07Apr2017 Market Close: US Stock Markets Ended Today’s Session Flat, Unattractive And Mostly In The Red, The US Dollar Index Fractionally Off Session Highs And WTI Crude Remains Steady In The Lower 52 Handle

Wall Street dips on weak payrolls, Syria concern

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Wall Street’s three major indexes edged lower on Friday to end well below session highs after a weaker-than-expected job report, a U.S. missile strike in Syria and comments by a key Federal Reserve official on the Fed’s plan to reduce its balance sheet.

Weather dampens U.S. job growth; unemployment rate drops to 4.5 percent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. job growth slowed sharply in March amid continued layoffs in the embattled retail sector, but a drop in the unemployment rate to a near 10-year low of 4.5 percent suggested labor market strength remained intact.

Twitter pulls lawsuit over anti-Trump account, says summons withdrawn

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Twitter Inc on Friday dropped a lawsuit it filed the previous day against the U.S. Homeland Security Department, saying the government had withdrawn a summons for records about who was behind an account critical of President Donald Trump.

Uber says its self-driving technology differs from Waymo’s

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] said on Friday its self-driving sensor technology was “fundamentally different” from Waymo’s, blasting the Alphabet Inc unit’s claim that it profited from stolen files in the race to roll out the first driverless car.

Exclusive: U.S. regulator removes top examiner for Wells Fargo – sources

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The most senior bank examiner for Wells Fargo & Co has been removed by a U.S. regulator in the wake of the bank’s unauthorized accounts scandal, people familiar with the matter told Reuters this week.

Las Vegas sports gambler Walters convicted of insider trading

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Famed Las Vegas sports gambler William “Billy” Walters was convicted on Friday of insider trading charges in a scheme that prosecutors said enabled him to make more than $40 million and involved a stock tip to star professional golfer Phil Mickelson.

Airlines asked to perform early engine checks on CSeries: Bombardier

MONTREAL (Reuters) – Two airlines flying Bombardier Inc’s CSeries planes were asked to perform early preventive checks of engines by manufacturer Pratt & Whitney after problems were detected in a different variant of the geared turbofan motor, the aircraft maker said on Friday.

Facebook virtual reality unit Oculus faces lawsuit over imaging patent

(Reuters) – Facebook Inc’s virtual reality unit Oculus VR is facing a lawsuit alleging it incorporated without authorization a smaller competitor’s patented technology into its Rift headset.

Investors look to global growth for earnings power

NEW YORK (Reuters) – America First may be a main policy of the White House and fuel to the stock market rally but U.S. investors are looking overseas for stronger earnings as S&P 500 companies are set to report their first quarter of double-digit profit gains since 2014.

Ex-UK Ambassador To Syria Questions Chemical Attack; “It Doesn’t Make Sense, Assad Is Not Mad”

The former UK ambassador to Syria, Peter Ford, has joined the chorus of folks implying that the chemical attack in Syria wreaks of a ‘false flag’ operation. Speaking on BBC Radio earlier, Ford said there is “no proof that the cause of the explosion was what they said it was” and that it simply wouldn’t make sense for Assad to launch such an attack as it would be “totally self-defeating.”

“There is no proof that the cause of the explosion was what they said it was. Remember what happened in Iraq…I’ve seen testimony alleged from witnesses who said they saw chemical bombs dropping from the air. Well, you can not see chemical weapons dropping from the air. Such testimony is worthless.”

“But think about the consequences because this is not likely to be the end of it. It doesn’t make sense that Assad would do it. Lets not leave our brains outside the door when we examine evidence. It would be totally self-defeating as shown by the results…Assad is not mad.”

As we pointed out yesterday, Ford’s comments seemingly align with the opinion of former Representative Ron Paul who argued that there was a 0% chance that Assad deliberately launched a chemical weapons attack on Syrian citizens.

“Who benefits?”

“It doesn’t make any sense for Assad under these conditions to all of a sudden use poison gases – I think there’s zero ch …

Saudi Arabia Vs. Russia: The Next Oil Price War

Authored by Cyril Widdershoven via OilPrice.com,

International oil markets could be heading towards a new war, as leading OPEC and non-OPEC producers are vying for increased stakes. The unexpected cooperation between OPEC and non-OPEC countries, instigated by the full support of Saudi Arabia (OPEC) and Russia (non-OPEC) has brought some stabilization to the crude markets for almost half a year. The expected crude oil price crisis has been averted, it seems, leaving enough room when looking at the fundamentals to a bull market in the coming months. As long as Saudi Arabia, Russia and some other major producers (UAE, Kuwait), are supporting a production cut extension, financials will be seeing some light at the end of the tunnel.

