27Apr2017 Market Update: DOW Up A Half A Point, Small Caps Up Moderately, US Dollar Volatile, Analysts Reporting Crude At Its Lowest Point

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

North and South American markets are mixed to lower. Shares in Brazil are off as the Bovespa drops 0.50%. The IPC is down 0.22% while the S&P 500 in U.S. is unchanged.

+35.15

Tech earnings power Nasdaq to record high; S&P, Dow flat

(Reuters) – The Nasdaq hit a record intraday high on Thursday, powered by a string of strong earnings from technology companies, while the S&P 500 and the Dow were little changed.

Jobless claims rise, but four-week average at two-month low

filing for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last

U.S. business spending likely gained momentum in first quarter

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New orders for U.S.-made capital goods rose less than expected in March, but a second straight monthly increase in shipments suggested business investment accelerated in the first quarter amid a recovering energy sector.

U.S. economy likely barely grew in first quarter: Atlanta Fed

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. economy likely expanded at just a 0.2 percent annualized pace in the first quarter, following weaker-than-forecast data on durable goods orders and advance data for the goods trade balance in March, the Atlanta Federal Reserve’s GDP Now forecast model showed on Thursday.

Apple in talks to launch money-transfer service: Recode

(Reuters) – Apple Inc has held talks with payments industry partners about launching a money-transfer service, technology news website Recode reported on Thursday.

Trump says ‘will renegotiate’ NAFTA deal with Canada, Mexico

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump expressed optimism on Thursday the United States, Canada and Mexico can successfully renegotiate a trade accord he deems unfair to American interests but vowed to scrap the 23-year-old pact if a “fair deal for all” cannot be reached.

Manufacturers, Wall Street getting Trump’s ear in first 100 days

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Manufacturers and Wall Street have led the quest for business access to President Donald Trump in his first 100 days in office, with media companies and Silicon Valley seldom entering the presidential bubble, a Reuters review found.

U.S. Congress takes steps to push budget deadline, avert shutdown

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Congress took steps to extend until May 5 the deadline for reaching a deal on federal spending through September and head off a feared government shutdown at midnight on Friday.

Utilities say Westinghouse loan puts their reactor construction at risk

WILMINGTON, Del (Reuters) – The owners of one of the first new U.S. nuclear power plants in decades said the half-finished reactors might not be completed without changes to a proposed $800 million loan to the bankrupt builder, Westinghouse Electric Co LLC.

Anadarko Crashes To 7-Month Lows; Shuts 3,000 Wells In Colorado After Explosions

Anadarko shares are down over 7% to 7-month lows following a home blast near a vertical well operated by the company causing it to shut all its vertical wells in northwestern Colorado while it investigates the cause of the blast, which killed two people.

As OilPrice.com’s Irina Slave reports, the number of wells in the area that the company operates is more than 3,000, with a combined output of 13,000 net barrels of oil per day.

Anadarko has tasked local field personnel to check the production equipment at the wellheads and the underground lines that connected them. The local Frederick-Firestone Fire Protection District is meanwhile conducting its own investigation, and told Bloomberg that the proximity of the oil well to the home where the blast occurred is one aspect to be considered, adding that the cause for the explosion has yet to be identified. There is no threat to other homes in the vicinity, the authorities said.

Anadarko, which is reporting Q1 2017 financial results at the end of the month, last booked a net loss of $3.07 million for the fourth quarter of 2016, on revenues of $7.87 million. Now, some analysts are again expecting a loss: Seaport Global Securities expects the company to report a net loss of $0.41 per share, which is an improvement of t …

UN To Trump: Obamacare Repeal Would Violate “International Law”; Would Also Be Racist

A confidential memo from the United Nations, sent shortly after Trump moved into the White House, made an “urgent appeal” to the Trump administration that a repeal of Obamacare could violate international law. Oh yeah, and it would also be racist as well. Unfortunately, this is not hyperbole.

The letter was written by Dainius Puras whose official title is:

“Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health”

Unfortunately, that also is not hyperbole…that is his real, official title as signed on the letter below.

Apparently the letter was originated after Puras received some “information”, undoubtedly from the Obama administration, suggesting that a repeal of Obamacare would leave 30 million people without any access to healthcare and doomed to a sudden, painful death.

“I would like to bring to the attention of your Government information I have received concerning the possibility to repeal core elements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) with negative impacts on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standards of physical and mental health in the United States, in particular those with moderate or low income and in situations of poverty or social exclusion.”

“Recent reports have assessed the negative impact that this reform may have on the right to health of almost 30 million people in the U.S.”

“In this context, I would like to draw the attention of your Government to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR has become a source and expression of inte …

Japan Warns Citizens To Prepare For North Korean Missile Attack

Via TheAntiMedia.org,

As the United States begins to move elements of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system to a deployment site in South Korea earlier than expected – in the name of defending against the “evil North Korea” of the mainstream narrative – Japan is warning its citizens they’ll have little time to find safety if Kim Jong-un launches an attack.

From the Washington Post:

“North Korea might be talking about building missiles that can reach the United States, but Kim Jong-un’s regime already has lots of missiles that can reach Japan. So the Japanese government is preparing its citizens in case a missile comes their way — possibly with less than 10 minutes’ warning.

“The prime minister’s office issued new ‘actions to protect yourself& …

Dollar testing highs against the Canadian Dollar as Canada struggles with identity crisis

Is Canada a ‘real’ country? What is a ‘real’ country anyway? Is a ‘country’ defined by ethnic lines, borders, corporations, or what the United Nations says? Is Kosovo a country? Some say yes, some do not agree:

Kosovo, self-declared independent country in the Balkans region of Europe. Although the United States and most members of the European Union (EU) recognized Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008, Serbia, Russia, and a significant number of other countries—including several EU members—did not.

Well Canada is lucky to have self-declared itself as a country during a period where many breakaway regions and colonies became countries (let’s not get into the debate about USA because America Inc. is an artificial country, actually it is a corporation). < …

Samsung Needs to End Its Old-Fashioned Ways

Samsung Electronics’ decision against converting to a holding-company structure is disappointing.

Deutsche Bank Slogs While Investment Banking Rivals Soar

If Deutsche Bank has found the right balance in investment banking, it is hard to spot the benefits. The German group failed to catch the same market recovery that boosted bond trading at U.S. rivals.

On Taxes, Don’t Forget the Deficit

President Donald Trump doesn’t seem to be paying much mind to what his tax plan could do to the budget deficit, but investors should.

Sex, pop culture and the other most popular Wikipedia topics by language

Despite all the differences that separate a bustling Asian metropolis and Anytown, U.S.A, humanity has a few common shared interests: pop culture, sex and … geography. This is according to data from Wikipedia, the crowd-edited encyclopedia that’s one of the most popular websites in the world.

Capitol Report: Here’s the first sign that America may be pivoting from renting back to owning homes

The homeownership rate ticked up fractionally but increased a lot more than renter-occupied households, and the recovery may also be reaching communities who are often left on the sidelines of the housing market.

Here are the companies who will be harmed by Trump’s tax reform

High-yield debt issuers will enter a world of pain if Trump’s tax reform scraps interest deductibility, and that would have a knock-on effect for private-equity firms.