27Feb2017 Market Update: US Major Indexes Once Again Grab The Golden Ring With New Historic Highs, Proving The Naysayers Are Wrong Again As The Trump Rally Pushes Higher

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

North and South American markets are mixed today. The IPC is up 0.55% while the S&P 500 gains 0.05%. The Bovespa is off 1.18%.

Buffett tells CNBC Berkshire bought 120 million Apple shares in 2017

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Billionaire investor Warren Buffett told CNBC on Monday his conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway Inc had more than doubled its stake in Apple Inc. since the end of 2016, making it one of Berkshire’s biggest equity holdings, and that U.S. stocks overall were not in “bubble territory.”

Tesla deepens recent losses after Goldman recommends selling

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Shares of Tesla dropped on Monday after a downgrade by Goldman Sachs, bringing the electric carmaker’s decline to 11 percent since its quarterly report last week stoked worries about how much cash it is using to launch its Model 3 sedan.

U.S. judge dismisses case against Wal-Mart over Mexico bribery

(Reuters) – Wal-Mart Stores Inc on Monday won the dismissal of a U.S. lawsuit accusing the world’s largest retailer of defrauding shareholders in its Wal-Mart de Mexico unit by concealing its suspected bribery of public officials in Mexico.

Exclusive: Wal-Mart launches new front in U.S. price war, targets Aldi in grocery aisle

(Reuters) – Wal-Mart Stores Inc is running a new price-comparison test in at least 1,200 U.S. stores and squeezing packaged goods suppliers in a bid to close a pricing gap with German-based discount grocery chain Aldi and other U.S. rivals like Kroger Co , according to four sources familiar with the moves.

Trump seeks ‘historic’ increase of 9 percent in U.S. military’s budget

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump is seeking what he called a “historic” increase in military spending of more than 9 percent, a huge rise even as the United States has wound down major wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and remains the world’s strongest military power.

U.S. core capital goods orders fall; manufacturing recovery intact

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New orders for key U.S.-made capital goods unexpectedly fell in January after three straight months of strong gains, but did little to change views that manufacturing was recovering from a prolonged downturn amid rising commodity prices.

LSE scuppers Deutsche Boerse merger hopes by rejecting EU demand

LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The London Stock Exchange has all but ended a planned merger with Deutsche Boerse to create Europe’s biggest exchange, which had faced growing opposition since Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.

Chair Of House Intel Committee: No Evidence Of Contact Between Trump Campaign, Russia

In what will likely be a setback to the ongoing press campaign to portray the Trump administration and campaign as a Kremlin puppet, on Monday the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives intelligence committee said he has seen no evidence of contact between Donald Trump’s campaign and the Russian government during the 2016 presidential election, Reuters reported.

Devin Nunes, head of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said the panel is expanding an ongoing investigation into Russian activities to include Moscow’s efforts targeting the U.S. election. Nunes said he had been briefed on a transcript of a phone call that former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn had with a Russian envoy after the election. He said he did not hear anything worrisome about that call.

During a press conference with reporters on Monday, Rep. Nunes downplayed claims that the White House had asked members of the CIA and FBI to squelch reports of contact between Russia and members of Trump’s presidential campaign, saying that there was “nothing wrong” with what he characterized as attempts to have a better working relationship with the press. He also said that the committee wanted evidence of any American citizens who may have talked to Russian officials, implicitly broadening the issue beyond the Trump campaign and administration. He characterized the FBI as being “very upfront” with his committee about what they know about Trump’s potential connections with Russia, although he admitted that he’d like to know more.

When asked if they have any e …

Saudi Arabia Offers To Deploy Special Forces In Syria To Fight ISIS

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, better known to the US public for his threat last April 2016 to sell US Treasuries should the US press with a probe of Saudi involvement in the Sept 11 attacks, made a rare visit to Baghdad over the weekend in an attempt to mend the kingdom’s tense relations with Iraq. al-Jubeir’s surprise trip on Saturday marked the first official visit by a Saudi foreign minister since 1990, and the first high-level visit since the 2003 US-led invasion.

“It’s the hope of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to build excellent relations between the two brotherly countries,” said Jubeir. “There are also many shared interests, from fighting extremism and terrorism [to] opportunities for investment and trade between the two countries.”

Jubeir, who met his Iraqi counterpart Ibrahim al-Jaafari and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, also announced Saudi plans to appoint a new ambassador to Iraq. An Iraqi foreign ministry official said the kingdom supported the resumption of direct flights between the two countries. Abadi, who has been in power since 2014, has supported efforts to improve strained ties, but the road to normalization has been rocky.

A landmark visit earlier today by #SaudiArabia FM @AdelAljubeir to #Baghdad for official meetings with

Trump Seeks “Historic” $54 Billion Increase To Defense Spending

As observed earlier in the day, as part of the leaked preliminary Trump budget, the president was set to unveil major spending increases for US defense offset by cuts to federal agencies, and other non-defense sectors. And on Monday morning, the first details emerged, including that the boost to defense spending is expected to be about 10%, or some $54 billion, and will be revenue neutral, offset by cuts in non-defense areas, and will not “add a dime to the deficit.” As Trump said, he is seeking a “historic increase” in military spending.

“This budget will be a public safety and national security budget,” Trump told state governors at the White House. “It will include an historic increase in defense spending to rebuild the depleted military of the United States of America at a time we most need it,” he said.

One of the officials cited by Reuters said Trump’s request for the Pentagon included more money for shipbuilding, military aircraft and establishing “a more robust presence in key international waterways and chokepoints” such as the Strait of Hormuz and South China Sea.

A second official said the State Department’s budget could be cut by as much as 30 percent, which would force a major restructuring of the department and elimination of programs. Some defense experts have questioned the need for a large increase in U.S. military spending, which already stands at roughly $600 billion annually. By contrast, the United States spends about $50 billion annually on the State Department and foreign assistance.

The White House will send federal agencies their proposed 2018 budget allocations at noon Monday, according to an Office of Management and Budget official. The official provided no specific details during a call with reporters about the rest of the budget, including the baseline figure being u …

A People-Powered Pickup for the Art Market

Return of sidelined auction executives could boost high-end art sales.

Global Exchanges Merger Game Gets a Restart—Again

The Deutsche Börse and London Stock Exchange tie-up looks set to fail. That opens the door for NYSE-owner InterContinental Exchanges.

Defending the Euro Starts With Cleaning Up the Banks

Bad loans aren’t just an economic burden; they also undermine the eurozone itself

Durable Goods New Orders Improved in January 2017

Written by Steven Hansen

The headlines say the durable goods new orders improved. The unadjusted three month rolling average also marginally improved.

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Market Extra: Will the Ides of March bury the stock market?

The question for stock-market investors is ‘Will March be the month that buries a run of records?’

In One Chart: This country is No. 1 for millionaire migrants (and it’s not the U.S.)

There was a surge in high-net-worth individuals moving country last year.

ETF Focus: Defense ETFs charge on Trump’s plan to boost military spending

Exchange-traded funds tied to the defense industry rallied on Monday, after President Donald Trump said that his first budget proposal would include a “historic increase” in military spending.