25May2018 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street To Open Fractionally Lower, DOW Futures Off Double Digits, WTI Crude Has Slipped Back Under $70/bbl

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 0.69% while France’s CAC 40 is up 0.25% and London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.10%.

Stock futures steady as North Korea keeps talks on table, oil weighs

(Reuters) – U.S. stock market futures steadied on Friday, helped by a measured response by North Korea to President Donald Trump’s cancelling of a planned summit, while a slump in oil prices pressured energy stocks.

U.S. Commerce’s Ross to visit China for trade talks in early June

BEIJING (Reuters) – U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will visit China early next month for another round of talks amid ongoing trade frictions between the world’s two largest economies.

New privacy law forces some U.S. media offline in Europe

LONDON (Reuters) – Major U.S.-media outlets including the LA Times and Chicago Tribune were forced to shutter their websites in parts of Europe on Friday following the roll out of stringent new privacy regulations by the European Union.

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.

Exclusive: China Inc tightens reins on debt, raises specter of slowdown

SHANGHAI/BENGALURU (Reuters) – Debt growth for Chinese companies has slowed to the lowest rate in more than a decade, according to Reuters analysis, which could provide relief for policymakers worried about the fallout from years of loose lending practices across the economy.

Daimler threatened with recall of over 600,000 diesel models: Spiegel

BERLIN (Reuters) – Daimler faces a recall order for more than 600,000 diesel-engine vehicles including C-Class and G-Class models because of suspected emissions manipulation, German magazine Der Spiegel reported on Friday.

Saudi minister Falih says Aramco IPO likely in 2019

ST PETERSBURG (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia is most likely to hold the initial public offering (IPO) of oil giant Aramco in 2019, Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Friday, confirming a delay from the initial plan to list the company this year.

Mexico’s Pena Nieto ‘optimistic’ on NAFTA as country makes new offer

MEXICO CITY/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Thursday expressed optimism about NAFTA talks that have been thrown into disarray by a U.S. probe exploring auto tariffs, while a source said Mexico had made a new offer to seek a deal.

Tax-dodge strategists probe loopholes in new U.S. law, IRS wary

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Tax experts for global corporations are hot on the trail of loopholes in the sweeping tax law approved in December by President Donald Trump and Republicans in the U.S. Congress.

Trump To Take “Much Harder Line On China” After Summit Collapse: Report

It may have been the US that cancelled the North Korea peace summit, but China is ultimately responsible, at least according to veiled hints from President Trump. In his Thursday statement, Trump veered between threats of military action and entreaties to the North Korean dictator to schedule another summit after pulling the plug on their planned meeting. The president lamented that dialogue with Mr Kim had been “good until recently” when things abruptly changed. “I think I understand why that happened,” he said, but did not elaborate.

And, as we noted last night, ahead of North Korea’s conciliatory statement, Trump this week pointed a finger at Beijing saying that Kim’s attitude had shifted after a meeting with President Xi almost three weeks ago.

“There was a difference when Kim Jong-un left China the second time,” Mr Trump said. “I can’t say that I’m happy about it.” On both occasions, Washington learned of Mr Kim’s visit only after the fact.

And this morning, CNBC’s Eamon Javers said that the entire North Korean summit diversion may have simply been a prelude to something else entirely, namely Trump reverting to a “much harder line” on China trade talks after he canceled the summit.

I’m told there is an expectation inside the White House that President Trump will take a much harder line on China trade now that the NK summit is off. Aides believed that Trump was soft pedaling his natural instincts until June 12. Now that is gone.

I’m told there is an expectation inside the White House that President Trump will take a much harder line on China trade now that the NK summit is off. Aides believed that Trump was soft pedaling his natural instincts until June 12. Now that is gone.

— Eamon Javers (@EamonJavers)

This Is How Amazon’s Alexa Records And Shares Private Conversations Without Your Permission

As it turns out, the scandal over Amazon’s Alexa voice-controlled personal assistant recording and sharing private conversations both with hackers and with people on the users’ contact list is much more serious than the company had feared.

