31Aug2016 Pre-Market Commentary: US Futures Flat, Pointing To A Lower Opening, Crude Prices Slipping Further On US Dollar Strengthening, Fed Remarks Becoming Hawkish, Indicators Bearish

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are mixed. The CAC 40 is higher by 0.62%, while the DAX is leading the FTSE 100 lower. They are down 0.10% and 0.01% respectively.

Fed’s Evans, citing slow growth, says low U.S. rates are here to stay

BEIJING (Reuters) – Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans on Wednesday said he is increasingly convinced that U.S. economic growth has slowed permanently, a situation that will keep U.S. interest rates low for a long time ahead.

U.S. 10-year yield heads for biggest monthly rise in over a year

LONDON (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury 10-year yields were on course for their biggest monthly increase in more than a year on Wednesday as investors built up bets that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates before the year is out.

U.S. private sector adds 177,000 jobs in August: ADP

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. private employers added 177,000 jobs in August, above economists’ expectations, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Wednesday.

Exclusive: SWIFT discloses more cyber thefts, pressures banks on security

(Reuters) – SWIFT, the global financial messaging system, on Tuesday disclosed new hacking attacks on its member banks as it pressured them to comply with security procedures instituted after February’s high-profile $81 million heist at Bangladesh Bank.

Bill Gross steps up criticism of Fed, central banks for zero rates

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Bond investor Bill Gross ramped up his criticism of the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, characterizing chair Janet Yellen and her predecessors and contemporaries at other central banks of mastering “the art of market manipulation.”

Deutsche Bank chief urges European banks to merge

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The head of Deutsche Bank called on Wednesday for cross-border bank mergers in Europe, seeing the sector’s fragmentation as placing an unacceptable squeeze on bank profits and long-term sustainability.

Irish cabinet may need more time to decide on Apple appeal: minister

DUBLIN (Reuters) – Ireland’s cabinet may be given more time to decide on whether to back the finance minister’s recommendation that Dublin appeal the European Commission’s ruling against its tax dealings with Apple , another minister said on Wednesday.

Mitsubishi Heavy discusses U.S. armored vehicle tie up after losing sub deal

TOKYO (Reuters) – Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) is in talks with an unidentified U.S. company over a possible partnership to develop an armored vehicle that for the first time could see a Japanese firm build arms for a foreign customer, a senior executive said.

G20 watchdog says bank rules working well, digs deeper into markets

LONDON (Reuters) – The financial system’s ability to cope with Britain’s vote to leave the European Union and with doubts over growth prospects show the benefits of rules introduced since the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers bank, a global watchdog said on Wednesday.

Facebook Just Got A Whole Lot Creepier

Submitted by Mike Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog,

I’ve been creeped out by Facebook for a long time now. The following story takes it to another level.

From Fusion:

While some of these incredibly accurate friend suggestions are amusing, others are alarming, such as this story from Lisa*, a psychiatrist who is an infrequent Facebook user, mostly signing in to RSVP for events. Last summer, she noticed that the social network had started recommending her patients as friends—and she had no idea why.

“I haven’t shared my email or phone contacts with Facebook,” she told me over the phone.

The next week, things got weirder.

Most of her patients are senior citizens or people with serious health or developmental issues, but she has one outlier: a 30-something snowboarder. Usually, Facebook would recommend he friend people his own age, who snowboard and jump out of planes. But Lisa told me that he had started seeing older and infirm people, such as a 70-year-old gentleman with a walker and someone with cerebral palsy.

“He laughed and said, ‘I don’t know any of these people who showed up on my list— I’m guessing they see you,'” recounted Lisa. “He showed me the list of friend recommendations, and I recognized some of my patients.”

She sat there awkwardly and silently. To let him know that his sus …

Massive Debt Bubble in Ireland and Globally Sees Wealthy Diversify Into Gold

Mark O’Byrne, Research Director of GoldCore, was interviewed by Max Keiser about the arrival of negative interest rates in Ireland and Germany, the risk of bail-ins, the return of a rental and property bubble in Dublin, the Irish and global debt bubble and why wealthy individuals and institutions are diversifying into gold.

