18Feb2019 Market Commentary: The New York Stock Exchange And Nasdaq Are Shuttered Today, DOW Futures Flat, Up 8 Points, SP 500 Futures Down -0.1%, WTI Up At 56.10

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are mixed. The CAC 40 is higher by 0.14%, while the DAX is leading the FTSE 100 lower. They are down 0.16% and 0.08% respectively.

Britain does not support total Huawei network ban: sources

British security officials do not support a full ban of Huawei from national telecoms networks despite U.S. allegations the Chinese firm and its products could be used by Beijing for spying, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Germany’s Bafin bans Wirecard ‘short’ positions over volatility

Germany’s financial watchdog has banned “short” selling of Wirecard shares after reports in the Financial Times sparked recent volatility in the payments firm’s stock.

Britain’s FT says allegations over Wirecard reporting are false

Britain’s Financial Times rejected as “baseless and false” any allegations accusing the newspaper or its reporters of market manipulation or unethical reporting in relation to German payments company Wirecard.

World stocks lifted to 2-1/2 month highs by trade optimism

Hopes of progress in Sino-U.S. trade talks and expectations of policy stimulus from central banks lifted world stocks to 2-1/2 month highs on Monday, though European gains were dampened by concerns over the car sector’s outlook.

Citi in talks to buy Canary Wharf office building: source

Citigroup is in talks to buy the tower housing its European headquarters in London’s Canary Wharf district, which is on the market with a price tag of around 1.2 billion pounds ($1.55 billion), a source familiar with the matter said.

SoftBank invests in Mubadala’s new $400 million European tech fund: source

Japan’s SoftBank Group has provided nearly half of the cash for Abu Dhabi’s state investor Mubadala Investment Co’s new $400 million fund investing in European start-ups, a source familiar with the matter said.

New Zealand will conduct own assessment of Huawei equipment risk: PM

New Zealand will independently assess the risk of using China’s Huawei Technologies in 5G networks, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday after a report suggested that British precautions could be used by other nations.

New Zealand to target online giants with digital tax

New Zealand said on Monday that it plans to update its laws so it can tax revenue earned by multinational digital firms such as Google, Facebook and Amazon, extending a global effort to bring global tech giants into the tax net.

U.S. agency submits auto tariff probe report to White House

The U.S. Commerce Department sent a report on Sunday to U.S. President Donald Trump that could unleash steep tariffs on imported cars and auto parts, provoking a sharp backlash from the industry even before it is unveiled, the agency confirmed.

Trade Hope Rally Fizzles In Europe After China Soars To Four Month High

The latest “trade hope” rally which sent the Dow Jones up 444 points on Friday, fizzled overnight as stocks in Europe and U.S. futures drifted in thin trading (US exchanges are closed for Presidents’ Day) even after a rally in Asia boosted shares to their highest level since October on delayed catch up to the US.

The Stoxx Europe 600 was flat, with the Stoxx 50 little changed on the session, with the Dax declining while peripheral indexes IBEX 35 and FTSE MIB outperformed, as gains in telecommunications companies offset declines in carmakers, after President Donald Trump received a report that may be a preliminary step to raising tariffs on auto imports. The autos index, a bellwether for Europe’s economy, fell 0.65%, also pressured by data showing Chinese car sales fell 16% in January, their seventh straight month of decline, and the biggest one month drop in seven years.

Trump has 90 days to decide whether to act upon the recommendations.

“The optimism on trade has been strong, but the underlying economic data has been a lot of weaker – so you have some push and pull factors,” said David Vickers, senior portfolio manager at …

Trump Slams McCabe & Rosenstein Over “Treasonous”, “Very Illegal” Plan To Secretly Record President

During an interview that aired in full on CBS last night, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe – who was famously fired just hours before qualifying for his pension due to what the DOJ inspector general described as “unauthorized leaks to the press” – McCabe insisted that Rod Rosenstein was “absolutely serious” when he asked senior Trump administration officials to clandestinely record their conversations with the president in preparation for removing him under the 25th amendment – a plan that has been derided as an attempted coup by family members and allies of the president.

Clearly displeased with McCabe’s revelations, Trump lashed out at again on Twitter, accusing him of telling a “deranged” story and plotting “a very illegal act”.

Wow, so many lies by now disgraced acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe. He was fired for lying, and now his story gets even more deranged. He and Rod Ro …

German Regulator Bans Short-Selling In Wirecard Shares, Citing “Contagion” Risks

Clearly worried about the possibility that a sustained blowup in shares of fintech darling Wirecard – which replaced troubled lender Commerzbank in Germany’s DAX 30 index last year – could create a drag on the country’s benchmark index – if not European markets more broadly – German financial regulators have decided to employ a strategy pioneered by regulators in Beijing: Over the weekend, German financial regulator BaFin banned shorting shares of Wirecard, citing the risk of a “further downward spiral” in the company’s shares, according to the Financial Times.

Wirecard shares imploded last month after the FT published a story alleging fraud in the company’s Asia operations which was exposed by a whistleblower who explained how managers at Wirecard had been encouraged to report fraudulent figures to local regulators as the company sought to expand its business in Asia. While there was initially some doubt about the veracity of the FT’s reporting,

Maduro Expels European Delegation As Showdown Over Humanitarian Aid Intensifies

In his latest act of defiance against the Western powers who are seeking to oust him from power, Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro on Sunday expelled a team of five visiting European lawmakers, according to AFP.

One member of the delegation, Spanish MEP Esteban Gonzalez Pons, who was in charge of the delegation, took to twitter to warn that “our passports have been seized” and that “they have not informed us of the reason for the expulsion.” The group was invited to Venezuelan by opposition leader Juan Guaido, and had professed to be on a fact-finding mission to discern the true nature of the circumstances on the ground.

Pons recounted the saga of traveling to Venezuela, having the delegations’ passports seized and then being expelled from the country, in a lengthy twitter thread.

He claimed that the only explanation for their rough treatment was that Maduro “doesn’t want us here.”

Market Extra: Presidents Day: Everything you need to know about market closures on Washington’s Birthday

U.S. financial markets will take a break on Monday in observance of Presidents Day.

Key Words: Berkshire’s Charlie Munger has a very blunt response to those ‘driving rich people away’ as Amazon scraps HQ2

Munger’s comments come after Amazon announced on Thursday that it was canceling plans to build its New York City headquarters in Long Island City, and wouldn’t be seeking a replacement venue.

Europe Markets: European stocks hover at 4-month highs on hopes for more trade progress; Wirecard surges

European markets were mostly down on Monday, after last week’s highs, as investor continue to watch trade negotiations between the U.S. and China unfold