09Feb2017 Market Update: DOW Up Triple Digits, New Historic Highs For The The Main Indexes, Crude Prices Trending Upwards, Gold Index Falls Sharply

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

North and South American markets are mixed today. The IPC is up 0.58% while the S&P 500 gains 0.57%. The Bovespa is off 0.20%.

Bank, energy stocks lift Wall St indexes to record highs

(Reuters) – Wall Street’s three main indexes hit record highs on Thursday, amid gains across sectors, led by financial and energy stocks.

U.S. jobless claims near 43-year low; wholesale inventories surge

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week to near a 43-year low, amid a further tightening of the labor market that could eventually spur faster wage growth.

Twitter advertising revenue falls after Trump buzz fails to drive growth

(Reuters) – Twitter Inc reported on Thursday it had more active users than a year earlier but lower advertising revenue, disappointing investors with its failure so far to translate fans such as U.S. President Donald Trump into more dollars.

Coca-Cola forecasts drop in 2017 profit amid refranchising

(Reuters) – Coca-Cola Co forecast a surprise drop in full-year profit as costs related to refranchising its U.S. bottling operations are expected to be higher than previously anticipated.

Fed’s Bullard says rates can remain low through 2017

ST. LOUIS (Reuters) – U.S. interest rates can likely remain low through at least 2017, with no clear sense yet of whether the Trump administration’s policies will spark higher inflation or growth, St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard said on Thursday.

Thomson Reuters reports profit rise, but revenue miss hits stock

NEW YORK (Reuters) – News and information company Thomson Reuters Corp reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday but missed expectations on revenue and its stock opened down more than 2 percent.

U.S. court blocks Anthem-Cigna merger, dealing blow to consolidation

(Reuters) – A federal judge on Wednesday ruled against U.S. health insurer Anthem Inc’s proposed $54 billion merger with smaller rival Cigna Corp , derailing an unprecedented effort to consolidate the country’s health insurance industry.

Exclusive: Lockheed says U.S. may take ‘fresh look’ at its India F-16 plan

NEW DELHI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. defense firm Lockheed Martin wants to push ahead with plans to move production of its F-16 combat jets to India, but understands President Donald Trump’s administration may want to take a “fresh look” at the proposal.

Singapore Airlines places $14 billion wide-body Boeing order

SINGAPORE/PARIS (Reuters) – Singapore Airlines (SIA) announced a provisional order worth $13.8 billion at list prices to buy 39 Boeing wide-body planes on Thursday as it battles Gulf carriers, dealing a blow to Airbus in the key market for big twinjets.

Swiss National Bank’s U.S. Stock Holdings Hit A Record $63.4 Billion

Being able to print your own money and buy stocks at any price sure can be fun. Just as the SNB which unlike many other (if ever fewer) central banks admits to doing just that.

In its latest 13F filing, the Swiss National Bank reported that the value of its portfolio of US stocks rose again in the fourth quarter, increasing by 1.6% from $62.4 billion as of Sept. 30 to a record high $63.4 billion at the end of the year.

Over the past two years, the total Assets under management of this massive hedge fund, which occasionally engages in massive currency manipulation with disastrous results, have increased from $26.7 billion to $63.4 billion, a 138% increase, mostly as a result of relentless currency manipulation and monetization of various assets, including both bonds and stocks.

In its latest 13F, the SNB reported stakes in 2,564 companies, up from 2,536 in the previous quarter.

SNB policy makers, among them Governing Board Member Andrea Maechler, have said many times that they invest for the benefit of monetary policy, replicating broad-based indexes, and not to generate a profit, although with the S&P500 at all time highs, they have also achieved that. The SNB excludes some companies on ethical grounds, according to Bloomberg.

The SNB’s biggest holdings as of December 31 were the following:

The Fed’s General Counsel Is Retiring

Who can forget the infamous 2009 exchange between Alan Grayson and the Fed’s General Counsel Scott Alvarez in which the Florida Democrat unleashed on the Fed:

Alan Grayson: I would like to know whether it is within the Federal Reserve’s legal authority to try to manipulate the stock market or the futures market.

Federal Reserve GC Scott Alvarez: I don’t believe the Federal Reserve tries to manipulate the stock market.

Alan Grayson: Does the Federal Reserve actually possess all the gold that’s listed on their balance sheet.

Scott Alvarez: Yes…

Alan Grayson: Who actually executes the trades for the Federal Reserve in the markets?

Scott Alvarez: The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which executes trades through Primary Dealers.

Alan Grayson: Can you name one Primary Dealer?

Scott Alvarez: JP Morgan Chase

Alan Grayson: Do you mind if we have a GAO audit to see if there has been front-running or insider trading by them? Do you mind? Is that ok with you?

Scott Alvarez: I am not sure if I have that authority…

Well, after carrying the Fed through turbulent times, the Federal Reserve’s general counsel Scott Alvarez is finally out. In a statement released by the Fed on Wednesday, it announced that that Alvarez will retire this year after a 36-year career at the central bank. In his dozen years as the Fed’s top lawyer, Mr. Alvarez quietly became one of the central bank’s most influential officials the WSJ reported. His reach was so broad that he has sometimes been referred to as the eighth Fed governor, or “Governor Alvarez.”

The Colonization Of Local-Business Main Street By Corporate America

Submitted by Charles Hugh-Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,

This is what our mode of production optimizes: ugliness, debt-serfdom, and servitude to politically dominant corporations.

An insightful correspondent recently remarked on the striking transition of American neighborhoods from commercial districts dominated by locally owned businesses to streets lined with look-alike outlets of Corporate America. This transition is so obvious that few even comment on it, much less ask if this wholesale replacement is in the best interests of residents and consumers.

I have long suggested starting any inquiry with a simple question: cui bono– to whose benefit? Let’s add a second essential question: what does the system optimize?

By this I mean: what is optimized by the infrastructure, regulations, political structure, etc.–what we call the mode of production.

I think it’s abundantly clear that our mode of production optimizes large-scale global corporations, which have access to the capital and expertise needed to optimize production, management, employee training and discipline, supply chains and the purchase of political influence.

The net result of nearly-free credit for corporations is a Corporatocracy that constantly expands its financial and political power. Governments come and go, candidates come and go, and political movements come and go, but the Corporatocracy remains at the top of the power pyramid because it can always afford to “buy” as much democracy as it needs for the state to protect its power and profits.

Luxury Companies, Cash Rich, Ready to Splurge

Whatever happens to demand for luxury goods this year, one thing is sure: Corporate cash will pile up.

Future of Cars: Hitching a Ride From Your Bank

Société Générale, the French bank, will list a stake in its car-leasing business.

This Number Points to Danger for Chinese Banks

Circular stresses in Chinese banks are showing up in a little noticed but important regulatory banking ratio.

December 2016 Wholesale Sales Improved Again

Written by Steven Hansen

The headlines say wholesale sales were up month-over-month with inventory levels up remaining at levels associated with recessions. Our analysis shows some improvement of the 3 month averages but our monthly analysis shows deceleration.

Key Words: Amazon’s Jeff Bezos was asked if he’ll run for president, and this is what he said

Jeff Bezos recently paid a reported $23 million for the biggest home in Washington, D.C., which prompted Billboard’s Stephen Witt to ask if he has designs on the White House

The Sniff Test: Twitter says its has reaccelerated its user base — but overall growth is flat

Twitter Inc. says it has fixed its user growth problem, but it posted relatively flat monthly active user growth and refused to disclose the numbers behind the growth.

In One Chart: Most states still have jobless rates above prerecession levels

Even with the significant improvement in the jobs market, most states still have higher unemployment rates than they did before the Great Recession.