21Sep2016 Market Update: Wall Street Backs Off Session Highs After Crude Inventories Fall, US Dollar Falls, Investors Brace For Fed Report At 2 Pm Today

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

North and South American markets are mixed today. The IPC is up 0.42% while the S&P 500 gains 0.12%. The Bovespa is off 0.09%.

17.01

Wall Street higher as tech, energy gain; Fed in focus

(Reuters) – Wall Street rose on Wednesday, helped by gains in technology and energy stocks, ahead of the Federal Reserve’s decision later in the day.

BOJ overhauls policy focus, sets target for government bond yields

TOKYO (Reuters) – The Bank of Japan made an abrupt shift on Wednesday to targeting interest rates on government bonds to achieve its elusive inflation target, after years of massive money printing failed to jolt the economy out of decades-long stagnation.

Heat rises on Wells Fargo CEO after lawmaker grilling

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Wells Fargo & Co Chief Executive John Stumpf prides himself on being a banker who understands the little guy’s financial problems. He has spoken publicly about growing up poor on a Minnesota farm, starting his career as a low-level repo man and being underwater on his own mortgage years ago.

Fed expected to keep rates unchanged, may signal year-end hike

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to keep interest rates unchanged on Wednesday amid tepid inflation and recent weak economic data, but could signal an increased likelihood of a hike by the end of the year.

SEC charges Leon Cooperman with insider trading

(Reuters) – Billionaire investor Leon Cooperman was charged with insider trading by the top U.S. securities regulator on Wednesday, making him the highest-profile target in years in the government’s crackdown on illegal trading at hedge funds.

Apple eyes British supercar maker McLaren: FT

(Reuters) – Apple Inc has approached British Formula One team owner McLaren Technology Group for a strategic investment or a potential buyout, the Financial Times reported, citing sources.

U.S. home refinancing activity falls to lowest since June

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Weekly U.S. mortgage refinancing activity fell last week to its lowest since June as home borrowing costs rose to their most expensive level in about three months, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.

Hanjin Shipping gets $54 million loan to unload stranded cargo

SEOUL (Reuters) – The largest shareholder of Hanjin Shipping Ltd agreed on Wednesday to lend 60 billion won ($53.96 million) to help unload cargo that has been stranded since the world’s seventh-largest container carrier collapsed late last month.

Viacom slashes dividend; says interim CEO to leave

(Reuters) – Viacom Inc slashed its quarterly dividend by 50 percent on Wednesday and said interim Chief Executive Tom Dooley would leave the company.

Crowdfunded House Flipper Raises $1 Million In 12 Hours… And It Only Costs Him 14%

“It’s the greatest thing in the world,” exclaims Alex Sifakis – the 33 year old Florida ‘flipper’ – saying he has never raised this much money this fast (despite teh 14% cost of capital). As Bloomberg reports, house flippers and property developers are increasingly crowdfunding — tapping the virtual wallets of anonymous internet backers on various platforms – because “the amount of money you can raise isn’t limited by anything but their investor base.” As one of the ‘investors’ in this crowdfunded flipfest notes “if something goes bad, you have the asset to fall back on,” but, as Bloomberg rebukes, speed and property loans may not mix — remember 2008?

Bloomberg points out that the house flipper from Jacksonville, Florida, crowdfunded nine deals totaling more than $9 million through RealtyShares over the last two and a half years. A July deal for $1 million took him just 12 hours.

“Generally, raising money takes so much time,” said Sifakis, 33. “This offers so much flexibility and time savings. It’s so much better than going to family offices, banks or Wall Street firms.”

House flippers and property developers are increasingly crowdfunding — tapping the virtual wallets of anonymous internet backers on platforms such …

SEC Charges Hedge Fund Icon Leon Cooperman With Insider Trading

When it rains – for hedge fund managers, it pours – If it’s not lack of alpha, it’s insider trading. Moments ago, the SEC charged iconic hedge fund manager, Omega Advisors’ Leon Cooperman with insider trading, accusing him of generating substantial illicit profits by purchasing securities in Atlas Pipeline Partners (APL) in advance of the sale of its natural gas processing facility in Elk City, Oklahoma.

The SEC adds that Cooperman “allegedly used his status as one of APL’s largest shareholders to gain access to the executive and obtain confidential details about the sale of this substantial company asset. Cooperman and Omega Advisors allegedly accumulated APL securities despite explicitly agreeing not to use the material nonpublic information for trading purposes, and when APL publicly announced the asset sale its stock price jumped more than 31 percent.”

According to the SEC’s complaint, when Omega Advisors received a subpoena nearly a year-and-half later about its trading in APL securities, Cooperman contacted the executive and tried to fabricate a story to tell if questioned about this trading activity. The executive was shocked and angered when he learned that Cooperman traded in advance of the public announcement.

The SEC’s complaint further charges Cooperman with failing to timely report information about holdings and transactions in securities of publicly-traded companies that he beneficially owned, alleging that he violated federal securities laws more than 40 times in this regard.

Looks like Leon won’t be making an Ira Sohn or CNBC appearance conferences in the near future.

* * *

From the SEC’s press release:

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged hedge fund manag …

Apple In Talks To Buy Supercar Maker McLaren

Apple’s ambitions to take on Tesla in the electric car space, Uber in the self-driving space, and in general, to pivot into the auto industry have not been exactly a secret over the past year, but few had any idea how Tim Cook would go about doing this. Today, the FT reveals that the world’s most valuable company plans to transform the auto industry by purchasing British supercar maker and Formula One team owner, McLaren technology.

According to the FT, Apple has been working on a self-driving electric vehicle for more than two years, is considering a full takeover of McLaren or a strategic investment, citing “three people briefed on the negotiations who said talks started several months ago.” A tie-up with McLaren, whose expertise ranges from automotive engineering and on-board computer systems to novel chassis materials such as carbon fibre and aluminium, could accelerate Apple’s secretive automotive project. Apple and McLaren declined to comment.

The FT notes that the lossmaking automotive group was likely to be “valued at between £1bn and £1.5bn, the people said, adding that it was not clear that a deal would be done.”

That would make it Apple’s biggest acquisition since the $3bn purchase of Beats Electronics, the audio group founded by Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine, in 2014

This would not be Apple’s first expansion into the auto space: earlier this year, Apple invested $1 billion in Chinese Uber-competitor Didi Chuxing. That deal was Apple’s largest equity investment to date.

With Apple’s penchant for aspirational products, it may have found just the right one in McLaren, which produces luxury sports cars that can cost as much as $1m apiece and owns an ad …

Bank of Japan Makes Yield Curve Maneuvers in the Dark

The BOJ’s moves alter the calculus for investors—there is no longer a willing buyer of bonds, but instead a price setter.

UniCredit: Italy’s Biggest Bank on High Wire to Redemption

Italy’s UniCredit is making headway with plans to shore up its balance sheet but problems at Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena could hinder progress.

As Comcast Hits the Airwaves, T-Mobile Looks Interesting

Comcast’s new wireless service may prompt it to consider buying its own network one day and T-Mobile US looks like an obvious choice.

The Tell: Fed decision day: Here’s how the S&P 500 performs

It is decision day for the Federal Reserve, and as it turns out that has been a great time to trade stocks, according to Bespoke Investment Group.

NewsWatch: A surprise Fed interest-rate hike can’t be ruled out

The consensus of economists is that the Federal Reserve will hold rates steady on Wednesday, but there is a lot of talk about the possibility of a surprise rate hike.

Capitol Report: Don King says white women should vote for Trump to ‘knock out the system’

Boxing promoter Don King says white women should help Donald Trump knock out “the system.”