30Jan2019 Market Close: Wall Street Ends Up Sharply After Fed Signals Patience, DOW Closes Up 435 Points, SP 500 Closes Up +1.6%, US Dollar Skids, WTI At 54.30

Written by Gary

US stocks ended sharply higher today (SPY +1.6%). Fed holds rates steady.

The Market in Perspective

Here are the headlines moving the markets.
	Apple bans Facebook from tech tools for tracking teen browsing habits Apple Inc said on Wednesday it had banned Facebook Inc from a program designed to let businesses control iPhones used by their employees, saying the social networking company had improperly used it to track the web-browsing habits of teenagers.
	Wall Street ends up sharply after Fed signals patience U.S. stocks ended sharply higher on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said it would be patient in lifting borrowing costs further this year, reassuring investors worried about a slowing economy.
	Fed leaves rates unchanged, says will be ‘patient’ on future hikes The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday but said it would be patient in lifting borrowing costs further this year as it pointed to rising uncertainty about the U.S. economic outlook.
	NY AG, Governor Cuomo launch probe into Apple’s FaceTime bug New York’s new Attorney General Letitia James and Governor Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday announced an investigation into Apple Inc’s failure to warn consumers about a FaceTime bug that lets iPhones users listen to conversations of others who have not yet accepted a video call.
	Instant View: Fed holds rates steady The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday but said it would be patient in lifting borrowing costs further this year as it pointed to rising uncertainty about the U.S. economic outlook.
	Oil gains on tighter U.S. supply, Venezuela sanctions Oil prices rose on Wednesday, as U.S. government data that showed signs of tightening supply and investors remained concerned about supply disruptions following U.S. sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry.
	Exclusive: Foxconn reconsidering plans to make LCD panels at Wisconsin plant Foxconn Technology Group is reconsidering plans to make advanced liquid crystal display panels at a $10 billion Wisconsin campus, and said it intends to hire mostly engineers and researchers rather than the manufacturing workforce the project originally promised.
	Wisconsin governor’s office says evaluating shift in Foxconn LCD display project The Office of the Governor of Wisconsin said Wednesday it is evaluating changes in Foxconn Technology Group’s project in the state after Reuters exclusively reported the Taiwanese company is reconsidering building a liquid crystal display panel factory there.
	Stocks surge on Fed pledge to pause, dollar slips The dollar slid and equities surged on Wednesday, fueled at first by Boeing and Apple’s results and later by the Federal Reserve pledging to be patient with future interest rate hikes, a change in tone stock investors interpreted as a buy signal.
	Stocks, Bonds, Gold Soar As Powell Breaks Curse With Dovish Capitulation There is only one clip for this… Jay Powell Broke the curse – after 7 straight losing sessions on FOMC days (the most ever for a Fed Chair), The Fed’s total capitulation today was greeted with a rally (helped dramatically by Apple and Boeing) Oct 3: Powell – “economy is overheating” Nov 2: Trump – “not even a little bit happy with my selection of Jay.” Jan 30: Powell: – “economy is slowing” Stocks legged up further when Powell said during his presser that he “doesn’t want the balance sheet unwind to cause market turbulence.”
	Humpday Humor: How To Know When A Smile Is A Smirk On A Punchable Face With all the hubbub surrounding the dasterdly deeds of the young men who attend Covington Catholic, SHTFplan.com’s Mac Slavo thought it appropriate to advise our readers of the facial expressions that may cause others around you to be triggered. Sometimes a smile isn’t a smile. And sometimes, your face may be punchable. Here’s how you’ll know what to do and when, compliments of the fine folks at the Babylon Bee: Hopefully that clears things up. But we’re still a bit confused. Is it OK for Alyssa Milano to smile/smirk? We’re not sure. Maybe if she were wearing a MAGA hat we’d have a better picture of how we should react: That smirk offends me…. https://t.co/sq4BxkzVfT — Lexy (@PoliticallyRYT)
	Jamie Dimon “Has No Problem” Paying Higher Taxes… There Is Just One Catch In a moment of rare generosity, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who got into hot water for his Davos comment that his “heart is Democratic but my brain is kind of Republican” said he has “no problem” paying higher taxes, as long as government spends that money wisely. In a statement to CNBC, Dimon said “I believe that individuals earning the most can afford to pay more, and I have no problem paying higher taxes to address some of the fundamental challenges and inequities in our society.” The full statement is below: He added, “However, we need to ensure that our tax dollars are going where they can be most effective — like expanding the earned income tax credit and other programs that support the people and communities who really need it.” His comments came amid an ongoing debate about whether the wealthiest Americans should shoulder higher taxes, a proposal supported by newly elected Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and established Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, both Democrats, with a tentative proposal floated that those who make over $10 million should pay a 70% tax. And while we applaud Dimon’s faux generosity, we can’t help but note that for billionaires – like Jamie Dimon – their wealth is not in cur …
	Bulls Run Out Of Ammo As Earnings Expectations & Short-Interest Collapse From the Mnuchin Massacre lows on Xmas Eve, the US equity market soared on the back of the greatest short-squeeze (‘Most Shorted’ stocks up a stunning 22%) since the March 2009 lows… However, the last two weeks have seen ‘most shorted’ stocks suddenly treading water – providing no underlying lift for stocks which have traded rangebound over the same period… So did the bulls run out of short-squeeze ammo? The short answer is – YES! Short sellers have been re …
	February 2019 Economic Forecast Index Little Changed But …. Written by Steven Hansen Last month the Econintersect Economic Index (EEI) significantly declined, and dropped below territory associated with normal expansions. This month our economic index slid only marginally lower, and remains below territory associated with normal expansions. The question remains whether this downward trend will continue. Note, our index is built on data sets which were not affected by the government shutdown – and it is most likely that other recent economic forecasts you have seen fudged the missing data. A forecast with fudged data is simply a guesstimate.
	30 January 2019 FOMC Meeting Statement: Federal Funds Rate Unchanged Written by Steven Hansen The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) – the board of directors of the Federal Reserve made no change to the federal funds rate as expected, and stated: …. In light of global economic and financial developments and muted inflation pressures, the Committee will be patient as it determines what future adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate may be appropriate to support these outcomes. …. Overall the Fed appears to believe the economy was generally unchanged since the last meeting.
	Bond Report: 2-year Treasury yield stages biggest one-day slump in four weeks after Fed signals ‘dovish pause’ Treasury yields retrace their rise Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said it would adopt a more patient approach to further rate increases in its policy statement.
	Trump Today: Trump Today: President rips his own intelligence chiefs after they contradicted him President Donald Trump on Wednesday blasted his own intelligence chiefs after they contradicted him, as he warned congressional negotiators they’d be “wasting their time” in border talks if they didn’t discuss a wall.
	Earnings Outlook: Amazon earnings: The e-commerce giant has a history of missing expectations in the holiday quarter Amazon.com Inc. is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday after the closing bell and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey analysts warn the e-commerce giant has a patchy track record with holiday quarter estimates.