Written by Gary
The three main U.S. stock indexes hit record intraday highs today (SPY +0.6%) with the S&P 500’s market capitalization topping $20 trillion for the first time ever, as the “Trump trade” was jump-started on renewed optimism about the economy.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
North and South American markets are mixed today. The Bovespa is up 1.09% while the S&P 500 gains 0.59%. The IPC is off 0.65%. |
Is this too-quiet stock market simply the calm before the storm? One analyst’s warning of a February market top — and the sign that call is on track.
What Is Moving the Markets
Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
S&P tops $20 trillion as ‘Trump trade’ fires up(Reuters) – The main U.S. stock indexes hit record intraday highs on Monday, with the S&P 500’s market capitalization topping $20 trillion for the first time ever, as the “Trump trade” was jump-started on renewed optimism about the economy. | |
U.S. inflation expectations at highest level since 2015: NY FedNEW YORK (Reuters) – A measure of U.S. inflation expectations rose for a second straight month in January to its highest level since mid-2015, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey released on Monday that reinforced the view that interest rates would keep climbing. | |
Allergan to buy fat-fighter Zeltiq Aesthetics for $2.48 billion(Reuters) – Botox maker Allergan Plc agreed to pay $2.48 billion in cash for Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc , adding a system that it says helps people slim down by freezing fat away to the company’s line-up of aesthetic products. | |
Boeing, machinists face off over union at South Carolina plantNEW YORK/NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (Reuters) – Boeing Co faces its first union vote on Wednesday at its aircraft factory in South Carolina, a high-profile test for organized labor in the nation’s most strongly anti-union state. | |
Citing Trump and Brexit, EU sees euro zone economy risk, sharp drop in UK growthBRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission said on Monday that uncertainty about U.S. policies, Brexit and elections in Germany and France would take their toll on the euro zone economy this year. | |
GM, Toyota says U.S. rules limiting self-driving cars need to be easedWASHINGTON (Reuters) – General Motors Co and Toyota Motor Corp officials will tell a U.S. House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes to automotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads. | |
U.S. trial set over bitcoin exchange linked to JPMorgan hack probeNEW YORK (Reuters) – A Florida software engineer and a New Jersey pastor are expected on Monday to face trial in a case stemming from an investigation into a bitcoin exchange and a data breach at JPMorgan Chase & Co . | |
Tesla targets Middle East drive with Dubai debutDUBAI (Reuters) – Tesla Inc has started selling its luxury electric cars in Dubai, marking its first foray into the Middle East. | |
Toshiba to issue business risk warning on Tuesday: Nikkei(Reuters) – Toshiba Corp will issue on Tuesday its first-ever warning that it may not be able to continue as a going concern, following massive nuclear-related losses, the Nikkei reported. | |
Maduro Kicks CNN Out Of Venezuela, Accuses It Of Spreading Fake NewsWhile tensions between President Trump and CNN dying down, a new scandal has erupted for the cable news network after Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro said on Sunday he wanted CNN out of the country, accusing it of spreading fake news, misrepresenting the truth and meddling in issues that are not of its concern. “CNN, do not get into the affairs of Venezuelans. I want CNN well away from here. Outside of Venezuela. Do not put your nose in Venezuela,” said Maduro during a political statement. Quoted by Fox News, Maduro made the comment after blaming the U.S. network of distorting the facts when reporting on irregularities at a Caracas public high school. “Some media like CNN tried to manipulate. They cannot manipulate! That is our business, of the Venezuelans,” he said. Last week PanAmPost reported that a student demanded on national television that the president improve the conditions of his school, asking for security, infrastructure and food so his classmates wouldn’t faint from hunger anymore. CNN en Español visited the high school and talked with the staff about the student, and whether Maduro had made any improvements since that incident only to discover he had not. Maduro said the young woman “uncovered a situation that had to be spoken about” adding that � … | |
“Stealth Recession” – The Mystery Of The Teleporting CommuterVia ConvergEx’s Nicholas Colas,
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German Wholesale Prices Soar 4%, Biggest Jump Since October 2011Two weeks after Germany reported a spike in consumer prices, which jumped 1.9% from a year ago, the biggest annual increased since July 2013… … overnight Germans got another price shock when the Federal Statistics Office reported that Wholesale Prices rose a China-like 0.8% MOM in January, and advancing 4% year-on-year in January, up from the “mere” 2.8 percent increase in December, and the fastest growth since October 2011, when prices gained 4.1%. The biggest culprit: prices of solid fuels and mineral oils surged 16.4% from a year ago, although many core products also saw a substantial increase. The surge in German inflation, at both the consumer and wholesale level since the end of last year is fast becoming a political flashpoint in the country, which faces elections in September, as savers remain burdened with near-zero deposit rates. Calls are mounting for the ECB to start talks over winding down its bond-buying program, which is scheduled to run until at least the end of this year. Last week, ECB policy makers have said they would likely not bring up the topic of further tightening or tapering until at least the middle of 2017, which means that regardless of how high prices rise, Germans willhave to bear with it. At the end of January, the ECB further antagonized German shoppers when Ewald Nowotny, … | |
The Suddenly Rising Cost of Making a CarA jump in automotive commodity prices adds to car makers’ worries in 2017. | |
The Coming Drought in Corporate BondsHouse Republicans’ plans to let companies repatriate foreign profits and deny deductions on interest could cut into bond issuance. | |
Investors Have Second Thoughts About Trump TradeInflation expectations have stalled heading into a slew of data and Janet Yellen’s semiannual testimony before lawmakers. | |
The Tell: Trump’s top economic adviser doesn’t like a strong dollarCount another top Trump economic adviser as a critic of a strong dollar, according to a weekend report. | |
In One Chart: Bond traders fear Janet Yellen is planning a ‘St. Valentine’s Day Massacre’Is Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen about to unleash a bond market bloodbath? That’s what some on Wall Street are wondering. | |
The Fed: Why Yellen will hold her interest-rate cards close in front of CongressFed Chairwoman Janet Yellen will remain cautious about the outlook for interest rates during her testimony before Congress this week. |
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