26Feb2019 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street To Open Fractionally Lower, DOW Futures Down Almost 100 Points, Dollar Index Down 0.1% At 96.31

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are lower today with shares in London off the most. The FTSE 100 is down 0.84% while France’s CAC 40 is off 0.22% and Germany’s DAX is lower by 0.12%.

VW creates entry-level JETTA brand to capture first-time buyers

Volkswagen on Tuesday said it will launch an entry-level JETTA brand in China in the third quarter this year, as a way to capture first-time buyers in the world’s largest car market which has started to sputter.

Home Depot profit outlook disappoints, shares fall

Home Depot Inc forecast full-year earnings well below Wall Street estimates on Tuesday and reported disappointing quarterly sales, with analysts pointing to the impact of a snowy U.S. winter on construction activity.

Boeing nominates Nikki Haley for election to its board

Boeing Co said on Tuesday it has nominated Nikki Haley, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, to be elected as a director at the company’s annual meeting of shareholders on April 29.

After legal blitz, Embraer says key vote on Boeing tie-up may proceed

Brazilian planemaker Embraer said on Tuesday a key shareholder meeting to vote on the sale of 80 percent of its commercial aviation business to Boeing Co could proceed as scheduled on Tuesday.

Macy’s announces restructuring plan to save $100 million annually

Macy’s Inc on Tuesday announced a restructuring plan that would cut the complexity of its top management structure to speed up decision-making and reduce costs.

Pound leaps on Brexit hopes, shares take breather

Britain’s pound hit a 21-month high against the euro on Tuesday on hopes for a delay to Brexit, while world shares took a breather after scaling a five-month peak.

JPMorgan maintains key profit goal for next three years

JPMorgan Chase & Co on Tuesday maintained its key profit goal for its medium-term outlook of three years, according to an investor presentation ahead of its 12th annual investor day.

Exclusive: Glencore complains to LME about access to metal in Malaysia

Glencore has lodged a complaint with the London Metal Exchange (LME) about the company’s inability to take speedy delivery of aluminum from warehouses owned by ISTIM UK in Port Klang, Malaysia, two sources familiar with the matter said.

Home Depot, Caterpillar weigh on stock futures; Fed testimony awaited

U.S. stock futures edged lower on Tuesday, hit by losses in Home Depot and Caterpillar shares, while investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony on monetary policy.

“For Now, We’re Not Threatening Anyone”: Russian TV Lists Nuclear Targets In The US

With US-Russia relations deteriorating rapidly in the aftermath of the collapse of the INF nuclear arms treaty, which prompted Russia’s Vladimir Putin to slam the US for “demolishing” global security, Russian state television listed U.S. military facilities that Moscow would target in the event of a nuclear strike, in a report which Reuters said “was unusual even by its own bellicose standards” and said that a hypersonic missile Russia is developing would be able to hit them in less than five minutes. The targets included the Pentagon, Forth Ritchie and the presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland. A hypersonic missile Russia is developing would be able to hit them in less than five minutes, it said.

The report was broadcast on Sunday evening, days after President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was militarily ready for a “Cuban Missile”-style crisis if the United States wanted one.

You Can’t Stop The Cycle: The Next Few Years Will Change Everything

Authored by Mike Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog,

2018’s valuation records are astounding in that they show the S&P 500 to be more fundamentally over-valued than it was at the prior two historic stock market valuation peaks in 1929 and 2000, bona fide speculative manias.

– From Crescat Capital’s recent investor letter

Cycles are perhaps the most natural and common occurrence in the universe. The planets orbit the sun, seasons change, day turns to night and night back to day, humans are born, grow old and die.

Some of these cycles are more pleasant to think about than others, but their consistent occurrence remains factually unassailable. Indeed, it could be said that a human life itself consists of an endless series of encounters with various cycles. Cycles of the natural world and cycles created by humans themselves. Human created cycles are the focal point of today’s piece.

I’ve been writing a lot about cycles over the past …

“Quadruple Top”: Stocks Fall As Trade Optimism Fizzles, Powell Looms

Was that it for the “trade war optimism” euphoria?

While traders were delighted to buy the rumor and then buy the news of the China March 1 tariff extension, expecting an imminent trade deal between the US and China, sentiment soured on Tuesday as world shares took a breather on Tuesday after hitting a five-month high, with global markets dropping as the rush of optimism over U.S.-China trade talks turned to pessimism, leading to a sea of red in world markets with even the Chinese stock bubble pausing overnight as concerns about a breakout in hostilities between India and Pakistan spooked the region, while in FX the pound soared, hitting the highest against the Euro since 2017, as the May government gave signs it was willing to delay Brexit.

Europe’s Stoxx 600 Index slumped and S&P 500 Index futures drpoped after President Trump raised the possibility of signing a new trade deal with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, but cautioned an agreement “might not happen at all.”

“It looks like they will be coming back quickly again,” Trump told reporters Monday, referring to the possibi …

Pound Hits 18-Month High As May Opens Door To Brexit Delay

Update: Cable retraced some of its gains after May told Parliament that she would hold a series of votes on her ‘Plan B’ Brexit deal, a measure to take ‘no deal’ off the table, and possibly a third vote on whether to ask for an extension of Article 50 if the vote on “Plan B” fails (which it almost certainly will). While her comments largely confirmed earlier reports about what appear to be major concessions to her critics, she offered some reluctance to do away with ‘no deal’ entirely, though she did say the UK wouldn’t leave without a deal without the explicit consent of Parliament.

The votes would be held as follows: March 12 would be vote on “Plan B”, if that fails, motion would be tabled for amendment vote on March 13 on whether Commons would support leaving without a deal; if that fails, amendment vote on extending Brexit deadline would be tabled on March 14.

12th, 13th and 14th of March shaping up to be some of the most important political days in a very long time

— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) February 26, 2019

May insisted that any delay must be “short and limited” to prevent the UK from needing to participate in EU parliamentary elections. Though she warned that a delay would ultimately lead to a “sharper cliff.”

Despite these concessions, some of May’s critics accused her of cynically trying to bully MPs into accepting her deal.

SNP hits back 👇🼠https://t.co/tA2Y6sdKFY

— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) February 26, 2019

Need to Know: The $1 reason to keep buying Netflix, one of the S&P’s hottest stocks

Our call of the day, from Piper Jaffray research analysts Michael Olson and Yung Kim, offer a $1 reason to keep believing in and buying streaming giant Netflix.

Earnings Outlook: Home Depot and Lowe’s earnings: Same-store sales could be ‘messy’ due to government shutdown, weather

The home improvement retailers Home Depot Inc. and Lowe’s Cos. are scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, and while analysts expect difficult comparisons, 2019 is shaping up to be a good year for remodeling.

Love & Money: Millions of couples keep this a secret — and it could torpedo their relationships

We talk to couples about what happens when you hide one critical issue from your partner.