Written by Gary
US stock markets closed fractionally lower today and little changed (SPY -0.2%). The Fed’s meeting in Jackson Hole has investors on the edge of their seats.
Todays S&P 500 Chart
The Market in Perspective
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
 | Wall Street flat as Jackson Hole meeting in focus(Reuters) – U.S. stocks were little changed on Thursday as investors cautiously awaited comments on monetary policy from central bankers gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. |
| U.S. homes sales fall to 11-month low; jobless claims up slightlyWASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. home resales unexpectedly fell in July to an 11-month low as a chronic shortage of properties boosted prices, the latest sign that the housing market recovery was slowing. |
| Amazon to complete acquisition of Whole Foods on Monday, cut some prices(Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc said on Thursday it plans to complete its $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods Market Inc on Monday after winning antitrust approval from U.S. regulators on Wednesday. |
| In wake of Foxconn deal, Wisconsin and Illinois vie for jobsCHICAGO (Reuters) – The pledge by Taiwan’s Foxconn to build a $10 billion factory in southern Wisconsin has ignited cross-border competition with Illinois over which state’s residents will get the jobs created by the project. |
| Exclusive: Tesla’s ‘long-haul’ electric truck aims for 200 to 300 miles on a chargeSAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Tesla Inc next month plans to unveil an electric big-rig truck with a working range of 200 to 300 miles, Reuters has learned, a sign that the electric car maker is targeting regional hauling for its entry into the commercial freight market. |
| SoftBank invests additional $3 billion in shared-office startup WeWork(Reuters) – WeWork Cos said on Thursday it received an additional $3 billion investment from Japan’s SoftBank Group and its Vision Fund, helping the shared-office startup ramp up its expansion globally. |
| Investor Benchmark claims ex-Uber CEO is a ‘corrosive influence’SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Benchmark Capital called ousted Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] Chief Executive Travis Kalanick a “corrosive influence” on the ride-services company in a court filing on Thursday, the latest salvo in a battle between the two over Kalanick’s presence on Uber’s board. |
| Seoul court to rule on Samsung scion Lee in bribery trialSEOUL (Reuters) – A South Korean court will rule on Friday on corruption charges against Jay Y. Lee, the billionaire head of Samsung Group, after a six-month trial in a nationwide bribery scandal that triggered the dismissal from office of the country’s president. |
| Exclusive: U.S. steel executives appeal directly to Trump for import restrictionsWASHINGTON (Reuters) – American steel industry executives have appealed directly to President Donald Trump for immediate import restrictions in a letter seen by Reuters, as a U.S. Commerce Department steel national security probe languishes and steel imports surge back to 2015 levels. |
| Harvey Expected To Make Landfall As Category 3 Hurricane: All The Latest UpdatesHurricane Harvey, which until this morning a Tropical Storm, is now set to be the first hurricane to strike the Texas coast since 2008. According to the NHS, which issued a hurricane warning from Port Mansfield to Matagorda, TX including Corpus Christi, Harvey is “rapidly intensifying”, and is forecast to be a “major hurricane.” The hurricane, whose top winds reached 85 miles per hour at 1pm on Thursday, up from 45 mph earlier, is forecast to become a Category 3 storm with 125 mph winds by Friday as it nears Texas coast. The NHS has urged that ‘preparations along the middle Texas, coast should be rushed to completion today.” Harvey is currently located 335 miles southeast of Corpus Christi, Texas, moving north-northwest at 10 mph, and is expected to make landfall in Texas at 1AM on Saturday.
According to the Weather Prediction Center, more than 20 inches (51 centimeters) of rain from Corpus Christi to Houston is expected over the next week while some models forecast as much as 40 inches (1 meter) of rain through next Tuesday in southeast past of Texas.
