28Oct2016 Pre-Market Commentary: US GDP Rises To 2.9 Percent, Gold Falls Sharply, Markets Expected To Initially Open Fractionally Higher

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are mixed. The CAC 40 is higher by 0.42%, while the DAX is leading the FTSE 100 lower. They are down 0.27% and 0.02% respectively.

Exports boost U.S. growth in third-quarter; consumer spending slows

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace in two years in the third quarter as a surge in exports and a rebound in inventory investment offset a slowdown in consumer spending.

Exxon Mobil quarterly profit drops by $1.59 billion

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Exxon Mobil Corp , the world’s largest publicly traded oil company, said on Friday its quarterly profit fell by $1.59 billion due to declining crude prices and refining margins.

U.S. labor costs increase 0.6 percent in third quarter

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. labor costs maintained a steady pace of increase in the third quarter, showing little signs of a significant pickup in wage inflation.

OPEC officials start meeting on implementing supply cut

VIENNA (Reuters) – OPEC officials began talks in Vienna on Friday aimed at working out details of their oil supply-cut agreement, which they concede is looking more complicated by the day.

EU fears VW diesel fixes could damage engines: Spiegel

BERLIN (Reuters) – The European Commission fears steps taken by Volkswagen to refit polluting diesel cars may damage the vehicles’ engines, the Spiegel magazine reported, citing unidentified staff at the European Union’s executive branch.

Toyota invests in U.S. car-sharing service

TOKYO (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp on Friday said it has invested in U.S. car-sharing company Getaround, a move that comes as global automakers seek to shore up their presence in new technology sectors amid growing competition from transport startups.

Xerox’s quarterly revenue falls nearly 3 percent

(Reuters) – Xerox Corp’s quarterly revenue fell nearly 3 percent, the seventh straight quarter of decline, as sales of its printers and copiers continued to fall.

AB InBev cuts revenue forecast after triple blow in Brazil

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Anheuser-Busch InBev , the world’s largest brewer, reported one of its weakest quarters in years as margins collapsed in recession-hit Brazil under pressure from lower sales, delayed price increases and currency hedges.

Military Veteran Bonus Scandal Might Be Much Worse Than Initially Reported

Submitted by Everett Numbers via TheAntiMedia.org,

The Pentagon and Congress are both promising quick fixes to the scandal surrounding excessive National Guard bonus payments to soldiers. However, the nearly 10,000 California Guard soldiers involved may be just the tip of the iceberg.

The U.S. military prompted outrage and Congress’ attention over the weekend when news spread that it was demanding thousands of California National Guard service members pay back erroneous or fraudulent bonuses. Those payments were offered when it became difficult to recruit enough soldiers for enlistment or reenlistment during the most active years of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Los Angeles Times first reported Saturday that the California Guard had sent payback notices to almost 10,000 guard members.

On Wednesday, Department of Defense Secretary Ash Carter paused all further repayment requests from the Pentagon.

“While some soldiers knew or should have known they were ineligible for benefits they were claiming, many others did not,” Carter said in a …

Trump “Will Probably Win” and Gold “May Rise $100” Overnight – Jim Rickards

Jim Rickards: Trump “Will Probably Win” and Gold “May Rise $100” Overnight

The US election is just two weeks away on November 8th, and one of Hillary Clinton’s most vocal critics on the business side is finance commentator and monetary expert Jim Rickards. Jim is in Sydney this week, armed with his latest book, hot off the press entitled ‘The Road to Ruin – The Global Elites’ Secret Plan for the Next Financial Crisis’ and gave an interesting television interview to ‘The Business’ on ABC Australia.

Rickards says that Trump “will probably win” and, if he, does stock markets will crash 10% and gold will rise $100 over night.

The markets and polls believe Clinton will win and that is priced into markets in the same way that a ‘Bremain’ was priced into markets prior to the ‘Brexit’ vote.

London Real Estate Prices Are Crashing

… And the easiest way to confirm it, is to look at recent (and not so recent) home listings in Kensington and Chelsea, where we find something stunning: out of 130 pages of adverts, with 15 ads per page, nearly half of all properties, or 53 of the pages show price reductions.

Page 1

… through Page 53

And it will only get much worse: there are 23 pages worth of property that has been on the market for more than a year.

The liquidation sales are coming.

The Worrying Weak Point for Super-Strong Bonds

Inflation and central banks have investors jittery, but the bond market has a built-in weakness to worry about.

ZTO: Keep Clear of Chinese E-commerce Belly Flop

Chinese express delivery company ZTO’s 15% first-day drop augers a difficult road ahead.

Amazon Is Back to Its Old Big-Spending Ways

Amazon’s quarterly report shows the performance of its retail segment still matters a lot.

MarketWatch First Take: Apple’s underwhelming Mac event was lacking in innovation

Apple Inc. hosted one of its most boring product launch events in recent years, one that is not likely to give investors confidence that innovation is alive and well at Apple

Apple demolished by Microsoft at their respective PC events

Apple’s PC event was underwhelming compared with Microsoft’s, and many designers are for the first time turning to Windows over iOS.

Economic Report: GDP hits 2.9% in biggest gain since mid-2014

The U..S. economy grew in the third quarter at the fastest pace in two and a half years, aided by a surge in exports and a rebound in the size of inventories companies keep on hand for sale.