15Aug2018 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street Futures Slide, DOW To Open Down Over 150 Points, Dollar Rises, Lira Crisis Keep Investors Cautious, Turkey Shoots Itself In The Foot With Steep Tariffs

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are broadly lower today with shares in France off the most. The CAC 40 is down 1.15% while London’s FTSE 100 is off 1.12% and Germany’s DAX is lower by 0.98%.

Macy’s posts surprise same-store sales growth

Macy’s Inc on Wednesday reported a surprise rise in quarterly same-store sales, topping estimates for the third straight quarter, boosted by strong performance across its businesses.

Brazil may probe Google over its cell phone system: report

Brazil’s antitrust watchdog Cade is considering opening an investigation into Google over alleged abuses in its cell phone operating system, the president of the agency said in an interview published on Wednesday in newspaper Valor Economico.

From blue lipstick to Facebook Live, home shopping networks refine their pitch

The Home Shopping Network is getting an image makeover.

Turkey doubles tariffs on some U.S. imports; lira rallies

Turkey doubled tariffs on some U.S. imports including alcohol, cars and tobacco on Wednesday in retaliation for U.S. moves, but the lira rallied further after central bank’s liquidity moves had the effect of supporting the currency.

Futures dip as Turkey, trade tensions weigh

U.S. stock index futures dropped on Wednesday, with investors weighing the impact of Turkey’s currency crisis as well as the escalating tariff tensions between the United States and its trading partners.

Blackstone invests $400 million in HEC Pharm via convertible bonds

U.S. private equity firm Blackstone Group LP has signed a deal to invest $400 million in Hong Kong-listed YiChang HEC ChangJiang Pharmaceutical Co. via convertible bonds, HEC said Wednesday.

Corona maker invests $4 billion more in pot producer Canopy

Constellation Brands Inc said on Wednesday it would invest $4 billion (C$5.24 billion) more in Canopy Growth Corp , raising its stake in the Canadian marijuana producer to 38 percent.

Turkey’s doubling tariffs on U.S. products will amount to $533 million, trade minister says

Turkish trade minister Ruhsar Pekcan says the doubling of customs tarrifs on some imported U.S. products would amount to $533 million, the state run Anadolu news agency reported.

PwC failed to flag BHS risks ahead of retailer’s collapse: regulator

PwC should have flagged significant doubts over the future of BHS in an audit that was completed just days before the loss-making UK retailer was sold for a token one pound in 2015, ahead of its collapse a year later, a regulator said on Wednesday.

Tesla’s Board Throws Elon Musk Under The Bus

One of the key questions to emerge from Elon Musk’s going private “funding secured” fiasco, is where was the board before, during and after the series of torrid tweets sent out by the Tesla CEO in the past two weeks. In an overnight NYT article, we finally get a fairly clear picture of what was going on through the heads of the company’s board of directors, and it’s not pretty.

While we urge readers to skim the full piece here, below are some of the key soundbites in what appears to be the first step in the board throwing Musk under the bus as defense against a potentially destructive SEC probe that could have vast implications not only for the CEO, but the company in general.

First, it appears that a big rift has emerged between Musk and the Board, to wit: “Members of Tesla’s board are scrambling to control a chief executive who some directors think is out of control.”

The key issue: the same one that was brought up by a key Tesla investor over a month ago, with no success: getting Musk to shut up.

In recent days, according to people familiar with the matter, some of his fellow board members delivered a stern message: Stop tweeting.

Mr. Musk hasn’t heeded that advice. He has continued to post messages on Twitter, publicly plotting the company’s strategy and in some cases making assertions of dubious accuracy. That has only added to the chaos engulfing the struggling company.

