09May2017 Market Close: Wall Street Closed Mixed, Nasdaq Up Three Percent, US Dollar Remains Strong, Crude Trends Down

Democratic Senators call for probe into Icahn’s biofuel credit dealings

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Eight Democratic Senators on Tuesday asked U.S. regulators to launch an investigation into billionaire Carl Icahn’s activities in the U.S. biofuels blending credit market, saying the activist investor may have violated securities trading laws since becoming an adviser to President Donald Trump.

Wall Street loses steam after S&P 500 touches record

(Reuters) – The S&P 500 slipped marginally on Tuesday after edging up to an intra-day record high for the second straight session, with a rise in Marriott International and other consumer discretionary shares offsetting falling energy shares.

U.S. Commerce’s Ross says 3 percent GDP growth not achievable this year

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. economy won’t achieve the Trump administration’s 3 percent growth goal this year and not until all of its tax, regulatory, trade and energy policies are fully in place, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Tuesday.

Exclusive: EU regulators to approve $5.5 billion Broadcom, Brocade deal

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Chipmaker Broadcom is set to win EU antitrust approval for its $5.5 billion bid for Brocade after agreeing to modest concessions in the latest deal in the chip sector, three people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Ex-AIG CEO Greenberg loses appeal over 2008 bailout

(Reuters) – A federal appeals court threw out a ruling that the U.S. government illegally bailed out insurer American International Group Inc during the 2008 financial crisis, in a defeat for former chief executive officer Maurice “Hank” Greenberg.

U.S. gun stocks surge, Sturm Ruger results give bulls fresh ammo

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Shares of gun makers surged on Tuesday after Sturm Ruger & Company Inc’s quarterly results suggested demand is recovering following a steep sales drop after the election of Donald Trump as president.

Buffett’s fledgling biBERK pursues online insurance ‘experiment’

OMAHA, Neb. (Reuters) – It has been decades since anyone thought of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc , or even its insurance operations, as “very, very small.”

Fed official warns Fannie-Freddie reforms could cause shocks

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A Federal Reserve official warned U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday that any reforms that reduce the massive lending presence of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the multi-family real estate market could shock that sector of the economy.

Amazon cuts free shipping minimum to $25

(Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc said on Tuesday it cut the threshold for free shipping to $25 from $35, upping the ante against Wal-Mart Stores Inc in a hotly contested battle for ecommerce supremacy.

North Korea Ambassador Tells Sky: “We Are Ready To Turn To Ashes Any US Strategic Assets”

In a interview posted moments ago by Sky News, in response to a question “is a sixth nuclear test now imminent”, the answer of the North Korean Ambassador to the UK, Choe Il was “In regards to the sixth nuclear test, I do not know the scheduled time for it, as I am here in the UK, not in my home country. However, I can say that the nuclear test will be conducted at the place and time as decided by our supreme leader, Kim Jong-Un.”

Asked if he is afraid of a possible US military response, the ambassador answers that “we are developing our nuclear strength to respond to that kind of attack by the US. If the US attacks us, our military and people are fully ready to respond to any kind of attack. I do not think the US are considering a military attack against us.”

Asked what would North Korea’s response be to a preemptive strike, he answer that: “The US cannot attack us first. If the US moves an inch, then we are ready to turn to ashes any available strategic assets of the US.”

He also added that “our nuclear power is our sovereign right”, which technically is true.

In reaction to his comments, stocks, and most FX pairs, have dropped to session lows.

Judicial Watch Sues For Sally Yates’ Emails

Following hours of testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday regarding her involvement in the General Flynn fiasco as well as her rather unprecedented refusal to defend President Trump’s travel ban, Judicial Watch has filed a FOIA lawsuit against the Department of Justice seeking all of Yates’ emails from her time at the DOJ. Per Judicial Watch:

Judicial Watch announced today that it has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice for emails of former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates from her government account. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:17-cv-00832)).

The suit was filed after the Justice Department failed to respond to a February 1, 2017, FOIA request seeking access to her emails between January 21, 2017, and January 31, 2017.

Yates was appointed by President Obama as U.S. Attorney in northern Georgia and was later confirmed as Deputy Attorney General. In January 2017 she became acting Attorney General for President Trump.

