14Sep2016 Market Update: US Markets Trading Sideways Fractionally Higher, Indicators Show Some Weakness That Could Derail Markets, Gold Higher, WTI Crude And US Dollar Slipping

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

North and South American markets are mixed today. The Bovespa is up 0.85% while the S&P 500 gains 0.23%. The IPC is off 0.82%.

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Bayer clinches Monsanto with improved $66 billion bid

NEW YORK/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German drug and crop chemical maker Bayer clinched a $66 billion takeover of U.S. seeds company Monsanto on Wednesday, ending months of wrangling with a third sweetened offer that marks the largest all-cash deal on record.

U.S. import prices post first drop in six months, but trend improving

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. import prices fell for the first time in six months in August on weak petroleum and food costs, but the declining trend is slowing as oil prices stabilize and the dollar’s rally fades.

Apple leads rebound on Wall Street

(Reuters) – Wall Street rose on Wednesday as Apple surged to its highest this year, rising for the third day in a row in contrast to the oscillation in the stock market.

Tesla says it is investigating cause of fatal China crash

(Reuters) – Tesla Motors Inc is investigating the cause of a fatal crash in China involving one of its vehicles, but has “no way of knowing” if its semi-automated Autopilot system was engaged at the time of the accident, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Ford Motor says 2017 performance to drop from 2016 levels

DETROIT (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co’s 2017 financial performance will decline from this year as it increases spending on “emerging opportunities” like self-driving cars and other costs, the No. 2 U.S.-based automaker said on Wednesday.

UPS plans peak season hiring of 95,000 for third year straight

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Package delivery company United Parcel Service Inc said on Wednesday it plans to hire around 95,000 seasonal employees for its crucial peak holiday season this year, unchanged from the past two years as improvements to its network should help it handle rising ecommerce volumes.

U.S. public pensions turn to currency as returns sour

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. public pension funds are embracing currency hedging to bolster returns that have soured in the past year and to prevent further buffeting from extreme market movements.

Fed minutes don’t always help predictability: ECB research paper

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes provide some assurances about future policy but do not necessarily improve the Fed’s predictability, a study published by the European Central Bank showed on Wednesday.

Wells Fargo’s unit to sell fund administration business

(Reuters) – Wells Fargo & Co said it agreed to sell its fund administration business – Wells Fargo Global Fund Services (GFS) – to SS&C Technologies Holdings Inc .

Worried Dem Strategists Say Clinton Needs To Shed The Secrecy And Get A “Personality Transplant”

Hillary is surrounded by so many scandals and unanswered questions it’s often difficult to keep track of the daily developments. Just a few of the recent scandals and allegations include lying about her “pneumonia” diagnosis (does anyone actually believe she has pneumonia, btw?), a private server setup to intentionally avoid FOIA requests during her term as Secretary of State, missing emails that were never turned over to the State Department, actual admissions from IT specialists that they deleted emails despite knowledge of a federal subpoena, pay-for-play at the Clinton Foundation, $100s of millions of dollars collected from paid speeches to wealthy donors and the Benghazi coverup that resulted in the death of American soldiers and a diplomat. And this doesn’t even touch upon the early year scandals including Whitewater, Troopergate, Travelgate, Vince Foster’s suicide, etc, etc, etc.

Any single one of these scandals/allegations probably would have been enough to topple a mere mortal candidate. As such, it’s no wonder that the Clintons maintain extreme levels of secrecy in their personal and professional lives. It’s hard to keep that many scandals contained if you open up to too many people.

That said, as The Hill reports, the secrecy surrounding Clinton is starting to worry her staff and Democratic strategists as the latest polls show her tanking.

“The Clintons have been around long enough to know better,” said Brad Bannon, a Democratic strategist. “I hope Hillary learns a lesson, but she has always been so secretive that I’m not optimistic.”

Another Clinton surrogate put it more bluntly: “I just don’t know how she has a personality tra …

Venezuela’s “Death Spiral” – A Dozen Eggs Cost $150 As Hyperinflation Horrors Hit Socialist Utopia

Submitted by Susan Warner via The Gatestone Institute,

The question of whether Socialism can be an effective economic system was famously raised when Margaret Thatcher said of the British Labor Party, “I think they’ve made the biggest financial mess that any government’s ever made in this country for a very long time, and Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They always run out of other people’s money. It’s quite a characteristic of them. They then start to nationalise everything.”

There are dire reports of people waiting in supermarket lines all day, only to discover that expected food deliveries never arrived and the shelves are empty.

There are horrific tales of desperate people slaughtering zoo animals to provide their only meal of the day. Even household pets are targeted as a much-needed source for food.

President Maduro is doubling down on the proven failed policies and philosophies of “Bolivarian Socialism,” while diverting attention away from the crisis — pointing fingers at so-called “enemies” of Venezuela such as the United States, Saudi Arabia and others.

A dozen eggs was last reported to cost $150, and the International Monetary Fund “predicts that inflation in Venezuela will hit 720% this year.

For many Venezuelans, by every economic, social and political measure, their nation is unravelling at breakneck speed.

Severe shortages of food, clean water, electricity, medicines and hospital supplies punctuate a dire scenario of crime-ridden streets in the impoverished neighborhoods of this nearly failed OPEC state, which at one time claimed to be the most prosperous nation in Latin America.

Today, a once comfortable middle-clas …

Leaked Emails Show Colin Powell Was Worried About Hillary’s Health Over A Year Ago

As the Clinton campaign go full court press to spin Hillary as a hard-worker who battled through (non-contagious) pneumonia to hug little kids, it appears the US public will have to assign Colin Powell to the basket of deplorables that question Hillary’s health…

Amid the clusterfuck of emails leaked by Guccifer 2.0 overnight was this little gem. Colin Powell and billionaire mega-donor Jeffrey Leeds discuss Hillary’s health in March 2015…

Source: The Intercept’s Lee Fang

“Sheldon Whitehouse, who is a huge Clinton supporter, said they were both giving speeches at the same event a few months back and she could barely climb the podium steps,” Leeds wrote.

As BizPacreview adds, Powell responded with what seemed to be a show of empathy.

“On HD tv she doesn’t look good,” he wrote. “She is working herself to death.”

Powell went on to talk about Clinton’s hectic schedule, which included flying from the East Coast to San Francisco for a “paid gig at E-Bay” and a “money dinner for the Clinton Foundation,” and then back the next day.

“… She will turn 70 her first year in office,” Powell added, a …

Paradise Lost: Why the Good Times Are Over for Global Bonds

Government bond investors have had everything going right for them. That could never last forever.

Monsanto Deal Offers Cheap Crop Insurance

Skepticism abounds over Bayer’s acquisition of seed giant Monsanto. But Monsanto is a risk worth taking, despite antitrust concerns.

Why the Bank of Japan May Raise Rates Even as It Cuts Them

The Bank of Japan may push long-term rates up while keeping short-term rates negative. Markets will see this as tinkering rather than a big-bang move.

Market Extra: Wall Street’s ‘fear gauge’ shows it’s about to get wild in the stock market

The CBOE Volatility Index, often used as a measure of fear in the market, is up about 20% on Tuesday, implying that investors are increasing bets that stocks could suffer a near-term shock.

Capitol Report: Libertarian Bill Weld explains why he’d balance budgets immediately

Libertarian Party vice-presidential nominee William Weld talks to MarketWatch about balancing budgets, his running mate’s Aleppo gaffe, getting into the debates and more.

Holiday hiring shows the clear shift toward e-commerce

More and more holiday jobs are in warehouses and fulfillment centers as shopping habits change.