29May2018 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street Futures Slide While Rome Is Burning, Italy’s Political Crisis Is Sending Stocks Plunging, Gold Index Rally Falling Back, WTI Crude Prices Rising

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are sharply lower today with shares in London off the most. The FTSE 100 is down 1.20% while France’s CAC 40 is off 1.19% and Germany’s DAX is lower by 1.19%.

Trump giving Japan’s Abe a hard time on trade despite close ties

TOKYO (Reuters) – Tariffs on steel, threats of car import levies and intense pressure for a two-way economic deal: despite warm personal ties, U.S. President Donald Trump is giving Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a decidedly tough time on trade.

Worsening Italian crisis batters European markets

LONDON (Reuters) – A worsening political crisis in Italy provoked a second day of selling on European markets, with the euro cut to an 11-month low, stocks punished and short-term borrowing costs surging for the government in Rome.

Delays and ‘poison pills’: team Trump runs out of road in NAFTA talks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump is running out of time to deliver a revamp of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) he promised for this year and people involved in the talks say the crunch is largely of his administration’s own making.

Wall Street futures fall as Italy, Spain worries turn investors risk averse

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures fell on Tuesday led by bank stocks as investors moved to low-risk assets due to a deepening political crisis in Italy and a leadership challenge in Spain.

U.S. and China clash over ‘technology transfer’ at WTO

GENEVA (Reuters) – Chinese and U.S. envoys sparred at the World Trade Organization on Monday over U.S. President Donald Trump’s claims that China steals American ideas, the subject of two lawsuits and a White House plan to slap huge punitive tariffs on Chinese goods.

How the world’s biggest private equity oil and gas industry bid collapsed

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Blame it on Trump, Iran or Venezuela. Rising oil prices combined with a heavy debt load killed the world’s biggest private equity oil and gas industry deal last week.

Alibaba leads consortium in $1.4 billion deal for stake in Chinese courier ZTO

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Alibaba Group Holding Ltd on Tuesday said it has led a consortium of investors to buy about 10 percent of Chinese courier ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc for $1.38 billion, as part of the e-commerce firm’s push into offline services.

Civil rights advisers hope Starbucks’ anti-bias training sets example

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Black leaders who are advising Starbucks Corp on its anti-bias training program, which begins Tuesday, hope it will reinvigorate decades-old efforts to ensure minorities get equal treatment in restaurants and stores, setting an example for other corporations.

Swiss watch exports rise in April as Hong Kong booms

ZURICH (Reuters) – Swiss watch exports rose 13.8 percent in April to 1.76 billion Swiss francs ($1.77 billion), powered by a boom in the crucial Hong Kong market, trade data showed on Tuesday.

US To Impose 25% Tariff On Chinese Tech Goods

The White House issued a statement Tuesday morning declaring that it would be taking more steps to protect the intellectual property of US companies from China.

According to the statement, the US is planning to impose 25% tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese imports. The list of affected goods will be announced on June 15. Meanwhile, the US will issue investment restrictions and export controls for Chinese groups and people on June 30.

WHITE HOUSE ISSUES STATEMENT ON STEPS TO PROTECT IP FROM CHINA

U.S. TO ANNOUNCE PROPOSED INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS, ENHANCED EXPORT CONTROLS FOR CHINESE PEOPLE AND GROUPS BY JUNE 30

Once again, the US cited “national security” as the reason for the tariffs, which will impact “industrially significant technology, including those related to the ‘Made in China 2025’ program”.

“Under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, the United States will impose a 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods imported from China containing industrially significant technology, including those related to the “Made in China 2025″ program,” the release said.

The news comes a day after Chinese and US representatives battled at the World Trade Organization over US President Donald Trump’s claim that China is stealing American technology. According to Chinese law, foreign firms hoping to do business in China often must partner with local firms, with whom they’re expected to share their technology. This practice has been going on for years. The US said Tuesday morning that it will continue “pursuing litigation” at the WTO, where it filed a complaint accusing China of improperly stealing technology, while China has filed a complaint of its own over US steel tariffs.

