Written by Gary
US stock market three major indexes have posted new historic highs (SPY +0.2%) after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson denied reports that he had considered resigning.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
North and South American markets are higher today with shares in U.S. leading the region. The S&P 500 is up 0.21% while Mexico’s IPC is up 0.13% and Brazil’s Bovespa is up 0.04%. |
Traders Corner – Health of the Market
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. | |
S&P, Nasdaq reverse to hit fresh highs on Tillerson comments(Reuters) – The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq reversed course to scale new record highs on Wednesday after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson denied reports that he had considered resigning. | |
Exclusive: SEC forensics unit sought resources, cyber training ahead of 2016 hackWASHINGTON (Reuters) – In August 2016, just two months before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission discovered its corporate filing system had been hacked, the SEC’s internal watchdog, Carl Hoecker, received a plea for help from his new forensics investigative unit. | |
EU takes Ireland to court for not claiming Apple tax windfallBRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission said on Wednesday it was taking Ireland to the European Court of Justice for its failure to recover up to 13 billion euros ($15.3 billion) of tax due from Apple Inc , a move labeled as “regrettable” by Dublin. | |
Whirlpool’s washer war is balancing act for TrumpClyde, Ohio(Reuters) – In the middle of Whirlpool Corp’s bustling washer factory in northern Ohio there is an empty patch of concrete floor – a reminder of a $60 million expansion plan the appliance maker says fell victim to unfair foreign competition. | |
German carmakers relying on volume to confront TeslaFRANKFURT (Reuters) – BMW and Mercedes are betting they can mass produce new electric cars based on conventional vehicles, defying sceptics who say they will need more radical designs to head off the threat from Tesla and other start-up carmakers. | |
Fed chief needs “flexibility of mind” in tough times: FischerLONDON (Reuters) – Any new head of the Federal Reserve will need to have the “flexibility of mind” to change tack during acute periods of crisis, the U.S. central bank’s outgoing Vice-Chairman Stanley Fischer said on Wednesday. | |
‘We’ll pay nothing’: TowerJazz seeks growth with minimal investmentMIGDAL HA’EMEK, Israel (Reuters) – Executives at Panasonic were surprised when Russell Ellwanger, CEO of Israeli chipmaker TowerJazz , asked to partner in three of their factories without putting any cash on the table. | |
Trade union Unite to pursue legal action for Monarch workers who lost jobsLONDON (Reuters) – British trade union Unite said on Wednesday it would launch legal action on behalf of over 1,800 workers who lost their jobs when Monarch Airlines went in to administration earlier in the week. | |
EU orders Amazon to repay $295 million in Luxembourg back taxesBRUSSELS (Reuters) – Amazon was told on Wednesday to pay about 250 million euros ($295 million) in back taxes to Luxembourg, the latest U.S. tech company to be caught up in a European Union crackdown on unfair tax deals. | |
What Few Expect: Inflation Will Surge, Destabilizing The Status QuoAuthored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog, Few seem to ponder what global shortages in key commodities might do to prices. If there is any economic truism that is accepted by virtually everyone, it’s that inflation is low and will stay low into the foreseeable future. The reasons are numerous: technology is deflationary, globalization is deflationary, central banks will keep interest rates near-zero essentially forever, and so on. Just for laughs, let’s look at healthcare, almost 20% of America’s entire economy, as an example of low inflation forever. If being up over 200% in the 21st century is low inflation, I’d hate to see high inflation. Here’s the official Consumer Price Index (CPI), which as many have noted, severely distorts real-world inflation by claiming big-ticket items such as college tuition and healthcare are mere slivers in household budgets. Note the remarkably stable trend line in CPI over the past 40 years. This certainly doesn’t shout “inflation is near-zero and will stay low indefinitely.” Here’s the PCE, Personal Consumption Expenditures, the Federal Reserve’s favored measure of core inflation. Let’s put it this way: either the PCE is real and the CPI is false, or vice versa; they can’t both be accurate measures of real-world inflation. Here’s a look at the annual rate of inflation. … | |
