Written by Gary
The US stock markets added to gains late in today’s session (SPY +0.8%) as the SP 500 and the DOW were boosted by financial and industrial stocks. Crude settles at 2-month low and the DOW jumps more than 340 points.
Todays S&P 500 Chart
The Market in Perspective
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
 | Wall Street climbs on easing trade worriesNEW YORK (Reuters) – Wall Street’s three major indexes added to gains late in Wednesday’s session as the S&P 500 and the Dow were boosted by financial and industrial stocks and ebbing trade-war fears while the Nasdaq was set for a fourth straight day of gains. |
| Trump to stick with hard line on trade as G7 showdown loomsWASHINGTON/OTTAWA (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump is not backing down from the tough line he has taken on trade, the White House’s top economic adviser said on Wednesday, setting the stage for a showdown with top allies at this week’s G7 summit in Canada. |
| Tesla shares rise as Musk says Model 3 set to hit target(Reuters) – Tesla Inc shares headed for their best day in more than two years on Wednesday after Chief Executive Elon Musk said the car maker was now churning out 500 of its Model 3 sedans a day and should achieve its 5,000 per week target by the end of June. |
| Oil vs wild rice: Enbridge, opponents gear up final U.S. pipeline pushCALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) – Canada’s Enbridge Inc faces an indefinite delay to its biggest-ever capital project if a U.S. state regulator denies its preferred pipeline route through Minnesota, but a victory would spell relief for Canadian oil shippers and northern U.S. refiners. |
| U.S. dollar-store shares marked down but specialty discounters thriveNEW YORK (Reuters) – The shares of so-called dollar stores have suffered as U.S. shoppers have started spending more at bargain retailers with focused concepts and big discount chains. |
| Rising exports push U.S. trade deficit to seven-month lowWASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. trade deficit fell to a seven-month low in April as exports rose to a record high, lifted by an increase in shipments of industrial materials and soybeans. |
| Twitter to offer $1 billion convertible note as shares rally(Reuters) – Twitter is preparing a $1 billion convertible note offering, the social media hub said on Wednesday, one day after news that it would be included in the S&P 500 Index sent its shares up 5 percent to the highest price in more than three years. |
| Farmer pressure forces Trump biofuel policy suspension; credit prices jump(Reuters) – Under pressure from U.S. lawmakers in farming states, President Donald Trump has abandoned an overhaul of biofuels policy aimed at reducing costs for the oil industry, sending U.S. renewable fuel credit prices soaring more than 40 percent on Wednesday. |
| U.S. lawmakers press Facebook over Chinese data sharingWASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two key U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday rebuked Facebook Inc for not being more transparent over its data sharing after the social media giant said it had collaborated with at least four Chinese companies, including a smartphone maker that has raised U.S. security concerns. |
| The Melt-Up Is Back As VIX Is Crushed To 11Everything is awesome again… The S&P 500’s dip negative around 11ET (right around the European Close) was met with a wall of buying, until Europe actually closed at 1130 then stocks went sideways. until around 1400ET (after Trump’s NAFTA comments), US equities were panic-bid… Even Trannies gained despite oil’s weakness… The Dow (breaking above 25k) led the markets today (thanks to BA, GS, and UNH)
Since the start of June its been a buying panic every morning… |
| Soros Veteran And Former CIO Quits FirmBeing a Chief Investment Officer at Soros Fund Management, the $26 billion family office run by billionaire George Soros who reportedly lost $1 billion following the Trump election as a result of bearish market bets, is not easy: recall that in August of 2016, Ted Burdick, the former CIO and veteran Soros employee, stepped down after just 8 months in the position but remained at the firm running the firm’s credit portfolio. The transition took place at a time when Soros was said to have returned to an active fund management role, putting in place “big, bearish bets.” Getting replaced as CIO by UBS asset manager Dawn Fitzpatrick, probably did not boost his ego. So, after a tenure of