05Apr2018 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street To Reverse Yesterday’s Dour Opening, DOW To Open 100 Points Higher, WTI Crude Trading In The Low 63 Handle

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are sharply higher today with shares in Germany leading the region. The DAX is up 2.23% while France’s CAC 40 is up 1.92% and London’s FTSE 100 is up 1.61%.

Futures climb as U.S.-China trade worries ease

(Reuters) – U.S. stocks on Thursday looked set to build on a strong recovery in the previous session as fears about a trade war between the United States and China cooled on signs that the two countries were open to negotiations on tariffs.

Facebook says data leak hits 87 million users, widening privacy scandal

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Facebook Inc said on Wednesday the personal information of up to 87 million users, mostly in the United States, may have been improperly shared with political consultancy Cambridge Analytica, up from a previous news media estimate of more than 50 million.

China says it never backs down in the face of threats after trade salvos with U.S.

BEIJING (Reuters) – China has never surrendered to external pressure and it will win any trade war with the United States, the nation’s state media stressed in a series of editorials and columns in the hours after the world’s two top economies targeted each other with steep tariffs.

U.S., China rivalry poses risks, benefits for Latin America

MENDOZA, Argentina (Reuters) – As the trade dispute between the United States and China was gaining steam last month, a half-dozen Chinese dancers and a person in a panda bear suit paraded across a stage inside a hotel lobby in the heart of Argentina’s wine country.

Spotify shares attract all ages, not just Millennials

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The buzzy debut of Spotify Technology SA on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday drew retail investors across generations, not just the Millennials who make up the largest proportion of the music streaming service’s customer base, retail brokerages said on Wednesday.

JPMorgan’s Dimon praises Trump’s deregulatory efforts in annual letter

NEW YORK (Reuters) – JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon complimented the administration of President Donald Trump in his annual letter to shareholders on Thursday, saying tax cuts and deregulatory efforts are helping his bank make more money.

China tariffs on U.S. business jets seen a boon for Canada’s Bombardier, others

MONTREAL/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – China’s plan to slap tariffs on some U.S.-made planes will hit demand for Gulfstream and Boeing business jets but benefit Canada’s Bombardier and other rivals seeking a larger share of Asia’s biggest market, jet brokers and analysts said.

Dolce & Gabbana has rejected offers, sets up trust: paper

MILAN (Reuters) – Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana has rejected all acquisition offers it has received and its founders have created a trust for the future of the brand, the two designers said in an interview on Thursday.

Uber to suspend service in Greece after new legislation

ATHENS (Reuters) – Ride-hailing service Uber said on Thursday it would suspend its licensed service in Greece after the approval of local legislation which imposes stricter regulation on the sector.

Jamie Dimon Explains How To Fix America In 46 Pages

In what CNBC describes as the the “second most-anticipated CEO missive of the year, behind the annual Berkshire Hathaway letter penned by Warren Buffett,” JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon released his annual letter to JPM shareholders (coming it a modest 46 pages), where he touted the bank’s record earnings in 2017, shared his plans for expanding several key business lines and offered a stern warning about the risks of volatility and the Federal Reserve hiking more quickly than the market expects, and most importantly, laid out his ideas on how to fix the US.

In an editorial published in the Wall Street Journal that effectively serves as an introduction to his letter, Dimon exhorts his peers across corporate America to “collaborate” for the good of the country.

As the economy is transformed, government and private companies must collaborate to add jobs, increase wages and help those left behind. We must overcome divisiveness and polarization, and work together on three policies that would help businesses and workers adapt to globalization and technological change.

He then went on to plug one of his favorite wonkish policy proposals…converting the earned income tax credit to a payroll credit. He says such a system would eliminate fraudulent claims and ensure that every eligible individual receives a credit that could potentially push them just above the poverty line (still not always the most comforta …

Trader: What To Do When Global Growth Is Slowing (As It Is Right Now)

With global economic growth having having hit a notable plateau in recent months in both survey-based takes of the economy, as well as among the more important, hard data, as shown in the following chart summarizing Citi’s G-10 economic surprise index, which after peaking at the start of the year has tumbled into negative territory in just a few months…

… many traders are increasingly concerned if, whereas corporate profits are still strong, they won’t slide into the second half of the year as the economic slowdown spreads to the corporate top and bottom line.

