08Dec2017 Pre-Market Commentary: US Futures Point To Higher Open On Wall Street, US Jobs Data Comes In Higher, WTI Crude And The US Dollar Climb Higher, Gold Remains Depressed

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are broadly higher today with shares in Germany leading the region. The DAX is up 1.05% while London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.80% and France’s CAC 40 is up 0.38%.

Brexit deal helps U.S. futures bounce

(Reuters) – U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher opening for Wall Street on Friday, helped by gains for global stock markets after Britain secured EU agreement to move on from the first-round of Brexit negotiations.

JPMorgan, Citi not willing to support launch of bitcoin futures: FT

(Reuters) – Big Banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup will not immediately clear bitcoin trades for clients once Cboe Global Markets and CME Group start trading futures contracts in the cryptocurrency next week, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

JPMorgan’s Dimon taking customer pricing hints from Amazon

NEW YORK (Reuters) – JPMorgan Chase & Co expects to offer more price discounts to its banking customers who buy multiple products, similar to the way Amazon.com gives extras to its Prime subscribers, chief executive Jamie Dimon said on Thursday.

Exclusive: Bangladesh Bank, NY Fed discuss suing Manila bank for heist damages

DHAKA (Reuters) – Bangladesh’s central bank has asked the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to join a lawsuit it plans to file against a Philippines bank for its role in one of the world’s biggest cyber-heists, several sources said.

Toshiba, Western Digital aiming to settle chip dispute next week: sources

TOKYO (Reuters) – Toshiba Corp and Western Digital Corp have agreed in principle to settle a dispute over the Japanese firm’s plans to sell its $18 billion chip unit and aim to have a final agreement in place next week, sources familiar with the matter said.

Steinhoff shares bounce off 14-year low in volatile trade

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Steinhoff shares plunged another 50 percent on Friday, before recovering as traders booked profits on short positions taken out after the South African retailer disclosed accounting irregularities earlier this week.

VW says halts multivan deliveries amid emissions ‘uncertainties’

BERLIN (Reuters) – Volkswagen said on Friday it had stopped delivering the T6 multivan to dealers after detecting that the diesel model emitted excessive nitrogen oxide levels and had reported the findings to Germany’s automotive watchdog (KBA).

Roche, Novartis’ Italian heads risk trial for alleged market rigging: sources

ROME (Reuters) – The local heads of Swiss drugmakers Roche and Novartis risk facing trial in Italy for alleged market manipulation, judicial sources said on Friday.

RBS CEO says U.S. settlement could slip into next year: Bloomberg

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Bank of Scotland’s chances of reaching a deal this year with the U.S. Department of Justice over its mis-selling of toxic mortgage-backed securities are “diminishing”, its chief executive said in a Bloomberg TV interview.

Actually, Here’s Why Stocks Can Keep Going Up

The environment still looks more friendly for stocks than bonds. Global growth is broad and momentum appears good. Earnings have recovered and are forecast to rise further around the world in 2018.

Samsung’s Rally Can’t Keep Living on Memories

The Korean tech giant’s stock price and profits have doubled in the past two years. Industry fundamentals suggest it will struggle to maintain that pace.

Pharma’s Helping Hand May Pinch Investors

Scrutiny of patient-assistance charities, a key profit source for the drug industry, is increasing. That means it is getting harder for investors to forecast industry growth.

Rail Week Ending 02 December 2017: November Traffic Up 1.5%

Week 48 of 2017 shows same week total rail traffic (from same week one year ago) expanded according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR) traffic data. The economically intuitive sectors remain in expansion and the rolling average growth rate improved marginally.

Economic Report: U.S. gains 228,000 new jobs in November in another strong show of hiring

Some 228,000 new jobs were created in November, another healthy gain that highlights the strongest U.S. labor market since the turn of the century.

Mark Hulbert: Here’s why U.S. stocks will likely be higher in December 2018

Market history favors stock investors every year, writes Mark Hulbert.

Bond Report: Treasury yields slightly higher after Congress staves off government shutdown

Treasury yields rose Friday after the federal government averted a shutdown, with investors waiting for the employment report before the Federal Reserve’s meeting next week.