will stop settling U.S. government securities transactions for most dealers by the end of next year as it streamlines its business, the bank said on Friday.

GE reports weak demand for oil, transport equipment; profit beats

NEW YORK (Reuters) – General Electric Co on Friday reported weak demand for new oil, gas and transportation equipment, raising concerns about its full-year performance and sending its shares down as much as 2.8 percent.

Exclusive: Emerson Electric in bid for Pentair’s valves business – sources

(Reuters) – U.S. factory automation equipment maker Emerson Electric Co has made an offer to acquire pump manufacturer Pentair Plc’s troubled valves and controls division, according to people familiar with the matter.

Britain’s economy wilting fast after Brexit vote, may prompt more spending

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s economy is shrinking, the broadest survey of business confidence since last month’s historic vote to quit the European Union showed on Friday, leading finance minister Philip Hammond to pledge a loosening of purse strings if the weakness endures.

Former Fed Governor Admits “Fed Is Not Data Dependent; It Is Propping Up Asset Markets”

Submitted by Samuel Bryan via SchiffGold.com,

Earlier this year, Peter Schiff picked up on something few reported on when a former Federal Reserve president admitted the central bank created a phony wealth effect by pumping up stocks and other asset markets through its monetary policy. Several months later, analysis proved this was true, showing that 93% of the entire stock market move since 2008 was caused by Federal Reserve policy.

Today, the Fed continues to focus on propping up asset markets. Even a former Federal Reserve governor admits this is the case. Kevin Warsh appeared CNBC’s Squawk Box on Thursday and said the Fed isn’t really “data dependent” in the sense that it is looking at the overall economy. It is really market dependent.

“They look to me asset price dependent more than they look data dependent. When the stock market falls like it did in the beginning of this year, they say, ‘Oh, we better not do anything.’ Stock markets are now at career highs. I suspect when they meet over the course of the next 10 days they will suggest, ‘Oh, now they look like they can be somewhat more responsible.’ I don’t like changing policy meeting to meeting based on data, or even with what the S&P 500 is doing. I like making it …

The Best Investment Ever?

When it comes to prevailing manias, there is everything else, and then there is Pokemon Go.

And when it comes to those who stand to profit from said Pokemon mania, nobody is a bigger winner than Nintendo which less than two years ago became a part-owner of Niantic creator Pokemon Go.

The relationship is as follows.

Niantic was created as a spinoff from Google’s (now Alphabet) Google Maps team. Google Vice President John Hanke, who was heading up Google Maps at the time, formed Niantic Labs in 2010 as an internal venture startup, staffed mainly by members of the Google Maps team. With a vision of “getting the people of the world outside”, Niantic Labs’ first projects were location-based information app Field Trip and simulated war game app Ingress. Ingress, which gained popularity particularly among users with high IT literacy, reached 10m total downloads (worldwide) in February 2015 and significantly boosted Niantic Labs’ name recognition. Ingress has a science fiction back story and is a team-based simulated war game that utilizes GPS location data and map data. Niantic used system data from Ingress to create Pokémon GO.

The relationship among Niantic, Nintendo, and the Pokemon Company came about in April 2014 thanks to the April Fool’s Day project Pokemon Challenge, in which players captured Pokemon that appeared on Google Maps. The project was developed by the Google Maps team, including Niantic Labs, with the cooperation of Nintendo and the Pokemon Company. Niantic Labs was subsequently spun off from Google in August 2015. The company name was changed to Niantic, Inc., and in September it announced the development of Pokémon GO. In October, Niantic …

World’s Airlines Crashing At Worst Rate Since 2008

With ‘terrorist’ incidents breaking out everywhere from San Bernardino to the south of France, it is perhaps no surprise that the world’s airlines are struggling. But, as Bloomberg notes, over-capacity, rising fuel costs (so far this year), and weaker demand have hurt profits and crushed airline stocks to their worst year since 2008…

Down over 18% this year…

Troubles keep mounting for the world’s leading airlines. With the group already struggling with overcapacity and weakening global demand, Bloomberg reports that Lufthansa and EasyJet Thursday said terror threats could hurt profits, while Southwest Airlines predicted airfare cuts will accelerate.

The Bloomberg World Airlines Index tumbled 2.8 percent for a third straight loss. The group has posted the worst performance since 2008, dramatically lagging global stocks…

Charts: Bloomberg

Housing’s Comeback Gains Steam

With the housing market shifting into higher gear, the economy could pick up the pace.

Why Emerging Markets Have Wind at Their Backs

Emerging markets aren’t a haven—but they look like a compelling alternative to the bigger concerns that still lie in developed markets.

Post-Brexit Economy: Pretty Morose Index

The U.K. purchasing managers’ indexes for July showed a plunge in business activity after the Brexit vote. The pound, sent lower on the reading, could decline further yet.

Futures Movers: Oil futures sink to 11-week low, down nearly 4% on week

Oil futures settle at their lowest level in 11 weeks, down nearly 4% from last Friday’s finish.