Written by Gary
US stocks posted strong gains today (SPY +0.8%), with the benchmark SP 500 and the Nasdaq hitting all-time highs, as the US and Mexico reached a deal to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
 | North and South American markets are broadly higher today with shares in Brazil leading the region. The Bovespa is up 1.61% while Mexico’s IPC is up 1.24% and U.S.’s S&P 500 is up 0.80%. |
What Is Moving the Markets
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
| U.S., Mexico reach NAFTA deal; talks with Canada to start immediatelyThe United States and Mexico reached a deal on Monday to change the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and talks with Canada were expected to begin immediately, U.S. President Donald Trump said. |
| Aegon, Transamerica in $97.6 million SEC settlement for misleading investorsFour Transamerica entities will pay $97.6 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges that they sold investments that were supposedly based on quantitative models but which did not work as intended, the regulator said on Monday. |
| Mexico president repeats he hopes Canada will return to NAFTA talksMexican President Enrique Pena Nieto reiterated he wanted Canada to return to talks with Mexico and the United States in order to reach a trilateral deal in the revamp of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) after he talked with U.S. President Donald Trump by telephone. |
| Legg Mason to pay $34 million to resolve charges relating to bribery scheme: SECThe U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Monday that Legg Mason will pay more than $34 million to resolve a charge it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in bribing Libyan officials to secure investments. |
| Wall Street rallies as U.S.-Mexico reach trade dealU.S. stocks posted strong gains on Monday, with the benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hitting all-time highs, as the United States and Mexico reached a deal to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. |
| U.S. and Mexico reach trade agreement, discuss bringing in CanadaMexican President Enrique Pena Nieto told U.S. President Donald Trump in a phone call on Monday that his country wants to incorporate Canada into a newly-struck trade deal amid renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. |
| Exclusive: Saudi king tipped the scale against Aramco IPO plansThe king spoke, and a $2 trillion dream went up in smoke. |
| Canada says will continue to work for new NAFTA dealCanada is encouraged by the continued optimism shown by its NAFTA partners and will continue to negotiate for a deal, but will only sign a new agreement that is good for Canada, a spokesman for Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Monday. |
| Mexico’s President says to speak with Trump on NAFTA advancesMexico’s President Enrique Pena Nieto said on Twitter on Monday that he will speak with U.S. President Donald Trump shortly on advances made in the renegotiation of the NAFTA trade deal so that Canada can rejoin trilateral talks. |
| Stocks Just Wanna Go Up; Trader Suggests “Avoid Discussing Why, How Far, Or Whether It’s Right”It’s quickly coming to the end of summer, the U.K. is shuttered for a bank holiday and volumes are reportedly pitiful.
It would be difficult to take anyone to task for writing today off as just another day to get through. And then we’ll see where things adjust. It doesn’t bolster the ‘get in there and trade up a storm’ camp, that a week from today it’s the turn of U.S. markets to enjoy a long weekend. But, as former fund manager and FX trader, Richard Breslow notes, at the risk of making more of things than they deserve, there are still things to be learned by this price action. Such as it is. Via Bloomberg, Equities simply want to go up. If you want to trade them, try to avoid getting into debates about why, how far, or is it right. It’s just proven too difficult to sort out the conflicting fundamentals. Someone said to me on Friday that it all boils down to supply and demand. And that struck me as a very good way of thinking about it. It’s become a technical trade and should be treated as such. Pick your levels and go from there. |
| World Bank, CBA Launches First ‘Bondi’ Blockchain-Backed BondAuthored by Marie Huillet via CoinTelegraph, The World Bank and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the country’s largest bank, have issued a public bond exclusively through blockchain technology, Reuters reports August 23. The World’s Bank official mandate for the project was first unveiled August 10. |
| Europe Is Working On Alternative To SWIFT For “Financial Independence” From The USIn the aftermath of a report that Germany was working on a global payment system that is independent of the US and SWIFT, on Monday Germany and France said they’re working on financing solutions to sidestep U.S. sanctions against countries such as Iran, including a possible role for central banks, Bloomberg reported. “With Germany, we are determined to work on an independent European or Franco-German financing tool which would allow us to avoid being the collateral victims of U.S. extra-territorial sanctions,” French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said Monday during a meeting with press association AJEF. “I want Europe to be a sovereign continent not a vassal, and that means having totally independent financing instruments that do not today exist.”
After the US reimposed sanctions on Iran, making funding to Iran projects virtually impossible, European companies including Daimler and Total halted activity or backtracked on investment plans to avoid U.S. punishment, but France and Germany and their European Union partners want business with the Islamic Republic to continue. Le Maire said using the European Investment Bank, which has exposure to the U.S., as a “financial channel” would be “very complicated” and that the French and German governments are talking to their respective central banks about their involvement. “If we want to build a truly independent instrument we must open up all the options,� … |
| Trump Announces US-Mexico Trade Agreement As He Terminates NAFTA; Canada Left OutIn a hastily arranged Oval Office conference with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto joining by speakerphone Trump announced that he is terminating NAFTA as it now stands and entering a different deal with Mexico, and possibly Canada if they want to negotiate “fairly.” If not, Trump will slam tariffs on Canada’s cars.
During the conference, Trump said that: “They used to call it NAFTA, we’re going to call it the ‘United States Mexico Trade Agreement.’ We’ll get rid of the name NAFTA.” So it’s the USMTA from now on, with a possible expansion to include Canada. A key provision of the new deal is an increase in the mandated locally-sourced auto content from 62.5% to 75%, and that 40% to 45% of auto content would be made by workers earning average base wage of $16/hour.
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| Regional Banks Still Need a Lending BoostA promising rebound in loan growth now appears to be fading. That could become an issue, especially for small and midsize lenders. |
| Why No One Can Catch NetflixStreaming service is so far ahead of the competition and knows how to please its customers so well that it will be very hard to dislodge. |
| App Tax a Hard One to BeatApple and Google’s app store commissions form a lucrative revenue stream that most app developers can’t sidestep in the way Netflix is attempting. That could spur regulators to take a closer look. |
| Key Words: Tiger Woods doesn’t take the bait when asked about his relationship with TrumpTiger Woods has always been one of the most vanilla interviews in sports. He’ll give plenty of insight into his game, talk about that birdie on the 8th hole, how true the putts are rolling, but that’s really about it. He rarely veers off course by offering the public a glimpse into his tumultuous personal life. His interview on Sunday was more of the same. |
| The Wall Street Journal: Trump announces U.S.-Mexico trade deal and says talks with Canada will resume soonPresident Donald Trump on Monday announced his administration had reached a deal with Mexico on issues that have held up renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement for over a year. |
| Europe Markets: European stocks jump on U.S.-Mexico trade deal; Metro surges on signs of a shake-upGermany’s Ifo business-confidence reading comes in stronger than expected. |
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