To answer the question of “what to do when global growth is moderating”, here is Bloomberg Market Live commentator Ye Xie with some thoughts and ideas on how to trade this often treacherous inflection point.

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What to Do When Growth Is Moderating? Stop Worrying: Macro View

It appears that the synchronized global growth since mid-2016 is finally coming off the boil. Unless it turns into a nasty meltdown, risky assets from stocks to junk bonds should do just fine.

A flattening Treasury yield curve is what one should be expecting, if history is any guide. While trade spats grab investors’ attention, it matters to the markets only when it starts to affect …

Goodbye Bill: After Years Of Losses “Most Investors” In Pershing Square Are Running For The Exits

Having raked up embarrassing and nearly total losses in Valeant, JC Penney, Herbalife (actually the loss on this short squeeze is more than total to Carl Icahn’s delight)… the list goes on, we’ve previously pointed out that it’s amazing hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, once a darling of the financial media, still had outside money to manage.

That might not be the case for much longer: according to the Wall Street Journal, “most investors” in Pershing Square are flooding the company with redemption requests, and asking for their money back at a “rapid pace” forcing Ackman to plan on a future that might not include managing a private fund.

It’s hardly a surprise considering Ackman has notched several years of subpar returns, recently forcing him to lay off 18% of his staff (including his driver) to help him “focus” on investing (what was he doing before?)

Of course – as anybody who has watched the show “Billions” could tell you – in the privileged world of hedge fun …

Facebook Admits “Most” Of Its 2.2 Billion Users Exposed To Data Scraping, “Malicious Actors”

Facebook has admitted that “most” of its 2.2 billion users “could have had their public profile scraped” by third parties without their knowledge, and that the personal information of up to 87 million people was improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica, the company disclosed on Wednesday.

“In total, we believe the Facebook information of up to 87 million people — mostly in the US — may have been improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica,” said Mike Schroepfer, Facebook’s Chief Technology Officer.

Initial reports set the number of users affected by the CA data purchase at 50 million. The London-based political data company bought the data from two psychologists (one of whom currently works for Facebook) who developed a data harvesting app disguised as a fitness app.

One of the methods used by “malicious actors” to “scrape” user data has been to enter another person’s phone number or email address into a Facebook search, allowing information to be harvested or scraped. “We believe most people on Facebook could have had their public profile scraped in this way,” Schroepfer said.

Even After a Tumble, the Stock Market’s Price Isn’t Right

The stock market’s volatility is worth suffering through if there are gains to be made at the end. Right now, the payoff for that suffering may be disappointing.

At AT&T Trial, U.S. Sends a Message About Future Deals

The Justice Department kicked off its antitrust case against AT&T by calling a string of media executives to the witness stand. Their presence, meant to expose the dangers of mega media mergers, is a warning from the government that it will look hard at future deals.

How Trump’s Tariffs Could Really Hurt China

The Trump administration has detailed $50 billion of tariffs on Chinese imports ranging from television sets to grenade launchers. China has vowed to respond in kind. Is a full-scale trade war now inevitable?

The Wall Street Journal: MoviePass majority owner will buy Verizon’s Moviefone in play to expand business

Upstart MoviePass’s $10-a-month plan has proven popular among movie-goers and controversial in the entertainment industry.

Economic Report: U.S. trade deficit sticks to nearly 10-year high

The U.S. trade deficit rose 1.6% in February and remained near a 10-year high, underscoring the seemingly near impossible task of the Trump administration to dramatically reduce the gap as the president has vowed.

Currencies: Dollar advances to two-week high ahead of jobless claims

The U.S. dollar advances against its rivals and most notably currencies perceived as haven assets on Thursday, as worries about a potential trade war eased and traders analysts awaited data on jobless claims.