13Mar2017 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street To Open Fractionally Lower, Crude Prices And The US Dollar Index Struggle, Fed’s May Raise Rates

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are higher today with shares in London leading the region. The FTSE 100 is up 0.26% while Germany’s DAX is up 0.19% and France’s CAC 40 is up 0.17%.

Intel to buy driverless technology firm Mobileye for $15.3 billion

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – U.S. chip giant Intel has agreed to buy Israeli driverless technology firm Mobileye for $15.3 billion, the largest ever acquisition of an Israeli high-tech company.

Oil touches three-month lows, as U.S. supply swells

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil hovered around three-month lows on Monday, as rising U.S. inventories and drilling activity offset optimism over OPEC’s efforts to restrict crude output.

At the Fed, spring comes early with return to new ‘normal’

WASHINGTON(Reuters) – U.S. household wealth has hit record levels. U.S. stock prices recently hit all-time highs. Inflation is nearing the Federal Reserve’s 2.0 percent goal, and the world economy including the once-sick eurozone has skirted the risk of a deep new downturn.

Futures flat as investors prepare for rate hike

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Monday as investors braced for an action-packed week headlined by an all-but-certain interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

Toshiba seeking to extend Tuesday deadline for third-quarter disclosure: sources

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Toshiba Corp is seeking to extend its Tuesday deadline for submitting official third-quarter earnings due to disagreements with auditors over issues at its U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse, sources familiar with the matter said.

Millennial love for Snapchat extends to the stock

NEW YORK (Reuters) – For some millennial investors, loyalty to one of their favorite apps matters more than financial details in the case of Snap Inc .

Captains of German industry to accompany Merkel on Trump trip

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Bosses of German companies including engineering group Siemens and carmaker BMW will travel with Chancellor Angela Merkel to meet U.S. President Donald Trump this week, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Ford’s Lincoln plans to produce luxury SUV in China by late 2019

BEIJING (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co’s luxury unit Lincoln plans to produce luxury SUVs in China by late 2019, as it steps up its move into the world’s largest auto market and aims to catch up with German and U.S. rivals who already manufacture in the Asian nation.

HSBC names AIA’s Tucker as chairman in break with past

HONG KONG/LONDON (Reuters) – HSBC broke with tradition by choosing outsider Mark Tucker to replace Douglas Flint as chairman later this year, handing the AIA Group boss the task of selecting a new chief executive for Europe’s biggest bank in 2018.

Gold Bugs; Create bullish reversal pattern last week?

Gold & Silver Mining stocks have had a rough few weeks, falling in excess of 15%, after a sharp post Christmas rally. Are they in trouble or about to bounce of newly created rising channel support?

Below looks at the Gold Bugs Index (HUI) over the past few years.

CLICK HERE TO ENLARGE CHART ABOVE

Gold Bugs index has created a series of lower highs since the highs back in 2011. Over the past year, the index is attempting to create a new series of higher lows and higher highs.

The recent decline in the index, took it down to 1-year rising channel (green shaded channel), where it might have created a “Weekly Reversal Pattern” (bullish wick) at (1) last week. This reversal pattern/bullish wick may …

$21,714 For Every Man, Woman And Child In The World – This Global Debt Bomb Is Ready To Explode

Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,

According to the International Monetary Fund, global debt has grown to a staggering grand total of 152 trillion dollars. Other estimates put that figure closer to 200 trillion dollars, but for the purposes of this article let’s use the more conservative number. If you take 152 trillion dollars and divide it by the seven billion people living on the planet, you get $21,714, which would be the share of that debt for every man, woman and child in the world if it was divided up equally.

So if you have a family of four, your family’s share of the global debt load would be $86,856.

