30Aug2018 Pre-Market Commentary: A Mixed Day For Global Markets?

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are lower today with shares in London off the most. The FTSE 100 is down 0.69% while Germany’s DAX is off 0.63% and France’s CAC 40 is lower by 0.28%.

Campbell Soup to sell international and Fresh units

Campbell Soup Co said on Thursday it would sell its international businesses and Fresh refrigerated-foods unit, following a months-long strategic review and pressure from hedge fund investors to sell the whole company.

Nestle to cut fewer tech workers in Switzerland

Nestle has finalised plans for reorganizing its Swiss information technology (IT) setup, the food and beverage giant said on Thursday, reducing the number of tech worker jobs it will cut at its home base.

Stock market’s advance grinds to a halt on China concerns

Stock market gains came to a grinding halt on Thursday, held back by concern that China will be left behind as the United States reaches trade agreements with other North American countries and Europe.

U.S. closely following Danske Bank money laundering case: paper

U.S. authorities are closely following an investigation into Danske Bank over allegations that Denmark’s biggest lender had been involved in money laundering through its Estonian branch.

Activist Elliott argues Sky is worth over $34 billion, UK regulator says

Activist hedge fund Elliott believes Walt Disney’s deal to buy assets from Twenty-First Century Fox has valued Sky at more than $34 billion, higher than any of the current offers for the British broadcaster, Britain’s takeover regulator disclosed on Wednesday.

South African farmers play chicken with Trump tariffs

Herman Pretorius is just the kind of white South African farmer U.S. President Donald Trump expressed concern for when he barged into the country’s delicate land reform debate by ordering an investigation into the “large-scale killing of farmers”.

Trump and Trudeau upbeat about prospects for NAFTA deal by Friday

The leaders of the United States and Canada expressed optimism on Wednesday that they could reach new NAFTA deal by a Friday deadline as negotiators prepared to talk through the night, although Canada warned that a number of tricky issues remained.

Exclusive: Hyundai to ship China-made cars to Southeast Asia amid erratic sales recovery

Hyundai Motor Co plans to ship China-made cars to Southeast Asia, its China joint venture and two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, as a plunge in Chinese sales has left much of its massive local manufacturing capacity idled.

Pressures on Didi intensify after latest passenger killing

China’s largest ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing has suspended its carpooling service after a passenger was killed, and is likely to face tighter oversight that will squeeze driver numbers and extend customer waiting times.

Russian FM Lavrov Warns West “Don’t Obstruct Anti-terror Ops” As Idlib Assault “Hours Away”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Lavrov has warned the West not to interfere in Syrian and Russian forces engaged in antiterror actions in the northwest province of Idlib: “I hope our Western partners will not give in to [rebel] provocations and will not obstruct an antiterror operation,” he said.

This as Reuters reports that a planned “phased offensive” is imminent and as massive Syrian Army reinforcements and military convoys have been filmed this week heading toward the last major anti-Assad holdout.

Reuters reports based on Syrian pro-government allied sources:

The offensive would initially target southern and western parts of the insurgent territory, but not yet Idlib city, said the source, an official in the regional alliance backing Assad.

“The final touches for the first stage will be completed in the coming hours,” the official added, without saying when it would start.

War Of Words Erupts Between Jeff Bezos And Bernie Sanders

It may be time to set aside the long-running Trump-Bezos feud: a new war of words has erupted involving the world’s richest person, and this time his adversary is none other than the polar ideological opposite of President Trump – socialist Bernie Sanders.

On Wednesday, Amazon finally had enough of sitting quietly on the receiving end of a constant stream of criticisms and slammed accusations by Sen. Bernie Sanders, saying his repeated claims of poor worker conditions in its fulfillment centers are “inaccurate and misleading.”

“We have been in regular contact with his office and have offered several opportunities for Senator Sanders and his team to tour one of our fulfillment centers,” the company said in a blog post Wednesday. “To date he has still not seen an FC for himself.”

Why Americans Can’t Understand The Middle East

Authored by Marco Carnelos via Middle Easat Eye,

A recent editorial in the Washington Post, written by columnist David Ignatius, offers a shining example of the United States’ difficulty in understanding today’s world and, most of all, the Arab world.

Ignatius conveys a genuine concern for “The Unintended Consequences of US Disengagement in the Middle East”, quoting worried comments made by a member of the Arab elite allied with the US.

The journalist expresses uneasiness about the fact that “American power and values won’t matter the way they once did”. His position is steeped in the typical intellectual milieu of American exceptionalism, a position based on the hardwired assumption that the condition for an ideal existence and a stable world order are ensured only when American power and values are strong and shared.

Is China Losing Control? Yuan More Volatile Than Euro For First Time Ever

For the first time, FX traders are grappling with wilder swings from China than Europe.

As Bloomberg notes, the offshore yuan has been more volatile than the euro all month after first overtaking the shared currency in July, according to 30-day realized data. And while euro uncertainty remains relatively bracketed between 6 and 8 for the last two years, yuan volatility has soared from 2 to almost 9 – the highest since 2015’s devaluation.

Infographic Of The Day: An Introduction To Market Volatility

Today’s infographic serves as an introduction to the concept of volatility, along with offering a perspective on volatility’s impact on investments.

Early Headlines: Asia Stocks Mixed, Dollar Flat, Oil Up, Gold Down, Carbon-Free Calif, Fracking H2O Problem, Trump Vs CNN And Google, China Hacked Hillary?, India Rupee All-Time Low, Canada Deal By Friday, And More

Written by Econintersect

Early Bird Headlines 30 Aug 2018

Econintersect: Here are some of the headlines we found to help you start your day. For more headlines see our afternoon feature for GEI members, What We Read Today, published Monday, Wednesday and Friday, which has many more headlines and a number of article discussions to keep you abreast of what we have found interesting.

Capitol Report: Here’s what to blame for the deteriorating trade deficit

If you want to know who to blame for a widening trade deficit, look in the mirror.

The New York Post: Trump touts ‘fantastic job’ on Puerto Rico hurricane response, despite nearly 3,000 deaths

President Trump said Wednesday he believes his administration “did a fantastic job” responding to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico — a day after the island’s governor raised the disaster’s death toll from 64 to 2,975.

Currencies: After EU’s Brexit olive branch, some fear sterling optimism may get ‘washed away’

The dollar is edging up against its main rivals Thursday, advancing in particular versus the British pound as analysts sound more skeptical about an olive branch offered by the European Union’s top Brexit negotiator.