The effects of the 2nd shale oil revolution, as some have stated, have been mostly mitigated by a reasonably high compliance of OPEC and non-OPEC members to the agreed upon cuts, while geopolitical and security issues have prevented Libya, Iraq, Venezuela and Nigeria, from entering with new volumes. Stabilization in the crude oil market, as always, is not only fundamentals but also geopolitics and national interests. The latter now could also be the main threat to a successful extension of the OPEC production cuts in the coming months.

Fears are growing that OPEC’s leading producer, Saudi Arabia, is no longer happy with the overall effects it is generating by taking the brunt of the production cuts, while at the same time, other OPEC members, such as Iran and Iraq, are looking at production increases. Saudi Arabia’s other main rival Russia is also not sitting idle. Even if Moscow is still fully behind the official production cuts, Russian oil companies have been …

Syrian Warplanes From US-Hit Air Base Said To Resume Air Strikes

Just when you thought this day could not get any more bizarre, here comes Reuters with a headline, citing the infamous Syrian Observatory For Human Rights, that Syrian warplanes have taken off from air base hit by U.S., carry out strikes in Homs countryside.

JUST IN: Syrian warplanes take off from air base hit by U.S., carry out strikes in Homs countryside – Syrian observatory for human rights

— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) April 7, 2017

Why is skepticism warranted?

Because as a reminder, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights is the one-man run propaganda entity, controlled by Abdul Rahman, which emerged was responsible for the “chemical attack” tape that nearly led to the 2013 airstrike.

For more, read “Meet The Man Behind The Propaganda”

Iron Ore Prices Plunge Into Bear Market Amid Record China Glut

Just a week ago we warned of China’s record glut of Iron Ore (enough to build 13,000 Eiffel Towers), and following warnings from Barclays and RBA of a likely pullback, futures in Dalian sank to lowest since November as steel sags.

Bloomberg reports that iron ore is getting beaten back down in a told-you-so rout after a procession of analysts, Australia’s central bank and miners themselves delivered warnings that gains were unsustainable, with the latest blow landed by the world’s top shipper saying prices are set to revisit the $50s.

Ore with 62 percent content in Qingdao fell 6.8 percent to $75.45 a dry ton, entering a bear market after declining more than 20 percent from a Feb. 21 peak, according to Metal Bulletin Ltd. The price has now erased all of this year’s gains, declining 3.1 percent. Earlier in Asia, futures in Dalian plunged 6.2 percent to the lowest close in five months as steel sank.

Iron ore is in retreat after hitting the highest level since 2014 in February amid concern that risi …

Jobs Report Obscures a Tight Labor Market

Dig past the confusion of March’s slower job growth and falling unemployment rate, and it looks like there is little slack left in the labor market.

Samsung Is Cashing In on Its Chips

Korean technology giant Samsung has emerged from a tricky year in good shape, and the good news is set to continue.

War on Pay: Investors Are Right to Revolt Against Boardroom Excess

Norway’s huge oil fund is the latest to take aim at complicated pay deals that don’t reflect performance.

February 2017 Consumer Credit Headlines Say Year-Over-Year Growth Rate Nearly Doubled

Written by Steven Hansen

The headlines say consumer credit rate of annual growth almost doubled from last month. Our analysis disagrees – and we see not only a higher growth rate, but also a rate little changed from last month..

Market Extra: Does oil deserve a ‘risk premium’ after Syria airstrike?

Oil quickly gives back a large chunk of the gains scored after a U.S. airstrike on Syria. Analysts say it will take sustained action, or a further escalation of tensions with Russia or Iran, to build a lasting risk premium back into crude.

Trump Today: Trump Today: President cites ‘tremendous progress’ with China’s Xi

President Donald Trump said he had “tremendous progress” in talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping over two days in Florida and that their relationship was “outstanding.”

Key Words: California’s drought is over: Gov. Jerry Brown

Gov. Jerry Brown had some good news to share Friday about California’s long-running and devastating drought but warned the state’s citizenry not to take too sunny a view of the announcement.