20Aug2018 Midday Update: Wall Street Mixed, Dow, SP 500 Higher On Trade Talk Optimism, Nasdaq Slips On Tech Weakness, WTI Crude Trending Up As The Dollar Index Slips

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

North and South American markets are mixed today. The IPC is up 0.76% while the S&P 500 gains 0.26%. The Bovespa is off 0.17%.

Dow, S&P higher on trade talk optimism, Nasdaq slips on tech weakness

The S&P 500 and Dow Industrials rose on Monday on optimism around the upcoming Sino-U.S. trade talks, but the Nasdaq fell as technology stocks retreated.

PepsiCo puts fizz into healthy drinks with $3.2 billion SodaStream deal

PepsiCo will buy carbonated drink-machine maker SodaStream for $3.2 billion as it battles Coca-Cola for an edge in the health-conscious beverage market.

Cautious optimism for U.S.-China trade talks lifts shares

A gauge of global equity markets rose on Monday on hopes the U.S.-China trade dispute will cool at talks this week, while Turkey’s lira fell anew after cuts to the country’s credit ratings and shots were fired outside the U.S. Embassy in Ankara.

With record in view, aging U.S. bull market may still be frisky

Why settle for nine-and-a-half years when you can do an even 10 or better? That’s the thinking of a lot of investors measuring whether a historically long run in U.S. stocks still has legs.

Exclusive: Standard Chartered sells principal finance business to Actis and ICG

Standard Chartered is in talks to sell its private equity business to Intermediate Capital Group (ICG), a source with direct knowledge of the deal said on Monday, as part of a broader disposal of its ‘principal finance’ investment business.

Linde, Praxair get EU approval for $82 billion deal, await U.S. decision

German industrial gases group Linde and U.S. rival Praxair secured conditional EU antitrust approval on Monday for their $82 billion merger but still have to clear a major hurdle with U.S. enforcers.

Tesla nears three-month low as JPMorgan adds to deal doubts

Tesla Inc shares fell nearly 4 percent on Monday as a $113 cut in JPMorgan Chase’s price target for the electric carmaker added to growing doubts among market players about a plan to take the company private.

U.S. firms warn next China tariffs to cost Americans from cradle to grave

A broad cross-section of U.S. businesses has a message for the Trump administration: new tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports will force Americans to pay more for items they use throughout their daily lives, from cradles to coffins.

Bull market beliefs: Stock experts differ on market cycles

As Wall Street prepares on Wednesday to celebrate the current U.S. bull stock market becoming the longest in history, some investors are keeping corks in their champagne bottles.

Trump Complained About Fed’s Rate Hikes, Expected Powell To Be “Cheap-Money” Fed Chair

One month after Trump first ventured into territory few presidents have dared to go before, when he told CNBC in an interview that he was “not thrilled” about the Fed raising rates, and noted that the strong dollar is disadvantageous, moments ago Bloomberg reported that during a Hamptons fundraiser with wealthy Republican donors, Trump said he expected Jerome Powell to be a cheap-money Fed chairman and lamented that his nominee instead raised interest rates, according to three people present.

Bloomberg adds that about 60 people attended Trump’s fundraiser at the Southampton home of Howard Lorber, the chairman of hot dog company Nathan’s Famous. Guests included Chicago Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts; John Catsimatidis Jr., the son of Red Apple Group Chairman John Catsimatidis; Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel; Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross; Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin; White House Chief of Staff John Kelly; and senior White House aides Jared Kushner and Dan Scavino.

Trump held a discussion with a small group and then made remarks to a larger group over a dinner of salad with chicken in a tent in Lorber’s yard. It was a humid night and Trump joked that Lorber could have afforded better air conditioning, according to one of the people.

While Trump has publicly complained about the central bank’s recent rate increases – most recently to CNBC in mid-July -his private remarks to donors are the most personal criticism of Powell’s performance to emerge so far according to Bloomberg.