“This is not the rule of law. In fact, it is China’s laws themselves that enable this coercion,” U.S. Ambassador Dennis Shea told the World Trade Organization’s dispute settlement body, accordin …

“Everything Has Gone Wrong”: Soros Warns “Major” Financial Crisis Is Coming

In a speech delivered Tuesday in Paris, billionaire investor George Soros warned that the world could be on the brink of another devastating financial crisis, as debt crises reemerge in Europe and a strengthening dollar pressures both the US’s emerging- and developed-market rivals.

And Europe, with Italy dragging worries about the possible dissolution of the euro back to the forefront, won’t be far behind. Political pressures like the dissolution of its transatlantic alliance with the US will eventually translate into economic harm. Presently, Europe is facing three pressing problems: The refugee crisis, the austerity policy that has hindered Europe’s economic development, and territorial disintegration – not only Brexit, but the threat that countries like Italy might follow suit…

“Brexit is an immensely damaging process harmful to both sides,” the billionaire exclaimed.

But in the near-term, the US’s decision to pull out of the Iran deal is straining Europe’s alliance with its most important Western partner just as the strengthening dollar is constricting financial conditions around the world.

Until recently, it could have been argued that austerity is working: …

Britons Rage Over Robinson Arrest As Mass Protests Break Out Worldwide

The arrest, imprisonment, and government-ordered media blackout of UK journalist and activist Tommy Robinson has set off a firestorm of protests around the world.

Free speech advocates and supporters of Robinson’s movement from Melbourne to Berlin came out by the thousands to protest the Friday arrest outside of Leeds Crown Court while Robinson was reporting on a pedophile grooming trial via Facebook livestream. Within six hours of his detention, Robinson was slapped with a 13 month prison term for violating a prior suspended sentence for a similar offense.

“A big police van with about seven police officers pulled up and arrested [Robinson] and told him to stop live streaming,” Robinson’s producer told RT (before their article (archived) was scrubbed from the internet). “They said it was incitement and a breach of the peace.

“No peace has been breached – there were two other people there and he’s been perfectly quiet talking into his phone. [The police] said nothing about the court proceedings. It’s very strange.”

Tommy Robinson has been arrested in Leeds cou …

Global Markets Descend Into Contagious Panic As Italy Implodes

Commenting on today’s sheer market chaos as the US and UK return from holiday, Bloomberg writes that “fixed-income markets have descended into panic amid mounting concern over the risk of Italy leaving the euro or leading to its break-up” and while Italy is suffering the biggest losses in peripheral debt, core bonds and Treasuries are spiking higher.

For those who stayed away from market news over the holiday weekend, this is what happened and why we are here today: Italy PM-designate Conte gave up on efforts of forming a government after Italian President Mattarella rejected Eurosceptic Paolo Savona for the Economy Minister position because the appointment would have “alarmed markets and investors, Italians and foreigners” (yes, very ironic in retrospect, although just as we predicted would happen). Mattarella then summoned former-IMF senior director Cottarelli to meet in a move viewed by some as laying the groundwork for a technocratic government. Forza Italia said they would not support this government, and 5SM and League set their sights on the now highly likely new ele …

How Many Activists Does It Take to Change an Industrial Icon?

Two of the world’s top activist investors, Elliott Management and Cevian Capital are agitating for change at Thyssenkrupp.

Why It Is Harder to Diagnose Hospital Stocks

New accounting rules make assessing financial health more difficult for hospitals and companies that work with them.

Why Aren’t Companies Spending More?

The renaissance in capital spending the tax cut was supposed to bring about isn’t showing up in the economic data.

Market Snapshot: Dow futures fall more than 150 points as Italian drama grabs the spotlight

U.S. stock futures point to a sizable drop at the open Tuesday, as traders getting back to work after a three-day weekend are greeted by fresh Italian political woes.

Need to Know: Try this high-flying commodity to resist the fallout from Italy

It’s all about European politics this morning, but our call of the day offers a nice distraction — a commodity that’s been on a tear and may benefit from a better relationship between the U.S. and China.

Gene therapy turns people into superheroes on TV. Can it do that in real life too?

Netflix’s “Jessica Jones” was inspired by a real-life genetic editing procedure, but the truth is more complicated than fiction.