24May2018 Market Close: Wall Street Closes Lower, DOW Down 75 Points, Up From Negative 280 This Morning, WTI Settles In The High 70 Handle

Dow, S&P 500 edge down after Trump cancels North Korea summit; Netflix gains

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks mostly eased on Thursday after President Donald Trump canceled a planned summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and ordered a probe of auto imports, while gains in Netflix pushed its market value to a record.

U.S. auto import probe fans tariff fears, riles Asia, Europe

(Reuters) – A U.S. threat that it may introduce tariffs on foreign auto imports drew strong criticism on Thursday from the country’s main business lobbying group, which warned of a “staggering” blow to the industry and the prospect of a global trade war.

Stock market value of Netflix eclipses Disney for first time

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Netflix’s stock market value ballooned to a record $153 billion on Thursday and eclipsed Walt Disney Co for the first time, making it the world’s most valuable entertainment company, following a monumental shift by viewers away from cinemas and cable television.

Tesla’s Musk bashes media, proposes credibility check

(Reuters) – Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk gained the support on Thursday of more than half a million people on Twitter for plans to create a website evaluating journalists’ credibility, spurred by his frustration at media reports about the electric car maker.

J&J must pay $4 million in punitive damages in latest asbestos cancer trial

(Reuters) – A California jury on Thursday ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $4 million in punitive damages to a woman who said she developed cancer after being exposed to asbestos in the company’s baby powder, pushing the total damages award in the case to $25.7 million.

Deutsche Bank axes at least 7,000 jobs in trading retreat

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Deutsche Bank is slashing more than 7,000 jobs to cut costs and restore profitability, while keeping its international reach as its new CEO seeks to reassure investors and clients.

Car imports probe gives GM, Ford shares tiny lift

(Reuters) – Shares of General Motors and Ford inched only marginally higher before the bell on Thursday after the Trump administration launched a national security probe into car imports which could lead to new tariffs on foreign competitors while also stirring trade tensions.

Sanctions-hit tycoon Deripaska asks Kremlin to buy some of his aluminium: source

ST PETERSBURG, Russia/MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian aluminium producer Rusal has asked the Russian government to purchase some of its output, a government source said on Thursday, in an effort to alleviate the pain inflicted by U.S. sanctions.

UAW accuses Musk of threatening Tesla workers over unionization

(Reuters) – The United Auto Workers union (UAW) has filed a complaint accusing Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk of illegally threatening to take away benefits from workers who join the union.

Bonds & Bullion Surge Amid Korean Chaos, Trade Turmoil

Stocks round trip on the day, bonds roundtrip on the week, dollar roundtrips on the year… sometimes it’s better not to play…

Just when you thought it was safe to buy Italian bonds or banks… they resume their decline…

Trannies had a good day as oil prices leaked lower but the rest of the majors managed to bounce back to the flatline after Trump killed the Korea Summit…

Weinstein To Surrender Friday On Rape, Sexual Misconduct Charges

Harvey Weinstein is expected to surrender himself to New York authorities on Friday to face charges of alleged sexual misconduct in connection to an ongoing investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office and NYPD, according to the Daily News.

The fallen former Hollywood honcho is facing charges in connection to at least one accuser — Lucia Evans — who reported to investigators that Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex on him in 2004, sources said.

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A special grand jury was also being presented with evidence related to possible financial fraud against Weinstein but it was not immediately clear if the charges include money mishandling allegations.

As we reported earlier Thursday, NBC revealed last night that a state grand jury is convening in Manhattan in connection with the multiple sex abuse allegations which originated in New York, according to sources familiar with the case. This as simultaneously federal prosecutors have opened their own sex crimes case.

WNBC New York reports witnesses are

Russia Finance Minister: We Are Ready To Ditch The Dollar In Favor Of The Euro

In a testament to the success of the latest Trump sanctions against Russia, overnight Russian aluminum giant Rusal announced that its chief executive, Aleksandra Buriko, and half of its managerial board resigned to make sure the firm avoids U.S. sanctions against its founder, billionaire oligarch, Oleg Deripaska. The mass resignations were part of “the efforts that have been made by the management of the group to protect the interests of the company and its shareholders” since the sanctions were imposed last month, Rusal said in a May 24 statement.

Buriko resigned after the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced new punitive measures against Russia in early April in response to Russia’s “malign” activities around the world. The latest round of sanctions primarily targeted Russian oligarchs close to President Vladimir Putin, especially Oleg Deripaska – who had previously been interviewed by Robert Mueller – prompting Rusal shares to tumble while the price of aluminum soared.

That said, Rusal is not out of the woods yet, and earlier today Bloomberg reported that Deripaska had asked the Russian government to buy aluminum for state reserves, in other words engage in an indirect bailout of the state’s largest aluminum producer, although the Kremlin hasn’t made a decision yet. Furthermore, Rusal which is facing significant debt maturities in the coming months, has applied for state support to Promsvyazbank, and a decision is pending.

The common theme here is that Trump’s sanctions against Russia – with which he is supposedly colluding – not only work, but are very effective in achieving their goal. And they do so though the biggest weapon the US has: access to the world’s reserve currency, because with one phone call to SWIFT, Trump can lock out an entire nation.

So what alternatives is Russia planning, aside of course from increasingly closer trade, financial and monetary ties to China, whic …

When Rates Go Up, Stuff Blows Up

Authored by Jared Dillian via MauldinEconomics.com,

I’ve said the title of this issue a few times before in The 10th Man, here and here. When rates go up sharply, stuff blows up, because lots of people are negatively exposed to higher rates.

Households, corporates, and governments are all negatively exposed to higher rates, in different degrees. Back in 1994, we found that it was Mexico, Procter & Gamble, and Orange County, California who all suffered because of higher interest rates.

Where does the risk live today? We will soon find out.

There is a playbook for when interest rates go up. Rising interest rates do not necessarily cause a recession per se, but they are usually found at the scene of the crime. There was no recession in 1994, but the financial world shivered. Today, we have rising rates and a more-hawkish Fed which has shown no signs of letting up. As usual, emerging markets are puking their guts out.

I was in Argentina last week and saw the carnage first-hand. I wrote about it in The Daily Dirtnap. The Argentine peso declined a smooth 20% in a week:

Ralph Lauren Refreshes Its Faded Jeans

Ralph Lauren shares jumped as the company beat analyst expectations and showed investors evidence that its turnaround efforts may finally take hold.

Why the Property Industry Isn’t Buying WeWork

WeWork has convinced tech investors that short-term office rentals are the next big thing, and well worth a high price. Savvy real-estate investors also like that business, but not at WeWork’s valuation.

Turning GE’s Sacred Cows Into Hamburger

General Electric boss John Flannery sent shares tumbling with revelations about profitability and the dividend.

Market Extra: Retail investors trim stock exposure amid market volatility, while hedge funds remain highly leveraged

U.S. stocks are not far from record levels, but the resurgence of volatility in 2018 — along with indexes that have been stubbornly range-bound for months — have pushed investors to cut their holdings to assets seen as riskier.

Futures Movers: U.S. oil prices mark 3rd straight drop, settle at nearly 2-week low

Oil finish sharply lower Thursday as worries about U.S. crude inventories help to extend the U.S. benchmark’s downturn for a third straight session, hitting the lowest finish in about two weeks.

The government expanded access to student loan forgiveness—just read the fine print

A first-come, first-served fund aims to help some borrowers rejected from the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.