28Jun2018 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street To Open Lower As Expected, US Weekly Jobless Claims Rose More Than Expected Last Week, First-quarter GDP Is Up 2.0%, Vs 2.2% Reading Expected

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

Exclusive: China shuns U.S. request for talks on airline website dispute over Taiwan

BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – China has rejected U.S. requests for talks over how U.S. airlines and their websites refer to Chinese-claimed Taiwan, according to sources, including a U.S. official, adding to tensions in a relationship already frayed by a major trade dispute.

U.S. weekly jobless claims rise more than expected

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits increased more than expected last week, but the trend in claims remained consistent with a tightening labor market.

Walgreens tops profit estimates, authorizes share buyback

(Reuters) – Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc’s third-quarter profit beat analysts’ expectations on Thursday, benefiting from its acquisition of Rite Aid Corp stores, and the drugstore chain authorized a $10 billion share buyback program.

China says carefully monitoring U.S. policies on inbound investments

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s commerce ministry said on Thursday it would carefully monitor U.S. policies on inbound investments, stressing that the country opposes using national security as grounds to restrict foreign investments.

JPMorgan Chase takes smartphone account ‘Finn’ nationwide

NEW YORK (Reuters) – JPMorgan Chase & Co said on Thursday that it is now offering a digital bank account for smartphones nationally after testing and refining the app in St. Louis since October.

Mulvaney-led U.S. CFPB slashes payday lender penalty: sources

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Mick Mulvaney, head of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, cut in half a fine that his Obama-era predecessor sought against a payday lender and dropped some of the agency’s earlier claims in the case, three people familiar the matter told Reuters.

Icahn cuts stake in Cheniere Energy, says confident on management

(Reuters) – Activist investor Carl Icahn has reduced his stake in energy company Cheniere Energy Inc to 9.5 percent, and said he was confident in the company’s management and Chief Executive Officer Jack Fusco.

Automakers warn U.S. tariffs will cost hundreds of thousands of jobs, hike prices

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two major auto trade groups on Wednesday warned the Trump administration that imposing up to 25 percent tariffs on imported vehicles would cost hundreds of thousands of auto jobs, dramatically hike prices on vehicles and threaten industry spending on self-driving cars.

Trump: “Lover Strzok” Got “Poor Marks” On Testimony For “Refusing To Answer Questions”

After Peter Strzok failed to address the concerns of Republicans by trying to explain away his anti-Trump texts as “just an intimate conversation” with his mistress (former FBI lawyer Lisa Page) during yesterday’s marathon closed-door session, President Trump chimed in this morning with a tweet claiming that Strzok had been given “poor marks” on the hearing because he “refused to answer many questions.”

The president also reaffirmed that there was “no Collusion and the Witch Hunt, headed by 14 Angry Democrats and others who are totally conflicted, is Rigged!”

Lover FBI Agent Peter Strzok was given poor marks on yesterday’s closed door testimony and, according to most reports, refused to answer many questions. There was no Collusion and the Witch Hunt, headed by 13 Angry Democrats and others who are totally conflicted, is Rigged!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 28, 2018

The president then turned his attention to the DNC Server, asking once again why the FBI wasn’t allowed to closely examine it? The DNC never furnished an explanation, despite Wikileaks emails revealing that former spy Christopher Steele had once filed a memo claiming that
“Russian agents within the Democratic party structure itself” were involved with the theft.

Trump-Putin Summit To Take Place On July 16 In Helsinki

Update: And now we know the date:

TRUMP-PUTIN SUMMIT TO BE ON JULY 16 IN HELSINKI, U.S. SAYS

Here is the official statement:

* * *

Fox News Chief White House Correspondent John Roberts reported early Thursday morning that the White House and the Kremlin have decided on Helsinki as the location for the Trump-Putin summit, just as President Trump had suggested yesterday.

White House and Kremlin have settled on Helsinki, Finland as the location for the @realDonaldTrump – Putin summit. Date to be announced today.

— John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) June 28, 2018

The capital of Finland was first reported as the most likely site for the summit last week, and Finnish President Sauli Niinisto has already confirmed that Finland is prepared to host the summit. Yesterday, National Security Advisor John Bolton hammered out details during a working lunch with Rus …

Make Or Break Time For Merkel: What To Look For In Today’s EU Summit

Migration, trade, Brexit and the EU budget – but mostly migration – will be the big talking points at today’s EU summit which kicks off in Brussels shortly and continues into Friday.

As DB notes, there’s a laundry list of agenda points to get through for EU leaders with the not so insignificant talking points like Brexit, migration policy, the EU budget, security and the economic and monetary union amongst the big topics. The summit will be of particular significance for Merkel given domestic political tensions of late however yesterday the CDU and Social Democrats confirmed that no headway was made on migration talks in a meeting in Berlin which will only heighten the pressure on Merkel. Notably, the CSU Party leader Seehofer did reaffirm on ARD TV that “I know of nobody in my party who either wants to endanger the government….or bring down the Chancellor”.

Meanwhile Italy PM Conte also confirmed that the EU draft on migration was dropped which should not be a great surprise given the limited headway made from Sunday’s mini summit.

In an impassioned speech on Thursday ahead of a critical EU summit, Angela Merkel said that migration could be a “make or break” issue for the European Union. It will also be a “make or break” issue for her career. The crunch point comes at a time when Europe is already dealing with a lingering debt crisis, a rise in European populism, an escalating trade war with the United States and faltering negotiations for Brexit.

She pressed the German parliament to back a tough but humane asylum and migration policy for the European Union, warning that if Germany fails to support that, migration issues could define Europe’s destiny.

With that, here is a full preview of what to expect from today’s two-day EU summit which may seal the fate of Angela Merkel, courtesy of RanSquawk.

EU Summit 28-29th June 2018 in Bru …

Tariff Talk Has Slammed the IPO Window Shut for Car Makers

Luxury car makers are in the eye of the trade storm unleashed by President 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.

Why Hot Money Is a Problem for Britain at Just the Wrong Time

Britain seems to be developing a hot-money problem just as its economic future is becoming more uncertain. That’s a big risk for local business and foreign investors alike.

The Good Times Are Over for China’s Property Stocks

The yuan’s decline is the latest blow for the sector’s heavily indebted companies, which have loaded up on dollar debt.

Economic Report: U.S. jobless claims climb 9,000 to 227,000, but layoffs still near lowest rate in decades

Initial jobless claims, a tool to measure U.S. layoffs, rose in late June but remained near the lowest level in decades. New claims climbed by 9,000 to 227,000 in the week ended June 23.

Market Extra: Stock pickers are worse at picking stocks than investors may realize, report finds

The argument behind passive investing, and the reason it has been the overwhelming choice of investors over the past decade, is simple: data has repeatedly shown that not only does it offer an extremely high likelihood of better long-term performance, but it does so for vastly lower costs.

Economic Report: First-quarter GDP marked down to 2% from 2.2%

The growth in the U.S. economy in the first quarter was trimmed to 2% from 2.2%, largely reflecting lower spending on health care and a somewhat smaller buildup in inventories. But it’s a moot point. The U.S. has rebounded strongly in the spring.