19Jun2017 Market Update: Wall Street Climbs To New Historic Highs And May Go Higher Before Session Closes, Crude Prices Take Steep Fall To The Mid 44 Handle, US Dollar Climbs Back To Friday’s Averages

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

North and South American markets are mixed today. The S&P 500 is up 0.76% while the Bovespa gains 0.69%. The IPC is off 0.50%.

Wall St. at record highs as tech stocks bounce back

(Reuters) – U.S. stocks were higher in early afternoon trading on Monday, with the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting record highs as technology stocks rebounded after recent losses.

U.S. bank investors hope Fed stress test results lead to big payouts

(Reuters) – Investors are hoping the Federal Reserve will allow big U.S. banks to put an estimated $150 billion in idle capital toward stock buybacks, dividends and profit-boosting investments in the coming weeks after conducting a regular examination of financial strength.

Trump to meet with tech CEOs on government overhaul

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump will meet with the chief executives of technology companies including Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc on Monday as the White House looks to the private sector for help in cutting government waste and improving services.

Boeing launches new jet as Macron opens Paris show

PARIS (Reuters) – Boeing unveiled a new version of its best-selling 737 aircraft on Monday, injecting life into a faltering civil aviation market as French President Emmanuel Macron flew in to open the world’s biggest airshow in Paris.

Billionaire investor Paulson joins Valeant board, shares jump

(Reuters) – Billionaire investor John Paulson, whose hedge fund firm is the biggest owner of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc shares, on Monday joined the ailing drug company’s board as it restructures to repay debt.

Oil and gas producer EQT to buy Rice Energy in $6.7 billion deal

(Reuters) – U.S. oil and gas company EQT Corp said on Monday it would buy Rice Energy for $6.7 billion (5.24 billion pounds) in its biggest deal ever, as it looks to expand its natural gas business.

Whole Food shares keep rising, leading to bidding war speculation

(Reuters) – Whole Foods Market Inc shares rose on Monday for the second straight trading session after Amazon.com Inc announced plans to buy the upscale grocer, with investors appearing to bet that rivals could step in to create a bidding war.

Oil prices flat after weeks of steep declines

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil prices were flat on Monday after diving 13 percent since late May as rising production in the United States, Libya and Nigeria have foiled an OPEC-led effort to support the market by cutting production.

Accenture, Microsoft team up on blockchain-based digital ID network

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Accenture Plc and Microsoft Corp are teaming up to build a digital ID network using blockchain technology, as part of a United Nations-supported project to provide legal identification to 1.1 billion people worldwide with no official documents.

FANG Falters As Best-Performing Tech Fund Manager Warns “When Things Are This Elevated, It’s Best To Be Cautious”

Joshua K. Spencer has managed his T. Rowe Price Global Technology Fund to become the best-performing mutual fund in the past five years with big bets on Amazon and Tesla is now selling some big winners… and it’s sending FANTASY stocks lower…

FANG stocks are rolling over…

And FANTASIA (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Tesla, Alphabet, SalesForce, Intel, and Apple) stocks are falling back from their 50% retracement…

But as MarketWatch notes, the fund manager is careful to hedge, pointing out that the decision to sell a company’s shares doesn’t mean Spencer has soured on the business or strategy. In fact, he expressed great confidence in Tesla’s long-term success.

“When sentiment lifts, that is when we usually take money off the table. That is hard to do. It feels bad to sell when stocks do well,” Spe …

Will Georgia’s 6th District Mark Ground Zero Of The “Resistance”?

Democrats have portrayed the runoff for Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, which will take place tomorrow, as a referendum on Trump’s first months in office. The runoff pits Democrat Jon Ossoff against Republican Karen Handel in a race that has drawn national attention and historic levels of spending with Ossoff raising an astounding $23 million.

According to the Real Clear Politics average, Ossoff holds 2.6 point advantage in recent polls. That said, just like last November, we would be shocked if there weren’t some “oversamples” in that polling data which means tomorrow night could be a very long evening for Ossoff and Handel.

And, just like the the national election, the outcome of tomorrow’s contest will ultimately come down to voter turnout. As The Hill points out, Ossoff will need black voters to turn out in much greater numbers than they did for Hillary. As for Handel, strategists say that female turnout will be the key to her ultimate performance.

