Written by Gary
The SP 500 and Nasdaq closed higher but investors remain on edge over tariffs debate (SPY +0.2%) as investors watched for signs U.S. President Trump would scrap proposed tariffs.
Todays S&P 500 Chart
The Market in Perspective
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
 | Republican pushback on Trump tariffs gathers steam, talk of modifications emergeWASHINGTON/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Republican lawmakers stepped up calls on Tuesday for President Donald Trump to pull back from proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell added to an avalanche of criticism of the measures, saying they risked igniting a trade war and damaging the U.S. economy. |
| Wall Street climbs as trade war worries cool(Reuters) – U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday in a choppy session as investors watched anxiously for signs U.S. President Donald Trump would scrap proposed tariffs to avoid a trade war. |
| Warren vows fight as U.S. Senate begins debate on Dodd-Frank rewriteWASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren promised to fight a U.S. Senate bill easing bank rules introduced following the 2007-2009 global financial crisis as the chamber moved on Tuesday to begin debating the draft bipartisan legislation. |
| U.S. sees national security risk from Broadcom’s Qualcomm deal(Reuters) – A U.S. government national security panel has identified potential risks that warrant a full investigation of Singapore-based Broadcom Ltd’s $117 billion bid for chipmaker Qualcomm Inc , a senior U.S. Treasury official said in a letter to the companies on Monday. |
| Mexico minister says NAFTA must remain a trilateral accordMEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo on Tuesday rejected making a bilateral trade treaty with the United States, saying the North American Free Trade Agreement, which is currently being renegotiated, must remain a three-country accord. |
| RBS reaches $500 million settlement with New York over mortgage securitiesNEW YORK (Reuters) – Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc has reached a $500 million settlement with New York state to resolve claims over its sale of risky residential mortgage-backed securities that contributed to the 2008 global financial crisis. |
| U.S. says ‘Pharma Bro’ Shkreli deserves at least 15 years in prisonNEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. prosecutors on Tuesday said former drug company executive Martin Shkreli should spend at least 15 years in prison after being convicted of fraud, saying his lack of remorse and respect for the law justified a long time behind bars. |
| Kobe Steel, Toyota hit with U.S. lawsuit over vehicle metal qualityNEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. consumers have filed a lawsuit against Kobe Steel Ltd and Toyota Motor Corp accusing the companies of violating consumer protection laws and engaging in fraud by concealing the use of substandard metal components in vehicles. |
| U.S. manufacturing, business spending on equipment slowingWASHINGTON (Reuters) – New orders for U.S.-made goods recorded their biggest decline in six months in January and business spending on equipment appeared to be slowing after strong growth in 2017. |
| 9 Years “Off The Lows”: World Stocks +200%, Central Banks +170%, Dollar UnchangedMore chaotic swings in stocks today… It’s been 9 years since President Obama called the bottom in the S&P 500 at 666 and there has been one asset that has crushed everyone else…
But away from crytpocurrencies… Global Stocks are up 200%, Global central bank balance sheets up around 170%… and the Dollar is unchanged…
As a reminder, the Bank of England launched its QE program on March 5, the day before US stocks hit their lows. The SPX … |
| Trump: “We Are Doing Steel Tariffs”Earlier today we asked, what happens if Trump does not back down from his tariff threat, despite the market’s near certainty that the president will eventually change his mind. Well, a few hours later during a joint press conference with the Swedish prime minister, Trump confirmed that he has yet to change his mind, reiterating that “we’re doing tariffs on steel.” TRUMP: `WE’RE DOING TARIFFS ON STEEL’ Trump also slammed Europe again, saying the old continent has been “particularly tough” on the US in trade, and suggested that Europe could “make a deal” to avoid tariffs: TRUMP: U.S. HAS BEEN TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF ON TRADE FOR MANY YEARS TRUMP: EU HAS BEEN `PARTICULARLY TOUGH’ ON U.S. IN TRADE TRUMP SUGGESTS EU COULD MAKE DEAL THAT’D OBVIATE TARIFF NEED The president then confirmed what was suggested last night, that the US would be willing to exempt Canada and Mexico, and that there would be “no need for tariffs”, if a Nafta deal is made. TRUMP: IF NAFTA DEAL MADE, NO REASON FOR TARIFFS ON CAN, MEX But the focus of Trump’s ire was again China, which Trump said indirectly exports “much more steel” than just the 2% the US imports directs, by way of “trans-shipping”: TRUMP SAYS CHINA SENDS U.S. MUCH MORE STEEL THAN PEOPLE THINK TRUMP: IF YOU’RE BEHIND OTHER COUNTRIES, TRADE WARS NOT SO BAD TRUMP SAYS CHINA “TRANS-SHIPS” STEEL TO U.S. THROUGH MANY OTHER COUNTRIES His conclusion, the same as before: trade wars are not that bad… if you’re behind others: TRUMP: IF YOU’RE BEHIND OTHER COUNTRIES, TRADE WARS NOT SO BAD Summary: it still does not appear that Trump is about to relent on launching a trade war. |
| Mueller “Requested Documents” About Trump’s Long-time LawyerSpecial Counsel Robert Mueller is reportedly requesting documents, asking witnesses about Michael Cohen, and otherwise “examining episodes” involving the longtime Trump lawyer who served as Trump’s de facto fixer both during the campaign and during Cohen’s time working at the Trump Organization. According to WaPo, Cohen played a role in two incidents that are of interest to the Mueller probe: The first area of focus for Mueller involves a deal that was nearly struck in late 2015 to build Trump Tower Moscow. As has already been reported, Cohen reportedly sent an email to Russian President Vladimir Putin inquiring about how to advance the stalled project. Cohen said he didn’t remember receiving a response.
The second focus for Mueller is a “Russia-friendly” peace proposal that passed to Cohen by a Ukrainian lawmaker one week after Trump took office. And as former Trump aide Sam Nunberg disclosed yesterday in a series of manic, freewheeling inte … |
| US Marshals Service To Sell Nearly $25 Mln Worth Of Seized Bitcoin At AuctionAuthored by Aaron Wood via CoinTelegraph.com, The US Marshals Service has announced that it will be auctioning off approximately 2,170 Bitcoins seized in the course of various federal criminal, civil, and administrative cases, a press release stated March 5.
image courtesy of CoinTelegraph The auction will take place on March 19, 2018 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. EDT. |
| Why Spotify Won’t Be the Netflix of MusicMusicians have long complained about the power of big record labels. Investors tempted to buy Spotify stock when it goes public later this month could end up sympathizing. |
| Tax Cuts Fuel Biggest Merger Spree Since 2000Tax cuts and economic growth are spurring a spending spree by U.S. companies on deal making as well as share buybacks. But with some deals being done at big earnings multiples, companies and their investors may find they haven’t spent wisely when the dust eventually settles. |
| The Hulu Factor: What Comcast May Really Be After in Its Bid for SkyIs Comcast Chief Executive Brian Roberts is trying to get himself a place at the table, hoping that he can pry away a prize asset or two from Disney, perhaps Hulu? |
| Capitol Report: Why a full-blown Trump trade war won’t happenDonald Trump’s decision to impose big tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum has spawned lots of loose talk about a destabilizing global trade war that’s an echo of the Great Depression, but the White House move is better characterized for now as a mere skirmish. |
| Here’s the cheapest (and most expensive) place to raise a family in AmericaThe Economic Policy Institute crunched the numbers for every county and major metropolitan area. |
| Why sites like Yelp and Glassdoor should reward people who leave reviewsThe way some online review sites gather information today isn’t effective. |
Summary of Economic Releases this Week
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:
