05Mar2018 Market Close: Wall Street Climbs As Trade-war Fears Abate, DOW Closes Up 337 Points, Near Session Highs, Buy The Dip In McDonald’s Shares, Credit Suisse Says

Special Report: Fidelity puts 6 million savers on risky path to retirement

BOSTON (Reuters) – For three years, the mutual funds in Fidelity’s flagship retirement franchise have outperformed at least 85 percent of their competitors, reversing a decade-long trend of subpar performance.

Trump ups trade pressure on Canada, Mexico; senior Republicans urge rethink

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump increased pressure on Canada and Mexico over trade on Monday, saying the two could avoid being caught in his planned hefty tariffs on steel and aluminum if they ceded ground in talks on a new NAFTA trade deal.

U.S. judge orders ex-drug executive Shkreli to give up $7.36 million

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Former drug company executive Martin Shkreli may have to give up a Picasso and a one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album, after a U.S. judge on Monday ordered him to forfeit $7.36 million following his conviction of defrauding investors.

Wall Street climbs as trade-war fears abate

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks rallied on Monday as fears of a global trade war ebbed with investors betting that U.S. President Donald Trump would back down on his threat to impose hefty tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

Exclusive: Fiat Chrysler to spin-off Magneti Marelli without raising money – sources

LONDON/FRANKFURT/MILAN (Reuters) – Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCA) is looking to spin off auto-parts business Magneti Marelli to its shareholders via a Milan listing that will not raise money by selling new shares, four sources familiar with the matter said.

Canada, Mexico push back on Trump’s ‘fair’ NAFTA deal suggestion

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Canada and Mexico on Monday pushed back against President Donald Trump’s suggestion that steel and aluminum tariffs could be waived if they signed a new and “fair” NAFTA deal, setting the stage for a tense end to the latest talks to update the trade pact.

U.S. security panel deals major blow to Broadcom’s bid for Qualcomm

(Reuters) – The U.S. government on Sunday ordered Qualcomm Inc to delay its March 6 shareholder meeting, a highly unusual request that will allow time for a national security review of the deal, but that also cast new doubt on Singapore-based Broadcom Ltd’s $117-billion bid for its U.S. semiconductor peer.

Exclusive: Airbus sets services goal, targets productivity gains

PARIS (Reuters) – Airbus has set a goal of tripling services revenues from its commercial aircraft business to $10 billion within seven years and sharply reducing the number of times its jets are stranded on the ground for technical reasons, industry sources said.

Exclusive: Chevron in talks to sell stake in Canada LNG project – sources

TORONTO/HOUSTON (Reuters) – Chevron Corp is exploring options including the sale of a minority stake in its Canadian liquefied natural gas (LNG) project as it pushes ahead, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Tariff Tantrum Turns To Buying-Panic As Stocks Shrug Off Global Trade War Threat

We’re back to the old new normal…

Only Trannies are still red post-Trump-Trade-War (as Boeing’s gains sent The Dow back into the green today along with the rest of the majors)…

3/1 1230ET *TRUMP SAYS HE WILL IMPOSE TARIFFS ON STEEL AND ALUMINUM IMPORTS

3/2 0600ET *TRUMP SAYS `TRADE WARS ARE GOOD, AND EASY TO WIN’

Futures show where the big ramps hit…

Many market observers claimed that Spea …

Blue Apron Battered As Wal-Mart Offers “Millennial-Friendly” Meal Kits

In its latest push to win over more millennials (who tend to prefer rival Amazon.com when it comes to arranging their grocery deliveries online), Wal-Mart on Monday revealed that it’s launching its own line of meal kits that will be sold in its stores and through its online grocery delivery service. The kits will soon be made available in as many as 2,000 Wal-Mart stores by the end of 2018, the company said.

By launching its own line of meal kits, Wal-Mart is directly challenging popular delivery-only kit businesses like Blue Apron and HelloFresh, which don’t have a large retail presence to help pass their products along to consumers. Most analysts covering the retail sector expect the meal-kit industry to balloon over the coming years. One firm estimated that meal kits would expand to between $3 billion and $5 billion over the next 10 years.

Offering meal kits is one component of Wal-Mart’s plan to expand its online grocery pickup service across the country as it develops its new system for tracking the freshness of produce. it’s also seen as a “millennial friendly” offering that will help lure younger customers to its e-commerce offerings.

Each kit will serve two people and range in price from $8 to $15. Options so far will include Steak Dij …

Spot The Odd ‘Volatility’ Out

While volatility surged across most asset-classes last week, there was one ‘safe-haven’ that saw its risk expectations tumble…

As Bloomberg notes, The CBOE/COMEX Gold Volatility Index – a gauge tracking the cost of hedging against price swings in the precious metal – dropped for a third straight week, the longest streak of the year.

At the same time, the biggest exchange-traded fund tracking bullion posted its longest run of inflows since September…

With the prospect of higher inflation and U.S. tariffs on metals, investors are turning to havens such as gold.

Big Banks Enter Branch Warfare

JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America have announced plans recently to open branches in new markets. Investors shouldn’t dismiss these moves.

AXA Tests Investor Nerves With Big Price to Get XL

Commercial insurance is turning into Land of the Giants—and AXA’s investors are right to be nervous as the French insurer moves to radically reshape itself with a $15.3 billion deal to buy XL Group.

A Spark That Could Light Up China’s Internet Giants

China is considering allowing its biggest technology firms to list at home

FA Center: How to play the volatile highs and lows of the VIX

Investing according to the stock market’s ‘fear gauge’ calls for a unique strategy, writes Mark Hulbert.

Here’s a trick for getting access to hot IPO shares in Spotify and Dropbox

Publicly traded GSV Capital owns shares of pre-IPO companies. By Michael Brush.

Money Brain: Forget the Super Bowl: Here’s the real indicator of stock market success

To be a winning investor, find high-quality companies, buy shares at a good price, and hold them, writes Gary Smith.