As The Hill points out, with less than 24 hours until polls open, the Democratic machine is in overdrive today with their “Get Out The Vote” efforts.

“The GOTV effort is h …

Israel Has Been Secretly Funding Syrian Rebels For Years

Earlier, when discussing why the Syrian “rebels” fighting Assad are in “turmoil”, we said that as a result of the ongoing Qatar crisis the various Saudi and Qatari supply chains supporting the rebels, both in terms of weapons and funding, had dried up due to the diplomatic fallout involving Qatar and Saudi Arabia. “Together with Turkey and the United States, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been major sponsors of the insurgency, arming an array of groups that have been fighting to topple Syria’s Iran-backed president.”

We concluded that “the rebellion against Assad now seems moot, which is why the most likely outcome is a continued phase-out of support for forces fighting the Syria government until eventually the situation reverts back to its pre-2011 “status quo.”

That, however, may have been premature as it was missing a key piece of data, one which was just revealed by the WSJ and which many had suspected. According to the Journal, Israel and Saudi Arabia have been alligned from the onset of the Syrian conflict, “with Israel supplying Syrian rebels near its border with cash as well as food, fuel and medical supplies for years, a secret engagement in the enemy country’s civil war aimed at carving out a buffer zone populated by friendly forces.”

The Israeli army is in regular communication with rebel groups and its assistance includes undisclosed payments to commanders that help pay salaries of fighters and buy ammunition and weapons, according to interviews with about half a dozen Syrian fighters. Israel has established a militar …

Mark Hanson: Housing Bubble 2.0 – The End Is Nigh?

Authored by Mark Hanson via MHanson.com,

The incredible essay below is reproduced here with permission by Dr. Hunt for Epsilon Theory. If Dr. Hunt is even moderately accurate, which I believe he is, the housing market headwind on deck could be every bit as powerful as what hit at the end of Bubble 1.0.

Bottom line: The Fed, during Obama, did everything in its power to surge all asset prices — stocks, bonds, real estate, collectables, et al — with no regard for its own guidance, as to when it would take its lead-foot off the accelerator. Now, under Trump, they are doing the exact opposite; looking “through” all the obvious coincident and near/mid term, economic weakening trends in an effort to raise rates as quickly as possible. If, the past 8-years of a Fed in Armageddon-mode created the “everything bubble” (hat-tip Wolf Richter), what will shifting monetary policy into reverse do to said asset price levels?

Back in Bubble 1.0, the helium came out of house prices when the “unorthodox credit and liquidity” was forced out of the markets all at once precipitated by the mortgage credit market implosion. Quickly, house prices “reattached” to end-user, shelter-buyer employment, income, and credit fundamentals…or, to what end-user, shelter-buyers could really buy using a traditional, 30-year fixed rate mortgage, and a truthful loan application, which was about 30% less.

What’s really the difference between the “unorthodox credit and liquidity” coming out back then and coming out now from a Fed in reverse? House prices didn’t surpass their 2007 peaks because everybody is working, making …

Amazon Shops Locally, But Spreads Fear Globally

The tech giant’s $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods has set alarm bells ringing around the world—perhaps prematurely.

The Fed’s Poor Record on Soft Landings

There are two things investors should keep in mind about the Federal Reserve: One, it is in a tightening cycle. Two, tightening cycles almost always end badly.

The Dark Side of Good News in Biotech

Deal making is a staple of the biotech industry, but betting on mergers and acquisitions is much harder than it looks for investors.

Amazon’s Whole Foods acquisition makes online grocery ‘prime’ for acceleration

Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods could speed the process of online grocery adoption, some experts say

Therese Poletti’s Tech Tales: Burning Cypress: Ousted CEO wages bruising battle with company he built

After more than three decades in charge of the chip company he founded, T.J. Rodgers has now turned activist investor in a public and vicious battle that involves mudslinging on both sides, a fraught shareholder vote, and a chairman who became the American face of China’s ambitions to buy into the chip industry.

The Wall Street Journal: How to save $68,000 on college costs

Not graduating on time can cost thousands of dollars. Then there is lost income to consider.