15Aug2016 Pre-Market Commentary: US Futures Up Fractionally, WTI Crude Trending Higher, Gold Lower And Trending Sideways, Markets Expected To Open Higher

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are higher today with shares in London leading the region. The FTSE 100 is up 0.52% while Germany’s DAX is up 0.39% and France’s CAC 40 is up 0.12%.

Futures up on oil rise, China stimulus hopes

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Monday, tracking global markets, as oil prices rose and on rising speculation that China may unveil a fresh stimulus program to prop up its economy.

Japan’s economy stalls in April-June, casts doubts on Abe’s policies

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s economic growth ground to a halt in April-June as weak exports and shaky domestic demand prompted companies to cut spending, putting fresh pressure on premier Shinzo Abe to come up with policies that will produce more sustainable growth.

Oil rises on talk of producer action, but excess looms

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices rose on Monday to their highest in nearly a month, with benchmark Brent crude trading more than 10 percent above the start of August, as speculation intensified about potential producer action to support prices in an oversupplied market.

Tesla removes ‘autopilot’ from China website after Beijing crash

SHANGHAI/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Tesla removed the word “autopilot” and a Chinese term for “self-driving” from its China website after a driver in Beijing who crashed in “autopilot” mode complained that the car maker overplayed the function’s capability and misled buyers.

NYSE sees double-digit Asian IPOs through 2017, with focus on tech

HONG KONG (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) sees technology companies driving a revival in new Asian listings and expects double-digit IPOs through the end of 2017 from the region, the exchange’s global head of capital markets said in an interview.

China central bank: yuan’s global acceptance to be driven by market

BEIJING (Reuters) – The internationalization of the yuan has exceeded people’s expectations and its global acceptance will be driven by market forces, Yi Gang, a China central bank vice governor, said on Monday.

‘Grumpy hold-outs’ could sink Bitfinex recovery plan after Bitcoin theft

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Crypto-currency exchange Bitfinex’s plan to impose losses on all its trading clients for the theft by hackers of $72 million in Bitcoin rests on two flawed pillars, according to lawyers.

KKR weighs bid for ‘Peppa Pig’ owner Entertainment One: Bloomberg

(Reuters) – Private-equity firm KKR & Co may bid for television distributor Entertainment One Ltd after the owner of the preschool cartoon character “Peppa Pig” rejected an offer from UK broadcaster ITV Plc , Bloomberg reported on Sunday.

Lack of investment, payment delays hamper Venezuela oil output

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela, which holds the world’s largest crude reserves, is on track to suffer its steepest annual oil output drop in 14 years as it suffers the effects of an economic crisis and years of under investment and mismanagement, according to data seen by Reuters and interviews with company sources and workers.

Prominent “Up And Coming” Hedge Fund Exec, Sahm Adrangi, Busted For Hamptons DUI, Cocaine Possession

One of the prominent “up and coming” managers in the hedge fund industry, which recently has been best known not for star names or outsized returns, but quite the contrary – lack of alpha creation and redemptions – noted short-seller Sahm Adrangi of Kerrisdale Capital, got into hot water over the weekend, when he was reportedly busted in the Hamptons on charges of drunken driving and cocaine possession over the weekend after getting into a crash.

Sahm Adrangi, 35, founder and chief investment officer of Kerrisdale Capital Management, was driving on Montauk Highway near Bluff Road at around 3 a.m. Saturday when he smashed into a Ford SUV, according to the East Hampton Star, according to the NY Post. The other motorist was injured. Police did not say if he was badly hurt.

Each driver told police the other had veered over the double yellow line before the accident. Cops ticketed Adrangi for speeding and then charged him with DUI after he refused a breath test. Adrangi was brought before the East Hampton Town Justice Court later that morning, and deferred his arraignment until his next court appearance, the report said.

Neither Adrangi, nor the firm responded to requests for comment. The Yale alum began his career with the leveraged- finance investment-banking group of Deutsche Bank.

Adrangi launched Kerrisdale in 2009 with less than $1 million and has
grown it into a more than $500 million company, according to its Web
site.

And while Kerrisdale has indeed …

Deposit Bail-in Warning In Ireland – Bail-in Risk In UK Very High

Deposit bail-in risks are slowly being realised in Ireland, after it emerged overnight that FBD, one of Ireland’s largest insurance companies, have been moving cash out of Irish bank deposits and into bonds.

Revelations regarding deposit bail-in risks came in the wake of warnings of a new property crash centred on the housing market in Ireland. The former deputy governor of the Central Bank warned in an op-ed in a leading international financial publication, Project Syndicate, that Ireland is at risk of another housing market crash.

Bail-In Regimes – Key Considerations (GoldCore Research)

Insurer FBD has moved over 150 million out of the Irish banking system and into corporate and sovereign bonds over the past year. The move was prompted by low returns offered by bank deposits and the risks that deposit bail-in rules could …

Google’s Alphabet Shift Still Clicks

The internet giant has grown bigger and more profitable in the year since the shakeup. Alphabet hired more than 9,000 new employees in the past year and has promised a more dutiful eye on spending.

How ESPN Could Rebound Amid Cable-Cutting

A common metric of pay-TV subscriber numbers doesn’t include new streaming services, which could be a source of growth for networks such as Disney’s ESPN.

Stock Valuations Flash Warning Sign

Stocks at record highs come with rich valuations, a warning sign that matters not only for individual investors but also public pension funds that base their health on investment targets.

Metals Stocks: Gold futures edge higher after weekly loss

Gold futures churn modestly higher early Monday, a small corrective move after last week’s focus on a key technical level accounted for a fourth weekly price drop in the last five weeks.

Economic Preview: The Brexit effect: Get ready for the first hard data on the U.K. economy

How is the Brexit vote impacting the U.K. economy? Investors will get their first insights into the real effect of the referendum this week when the first hard numbers for July begin trickling out.