Written by Gary
US stock market major index’s futures are pointing to a positive opening this morning (SPY +0.1%) as fears that President Trump’s decision to impose fresh tariffs on China may escalate into a trade war.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
 | European markets are mixed today. The DAX is up 0.20% while the CAC 40 gains 0.12%. The FTSE 100 is even. |
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. | |
 | Stock futures point to flat open as trade war fears linger(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures pointed to a flat opening for Wall Street on Thursday as fears that President Donald Trump’s decision to impose fresh tariffs on China may escalate into a trade war weighed on the markets. |
| Exclusive: Wells Fargo faces sanctions for auto insurance payouts – sourcesWASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. regulators are preparing to sanction Wells Fargo for receiving commissions on auto insurance policies it helped force on more than half a million drivers, people with direct knowledge of the probes told Reuters. |
| Toys ‘R’ Us goes out of business, 30,000 jobs at stake(Reuters) – Toys ‘R’ Us Inc, the iconic toy retailer, will shutter or sell its stores in the United States after failing to find a buyer or reach a deal to restructure billions in debt, putting at risk about 30,000 jobs. |
| Balancing act: Chip giant Qualcomm caught between Washington and BeijingSHANGHAI (Reuters) – U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm Inc , blocked this week from a takeover bid amid national security fears, was already walking a Pacific tightrope: it has government and defense contracts in America, but two-thirds of its revenue comes from China. |
| Green Crack, Blue Dream, Gorilla Glue: The problem of pricing potNEW YORK (Reuters) – In 2014, as Jonathan Rubin and Ian Laird considered investing in the booming U.S. cannabis industry, they hit a problem: How to value pot starts-ups with little verified data on the price of the weed itself? |
| Exclusive: Amazon’s internal numbers on Prime Video, revealed(Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc’s top television shows drew more than 5 million people worldwide to its Prime shopping club by early 2017, according to company documents, revealing for the first time how the retailer’s bet on original video is paying off. |
| What is 5G and who are the major players?LONDON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump has blocked microchip maker Broadcom Ltd’s $117 billion takeover of rival Qualcomm amid concerns that it would give China the upper hand in the next generation of mobile communications, or 5G. |
| U.S. pressing China to cut trade surplus by $100 billion: White HouseWASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration is pressing China to cut its trade surplus with the United States by $100 billion, a White House spokeswoman said on Wednesday, clarifying a tweet last week from President Donald Trump. |
| Uber to share its London data in latest charm offensiveLONDON (Reuters) – Uber [UBER.UL] said on Thursday it will share data gathered from the millions of trips its cars make in London in the latest move to meet requests from the city’s regulator, which stripped the taxi app of its license last year. |
| Maidan Icon Faces Arrest For Admitting Current Ukraine Officials “Led Snipers To Central Kiev”Back in 2014, Ukrainian member of parliament Nadezhda Savchenko was lauded as a hero for her role in the Donbass military campaign and her prosecution in Russia. She is now accused of plotting to blow up the national parliament in Kiev. According to local press, the Kiev General Prosecutor’s Office requested that the Ukraine parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, strip Savchenko of legal immunity and allow her arrest. While MPs in Ukraine normally enjoy protection from prosecution, General Prosecutor Yury Lutsenko filed the request on Thursday after Savchenko failed to show up for a scheduled questioning. Lutsenko threatened he would do so earlier this week while Savchenko was on a visit to Europe in her official political capacity. Savchenko responded by accusing Lutsenko of covering up the involvement in the deadly 2014 Maidan shooting, which escalated mass protest into an armed coup and ultimately brought the current Ukrainian government into power. “Lutsenko called to go on offensive from the podium. He promised weapons. I saw armed people arriving in a blue van. Those people are now in the parliament,” she said, adding that she saw “ |
| JFK-Trump Analog: On The Eve Of A Big RolloverVia Global Macro Monitor, You need to sit down for this one. The JFK-Trump S&P500 analog is only three bps apart on Day 338 after election day. That is only a one S&P500 point difference, folks. Absolutely stunning.
