29Mar2017 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street To Open Flat And Session May End In The Red, US Dollar Stronger Due To The Brexit Move, Crude Prices Slip

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are mixed today. The DAX is up 0.50% while the CAC 40 gains 0.10%. The FTSE 100 is off 0.12%.

Global stocks slip, sterling steadies as Brexit becomes real

LONDON (Reuters) – European shares drifted lower on Wednesday, while sterling battled back from a one-week low and regained its composure amid the drama of Britain formally triggering its exit process from the European Union.

After crippling cost overruns, Toshiba’s Westinghouse files for bankruptcy

TOKYO (Reuters) – Toshiba Corp’s U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors on Wednesday, just three months after huge cost overruns were flagged, as the Japanese parent seeks to limit losses that threaten its future.

EU vetos Deutsche Boerse-London Stock Exchange merger deal

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – An attempted merger between the German and British stock exchanges was struck down by European regulators on Wednesday, formally ending a deal that unraveled in the wake of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.

Ford warns Brexit deal must include tariff-free access to customs union

LONDON (Reuters) – U.S. carmaker Ford said on Wednesday that Britain must secure a Brexit deal which includes full tariff-free access to the entire customs union of European countries, not just the 27 other members of the European Union.

A scramble at Cisco exposes uncomfortable truths about U.S. cyber defense

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – When WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange disclosed earlier this month that his anti-secrecy group had obtained CIA tools for hacking into technology products made by U.S. companies, security engineers at Cisco Systems swung into action.

Goldman Sachs reassures staff over Brexit in voicemail

LONDON (Reuters) – Goldman Sachs sought to reassure London-based staff over potential disruption to its business as Britain prepares to leave the European Union, in a voicemail to staff sent by the Wall Street firm’s Europe CEO.

Other Akzo shareholders also want talks with PPG: Elliott Advisors

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Elliott Advisors, the activist investor with a 3.25 percent stake in Akzo Nobel , said on Wednesday other shareholders owning almost a quarter of the Dutch paints and chemicals group want it to enter into talks with spurned U.S. suitor PPG Industries .

GM rebuffs two-class share plan from Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital

(Reuters) – General Motors Co on Tuesday rejected a proposal by billionaire investor David Einhorn to split its common stock into two classes to help boost its share price.

VW files complaint at Munich court against dieselgate firm searches

BERLIN (Reuters) – Volkswagen has filed a legal complaint with a Munich court against the searches carried out by German prosecutors against the law firm it hired to investigate its emissions scandal, a spokesman said.

Michael Moore Loses It (Again): Warns Of “Extinction Of Human Life Due To Donald Trump”

In reaction to President Trump’s roll-back of a number of President Obama’s environmental protection and climate change regulations, Leftist documentary-maker Michael Moore lost it…

Trump has signed orders killing all of Obama’s climate change regulations. The EPA is prohibited henceforth from focusing on climate change.

— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) March 28, 2017

But he was not done… as he sees the most dire outcome from this terrifying regulatory roll-back…

Historians in the near future will mark today, March 28, 2017, as the day the extinction of human life on earth began, thanks 2 Donald Trump

— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) March 28, 2017

So to be clear, global humanity is destined for extinction because America decides to unwind some burdensome regulations? Perhaps we should be more worried…

Judging his remarks literally, it seems the liberal fanatic believes that historians will survive the coming human extinction (in order to mark the event).

Of course, what Mr. Moore perhaps is missing that if indeed President Trump’s cunning plan is human extinction, then this is a truly progressive agenda since the end of humanity would surely be great for the environment.

This Is The 6-Page Letter Delivered From The UK To The EU Triggering Article 50: Full Text

Moments ago, the UK Prime Minister’s office posted the 6-page letter that was delivered by the UK to the EU, triggering Article 50 and officially starting the 2 year Brexit process.

The Prime Minister has triggered Article 50 and started the process of leaving the EU. Read the letter: https://t.co/4CfCle4BP1 pic.twitter.com/Gf4DIudIMH

— UK Prime Minister (@Number10gov) March 29, 2017

In the letter, Theresa May proposes “bold and ambitious” Free Trade Agreement between the United Kingdom and says the agreement should cover important sectors, including financial services and network industries. Some of the key highlights from the letter, courtesy of Bloomberg:

U.K. Seeks to Minimize Disruption in Brexit Talks

U.K. Seeks Technical Talks on Policy Details ASAP

U.K.’s May Wants to Avoid Return to Hard Irish Border

U.K. Seeks Implementation Periods to Ease Transition to Brexit

U.K. Seeks Free Trade Agreement That Includes Finance

* * *

A scanned version of the letter can be found here, and below is our attempt to quickly OCR the text:

On 23 June last year, the people of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. As I have said before, that decision was no rejection of the values we share as fellow Europeans. Nor was it an attempt to do harm to the European Union or any of the remaining member states. On the contrary, the United Kingdom wants the European Union to succeed and prosper. Instead, the referendu …

EURUSD, Bond Yields Tumble After ECB Walks Back Policy Shift: “Wary Of Upsetting Investors”

The Euro and European bond yields tumbled this morning after Reuters reported ‘sources’ saying the ECB is wary of fresh policy change (i.e. the expected quasi-tightening) before the June meeting, because it is worried about bond yield spikes.

Via Reuters:

European Central Bank policymakers are wary of making any new change to their policy message in April after small tweaks this month upset investors and raised the specter of a surge in borrowing costs for the bloc’s indebted periphery.

One ECB source said the bank has been overinterpreted by markets at its March 9 meeting.

Taken aback when markets started to price in an interest rate hike early next year, policymakers are keen to reassure investors that their easy-money policy is far from ending, suggesting reluctance change message before June, six sources in and close to the Governing Council indicated.

While the current level of bond yields remains acceptable, a further increase would be problematic, particularly in places like Italy, Spain and Portugal, where debt payments are a major cost item and rising yields would curb spending and thwart growth.

With the euro zone economy on its best run in almost a decade and conservative policymakers# keen to start winding down stimulus, the ECB gave a small nod to improvement with a tweak of its guidance in early March, axing a reference to being ready to act with all available instruments.

But that message did not come across as hoped.

“We want …

Investors Face Brexit Quiet Before the Negotiating Storm

The U.K. has been in a curious position: in the EU but with a much weaker currency that reflects the market’s judgment of its prospects outside the single market. Now the clock is ticking on Brexit.

Trump’s Free Hand on Bank Deregulation

The Trump administration has the power to enact substantial bank deregulation on its own without legislation.

Tencent Hits a Speed Bump With Tesla

The Chinese tech giant’s $1.8 billion stake in the U.S. electric-vehicle company looks wasteful.

Why investors aren’t more excited about Regeneron’s new $37,000-a-year drug

The nonprofit ICER said last week the drug would likely be more expensive but is an important product nonetheless.

The Ratings Game: Tesaro won’t reveal price of its ovarian cancer drug. But it’ll likely be near $14,000 a month

The company could be delaying price information because it’ll be higher than expected, according to some.

The U.K. letter triggering the start of the Brexit process, in full

The text of the letter invoking Article 50 that was sent by Theresa May to the EU, in which the British prime minister lays out her wishlist of discussion points and principles for the coming two years of withdrawal negotations.