24Jan2017 Market Close: Wall Street Exuberant Closing With New Historic Highs, Trump Effect Still Working, Analysts Claim Another 5 Percent Higher Possible

Trump talks to U.S. automakers, pushes for new American plants

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump urged the chief executives of the Big Three U.S. automakers on Tuesday to build more cars in the country, pressing his pledge to bring jobs to America and discourage the car industry from investing in Mexico.

S&P 500, Nasdaq hit record highs on bank, tech gains

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The S&P 500 and Nasdaq touched intraday record highs on Tuesday and the Dow was poised for its best day of the year, lifted by gains in financial and technology stocks.

Aetna, Humana to consider all options after court blocks merger

(Reuters) – Aetna and Humana would consider all available options for their proposed $34 billion merger, the two U.S. health insurers said on Tuesday, a day after a court ruled against the deal due to fears it would lower competition.

Toyota Motor to add 400 jobs at Indiana assembly plant

TOKYO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp on Tuesday said it would add 400 jobs to build more SUVs at one of its U.S. plants, highlighting its expansion plans just as U.S. President Donald Trump calls on manufacturers to build more cars in the country.

How Russia sold its oil jewel: without saying who bought it

MOSCOW/LONDON/MILAN (Reuters) – More than a month after Russia announced one of its biggest privatizations since the 1990s, selling a 19.5 percent stake in its giant oil company Rosneft, it still isn’t possible to determine from public records the full identities of those who bought it.

Zodiac family silver key to $9 billion Safran tie-up

PARIS (Reuters) – France’s Safran has crafted a deal to persuade family investors in Zodiac Aerospace to give up control in a merger that would create the world’s third largest aerospace supplier.

Target to launch mobile payment service in U.S. stores this year

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Target Corp said on Tuesday it plans to launch its own mobile payment service this year in stores, which would allow customers to pay for goods using an app on their mobile phones.

Italy’s Intesa SanPaolo confirms examining possible tie-up with Generali

MILAN (Reuters) – Italian banking and insurance group Intesa SanPaolo confirmed on Tuesday it was examining a possible tie-up with insurer Assicurazioni Generali .

Wells Fargo to stop giving branches advance notice of inspections

(Reuters) – Wells Fargo & Co will eliminate its policy of notifying branches a day in advance before they are visited by internal inspectors, a bank spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

Trump Adviser Conway Gets Secret Service Protection After Death Threats

Kellyanne Conway – arguably Trump’s most recognizable aide – has been assigned Secret Service protection after receiving threats against her life, presumably from tolerant anti-Trump protesters.

.@KellyannePolls talks to @HardballChris about receiving death threats and the need to end incendiary rhetoric https://t.co/wF6jv1b8nl

— Hardball (@hardball) December 9, 2016

Conway had previously blasted the president-elect’s critics — namely Hillary Clinton supporters — for fueling a barrage of death threats against her…

“Anytime I respond, anytime I defend myself against these … allegations that are now leading to death threats … I’m seen as ungracious,” Conway said during an interview Thursday on MSNBC with Chris Matthews, referring, in part, to claims that the Trump campaign gave a platform to white nationalists.

“Why are we sore winners? I’m not a sore winner. I’m a winner. My guy is a winner. He’s the next president of the United States.”

As The New York Post reports, it is unclear what threats Conway, Trump’s
final campaign manager, was facing, but during a recent interview with Sean Hannity on the Fox News Network, Conway said that multiple packages containing “white substances” have been delivered to her home causing panic.

Transcanada Responds To Trump Executive Order: Says Keystone XL Will Add $3 Billion To US GDP

In a response filed moments ago by TransCanada, the company said it is currently preparing a follow up application, and will take up President Donald Trump’s invitation to again seek permit for the Keysteon XL pipeline. It further adds that Keystone XL will add more than $3 billion to U.S. GDP and create “thousands” of construction jobs.

Full statement below:

We appreciate the President of the United States inviting us to re-apply for KXL.

We are currently preparing the application and intend to do so. KXL creates thousands of well-paying construction jobs and would generate tens of millions of dollars in annual property taxes to counties along the route as well as more than $3 billion to the U.S. GDP.

With best-in-class technology and construction techniques that protect waterways and other sensitive environmental resources, KXL represents the safest, most environmentally sound way to connect the American economy to an abundant energy resource.

Ironically, as the back and forth was taking place, news emerged that a pipeline in the western Canadian province of Saskatchewan leaked 200,000 liters (52,834 gallons) of oil in an aboriginal community, the provincial government said on Monday according to Reuters. The government was notified late in the afternoon on Friday, and 170,000 liters have since been recovered, said Doug McKnight, assistant deputy minister in the Ministry of the Economy, which regulates pipelines in Saskatchewan.

The spill came seven months after another major incident in Saskatchewan, in which a Husky Energy Inc pipeline leaked 225,000 liters into a major river and cut off the drinking water supply for two cities. It was not immediately clear how t …

Near Broke Company Tells Investors To Stop Buying Its Soaring Stock

An obscure Danish penny stock company called Victoria Properties has a lot of investors, and its own management team, dumbfounded after it surged nearly 1,000% in just a matter of days and for no apparent reason whatsoever. Per Bloomberg, the company invests in residential and retail real estate in Germany but a quick review of financials reveals minimal revenue, consistent cash flow burns for several years running, minimal assets and very little remaining cash.

The sudden surge in the company’s stock price even forced management to issue a statement confirming that Victoria’s equity value is “still equal to about zero kroner”…which we assume is just a rough estimate.

“The management in Victoria Properties wants to make clear that there has been no change in Victoria Properties’ economic conditions and that no plans have been disclosed regarding the company’s future strategy,” Chief Executive Officer Rasmus Bundgaard said in the stock-exchange announcement. “The company’s equity is therefore still equal to about zero kroner.”

According to Bloomberg, no one could explain the sudden surge in Victoria’s equity though most of the trading came from retail brokerage accounts held at NordNet AB.

Goldman Warns Of Oil Price Shock As Border Tax Could Lead To Surge In US Oil Production

While much has been said about the impact on the dollar from the proposed Border Tax Adjustment, which may or may not be implemented depending on what Trump says/tweets on any given day (and as a reminder, there has already been a loud outcry against it by powerful lobby groups, including the Kochs, as a result of the expected decimation of US retailers should BTA be implemented) little has been said about how it could impact US commodity production in general, and oil in particular.

This morning, in a note titled “Destination-based taxation and the oil market”, Goldman’s Damien Courvalin focused on this issue and found that the price gain from shift to destination-based border adjusted corporate tax would prompt US drillers to “sharply increase activity” as a result of lower US corporate tax rates, which would aggressively incentivize shale drilling, resulting in a global oil price shock, sending domestic prices spiking, as global prices slide.

The border tax would have an inflationary impact on U.S. service costs and reduce U.S. dollar costs of foreign producers. A lower U.S. corporate tax rate “could force a deflationary tax policy response” elsewhere further reducing the marginal cost of oil. In short, “US oil prices would appreciate immediately and sharply vs. global oil prices”

Some observations:

If domestic oil prices remained at the same level as imported crude oil prices upon implementation of the BTA, US refiners would have an incentive to consume only domestically produced crude instead of importing crude as only the cost of domestic crude would be deducted for tax purposes, and (2) US producers would have an incentive only to export cru …

Verizon Can’t Find the Next Big Thing

Verizon doesn’t need to follow AT&T, but its earnings show it needs to chart a growth path away from wireless.

Trump Profit Boom? Executives Stay Mum

Investors and analysts are predicting strong profit growth under the new presidential administration but company executives are more cautious.

Bad Sign for Pharma in Blockbuster Category’s Struggles

Blockbuster drug sales might be slowing down across the industry.

Market Extra: ‘Godfather’ of chart analysis says Trump rally has another 5% pop left

Prominent market technician Ralph Acampora thinks the stock market has more room to run over the near term, despite a trend that has seen the Dow steadily walk back from the psychologically significant level of 20,000.

Economic Outlook: What to expect when PayPal reports earnings

PayPal is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings Thursday. Analysts believe the company will beat expectations, but investors may need to see a big jump in growth to believe in the stock.

Earnings Outlook: Starbucks earnings: U.S. same-store sales expected to be key driver for stock price

Starbucks’ U.S. same-store sales are seen as an important factor in the company’s stock price.