22May2018 Market Close: Wall Street Slides, DOW Closes Below 25K, Down179 Points, WTI Crude Trades Down In The 71 Handle

Written by Gary

US equities markets mostly trended down (SPY -0.3%) as investors weighed comments on trade talks between the United States and China and as energy and industrial shares fell.

Todays S&P 500 Chart

The Market in Perspective

Here are the headlines moving the markets.
	Trump floats management changes instead of sanctions for China’s ZTE WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday floated a plan to fine ZTE Corp and shake up its management as his administration considered rolling back more severe penalties that have crippled the Chinese telecommunications company.
	Wall St. slips as trade talk comments digested; energy falls NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks mostly dipped on Tuesday as investors weighed comments on trade talks between the United States and China and as energy and industrial shares fell.
	Exclusive: GE seeking to shed troubled insurance business – sources (Reuters) – General Electric Co is working with investment bankers to find ways to shed its insurance business, which has caused it to book hefty charges while sparking shareholder lawsuits and an investigation by U.S. regulators, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
	OPEC may decide to ease oil supply curbs in June: sources KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia/LONDON (Reuters) – OPEC may decide to raise oil output as soon as June due to worries over Iranian and Venezuelan supply and after Washington raised concerns the oil rally was going too far, OPEC and oil industry sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters.
	Facebook’s Zuckerberg apologizes to EU lawmakers over data leak BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg apologized to European Union lawmakers on Tuesday for a massive data leak, in his latest attempt to draw a line under a scandal that has rocked the world’s biggest social media network.
	J.C. Penney CEO Ellison jumps ship to Lowe’s; shares sink (Reuters) – J.C. Penney’s Chief Executive Officer Marvin Ellison is leaving the struggling retailer to join home improvement chain Lowe’s Cos Inc , the companies said on Tuesday, sending shares in the U.S. department store chain down as much as 8 percent to an all-time low.
	Canada says top NAFTA officials in constant contact on trade talks OTTAWA (Reuters) – Top U.S., Canadian and Mexican officials are in constant contact about slow-moving talks to revitalize NAFTA and are ready to meet at any time to push the process forwards, Canada’s foreign minister said on Tuesday.
	Consumer Reports to retest Tesla Model 3 after brake fix (Reuters) – Consumer Reports said Tuesday it will retest brakes on Tesla Inc’s new Model 3 sedans after Chief Executive Elon Musk promised a software update, but the potential hit to sales from the magazine’s negative review weighed on Tesla stock.
	EU doubts if offer can prevent Trump tariffs or steel caps BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union proposals to open its markets wider to U.S. products, including cars, appear not to have persuaded Washington to lift the threat of import tariffs on EU steel and aluminum, the bloc’s trade chief said on Tuesday.
	Turkey Trounced, Italy Bounced, As US Stocks Puke Up Trade-Truce Gains Trump took a few shots at China today, which didn’t help, but realistically today’s drop makes as much sense as yesterday’s rally on the back of absolutely nothing from China… While there was some dip-buying in Italian banks (and bonds) today… We note that Italian equity risk is now double that of US stocks… And Italian credit risk is now perceived as higher than Russia’s…
	Customers Rage As Starbucks Turns Into Homeless Shelter Starbucks’ controversial decision to enable every Tom, Dick, and non-paying Harry to use their restrooms has sparked equal parts criticism and praise, mirroring the nation’s increasingly extreme partisan perspective on every- and any-thing… “It sounds like Starbucks is turning their stores into homeless shelters. Their coffee is strong but their management is weak,” said Ron Raduechel, a 64-year-old retired supply chain executive from Waukesha, Wis., who said he would no longer go to Starbucks. … “I believe Starbucks is doing what’s right in their hearts whether its outcome sparks negativity or not,” said Johnny Varela, a 31-year-old carpenter in Orlando, Fla. “I think Starbucks is very humanitarian.” Starbucks has been forced to issue a second statement to explain its new policy following complaints that it would turn cafes into homeless shelters and drug havens.
	Hawaii National Guard Presence Builds As Lava Nears Geothermal Power Plant Update: For some context of what is going on in Hawaii, here is NBC’s latest live shot – not a green screen… * * * Via Intellihub.com, The situation on the Big Island is changing rapidly as Mount Kilauea spews more lava and gas threatening life in the region… National Guard presence on the island is high as molten lava has made its way within a few hundred yards of Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV) power plant which government insiders have already warned may explode.
	“Flood Is Coming”: New Comey-McCabe Emails Suggest CNN And FBI Coordination Over Steele Dossier Several new strings have been tacked across the corkboard in the rapidly unraveling 2016 election scandal. Recently obtained FBI emails shed light on what appears to have been high-level coordination between the FBI and CNN surrounding the release of the infamous “Steele” dossier. In an April leak of the Comey memos, we learned that the former FBI Director briefed then-President-Elect Donald Trump on the dossier on January 6, 2017 after he wrote in a memo that various news outlets – “CNN in particular” – were “looking for a news hook,” and would soon be reporting on it. “I said media like CNN had [the dossier] and were looking for a news hook,” Comey wrote of his interaction with Trump. CNN, on the other hand, considered Comey’s meeting with Trump to have legitimized the document – making it their journalistic responsibility to report on it. Thus – any coordination between the FBI and CNN surrounding its report on the Steele dossier is highly relevant, since the Jan. 1 …
	Is Tesla Abandoning the Mass Market? Tesla has given its first signals that it’s giving up on its ambition to become a mass-market car maker, when Chief Executive Elon Musk admitted that his promised $35,000 Model 3 vehicle would cause the company to “lose money and die” if built right away.
	Would Cam Newton Buy Stocks Now? The TINA trade, in which there is no alternative to stocks, may be over as investors can finally earn something in cash-like securities.
	Welcome to the U.S.-China Cold Soup War Chinese-U.S. trade relations are showing signs of warming again after this spring’s chill. Don’t mistake that for a resolution of the core issues—trade tensions increasingly look like a permanent feature of the investment environment.
	Trucking Growth Is Up Year-over-Year In April 2018 Written by Steven Hansen Headline data for truck shipments showed an improvement in April 2018.
	J.C. Penney’s next CEO should excel in this area, experts say J.C. Penney is searching for a successor to Marvin Ellison, and experts have recommendations for the new CEO’s qualifications
	Currencies: Dollar holds modest losses as Trump casts doubt on North Korea summit The U.S. dollar remained under modest pressure as the Tuesday session went on, even as its major rivals, the euro and the British pound also retreated.
	Earnings Outlook: Target preview: Shoppers are showing up for the exclusive brands Target has focused on exclusive and private-label brands, which sets it apart from the competition in a packed retail space, according to analysts.