“Between her involvement in the Russian surveillance scandal and her lawless effort to thwart President Trump’s immigration executive order, Sally Yates’ short tenure as the acting Attorney General was remarkably troubling,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “Her email traffic might provide a window into how the anti-Trump ‘deep state’ abused the Justice Department.”

Trader: “It’s Going To Zero”

Authored by Peter Tchir via Brean Capital,

Momentum Trader: It’s going to zero!

Sales: Protection is worthless. Why pay up for protection, it always turns out worthless?

Quant Trader: The skew and relative steepness makes timing critical on any purchase. The theta decay is virtually impossible to overcome.

Desk Head: Why aren’t we selling more?

Bear Trader: Because we are at all-time tights and there is no #*#*!@$ value! This is just #@*($& stupid.

Risk Management: I can’t let you sell more than you already have. I’ve already increased limits and I’m extremely uncomfortable increasing them again.

All: Oh shut up!

Desk Head: You and your stupid risk limits are why we are all here in the first place! Had you let us sell more 2 months ago we wouldn’t all be here stuck trying to figure out what to do – we’d be sitting on great P&L and could relax, but no, now we are behind and have to sell as much as we can at the lows.

Bear Trader: This can’t possibly continue. It’s already overdone and when it reverses, it is going to be UGLY!

Sales: All I’ve got is sellers. No one wants or needs protection.

Quant Trader: It doesn’t even have to go lower, so long as it just sits here, the theta decay coupled with the funding arbitrage performs well.

Technical Trader: All support is broken, we are in uncharted territory. This could continue.

A Sobering Look At The Future Of Oil

Authored by David Yager via OilPrice.com,

The current discussion about the future of oil is how soon will it be before petroleum becomes a sunset industry. If it isn’t already. Flat or falling demand. Carbon taxes. Electric cars. Renewable energy. Oil has no future. It is only a matter of time, although how much time remains is subject to considerable discussion and debate. Various prognosticators put forth differing view about when world oil demand will peak. Some say as early as 2030, others much later. Nobody says never.

As for actually running out of oil, that issue has run its course. At least for now.

How long the world stays in the oil business is of critical importance. This is illustrated by a Financial Post article April 28 titled, “Next battleground; Enbridge’s aging Great Lakes pipeline stirs new protest in Michigan”. Until recently, the battle against pipelines has been opposing new construction. Now it is existing pipelines. This opens yet another can of worms the industry and regulators have never really grappled with.

Enbridge Line 5 crosses from Wisconsin to Michigan under the Mackinac Straits between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, a distance of about 4.5 miles. Built in 1953 to the most demanding standards of the day, the Enbridge website says Line 5 transports about 540,000 b/d of Canadian light and synthetic crude and natural gas liquids to markets in Michigan and beyond. What has emerged is concern among campaigning Michigan politicians about the potential for a major spill into the Great Lakes, an ev …

Crown Cashes In Its Macau Chips—but Its China Bet is Still On

Crown retreats from the world’s biggest gambling market, but Chinese high rollers are still crucial to its business.

Wood and Workers Squeeze Housing Market

New data show a tightening labor market in construction while lumber prices are at decade highs, hitting profit margins for home builders and potentially hurting the housing market.

Thin Is In as Allergan Dodges Generics Bullet

A series of acquisitions helped turn Allergan into a pharmaceuticals giant, but shareholders should be most grateful for the well-timed sale of its generics unit.

March 2017 JOLTS Job Openings Rate Shows No Year-over-Year Growth

Written by Steven Hansen

The BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) can be used as a predictor of future jobs growth, and the predictive elements show that the year-over-year growth rate of unadjusted private non-farm job openings are in contraction year-over-year..

March 2017 Headline Wholesale Sales Unchanged

Written by Steven Hansen

The headlines say wholesale sales were unchanged month-over-month with inventory levels remaining at levels associated with recessions. Our analysis was much more positive.

Market Extra: Miss the bull market? Investors say the next one will be overseas

For years, U.S. stocks have been a primary driver of global equity market gains, posting far stronger results than the rest of the world. That may be about to change.

Valeant shares rocket 24% as investors cheer moves to reduce debt

Troubled drug company reduced its debt by $1.3 billion in the latest quarter, easing investor concerns.

Deep Dive: This fund manager beats stock indices by finding ‘the next big thing’ with staying power

‘Sometimes good investments are not the exciting ones,’ says Guinness Atkinson’s Matthew Page. By Phil van Doorn.