Written by Gary
Jobless claims rise slightly to 225,000 (SPY down and flat).
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 0.58% while Germany’s DAX is off 0.11% and France’s CAC 40 is lower by 0.02%. |
What Is Moving the Markets
Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
U.S. economic growth slows less than expected in fourth quarterThe U.S. economy slowed less than expected in the fourth quarter amid solid consumer and business spending, leaving 2018 growth just shy of the Trump administration’s 3 percent annual target. | |
Uber, Lyft to offer drivers shares in stock market listing: WSJRide-hailing firms Uber and Lyft plan to offer cash bonuses to some of its most-active or longest-serving drivers along with the chance to put them into shares from their long-awaited stock market launches, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. | |
China February factory activity shrinks to three-year low, export orders worst in a decadeFactory activity in China contracted to a three-year low in February as export orders fell at the fastest pace since the global financial crisis, highlighting deepening cracks in an economy facing weak demand at home and abroad. | |
Global stocks sink for third day as investors temper trade optimismGlobal stocks fell for a third straight day on Thursday as investor optimism about U.S.-China trade talks receded, while an early end to the U.S.-North Korean summit in Vietnam and weak Chinese economic data also weighed on sentiment. | |
J.C. Penney beats same-store sales forecasts, shares surge 20 percentJ.C. Penney’s comparable-store sales fell at a lower pace than expected, as the department store chain sold more jewelry and apparel during the key holiday shopping season. | |
Stock futures weak as Trump-Kim summit ends abruptly; GDP data in focusU.S. stock index futures edged lower on Thursday after a U.S.-North Korea summit ended abruptly in Vietnam and ahead of a fourth-quarter report on U.S. gross domestic product. | |
Future Retail secures deal to open 7-Eleven stores in IndiaU.S.-based 7-Eleven Inc expects to open its first branded store in India this year, after reaching a deal with Future Retail Ltd to run the chain in the Asian nation. | |
Celgene slumps as Bristol-Myers shareholder resists mergerShares of Celgene Corp dived 8 percent on Thursday after a major shareholder in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co came out against a $74 billion merger that would be the pharmaceutical world’s biggest ever takeover. | |
Sunrise challenges Swisscom with $6.3 billion deal for Liberty Global’s assetsSwitzerland’s Sunrise Communications is buying U.S. cable giant Liberty Global’s local assets in a $6.3 billion deal to bolster its position against Swisscom, the country’s dominant mobile and internet provider. | |
Beto O’Rourke Has “Made A Decision” About 2020 Presidential BidThe Democratic presidential field seemingly grows more crowded by the day, but so far, only one of the three potential candidates who consistently poll at the top of the pack has officially declared their intention to run (Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders launched his campaign earlier this month and quickly netted a fundraising haul of $6 million). But that may soon change. Because according to the Dallas Morning News, Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke has finally made a decision about whether he will seek the 2020 nomination. And sources close to the Congressman say that decision is probably a ‘yes’. O’Rourke, who was also weighing another Senate bid next year, this time challenging No. 2 Senate Republican John Cornyn, has decidedly ruled that out for now – a sign that he will ultimately seek the presidency instead.
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Tesla Said To “Secure” $2 Billion In Funding For Shanghai PlantAccording to JL Warren Capital – a NY-based analysis firm specializing in Chinese companies – Tesla may finally have “funding secured” for its factory in Shanghai. As reported by CNBC, the company has lined up about $2 billion in loans from a consortium of investors, including Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Agricultural Bank of China. This could take the wind out of the sails of Musk’s “surprise” announcement that investors are expecting today. We pointed out just a day ago that Elon Musk had potentially again violated his settlement agreement with the SEC when – after the SEC made it clear they were seeking contempt of court charges against Musk – he announced, again on Twitter, that there would be “Tesla news” coming toward the end of the trading day today, Thursday. Tesla shares rallied on the expectation of the news, soa … | |
Gambino Heir: Michael Cohen Better Watch Out In Prison, “Inmates Love Trump And Hate Rats”Giovanni Gambino has a warning for Michael Cohen: keep your mouth shut in prison because “inmates love Trump and hate rats.” The 43-year-old son of the late Sicilian mob boss Francesco ‘Ciccio’ Gambino and cousin to crime boss Carlo Gambino told the Daily Mail that if Cohen wants to live through his prison experience, he better watch what he says. “Inmates love Trump, and hate rats. If he wants to get out alive, he better keep his mouth shut about Trump,” said Gambino. While President Trump was in Vietnam negotiating with North Korea, Cohen testified in front of the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, accusing Trump of racism, lying and cheating. | |
Futures Fall After Dismal Chinese Data, Korea Summit Ends In ChaosThe recent market weakness continued, and the S&P pulled further back from the 2800 “quadruple-top” overnight, as global stocks dropped for a third day following the latest disappointing PMI data out of China and an unexpected and abrupt collapse to the U.S.-North Korea summit added to investor fears of a rapidly slowing economy, and as the dollar slumped further, safe havens such as the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc, as well as gold, all gained. Just two weeks after announcing it had injected more credit into its economy than the GDP of Saudi Arabia, overnight China disappointed again when it reported its February manufacturing PMIs which tumbled deeper into contraction territory even as the Non-mfg PMI also missed expectations: the Mfg PMI dropped to 49.2, below the 49.5 expected as the index of new export orders tumbled to 45.2 from 46.9 – falling at their fastest pace since the global financial crisis – while the non-manufacturing PMI, which reflects activity in the construction and services sectors, also fell, to 54.3 compared with 54.7 in January. | |
Economic Report: Jobless claims rise slightly to 225,000 in late February, but rate of layoffs still very lowThe number of people who applied for unemployment benefits in late February rose modestly but remained near the lowest level in decades, suggesting the labor market is still rock solid. Jobless claims, a rough measure of layoffs, rose by 8,000 to 225,000. | |
Europe Markets: Europe’s markets succumb to more losses as global geopolitical tensions riseEurope’s markets were down on Wednesday, after investors digested a range of world-wide geopolitical concerns, including the first day the Trump-Kim summit’s abrupt end and heightening hostility between Pakistan and India. | |
Economic Report: Economy slows to 2.6% in 4th quarter, GDP shows, but consumers and businesses show plenty of resilienceA slumping housing market and bigger trade deficit softened up the economy in the final three months of 2018 after a torrid spell of growth last spring and summer, but consumers and businesses still showed plenty of resilience. GDP grew 2.6% in the fourth quarter and 2.9% for all of 2018. |
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