11Apr2017 Market Close: Wall Street Turns Sour Amid Geopolitical Tensions, Rising Crude Prices, Falling US Dollar And Markets Closing Below A ‘technical’ Support

U.S. job openings rise to seven-month high in February

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. job openings rose to a seven-month high in February while the pace of hiring slipped, pointing to a growing skills mismatch and a further tightening of labor market conditions.

Wall Street ends lower on geopolitical concerns

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks ended down on Tuesday but well off the day’s lows, as worries about geopolitical risks dampened investor sentiment.

Apple may ditch Dialog, analyst says, hitting chipmaker’s shares

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Dialog Semiconductor risks losing a crucial supply deal with Apple Inc , according to a financial analyst who cut his rating on the stock on Tuesday, sending the Anglo-German chipmaker’s shares down by as much as one-third.

United shares fall after backlash over dragged passenger

(Reuters) – United Continental Holdings Inc shares fell as much as 4.4 percent on Tuesday after a worldwide backlash erupted over a passenger who was dragged off one of the carrier’s overbooked U.S. flights.

Exclusive: OPEC figures show oil output cuts exceed pledge in March – sources

DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) – OPEC states cut oil output in March by more than they pledged under supply curbs, according to figures the exporter group uses to monitor its supply, extending a record of higher-than-expected adherence to its first production cut in eight years.

Lyft lands $600 million in fresh funding

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Ride services company Lyft has raised $600 million in fresh funding, one of its investors said on Tuesday.

Telecoms, cable group Altice starts IPO process for U.S. arm

NEW YORK/PARIS (Reuters) – Altice USA, the cable operator that Netherlands-based Altice NV put together by acquiring Cablevision and Suddenlink Communications, on Tuesday filed for an initial public offering that seeks to raise $1 billon to $2 billion, according to a source familiar with the matter.

U.S. small businesses expect continued 2017 growth

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. small businesses expect stronger revenue this year and many anticipate adding employees, a generally optimistic read that could support job growth in coming months, the New York Fed reported on Tuesday.

Trump promises again to revamp Wall Street reform rules

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump told a group of chief executives on Tuesday that his administration was reducing regulations and revamping the Wall Street reform law known as Dodd-Frank, which might be eliminated and replaced with “something else.”

“I’m Sorry, We’ll Fix This”: United CEO Issues Apology To Passenger And Everyone Else

Hopefully putting an end to the media event that has gripped America’s attention over the past 24 hours, the CEO of United Continental, Oscar Munoz, has finally apologized for the airline’s handling of a Chinese-American passenger who was forcibly dragged out of a flight in Chicago, an incident which caused media outrage and cost the airline over a billion dollars in market cap as traders dumped its shares on fears of a Chinese backlash.

United CEO Oscar Munoz: I’m sorry. We will fix this. https://t.co/v8EPGsiDCi pic.twitter.com/eOPiYcagvo

— United (@united) April 11, 2017

“I deeply apologize to the customer forcibly removed and to all the customers aboard,” Munoz said in a tweeted statement on Tuesday afternoon. “No one should ever be mistreated this way.”

“I want you to know that we take full responsibility and we will work to make it right,” Munoz said, promising a review or airline’s policies on crew movement, volunteer incentives, oversold flights and interactions with law enforcement, to be concluded by the end of April.

“It’s never too late to do the right thing. I have committed to our customers and our employees that we are going to fix what’s broken so this never happens again,” Munoz said.

For many Americans (and Chinese), however, it may be too little too late.

…

Watch Live: Pentagon Holds Press Briefing Amid Escalating Geopolitical Tensions

Update: In his opening statement, Secretary of Defense Mattis said there is “no doubt” the Syrian government was responsible for the recent gas attack which prompted the Trump administration’s bombing of an airfield in Syria and warned that Assad should “think long and hard” before considering similar attacks in the future. Mattis went on say that the recent U.S. activities in Syria should not be interpreted as a “strategy change” in the region but rather solely as a reaction to Assad’s alleged chemical weapon attack.

MATTIS: `OUR PRIORITY REMAINS THE DEFEAT’ OF ISLAMIC STATE

MATTIS: ATTACK WAS `SINGULAR’ RESPONSE ON CHEMICAL WEAPONS

MATTIS: SYRIA STRIKE WASN’T `HARBINGER’ OF STRATEGY CHANGE

MATTIS: IT’S VERY CLEAR THE ASSAD REGIME PLANNED IT, ORCHESTRATED IT AND EXECUTED IT

* * *

As tensions around the globe continue to mount over the Trump administration’s official policies related to Syria and North Korea, Secretary of Defense James Mattis will take the podium momentarily to offer his first press briefing.

Watch live below:

How Far Can The USDJPY (And S&P) Drop: Goldman’s Top Chartist Explains

With today’s capitulation puke in the USDJPY sending the pair tumbling below the key 110 psychological level, the lowest level since November as longs finally threw in the towel, traders are wondering how far can it drop. And since fundamentals have not changed, we seek the answer among the technicals, in this case Goldman’s chartist who this afternoon writes that what has happened in the USDJPY today is a characteristic continuation patterns.

Some more details from Sheba Jafari:

The break below 110.14 opens up some downside momentum. The first pivot area to watch here is 109.65-109.38; includes 50% retrace from the Sep. ’16 low as well as a minor equality target off the Mar. 30th high. The bigger level below is down at 108.45; an equality target off the high. Getting to 108.45 might complete a corrective process that began in December and should therefore be an area to watch for signs of a more meaningful base. Worth keeping an eye on prior triangle support, now resistance at 110.14. Getting above there increases the risk of a near-term squeeze

Goldman’s View: Next in focus 109.65-109.38. Looking to 108.45 for signs of a base. Squeeze risk above 110.14 (prior triangle support).

Daily Chart

Intraday Chart

“Worse Than Lehman” – Euro Uncertainty Spikes To Record High

Investors are showing increasing concern before the French presidential elections, with market complacency giving way to extreme cautiousness…

As Bloomberg reports, the spread between one-month and one-week implied volatilities on the euro versus the dollar closed at a record high of 6.35 percentage points on Monday, as near-term risks remain subdued and focus is almost solely placed on the chance that anti-euro candidate Marine Le Pen wins the race.

United’s Investors Face Different Risks Than Its Passengers

United Continental’s flight-removal uproar isn’t the main concern investors face.

A Cable IPO for the Risk-Hungry

A listing of Altice USA lets investors buy into its acquire-and-turnaround cable-TV strategy.

As Markets Fret Over France, Less Obvious Risks Lurk

Investors are rightly worried about unexpected results from French elections. But the bigger worry is the factor underpinning global growth: China.

Capitol Report: Congress ‘monitoring’ United passenger controversy but keeping hands off for now

Democrats have called for hearings into the forcible removal of a United Airlines passenger from an overcrowded flight, but congressional Republicans in charge of regulating the airline industry have so far been mum.

United Airlines could pay dearly in China as passenger-dragging video spreads

United Airlines could pay dearly in China, where the air carrier has its second-largest revenue exposure, for having a passenger dragged off a plane, as many comments made on social media in China claimed discrimination.

Beat the System: It’s not your imagination — flights such as United 3411 are packing us in like sardines

The airline industry has slashed spare capacity by more than 50% since 2000, writes Brett Arends.