26Apr2018 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street To Open Moderately Higher, Nasdaq Futures Up At One Percent, WTI Crude Trending Upwards In The 68 Handle, US Dollar Index Volatile

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are higher today with shares in France leading the region. The CAC 40 is up 0.63% while Germany’s DAX is up 0.34% and London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.07%.

Futures bounce as tech results shine

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures pointed to a strong open for the tech-heavy Nasdaq on Thursday as a slew of upbeat earnings from Facebook and Qualcomm helped set aside worries over rising U.S. bond yields and corporate costs.

ConocoPhillips profit beats expectations on rising oil prices, cost cuts

HOUSTON (Reuters) – U.S. oil producer ConocoPhillips posted a bigger-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday, on rising crude prices and cost cuts.

Stocks, euro tip-toe higher ahead of ECB news conference

LONDON (Reuters) – European stocks and the euro made tentative gains on Thursday as a drop in bond market stress levels helped sentiment ahead of a read out from the European Central Bank’s latest meeting.

Time Warner quarterly profit rises 15.4 percent

(Reuters) – Time Warner Inc , which is being bought by AT&T Inc , reported a 15.4 percent rise in quarterly profit on Thursday as its Home Box Office (HBO) and Turner channels added subscribers at a brisk pace.

Palma in Spain’s Balearic Islands bans almost all Airbnb-style rentals

MADRID (Reuters) – Palma de Mallorca, capital of Mediterranean tourist destination the Balearic Islands, voted on Thursday to ban almost all short-term rentals of private homes like those on Airbnb, which locals say have triggered sharp rises in rental prices.

Exclusive: Chip wars – China closing in on second $19 billion semiconductor fund: sources

HONG KONG/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s state-backed semiconductor fund is near to closing a 120 billion yuan ($18.98 billion)investment round for a second fund to support the domestic chip sector and help cut reliance on imports amid a bruising trade standoff with the United States.

GM profit dips on truck changeover but beats estimates

DETROIT (Reuters) – General Motors Co on Thursday reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit despite a drop in production of high-margin pickup trucks, as it gears up for new models that are expected to boost profits next year.

Fiat Chrysler cuts debt by more than expected

MILAN (Reuters) – Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) reduced its debts by more than expected in the first quarter, putting the carmaker well on course to become cash positive later this year.

Bayer, Monsanto deal on track for U.S. approval by end of May: source

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – German drug and crop chemical maker Bayer AG’s bid to buy seed and chemical company Monsanto Co is on track to win U.S. antitrust approval by the end of May, unless there is a last-minute complication, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Watch Live: Mario Draghi Press Conference And Cheat Sheet

Anyone expecting major volatility to emerge out of today’s ECB presser, will be disappointed: as discussed previously, today’s Mario Draghi press conference is expected to be a snoozer (the statement which hit earlier was identical to last month).

Consensus expects today’s announcement to be largely a continuation of the theme, with June/July touted as a more opportune time for the ECB to unveil their next stage of major policy announcements.

As a result, Draghi will likely make some reference to the recent softness in data but ultimately maintain that risks to economic growth are ‘broadly balanced.’

For those who missed our preview, here is the one-chart summary courtesy of ING on how the market is likely to react to Draghi’s words.

Blain: “Millennials Aren’t Buying Cars Or Homes Because They Are Indentured Slaves”

Submitted by Bill Blain of Mint Partners

“It takes a big hearted girl from the North Country you can tell how you payed those bills and went through heaven and hell…”

Let’s not worry about US stocks dancing around the 200 day moving average, or Deutsche Bank’s miserably miserable (anticipated) results, or the 3.01% US treasury yield (only some 90 bp lower than Greece (and yes I know they are different currencies, but that’s not the point!) And, yes, the main news today will be whatever ECB head Draghi says. Don’t expect any insights into the disturbing signals of European slowdown, but prepare for the usual kick-ra-can-down-the-road obstification about when rates are going to rise. Yawn.

Instead, let’s start with credit where credit is due.

Last night I was at the 20th Birthday Party for the UK Debt Management Office. Founded by Gordon Brown on April 1st 1998, the small and highly professional DMO staff raised nearly £150 bln for the UK last year, prompting Chancellor Philip Hammond to wonder if this made them the most productive workers in the UK? I suppose it’s no wonder my old friend, reformed banker and head of the DMO, Sir Robert Stheeman, did the maths and idly pondered: since they raise something like £800,000 for the UK every minute, perhaps its time to ask for commission based pay packages for his staff?

