Written by Gary
US stock index futures have risen this morning (SPY +0.4%) as trade worries softened. DOW futures rise 100 points after weaker-than-expected inflation data.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
 | European markets are mixed today. The DAX is up 0.52% while the CAC 40 gains 0.43%. The FTSE 100 is off 0.21%. |
What Is Moving the Markets
Looking at the last three columns (below), the first one (Actual), is what was reported this morning. The second column (Forecast) is what analysts had forecast and the third column is the previous report. Full calendar HERE.
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
 | China welcomes U.S. invite for trade talks, Asian markets relievedChina said on Thursday that it welcomed an invitation by the United States to hold a new round of trade talks, as Washington prepares to further escalate the U.S.-China trade war with tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. |
| BlackRock gets regulatory approval to set up new firm in FranceBlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has obtained regulatory approval to set up a new alternative investment firm in France, in another sign of Paris’ increasing post-Brexit appeal for financial firms. |
| Trade hopes, bumper Turkey rate hike feed the bullsSigns of movement in the U.S.-China trade stand-off and a bumper interest rate hike in emerging market trouble spot Turkey sent world shares higher on Thursday as risk appetite returned. |
| Ryanair faces one-day strike in five countries over contractsRyanair faces a one-day walkout by cabin crew across five countries on Sept. 28 as unions step up pressure on Europe’s biggest budget airline to accept local contracts. |
| Bayer’s pharma unit head Weinand quits to join SanofiBayer, which is revamping its drug development activities, is losing the head of its pharmaceuticals division Dieter Weinand, who will join Sanofi to stem a decline in prices in the French drugmaker’s anti-diabetics and established drugs. |
| Kroger misses same-store sales estimates, shares fallKroger Co missed quarterly same-store sales estimates on Thursday, as disruptions caused by the supermarket chain changing the way it stocks merchandise on shelves kept some customers away from its stores. |
| Target to hire 120,000 workers to meet holiday season rushTarget Corp said on Thursday that it plans to hire about 120,000 seasonal workers for the holidays, up 20 percent on last year, as the retailer gears up for the busiest time of the year. |
| Stock futures up on hopes of fresh trade talks, tech reboundU.S. stock index futures rose on Thursday as trade worries softened after China said it was open to fresh talks with the United States and technology stocks showed signs of a bounce-back. |
| Sonny’s roadshow: How Trump’s Ag chief sells a trade war to farmersBreaking off from a tour of dairy operations on a farm in upstate New York, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue tramps across a muddy path to take a sample of sweet corn from an adjacent field. |
| Watch Live: Draghi Explains The End Of QE As He Trims Eurozone Growth ForecastAs discussed earlier, Draghi could again disappoint those looking for market volatility. With the ECB seemingly on auto-pilot mode ahead of the conclusion of its PSPP programme and not expected to move on rates until “at least through the summer of 2019”, the topics for discussion are relatively limited. It is unlikely that journos will use this meeting as an opportunity to grill the ECB President on what exactly “at least through the summer of 2019” means given his resistance to such questions in July. Draghi will also likely take a similar approach this time to any questions about his tenure despite continued speculation over who his successor could be next year. As a result, the bulk of the focus for the press conference could center around the updated economic projections – which are expected to be cut – trade protectionism and general economic commentary with no immediate policy decisions expected. One matter that could prompt more questions during the the conference could be the Bank’s view on reinvestments, and specifically with the PSPP winding down during Q4, markets will require greater clarity on the ECB’s approach to reinvestments with speculation fueled by reports in July over a potential “operation twist” mechanism. UBS believes that the “ECB has some flexibility to extend the duration of monthly PSPP purchases to at least partially offset the PSPP portfolio maturity decay”. However, the Swiss-bank concedes that such an issue faces “implementation constraints due to issue(r) limits, limited flexibility on capital key allocation and fragmented liquidity across the EGB markets are likely to prevent the ECB from formalising a duration target for the PSPP portfolio”. Overall, SocGen do not see this as a pressing issue and ultimately “see no material policy impact from these decisions� … |
| Another Coalition Strike On Yemen Civilian Bus Occurs The Same Day US Affirms It Stands By SaudisJust as the U.S. in typical fashion continues lecturing countries like Syria, Russia, and Iran over severe human rights violations, including allegations of everything from launching barrel bomb strikes on civilian areas in Idlib to chemical weapons attacks to sensational spy poisoning ops in the U.K., the Saudi-US coalition in Yemen has attacked another bus full of children and civilians in Yemen. On Wednesday multiple Yemeni journalists reporting from on the ground confirmed a new airstrike resulting in mass civilian casualties, this time a Saudi-US coalition strike scored a direct hit on a bus station in beseiged Hodeidah City. The strike occurred the same day Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis announced they’ve certified the legality of US assistance to the coalition in Yemen before Congress. And this further comes, as NPR reports, after |
| Trump Hits Back, Says “Nervous Mess” Jamie Dimon Doesn’t Have “Aptitude Or Smarts” To Be PresidentIs this the beginning of a feud between two of the most powerful men in America? It’s definitely looking that way. Despite JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon issuing a very public apology after gloating on Wednesday that he could beat Trump in an election (if he felt like running, that is), Trump has hit back at a man who was once rumored to be a top candidate for Treasury Secretary, claiming in an unusually passive aggressive tweet that Dimon doesn’t have the brainpower to run the US. “The problem with banker Jamie Dimon running for president is he doesn’t have the aptitude or the smarts and is a poor public speaker and nervous mess” Trump said. “otherwise he is wonderful.”
On Wednesday, Dimon told a small New York audience that he thinks he could beat Donald Trump in an election, claiming that “I think I could beat Trump… because I’m as tough as he is, I’m smarter than he is,” adding “I can’t beat the liberal side of the Democratic party.” The CEO added that “and by the way this wealthy New Yorker actually earned his money… It wasn’t a gift from Daddy” (this, despite the fact that Dimon’s father was a well-respected banker who absolutely helped his son find an early footing in the in … |
| ECB To Keep Rates Unchanged “Through Summer Of 2019”, End QE By 2019In the day’s final central bank announcement, the ECB followed in the BOE’s footsteps, if not those of the CBRT which delivered a shocking rate hike surprise, and kept rates unchanged as expected while forward guiding that it expects to keep rates “at their present levels at least through the summer of 2019, and in any case for as long as necessary” a repeat of recent language. In terms of the timing of the ECB’s QE unwind, there were no surprises either, with the central bank repeating that “after September 2018, the Governing Council will reduce the monthly pace of the net asset purchases to 15 billion until the end of December 2018 and anticipates that, subject to incoming data confirming the medium-term inflation outlook, net purchases will then end” Overall, a snoozer of an announcement, with no notable reaction in the EUR or other asset classes. Full statement below.
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| Economic Report: Consumer inflation climbs again in August, CPI shows, but pace of increase slowsAmerican families paid more for gas, rent, airfare and other consumer staples in August, but the rate of increase in inflation slowed for the first time in almost a year. The consumer price index rose by 0.2% in August. |
| CryptoWatch: The worst is still to come, says bitcoin analystCryptocurrency prices are in recovery mode Thursday, with all major coins clawing back from recent losses. However, the current state of play could be the calm before the storm, according to one crypto analyst. |
| Slowing Hurricane Florence still expected to hammer parts of eastern coastline for daysThe outer band of rains from Hurricane Florence, expected to bring life-threatening storm surges and several feet of rainfall, are approaching the coastline. |
Aftermath of the reported Wednesday airstrike in Hodeidah, via Hussain AlbukhaitiEarnings Summary for Today
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