Written by Gary
US equities market gained ground today (SPY +0.3%), with support of upbeat corporate results. The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits increased less than expected last week.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
 | North and South American markets are mixed today. The IPC is up 0.76% while the S&P 500 gains 0.26%. The Bovespa is off 0.54%. |
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. | |
| Upbeat earnings keep Wall Street on firm footing(Reuters) – U.S. stocks gained ground on Thursday, with support from a clutch of upbeat corporate results and ahead of earnings from marquee companies Google-parent Alphabet and Amazon. |
| U.S. jobless claims rise modestly as labor market tightensWASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits increased less than expected last week, suggesting the labor market continued to tighten after recent hurricane-related disruptions. |
| Consumer groups join conservatives against AT&T deal for Time WarnerWASHINGTON (Reuters) – Seven groups ranging from the Tea Party Patriots to liberal consumer groups warned against AT&T’s plan to buy Time Warner in a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, saying the deal could give one company too much power over what Americans see on television. |
| U.S. October new vehicle sales seen down 4 pct on year: J.D. Power and LMCDETROIT (Reuters) – U.S. auto sales in October likely fell close to 4 percent from the same month in 2016, though automakers’ sales were buoyed by replacement of storm-damaged vehicles and record-high consumer discounts, industry consultants J.D. Power and LMC Automotive said on Thursday. |
| Amazon’s bold spending to be closely watched in latest results(Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc’s audacious spending on original TV shows and movies, its cloud business and an ever-expanding core retail operations, will be closely watched by investors when the retail giant reports results on Thursday. |
| Celgene cuts 2020 outlook, Otezla sales disappoint; shares plunge(Reuters) – Celgene Corp on Thursday reported third-quarter sales of its key psoriasis drug Otezla that badly missed expectations and significantly scaled down its 2020 targets for product sales and earnings, sending its shares tumbling 18 percent. |
| Twitter says it could turn first-ever profit, shares surge(Reuters) – Twitter Inc said on Thursday it may become profitable for the first time next quarter after slashing expenses over the past year and ramping up deals to sell its data to other companies, which could help to break its reliance on advertising for revenue. |
| Sales of U.S. pickups lift Ford profit; self-driving test set for ’18DETROIT (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co reported a better-than-expected quarterly net profit on Thursday, driven largely by U.S. sales of its high-margin pickup trucks, and said it would begin to test self-driving cars in some cities next year. |
| UAW files complaint against Tesla for terminated workers(Reuters) – The United Auto Workers (UAW) International Union said on Thursday it filed a complaint against electric carmaker Tesla Inc on behalf of the company’s terminated workers. |
| Bitcoin Spikes Back To $6000: Five Reasons Why It’s Not A BubbleBitcoin is surging once again this morning, up over 8.5% to retest $6000 once again (after dropping to $5366 just 2 days ago), but according to Nasdaq, “Bitcoin is not a bubble,” citing five reasons demonstrating why it’s nothing like Tulip Mania…
Via Nasdaq’s Alex Lielacher, The digital currency bitcoin rallied by over 300 percent since the start of the year and has recently surpassed the $4,000 mark. Unsurprisingly, many financial markets pundits consider such a sharp rally the creation of an asset bubble. In all fairness, the returns that bitcoin and its digital peers in the crypto assets space are experiencing have not been seen since the day and age of the internet bubble in the late 1990s. However, Bitcoin has very different fundamentals than early internet stocks and a much more promising growth trajectory.
|
| Most Americans Believe JFK Conspiracy TheoriesNearly 54 years on from President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, tens of thousands of documents are set to shed more light on what happened in Dallas that day, with President Trump excited…
As Statista’s Niall McCarthy notes, conspiracy theories about the assassination continue to circulate and few events in modern history have been enshrouded the public in so much doubt. The official version is that Lee Harvey Oswald killed the president with a high-powered rifle from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository. Many people have unofficial theories of their own, ranging from a second shooter on the grassy knoll to the CIA and Fidel Castro’s involvement.
