15Mar2018 Market Close: Wall Street Closes Mixed, DOW Up 116 Points, Nasdaq Down -0.2 Percent, SP 500 Turns Lower On News Of Mueller Subpoena, US Dollar Trending Upward

S&P turns lower on news of Mueller subpoena

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The S&P 500 turned lower on Thursday on a report that U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller had issued a subpoena for documents related to U.S. President Donald Trump’s businesses, reinforcing the picture of turmoil in the White House.

AT&T/Time Warner U.S. merger trial delayed two days: source

(Reuters) – The trial to determine whether AT&T Inc’s purchase of Time Warner Inc is legal under U.S. antitrust law will be delayed two days because of scheduling issues, a person familiar with the situation said on Thursday.

Whistleblower says Walmart, eyeing Amazon, cheated on e-commerce

(Reuters) – Walmart Inc was sued on Thursday by a former executive who accused the world’s largest retailer of issuing misleading e-commerce results, amid growing pressure from Amazon.com Inc , and firing him for complaining about it.

Toys ‘R’ Us closure leaves void for suppliers, endangers 30,000 jobs

(Reuters) – Iconic toy retailer Toys ‘R’ Us Inc will shutter or sell its stores in the United States after failing to revamp its struggling business, putting 30,000 jobs at risk and leaving a void for vendors who supplied the company with $11 billion worth of goods a year.

Ford will speed shift to SUVs to boost profit, shares

DEARBORN, Mich. (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co executives on Thursday disclosed ambitious plans to shift the struggling automaker’s product portfolio from passenger cars to SUVs, add more hybrid and pure electric vehicles, and reduce development and manufacturing costs – moves aimed at boosting Ford’s profit and share price.

Mexican minister ramps up pressure for speedy NAFTA deal

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Mexico’s economy minister on Thursday urged officials to push for a speedy renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), saying his country and Canada must be ready to go it alone if the United States pulls out.

GM to invest $100 million to upgrade facilities to build self-driving cars

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – General Motors Co said on Thursday it will invest more than $100 million in two facilities as it prepares to build production versions of its Cruise self-driving car next year at its Orion Township assembly plant in Michigan.

Goldman Sachs sees reshaping of industries driving M&A

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) – Major shifts in industries ranging from semiconductors and food to beverages and pharmaceuticals will keep fueling the blistering pace of mergers and acquisitions, one of Goldman Sachs Group Inc’s top dealmakers said on Thursday.

Bayer faces U.S. antitrust hurdles for Monsanto merger: Bloomberg

(Reuters) – Bayer AG’s plan to win antitrust approval to buy U.S. seeds supplier Monsanto Co has not satisfied U.S. officials, who are worried the $62.5 billion merger could hurt competition, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

S&P Suffers Longest Losing-Streak Of Year As Mueller Trumps Navarro

This is not the normal pre-OPEX panic-ramp, everyone’s buying stocks market…

Some generous National Team action overnight saved Chinese stocks from sinking back into the red YTD…

Europe closed green, rallying after US markets opened…

Stocks rallied after Peter Navarro appeared on CNBC with Rick Santelli and did not say something earth-shattering (it seems we have a low barrier for what is ‘good’ news again), …

De Blasio Bans Armed Guards From NYC Schools As Liberals Nationwide Push Its Expansion

Authored by Duane Norman via Free Market Shooter blog,

In the wake of the Parkland shooting, a group of mothers from the area made a push to improve safety at schools. Somewhat surprisingly, they decided to avoid gun control and partisan politics, as Alyssa Alhadeff opted to advocate for a more comprehensive (and politically neutral) goal:

She’s launched a nonprofit called Make Schools Safe (MakeOurSchoolsSafe.org) to lobby for measures to increase campus security such as metal detectors, armed guards, bulletproof doors and windows, and reduced access points. Although Alhadeff respects the fight for gun control, she feels she can most readily make a difference with these initiatives.

The mom, who has two sons, ages 10 and 13, is currently in New York City promoting the nonprofit with the help of six girls between the ages of 14 and 18 — dubbed the Dream Team. All knew Alyssa, and most were there that tragic day.

It was a bit of a shock to see liberals choosing to use their advocacy to promote a sensible position with a strong likelihood of reaching a bipartisan solution, instead of the typical gun-grabbing that emerges from similar tragedies. …

Trump Legal Team Preparing For Possible Sit-Down Interview With Mueller

Forgive us if you’ve heard this one before.

For at least the third time in the past month, a respected national media organization has published a story claiming that President Trump’s legal team is leaning toward advising their client to sit for an interview – albeit with certain restrictions – with Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Today’s report, published by Politico, bore certain similarities to a story published by the Wall Street Journal last week. Last month, the New York Times reported that Trump’s lawyers were pushing Mueller to accept written answers – a solution reminiscent of Ronald Reagan’s handling of the Iran-Contra scandal.

One of Politico’s sources said the negotiations were “moving fast”, and that an interview could be arranged soon. Of course, we’ve

Lacy Hunt: These Conditions Preceded the Last 7 Recessions

Authored by Patrick Watson via MauldinEconomics.com,

At the Strategic Investment Conference 2018, Dr. Lacy Hunt, economist and EVP of Hoisington Investment Management, claimed that “economics is a science” and today it’s more important than ever.

Although economics is not as precise as physics or chemistry, he added, our understanding in this domain gradually advances.

Dr. Lacy Hunt then moved on to overview the current economic situation.

The Debt Situation Is Terrible

Looking from a debt perspective, the situation looks terrible.

Citing the law of diminishing returns, he showed how more and more debt is required to boost output. In 2007, global debt was 276% of global GDP. Today, global debt is 327% of global GDP.

In 2007, a dollar in debt generated 37 cents in GDP growth. In 2017, a dollar in debt created only 31 cents in GDP. Money supply and bank credit are collapsing.

Meanwhile, money velocity is at its lowest rate since 1949.

Adjusting GDP for Vehicle Sales

Why Foreigners Love Vladimir Putin’s Bond Market

Russian elections this weekend highlight the strange economic attraction investors have shown for the country’s financial markets.

In Battle of the Discounters, Dollar General Gains an Edge

Chains like Dollar General have thrived as the go-to stores for America’s left-behind communities. Last year a lot of investors preferred rival Dollar Tree, but the scale is tipping back again.

What Unilever Gains by Leaving London

Amid all the Brexit brouhaha about why consumer-goods giant Unilever chose Rotterdam over London, investors shouldn’t forget the bigger question: Why did the maker of Dove soap and Hellmann’s mayonnaise choose at all?

The Tell: SocGen’s Albert Edwards says there are 2 reasons Trump might start a trade war

Albert Edwards, global strategist at Société Générale, warns a trade war could break out from the U.S.’s probe into Chinese intellectual property theft and burgeoning trade surpluses in the eurozone

The Tell: If this chart is correct, it puts the price of bitcoin at $91,000 by 2020

The price of bitcoin continues to tumble but one of the market’s biggest bulls isn’t fazed.

Rex Nutting: Of course Trump knows he’s lying about Canada trade

Everyone in the media is giddy that President Trump admitted that he lied about Canada’s trade deficit, but all the fact checkers in the world can’t touch him, writes Rex Nutting.