The success of the DMO is illustrated by the fact so many other countries have since followed the model, and by the number of bankers at last night’s do in the Treasury. Great to see so many old friends there, and thanks for the many kind words about the porridge. I really have no idea how many people read it as its distributed over a larger number of media outlets including Bloomberg, Euromoney and other financial wires – which proves its freely available commentary and therefore not subject to MiFID restrictions.

The other side of …

Trump VA PIck Ronny Jackson Withdraws Nomination

It generaly expected, moments ago President Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, announced he has withdrawn his nomination amid allegations of workplace misconduct and prescription mispractice. The withdrawal of Jackson followed a decision by the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee to indefinitely postpone his confirmation hearing.

Staffers on the committee were looking into charges against Jackson of creating a “hostile work environment” including “excessive drinking on the job [and] improperly dispensing meds.”

Jackson, who is a rear admiral in the Navy, currently serves as White House physician, a position he’s held for both President Obama and President George W. Bush.

The White House had defended Jackson amid the allegations, which were detailed in a report released by ranking member Jon Tester (D-Mont.) on Wednesday. Tester and committee chairman Johnny Isackson (R-Ga.) jointly announced the postponement of Jackson’s hearing and sent a letter to the administration asking for “any and all communications” between the White House and Defense Department about “allegations” on Jackson from 2006 to the present.

Committee member Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) has said that the number of people who came forward with the allegations against Ja …

ECB Keeps QE Pledge, Rates Unchanged

We said not to expect fireworks from the ECB, and at least when it comes to the press release, this has been the case, because moments ago the European Central Bank announced no changes to either any of its three rates, or the statement itself which was a repeat of last month.

The 3 key statements remain unchanged:

Main refinancing operations: 0.00%

Marginal lending facility: 0.25%

Deposit facility: -0.40%

Additionally, as disclosed last month, the ECB said that the net asset purchases, at the current monthly pace of 30 billion, will run until the end of September 2018, “or beyond, if necessary, and in any case until the Governing Council sees a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation consistent with its inflation aim.” As for the reinvestment of principal payments from maturing securities, these will continue “for an extended period of time after the end of its net asset purchases, and in any case for as long as necessary”

Full statement below:

At today’s meeting the Governing Council of the ECB decided that the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 0.00%, 0.25% and -0.40% respectively. The Governing Council expects the key ECB interest rates to remain at their present levels for an extended period of time, and well past the horizon of the net asset purchases.

Regarding non-standard monetary policy measures, the Governing Council confirms that the net asset purchases, at the current monthly pace of 30 billion, are intended to run until the end of September 2018, or beyond, if necessary, and in any case until the Governing Council sees a sustained adjustment in the path of …

Facebook Stays in the Friend Zone

The social network’s first-quarter report showed that about 48 million daily active users signed up during the period, suggesting that the world’s largest social network isn’t easily unplugged despite its recent problems.

Shell’s Earnings Have Gas, Could Be More Well-Oiled

Shell’s first-quarter net profit surged thanks to higher prices and natural gas output. The company’s strategic shift into natural gas makes sense long term, but has a cost now as oil rebounds.

A Healthier Viacom Makes a CBS Deal Trickier

Struggling media company Viacom’s revival won’t make reaching a deal with CBS any easier.

Trucking Growth Is Up or Down Year-over-Year In March 2018. Depends On What Data You Believe

Written by Steven Hansen

Headline data for truck shipments was conflicted year-over-year.

Economic Report: Durable-goods orders surge in March on wave of Boeing contracts, but business investment falls again

Orders for long-lasting or “durable” goods jumped 2.6% in March, riding a big increase in contracts for Boeing planes. Yet orders were flat minus transportation and business investment fell for the third time in four months.

The Wall Street Journal: Philippine police close idyllic tourist island in ecological crisis

More than 600 members of the security forces, including the police and coast guard, will patrol Boracay to enforce the closure ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte, who has described the island as a “cesspool.”

There’s been a recent spike in entrepreneurs — here’s why

These are the reasons so many people are starting new companies.