Written by Gary
US equities markets fall as financials turnaround and are on track for steep weekly losses (SPY -0.04%). Major indexes mixed at the noon hour, but headed for negative territory by the close.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
North and South American markets are higher today with shares in Brazil leading the region. The Bovespa is up 0.88% while Mexico’s IPC is up 0.06% and U.S.’s S&P 500 is up 0.02%. |
What Is Moving the Markets
Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
Drug stocks hit by Amazon health push, tech steadies Wall Street(Reuters) – Amazon’s foray into the pharmacy space sent drug stocks sliding on Thursday, but gains in financial and technology stocks helped Wall Street keep its footing. | |
Amazon to buy PillPack in drug retailing push(Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc said on Thursday it would buy online pharmacy PillPack, a small but significant step into the U.S. healthcare sector, sending shares of drug distributors and retailers lower. | |
U.S. first-quarter GDP growth trimmed; labor market strongWASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. economy slowed more than previously estimated in the first quarter amid the weakest consumer spending in nearly five years, but growth appears to have since regained momentum on the back of a robust labor market and tax cuts. | |
U.S. manufacturers, steel makers battle over tariff relief(Reuters) – The flood of requests from U.S. manufacturers with the Commerce Department to exempt them from the Trump administration’s hefty tariffs on steel and aluminum imports is exposing competitive information to rivals, customers and U.S. metal producers. | |
Saudi-Russian axis rules oil markets as Trump fights IranDUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) – Iran may be Russia’s ally in the Syrian conflict but when it comes to oil, Tehran’s arch-enemy Saudi Arabia takes precedence – if last week’s OPEC meeting in Vienna is anything to go by. | |
Walgreens plays down Amazon pharmacy entry, but investors spooked(Reuters) – Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc’s chief executive officer said on Thursday he was not worried about Amazon.Com Inc’s push into the U.S. healthcare sector, but investors were rattled by the threat the online giant could pose to the sector. | |
U.S. securities regulator unveils proposal to ease ETF approvalsWASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. securities regulator on Thursday unveiled a proposal to ease its rules for approving low-risk exchange-traded-funds (ETFs), in what could potentially be a major win for the $3.5 trillion market. | |
Starbucks CFO Scott Maw to retire in November, shares fall(Reuters) – Starbucks Corp said on Thursday Chief Financial Officer Scott Maw will retire at the end of November, a move that stunned investors and sent shares of the world’s largest coffee shop chain down 3.8 percent in morning trade. | |
Visa, Mastercard close to settling issues over card-swipe fees: WSJ(Reuters) – Visa Inc and Mastercard Inc are close to settling a long-running antitrust lawsuit with merchants over the fees they pay when they accept card payments, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. | |
Amazon Is Raising An Army Of Delivery Vans To Deliver Its PackagesWhile President Trump complains that Amazon is taking advantage of the US Postal Service, Amazon is continuing its push to cut out its competitors entirely. In its bid to control every step of the delivery process – from distribution center to doorstep – Amazon is launching a new program to entice entrepreneurs around the US to build their own Amazon-focused delivery services. These drivers will transport packages during the “last mile” of their journey – an industry term that describes the leg of a package’s journey from local distribution center to doorstep. The Associated Press reported Thursday that the online retailing is rolling out a program that will provide entrepreneurs around the country with all the tools they need – including leasing blue vans marked with the Amazon logo directly from Amazon. The company will also sell uniforms and provide entrepreneurs with “support” as they grow their businesses. In terms of improving customer service, the advantages of controlling the “last mile” of delivery are substantial: Amazon customers will soon be able to track their packages on a map once they’ve been put out for delivery. Cu … | |
Money-Supply Growth Slides Again As Recession LoomsAuthored by Ryan McMaken via The Mises Institute, Money supply growth fell to a three-month low in May this year, continuing a general downward slide in growth rates that’s been in place since late 2016. In May, year-over-year growth in the money supply fell to a 3-month low, growing 4.2 percent. That was down from April 2018’s rate of 4.3 percent, but remains up from November 2017’s low of 2.6 percent: The money-supply metric used here — an Austrian or “true” money supply measure — is the metric developed by Murray Rothbard and Joseph Salerno, and is designed to provide a better measure than M2. The Mises Institute now offers regular updates on this metric and its growth. The “Austrian” measure of the money supply differs from M2 in that it includes treasury deposits at the Fed (and excludes short time deposits, traveler’s checks, and retail money funds). M2 growth accelerated in May 2018, rising to 3.8 percent, compared to April’s rate of 3.7 percent. Overall, though, the M2 growth rates has fallen considerably since late 2016 … | |
Bank Of America Spots An 800 Billion Cliff “That Fills Us With Fear”Ever since the ECB commenced buying tens of billions of sovereign and corporate bonds, it is undeniable that Europe’s economic picture brightened substantially, eliminating occasional flash crises such as Greece and Italy which had a contagious event on the rest of the Eurozone, and why not: after all there was a definitive backstop to all the risk – nothing bad was allowed to happen, or as Draghi said, any adverse outcomes would be fixed “whatever it takes.” But in recent months Europe’s economic picture has turned decidedly dour, if not so much in the primary data where things are still stable, then certainly in manufacturing surveys, and especially for Europe’s economic dynamo, the export economy. As the chart below shows, PMI trends for new export orders have fallen notably in 2018 – and not just for Europe, but also for Japan and the US. This, according to BofA’s Barnaby Martin, “may point to less vibrant export activity across the world. For Europe, whether this is really the case, or just a reflection of -strength earlier in the year, remains to be seen. But for now we think the economic data has not been convincing enough to ignite enough of a rally in European risk assets” Which brings us to the next logical thought: could Europe be approaching a recession, | |
US To Build Billion Dollar Missile-Defense Radar In HawaiiAuthored by Frank Sellers via TheDuran.com, The senator from Hawaii said that his state aims to have “the most powerful combination of missile interceptors and radar systems anywhere.” A billion dollar anti-ballistic missile radar system is being planned for development in Hawaii in order to counter nuclear ICBM threats from somewhere. Even though, at the present moment, there aren’t any threatening postures from nations with ICBM tech, the need to spend 1$ billion on detecting and combating those ICBMs is apparently greater than ever before, at least according to some congressmen. RT reports
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Tariff Talk Has Slammed the IPO Window Shut for Car MakersLuxury 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 TimeBritain 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 StocksThe yuan’s decline is the latest blow for the sector’s heavily indebted companies, which have loaded up on dollar debt. | |
Encore: A small glimmer of hope in the Social Security report: Disability costs may be lower than projectedDespite decline in disability rolls, Trustees did not lower their assumptions | |
The Wall Street Journal: Visa, Mastercard near settlement over card-swipe feesVisa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. are close to settling a long-running antitrust lawsuit with merchants over the fees they pay when they accept card payments, according to people familiar with the matter. | |
PayPal, pioneer of checkout buttons, now wants to lessen the loadPayPal Holdings Inc. helped contribute to the cornucopia of checkout buttons available on online sites. Now the company says it’s going to do something to cut down on clutter. |
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