12Sep2018 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street Stock Futures Flat As Trade Conflicts Continue To Fester, Oil Prices Extend Gains On Supply Concerns, Apple Event In Focus

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are higher today with shares in France leading the region. The CAC 40 is up 0.63% while London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.21% and Germany’s DAX is up 0.20%.

U.S. producer prices post first drop in one-and-half years

U.S. producer prices unexpectedly fell in August, recording their first drop in 1-1/2 years, as declines in the prices of food and a range of trade services offset an increase in the cost of energy products.

FedEx plans six days per week, hire 55,000 workers for holiday season

FedEx Corp will expand its U.S. ground operations to six days per week to cater to the growing e-commerce demand and expected record volumes during the holiday season, the U.S. package delivery company said on Wednesday.

Striking Ryanair crews ground flights in Germany

Pilots and cabin crew at Ryanair in Germany staged a full-day walkout on Wednesday and threatened further strikes to put pressure on management in labor talks with Europe’s biggest low-cost carrier.

As Trump embraces more tariffs, U.S. business readies public fight

After months of waging a behind-the-scenes war against President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs that have escalated far beyond what business groups once imagined, more than 60 U.S. industry groups are launching a coalition on Wednesday to take the fight public.

Stocks struggle near three-week lows but no respite for emerging markets

Fresh sparring between Washington and Beijing over trade kept up pressure on world markets on Wednesday, with equities struggling and emerging currencies mostly weaker, led by the Indian rupee hitting a record low.

Futures flat as trade worries linger; Apple event in focus

U.S. stock index futures were flat early on Wednesday, held back by worries over the Sino-U.S. trade war, while Apple shares moved higher ahead of the expected launch of new iPhone models.

Oil nears $80 a barrel as concern grows over global supply

Oil cut earlier losses and rose towards its highest level this year on Wednesday, after a drop in U.S. crude inventories and as the prospect of the loss of Iranian supply added to concerns over the delicate balance between consumption and production.

New York overtakes London as top financial center; Brexit blamed

New York has overtaken London as the world’s most attractive financial center, a survey said on Wednesday, as Britain’s decision to leave the European Union prompts banks to shift jobs out of the city to preserve access to Europe’s single market.

German consumer body to file VW class action suit over diesel tests

Volkswagen will face another class action lawsuit over its rigging of diesel emissions tests, this time at home when Germany introduces a new law in November.

ECB To Cut Euro Area Growth Outlook In Latest Global Slowdown Warning

One week ago, Bank of America’s CIO Michael Hartnett predicted that Europe will be the “missing link” for the emerging market crisis to spread to the rest of the developed world and “morph into a global deleveraging event.”

But where would the crack appear: after all, until recently European economic data had been surprisingly strong… if not so much in the past few days, because after emerging into the green, the Citi Eurozone economic surprise index appears to have rolled over, and returned back into negative territory.

“He Was Screaming ‘F-ck Trump’: Republican Candidate Nearly Stabbed By Deranged Democrat

Episodes of threats and violence perpetuated by angry leftists furious about President Trump’s agenda and policies, are becoming increasingly common in the US, particularly after a deranged Bernie Sanders supporter nearly killed majority whip Steve Scalise after opening fire on a practice session for the Congressional baseball game.

Another incident unfolded on Tuesday in northern California, where a 35-year-old man was arrested for whipping out a switchblade and attempting to stab Republican Congressional candidate Rudy Peters while the candidate was working a booth at the Castro Valley Fall Festival.

Rudy Peters

The man, who was later identified as Farzad Vincent Fazeli, was arrested and charged with one felony count of making criminal threats and a misdemeanor count of exhibiting a deadly weapon. According to media reports, Fazeli approached Peters unprovoked and started shouting “fuck Trump” and other “disparaging profanities” about the Republican Party. Fazeli th …

Italian Stocks, Bonds Slide On Report Of Five-Star Ultimatum Seeking FinMin Removal

Following a week of what appeared to be harmonious agreement between top Italian government officials, its finance minister and Europe over the controversial topic of Italy’s budget deficit which somehow has to remain under 3% of GDP even as it made exorbitant promises to the population, including the very expensive vow of “citizen income”, moments ago Italian bond yields spike and stocks tumbled to three day lows, following a report in Italy’s Ansa that the coalition member Five Star will be asking for 10BN to be set aside in the budget for its citizen-income proposal, or else the party will ask for Finance Minister Giovanni Tria’s resignation

While the fact that Di Maio is seeking to boost income-supporting measures is note exactly news, media reports on Tuesday had suggested they were seeking 5BN so in the span of one day the number doubled; meanwhile, tying the demand to the centrist Tria’s resignation is clearly news to the market.

In immediate response, Italy 2Y yields spiked, while the 10Y spread to Germany widened 9bps from tightest level to 255bps.

In similar risk off kneejerk response, the Italian FTSE MIB index dropped nearly 300 points, or 1%, before trimming some losses, and was trading down over 0.5% lower as the Italian b …

OPEC Warns Of Slowing Oil Demand Amid Growing Risks To Global Economy

Amid fears of global oil supply disruption and production curbs, in its latest monthly report, OPEC expects global oil supplies to remain stable, while cautioning that demand is becoming a growing concern.

In the latest report, OPEC said that preliminary data suggested that the global oil supply increased 490,000 barrels a day to average 98.9 mb/d in August, compared with the previous month.

OPEC projects that in 2018, non-OPEC oil supply will grow by 2.02 mmb/d despite making a downward revision of 64,000 b/d from its last report. In 2019, non-OPEC oil supply is expected to grow by another 2.15 mb/d, an upward revision of 17,000 b/d. Meanwhile, OPEC’s supply is also rising.

According to secondary sources total crude oil production by OPEC members averaged 32.56 mb/d in August, an increase of 278,000 b/d over the previous month. As shown in the table below, oil output increased mostly in Libya, Iraq and Nigeria, while production declined in Iran, which is due to be hit with sanctions on its oil industry from November onwards, Venezuela, which is experiencing economic and political upheavals depressing production, and Algeria.

Meanwhile, oil production by OPEC’s leader Saudi Arabia rose by 38kb/d to …

Jack Ma’s Retirement Is a Sign Alibaba’s Heyday May Have Passed

Despite the fabled co-founder’s retirement, Jack Ma will still have influence at Alibaba. But the real question for investors is whether his departure means the company’s best days are behind it.

CBS After Moonves

Les Moonves’s departure from CBS, and the deal with National Amusements, ends a messy chapter for the company, but there are still important issues to consider before CBS gets an all-clear.

August 2018 Producer Price Final Demand Year-over-Year Inflation Moderates

Written by Steven Hansen

The Producer Price Index year-over-year inflation declined from 3.3 % to 2.8 %.

Key Words: Mitch McConnell likens close Senate races to ‘a knife fight in an alley’

Senate races in nine states are shaping up to look like a ‘knife fight,’ Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says.

The Tell: Don’t expect big stock gains for several years, Morgan Stanley warns

U.S. stock-market investors hopefully enjoyed strong returns, because it may be a while until a similar environment is seen again, say analysts at Morgan Stanley.

Market Extra: Here’s what J.P. Morgan says could cause the next financial crisis

Will yesterday’s rescue be tomorrow’s risk?