Despite Trump’s recurring complaints, the Fed continues on its course to further tighten policy; with core CPI now running at a “hot” 2.4% and set to increase as a result of tariff-induced price increases, it may have to hike more than the market expec …

“Keep An Eye On Gold” – Trader Sees Market Screaming “Gimme A Break Already”

Markets are screaming “gimme a break already,” according to former fund manager and FX trader Richard Breslow, who notes that with Turkey on an extended summer holiday and Chinese equities getting a late-day boost from their friends, there has been little appetite for angst.

Breslow suggests “we should try it on for size and enjoy it while it lasts.”

Via Bloomberg,

It has been a very interesting start to a week that should be dead. It feels alive and well. In a world with so much ugliness and boorish behavior it would seem that traders have started the week open to, perhaps needing, things to be calmer and more civilized. I guess no news is good news when the alternative is to be surrounded by loose cannons.

Later this week we will get the minutes from the last FOMC and ECB meetings. And of course, at the end of the week there is Jackson Hole. There is, and will be, no shortage of speculation about what will be said. Or the issues analysts would like to see addressed. The authorities would serve themselves and everyone else best by saying as little as possible. Given the clear messages we got after the recent meetings and the lack of …

Trump Slams Spygate Operative Bruce Ohr; Says Twice-Demoted DOJ Official Should Be Fired

President Trump on Monday called for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to fire Bruce Ohr, the DOJ official who was demoted twice after he lied about his involvement with opposition research firm Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson – and had “extensive” 2016 contacts with Christopher Steele, a Fusion GPS contractor who assembled the salacious and unverified “Steele Dossier” using Kremlin sources.

Ohr’s CIA-linked wife, Nellie, was also employed by Fusion as part of the firm’s anti-Trump efforts, and had ongoing communications with the ex-UK spy, Christopher Steele as well.

In a Monday tweet, Trump asked: “Will Bruce Ohr, whose family received big money for helping to create the phony, dirty and discredited Dossier, ever be fired from the Jeff Sessions ‘Justice’ Department? A total joke!”

Will Bruce Ohr, whose family received bi …

The “Weakest” EIA Report In Years

Authored by Nick Cunningham via Oilprice.com,

The EIA just published one of the “weakest” weekly oil reports in years, which suggests troubled waters ahead for the global oil market.

The timing of the report is not ideal, coming amidst a currency crisis in Turkey, which has raised fears of financial contagion in other emerging markets. The strength of the dollar is putting a long list of currencies under pressure, vexing policymakers around the world. Some countries, such as Argentina, are aggressively hiking interest rates to defend their currencies (although the peso continues to fall). Others, such as Turkey, are resisting any rate hikes at all, which is clearly not a solution to capital flight and a sharp devaluation.

It is too early to tell whether or not the sudden crisis will be confined to Turkey or if it will mushroom into an emerging market conflagration that sends emerging markets – and perhaps even the global economy as a whole – into a tailspin.

These currency troubles could severely undercut global oil demand. Not only are crude oil prices close t …

Indian Markets Look Headed for Further Extremes

The country’s stock market is close to all-time highs, while its currency is at all-time lows versus the dollar.

Need to Know: Call of the day: A ‘Lehman-like episode’ could usher in ‘epic economic crisis’

George Will’s colorful prediction of a looming fiscal crisis stirred up plenty of buzz over the weekend.

Tesla stock battered afresh as JP Morgan joins deal doubters

Tesla Inc. shares slide 3.4% to extend their recent losses, after JP Morgan slashes its stock price target to $195 from $308, putting it back where it stood on Aug. 8, before Chief Executive Elon Musk’s now famous going-private tweet.

The Dow is on the verge of busting out of correction phase for the 1st time in 6 months

The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Monday is on the brink of bursting out of correction territory for the first time in more than six months, underscoring some signs of renewed optimism on Wall Street.