As Bloomberg reported, Amazon responded to a KIRO 7 news report about a couple who received a call from a friend saying “unplug your Alexa devices right now. You’re being hacked” after the company’s device had shared a private conversation without explicit permission.

Amazon offered a complex, meandering “explanation” for the series of strange coincidences that triggered Alexa to record and share a couple’s private conversation. It started with Alexa being triggered when it heard a word that sounded like “Alexa” – the command for the technology activate. Here are the details:

Amazon explained the series of events that triggered the episode in an emailed statement. The Echo woke after hearing a word in the couple’s conversation that sounded like ” …

Treasury Breakevens, Yields Tumble As Oil Plunges

As we detailed earlier, what OPEC can jawbone up, OPEC can – apparently – jawbone back down.

Amid extreme record speculative longs and the goldilocks of apparent supply constraints (Venezuela and Iran) and global synchronous growth driving demand, it appears the smoke and mirrors are falling apart as the latter growth is disappearing and the former ‘tightness’ is now rebuffed as OPEC and its allies are likely to gradually boost oil output in the second half of the year to ease consumer anxiety as prices trade near $80 a barrel, said Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih.

“I think in the near future there will be time to release supply” smoothly to avoid shocking the market, Al-Falih said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in Russia on Friday.

When OPEC, Russia and other major producers meet in June “we will do what is necessary” to reassure consumers, he said.

Oil fell sharply on the news…

As Bloomberg reports, Oil producers are debating an increase ranging from 300,000 barrels a day at the low end, b …

Trader: “It’s Time To Take A Long, Hard Look At The Risk Scenarios”

Authored by Garfield Reynolds, a Markets Live blogger for Bloomberg.

Recent events show tail risk outcomes are being chronically underpriced by a market that’s been conditioned by a decade of QE and record-low central bank rates. Consider some of the events that have roiled markets over the past couple of weeks:

Italy’s populists managed to stun markets with their policies more than two months after the election. They are now close to finally taking office

Erdogan’s determination to use his own, contrarian, monetary policy playbook

The summit between the mercurial leaders of the U.S. and North Korea was canned, for now

Fresh outbreaks in trade tensions surrounding China and Nafta

Argentina seeking an IMF bailout

None of the above were unforeseen.

Sure, the timing was uncertain, but these were all obvious and apparent risks; the severe swings that followed indicate too many got caught out.

Even Malaysia’s election, a real surprise that very few saw coming, should have found markets better prepared; 1MDB’s day of reckoning had long been delayed but it had to happen at some stage. Too many interpreted the boost to Malaysia assets from crude’s rally as an endorsement of the Najib regime’s long-term viability.

The standout “shock” has been the slumps in EM assets, from FX to bonds and equities, hurt by a range of idiosyncratic factors but also by higher U.S. yields and Trump’s trade stance; both very much known knowns.

Surprisingly, even after a tumultuous May – spurred in no small part by policy and staffing uncertainties emanating from the White House – volatility gauges outside of EM FX continue to subside.

Despite prospects that mid-term U.S. elections will intensify political risks, the VIX keeps falling. True, the November contract is above …

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.

Samsonite Needs to Make Its Case

Suitcase maker Samsonite has questions to answer about its accounting practices.

Best Buy: Don’t Touch That Omni-Channel

Best Buy beat analyst forecasts on Thursday but the stock sank in what seems to be a misguided reaction to slowing online sales.

The Moneyist: My sister put my mother’s belongings in a storage unit—and took ownership of them

This woman is upset that her sister tricked her mother into signing away her valuables.

Flying this weekend? FBI says mixing alcohol and sleeping pills on flights increases risk of sexual assault

#MeToo reaches 35,000 feet as passengers and flight attendants speak out.

Metals Stocks: Gold churns but holds closely watched $1,300 line

Gold prices stabilized Friday above the closely watched $1,300 line and headed for a roughly 1% weekly gain as investors awaited a round of economic data and remarks by Federal Reserve head Jerome Powell.