18Oct2018 Market Close: Wall Street Slides On Saudi Arabia, Italy Concerns, DOW Closes Down 327 Points, SP 500 Closes 1.4% Lower, WTI Settles Lower At 68.69, US Dollar Index Higher At 95.70

Goldman Sachs sees five more Fed rate hikes through end of 2019

Goldman Sachs economists on Thursday said the firm remained “comfortable” with its call for five more interest rate hikes — two more than priced in financial markets — through the end of 2019.

Internet provider groups sue Vermont over net neutrality law

Four industry groups representing major internet providers and cable companies filed suit on Thursday seeking to block Vermont’s law barring companies that do not abide by net neutrality rules from receiving state contracts.

Wall St. drops on Italy, Saudi Arabia worry

U.S. stocks fell more than 1 percent on Thursday as the European Commission issued a warning regarding Italy’s budget and concerns mounted over the possibility of strained relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia, denting investors’ appetite for risk.

Goldman Sachs says executives will not attend Saudi conference

Goldman Sachs Group Inc will not send any of its executives to a Saudi investment conference next week, Chief Executive Officer David Solomon said in an interview with CNBC on Thursday.

Colgate halts Venezuela detergent plant for lack of boxes

U.S. consumer goods maker Colgate-Palmolive Co has halted production at its detergent and dish soap plant in Venezuela because it lacked cardboard boxes to ship products, a union leader said on Thursday.

VW’s Porsche expects to repeat record vehicle sales this year

Volkswagen’s Porsche brand does not need a stock market listing to fund growth, Chief Executive Oliver Blume said, adding he is confident the maker of the iconic 911 sportscar can repeat last year’s record sales in 2018.

Campbell Soup CEO sees no room for concessions to Third Point

Campbell Soup Co interim Chief Executive Keith McLoughlin does not believe that there are any concessions to be made in an ongoing proxy fight with hedge fund Third Point LLC, he told Reuters on Thursday.

Casino confident on disposal plan, third-quarter sales accelerate

French retailer Casino , which is battling investor concern over its high debt, said sales growth accelerated in the third quarter, reflecting an improving performance in France and Brazil and it predicted a similar trend for the fourth quarter.

Senator Warren urges Fed to require removal of Wells Fargo CEO

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren said on Thursday the Federal Reserve should not allow Wells Fargo & Co to grow in size until the bank replaces Chief Executive Officer Tim Sloan.

Real Tumbles After Brazil’s Central Bank Head Said To Quit By Year End

What was already an ugly day for emerging markets, turned even uglier for Brazil when Bloomberg reported that the head of Brazil’s central bank, Ilan Goldfajn, was preparing to leave the central bank by year-end.

There was no reason cited for the departure of the relatively new central bank head, who was appointed to his current position in May 2016, however news of his departure shook the BRL, which tumbled to session lows against the dollar.

Bloomberg adds that the campaign of presidential front-runner Jair Bolsonaro – who had initially considered keeping Goldfajn as central bank chief – was mulling several names as central bank chief.

In addition to slamming the BRL, news of the departure also hit the iShares Brazil ETF, the EWZ, which slumped to session lows on the news as yet another legacy central banker quietly prepares to exit stage left.

Mexican Riot Cops Deployed For Caravan Showdown After Trump Snaps Fingers

Mexico deployed hundreds of riot police on Thursday to intercept a caravan of more than 4,000 Central American migrants, following demands by President Trump that Mexio, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador intervene before he has to deploy US troops.

MIGRANT CARAVAN: Two federal police-filled planes w/anti-riot gear landed near the Mexico/Guatemala border this morn (vid source: Policia Federal de Mexico). pic.twitter.com/UyneeXlPnu

— KarlaZabs (@karlazabs) October 17, 2018

“I must, in the strongest of terms, ask Mexico to stop this onslaught – and if unable to do so I will call up the U.S. Military and CLOSE OUR SOUTHERN BORDER!” Trump Tweeted Thursday morning.

I am watching the Democrat Party led (because they want Open Borders and existing weak laws) assault on our country by Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, whose leaders are doing little to stop this large flow of people, INCLUDING MANY CRIMINALS, from entering Mexico to U.S…..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 18, 2018

….In addition to stopping all payments to these countries, which seem to have almost no control over their population, I must, in the strongest of terms, ask Mexico to stop this onslaught – and if unable to do so I will call up the U.S. Military and CLOSE OUR SOUTHERN BORDER!. …

Mario, Mnuchin, ‘Mao 2.0’ & MbS Masscare Markets

But, but, but… everything was awesome on Tuesday?

It started in Mao2.0-land – China markets were carnage…

Despite double-intervention the prior day, Chinese equities plunged…ahead of tonight’s macro data dump…

For context, it’s a utter bloodbath in China this year – with China’s ‘Nasdaq’ – Shenzhen – down over 35% YTD…

Offshore Yuan plunged back to cycle lows after a major drop in the CNY Fi …

Russia And China Prepare To Ditch Dollar In Bilateral Trade

In a time when many nations have gone public with their intention to ditch the dollar in part or in whole, in bilateral trade with non-US counterparts, either to prevent the US from having “veto power” of commerce courtesy of SWIFT or simply in response to Trump’s “America First” doctrine, attention has long focused on Russia and China – the two natural adversaries to the US – to see if and when they would accelerate plans for de-dollarization.

To be sure, the two nations wouldn’t be the first to reduce their reliance on the dollar, as we have discussed in recent months:

Europe Unveils “Special Purpose Vehicle” To Bypass SWIFT, Jeopardizing Dollar’s Reserve Status

Russia Says Time Has Come To Ditch The Dollar

European Powers Prepare To Ditch Dollar In Trade With Iran

Russia And India Ditch Dollar In Military Deals< …

Cannabis Watch: Five smaller companies expected to profit from Canada’s cannabis legalization

Meet some of the smaller players in an emerging sector that are expected to benefit, now that Canada has fully legalized cannabis.

Bond Report: Treasury yields come off session highs after Italian bond selloff

Treasury yields pared their rise on Thursday as investors grappled with a selloff in Italian debt that could be drawing investors into the perceived safety of U.S. government paper.

Economic Report: Mortgage rates retreat, but housing supply crunch won’t let up

Rates for home loans edged lower in the most recent week, but a few basis points of financing relief won’t help the housing market as much as fresh inventory would.