01Feb2019 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street Set To Open Higher, DOW Up 50 Points, Gold Prices Turn Lower, WTI Crude At 53.57, Nonfarm Payrolls Surging By 304,000

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are mixed. The FTSE 100 is higher by 0.22%, while the CAC 40 is leading the DAX lower. They are down 0.06% and 0.06% respectively.

Exxon Mobil’s fourth quarter profit tops estimates as production rebounds

Exxon Mobil Corp on Friday reported a quarterly profit that topped analysts’ estimates, pushing it shares up nearly 3 percent in premarket trading as its oil and natural gas output rose slightly on a year-over-year basis.

U.S. job growth surges; unemployment rate rises to 4.0 percent

U.S. job growth surged in January, with employers hiring the most workers in 11 months, pointing to underlying strength in the economy despite a darkening outlook that has left the Federal Reserve cautious about further interest rate hikes this year.

GM and Sao Paulo in talks to invest $2.5 billion for tax breaks: report

Automaker General Motors Co is in talks to invest 9 billion reais ($2.5 billion) in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo over the next three years in return for tax incentives, newspaper Valor Economico reported on Friday.

IAG’s Walsh to Airbus: drop A380 price to boost sales

Airbus should lower the price of its A380 jetliner if it wants to sell more of them, IAG CEO Willie Walsh said on Friday, adding that the airline group would consider additional aircraft if the price was right.

Stock rally pauses after disappointing China data

Global shares edged down from their highest in two months on Friday as data showing shrinking factory activity in China ended a rally that took them to their best January on record.

U.S. says non-U.S. entities must wind down Venezuela oil buying by April 28

Entities outside the United States have until April 28 to wind down their purchases of petroleum and petroleum products from Petróleos de Venezuela SA, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a notice posted early on Friday.

Exclusive: Qatar, Exxon to proceed with $10 billion Texas LNG project – sources

Qatar Petroleum and Exxon Mobil Corp are expected to announce plans next week to proceed with a $10 billion project that will expand a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility in Texas, three people familiar with the transaction said.

Honda plans to front-load UK production ahead of Brexit

Braced for a possible logistical nightmare when Britain leaves the European Union in March, Honda Motor Co Ltd said on Friday it was preparing to front-load some production at its plant in the country to ship overseas or build up inventories.

Trump to meet China’s Xi to try to seal trade deal, progress reported

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping soon to try to seal a comprehensive trade deal as Trump and his top trade negotiator both cited substantial progress in two days of high-level talks.

Salvini-The-Kidnapper Officially Has The EU Running Scared

Authored by Tom Luongo,

A court in Sicily has ruled that Interior Minister, leader of The League and all-around Euroskeptic bad-ass Matteo Salvini should stand trial for kidnapping migrants held in abeyance off Italy’s shores.

“I confess,” Salvini said in a video posted to his Facebook page, “there is no need for a trial. It’s true, I did it and I’d do it again.”

“I risk 3 to 15 years in prison for blocking illegal landings in Italy. I have no words,” wrote Salvini, the leader of the ultra-nationalist Lega (League) party, which now rules Italy in a coalition with the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S).

If this wasn’t so stupid it would be hysterical, actually. But it exists and it’s an attack on Salvini that has a number of angles to it.

As Dr. Steve Turley explains in the video below one of the goals of this attack is to drive a wedge between Five Star Movement (M5S) and its coalition partner, The League.

Early returns on this look to be it will go nowhere as M5S leader Luigi DI Maio supported Salvini. But, the real issue isn’t the coalition government.

If somehow Di Maio can’t ride herd over his faction with the Italian parliament and they vote to allow this trial to go forward then M5S will continue sinking into obscurity and The League’s rising poll numbers will accelerate.

As Turley points out it is not in M5S’s best interest to betray its partner at this point. They enj …

Spicy Kim-Xi

Submitted by Rabobank’s Michael Every

US-China trade talks wrapped up with a flurry of announcements and Tweets that one needs to stitch together to try to understand what is going on. My conclusion is that things are about to get very spicy if you consider the full range of ingredients going into this dish and not just the meat.