some 18 years, having started working for George Soros back in 2000, Burdick, one of the most recognizable Soros lieutenants, has decided to call it a day and according to Bloomberg , quit Soros Fund Management last week. Before his brief tenure as CIO in 2016, succeeding Scott Bessent, Burdick held a variety of roles including head of distressed debt. Some highlights from Burdick’s career, via Bloomberg: a 1992 graduate of Princeton University with a degree in economics, he started out at Bankers Trust, where he worked in high-yield corporate finance and proprietary trading. He joined Soros in April 2000 and left five years later to join Camulos Capital, a firm that managed money for Soros and others. He returned to Soros in 2010. One reason why Burdick failed to stick at the top and may ultimately hav … |
| David Stockman Warns “Daredevil” Market Is “Way Over-Priced For Reality”David Stockman is not backing away from his ultimate bearish position, warning viewers of CNBC that “there are some huge surprises lurking out there” because “we’ve had eight years of monetary expansion that is just off the charts of history.” He is certainly not wrong there…
President Reagan’s Office of Management and Budget director fears an aging stock market rally combined with potential headwinds from President Trump’s fiscal policy decisions (as well as questionable earnings expectations) means “it’s all risk and very little reward in the path ahead.”
As Nasdaq and Small Caps surge to new record highs, Stockman warns “the S&P 500 could easily drop to 1,600 because earnings could drop to $75 a share the next time we have a recessi … |
| Europe To Fine Google Up To $11BN Over Abuse Of Market DominanceIt’s been less than two weeks since the European Union’s new GDRP data privacy rules took effect (forcing some US news sites to block European consumers outright) and already Brussels is preparing its next attack on US technology companies. According to the Financial Times, EU Competition Commissioner Margarethe Vestager, who has become possibly the most hated woman in Silicon Valley for her crusade against US tech firms, is preparing to penalize Google for “abusing its market dominance” through its Android operating system. It won’t be Google’s first wire transfer to Brussles: the company has already been fined 2.4 billion euros by Vestager for “abusing its dominance in search”. That case involved apparent abuses in Google’s comparison-shopping service. In the Android case, the commission could impose fines of up to $11 billion, equivalent to about half the company’s 2016 Net Income. Google is also being investigated for unfairly banning competitors from websites that use its search bar and advertisements. The three investigations constitute a trio of EU actions against Google. |
| China Inc. Arms Up in Tech With Latest SoftBank DealThe sale of chip designer Arm Holdings’ China unit to a Chinese-led consortium illustrates the challenge the U.S. faces in pushing back against Beijing’s appetite for intellectual property. |
| The Battle of German Yields: Bill Gross vs. Eurozone PoliticsHigher inflation and less central-bank stimulus should equal higher bond yields, right? The answer has been yes in the U.S., but not in Germany. |
| One Surprising Reason Why Companies Struggle to Fill JobsThe churn rate in the jobs market is less than you’d think with unemployment at multi-decade lows, and one reason is an aging workforce. |
| Currencies: Euro hits 2-week high against dollar as ECB indicates readiness to talk QE-unwind timingThe U.S. dollar on Wednesday weakens against its main rivals—notably the euro—as European Central Bank officials amplified rhetoric suggesting that the central bank is read to a discuss a timetable for ending its massive bond-buying program. |
| Sam Zell on the real estate cycle, interest rates, and immigrationLegendary real estate investor Sam Zell addressed a real-estate investment trust conference in a freewheeling conversation that’s been cleaned up for public consumption here. |
| How to help someone who is struggling with depressionFashion designer Kate Spade was found dead in her New York apartment on Tuesday after an apparent suicide. |
Summary of Economic Releases this Week
Earnings Summary for Today
leading Stock Positions
Current Commodity Prices
Commodities are powered by Investing.com
Current Currency Crosses
The Forex Quotes are powered by Investing.com.
To contact me with questions, comments or constructive criticism is always encouraged and appreciated:
