18Nov2016 Pre-Market Commentary: US Stock Future Indexes Down And Flat, Crude Prices In The Low 45’s, Overnight Gold Fell To 1202, US Dollar Index Above 101

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are mixed today. The DAX is up 0.22% while the FTSE 100 gains 0.04%. The CAC 40 is off 0.39%.

Dollar charges to 14-year high, bond tantrum in full swing

LONDON (Reuters) – The dollar climbed to its highest level in almost 14 years against a basket of currencies on Friday, while U.S. bond yields were set for their biggest fortnightly rise in 13 years on bets U.S. inflation and interest rates are headed higher.

OPEC moves closer to oil output deal as Iran gets new offer

DOHA (Reuters) – OPEC is moving closer toward finalizing this month its first deal since 2008 to limit oil output, with most members prepared to offer Iran significant flexibility on production volumes, ministers and sources said on Friday.

Volkswagen to cut 30,000 jobs at VW brand by 2020

WOLFSBURG, Germany (Reuters) – Volkswagen and its powerful labor unions agreed to cut 30,000 jobs at the core VW brand in exchange for avoiding forced redundancies in Germany until 2025, a compromise which leaves the carmaker’s profitability still lagging rivals.

Can Trump make coal great again? At least some companies think so

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Most of the U.S. coal industry doubts Donald Trump can fulfill his promise to make the ailing industry great again in a country awash in dirt-cheap natural gas, a competing fuel.

U.S. says concerned over Russia blocking access to LinkedIn

MOSCOW (Reuters) – The U.S. government said on Friday it was deeply concerned over Russia’s decision to block public access to networking site LinkedIn, saying it created a precedent that could be used to justify blocking other sites operating in Russia.

Abercrombie & Fitch quarterly sales miss estimates, shares skid

(Reuters) – Teen apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co posted a bigger-than-expected drop in quarterly sales as fewer customers visited its namesake stores.

Pacific rim leaders to debate future of trade post-Trump

LIMA (Reuters) – Leaders of Pacific rim nations began gathering in Peru on Friday seeking to salvage hopes for regional trade as prospects of a Donald Trump presidency sounded a possible death knell for the U.S-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade pact.

Snap’s youthful founders show no fear in race to IPO

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Snap Inc, the red-hot messaging company, is seen by many tech investors as the next Facebook or Google, but its youthful founders are pushing far more aggressively than its predecessors in moving from scrappy startup to public company.

JPMorgan has clutch of CEO understudies, people guessing on winner

NEW YORK (Reuters) – JPMorgan Chase & Co is once again facing questions about who will succeed its larger-than-life chief executive after Jamie Dimon was courted by the incoming U.S. president for the role of Treasury secretary.

Meet Mike Pompeo, The New Director Of The CIA

Moments after Donald Trump offered the Attorney General spot to senator Jeff Sessions (which he promptly accepted), it was announced that Trump had also picked rep. Mike Pompeo as CIA director, who likewise accepted.

Trump has offered position of CIA director to US Rep Mike Pompeo and Pompeo has accepted -transition official

— Steve Holland (@steveholland1) November 18, 2016

The selection of Pompeo, a three-term Republican from Wichita, started earlier this week when he met with Donald Trump, according to the president-elect’s transition team. Now we know what the meetings were about. Courtesy of McClatchy, here is profile of the new director of America’s top spy agency:

* * *

Pompeo originally supported Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s presidential bid. Like most of his Kansas colleagues, Pompeo backed Trump when it was clear the New York real-estate developer would become the Republican presidential nominee, though not enthusiastically.

But Pompeo was close to Trump’s running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, who served with Pompeo in the House. Last month, Pompeo helped prepare Pence for the vice presidential debate with Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia.

The most prominent Kansas elected official to endorse Trump early on was Secretary of State Kris Kobach, now a member of the Trump transition team and a possible candidate for U.S. Attorney General.

Republican …

Enter Fake News as Replacement for Conspiracy Theory?

Via The Daily Bell

Barack Obama on fake news: ‘We have problems’ if we can’t tell the difference The US president denounced the spate of misinformation across social media platforms, including Facebook, suggesting American politics can be affected. -Guardian

Is fake news the new “conspiracy theory.” We’ve read that it may be, and it seems likely to us.

That’s because “conspiracy theory” has seemingly lost c …

What Could Go Wrong With the Trump Trade

Investors are showing a remarkable amount of certainty in what President-elect Trump will mean for the market. But it wouldn’t take much for them to be wrong.

Trump Trade Does Little For Italian Banks’ Big Problems

Political risk and capital raising mean a crucial two weeks for Italy.

Strong Dollar Means Weak Chinese Airlines

The Trump trade of strong dollar and higher bond yields should bring immediate pain to Chinese airlines. Yet share prices aren’t showing it.

Will Donald Trump cover the White House in gold?

What a Trump White House could look like.

Market Extra: The euro is on its longest losing streak ever

The euro on Friday is heading for a 10th straight loss against the U.S. dollar, and investors are taking notice as the shared currency heads for its longest losing streak since the euro’s inception.

‘Fantastic Beasts’ will likely do more for Time Warner than bring in impressive box office

This weekend, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” will look to — with a flick of the wrist — conjure box office success, with the same magic that has enthralled fans for almost two decades.