Written by Gary
US stocks have slipped into the red this morning (SPY -0.5%), with equities markets buffeted by nerves over China’s economy.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
 | European markets are lower today with shares in France off the most. The CAC 40 is down 0.54% while London’s FTSE 100 is off 0.38% and Germany’s DAX is lower by 0.28%. |
What Is Moving the Markets
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
 | Nissan says it’s target of SEC inquiry after report of probe on exec payNissan Motor Co Ltd said on Monday it was the target of a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) inquiry, widening a scandal involving the Japanese firm and its ousted Chairman Carlos Ghosn over his alleged financial misconduct. |
| EU to challenge U.S. duties on Spanish olivesThe European Union will begin legal action at the World Trade Organization this week against U.S. duties imposed on Spanish olives, EU trade chief Cecilia Malmstrom said on Monday. |
| Facebook to set up two regional centers for monitoring election contentFacebook Inc is planning https://bit.ly/2Uqn0Jh to set up two new regional operations centers focused on monitoring election-related content in its Dublin and Singapore offices, the company said on Monday. |
| Rusal shares soar, aluminum falls as U.S. lifts sanctionsU.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on Sunday lifted sanctions on the core empire of Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, including aluminum giant Rusal and its parent En+, despite a Democrat-led push to maintain them. |
| Chipmaker Xilinx’s 5G orders kick off race to cash in on new networksAmid a bleak earnings season for semiconductor companies as China’s economy slows, Xilinx Inc provided a bright spot for the sector: Revenue growth driven by the early phases of 5G wireless data networks, earlier and sharper than analysts had expected. |
| Stocks edge down on China worries as trade talks, Fed decision loomWorld shares slipped into the red on Monday, with equities markets from Europe to Asia buffeted by nerves over China’s economy and investors staying cautious ahead of a week packed with major events. |
| Madrid taxis block major road in biggest anti-Uber protest yetHundreds of taxis blocked a central traffic artery in Madrid during Monday’s morning rush hour, in their biggest show of strength yet as a protest seeking tighter regulation of Uber and other ride-hailing services entered its second week. |
| Oil falls as U.S. adds rigs; still set for best January in 14 yearsOil fell 1 percent on Monday after U.S. companies added rigs for the first time this year, a signal that crude output may rise further, but the price is still on course for its strongest gain in the month of January for 14 years. |
| New dam disaster puts Vale CEO, deals and dividends under scrutinyWhen Fabio Schvartsman took the reins of Vale SA in 2017, he suggested a motto for the world’s largest iron miner, turning the page on a tailings dam disaster that hit a small Brazilian town two years before: “Mariana, never again.” |
| Vale Crashes 20%, Suspends Dividend After Deadly Dam BreachVale SA, the world’s largest iron ore miner, suspended its planned shareholder dividends, share buybacks and executive bonuses as it braces for the financial fallout from a Friday catastrophe in which a dam breach left at least 58 people dead and more than 300 missing. Vale’s board of directors also created independent committees to investigate the causes of the Friday dam burst in the state of Minas Gerais and monitor relief efforts in the devastated town of Brumadinho and surrounding area. As Bloomberg notes, the collapse of a tailings dam at the Feijao mine in the rural state of Minas Gerais is Vale’s second fatal disaster since 2015, when the Samarco mine spewed billions of gallons of waste. More importantly for investors, Mayor Avimar de Melo of the city of Brumadinho, which was partly leveled by the spill, is seeking millions in damages and blamed Vale’s “incompetence” for the incident. And, as many expected, the response from the mar … |
| Global Stocks Slide Ahead Of Crazy Week; Iron Ore SoarsIt’s a sea of red in global equity markets as Friday’s euphoria fizzled after President Donald Trump made clear he won’t take no for an answer in his effort to construct a border wall while investors are hunkering down ahead of an action-packed week which includes the UK Parliament’s Brexit “Plan B” vote, a Fed meeting, a new round of US-China trade talks, the deadline for the Huawei CFO extradition notice, a potential Venezuela showdown, January US payrolls report and the busiest week of earnings season.
While stocks jumped on Friday after Trump “caved” and agreed to reopen the government, the party moody was dented after Trump tweeted “Does anybody really think I won’t build the WALL?” late on Sunday as the committee of lawmakers crafting a plan for the southern U.S. border is expected to start meeting this week. On Sunday, Trump told the WSJ he’ll get the funding even if he has to use emergency powers while Trump’s acting chief of staff said he’s prepared to shutter the government again or declare an emergency if needed to get the wall money. The dollar was flat as were 10Y TSY yields, while iron ore prices soared following a deadly dam collapse at a mine in Brazil which kille … |
| Ghosn Arrest Backfires On Nissan As SEC Launches Probe Into Executive PayFormer Nissan Chairman and Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn remains locked in a Japanese jail cell after Tokyo prosecutors filed new charges against the legendary auto executive earlier this month. But as the French government begins to question the terms of his detention while raising questions about his living conditions in detention, rumors that Ghosn’s downfall was engineered by restive elements within Nissan – led, many believe, by CEO Hirohito Saikawa – have continued to simmer, spurred by a New York Times story published late last year that included speculation that Ghosn’s ouster was part of a coup. But as the Japanese automaker struggles to move on from the scandal, its executives are experiencing unprecedented backlash thanks to suspicions surrounding the provenance of the “internal probe” that eventually led to Ghosn’s arrest. And now, the allegations that Ghosn and another executive (American Greg Kelly, who was also arrested and charged) conspired to underreport the income of the man who created the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi alliance have drawn an SEC investigation. According to Bloomberg, the US securities regulators is investigating whether Nissan’s executive-pay disclosures were accurate and whether the carmaker maintained adequate controls to prevent improper payments. Because Nissan shares trade in the US using ADRs, the SEC believes it has jurisdiction over the automaker, despite that most of the activities under investigation took place in Japan and Europe. Nissan shares slid nearly 3% on Monday after the company confirmed that it will cooperate with the probe. |
| ‘Election-Meddler’ Wasserman Schultz Now “Fixing Democracy” In VenezuelaRegime change and foreign interventions are things that the two US ruling parties agree on regardless of how much they exchange blows at home. Venezuela is the latest place where Republicans and Democrats have found common ground. If you watch the US media, you know what is happening in Venezuela: Dictator Nicolas Maduro is brutally suppressing the people he has been robbing for years, and now they have revolted and elected a true representative of their interest, the one true legitimate acting president Juan Guaido. And now, as RT’s Alexandre Antonov reports below, it’s up to America to ‘fix’ democracy by whatever means necessary. The House Foreign Affairs Committee has even offered a simple explanation on how a ‘dream team’ of Democrats have prepared a package of laws, which will ensure Venezuela’s transition into a better future.
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| Currencies: Currency markets muted ahead of volatile week including ‘Plan B’ Brexit voteThe U.S. dollar, and many of its rivals, kick off the week on a muted tone, amid a jam-packed week, headlined by a Brexit vote, a Federal Reserve meeting, Chinese economic data and trade meetings. |
| Europe Markets: European markets down as coming trade talks and Fed meeting spooks investorsEuropean stocks were down on Monday, after investor jitters returned ahead this week’s U.S./ China trade talks and the coming Federal Reserve meeting |
| Earnings Outlook: Apple earnings: With iPhone sales flagging, Apple needs big new offering to excite its baseThe company’s coming earnings report could be the first chapter in an increasingly boring story. |
Flood waters in Brumadinho, Brazil, on Jan. 27
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