11Apr2018 Midday Update: Wall Street Flirts With The Unchanged Line After Syria Tensions, Saudi Explosions Weigh On Stocks, But Oil Surges, WTI Touches Mid 67 Handle

Written by Gary

US stock market major index’s futures are trending upwards correcting losses from this mornings moderate opening losses (SPY -0.1%). Oil prices jump to three-year high after Trump warns Russia missiles ‘will be coming’ in Syria.

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money
	North and South American markets are mixed today. The Bovespa is up 0.85% while the IPC gains 0.26%. The S&P 500 is off 0.08%.

Traders Corner – Health of the Market

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.
	Facebook CEO says his own data was shared by Cambridge Analytica WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday told lawmakers that he was among the 87 million or so Facebook Inc users whose data was improperly shared with political consultancy Cambridge Analytica.
	Wall Street slips on rising U.S.-Russia tensions over Syria (Reuters) – Wall Street edged lower on Wednesday as brewing tensions between the United States and Russia over a possible military action against Syria turned investors risk averse.
	U.S. crude hits highest since 2014 on missile concerns NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil hit its highest in more than three years on Wednesday after Saudi Arabia said it intercepted missiles over Riyadh and international tensions about Syria grew.
	Redstone weighs CBS-Viacom merger with or without Moonves NEW YORK (Reuters) – As she seeks to combine CBS Corp and Viacom Inc into a single company, media mogul Shari Redstone risks losing her most talented executive, whose leadership could be critical to ensuring the proposed merger succeeds.
	U.S. companies found ways to avoid taxes before tax bill: report WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Fifteen U.S. corporations including online retailer Amazon.com Inc , power company Duke Energy Corp and insurer Prudential Financial Inc avoided U.S. tax on nearly $25 billion in combined profits last year, a tax watchdog group said on Tuesday.
	Sprint-T-Mobile merger talks back on, control key: sources (Reuters) – Sprint Corp has restarted talks to merge with T-Mobile US Inc , people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, the latest effort to bring together the fourth and third largest U.S. wireless carriers.
	Hedge fund Paulson & Co takes stake in Viacom amid turnaround (Reuters) – Paulson & Co, the hedge fund firm led by billionaire investor John Paulson, has taken a stake in Viacom Inc as the U.S. media company has started to turn around its business amid a challenging landscape, Paulson told Reuters in an interview.
	Uber to add more transportation options in its app (Reuters) – Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] said on Wednesday it is planning to offer more modes of transportation for riders through its app, giving people more ways to get around in cities.
	Bombardier delivered five CSeries in first quarter as delays ease: sources MONTREAL/BERLIN (Reuters) – Canadian planemaker Bombardier delivered five CSeries jets in the first quarter and is making progress in tackling delays separate from previously disclosed engine hold-ups in producing its flagship CSeries jets, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
	Stocks Spike As 11 Russian Warships Reportedly Leave Syrian Waters US equity markets are re-surging following headlines that satellite images show eleven Russian battleships leaving a port in Syria, potentially reducing the immediate fears of a proxy war becoming a world war. A snapshot of the port of Tartus, shows the Russian warships at anchor before, according to ISI: And after: a single Russian submarine remains at Tartus. More details from Fox News: Watch the latest video at foxnews.com
	Putin: World Is Getting “More Chaotic”, But Hopes “Common Sense Will Prevail” As last week’s chemical attack in Syria has (rightly or wrongly) led relations between Russia and the West to further deteriorate, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he hopes “common sense” will prevail as the modern world grows “more chaotic,” per RT. He added that the present international situation – which has been marred not only by tensions surrounding the Syria gas attack but also the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal – is “very troubling.” “The state of world affairs invokes nothing but concerns, the situation in the world is becoming more chaotic,” Putin said on Wednesday during a ceremony to welcome new ambassadors to Russia. “Nevertheless, we still hope that common sense will eventually prevail and international relations will enter a constructive course, the entire world system will become more stable and predictable.” He added that Moscow will continue to strengthen “global and regional” security, and will honor its “international responsibilities and develop cooperation with our partners on a constructive and respectful basis.” “We will pursue a positive, future-oriented agenda for the world; …
	Is This The Moment Of Truth? Authored by James Rickards via The Daily Reckoning, One of the most famous passages in American literature occurs in Chapter 13 of Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises. It takes place in a café in Pamplona, Spain during the running of the bulls. Bill Gorton, a friend of the protagonist, Jake Barnes, has just arrived from New York. Bill is in the café talking with Mike Campbell, an upper-crust Englishman, now fallen on hard times but keeping up appearances. In the course of telling a story about his tailor, Mike casually mentions his bankruptcy. Here’s the dialogue: “How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked. “Two ways,” Mike said. “Gradually and then suddenly.” “What brought it on?” “Friends,” said Mike. “I had a lot of friends. False friends. Then I had creditors, too. Probably had more creditors than anybody in England.” Mike admits to his own helplessness; his descent into bankruptcy was apparently totally beyond his control. This reflects upon his lack of control with regards not only to his business matters, but to his life in general. You’ve probably seen variations of the part of the passage that says, “Gradually and then suddenly.” It’s often paraphrased or misquoted as, “slowly at first, and then quickly.” The short version of the quote is offered as a warning that a slow, steady accumulation of debt with no particular plan for repayment can continue longer than expected, and then suddenly descend into a full-blown financial distress scenario and a rapid end-state of collapse.
	US P-8 Poseidon “Submarine Killer” Headed For Syria A highly sophisticated US Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol plane, also known as a “submarine killer” was observed by the Strategic Sentinel flying south of Cyprus, having likely departed from Naval Air Station Sigonella in Italy, and headed eastward toward Syria on Tuesday. The flight comes at a time when not a single commercial plane can be observed over Syria, as per the guidance of Europe’s Air traffic control which last night warned that airstrikes on …
	Ant Financial’s Mysterious Valuation Inflation The Alibaba affiliate is now apparently worth $150 billion, even as shadows spread over its growth and profitability.
	Coal Is About to Lose Face in China BHP, the world’s largest miner, has announced it is leaving the World Coal Association. The sector’s real problem isn’t in Australia, however: It’s in China.
	Zuckerberg Pleases Investors, for Now Facebook CEO’s appearance before Congress goes well but market is underestimating possible hit to company’s very profitable business model.
	March 2018 CPI: Year-over-Year Inflation Rate 2.4% – Largest Increase In 12 Months Written by Steven Hansen According to the BLS, the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) year-over-year inflation rate was 2.4 % – up 0.2 % from last month. The year-over-year core inflation (excludes energy and food) rate was 2.1 %, and is now slightly above the target set by the Federal Reserve.
	Trump Today: Trump Today: President warns Russia to ‘get ready’ — hints at U.S. missile strikes on Syria President Donald Trump suggested Wednesday U.S. missile strikes on Syria were imminent, rebuffing Russia over its vow to stop an attack and saying Washington’s relationship with Moscow was “worse now than it has ever been.”
	Tim Mullaney: Paul Ryan leaves behind an unfixable mess We come not to praise Paul Ryan’s career, but to bury it.