05Apr2017 Market Close: Wall Street Moves Sharply Down After Negative Fed Report, Crude Prices Waterfall To The High 50 Handle, The US Dollar Index Spikes Sharply And Then Loses All Gains

Wall Street rally fizzles after Fed minutes

(Reuters) – U.S. stocks turned negative on Wednesday afternoon after meeting minutes showed that the Federal Reserve sees a change in its bond investment policy later this year, which reversed a rally after a strong jobs report earlier in the day.

Most Fed policymakers see change to balance sheet policy ‘later this year’: minutes

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Most Federal Reserve policymakers think the central bank should take steps to begin trimming its $4.5 trillion balance sheet later this year as long as the economic data holds up, minutes from their last meeting showed.

Krispy Kreme-owner JAB to buy bakery chain Panera Bread

(Reuters) – JAB Holdings, the owner of Caribou Coffee and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, said on Wednesday it would buy bakery chain Panera Bread Co for $7.2 billion, as it expands its coffee and breakfast empire through the biggest-ever U.S. restaurant deal.

Boeing forms venture group, invests in two tech startups

SEATTLE (Reuters) – Boeing Co said on Wednesday it had launched a venture capital arm and invested in two tech startups, a fresh sign of the importance big companies see in keeping up with rapidly evolving technology for designing and making products.

Exclusive: Rockwell to win EU approval for B/E Aero takeover – sources

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – U.S. aircraft component maker Rockwell Collins is set to gain unconditional EU approval for its $6.4 billion bid for aircraft interior maker B/E Aerospace , two people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Taser changes name in shift to software, police services

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Taser International Inc , maker of the eponymous device used by police to stun and incapacitate a person temporarily, is changing its name to Axon as it pushes further into the software business.

Monsanto second-quarter profit jumps on strong demand for seeds

CHICAGO (Reuters) – U.S. seeds and agrochemicals company Monsanto Co , which is in the process of being bought by Germany’s Bayer AG for $66 billion, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, helped by strong demand for its soybean and corn seeds.

Leon Cooperman seeks appeal that could end SEC insider trading case

(Reuters) – The billionaire hedge fund manager Leon Cooperman has asked a federal judge for permission to immediately appeal a ruling that, if overturned, could spell the end of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s insider trading case against him.

Vivendi tells EU it may control Telecom Italia after shareholder meeting: sources

MILAN (Reuters) – French media group Vivendi has told the European Commission it could “de facto” control Telecom Italia after a shareholder meeting next month appoints a new board of directors, three sources close to the matter said.

Stocks Tumble: Fed Spooks Traders With Bubble Warning

Was today the Yellen Fed’s Irrational Exuberance moment?

It started off so well: the blistering ADP payrolls report, the highest in over two years (despite disappointing PMI and ISM reports), sent stocks soaring off the bat with the Dow jumping nearly 200 points higher, rising as high as 20,887, and the S&P knocking on the all time high 2,400 door again, and AMZN to new all tim highs, and making some wonder if the reflation trade had returned.

Alas it was not meant to be, because while it took the market some time to digest the Fed’s minutes, the FOMC delivered one of its loudest warnings to date that it was focusing not so much on inflation or employment, but was seeking to deflate what even “some members” of the FOMC agree is a stock bubble, warning that stock prices are “quite high”, and warning that its forecasts face “downside risks” if “financial markets were to experience a significant correction.”

And while the dollar briefly spiked to the day’s highs in kneejerk reaction to the minutes, it then surrendered its gains after the minutes showed most officials backed a policy change that would begin shrinking the central bank’s balance sheet.

The weakness in the dollar meant that everyone’s favorite market-influencing carry pair would likewise suffer, and after breaking out above 111, the USDJPY tumbled as low as 110.70 once again threatening the key 110 support level.

3 In 4 Americans Want Trump To Make Obamacare ‘Great’ Again

The Trump administration should make President Obama’s troubled health tax work instead of letting it fail, after Republicans tried and failed to repeal and replace Obamacare, according to a poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

As Bloomberg reports, three out of four people surveyed support giving the law a chance, including the majority of Republicans asked.

That sentiment runs counter to threats by President Donald Trump to let the law collapse on its own, forcing Democrats to work with him to negotiate changes.