But more concerning for Musk is that the Board, which previously endorsed Musk’s confusing narrative of events with a brief statement that effectively confirmed what we now know never happened, namely that the funding was never “s …

Futures Slide As Dollar Surges; Tencent, Yuan, Chinese Stocks Tumble

On any other day, today’s surge in the Turkish Lira would have been sufficient to prompt a sharp rebound in global risk and euphoria across emerging markets as “the Turkey contagion was contained.” But not today, for a few main reasons: first, the spike in the Lira was due not to improving fundamentals but as a result of another soft capital control: the local banking regulator announced that the total amount of foreign currency and lira swap and swap-like transactions can’t exceed 25% of banks’ legal shareholder equity (which followed a similar determination at 50% just two days earlier). The logic behind the move, taken straight out of the PBOC’s playbook: to “kill offshore lira liquidity to stop foreigners shorting the lira” as Blue Bay’s Timothy Ash noted.

And while the crackdown on shorts worked initially, sending the USDTRY sliding as much as 7% below 6.00, traders are aware that these moves have at beast a very short term impact, and a resumption in the Lira’s slide is virtually assured, especially after a Turkish judge rejected a release request from US pastor Brunson while Erdogan announced new tariffs on US imports, guaranteein …

London Parliament Terrorist Attack Suspect Named As Salih Khater

The suspect arrested on suspicion of carrying out a terrorist attack at the UK Parliament on Tuesday has been named as Salih Khater, Sky News reported. It is believed the 29-year-old is a British citizen of Sudanese origin, and remains in police custody after his arrest on suspicion of preparing an act of terror.

Westminster attack suspect Salih Khater

A Facebook page for a man of the same name says he lives in Birmingham, works as a shop manager, and has studied at Sudan University of Science and Technology.

Khater has been arrested on suspicion of ramming a car into pedestrians and cyclists before crashing into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament. The suspect is being held in custody in south London, and is said to be not cooperating with police. Scotland Yard’s head of counter-terrorism Neil Basu said no other suspects have been identified.

Police have been searching addresses in the Midlands after a car smashed into barriers near Parliament on Tuesday morning. Officers revealed the driver travelled from Birmingham to London on Monday night and arrived in the capital just after midnig …

Lira Surges After Turkey Crushes Shorts, Imposes New US Sanctions, Denies Brunson Appeal For Release

In a day in which the dollar set new highs against all emerging market pairs and global risk was on the defensive, the Turkish Lira bucked the trend and extended its rapid rebound from record lows, after Turkish regulators imposed new “soft capital controls” to prop up the battered currency, making it even harder for banks to short the currency through the swap market.

One day after Turkey suspended mark-to-market for banks in a bid to offset fears about debt rollover and capital shortfalls, the Ankara-based Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) announced that the total amount of foreign currency and lira swap and swap-like transactions can’t exceed 25% of banks’ legal shareholder equity; the announcement came just 48 hours after a 50% was imposed on Monday, which however failed to make much of a dent in the selloff.

The latest move limits funds’ access to lira liquidity in the offshore swap market and makes it harder for them to borrow the currency from local lenders and short it. The rate on overnight dollar-lira swaps surged more than 12% points to 34.5%, the highest level since 2003.

“They are killing offshore lira liquidity to stop foreigners shorting the lira,” said Timothy Ash, a strategist at BlueBay Asset …

Why Turkey’s Trials Are Rippling Into Europe

Emerging-market currencies aren’t the only ones affected by Turkey’s crisis, the euro is too.

Economic Report: Empire State index climbs 3 points to 25.6 in August

The Empire State Manufacturing index climbed 3 points to 25.6 in August, the New York Fed said Wednesday.

CryptoWatch: The cryptocurrency market has shed more than $600 billion from its peak — what exactly happened?

The cryptocurrency market is in the midst of one of its biggest drawdowns ever and even the staunchest crypto bulls have to be wondering when it’s going to end.

The Wall Street Journal: WhatsApp co-founder is staying at Facebook to reap stock awards worth $450 milllion

After WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum announced he was leaving Facebook Inc. in late April, he has continued showing up at least monthly at the social-media giant’s headquarters.in Menlo Park, Calif.