Mark O’Byrne interviewed by Max Keiser – Starts 12:24 – Watch here

Key points in the interview are:

– Groupthink in Ireland and internationally with few questioning the “recovery narrative”

– Irish government, like the U.S. and most western countries, is technically insolvent but this is masked by “statistical manipulation”

Frontrunning: August 31

Treasuries Extend Drop in August on Fed Outlook as Dollar Gains (BBG)

Oil slips on dollar strength, still set for monthly gain (Reuters)

Trump to make dramatic trip to Mexico before immigration speech (Reuters)

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz Beats Back Florida Primary Challenge (WSJ)

Ban cash because… SWIFT discloses more cyber thefts, pressures banks on security (Reuters)

Fed’s Evans, citing slow growth, says low U.S. rates are here to stay (Reuters)

Google Takes on Uber With New Ride-Share Service (WSJ)

Key Islamic State leader killed in apparent U.S. strike in Syria (Reuters)

Trump’s Top Fundraiser Eyes the Deal of a Lifetime (BBG)

U.S. Farm Incomes to Hit Lowest Level Since 2009 (WSJ)

Google Takes on Uber With New Ride-Share Service (WSJ)

After Initial Drop, Fresh Surge in Migrant Arrivals Puts Extra Strain on Greece ( …

In Historic Event, China Sells First World Bank SDR-Denominated Bonds In Decades

In one of the most closely followed bond issues in recent history, overnight the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), one of the five member-institutions of the World Bank Group, sold 500 million SDR-denominated three-year bonds carrying a coupon of 0.49% at an auction in China’s interbank market on Wednesday. This was the first SDR denominated offering in over three decades, with the issuance symbolically taking place in Shanghai one month before the official inclusion of China’s currency in the SDR basket.

The issue, the first SDR bond in 35 years, is being closely watched by investors as it’s part of a wider push in China to increase the net supply of such bonds, and comes as Beijing hosts the G20 summit in Hangzhou on Sept. 4-5. The SDR is a synthetic reserve currency administered by the IMF, whose value is determined by a basket of other major world currencies.

While some have speculated that the offering is a test toward internationalizing the SDR as a global reserve currency and putting the IMF at the forefront of a post-globalized world, with notable implications for the fate of the US Dollar as the global reserve, for now the consequences are more mundane: the SDR bonds that settle in RMB give Chinese domestic investors the option of getting exposure to different currency assets without investing overseas, says Ju Wang, a senior FX strategist at HSBC. According to PBOC deputy governor Pan Gongsheng the issuance of the SDR-denominated bond will help boost the stability of the international currency system. Pan said the SDR bonds will help investors avoid exchange-rate risks and are a good way of making the reserve currency a more a market-oriented pricing tool. The PBOC will work with IMF to further expand the use of the SDR, he said.

The first issuance in China of bonds denominated in Special Drawing Rights was well received, Gongsheng added, as he pledged to expand the use of the International …

EU’s Apple Tax Hit: Ire In Ireland, Confusion Elsewhere

Frosty reactions to the European Commission’s ruling that Apple needs to pay 13 billion to Ireland’s tax authority show why international tax agreements are so hard.

Why Chinese Banks Are Moving Deeper Into Property

Given Chinese banks’ increasing exposure to mortgage lending, they will have more on the line the next time prices turn south.

Unloved Banks Might Get a Profit Boost

Loan growth was robust in the second quarter, an encouraging sign, but will it stay strong if rates start to rise? ​

August 2016 ADP Job Growth Is 177,000 – Above Expectations

Written by Steven Hansen

ADP reported non-farm private jobs growth at 177,000. The rate of growth continues in a downtrend.

Ship operators explore autonomous sailing

Advances in automation and ample bandwidth even far offshore could herald the biggest change in shipping since diesel engines replaced steam.

Matthew Lynn’s London Eye: Here’s why we should celebrate this dull market

The markets have been very dull, going nowhere for years or even decades, but boring is good for savers and entrepreneurs, writes Matthew Lynn.

Market Snapshot: U.S. stock futures hold steady after ADP report

U.S. stock futures barely move on Wednesday, failing to garner significant momentum from a report of monthly private-sector employment that came in line with Wall Street expectations.