Comex Silver “Deliveries” Surge In SeptemberComex Silver “Deliveries” Surge In September Posted with permission and written by Craig Hemke, TF Metals Report Though Comex metal “delivery” remains a sham and circle jerk where The Banks simply shuffle paper warehouse receipts and warrants, we thought the latest totals for September were noteworthy enough to bring them to your attention. Again, we’ve written about this on countless occasions and this post is not meant to imply that “the Comex is about to break” or that “there is a run on The Banks”. Instead, September saw the continuation of two trends of which you need to be aware. Comex “deliveries” are up dramatically in 2017 and JPM continues to stand down. First, take a look at the historical pattern of “deliveries” during the so-called “delivery months” of March, May, July, September and December. Below is a summary of the “delivery” activity for 2015: The one way we’ve always quantified “deliveries” here at TFMR is to … | |
Bill Blain Asks “What If Trump’s Tax Cuts And Reforms Don’t Happen?”Submitted by Bill Blain of Mint Partners
Europe lurches from crisis to crisis – Unscathed”, so what is there to worry about? Tax Reform? A very clever chum told me yesterday to stop stressing so much about Europe, reminding me of the default position: “Europe lurches from crisis to crisis unscathed.” He’s right. It doesn’t matter how FUBAR Europe looks, what the Spanish King said, what Poland is doing, what Germany isn’t, or whatever France is smoking….. Crisis is the European normal and it’s not a problem. SNAFU is SOP, as they say.. I will stop worrying about Europe and learn to love the contradictory bluster that characterises the Heart of Brussels. And with stock markets hitting new highs, corporate bond spreads tighter than the proverbial gnat’s crotchet (in some classes tighter than pre-crisis 2006), VIX (despite a tiny rise y’day), still close to all-time lows, and folk blithely talking about increasing investments in Russia, new Middle East bonds, and asking where they can buy Nigerian regional bonds… what can there possibly be to worry about? However, my main worries this morning are the same as they always are… where does this market go next, and where are the likely sources of trouble. My conclusion is Americ … | |
Tillerson Vows To Stay On, Slams NBC ‘Moron’ ReportSecretary of State Rex Tillerson on Monday denied he has ever considered resigning from his post. Tillerson gave an unscheduled statement after NBC News reported he was on the verge of quitting over the summer, calling Trump a moron and prompting Mike Pence to intervene. “My commitment to the success of the president and the country is as strong as it was” upon taking office, Tillerson told reporters Wednesday at the State Department in Washington. “I have never considered leaving this post.” “The vice president has never had to persuade me to remain as secretary of State because I have never considered leaving,” he told reporters at the State Department. Tillerson refused to deny a claim in the report that he called President Trump a “moron” following tense meeting with national security officials over the summer. Tillerson said of the ‘moron’ report, “I’m not going to deal with petty stuff like that.” He added that he hasn’t spoken to the president on Wednesday morning. Notably, President Trump appeared to refer to the report in a Twitter post just moments before Tillerson spoke, saying “NBC news is #FakeNews and more dishonest than even CNN. They are a disgrace to good reporting. No wonder their news ratings are way down!”
Headlines from Tillerson’s address: *TILLERSON SAYS COMMITMENT TO TRUMP, COUNTRY AS STRONG … | |
Auto Stocks Are on a Wild ‘Robotaxi’ RideCar stocks have been strong not because of hopes that sales growth can be maintained, but on optimism about the capacity of manufacturers to withstand—even benefit from—the disruptive forces of technology. | |
Even Tougher Choices Ahead for Teva After FDA ShockerA surprise move from the Food and Drug Administration means that a recovery for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries just got much more difficult. | |
Microsoft’s Mixed Message on Virtual RealitySoftware giant Microsoft has some natural advantages in virtual reality, though marketing risks confusion. | |
September 2017 ISM and Markit Services Remain In ExpansionWritten by Steven Hansen The ISM non-manufacturing (aka ISM Services) index continues its growth cycle and improved. Markit PMI Services Index slightly declined but remains in expansion. | |
NewsWatch: Can Trump really ‘wipe out’ Puerto Rico’s debt?President Donald Trump put Puerto Rico’s catastrophic debt situation in the spotlight on Tuesday, but it’s not clear if the White House can offer a helping hand | |
Market Extra: Can Trump really ‘wipe out’ Puerto Rico’s debt?President Donald Trump put Puerto Rico’s catastrophic debt situation in the spotlight on Tuesday, but it’s not clear if the White House can offer a helping hand | |
Market Extra: Spanish stocks suffer worst day in 15 months as rift over Catalonia independence deepensSpanish stocks and bonds tumbled on Wednesday as the tensions between Catalonia secessionists and the government in Madrid deepened, feared to strengthen the resolve for independence. |
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