27Jun2018 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street Futures Go Positive As Trump Crackdown On China Is Less Strict Than Feared, WTI Crude Jumps Up To The High 71 Handle, US Dollar Is Also Climbing

Written by Gary

US stock index futures have risen this morning (SPY +0.3%) making a comeback on new U.S. plan for China investments. Trump says he will lean on law over executive action in approach to China tech investment.

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money
	European markets are broadly higher today with shares in France leading the region. The CAC 40 is up 1.21% while Germany’s DAX is up 1.04% and London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.98%.

Looking at the last three columns (below), the first one (Actual), is what was reported this morning. The second column (Forecast) is what analysts had forecast and the third column is the previous report. Full calendar HERE.

What Is Moving the Markets

Here are the headlines moving the markets.
	Stock futures stage comeback on new U.S. plan for China investments (Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday, reversing course from sharp losses earlier, after the Trump administration said it would use a strengthened security review process to deal with threats from Chinese investments in domestic technologies, instead of imposing China-specific restrictions.
	Worsening trade row deepens chill felt by Chinese dealmakers seeking to do U.S. takeovers HONG KONG (Reuters) – The rapidly deteriorating trade and investment relationship between Washington and Beijing is sending a further chill through Chinese dealmakers who have already seen the number of Chinese acquisitions of American assets take a big hit.
	Conagra to buy Pinnacle Foods for $8.1 billion, expanding frozen food line (Reuters) – Conagra Brands Inc said on Wednesday it would buy Pinnacle Foods Inc for about $8.1 billion in cash and stock, creating a frozen food powerhouse with brands such as Birds Eye, Healthy Choice and Marie Callender’s.
	Trump administration to use review panel to curb China tech investments WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he will use a strengthened security review process to deal with threats from Chinese investments to acquire U.S. technologies instead of imposing China-specific restrictions.
	U.S. business spending on equipment softening; trade gap shrinking WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New orders for key U.S.-made capital goods and shipments unexpectedly fell in May, but data for the prior month was revised higher, suggesting moderate growth in business spending on equipment in the second quarter.
	GE breakup leaves it with best and worst performers (Reuters) – General Electric Co said on Tuesday it will spin off its healthcare business and divest its stake in oil-services firm Baker Hughes, effectively breaking up the 126-year-old conglomerate which was once the most valuable U.S. corporation and a global symbol of American business power.
	Exclusive: Ackman makes fresh layoffs at Pershing Square hedge fund BOSTON (Reuters) – Billionaire hedge fund manager William Ackman, whose investment assets have shrunk by more than half in the last three years, has made a second round of staff cuts and laid off three investor relations team members, two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
	General Mills quarterly profit tops estimates (Reuters) – Cheerios cereal maker General Mills Inc on Wednesday reported a quarterly profit that topped analysts’ estimates, as its efforts to reduce costs and improve distribution network paid off.
	Fujifilm threatens to compete against Xerox if partnership not renewed (Reuters) – Fujifilm Holdings Corp on Wednesday threatened to compete against Xerox Corp in Asia-Pacific and challenge it in America and Europe if it failed to renew its technology agreement in 2021.
	New Jersey Governor Offers “Compromise” Budget As State Teeters On The Brink Of Shutdown In his first budget showdown with intransigent lawmakers from his own party, New Jersey Governor (and Goldman Sachs alum) Phil Murphy has made a major concession on his budget plan in a last-minute attempt to work out a compromise that would avert a shutdown of the state government on Saturday. Phil Murphy In a letter circulated to lawmakers, Murphy said that while he’s unwilling to accept the legislature’s budget – a budget that would raise the state’s corporate income tax to the highest level in the country – he’d be willing to work out a compromise plan that included a smaller corporate tax hike and also eliminated a budget shortfall that would’ve left the state with a $100 million deficit and no emergency reserves, according to NJ.com. “I remain … unable to certify that the revenues contained in this budget are sufficient to fund the programs we all support. Failure to provide sufficient funding places all of these programs at risk,” Murphy wrote. “It is not too late for us to bridge this shortfall,” he continued. Murphy offered a more modest increase in the Corporation Business Tax, a smalle …
	How Iran Can Use Bitcoin To Avoid US Sanctions Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk, Effective Nov. 4, Trump demands all trade with Iran to cease. Iran can potentially use Bitcoin as a workaround. In case you missed it, Trump Effectively Declared Economic War on Iran. Trump is pressuring the world to stop trading with Iran. And starting November 4, Trump will sanction any country or company that does. The feature image is from Iran Bans 1,300 Imports, Prepares To Resist Threatened US Sanctions. The order suggests the US sanctions threat is pushing Tehran back towards running a “resistance economy” designed to conserve foreign exchange reserves The EU announced a “Blocking Statute” that would allow companies to deal with Iran but companies that do so wil …
	“Not On My Watch”: Trump Warns Left Over Escalating Confrontations, Tells Voters “Time To Defend Our Principles” President Trump has put the left on notice after several key members of his staff were publicly harassed over his administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy, telling supporters in a letter: “Not on my watch.” After several high profile harassment incidents, Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters (CA) tossed a can of gasoline on the dumpster fire last weekend, calling for people to form into mobs and physically confront members of the Trump administration if they see them out in public. “If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them, and you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere,” said Waters. Since then, White House advisor Stephen Miller’s apartment was swarmed by protesters who tacked up “Wanted” posters, and on Tuesday a group of Georgetown students harassed Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and his wife.
	Core Durable Goods Slump In May As Capital Spending Proxy Disappoints For the first time since June 2016, Durable Goods Orders fell in May for the second month in a row… Core Durable Goods Orders tumbled after surging for 3 straight months… And everyone’s favorite proxy for Capital Spending (Capital Goods New Orders Non-defense, Ex-Aircraft & Parts) fell 0.2% MoM (against expectations of a 0.5% MoM gain) – not a good sign for the tax cut plan.
	Banks Are Playing Chicken With Brexit Banks are running out of time to prepare for a sudden break in relations between the U.K. and Europe.
	Tariff Talk Has Slammed the IPO Window Shut for Car Makers Luxury car makers are in the eye of the trade storm unleashed by U.S. President Donald Trump. One consequence: Hoped-for IPOs of Aston Martin, Volvo Cars and possibly Jaguar Land Rover are looking unlikely, even though most brands are reporting record sales.
	Memory Unlikely to Fade Fast for Chips Consolidation and growing demand for cloud and AI servers have kept chip prices stable—and high.
	Durable Goods New Orders Slow in May 2018 Written by Steven Hansen The headlines say the durable goods new orders declined. Our analysis agrees. .
	‘Hot’ money is flowing into Netflix, Facebook and Amazon again Momentum investors are backing popular technology stocks, but the stock market has become riskier.
	Market Extra: Forget the tariff tantrum—S&P 500 is headed 10% higher in 2018, says Blackstone’s Wien Blackstone’s Byron Wien, who predicted that some “lurking” geopolitical factor would upset the U.S. equity markets a few weeks ago, says that the S&P 500 is on track to hit 3000 in next half of 2018.
	The Tell: How good news on jobs could be bad news for industrial stocks The jobs market may be too strong for some sectors of the stock market, posing a risk to companies with higher labor costs.