Written by Gary
US major equity markets rose moderately this morning (SPY +0.6%) after Powell expressed no surprises in a key speech. Crude prices surged on signs Iran sanctions may constrain worldwide supply.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
 | North and South American markets are mixed today. The Bovespa is up 0.77% while the S&P 500 gains 0.64%. The IPC is off 0.01%. |
What Is Moving the Markets
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
| Papa John’s taps investment banks amid pressure from founder: sourcesPapa John’s International Inc , the world’s third-largest pizza delivery company, has hired Bank of America Corp and Lazard Ltd to help find ways to stabilize the restaurant chain, which has come under pressure from its founder John Schnatter, people familiar with the matter said on Friday. |
| UK auditors, watchdog to discuss curbs on Big Four market shareBritain’s top accountants will meet with competition regulators next week to discuss limiting the “Big Four” auditors’ market share after lawmakers called for them to be broken up. |
| As big firms get bigger, rate cuts may pack less punch: studyLow interest rates may do less to boost business spending in today’s economy than in years past because the big companies that now dominate many industries tend to use their money on intangibles that do not get cheaper as borrowing costs fall. |
| Global stocks rally after Powell speech, oil prices surgeGlobal equity market rose on Friday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell expressed no surprises in a key speech outlining a steady course for monetary policy, while oil prices surged on signs Iran sanctions may constrain worldwide supply. |
| Gap shares tumble as flagship brand shows no sign of recoveryShares of Gap Inc fell 8 pct in premarket trading on Friday, a day after the company’s namesake brand posted another bigger-than-expected drop in comparable sales, raising concerns around the unit’s turnaround plan. |
| Cigna, Express Scripts shareholders approve $52 billion dealCigna Corp shareholders on Friday voted in favor of the health insurer’s proposed $52 billion acquisition of pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts Holding Co , although the deal still needs clearance from antitrust authorities. |
| Fed chief Powell defends policy of gradual rate hikesFederal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Friday defended the U.S. central bank’s push to raise interest rates as healthy for the economy and signaled more hikes were coming despite President Donald Trump’s criticism of higher borrowing costs. |
| Fed’s Powell: more rate hikes likely if economy stays strongThe Federal Reserve’s steady interest rate hikes are the best way to protect the U.S. economic recovery and keep job growth as strong as possible and inflation under control, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Friday in a high-profile endorsement of the central bank’s current approach to policy. |
| S&P, Nasdaq hit record as Powell stays on rate-hike courseThe benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit all-time highs on Friday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank’s current approach to interest rate hikes were the best way to protect the U.S. economic recovery. |
| Extreme Flash Floods Hit Hawaii As Dangerous Hurricane Lane Could Dump “30-40 Inches Of Rain”Dangerous Hurricane Lane is moving toward the main Hawaiian islands as a powerful Category 3 storm Friday. The hurricane could hit the isolated volcanic archipelago in the Central Pacific within 24 hours, and unleash torrential rain that may produce destructive flash floods and landslides over much of the island chain, along with coastal flooding, and high winds through Saturday.
This threat of extreme flooding could occur across most of the island chain was summed up succinctly by The Weather Channel hurricane expert Dr. Rick Knabb in a tweet late Thursday night.
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| Time For Sessions To Leave, Senior Senate Leaders SayAuthored by Sara Carter, As President Donald Trump’s relationship with Attorney General Jeff Sessions continues to deteriorate, several key Republican Senators announced Thursday that they would support the president if he chooses to replace Sessions. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), both long-time colleagues of Sessions, told reporters Thursday that although Sessions has served the Justice Department with distinction, his lack of faith in the president and vice versa, has now become a distraction to the administration.
Graham, who spoke to SaraACarter.com on Thursday afternoon, noted that Sessions has served with distinction but Trump has the right to replace him as the relationship between the two is in disrepair.
“I think this president, like every other president, has the right to pick cabinet members that he feels comfortable with, as long as they are qualified and competent. To suggest that President Trump is stuck with one attorney general for his eight years, … |
| Ex-CDC Head Tom Frieden Arrested, Charged With Forcible Touching, Sex Abuse And HarassmentThe former head of the Centers for Disease Control, Tom Frieden, has been arrested over allegations of “forcible touching, sex abuse and harassment,” reports CNBC. Frieden headed the CDC between 2009 and 2017, resigning the day of President Trump’s inauguration.
According to New York’s Pix 11, the married father of two “is accused of grabbing a woman’s buttocks near Montague and Clinton streets in Brooklyn Heights in October of last year, sources said.” ABC 7 reports it happened in Frieden’s home, and that the woman reported the incident in July. Frieden turned himself in to special victims in Brooklyn … |
| EU Meeting Ends With No Deal On Migrant RedistributionItaly and other EU member states couldn’t find a solution at a meeting in Brussels on how to share the burden over migrant redistribution coming by sea, nor what to do with the 177 migrants currently stranded on a ship that is docked in an Italian port. Ten European Union states meeting over their latest migration tussle in Brussels on Friday found no solution for disembarking Mediterranean migrants stranded on the Ubaldo Diciotti ship which is docked in the Sicilian port of Catania, diplomats confirmed to Reuters. As a reminder, yesterday Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio threatened to stop financial contributions to the European Union next year unless other states agreed to take in migrants being held on a coastguard ship in Sicily. “Italy was pressing to come up with a solution for Diciotti,” one diplomat said. “But it was not the most important element for the others, they wanted to talk more about structural solutions for the Mediterranean ships.” “So there has not been a deal on Diciotti.” After the meeting, the exasperated Italian PM Conte said the EU has “lost an opportunity” to show solidarity and responsibility by failing to offer a solution on the migrant ship. |
| H&M May Never Catch UpThe world’s second-largest fashion chain by sales has fallen behind as consumers have moved online. Despite a big decline, the stock hasn’t priced in the new reality. |
| Videogames’ Epic Shootout Coming This FallThis fall the industry will launch a series of major first-person shooters, while “Fortnite” is poised to begin a new season. That may prove to be a bit too much action for some game publishers. |
| Smucker Needs to Fix Peanut Butter and JellyFood company Smucker has made smart moves to adjust its portfolio, but without boosting its core brands the stock will keep struggling. |
| This is how much money you need to make to afford rent in every stateThe rule of thumb on how much a person should budget for rent is 25% to 30% of monthly income. But due to inflation in property values and surging demand, affordable housing is increasingly becoming a pipe dream in some states. |
| Hurricane Lane downgraded to Category 2 storm, but still a dangerHawaii’s Big island already has had 30 inches of rain from the storm, now a Category 2 hurricane. |
| These for-profit college students hope for debt relief as a debate about their loans rages in WashingtonBetsy DeVos’s Department of Education has proposed controversial rules to loosen restrictions on for-profit colleges. |
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