13Apr2018 Market Close: Wall Street Slips Fractionally As Investors Mull Over Questionable Earnings, Syria Tensions And Russia Trade Threats, WTI Settles In The Low 73 Handle

Bank stocks lead Wall Street lower amid Syria tensions, Russia trade threat

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Financial stocks led a drop on Wall Street on Friday, as results from big banks failed to enthuse and geopolitical tensions in Syria and Russia further unnerved investors.

Trade war backfire: Steel tariff shrapnel hits U.S. farmers

KANE 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.

U.S. bank executives see delayed boost from tax overhaul

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Banks have not reaped the full benefit of U.S. tax cuts, Wall Street executives said on Friday after a string of quarterly results, with expected business growth and higher consumer spending yet to materialize.

Wells Fargo faces $1 billion fine from loan abuses

(Reuters) – Two U.S. regulators have proposed Wells Fargo & Co pay $1 billion in penalties to resolve probes into auto insurance and mortgage lending abuses at the third largest U.S. bank, overshadowing its first quarter results.

Musk insists Tesla does not need more capital, predicts profit soon

(Reuters) – Tesla Inc will be profitable in the third and fourth quarters of this year and will not have to raise any money from investors, billionaire Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Friday, driving shares in the electric carmaker higher.

Bratz maker’s CEO bids $890 million for Toys ‘R’ Us stores

(Reuters) – Bratz doll maker MGA Entertainment said on Friday its billionaire founder and chief executive, Isaac Larian, had made an $890 million bid for Toys ‘R’ Us stores in the United States and Canada.

JPMorgan profit just below estimates 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 stock trading and higher interest rates.

Wells Fargo CFO says government, not banks, should set gun policy

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Wells Fargo & Co believes the U.S. government, rather than banks, should set rules to promote gun safety, its finance chief said on Friday.

Citigroup profit beats on strength in consumer banking, equity trading

(Reuters) – Citigroup Inc reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Friday, driven by strength in its consumer banking business and a surge in equities trading.

Trump Ecstatic After OIG Releases Report Which Led To McCabe Firing

The Justice Department Office of Inspector General (OIG) delivered a scathing report to Congress on Friday, accusing former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe of repeatedly misleading investigators.

McCabe was fired on March 16 after the OIG found that he “had made an unauthorized disclosure to the news media and lacked candor – including under oath – on multiple occasions.”

Needless to say, President Trump – who is waging open war with Comey, McCabe and much of the FBI’s past and present leadership – was delighted by the release of the OIG report, which prompted the following outburst: “”DOJ just issued the McCabe report – which is a total disaster. He LIED! LIED! LIED! McCabe was totally controlled by Comey – McCabe is Comey!! No collusion, all made up by this den of thieves and lowlifes!”

DOJ just issued the McCabe report – which is a total disaster. He LIED! LIED! LIED! McCabe was totally controlled by Comey – McCabe is Comey!! No collusion, all made up by this den of thieves and lowlifes!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 13, 2018

We assume today’s report (found below in its entirety) only covers McCabe, and is not the all encompassing “OIG Report” probing the FBI’s conduct during the Clinton email investigation. Nowhere in the report, for example, is any mention of the FBI altering Hillary Clinton’s exoneration lette …

Zuck, Xi, Mueller, & Missiles Spark Stock Slump, Bitcoin Jump, Bank & Boeing Dump

Thank fuck that’s over…

Take your pick of the headline chaos today – from China (delaying deals), Comey (book bullshit), Rosenstein (recusal and rumors of being fired), Mueller (no fucking idea), Syria (US moves another ship into Med, Syria threatens response), and Russia (proof UK was responsible for chemical attack); to Fed speakers (worried about the yield curve’s flattening) to slumping sentiment (UMIch tumbled most in 18 months) – and stocks slid after a strong week…

Futures markets show the dramatic swings more completely…NOTE The Dow and S&P closed back below the ledge from last week when Trump demanded $100bn in tariffs…

“Trump Fatigue” Was Behind Paul Ryan’s Decision To Leave Congress

As anybody with even a glancing familiarity with US politics might’ve guessed, Paul Ryan’s decision to leave Congress – not to mention his position as Speaker of the House, a job that left him third in line to the presidency – was heavily influenced by his frustration with President Trump – a man whom he once disinvited to a gathering in Ryan’s Congressional district after the “grab her by the p***y” bombshell dropped.

At least, that’s what Politico surmised in a long-winded profile about Ryan that examines his rise in Washington from a Capitol Hill intern to leader of the Ways and Means Committee to vice presidential candidate and then, finally, speaker. In the words of an anonymous confidant quoted in the piece, Ryan has been suffering from a severe case of “Trump fatigue.”

That seems like a lifetime ago. Ryan once dreamed of defeating Trump; he has since merely hoped to contain him. The gentleman from Wisconsin has spent the bulk of his speakership babysitting a president whose intemperate instincts and deficit of fundamental policy knowledge threaten to derail the party—and potentially the government and the country—at any moment. Ryan has grown weary o …

Hong Kong Monetary Authority Fails To Rescue Dollar For 3rd Day

For the 3rd day in a row, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) intervened in the FX markets and for the 3rd day in a row, failed to lift the Hong Kong Dollar off the lower limit of its peg band.

As Yicai Global reports, HKMA’s weak-side convertibility undertaking of HKD7.85 against the dollar was triggered twice during London trading hours last night and New York trading hours this morning, HKMA Vice President Howard Lee disclosed during a meeting with the media today.

The HKMA conducted two foreign exchange transactions, buying the Hong Kong dollar and selling the greenback to the market. The total value of the transaction was HKD3.2 billion (USD407 million), reducing the balance of the banking system to HKD176.5 billion.

But for now, it’s not working…

“Traders will not actually challenge the bottom line of the HKMA and we are dealing above that line,” a large-scale Chinese foreign exchange dealer told Yicai Global, saying that HKMA’s delay in intervention may have been designed for a market “pressure test.”

But, as we noted previously, The HKMA faces an uphill battle as money flows are against them in the global carry trade.

Is the Yuan in China’s Trade-War Arsenal?

China’s currency, formerly a hot-button topic, has been mostly out of the limelight in the current trade fight. Could that change if things escalate?

Chip Makers Are Better off Without Crypto Miners

Miners of cryptocurrencies may soon stop buying chips from Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices. But some businesses are more trouble than they are worth.

How Big Biotech Can Win Back Investors

Big biotech stocks are trading at their lowest valuations in years, but don’t underestimate their ability to turn things around quickly.

Now Zillow won’t just show you a home — it will sell it to you

The online listing marketplace will now buy your home and re-sell

Market Extra: A Facebook ‘death cross’ is coming, and it may actually be bearish this time

Although history suggests the “death cross” that will appear in Facebook’s stock chart is more bullish than bearish, a number of technical signals have appeared to suggest this time will be different.

The Ratings Game: Wall Street analyst swaps internet stocks for mani-pedi app

James Cakmak just left his job as a Wall Street analyst covering internet stocks to focus on running Snailz Inc., an app he co-founded and refers to as “the OpenTable of nail salons.”