26Mar2018 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street To Open Sharply Higher, Dow Futures Up More Than 400 Points As China-U.S. Trade Tensions Cool, Crude Prices Remain Near High 66 Handle

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are higher today with shares in Germany leading the region. The DAX is up 0.60% while France’s CAC 40 is up 0.47% and London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.42%.

Stock futures jump on report of U.S.-China trade talks

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures jumped more than 1 percent on Monday after a report that the United States and China had started trade negotiations, cooling fears about a trade war between the two countries.

China urges WTO members: put U.S. tariff ‘beast back in the cage’

GENEVA (Reuters) – China called on World Trade Organization members on Monday to unite to prevent the United States “wrecking” the WTO and urged them to oppose U.S. tariffs targeting China’s alleged theft of intellectual property.

Uber sells Southeast Asia business to Grab after costly battle

SINGAPORE/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Ride-hailing firm Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] has agreed to sell its Southeast Asian business to bigger regional rival Grab, the firms said on Monday, marking the U.S. company’s second retreat from an Asian market.

Americans less likely to trust Facebook than rivals on personal data

(This March 25 story has been corrected to remove reference to level of trust being lost over time)

Battered by Great Recession, underfunded public pensions to persist

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Ten years on from the financial crisis, many U.S. state and local public pension systems are still the worse for wear.

World stocks bounce on report of U.S.-China trade talks

LONDON (Reuters) – World stocks came off six-week lows and U.S. stock futures jumped on Monday on optimism that the United States and China are set to begin negotiations on trade, easing fears about a trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

Short visits rise at Whole Foods stores with Amazon lockers

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Shoppers are making more quick trips to Whole Foods stores that have installed Amazon.com lockers, giving the natural and organic retailer a new way to boost sales, research from location data advertising firm inMarket showed on Monday.

Boeing completes Dreamliner family with first 787-10 delivery

NORTH CHARLESTON S.C. (Reuters) – Boeing Co delivered its first 787-10 Dreamliner to Singapore Airlines on Sunday, rounding out a family of lightweight jets on which the U.S. planemaker is betting its future.

Hyundai union head fears GM-like crisis; says electric cars destroy jobs

ULSAN, South Korea (Reuters) – Hyundai Motor’s union chief warned its workers may face a similar crisis to the one hitting General Motors’ South Korean unit as sales in key markets slide, adding that electric cars were ‘evil’ and will destroy jobs.

A Summary Of All Main Trade Developments Over The Weekend

Global stocks are moving higher Monday morning suggesting fears of a trade war are fading modestly following several encouraging developments over the weekend… however, the dollar index is extending losses, raising doubts that Mnuchin’s hoped-for compromise can be realized…

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told foreign guests at the China Development Forum that there would be “no winner” in a trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

Regarding existing trade imbalance, China and the U.S. should seek balance by growing trade volume:
“Closing the door on others also blocks one’s own path,”

Li was cited as claiming that “Made in China 2025” is promoted in an open environment.

Li promised that China will open up further, learn advanced technology and management experience from foreign countries, and strengthen cooperation in technological services, and perhaps most importantly for Trump, China will strengthen intellectual propert …

Blain: “The List Of Market Threats Is Significant”

Via Mint Partners’ Bill Blain,

“As long as there are sex and drugs, I can probably do without the rock and roll..”

Its’ likely to be a thin and jittery week ahead of the Easter Break. Investors are weary after the last 2 months of bumpy but inconclusive markets. Stocks may have lost $3 trillion last week, but while markets look fractious, neither bonds or equities have broken out. The big picture remains positive – synchronous global growth, financial normalisation, and abundant macro risk-on signals.

However, there are cracks appearing at the company level, and the gap between reality and what investors chose to believe – sentiment – is widening with a negative bias.

The negative sentiment is most obvious on the Fear and Greed indices – which all say investors fear the worst.

Dollar Dumps To 6-Week Lows As Stock Rebound Stalls

The late-day 300-plus-point plunge in The Dow (and the rest of the market) has been slowly but surely erased overnight as the machines gently run stops ahead of the open.

Interestingly, stocks stalled after President Trump tweeted about how strong the economy is…

Bond yields are following stocks higher but the dollar is plunging…

Key Events This Week: Keep A Close Eye On The Flood In The Bond Market

It’s a busy, holiday-shortened week for US data and Fed speakers: we get consumer confidence, the Case-Shiller house price index, final print of GDP and U. Michigan sentiment, advance goods trade balance, pending home sales, personal income & spending, core PCE and Chicago PMI.

Consumer confidence on Tues is expected to stay at elevated levels, driven by higher take-home pays and a strong labor market. After five consecutive months of a widening in the goods trade deficit, totaling $11.6bn, on Wed the deficit is expected to narrow to $74.4bn in February from $75.3bn in January. Initial jobless claims are expected to come in at 230,000, holding steady from the prior week’s reading of 229,000. Core PCE inflation is likely to rise 0.2% (0.199% unrounded) in February, edging up yoy inflation to 1.6% (1.552% unrounded). Real consumption should be flat. Fed Presidents Dudley, Mester, Quarles, Bostic, and Harker all speak this week.

But the most notable event this week has nothing to do with macro, but instead with another record deluge of bond supply from the US Treasury, or as Bloomberg puts it, an “unprecedented wave of issuance” as the Treasury auctions off $294 billion of bills and notes this week, its largest slate of supply ever. The $30 billion two-year note sale is the biggest since 2014, and comes as the maturity posted just its fourth weekly gain in the last six months. The three- and six-month bill offerings remain at record sizes.

“These larger auctions are more difficult to digest,” said Thomas Simons, a money-market economist at Jefferies. “But the auctions do OK when they have a concession. It’s even more necessary than it was in the past.”

Donald and Jerome’s Excellent Economic Adventure

Rising trade tensions and stimulative fiscal policy are similar to what would be seen in a recession while the Fed continues to tighten policy, creating an unusual situation.

Something’s Gotta Give in the Fed’s Forecasts

A big slug of fiscal stimulus will hit the economy over the next two years, but the Federal Reserve doesn’t seem all that impressed.

Can Markets Handle So Much Trouble at Once?

Trouble comes in threes. In isolation, the headwinds facing global markets could be manageable. Taken together, they spell continued turbulence.

The Ratings Game: Nike pulls back in North America in order to grow

Nike has tightened distribution in North America as part of an effort to revive business in the region.

Toys ‘R’ Us’ is still facing major challenges in the liquidation process

Toys ‘R’ Us, which announced that it will close its U.S. stores, will have to manage a liquidation process that experts call a “big undertaking.”

Futures Movers: Oil slips but hovers near multiweek highs reached on risk-driven gains

Oil prices edged down slightly Monday but largely sustained robust gains from last week that have been driven by a growing geopolitical risk premium.