Written by Gary
US stock market futures are sharply down again this morning (SPY -0.2%). The DOW futures are off 100 points as investors maintained a risk-off stance amid political turmoil on Capitol Hill that forced the biggest drop this year in U.S. stocks yesterday.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
European markets are broadly lower today with shares in London off the most. The FTSE 100 is down 1.27% while France’s CAC 40 is off 1.16% and Germany’s DAX is lower by 0.78%. |
Wednesday’s Key Earnings
Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) -7.7% AH on layoffs, disappointing guidance.
Target (NYSE:TGT) +0.9% after topping expectations.
Today’s Markets
In Asia, Japan -1.3%. Hong Kong -0.6%. China -0.5%. India -0.7%.
In Europe, at midday, London -1.4%. Paris -1.2%. Frankfurt -0.9%.
Futures at 6:20, Dow -0.5%. S&P -0.4%. Nasdaq -0.3%. Crude -1.8% to $48.54. Gold +0.4% to $1263.30.
Ten-year Treasury Yield -3 bps to 2.19%
Today’s Economic Calendar
8:30 Initial Jobless Claims
8:30 Philly Fed Business Outlook
9:45 Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index
10:00 Leading Indicators
10:30 EIA Natural Gas Inventory
1:15 PM Fed’s Mester speech
4:30 PM Money Supply
4:30 PM Fed Balance Sheet
Looking at the last three columns (below), the first one (Actual), is what was reported this morning. The second column (Forecast) is what analysts had forecast and the third column is the previous report. Full calendar HERE.
What Is Moving the Markets
Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
GM will cut operations in India, South AfricaDETROIT (Reuters) – General Motors Co plans to quit selling vehicles in India by the end of this year and will sell operations in South Africa, the latest steps in a strategy of focusing cash and engineering effort on fewer, more profitable markets. | |
Ralph Lauren beats profit estimates as it reins in discounts(Reuters) – Ralph Lauren Corp reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday, as the luxury apparel maker reined in discounts and cut inventories in a bid to boost margins. | |
Wal-Mart’s quarterly same-store sales beat estimatesCHICAGO (Reuters) – Wal-Mart Stores Inc on Thursday reported slightly higher-than-expected quarterly sales at established U.S. stores as customer visits increased and online purchases accelerated. | |
Trump storm strikes global stocks again, dollar steadiesLONDON (Reuters) – Swirling uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump’s political future saw world stocks extend their steepest fall in over six months on Thursday, though there were signs of stabilization elsewhere as the dollar and gold steadied. | |
EU fines Facebook 110 million euros over WhatsApp dealBRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union antitrust regulators fined Facebook 110 million euros ($122 million) on Thursday for giving misleading information during a vetting of its deal to acquire messaging service WhatsApp in 2014. | |
‘Trump Trade’ turns to trepidation as investors unwindNEW YORK (Reuters) – Investors were shelving rosy hopes for U.S. tax reform and rethinking strategies premised on Donald Trump’s economic growth promises on Wednesday, as the President faced his loudest criticism yet over possible collusion between his election campaign and Russia. | |
Deutsche Bank wants former bosses to pay for past misconductFRANKFURT (Reuters) – Deutsche Bank expects former board members to pay substantial sums for their role in past misconduct which has tarnished the reputation of Germany’s biggest lender, its chairman Paul Achleitner said on Thursday. | |
U.S. preparing to sue Fiat Chrysler over excess diesel emissionsNEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department plans to file a civil lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV over excess diesel emissions as early as this week if no agreement is reached with the Italian-American automaker, two sources briefed on the matter said on Wednesday. | |
Google shifts mobile focus to apps and digital assistant(Reuters) – Mobile phone apps took center stage at Google’s annual developer conference on Wednesday as the search giant announced new features for its digital assistant and its popular photo app while devoting little time to the Android mobile operating system. | |
Donny Boo Boo Becomes Donny Boo HooDonny Boo Boo has become Donny Boo Hoo. He ain’t DJ Khaled, because for Donny it’s, “All I Do is Whine”. Who, but the Narcissist-in-Chief and King of Superlatives, could go to a graduation ceremony—the Coast Guard of all places—and make just about the most important day in all those young persons’ lives all about HIM. “Look at the way I’ve been treated lately, especially by the media….no politician in history, and I say this with great surety, has been treated worse and more unfairly”. Kleenex, please! Oh, you poor victim! “I don’t even want to talk about how much I saved you on the F-35 fighter jets, I won’t even talk about it, I won’t even talk about it,” said Trump, obviously talking about it and talking about a plane the Coast Guard doesn’t fly. Donny, willfully ignorant (Nuclear triad? What’s that?), probably doesn’t