06Sep2017 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street To Open Higher, But May Slip Into Negative Territory After Opening, WTI Trading In The Low 49 Handle, US Dollar Weaker At The Low 92 Level

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are mixed. The DAX is higher by 0.60%, while the FTSE 100 is leading the CAC 40 lower. They are down 0.43% and 0.22% respectively.

U.S. stock futures flat as North Korea tensions, Hurricane Irma weigh

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Wednesday as investors curbed their risk appetite due to simmering tensions on the Korean peninsula and concerns that the Category 5 hurricane Irma could hit the United States.

China’s Anbang, HNA considered buying insurance group Allianz: sources

HONG KONG (Reuters) – China’s Anbang Insurance Group Co Ltd [ANBANG.UL] and HNA Group Co Ltd [HNAIRC.UL] separately considered buying stakes in German insurer Allianz SE as part of plans to create a global financial empire, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Oil up after Harvey fallout; Hurricane Irma heads into Caribbean

SINGAPORE/LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices rose on Wednesday as strong global refining margins and the reopening of U.S. Gulf Coast refineries provided a more bullish outlook after sharp drops due to Storm Harvey.

Nissan takes EV battle to Tesla with longer-range Leaf

CHIBA, Japan (Reuters) – Nissan Motor Co Ltd launched a revamped Leaf electric vehicle (EV) on Wednesday, going head-to-head with Tesla Inc’s Model 3 and hoping to blunt criticism of limited driving ranges undermining EVs’ mass-market appeal.

German state CDU backs automotive outsider as next VW CEO

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The man forecast to become premier of the German state of Lower Saxony, Volkswagen’s second-biggest shareholder, says someone from outside the car industry should succeed chief executive Matthias Mueller when his contract expires in 2020.

Candy maker Mars looks to curb greenhouse gas emissions across supply chain

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Candy manufacturer Mars Inc is aiming to cut greenhouse gas emissions and address other sustainability issues across its supply chain in a bid to help meet goals from the Paris climate agreement.

China to spend over $1 trillion on planes over next 20 years: Boeing

BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Chinese airlines are likely to buy more than 7,000 planes worth $1.1 trillion over the next 20 years, as they grow their fleets to meet robust demand for domestic and international travel, Boeing Co said in a bullish forecast on Wednesday.

Toshiba board reaches no verdict on new Western Digital chip proposal: sources

TOKYO (Reuters) – Toshiba Corp’s board, under pressure to clinch a deal for its prized memory chip unit soon, met on Wednesday to review a revised bid proposed by Western Digital Corp but no agreement was reached, people familiar with matter said.

Kohl’s to sell Amazon devices at 10 LA, Chicago stores

(Reuters) – U.S. department store operator Kohl’s Corp said on Wednesday it would sell Amazon.com Inc devices at 10 stores in Los Angeles and Chicago starting in October.

Syrian Army Breaks Deir Ezzor Siege At Moment The National Soccer Team Stuns World

Against all odds the Syrian Army has broken the years-long ISIS siege of Deir Ezzor and is now poised to re-establish government control over Syria’s east. And for the first time since the start of the war, Middle East analysts are predicting that Assad will eventually consolidate control over much of the entire country.

Early on Tuesday Syrian state media announced the army’s breaching of ISIS lines which had surrounded Deir Ezzor city for the first time in three years. Remarkably, a government zone of over 100,000 people, including an army detachment which had long been completely surrounded, survived the years long siege through Syrian, Russian, and U.N. airdrops.

The plight of pro-government civilians trapped and brutalized by ISIS in Deir Ezzor has been largely ignored by international media, even as civilian suffering in other parts of Syria was frequently highlighted. The eastern province’s largest city actually came under initial siege by al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front prior to Islamic State’s expansion in the area.

