Written by Gary
US stock index futures are higher this morning (SPY +0.5%). Citigroup profit climbs 13% as stock-trading revenue jumps and JP Morgan profit easily tops expectations.
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 0.68% while France’s CAC 40 is up 0.41% and London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.13%. |
JP Morgan shares rise as first-quarter profit easily tops expectations
Tax reform boosts quarterly earnings, revenue for nation’s biggest bank
Facebook’s Long Week Is Over and That Means You Should Buy a Ton of Tech Stocks
Citigroup Profit Climbs 13% as Stock-Trading Revenue Jumps
What Is Moving the Markets
Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
Futures edge higher as big banks report earnings(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures inched higher on Friday as banking shares rose on the first major release of the earnings season and geopolitical tensions and concerns over tit-for-tat trade tariffs retreated. | |
Trump says U.S. will only rejoin Pacific trade pact if terms are improvedWASHINGTON/TOKYO (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States would only join the Trans Pacific Partnership, a multinational trade deal his administration walked away from last year, if it offered “substantially better” terms than those provided under previous negotiations. | |
Trade war backfire: Steel tariff shrapnel hits U.S. farmersKANE COUNTY, Ill. (Reuters) – Lucas Strom, who runs a century-old family farm in rural Illinois, canceled an order to buy a new $71,000 grain storage bin last month – after the seller raised the price 5 percent in a day. | |
JPMorgan profit just below forecast on weak investment banking(Reuters) – JPMorgan Chase & Co’s quarterly profit fell short of Wall Street expectations on Friday as lower revenue from investment banking ate into gains from U.S. corporate tax changes and higher interest rates. | |
Citigroup profit rises 13 percent on consumer banking, lower taxes(Reuters) – Citigroup Inc reported a 13 percent increase in quarterly profit on Friday, driven by lower taxes and higher consumer banking revenue. | |
Trump orders review of U.S. Postal Service following criticism of AmazonWASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered the creation of a task force to study the U.S. Postal Service and its financial difficulties, after recently claiming without evidence that deliveries for Amazon.com Inc were costing the service money. | |
Wells Fargo quarterly profit rises 6 percent(Reuters) – Wells Fargo & Co on Friday said first-quarter profit rose 6 percent, helped by a lower U.S. tax rate. | |
Singapore watchdog sets interim measures for Uber-Grab dealSINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore’s competition watchdog on Friday outlined a set of interim measures for ride-hailing firms Grab and Uber Technologies to ensure an open market as it continued its investigation into their merger in the city-state. | |
Rolls-Royce ups estimate to fix Boeing Dreamliner enginesLONDON (Reuters) – Rolls-Royce on Friday warned it would require more money and more inspections to fix problems with Trent 1000 engines on Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes, leading to further disruption for airlines. | |
Trump Lashes Out At “Proven Leaker And Liar” ComeyAs former FBI Director James Comey’s book excerpts leak, showing his feelings towards the President to be exactly what many had assumed, President Trump has struck back… blasting that “James Comey is a proven LEAKER & LIAR.” and adding that “Virtually everyone in Washington thought he should be fired for the terrible job he did-until he was, in fact, fired.” Trump then laid out the reality of what the supposedly honorable Comey did “He leaked CLASSIFIED information, for which he should be prosecuted. He lied to Congress under OATH. He is a weak and…..”
and given the ellipsis, we suspect more abuse is coming… | |
The “Missing Slide”: JPM Credit Card Charge-Offs Surge To Six Year HighWhile JPM was quick to highlight all the favorable data in its oddly shrinking earnings presentation supplement, one thing that continued to be conspicuously missing was the bank’s slide on “Mortgage Banking And Card Services” which year after year, quarter after quarter was traditionally part of the bank’s earnings presentation – it was certainly featured prominently one year ago… Slide from Q1 2017 Earnings Presentation … only to be inexplicably and unceremoniously dropped starting in the Q2 2017 quarter. While it is possible that JPM simply forgot to include it, for the 4th quarter in a row now, it is far more likely that Jamie Dimon simply did not want to bring attention to a troubling trend: the concerning increase in net credit card charge-offs which has been closely tracking the rise in interest rates. So we decided to recreate the chart using data JPM disclosed in its | |
Trump: “Tremendous Pressure” Is Building To End “Crime Cradling Sanctuary Cities”Just a month after the US began legal proceedings against California’s “unjust, unfair and unconstitutional policies” with regard to illegal immigrants, President Trump is escalating his tweet-attacks against the “crime-cradling” Sanctuary cities Friday morning, correctly pointing out that “tremendous pressure” is building to end sanctuary city policies once and for all. Trump also touted his administration’s decision to begin construction on part of his promised border wall near San Diego, an area where Trump was welcomed by crowds of supporters during a recent visit.
The DOJ’s decision to sue the state of California over its sanctuary city laws has inspired several California cities to join the rebellion against the state’s ultra-liberal government. Citizens the state over are refusing to sit idly by while California Gov. Jerry Brown unlawfully protects illegals in their state. Los Alamitos was the first city to take action, voting 4-1 on March 19 to pass a city ordinance exempting it from SB 54. That vote set in motion a small movement: | |
Pompeo Admits America’s Already Killed “A Couple Hundred” Russians In SyriaIs it any wonder that US-Russia relations are, reportedly, as their lowest in decades? Despite being a ‘puppet of Putin’, President Trump’s administration has killed hundreds of Russians in Syria. Amid his confirmation hearing with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday, The Wall Street Journal reports that Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo said Thursday that “a couple hundred Russians” were killed in Syria by U.S. warplanes after Syrian fighters backed by Washington came under attack in February. | |
U.S. Investors Pile Into Fundraising Round for Jack Ma’s Ant FinancialAnt, one of China’s largest and most valuable private companies, is in the process of raising at least $9 billion from local and foreign investors. A capital raise of that magnitude would represent one of the single-largest private fundraisings by any company in years. | |
How Big Biotech Can Win Back InvestorsBig biotech stocks are trading at their lowest valuations in years, but don’t underestimate their ability to turn things around quickly. | |
Zuckerberg’s Time in D.C. Well-Enough SpentFacebook CEO survives grilling as fractious lawmakers seem unlikely to take harsh action. | |
The Tell: Here’s how things have changed for the stock market since Trump’s electionWhat a difference a year and a half makes. | |
The Tell: After 10 fat years for stock investors a lean decade is loomingIt’s a phrase that comes standard on Wall Street, but which may be taking on ominous undertones in the current market: past performance is no guarantee of future returns. | |
In One Chart: Why stock investors shouldn’t fret a U.S. missile strike on Syria, in one chartOver the past several weeks, much of the trading activity in the U.S. stock market has been almost entirely driven by the White House, with investors reacting to potential changes in trade policy and rising tensions with Russia. |
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