Written by Gary
US major future indexes are set to open lower (SPY -0.2%) on trade tensions ahead of long weekend. Gold rose overnight and WTI crude is trading in the 70 handle.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
What Is Moving the Markets
Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
CEO: Credit Suisse saw client activity drop since July – BBG TVCredit Suisse has seen a drop in client activity since the start of the third quarter, Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam told Bloomberg Television, as customers become cautious amidst escalating trade worries. | |
U.S., Canada slug it out as deadline looms to clinch NAFTACanada and the United States will make a final push to iron out differences on a pact to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on Friday, with Mexico on standby to return to talks aimed at ending a year of hard-fought negotiations. | |
Canada, U.S. may not reach NAFTA deal within deadline: Globe and MailCanada’s government officials have expressed concern that a final North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) pact will not be reached within the Friday deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump, the Globe and Mail reported, citing a source familiar with the matter. | |
Coca-Cola takes plunge into coffee with $5.1 billion Costa dealCoca-Cola Co has agreed to buy coffee chain Costa for $5.1 billion to extend its push into healthier drinks and take on the likes of Starbucks and Nestle in the booming global coffee market. | |
Global shares extend falls on Trump trade threatsGlobal stocks fell for a second day on Friday as a report that U.S. President Donald Trump was preparing to step up a trade war with Beijing dampened risk appetite and erased some of the gains made in a rally this week. | |
Predicting Trump: Chinese turn to fortune tellers to divine trade warAs analysts crunch trade data and political commentators dissect official statements for signs of how the Sino-American trade war will develop, some ordinary Chinese are using different sources to predict U.S. President Donald Trump’s next moves: fortune tellers. | |
Juncker pledges to boost auto tariffs if Trump reneges on agreementThe European Union will respond in kind if U.S. President Donald Trump reneges on his pledge not to impose car tariffs, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said as trade tensions between Europe and the United States rose again. | |
Exclusive: Third Point seeks to tap Campbell Soup board challengers – sourcesActivist investor Daniel Loeb’s hedge fund Third Point LLC is speaking to consumer industry executives as it seeks to fill a slate of nominees to challenge Campbell Soup Co’s board of directors, according to people familiar with the matter. | |
Limited engagement: Top funds backed gunmaker Ruger board despite no talksFunds run by BlackRock Inc and Vanguard Group backed all directors at gunmaker Sturm Ruger & Co Inc despite the company’s rare rejection of talks with the world’s top asset managers, disclosures to regulators on Thursday showed. | |
Gartman: “We’ve Tried Being Short Of Equities Before And It Proved Unwise”It has been a while since we checked in with our friend, momentum chaser extraordinaire Dennis Gartman, so with the S&P at 2,900, the Nasdaq at all time highs, and US traders blissfully ignoring the tempest that rages across the Emerging Markets, here is the punchline from the latest Gartman Letter:
Well, at least … | |
Loonie Slides As Canadian Officials Reportedly Doubt NAFTA Deal Will Get DoneDespite outwardly optimistic appearances from Canada’s Freeland, talks between Canadian and U.S. trade negotiators reportedly turned sour last night and Trudeau government officials are now expressing concern that a final NAFTA deal will not be concluded on Friday.
According to The Globe reports, USTR Lighthizer has refused to budge on eliminating Chapter 19 – which allows Ottawa to challenge punitive American tariffs on imports before binational panels – and refusing to keep current cultural protection provisions in a redrafted North America free-trade agreement. Ms. Freeland, who said on Thursday a deal is possible, had offered the Americans concessions on increased U.S. dairy exports to Canada U.S. and on intellectual property, but Mr. Lighthizer was unwilling to offer any concessions of his own on the two key Canadian demands. However, it’s not all ‘give’ from Canada, as they are reportedly holding the line on Buy American demands, telling the U.S. that it must have the same access to bid on U.S. govt contracts or will impose Buy Canadian provisions on U.S. firm. As The Globe reports so ominously: … | |
BOJ Bond Buying Tweak Sparks Fears Of Imminent TaperingOn Friday, the Bank of Japan tweaked its monthly government bond buying plan, sparking bond market fears that it may further reduce its massive bond buying, with the news pushing down the price of 10-year Japanese government bond futures as much as 10 ticks. The BOJ announced it would reduce the frequency of its buying in one to three, three to five, and five to 10-year bonds to five times in September from six times in August. At the same time, it increased the maximum amount of its buying in each operation in these maturities: it raised the upper buying limit for one- to three-year bonds and three- to five-year bonds to 400 billion and 450 billion yen from 300 and 350 billion yen, respectively according to Reuters. While the change seems technical on the surface – and may be calendar-driven as there are fewer business days in September when the BOJ can conduct its buying operations – traders have grown highly sensitive to any changes in the BOJ’s massive QE program amid growing uncertainty over how much longer it can sustain its current ultra-easy policy. The BOJ said it would conduct its first buying in the five to ten year zone on Thursday. As a reference, in August the BOJ bought 400 billion yen, the mid-point of its target buying amount, of 5 to 10-year maturities in each of its six scheduled operations, for a total of 2.4 trillion yen. Doing the math, assuming the BOJ sets its buying in September at 450 billion yen, also the midpoint of the new range, it would amount to monthly buying of 2.25 trillion yen, another indication the BOJ is engaged in not so stealth tapering. By the same logic, the BOJ’s buying in 3-5 year bonds will be reduced to 1.75 trillion yen from 1.8 trillion yen if the BOJ sets its buying at the middle of the range at 350 billion yen. Commenting on the shift, Mizuho’s Toru Suehiro told Bloomberg that the decrease in the frequency of the … | |
Rupiah Plunges To 1998 Asian Financial Crisis Low Amid Emerging Market LiquidationDespite four rate hikes by the Bank of Indonesia since May, the Indonesia’s rupiah slid to a two-decade low, falling to 14,750 per dollar, a level last hit during the Asian Financial Crisis of 1998, and just shy of an all time low, spurring yet another intervention from the central bank as the contagion from the collapse in Argentina and Turkey has turned the market’s attention on emerging markets with current account deficits. Indonesia’s benchmark bond yields rose 10 basis points to the highest level since 2016, while the Jakarta Composite Index slipped as much as 1.3%. The plunge took place despite a notice from the central bank that it was intervening in the foreign exchange and bond markets, according to Nanang Hendarsah, executive director for monetary management. As a reminder, after Argentina and Turkey, Indonesia is next to be hit on this chart from JPM we first showed at the start of June, which plotted countries with a current account deficit and rising external debt. | |
The Wall Street Journal: Trump to issue executive order on potential retirement-savings changesPresident Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order Friday directing the government to review rules requiring retirees to start taking annual withdrawals from retirement funds after they turn 70½ and to consider making it easier for small businesses to offer employees 401(k) plans. | |
Is Campbell Soup making a bad decision to sell its fresh food business?Investors may think so, given the more than 2% slide in the stock on Thursday, after the company announced a new strategic direction with plans to offload its troubled fresh food and international businesses to refocus on snacks and meals and beverages, including soup. | |
Need to Know: Here’s why Coca-Cola is muscling into the coffee-shop business in a big wayTo get through this last workday before the long weekend, Coke’s management just ordered up a big serving of coffee. Our call of the day explains why. |
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