18Oct2016 Pre-Market Commentary: US Stock Index Futures Up Moderately On Good Earnings, WTI Crude In The 50 Handle, Gold Also Melting Upwards

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are sharply higher today with shares in France leading the region. The CAC 40 is up 1.41% while Germany’s DAX is up 1.24% and London’s FTSE 100 is up 1.20%.

Goldman Sachs’ profit jumps 58 percent as trading revenue surges

(Reuters) – Goldman Sachs Group Inc reported a 57.9 percent rise in quarterly profit on Tuesday as trading revenue surged.

U.S. consumer prices rise on strong gains in gasoline, rents

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. consumer prices rose in September as the cost of gasoline and rents surged, suggesting a steady build-up of inflation pressures that could keep the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates in December.

Once jobless and uncounted, eager workers could slow Fed rate hike

WELLSTON, Missouri (Reuters) – The crammed-to-capacity parking lot at a job training center in this St. Louis suburb is exhibit A for why the U.S. Federal Reserve remains at odds over the health of the U.S. labor market and how quickly interest rates should rise.

Commodity stocks lift global shares, inflation in focus

LONDON (Reuters) – Rising commodity prices pulled shares higher on Tuesday and the dollar slipped from a seven-month high as bond yields fell, while sterling briefly strengthened after data showed UK inflation rose by its most in more than two years last month.

Stock futures up on strong reports from Netflix, J&J

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures were modestly higher on Tuesday, buoyed by better-than-expected quarterly reports, including from Netflix and Johnson & Johnson.

J&J revenue, profit edge past estimates on robust drug sales

(Reuters) – Johnson & Johnson , the world’s largest maker of healthcare products, reported third-quarter revenue and profit just ahead of Wall Street estimates, fueled by strong sales in its prescription drugs business.

Domino’s revenue jumps more than expected

(Reuters) – Domino’s Pizza Inc on Tuesday reported a bigger-than-expected 17 percent jump in quarterly revenue as its U.S. division overcame intense competition that is taking a bite out of industry sales.

Growth in low-fee products helps boost BlackRock profits

NEW YORK (Reuters) – BlackRock Inc , the world’s largest asset manager, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday, showing resilience in what has been a punishing market for many asset managers’ earnings.

FedEx to invest $1.5 billion in France to double capacity at Roissy airport

PARIS (Reuters) – Package delivery company FedEx Corp said on Tuesday it would invest 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) to double the capacity of its logistics activities at Charles de Gaulle International Airport in the Paris suburb of Roissy.

New FBI Docs Expose “Shadow Government” Protected Hillary In Email Investigation

Submitted by Alice Salles via TheAntiMedia.org,

While serving as Secretary of State under President Barack Obama, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton “blatantly” disregarded protocol, an issue that prompted an official to say that there was a “stark difference” between Clinton’s “obedience to security and diplomatic protocols” and the behavior of former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The details come from a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) report released Monday.

“This frequently resulted in complaints by ambassadors who were insulted and embarrassed by this breach of protocol,” the summary reads. According to the FBI docs, the interviewee also added that “Clinton’s [use of a private email server was] well known throughout Diplomatic Security, and [breaches] were ‘abundant.'”

The 100-page document contains interview summaries conducted by the FBI along with notes from its agents, which may offer the public a glimpse into the government’s official Clinton email investigation.

The last 100-page release is the fourth installment of documents related to the Clinton email probe recently released by the FBI. The most recent release

Goldman Smashes Expectations As Trading, Prop Revenues Surge, “Average” Employee Makes $322,607

After the rest of the major US banks posted solid beats, mostly on the back of a strong rebound in markets-driven revenue, there was little concern that Goldman – the pure-play trading powerhouse (at least until the recent launch of a retail lending and deposit operation) would likewise surpass Wall Street’s expectations, and moments ago that was confirmed when Goldman reported EPS of $4.88, smashing expectations of $3.86, as profit jumped 47% from a year ago to $2.1 billion. The profit beat was driven by a 19% spike in revenue which rose from $6.9 billion to $8.2 billion, beating consensus estimates of $7.6 billion.

Goldman said its return on equity stood at 11.2% in the third quarter. It was 7% in the year-earlier quarter and hadn’t exceeded 10%—the firm’ theoretical cost of capital—since early 2015.

