07Jun2018 Midday Update: Wall Street Mixed, DOW Up Double Digits, SP 500 Trending Down, Tech Rally Loses Steam, McDonald’s Pushes DOW Higher

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

North and South American markets are mixed. The IPC is higher by 0.47%, while the Bovespa is leading the S&P 500 lower. They are down 5.00% and 0.23% respectively.

Chinese phone maker ZTE saved from brink after deal with U.S.

(Reuters) – U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Thursday the government has reached a deal with ZTE Corp that reverses a ban on its buying parts from U.S. suppliers, allowing China’s No. 2 telecommunications equipment maker to get back into business.

Exclusive: U.S. Justice Department probes T-Mobile-Sprint merger effect on smaller wireless companies – sources

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Justice is examining how the proposed merger between T-Mobile US Inc and Sprint Corp could affect prices for smaller wireless operators, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Tech rally loses steam, McDonald’s pushes Dow higher

(Reuters) – A rally in technology stocks came to a halt on Thursday, setting up the Nasdaq for its first loss in five days, while a jump in McDonald’s shares boosted the Dow.

Elliott’s Singer agrees with Buffett, Dimon on profit guidance

(Reuters) – Hedge fund Elliott Management Corp Chief Executive Paul Singer said on Thursday he agreed with billionaire investor Warren Buffett and JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO Jamie Dimon that companies should move away from providing quarterly earnings guidance.

U.S. ITC says probing Toyota, others in patent infringement case

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. International Trade Commission said on Thursday it would investigate Toyota Motor Corp , Panasonic Corp and other companies for alleged patent infringement in certain infotainment systems, components and automobiles containing such systems.

McDonald’s plans fresh round of layoffs: WSJ

(Reuters) – McDonald’s Corp is planning a new round of layoffs to flatten out its management structure further, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing a company email sent to all its U.S. employees, suppliers and franchisees.

Google faces EU antitrust fine over Android case in July: sources

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Google is expected to be hit with a second EU antitrust fine in mid-July for using its dominant Android mobile operating system to squeeze out rivals, three people familiar with the matter said.

AmTrust agrees to sweetened $2.95 billion buyout offer

(Reuters) – U.S. insurer AmTrust Financial Services Inc on Thursday agreed to be acquired by a group of investors for a sweetened $2.95 billion deal that also helped secure the support of dissenting shareholder Carl Icahn.

Qualcomm CEO hopes ZTE deal will clear acquisition of NXP in China

(Reuters) – Qualcomm Inc CEO Steven Mollenkopf said on Thursday he hoped an announced agreement between the United States and China on the future of ZTE Corp will pave the way for China clearing Qualcomm’s acquisition of NXP Semiconductors NV.

Papadopoulos Approached By “Highly Suspicious” Businessman Known As “Source D” From Steele Dossier For $30K/Month Job

Following the revelation that George Papadopoulos was lured to London by an FBI informant as part of a counterintelligence operation, the former Trump campaign adviser has been reflecting on several encounters he had during the 2016 campaign – two of which his wife says were “highly suspicious,” reports Chuck Ross of the Daily Caller.

Papadopoulos’ wife of three months, Simona Mangiante – an Italian national and former attorney in the European Parliament, told The Caller about an encounter George had with Belarusian-American businessman and onetime Russian government translator Sergei Millian, a central figure in the infamous Steele Dossier known as “Source D” and “Source E” whose whereabouts are unknown.

Peter Schiff: The Problem With Phony Prosperity Is That It’s Phony

via SchiffGold.com

A lot of seemingly positive economic data came out last week, but in his most recent podcast, Peter Schiff said it is just feeding into a delusional economic narrative that ignores the most fundamental storyline – debt. Everybody is talking about a new era of prosperity, but Peter said it’s a phony prosperity and it isn’t going to last.

The May jobs report came out Friday, sending another ripple of optimism through the investment world. According to the Department of Labor, the US economy added 223,000 jobs in May. The unemployment number fell to an 18-year low of just 3.8%. Average hourly earnings rose by 8 cents. Average wage growth came in at 2.7% over the past year. Pundits and prognosticators on the major financial networks were giddy at the news.

But the good economic news wasn’t limited to jobs. Analysts were also excited about the personal income and spending data – part …

RIP Human Traders: Tudor’s ‘Paul-In-A-Box’ A.I. Hedge Fund Posts Tremendous Returns

Eight months ago, Bloomberg reported that machine learning, according to Gartner Inc.’s hype cycle for new technologies, was at the “peak of inflated expectations” and heading to the “trough of disillusionment.”

Around the same time a number of A.I.-driven investment funds and ETFs began to pop up, seemingly confirming the hype cycle.

In October 2017, the first Artificial Intelligence-driven ETF was launched:

“EquBot AI Technology with Watson has the ability to mimic an army of equity research analysts working around the clock, 365 days a year, while removing human error and bias from the process.

And while hedge funds like Bridgewater have successfully automated many of their trading strategies and …

China Inc. Arms Up in Tech With Latest SoftBank Deal

The 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.

Allergan Needs a New Wrinkle

Activist hedge funds are making a strong case to change Allergan’s corporate governance.

How Food Companies Can Buy Their Way to Growth

The best advice for food company CEOs looking for growth: Buy what you know, don’t lean too much on cost-cutting and watch out for quickly changing consumer tastes.

Capitol Report: Jack Lew blasts Trump on economy: ‘You do the hard work, and someone else spends it on their priorities’

Former Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, in interview with MarketWatch, said he understands if Democrats push their own budget-busting plans in wake of Trump tax cut.

Economic Report: The gig economy is actually smaller than it used to be, Labor Department says

The so-called gig economy is actually slightly smaller than it used to be, according to a new Labor Department report released Thursday that chronicles the jobs market in the age of Uber.

The Tell: ‘Something lurking out there’ will upset the stock market, says Blackstone’s Wien

Blackstone’s Byron Wien says investors enjoying a recent rally in the stock market shouldn’t get too comfortable, even if the Wall Street veteran is optimistic about the domestic economy over the next two or three years.