Stupid Is As Stupid Does

Authored by Jim Quinn via The Burning Platform blog,

If you prefer fake news, fake data, and a fake narrative about an improving economy and stock market headed to 30,000, don’t read this fact based, reality check article. The level of stupidity engulfing the country has reached epic proportions, as the mainstream fake news networks flog bullshit Russian conspiracy stories, knowing at least 50% of the non-thinking iGadget distracted public believes anything they hear on the boob tube.

This stupendous degree of utter stupidity goes to a new level of idiocy when it comes to the stock market. The rigged fleecing machine known as Wall Street has gone into hyper-drive since futures dropped by 700 points on the night of Trump’s election. An already extremely overvalued market, as measured by every historically accurate valuation metric, soared by 4,000 points from that futures low – over 20% – to an all-time high. Despite dozens of warning signs and the experience of two 40% to 50% crashes in the last fifteen years, lemming like investors are confident the future is so bright they gotta wear shades.

The current bull market is the 2nd longest in history at 8 years. In March of 2009, the S&P 500 bottomed at a fitting level for Wall Street of 666. In a shocking coincidence, it bottomed on the same day Bernanke & Geithner forced the FASB to rollover like mangy dogs and stop enforcing mark to market accounting. Amazingly, when Wall Street banks, along with Fannie and Freddie, could value their toxic assets at whatever they chose, profits surged. The market is now 240% higher.

You have the second longest bull market in history, while stock market valuations, as measured by the Shiller PE ratio and every other historically accurate valuation method, are hig …

“Assad Crossed Many, Many Lines”: Trump Signals Imminent Change In Syria Policy

Just one week after Rex Tillerson signaled of a historic U-Turn in US policy regarding Syria, when he said that “the longer term status of President Assad will be decided by the Syrian people” suggesting the US is no longer intent on removing the Syrian president, this afternoon Trump signaled that the White House is about to U-turn once again, likely emerging in the same place where the Obama administration was when it nearly invaded Syria in 2013.

Speaking at a press conference with Jordan’s King Abdullah, II, President Trump on Wednesday called the suspected chemical weapons attack on civilians in Syria “a terrible affront to humanity” and hinted briefly that a change in U.S. policy on Syria may be coming as a result. Trump said that he was moved by reports of a deadly gas attack in Syria, saying that the Syrian leader – who has denied being behind the attack – had “crossed a lot of lines.”

“It crossed a lot of lines for me,” Trump said at a press conference with Jordanian King Abdullah II at the White House. “When you kill innocent children, innocent babies, little babies with a chemical gas that is so lethal that people were shocked to hear what gas it was, that crosses many lines beyond the red line. Many, many lines.”

While painfully reminiscent of a similar chemical attack conducted in 2013, which was subsequently revealed to be a false flag, U.S. officials said they believe the attack was carried out by the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Which, again, does not make much sense since just days before the chemical attack, Trump administration officials said the U.S. would no longer prioritize regime change in Syria and that the …

Activist Investors Find More Fertile Ground in Europe

Activist investing is on the rise in the old world, but local rules demand a local game plan.

Panera Bread: The Shorts Are Crushed Again

Panera Bread short sellers are the latest group of investors to get burned by JAB Holding’s deal making.

FDA Nominee Not All Good News for Drug Makers

Smooth sailing for Scott Gottlieb confirmation doesn’t mean investors will enjoy the same.

15 March 2017 FOMC Meeting Minutes: Next Rate Increase Sooner Rather Than Later?

— this post authored by Steven Hansen

The 15 March 2017 meeting statement presented the actions taken. This post covers the economic discussion during this FOMC meeting between the members (minutes were released today). There was considerable discussion on when to raise the federal funds rate again:

… Committee essentially had met its inflation goal or was poised to meet it later this year. In the view of these participants, such circumstances could warrant a faster pace of scaling back accommodation than implied by the medians of participants’ assessments in the SEP. …..

The New York Post: Lyme disease is threatening an unprecedented 2017

Acorns, and their role in the diet of mice, are a harbinger for a surge in the tick-borne malady.

Trump Today: Trump Today: President says he thinks Obama adviser Rice committed a crime

President Trump hosted King Abdullah II of Jordan at the White House, told the New York Times he thought former National Security Adviser Susan Rice had committed a crime and was scheduled to speak with the leaders of Germany and Japan.

Plug Power’s stock rockets after Amazon supply deal

Plug Power’s stock soars on heavy volume after supply agreement with Amazon offers potential for a large equity investment.