Both sides agreed that the talks had been substantive and progress had been made, but US Trade Representative Lighthizer made clear the “thorniest” issues are still technology and intellectual property. Lighthizer and Mnu-China will now be going to Beijing together soon to continue the talks. President Trump has been stated as being deeply involved from backstage in these negotiations too, and he weighed in several times yesterday with comments that are important to understand. To reporters, he stated: “This isn’t going to be a small deal with China. This is either going to be a very big deal, or it’s going to be a deal that we’ll just postpone for a little while.” Translating that into English, it seems to mean that a Mnu-China soy and LNG deal is not the table, and Trump will keep pushing for the big Lighthizer reforms. Moreover, consider these following Trump Tweets:

China’s top trade negotiators are in the U.S. meeting with our representatives. Meetings are going well with good intent and spirit on both sides. China does not want an increase in Tariffs and feels they will do much better if they make a deal. They are correct. I will be meeting with their top leaders and representatives today in the Oval Office. No final deal will be made until my friend President Xi, and I, meet in the near future to discuss and agree on some of the long standing and more difficult points. Very comprehensive transaction. China’s representatives and I are trying to do a complete deal, leaving NOTHING unresolved on the table. All of the many pr …

Futures Flat On Lack Of Trade Progress, Global Econ Slump; Amazon Slide Hits Nasdaq

Following the best month for global markets in seven years, February has started off with a whimper as S&P were following the lack of tangible progress in US-China trade talks, Nasdaq futures sliding after disappointing guidance from Amazon, a European rally fizzled dragged down by banks and dismal German and Italian PMI data, and mixed Asian markets after the worst Chinese Caixin PMI in 3 years.

While stocks soared this week after the Fed all but abandoned plans for further rate hikes, and on optimism that a U.S.-China trade deal might be on the cards, the lack of any actual progress in trade negotiations coupled with the lowest Caixin/Markit index of Chinese manufacturing since February 2016, added to a growing list of economic readings indicating slowing global growth.

On Thursday, technology shares gained thanks to solid corporate reports, though a disappointing sales forecast from Amazon.com has now curbed optimism. On the trade front, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer head to China in mid-February.

Meanwhile, Washington trade negotiations, that had been tipped as “determinative”, in the end broke up with an agreement to …

New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker Launches Campaign For President

Update: In its first press release, the newly formed Booker campaign has released a list of top members of its team.

And we have the first “Cory 2020” press release announcing key members of his team including longtime members of his political operation and @just_jenna who was digital director of Hillary’s 2016 campaign. pic.twitter.com/8aPfFJgTYW

— Hunter Walker (@hunterw) February 1, 2019

And predictably, Booker has said that “economic justice” is going to be the focus for his campaign.

* * *

New Jersey Senator and former Newark Mayor Cory “Spartacus” Booker just made it official: He will be joining Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand in seeking the 2020 Democratic nomination.

According to CNBC, Booker officially launched his presidential campaign early Friday, a move that had been widely expected. In preparation, Booker has spent recent weeks crisscrossing key primary states. Booker made the announcement on Feb. 1, the first day of Black History Month. The announcement follows reports that Booker had been calling members of the Congressional Black Caucus and asking for their support.

The Wall Street Journal: Sen. Cory Booker launches presidential campaign

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker entered the race for the Democratic presidential nomination on Friday, seeking to offer a message of unity in a growing field of Democrats seeking to counter President Trump.

Economic Report: Mortgage rates rise for first time in 2019 but are expected to fall from here

Rates for home loans tick up in the most recent week, but all signs point to softening borrowing costs for homeowners in the coming weeks.

Economic Report: U.S. gains 304,000 jobs at start of 2019 as firms continue to hire at blistering pace

The U.S. gained 304,000 new jobs in January, another show of strength for an economy that’s still growing soundly even in the face of more headwinds.