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| US Taxpayers Spent $50 Million For Luxury Cars, Guns, & Booze To Mentor Afghan Intel OfficersVia Judicial Watch, A foreign company hired by the U.S. government to mentor and train Afghan intelligence officers billed Uncle Sam for more than $50 million in luxury cars – including Porsches, an Aston Martin, and a Bentley – and the lucrative salaries of executives and their spouses (who didn’t do any work). The firm also spent $1,500 on alcohol and $42,000 on automatic weapons prohibited under the terms of the contract, according to figures provided by a U.S. Senator from a federal audit that has not been released to the public.
It marks the latest of many scandals involving the free-flow of American dollars to controversial causes in Afghanistan, where fraud and corruption are rampant in all sectors. In this latest case, the Department of Defense (DOD) hired a British firm called New Century Consulting (NCC) to operate a program called “Legacy East” that was supposed to provide counterinsurgency intelligence experts to mentor and train Afghan National Security Forces. Instead, NCC billed the Pentagon millions of dollars in questionable or unallowable expenses, including seven luxury cars and exorbitant $400,000 average salaries for the “significant others” of corporate officers to serve as “executive assistants.” Other prohibi … |
| Judge Approves Warrant For “Antifa” User Data From Anti-Trump WebsiteA District of Columbia Federal Judge has approved a government warrant seeking information about users and subscribers to an anti-Trump website which has been linked to rioting during the presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C., but he added protections to safeguard “innocent users.” Chief Judge Robert Morin ruled that DreamHost, an LA-based web-hosting company, must turn over data about visitors to the website disruptj20.org, which is a home to political activists who organized protests at the time of Donald Trump’s inauguration as U.S. president in January, many of whom have since morphed into the controversial “antifa” movement.
Morin, who will oversee review of the data, also said the government must explain what protocols it will use to make sure the data of “innocent users” is not seized by prosecutors, according to Reuters. Bloomberg adds that prosecutors would have to tell the judge which data it intended to seize. “I’m trying to balance the First Amendment protections and the government’s need for this information,” Morin said. “My view here is that this best protects both legitimate interests.” In the closely watched case, which could have a material chilling effect on similar activist website, the DOJ said it sought the records connected to the site amid concerns that it helped facilitate the planning of protests on Inauguration Day in which more than 200 people were arrested for rioting and vandalizing businesses in downtown Washington. DreamHost r … |
| This Is How Trump Is Going To Be Blamed For The Next Financial CrashAuthored by Mac Slavo via SHTFplan.com, On Wednesday there were a lot of Trump fans who were celebrating the latest progress in the stock market. For the first time in over 100 years, the DOW gained 4,000 points over the course of 200 working days. That’s 4,000 points since Trump was elected, so it’s easy to draw a connection between the stock market’s dizzying new heights and Trump’s ascent to the White House. But Trump’s supporters shouldn’t really celebrate that, because there’s no way that this can last. It’s been pointed out many times before that Trump is being set up for the inevitable crash of our economy. The elites simply can’t wait to pull the plug on the many financial bubbles that are haunting our economy. If they do it now, they’ll walk away with a lot of money while Trump is left with all the blame, since he took so much credit for the stock market’s remarkable performance. … |
| Merck Is Good for Your Portfolio’s HealthBuying Merck gives investors exposure to the most promising cancer drug on the market at a good price. |
| Growth Is the New HP Way, for NowWhat to do with a no-growth technology company that actually manages to grow? That is the conundrum facing HP Inc.’s investors. |
| Finding New Owners for Fiat Chrysler Won’t Be EasyFiat Chrysler stock is up 30% in less than two weeks on a variety of rumors, but the auto maker may struggle to find buyers for more than its parts business. |
| Outside the Box: Why it’s time for CEOs to tell Trump: ‘You’re fired!’U.S. business leaders should call for the president to resign, write Erran Carmel and Chris Edelson. |
| Deep Dive: These rapidly growing companies’ shares may rise as much as 74% in the next yearFavored names include six oil stocks as well as Micron Technology, Western Digital and United Continental. |
| Is your Amazon sale item truly discounted? Here’s how to find outThe Federal Trade Commission is reportedly looking into the company’s pricing policy. |
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