Very few families could write a check for that amount today, and we also must remember that we live in some of the wealthiest areas on the globe. Considering the fact that more than 3 billion people around the world live on two dollars a day or less, the truth is that about half the planet would not be capable of contributing toward the repay …

Scotland’s Sturgeon To Seek Second Independence Referendum, Expects Vote After Fall 2018

As discussed earlier, moments ago Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced she would seek steps to set out a new independence referendum. Sturgeon, speaking from Bute House, the first minister’s official residence in Edinburgh, Ms Sturgeon said “it is important that Scotland is able to choose our own future at a time when the options are clearer than they are now, but before it is too late to decide our own path.”

STURGEON: WILL TAKE STEPS TO LET SCOTS DECIDE ON INDEPENDENCE

STURGEON: WILL SEEK SCOT PARLIAMENT NEXT WEEK FOR SECTION 30

SCOTLAND TO TAKE STEPS TO NEW INDEPENDENCE REFERENDUM NEXT WEEK

STURGEON: EARLIEST POINT FOR VOTE IS NEXT AUTUMN – BBG

STURGEON SEES SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE VOTE FALL ’18 TO SPRING ’19

Of the headline above, perhaps the most important is that Sturgeon sees the next Scottish independence vote to take place between fall 2018 and spring 2019, thus providing a substantial time buffer from when the UK is expected to submit Article 50, which could come as soon as this week.

Sturgeon said “What Scotland deserves is the chance to decide our future in a fair, free and democratic way” and added that “I will now take the steps necessary to make sure that Scotland will have a choice at the end of this process.”

She also said the Scottish National Party’s mandate for a second referendum “is beyond doubt” after the result of last June’s Brexit vote, in which 62 per cent of Scottish voters backed remain.

Sturgeon added that “this is all about choice” and “having the ability to make that choice.” Responding to a question, she said she wants to avoid a hard Brexit being imposed on people of Scotland.

Also during the news conference, Sturgeon said “yes, I do” when asked if she thought that she could …

Frontrunning: March 13

Oil touches three-month lows, as U.S. supply swells (Reuters)

Oil Steadies Below $49 as U.S. Drilling Threatens Longer Glut (BBG)

Traders Brace as Crucial Events Loom for Markets (WSJ)

Preet Bharara’s Probes Likely to Continue After His Exit (WSJ)

Dollar steadies after three-day fall (Reuters)

GOP Health Plan Would Hit Rural Areas Hard (WSJ)

GOP healthcare bill hangs in the balance (The Hill)

At the Fed, spring comes early with return to new ‘normal’ (Reuters)

Your Pension Check May Soon Be Coming From an Insurance Company (WSJ)

ECB’s Smets Says Bank Hasn’t Taken First Step Toward Removing Stimulus (WSJ)

Market Drift Suggests Some Investors May Be Trading on U.K. Economic Data Ahead of Release (WSJ)

Wall Street’s Rare Feat: The Fed and Markets Are on the Same Page

Central bankers and investors are expecting multiple interest-rate increases this year, starting this week.

HSBC’s History-Making New Chairman Is a Wise Choice

For HSBC Holdings, the appointment of Mark Tucker—the first ever bank outsider to hold the role and an insurance industry veteran to boot—is a major change. The decision to bring in an outsider should help the banking giant to focus on growth.

Chinese Banks’ New Funding Trick Gets Scrutiny It Merits

A straightforward type of short-term bond called a negotiable certificate of deposit has become a key source of funding for China’s midsize banks.

The Wall Street Journal: Private-equity firm Blackstone to sell nearly half its stake in ATM maker NCR

Sales could net Blackstone about $$698 million.

Need to Know: Here’s why S&P 500 bulls should sweat the small stuff right now

With the market almost 100% convinced a Fed rate hike will come this week, here’s one sign large-caps are about to build on their losing trend.

The Wall Street Journal: Wal-Mart doubles down on ‘big boxes’ in Brazil despite sluggish sales

Facing lackluster sales in the world’s fifth-largest consumer market, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is making a contrarian bet in Brazil, investing heavily to revamp its U.S.-style big-box stores even as shoppers increasingly flock to smaller, cheaper options.