even know which coast they guard, never mind what they fly. He probably thinks it’s only the coast bordering Palm Beach. What he really ‘didn’t talk about’ was that he is on a pace—if he lasts 4 years—to spend $1.4 billion forcing the US Taxpayer to fund his lifestyle, including his near-weekly trips to Gauche-a-Lago, separate maintenance for his so-called wife, and even security for Uday and Qusay when they travel to do family business. From a cost-benefit analysis, jail would be much cheaper for the American people. “Nobody’s accomplished more in such a short time as me”. Accomplish? There’s a Special Prosecutor and talk of impeachment, so there’s that. Healthcare? Nope. Tax reform? Nope. Bring back jobs? No more than the waitperson and bartender jobs Obama ‘created’. “Drain the Swamp”? Nope, he filled a cesspool, and he’s the lifeguard—but he cannot even tread water. Granted he does get shit on, but apparently that is one of his peccadilloes, and all of it is self-inflicted. He plays Russian Roulette with fully loaded chambers. … | |
Trump Explodes: “This Is The Single Greatest Witch Hunt In American History”Last night, after the White House dropped a highly-scripted statement welcoming the appointment of former FBI director Mueller as Special Counsel on the “Russia Probe”, we questioned whether Trump would offer any other, less-scripted thoughts via Twitter. We now have our answer:
Guess we now know for sure that Trump was unaware of Rosenstein’s efforts to appoint a Special Counsel, as the DOJ intimated last night.
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Frontrunning: May 18FBI’s Russia Probe Gains Credibility With Mueller In Charge (BBG) Trump storm hits stocks again but dollar steadies (Reuters) Flynn stopped military plan Turkey opposed – after being paid as its agent (McClatchy) Kremlin declines to comment on probe of Trump ties with Russia (Reuters) Trump To Announce $350bn Saudi Arabia Arms Deal – One Of Largest Ever (Ind) Brazilian Markets Tumble After Country Plunges Back Into Political Crisis (BBG) Fed’s Kashkari says don’t use rate hikes to fight bubbles (Reuters) Rebellion in Venezuela: 43 Dead in 44 Days of Relentless Protest (BBG) Turkey wants U.S. envoy on Islamic State removed over Kurdish policy (Reuters) Revealed: Dutch King Has Been a KLM Pilot for 21 Years (BBG) GM will cut operations in India, South Africa (Reuters) Amazon B … | |
Deutsche Bank Sued For Running An “International Criminal Organization” In Italian CourtHaving been accused, and found guilty, of rigging and manipulating virtually every possible asset class, perhaps it was inevitable that Deutsche Bank, currently on trial in Milan for helping Banca Monte dei Paschi conceal losses (as first reported last October in “Deutsche Bank Charged By Italy For Market Manipulation, Creating False Accounts”) is now facing accusations that it was actually running an international criminal organization at the time. In the closely watched lawsuit, prosecutors used internal Deutsche Bank documents and emails to persuade a three-judge panel to rule that there were additional, aggravating circumstances to the charges the German lender already faces related to various derivatives transactions. As Bloomberg reported overnight, the material included a London trader’s “well done!” message to a banker who is now on trial. The reason why prosecutors are seeking expanded charges against the German banking giants is that by allowing prosecutors to argue that the bank’s market manipulation crimes were committed by an organization operating in several countries would lead to higher penalties if they win a conviction. Predictably, Deutsche Bank’s lawyer, Giuseppe Iannaccone, sought to block the move at Tuesday’s hearing, saying there wasn’t a clear connection between the original charge of market manipulation and the alleged aggravating circumstances. “The trial for Deutsche Bank managers becomes more problematic after the judge’s decision,” said Giampiero Biancolella, an attorney specializing in fin … | |
Move Over Dollar, the Euro Is in the Driver’s SeatU.S. political turbulence and economic disappointment, combined with unrealized election fears in Europe, mean the euro could gain further against the dollar. | |
China’s Housing Market Springs a LeakFirst and second tier house prices lost momentum in April after a surprisingly strong first quarter – signs that weaker consumer lending may be starting to bite. | |
Google: The Android Everyone’s Looking ForMore than two billion people now use Google’s Android mobile operating system, which is remarkable considering how long it takes for the company’s latest innovations to get into most of their hands. Speeding up Android’s annual update process should pay off for Google. | |
In One Chart: Brazilian stocks are plunging after a bribery allegation against the country’s leaderThe iShares MSCI Brazil Capped ETF is diving 18% Thursday in premarket action as the country’s opposition lawmakers call for President Michel Temer to resign after a bribery allegation. | |
How do I convert 401(k) money into a Roth IRA?There are two ways you can go. | |
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