We had almost given up on the analog after the Goldilocks wage and employment data last Friday. The two S&P indices have been tighter only twice, on Day 38 and Day 320. The Night Before The Big Roll Today is significant in that it is Day 338, which marked the eve of the big rollover of the S&P500 in 1962. Current headlines also look similar to those in 1962. Inflationary pressures leading to a growth scare. Big steel and nuclear missiles in the spotlight. Other factors are at play today, including politics, especially after last night’s Democratic win in Deep Red Steel Country. |
| Blain: “10 Years Ago Bear Stearns Collapsed; Larry Kudlow Was Its Chief Economist When I Joined”Submitted by Bill Blain of Mint Partners The Ides of March, 10-yrs after Bear Stearns can it happen again? Doh! The World is a curiously circular place. 10-years ago the collapse of Bear Stearns and its subsequent rescue by JP Morgan ushered in the panic stage of the Global Financial Crisis. The cataclysm came 6 months later when Lehman went down. Yesterday, Donald Trump appointed CNBC Commentator Larry Kudlow to Gary Cohn’s job as director of the NEC. Kudlow was chief economist of Bear when I joined the firm in the early 1990s. I’m kind of bemused at Kudlow’s appointment, but it proves what an adaptable crow Bear alumni are. Bear was a fantastic place to work. We lacked the glib polish of Goldman Sachs, the white-shoe smoothness of Morgan Stanley, the mighty balance sheets of Citi or JP Morgan, and the depth and range of Merrill, but we were united as the smart yappy mammals snapping round the ankles of the Wall Street dinosaurs. Over the next 10 years we stole a mighty share of their lunches! We did it with aplomb, style and underlying honesty – we were brutally open with our clients: we would succeed by making their deals successful. It was the best of times, and I’m still in touch with many of my clients from these days. When I was there, the mantra of Ace Greenburg ran the firm – absolute honesty on the trading floor and instant death to anyone skirting the rules. His “Memos from the Chairman” was classic: look after the pennies and the dollars will come, hire PSD graduates: “poor, smart and a deep desire to get rich”, and whenever you receive a paperclip in the post, save it up to send back to a client. We calculated not buying paperclips saved Bear about $100 per annum, but, heck, it worked! The question today is could it all happen again? Bear Stearns was brought down by the same collap … |
| Largest US Radio Company Files For BankruptcyOn Thursday, iHeartMedia – the largest radio conglomerate in the US – finally succumbed to its enormous debt burden and filed for a long-anticipated Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection (iHeartMedia Inc., 18-31274, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Texas) after the company and a majority of its creditors reached an agreement for a prepack deal to eliminate tens of billions in debt while the company continues to operate. After trying to negotiate a deal with creditors since last March, the company said in a statement that it had reached an agreement in principle with investors holding more than $10 billion of its debt, along with its private equity owners. The pact, intended to give the company a framework for a speedier reorganization, would cut iHeart’s debt by more than $10 billion, it said. “The agreement … is a significant accomplishment, as it allows us to definitively address the more than $20 billion in debt that has burdened our capital structure,” Chief Executive Bob Pittman said. Based in San Antonio, iHeart controls 856 US radio stations and employs 17,000 workers worldwide, along with Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, the largest billboard company in the world. iHeart’s traditional businesses – the radio stations and the Clear Channel Outdoor billboard unit – contribute the bulk of the company’s revenue. The Chapter 11 filing didn’t include the billboard unit. iHeartMedia said it believes it has enough cash on hand, and will earn enough through regular business operations to keep its business running through the restructuring talks, although in light of the recent Toys “R” Us liquidation which took place six months after that particular Chapter 11, we doubt many existing employees will stay there long. |
| Time for Pharma to Play Defense With DealsHealth-care payer consolidation continues at a rapid pace. Look for drug manufacturers to chime in with some larger deals of their own. |
| Ctrip’s Smooth Ride Has Been Rudely InterruptedChina’s largest online travel website facers slowing revenue, but still trades at a sky-high valuation. |
| Surprisingly Large Winners in a Bill to Help Small BanksThree of the biggest winners, in a bill meant to help small and midsize banks, are anything but. Some large custody banks stand to get a healthy profit boost if the Senate bill goes through. |
| Outside the Box: 3 ways Donald Trump’s Teflon presidency is wearing thinReality-show administration can’t escape the actual realities of politics, writes Chris Edelson. |
| Market Snapshot: S&P 500, Dow try to halt 3-session skid, as trade-war fears lingerU.S. stock futures pare earlier gains and pointed to a lackluster trading on Thursday, as investors continued to fret over President Trump’s protectionist stance against trading partners. |
| Need to Know: Damn the torpedoes — what could take the S&P 500 to 3,000Where those worries have some moving carefully, our call of the day from CFRA’s Sam Stovall lays out why it’s time to aim higher for stocks. |
Ukraine member of parliament Nadezhda Savchenko
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:
