Written by Gary
Wall Street closes in the green (SPY +0.06%), DOW up 27 points and the SP500 flat. Crude prices trending upwards in heavy volatility, the US dollar fell sharply after the Fed’s held interest rates at 0.75% and remains upbeat on the economy.
Todays S&P 500 Chart
The Market in Perspective
Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
Fed holds interest rates steady, remains upbeat on economyWASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday in its first meeting since President Donald Trump took office, but painted a relatively upbeat picture of the U.S. economy that suggested it was on track to tighten monetary policy this year. | |
U.S. factory, private payrolls data point to firming economyWASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. factory activity accelerated to more than a two-year high in January amid sustained gains in new orders and raw material costs, pointing to a recovery in manufacturing as domestic demand strengthens and the drag from low oil prices ebbs. | |
S&P 500 down for fifth session, Apple spike lifts NasdaqNEW YORK (Reuters) – The S&P 500 moved in and out of negative territory on Wednesday, buoyed by gains in Apple shares and after the U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged, while painting a relatively upbeat picture of the U.S. economy. | |
VW, Robert Bosch agree to pay $1.55 billion to settle U.S. diesel claimsWASHINGTON (Reuters) – Volkswagen AG has agreed to pay at least $1.22 billion to fix or buy back nearly 80,000 polluting U.S. 3.0 liter diesel-engine vehicles to settle claims it fitted illegal emissions-cheating software to the cars, court documents showed. | |
New York sues Charter, alleges Time Warner fraud on internet speedsNEW YORK (Reuters) – New York filed a lawsuit on Wednesday accusing Charter Communications Inc of short-changing customers who were promised faster internet speeds than it could deliver. | |
Ford, GM see January sales gains in CanadaTORONTO (Reuters) – The Canadian arms of Ford Motor Co and General Motors Co reported single-digit gains for January car and light truck sales on Wednesday, in contrast to modest declines in the United States. | |
Waymo’s self-driving cars improve performance in California tests(Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s Waymo said its fleet of self-driving vehicles logged more than 600,000 miles last year on public roads in California, while rival Tesla Inc reported operating autonomous vehicles for just 550 miles on public roads since last October, according to reports released on Wednesday by the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles. | |
Chink in Under Armour: slow down in sales growth seen as new normal(Reuters) – Under Armour Inc’s revenue increased at breakneck speed for more than six years, averaging a quarterly growth rate of 20 percent, as shoppers couldn’t get enough of their Stephen Curry basketball gear and Bandit running shoes. | |
China-backed electric vehicle startup Faraday scales back U.S. plansDETROIT/BEIJING (Reuters) – Electric luxury car startup Faraday Future, one of several Chinese-funded companies taking aim at Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc , is throttling back on plans to build vehicles in the United States, the company and public officials said. | |
VIX Crashes To 10-Year Lows As ‘Dovish’ Fed Sparks Gold Gains, Dollar LossesOne look at WTI, RBOB, and VIX today and it’s clear the algos are in charge… don’t play… Post-Fed, Gold was the biggest winner… As rate-hike odds dropped… The S&P was down 4 days in a row before today – the longest losing streak since the election… (Trannies were best post-Fed, but failed to get back to even) VIX flash-crashed to 9.97… Its lowest since Feb 2007… | |
Trump Makes Unannounced Trip To Honor Fallen SealThe White House press pool was caught off guard this afternoon, when President Donald Trump made an unannounced trip to honor the returning remains of a U.S. Navy SEAL killed during a weekend raid on an al-Qaida base in Yemen, AP reports. Trump was to arrive Wednesday afternoon at Delaware’s Dover Air Force Base. Trump abruptly left the White House with his daughter, Ivanka, shortly before 3 p.m. to travel to the base. The visit was previously unannounced. Sen. Chris Coons accompanied the president during the visit, which was closed to the press. Chief Special Warfare Operator William “Ryan” Owens, a 36-year-old from Peoria, Illinois, was the first known U.S. combat casualty since Trump took office less than two weeks ago. Three other Americans were wounded in the operation, which was planned by former President Barack Obama’s administration but approved by Trump. Questions have been raised about the raid, which U.S. officials said left 14 al-Qaeda fighters dead and resulted in the capture of sensitive intelligence. The 8-year-old daughter of U.S.-born al Qaeda fighter Anwar al-Awlaki was also killed in the operation. Al-Awlaki, a former top al-Qaeda leader, was killed in a controversial drone strike in 2011. Trump is also expected to join Owens’ family for a private ceremony. The trip was not on Trump’s public schedule. A small group of journalists traveled with Trump on the condition that the visit was not reported in advance. | |
Here’s Why Super Bowl Ticket Prices Are So LowWhile there is nothing cheap about attending the Super Bowl, something unusual is occurring in the lead-up to the Falcons-Patriots game this weekend. Ticket prices have suffered a precipitous drop in the last week… As CBS Sports reports, things were rolling with the possibility of a Patriots-Cowboys matchup on the docket (and probably would have set records for prices) but took a fall when the Cowboys lost to the Packers. The prospective Steelers/Patriots-Packers/Falcons matchup meant at least some kind of good football matchup, which drove the price up. But steadily throughout the week, there’s been a decline — perhaps a lack of movement in terms of sales — and then this week the bottom fell out of the market. Almost overnight the price dropped by nearly $1,700, and that’s just the median price on the secondary market. You can suddenly get in the game for less than $2,000. Source: TicketCity.com | |
UK Parliament Overwhelmingly Authorizes Theresa May To Trigger Article 50 And Withdraw From EUMP’s in Parliament have voted 498 to 114 to authorize Prime Minster Theresa May to Trigger Article 50 and begin the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union. The vote officiates the result of the June 23rd, 2016 “Brexit” Referendum where a majority of UK citizens indicated a desire to leave the EU. An amendment introduced by the Scottish National Party (SNP) which called on the Government to consult the devolved powers on Brexit and calls on her to set out her objectives for the negotiation was rejected. The vote authorizes Theresa May to begin the withdrawal process, which she has indicated she will do by the end of March, 2017. The BBC reports that talks with the EU are expected to last for up to two years, and that the UK will have officially left the EU by 2019. This article was originally posted at www.disobedientmedia.com
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Yet Another Reason to Worry About ChipotleThe Trump administration’s proposed 20% import tax on goods from Mexico adds another concern for burrito chain Chipotle. | |
T. Rowe Price Shows New Way Active Managers Are Losing GroundThe latest set of quarterly results from fund managers show passive-investment vehicles are continuing to disrupt the industry. | |
OPEC Acing a Challenging Oil Market Test So FarOPEC is cheating on oil quotas much less than is typical, helping crude hang on to late 2016 gains. | |
01 February 2017 FOMC Meeting Statement: Federal Funds Rate UnchangedEconintersect: The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) – the board of directors of the Federal Reserve maintained the existing federal funds rate. There were no dissenting votes. A summary of how the members viewed the economy:
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The Ratings Game: Coach upgraded after it cuts down on discounts, sells more full-priced handbagsAnalysts are upbeat about Coach’s fiscal second-quarter results, which showed that customers are spending more on the company’s handbags. | |
Trump Today: Trump Today: ‘Go nuclear’ over Supreme Court nominee, president advises RepublicansDonald Trump told Senate Republicans to ‘go nuclear,’ if necessary, to confirm his Supreme Court nominee and hosted a ‘listening session’ about African American History Month before having lunch with Rex Tillerson. | |
Apple is no longer the most valuable brand in the world as Google takes top spotGoogle takes the top spot over Apple in the Brand Finance Global 500 report, which determines brand value. |
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