Written by Gary
Stock-index futures struggle for direction as investors watch trade talks, await Fed minutes (SPY -0.1%).
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
 | European markets are higher today with shares in Germany leading the region. The DAX is up 0.41% while France’s CAC 40 is up 0.27% and London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.18%. |
What Is Moving the Markets
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
 | Oil falls after record U.S. shale output forecastOil fell on Wednesday after the U.S. government said shale output would rise to a record next month, denting a rally that sent prices to their highest this year. |
| Microsoft says discovers hacking targeting democratic institutions in EuropeMicrosoft Corp on Wednesday said it had discovered hacking targeting democratic institutions, think tanks and non-profit organizations in Europe and plans to offer a cyber security service to several countries to close security gaps. |
| Southwest cuts growth forecast on government shutdown painSouthwest Airlines Co cut its forecast for first-quarter revenue per seat mile on Wednesday, citing weak passenger demand and a $60 million hit to first-quarter sales from the longest partial U.S. government shutdown. |
| Sainsbury’s-Asda deal in jeopardy as UK regulator condemns planBritain’s competition regulator has dealt a potentially fatal blow to Sainsbury’s planned $9.5 billion takeover of Walmart’s Asda, saying the supermarket groups were unlikely to be able to address its “extensive” concerns about the deal. |
| French court fines UBS 4.5 billion euros in tax fraud caseA French court on Wednesday found Swiss bank UBS AG guilty of illegally soliciting clients in France and laundering the proceeds of tax evasion, and ordered it to pay 4.5 billion euros ($5.10 billion) in penalties. |
| UBS to appeal against French court rulingSwiss bank UBS will appeal against a French court’s ruling that found it guilty of laundering the proceeds of tax evasion, said UBS’ general counsel. |
| UBS ordered by court to pay French state 800 million euros in damagesA French court on Wednesday ordered UBS to pay the French state 800 million euros ($907 million) in damages, after finding UBS guilty of laundering the proceeds of tax fraud. |
| Saudi Aramco to decide in first half on financing SABIC buy: CEOSaudi Aramco said on Wednesday it expects to decide by mid-2019 how to finance the acquisition of Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corp (SABIC). |
| Former Barclays chairman ‘not aware’ of Qatar fee document, court toldBarclays’ former chairman, giving evidence in a landmark London fraud trial, said he first saw a document detailing agreed fees for Qatari investors in the British bank four years after the payment was agreed. |
| Tesla General Counsel Quits After Just Two MonthsJust moments after we reported that Elon Musk was engaged in what appeared to be yet another round of premeditated disinformation if not fraud on Twitter, one which we are confident the SEC will completely ignore, when he published a clearly wrong production forecast late on Tuesday night…
… before “correcting” himself just hours later …
… the fallout has already hit and moments ago the WSJ reported that Tesla’s General Counsel, Dane Butswinkas, had decided to quit. Here’s the punchline: Butswinkas was hired just over two months ago, on December 6. According to the WSJ, which first reported the latest revolving door at Tesla, Butswinkas is leaving Tesla to ret … |
| Blain: It Feels Like A Liquidity Storm Is Coming SoonBlain’s Morning Porridge, submitted by Bill Blain I note with some delight Bernie Sanders plans to stand for US President. One of my US chums sent me the story of the Half-a-Bernie sign propped up against a wall. Someone had cut it neatly in two and left the wooden handle affixed to the remaining half. Attached was a note: “Dear Bernie; you had a sign and I didn’t, so I took half. I’m sure you understand.”
I did feel something of a market judder yesterday – just a moment where it felt like all the negativity was on the verge of swamping markets. Whether is the cumulative effect of US rate path expectations (Fed today), China Trade Wars, Trump vs Europe, (ECB tomorrow), Brexit, and all the rest.. or the UK mid-term holidays, the whole market feels thin and rudderless. At least Wal-Mart surprised to the upside! One of my top stock technical commentators is my old buddy Steve Previs of Mint who calls it “complacent.” That’s never a good thing. His charts are telling him to look for a “corrective C wave” but for now he’s patient as “FOMO” (Fear of Missing Out) continues to drive the current trend. I am fortunate enough to work with some very bright folk h … |
| “Go Get Them Nick!”: Trump Cheers Covington Student’s Defamation Suit Against Washington PostPresident Trump cheered Covington High School student Nick Sandmann, whom he invited to the White House in the aftermath of the controversy surrounding his “fake news” confrontation with Native American activist Nathan Phillips, after lawyers for the teen filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against the Washington Post. In his tweet, Trump quoted from the lawsuit, which accused the post of ignoring “basic journalistic standards because it wanted to advance its well-known and easily documented biased agenda against President Donald J. Trump.”
The lawsuit is expected to be the first of many filed against journalists, media organizations and celebrities who helped spread the false narrative about the confrontation, which led to the formation of an angry mob of people on the Internet calling for Sandmann to be punished. |
| Musk Taunts SEC By Tweeting Fake 2019 Auto Production Forecast; Retracts Hours LaterIt’s safe to assume that yesterday was a very busy day for Tesla’s new General Counsel Dane Butswinkas, and whoever is tasked with babysitting Elon Musk’s Twitter account (as set forth in a court order following the SEC’s fraud lawsuit settlement from last year) Musk, to the surprise of few, again shocked Twitter last night when, at about 7PM EST, he took to the social media site and Tweeted that Tesla would make around 500K cars in 2019.
This production target immediately caused a stir on Twitter, with many of the company’s critics pointing out that Tesla’s run rate for the rest of the year would have to be breakneck and record-setting in order to substantiate such production.
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| Trucking Growth Mixed In January 2019
Headline data for truck shipments was mixed – with Cass saying the growth rate marginally contracted year-over-year whilst the ATA shows year-over-year growth rate is positive. |
| The Wall Street Journal: Trump suggests trade-deal flexibility: March 1 tariff deadline is ‘not a magical date’President Donald Trump gave his firmest indication yet that the U.S. may not increase tariffs on Chinese goods on March 1, as scheduled, despite statements by his top trade official that the U.S. should stick to a firm deadline. |
| Cannabis Watch: Tilray makes richest deal yet in effort to jump into U.S. CBD marketMarijuana company Tilray Inc. announced its most expensive acquisition to date early Wednesday, agreeing to spend more than $300 million for a company that claims to be the world’s largest hemp food maker. |
| Deep Dive: 9 stocks with dividend yields over 4% in a sector that often beats the broader marketREITs outperformed the S&P 500 last year and so far in 2019. |
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