22Oct2018 Market Close: Wall Street Closes Mixed, DOW Down 127 Points, Nasdaq Up 0.3%, US Dollar Settles At 95.76

Written by Gary

The SP 500 and Dow slipped in choppy trading today (SPY -0.5%) following losses in energy and financial stocks.

The Market in Perspective

Here are the headlines moving the markets.
	Benetton founder, who took family business beyond sweaters, dies at 77 Gilberto Benetton, a co-founder of Italian clothing retailer United Colors of Benetton who masterminded the family empire’s diversification into construction, transport and catering, has died at the age of 77.
	Dow, S&P fall as earnings season picks up; tech boosts Nasdaq The S&P 500 and the Dow fell in choppy trading on Monday as energy and financial stocks lost ground and caution grew ahead of a slew of earnings reports this week.
	KKR’s Calsonic buys Fiat Chrysler parts firm Magneti Marelli for $7.1 billion Japan’s Calsonic Kansei, owned by U.S. private equity firm KKR, has agreed to buy Fiat Chrysler’s Magneti Marelli for 6.2 billion euros ($7.1 billion) to form the seventh-largest independent car parts supplier.
	Netflix adds to growing debt pile with $2 billion bond issue Netflix Inc announced on Monday it will tap debt markets for a second time this year, aiming to raise another $2 billion as the streaming video pioneer invests heavily in production of original shows and content acquisition to fend off intensifying competition.
	Dow, S&P 500 fall as dollar rises, yield curve flat U.S. stocks closed lower after choppy trade on Monday, as some investors showed signs of earnings season nerves, while political worries in Europe led the dollar to strengthen against the euro and sterling.
	Uber’s head of corporate development Poetzscher resigns: WSJ Uber Technologies Inc’s head of corporate development Cameron Poetzscher has resigned, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, weeks after the newspaper reported allegations of sexual misconduct against him at the ride-hailing firm.
	This week’s earnings shine spotlight on China growth risk It’s not the U.S. economy, stupid. It’s China’s.
	Oil little changed despite Saudi pledge to boost output Oil futures were little changed on Monday after paring earlier losses despite Saudi Arabia’s pledge to raise crude production to a record high, two weeks before U.S. sanctions potentially choke off Iranian supplies.
	Branson steps down from role as chairman of Virgin Hyperloop Richard Branson is quitting as chairman of Virgin Hyperloop One, saying the company, that plans to build a supersonic transport system in the United Arab Emirates and other countries, needs a more actively involved leader, the firm said on Monday.
	On America’s “Most Extreme Ventures Into Social Unreality” Authored by James Howard Kunstler via Kunstler.com, Lost In Translation Saturdays, when fewer eyeballs see the paper, The New York Times likes to publish its most extreme ventures into social unreality. Last week’s prank was the story at the top of page one that declared:#WontBeErased: Transgender People and Allies Mobilize Against Trump Administration Proposal. (The accompanying photo featured a rainbow flag, of course, denoting that there was a pot-of-gold awaiting true believers.) This was a response to a Trump administration policy memo calling for “strict definition of gender based on a person’s genitalia at birth,” The Times said.
	Uber’s Head Of Corporate Development Resigns Over Sexual Misconduct More than a year after Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick resigned as Uber CEO following a string of sexual harassment scandals and general chaos, on Monday afternoon Uber’s head of corporate development, Cameron Poetzscher, resigned shortly after a Wall Street Journal article revealed more allegations of prior sexual misconduct in the office. An Uber spokesman on Monday confirmed Poetzscher’s departure to the WSJ. Poetzscher’s resignation is effective immediately with the Journal reporting that Uber’s new CFO Nelson Chai is assuming Poetzscher’s responsibilities while the firm seeks a replacement. “We thank Cam for his four and a half years of service to Uber,” a spokesman said. …
	Trump Threatens US Will Increase Nukes Until Russia, China “Come To Their Senses” After hours of closed door talks in Moscow between US National Security Advisor John Bolton and his Russian counterpart Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Nikolay Patrushev, Bolton told reporters that the United States has yet to take a decision on whether it plans to deploy missiles in Europe if the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) is scrapped. Bolton further said that he now understands Russia’s position on nuclear arms regulations and treaties much better, and added that more consultations on arms treaties are needed, while further denying prior Russian charges that a US pullout of the INF was an attempt at “blackmail,” according to Russian state media sources. He subsequently had a 90-minute meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and later in the trip is expected to meet with President Vladimir Putin. John Bolton shakes hands with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev. Via RFE/RL
	“National Emergency” – President Trump To Cut Central American Aid As Mexico Loses Control Of Migrant Army Since President Trump threatened to close the Southern border due to Honduras’ unwillingness to comply with his requests for assistance in stopping a migrant caravan marching toward the US, the migrants have successfully crossed into Mexico and on Sunday regrouped after being temporarily delayed at the Mexican border by border guards who failed to force the migrants to turn back. So, for the second time this year, it appears President Trump is ready to send more US troops to the border, as he said in a tweet Monday morning that he’d notified the border patrol and military that this is a “national emergency” while reiterating that the blame lay with Democrats for refusing to change our “pathetic” immigration laws. The president also claimed that “unkown Middle Easterners” had become “mixed in” with the caravan…
	Consumer Giants’ Have an Emerging Market Problem Big footprints in emerging markets are often considered the crown jewels of European consumer-products giants like Nestle and Unilever. But the downside is apparent.
	Wall Street’s Fear Gauge Flashes Green Again Panic in the stock market is officially over-at least according to derivatives markets.
	The Table Is Rigged Against Macau Stocks Shares in major casino operators in the world’s largest gambling market have been tumbling, but it isn’t time for investors to up their bets.
	Winter- Spring – Summer 2018/2019 – Two Very Different Forecasts Written by Sig Silber From JAMSTEC On a seasonal scale, SINTEX-F predicts that most part of the globe will experience a warmer-than-normal condition in boreal winter, while most parts of U.S.A., central Russia, and U.K. will experience a colder-than-normal condition. As regards to the seasonally averaged rainfall in boreal winter, a wetter-than-normal condition is predicted for most part of the western coast of Canada, eastern U.S.A., northeastern Brazil, a central part of the South American Continent, a northeastern part of South Africa, western Europe, and eastern China.
	22Oct2018 Midday Update: Wall Street Mixed At The Noon Hour, DOW Down 200 Points, Nasdaq Rises +0.2%, WTI Fell To 68.40, US Dollar Index Higher At 95.81 Written by Gary U.S. stocks have edged down today (SPY -0.5%) as support from a rally in China faded, lower oil prices and disappointing earnings signals pulled the market lower.
	Market Extra: Watch out for ‘dead cat bounce’ in stocks because there’s more pain ahead: Morgan Stanley’s Wilson October is living up to its reputation as a volatile month for stocks with major indexes down sharply and there is likely more pain ahead for investors, according to one prominent Wall Street analyst.
	CryptoWatch: Bitcoin off slightly; stablecoin Tether regains footing, but losing popularity Cryptocurrency prices trade mostly unchanged to begin the week.
	NewsWatch: Would you be prepared if the Dow Jones Industrial Average were to fall 5,700 points? The anniversary of Black Monday’s crash reminds us to be prepared for a precipitous decline in the stock market.