The main reason for the rebound was a 34% surge in FICC revenue, which jumped from $1.461 billion to $1.784 billion, as well as surge in the firm’s prop trading aka “Investing and Lending” revenue, soaring by 109% to $1.398 billion in Q3. A notable outlier on an otherwise pristeen report was the 12% decline in Commissions and Fees, which declined to $719 million, and suggested that traditional methods of generating trading revenue continue to fade.

Also notable is that Investment Banking revenue dipped by 1% to $1.5 billion as a result of the recent scarcity in blockbuster M&A deals.

Some other details from the report:

Q3 trading rev. $3.75b vs est. $3.39b (Bloomberg survey of 5 ests.)

FICC $1.96b vs est. $1.70b (Bloomberg survey of 5 ests.)

Equities $1.78b vs est. $1.69b (Bloomberg survey of 5 ests.)

3Q i-banking $1.54b …

Frontrunning: October 18

Commodity stocks lift global shares, inflation in focus (Reuters)

FBI Papers Show State Department Fought Clinton Email Classification (WSJ)

Russia Declares Pause in Aleppo Bombing so Rebels, Civilians Can Flee (NBC)

Syria rebels reject Aleppo withdrawal after Russian statement (Reuters)

UK lawmakers will ‘very likely’ have to ratify final Brexit deal: government lawyer (Reuters)

U.K. Inflation Rate Surges to Highest in Almost Two Years (BBG)

Mosul campaign is a calculated risk for Obama (Reuters)

UnitedHealth Boosts Forecast as It Puts Obamacare Woes in Past (BBG)

Norway’s oil fund urged to invest billions more in shares (FT)

Why Americans Work So Much More Than Europeans (BBG)

Iraqi Forces Advance to Edges of ISIS-Held Mosul (WSJ)

The Company Taking Over Breakfast in America (

Euro “Will Collapse” As Is “House of Cards” Warns Founder of Euro

The Euro “will collapse” as it is a”house of cards” warned Otmar Issing, the founder and creator of the euro in an extraordinary interview on Monday.

Paper currency – Euro paper notes and Greek drachma note

In the explosive interview with the journal Central Banking, Professor Issing, said “one day, the house of cards will collapse” as the European Central Bank (ECB) is becoming dangerously over-extended and the whole euro project is unworkable in its current form.

The founding architect of the monetary union has warned that Brussels’ dream of a European superstate will finally be buried amongst the rubble of the crumbling single currency he designed.

“Realistically, it will be a case of muddling through, struggling from one crisis to the next. It is difficult to forecast how long this will continue for, but it cannot go on endlessly,” he told the journal Central Banking in a remark …

Netflix’s Show Must Go On

Domestic subscribers grow despite a price shift, giving the streaming company a much-needed hit.

Why Can’t All Japanese Banks Be Like Suruga?

Japan’s provincial Suruga Bank shows how to thrive even in a negative rate world.

Intel’s Stock Price Boots Up on PCs

The chip maker’s shares have surged thanks in part to decent PC sales, but growth plans still hinge on the cloud.

September 2016 CPI: Year-over-Year Inflation Rate Now 1.5%

by Doug Short / Jill Mislinski and Steven Hansen

According to the BLS, the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) year-over-year inflation rate was 1.5 % – significantly higher than last month’s 1.1 %. The year-over-year core inflation (excludes energy and food) rate declined 0.1 % to 2.2 %, and remains slightly above the target set by the Federal Reserve.

Economic Report: Housing, gas drive consumer inflation higher

The higher cost of rent and housing as well as more costly gas boosted consumer inflation by 0.3% in September, the government said Wednesday.

Deep Dive: Six solid dividend stocks unfairly punished by investors

Instead of chasing performance, investors might want to consider these jilted darlings, says Phil van Doorn.

Need to Know: Why Goldman’s ‘Apple Prime’ idea is a tasty proposal for shareholders

Stocks look on track to erase a bit of this month’s drop, but the bigger fireworks are coming from individual names. Netflix is soaring premarket, and today’s call gives a thumbs up to Goldman’s call for Apple to launch an Amazon Prime-like service.