21Feb2017 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street To Open Higher, Crude Prices And The US Dollar Both Rise, Investors Remain Bullish For The Time Being

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are mixed today. The DAX is up 0.56% while the CAC 40 gains 0.35%. The FTSE 100 is off 0.27%.

Stock futures hit record highs amid retail earnings

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures rose to record intraday highs on Tuesday as oil prices surged and investors assessed earnings from top U.S. retailers.

Wal-Mart’s quarterly comparable sales beat estimates

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Wal-Mart Stores Inc on Tuesday reported higher-than-expected U.S. comparable sales, driven by higher customer traffic to stores and accelerating online activity, and the world’s largest retailer’s shares rose more than 2 percent.

Kraft backs out of Unilever bid after hostile reception

LONDON (Reuters) – Kraft Heinz Co’s rapid retreat from its surprise $143 billion bid for Unilever in the face of stiff resistance knocked the Anglo-Dutch company’s shares on Monday as investors assessed the impact of the failed approach.

Verizon, Yahoo agree to lowered $4.48 billion deal

(Reuters) – Verizon Communications Inc , the No. 1 U.S. wireless carrier, said on Tuesday it agreed to buy the core internet business of Yahoo Inc for $4.48 billion, about $350 million less than the original price.

Wells Fargo fund business on the defensive amid sales scandal

(Reuters) – When a scandal over unauthorized accounts rocked Wells Fargo & Co’s retail division last fall, executives at its asset management arm sprang into action to limit its fallout at an already tough time for their business.

Exclusive: Burger King and Tim Hortons owner nears deal to buy Popeyes – sources

(Reuters) – Restaurant Brands International Inc, owner of the Burger King and Tim Hortons fast-food chains, is nearing a deal to acquire Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.

Snap arrives in London to woo skeptical investors ahead of IPO

LONDON (Reuters) – Snap Inc, owner of popular messaging app Snapchat, kicked off its first investor roadshow on Monday, looking to persuade London money managers to back its initial public offering in the face of concerns about its growth prospects, valuation and corporate governance.

PSA says will honor existing Opel job guarantees

FRANKFURT/PARIS (Reuters) – PSA Group has pledged to respect existing Opel and Vauxhall job guarantees if it buys the European arm of General Motors , though some analysts say thousands of jobs are eventually likely to go for the deal to work.

Writedowns and tough outlook take their toll on HSBC

HONG KONG/LONDON (Reuters) – Annual profit at HSBC Holdings slumped 62 percent and fell far short of analysts’ estimates as Europe’s largest bank took hefty writedowns from restructuring and pointed to brakes on revenue growth.

Verizon Revises Yahoo Deal After Data Breaches, Cuts Purchase Price By $350 Million

While Verizon has decided not to back away from its high profile purchase of Yahoo, after the internet portal reported two massive data breaches following the deal announcement, the WSJ reports that The companies have agreed to revise the $4.83 billion deal, cutting as much as $350 million off the price and evenly splitting costs from the breaches.

A brief history of the deal’s complications: the first Yahoo hack was revealed in September and occurred in 2014. It affected 500 million user accounts. Then, in December, Yahoo disclosed a hack that occurred in 2013 and impacted more than one billion user accounts. The stolen data included names, email addresses, dates of birth, telephone numbers and encrypted passwords, Yahoo has said. In October, Verizon signaled it could consider the breaches material events that could allow it to change the deal terms.

And while Verizon concluded that it had grounds to lower the purchase price, it ultimately decided not to walk away.

As the WSJ explains, “in late January, more than a month after Yahoo had disclosed its second breach, Verizon Chief Executive Lowell McAdam sat with two of his top lieutenants in the company’s Basking Ridge, N.J., offices and weighed his options, according to people familiar with the matter. Walk away from the deal, keep studying the impact of the breaches—potentially pushing the deal’s closure to the second half of the year—or close the transaction now and move on. There were still some things Verizon didn’t know. User engagement with Yahoo had only declined slightly after the second breach, disclosed in December, but password resets were still under way, meaning more defections could occur, these people said.”

Making matters worse, …

Putin Gold Buying Is Back – Buys One Million Ounces In January

Russia Gold Buying Returns – Adds Substantial One Million Ounces To Reserves In January

Russia gold buying returned in January with the Russian central bank buying a very large 1 million ounces or 37 metric tonnes of gold bullion.

The increase in the gold reserves came after Russia did not buy a single ounce in December – a move seen as potentially a signal or an olive branch to the U.S. and the incoming Trump administration.

It also came after Russia had accelerated its gold buying in the final months of the Obama Presidency. October 2016 saw an increase of 1.3 million ounces or 48 metric tonnes and this was the largest addition of gold to the …

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