Syrian troops of the Brigade 137 base, surrounded by ISIS since 2014, were reunited with advancing army soldiers after they successfully lifted the lengthy siege of Deir Ezzor Tuesday. Image source: Al-Masdar News

It appears that ISIS lines are quickly collapsing throughout the area, though like Mosul, it is likely that weeks or months of urban fighting could ensue in what will likely be a slow and grinding process of complete …

Frontrunning: September 6

Hurricane Irma makes landfall in the Caribbean (Reuters)

Social and Economic Polarization in U.S. Worsens, Poll Finds (WSJ)

Trump Risks GOP Civil War Pushing Congress for ‘Dreamer’ Bill (BBG)

Michael R. Bloomberg: Trump’s DACA Failure Is Congress’s Opportunity (BBG)

Array of Threats Stir Up Markets (WSJ)

Draghi’s Claim of QE Flexibility Is Attracting Doubters (BBG)

Moon Seeks Putin’s Help, Warns of ‘Uncontrollable’ North Korea (Bloomberg)

Moscow, Seoul closer on North Korea after their leaders meet: RIA cites Kremlin (Reuters)

FBI Says 1MDB Stolen Funds Witnesses Are Scared to Talk (BBG)

Benzene Detected in Houston After Refinery Is Damaged (

House Panel Subpoenas DOJ, FBI For “Trump Dossier” Records

The one Russia-collusion narrative that Democrats have actively worked to suppress is coming back to haunt them.

Investigators from the House Intelligence Committee have issued subpoenas to the DOJ and FBI for information related to the now-infamous Trump dossier that, as we recently learned, was provided to the FBI even though it contained knowingly inaccurate allegations. It was also financed by a “senior Russian government official,” according to testimony given to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

As expected, the move is being spearheaded by Republicans, while Democrats on the committee, including leading anti-Trumper Adam Schiff, are resisting the subpoenas, claiming this is the latest ploy to try and “discredit” the dossier’s author, former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele.

Here’s the Washington Examiner, which first reported the news:

In the most significant escalation yet in the wrangling between Congress and the FBI over the Trump dossier, the House Intelligence Committee has subpoenaed the bureau and the Justice Department for documents relating to the dossier, the FBI’s relationship with dossier author Christopher Steele, and the bureau’s possible role in supporting what began as an opposition research project against candidate Donald Trump in the final months of last year’s presidential campaign.

In reality, Democrats may be worried that, if the backgro …

Global Stocks Slide As Geopolitical Headwinds, Hurricanes Grow

Global risk sentiment remained gloomy coming into Wednesday, with global European and Asian stocks sliding on growing concerns about North Korea and political inaction in the US, another hurricane bearing down on the US and the American debt ceiling looming. Industrial metals dropped as the latest Chinese commodity bubble appears to have peaked. Shortly before 6am a sharp risk-off move across asset classes was blamed on an erroneous North Korea earthquake tweet by the British Geological Survey.

In European markets, almost every sector of the Stoxx Europe 600 Index retreated after equities slid from Hong Kong to Sydney as traders prepared for potential news of intercontinental ballistic missile launch by Pyongyang. U.S. stock futures fluctuated, and the dollar edged lower with Treasuries a day after dovish comments from Federal Reserve officials sparked a bond surge. The Bloomberg Commodity Index retreated from the highest since April even as crude oil extended a rally.

“The 10 basis point fall in Treasury yields is clearly not something the European market can ignore,” said Mizuho rates strategist Antoine Bouvet. “The market’s also taking a bit of view on what the U.S. Federal Reserve will do next.”

Asia was also mostly in the red, with the MSCI Asia ex Japan index falling 0.5% and Tokyo’s Nikkei hitting a four-month low closing down 0.1%. South Korea’s KOSPI ended down 0.3% at a near four-week low as did Australia’s ASX. The Hang Seng Index declined 0.5% in Hong Kong on low volumes and China’s equity benchmarks were also lower.

According to

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Metals Stocks: Gold steadies near best mark in a year after dovish Fed view stalls dollar

Gold managed a slim early gain Wednesday, keeping the perceived haven metal pinned near its best level in nearly a year as a leading dollar index drifted around the little-changed mark.

Wal-Mart, TJX, and McDonald’s are in demand as low-income consumers struggle

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