03Nov2017 Market Update: Wall Street Up Fractionally As Apple Offsets Weak Wage Growth Concerns, Homebuilders Gloomy, Asset Managers Relieved Over Tax Plan

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

North and South American markets are mixed. The S&P 500 is higher by 0.14%, while the Bovespa is leading the IPC lower. They are down 0.55% and 0.14% respectively.

U.S. job growth speeds up, unemployment rate falls; wages flat

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. job growth accelerated in October after hurricane-related disruptions in the prior month, but a sharp retreat in annual wage gains and surge in the number of people dropping out of the work force cast a cloud over the labor market.

BMW recalling 1 million vehicles in North America

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – BMW AG said Friday it is recalling about 1 million vehicles in North America for two separate issues involving fire risks and said it may expand the recalls to other countries.

S&P, Dow flat after jobs data; Apple lifts Nasdaq

(Reuters) – The S&P and the Dow were flat in late morning trading on Friday after October payrolls data sparked concerns about tepid wage growth while a jump in Apple supported the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

U.S. factory orders rise, core capital goods orders revised higher

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New orders for U.S.-made goods rose for a second straight month in September and orders for core capital goods were stronger than previously reported, suggesting manufacturing activity was gathering momentum.

Cryptocurrencies’ market cap hits record $200 billion as bitcoin soars

LONDON (Reuters) – The aggregate value of all cryptocurrencies hit a record high of over $200 billion on Wednesday, according to industry website Coinmarketcap, putting their reported market value at more than that of U.S. banking giant Citigroup .

Airbus sales chief says to stay on until successor is found

HAMBURG (Reuters) – Airbus’ long-serving sales chief John Leahy plans to stay on until a successor is found, with a decision expected within the next week or so, he told Reuters on Friday.

AIG’s $836 million reserve boost surprises investors; shares sink

(Reuters) – American International Group Inc shares sank 4.5 percent on Friday as investors reacted to a surprise $836 million boost to the insurance giant’s reserves, related to prior-year accident claims.

Singapore police examine Goldman’s role in 1MDB deals: Bloomberg

(Reuters) – Singaporean prosecutors and police are looking at Goldman Sachs Group’s relationship with scandal-hit Malaysian state investment fund 1MDB, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Central bankers on the move, but where’s the inflation?

LONDON (Reuters) – Now the Bank of England has raised interest rates for the first time in a decade, it is beyond doubt major central banks in industrialized economies are eager to shift away from ultra-easy policy.

This opportunity is taking off, says Joe Friday

Three weeks ago the Power of the Pattern shared what looked like a great opportunity in the chart below…See original post HERE

The Greatest Fear Today: The Lack Of Fear

Authored by James Rickards via The Daily Reckoning,

Market crashes often happen not when everyone is worried about them, but when no one is worried about them.

Complacency and overconfidence are good leading indicators of an overvalued market set for a correction or worse. Prominent magazine covers are notorious for declaring a boundless bull market right at the top just before a crash or correction.

October 19 saw the thirtieth anniversary of the greatest one-day percentage stock market crash in U.S. history – a 22% fall on October 19, 1987. In today’s Dow points, a 22% decline would equal a one-day drop of over 5,000 points!

I remember October 19, 1987 well. I was chief credit officer of a major government bond dealer. We didn’t have the internet back then, but we did have trading screens with live quotes. I couldn’t believe what I was watching at first, but by 2:00 in the afternoon we were all glued to our screens.

It was like being a passenger on a plane that was crashing, but you had no way out of the plane. Our firm was fine (bonds rallied as stocks crashed), but we were concerned about counterparties going bankrupt and not being able to pay us on our winning bets in bonds.

What’s troubling is that a lot of commentators said that the kind of crash that took place in 1987 couldn’t happen today and that markets were much safer. It’s true that circuit breakers and market closures could temporarily halt a slide better than we did in 1987. But tho …

Where The October Jobs Were: Record Waiters And Bartenders

Following last month’s sharply upward revised jobs report, whose initial negative print of -33,000 was since revised to a positive 18K, there was a sharp jump in October jobs, which while failing to meet consensus estimate of a +310K print, was still a solid +261K. But which jobs contributed the most? The answer, not surprising, is that the single biggest contributor was the same job category which was devastated in the previous month.

Readers will recall that last month we pointed out that workers in “food service and drinking places” aka waiters and bartenders, suffered their biggest drop on record, plunging by a whopping 111K. Well, one month later it’s payback time, and according to the BLS, 88,500 waiters and bartenders found jobs in October, as the “plowhorse” sector of the so-called recovery found its spark. As shown in the chart below the monthly increase in waiters and bartenders was a record.

Putting this number in context, the record increase in “food service and drinking places” jobs was a whopping third (34%) of all the 261K jobs added in October.

There was another amusing observation. As we said last month, “we find it delightfully ironic that in the one month in which waiters/bartenders lost the most jobs on record is when average wages (allegedly) soared” and added that “the September drop will be revised and move higher next month. After all, many people fleeing Florida and Houston had to stay in hotels and motels, for example. And certainly eat out more.”

One month later,

of co …

Apple Calls Up Its Supporting Cast

Mac, iPad and services deliver strong sales while the iPhone cycle gets stretched.

The Tax Plan’s Pleasant Surprises for Investors

The Republican tax plan contains most of what prompted investors to bid the stock market up to a record in recent months with only a few twists, but the economic boost is less than it could have been.

AIG Needs a Refresher in Insurance Basics

Brian Duperreault’s turnaround job at American International Group will be harder and take longer than it first seemed.

Top Ten: Weekend roundup: Understanding Trump’s tax plan | Rowâ–ºApple’s expensive iPhone | Obamacare price spike

Here are MarketWatch articles to read this weekend. By Phil van Doorn.

Paul Brandus: Powell could be boxed in at the Fed

The steady-as-she-goes U.S. economy may run into headwinds in the next year or two—and that’s why Jerome Powell may have trouble on his hands.

FA Center: Social Security and gray divorce: What you don’t know can cost you

Education and planning are helpful in ensuring a successful retirement.