You will find more statistics at Statista |
| Ray Dalio Warns Of “Significant” Bond Market RiskCasting his vote in the ongoing debate of which is a bigger bubble, bonds or stocks, Bridgewater’s billionaire founder Ray Dalio, who has continued his whirlwind of media appearances in recent years, said that he sees a “significant amount of risk in the bond market” envisioning a growing risk to stability as the U.S. moves toward a bigger deficit and the Federal Reserve unwinds its balance sheet. He is, of course, referring to this projection by the CBO of the US debt over the next 30 years which, sadly, remains quite unsustainable especially in a rising rate environment and in which central banks no longer monetize deficits (which is precisely why the Fed will promptly resume QE after a brief cool off period).
Addressing this, Dalio said that “tightenings become progressively more concerning because as you move along they’re more and more difficult to get perfect.” Speaking to Bloomberg radio, Dalio also warned that “as we’re progressing, we’re entering a period of greater risk in the nature of the market.” Meanwhile, confirming what anyone who has seen the fund’s 13F knows, Dalio said that Bridgewater has been long equities, but didn’t provide more details on how the world’s biggest hedge fund is trading the market. He also said he doesn’t think the Fed can continue the pace at which it has begun to unwind its $4.5 trillion balance sheet. Dalio also said he expects the U.S. budget deficit to increase to 1.5% of GDP, growing the supply of debt at the same time the central bank is offloading bonds. “I think they’ll be cautious in this but when you’re caught in this part of the cycle i … |
| Ex-HSBC Trader Involved In Front-Running Scandal To Be Extradited To U.S.It’s not shaping up to be a great week for a group of former HSBC FX traders who decided to front-run a massive $3.5 billion currency trade placed by one of their clients and net their bank some $8 million in illicit profits in the process. Earlier this week, Ex-HSBC currency trader Mark Johnson, who was unwittingly captured on an audio recording saying “I think we got away with it,” was convicted by a jury in New York of fraud. Now we learn that Johnson’s partner in crime (allegedly, of course), Stuart Scott, has lost his court battle in the U.K. and will be extradited to the U.S. to face charges. Not surprisingly, Scott expressed some “disappointment” with the ruling shortly after being dismissed from court.
As we’ve noted previously, Mark Johnson was arrested at New York’s Kennedy Airport in 2016 before he could return to the U.K. but Stuart Scott has remained free at his home in the London suburbs…until now. Per Bloomberg:
|
| Trading Places: Why Barclays Is Falling Behind Deutsche Bank and Everyone ElseBarclays is achieving something that long seemed impossible in European banking: it is making Deutsche Bank look good. |
| ECB Takes a Teeny, Tiny Step Toward Ending Loose Monetary PolicyThe European Central Bank opened the door to exiting extraordinary monetary policy but is still a long way from going through it |
| Storms Force Insurers to Pay Up for ProtectionThe reinsurance industry looks like it will get a modest boost following the wave of natural disasters this year, but primary insurers may get squeezed. |
| The Tell: Investors shouldn’t fear a ‘curl-your-toes’ bear market soon, says BernsteinIt has been years since the U.S. stock market has experienced a bear market, and despite major indexes trading near records and valuations that are stretched by many metrics, that is a streak that doesn’t look set to end soon. |
| Sears reconnects with its oldest customers with holiday Wish Book, but doesn’t attract new onesSears is relaunching its holiday Wish Book, which might be good for recapturing older, lapsed customers, but not for growing the customer base. |
| Key Words: ‘Sophia’ the robot’s unsettling words drew a response from Elon MuskMusk’s lighthearted tweet belies what he sees as a real threat. In previous warnings, the has said people should be “extremely afraid” and that artificial intelligence could lead to World War III. |
Earnings Summary for Today
leading Stock Positions
Current Commodity Prices
Commodities are powered by Investing.com
Current Currency Crosses
The Forex Quotes are powered by Investing.com.
To contact me with questions, comments or constructive criticism is always encouraged and appreciated:
