05Mar2019 Midday Update: Wall Street Climbs Into The Green Before Trending Back Down, DOW Flat At -10 Points, WTI Crude Going Nowhere At 56.54

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

T-Mobile spent $195,000 at Trump Hotel in D.C. since merger announcement

T-Mobile Us Inc’s chief executive, John Legere, and other company leaders have spent $195,000 on hotel stays and other expenses at the Trump International Hotel in Washington since the company sought approval for a $26 billion merger with Sprint last April, documents released on Tuesday show.

Delta plans fleet overhaul, considering Alitalia investment

Delta Air Lines is planning to replace one-third of its mainline fleet in the next five years, while still deciding whether or not to invest in struggling Italian carrier Alitalia, Chief Executive Ed Bastian said on Tuesday.

Oil prices flat; focus on OPEC-led output cuts, Libya oilfield

Oil prices hovered near flat on Tuesday as the market balanced OPEC-led efforts to tighten crude supply with the restart of Libya’s biggest oilfield and the prospect of weaker demand.

Papa John’s founder Schnatter to exit board in settlement

Papa John’s founder John Schnatter is leaving its board of directors as part of a settlement resolving a bitter dispute for control of the world’s third-largest pizza chain.

Harley-Davidson scoots into kids electric bikes with StaCyc deal

Harley-Davidson Inc moved into kids electric bikes on Tuesday with the purchase of California-based StaCyc Inc, tapping a new business outside its declining core market in classic motorcycles.

Ousted Nissan boss Ghosn to leave prison after court rejects prosecutors’ appeal

A Japanese court on Tuesday rejected a last-minute attempt by prosecutors to keep former Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn in prison, ruling that the once-feted executive could be released on $8.9 million bail after more than 100 days in detention.

Japanese prosecutors’ appeal against bail for former Nissan boss Ghosn is rejected

A Japanese court has rejected prosecutors’ appeal against a decision to grant the ousted former chairman of Nissan Motor bail, the court said on Tuesday, paving the way for Carlos Ghosn to leave prison as early as Wednesday.

Ousted Nissan boss Ghosn says will fight ‘meritless’ charges: statement

Carlos Ghosn, the ousted chairman of Nissan Motor, said he was innocent and committed to fighting the “meritless and unsubstantiated” accusations against him, according to a statement ahead of his expected release from prison on bail.

BMW could shift some UK engine, Mini output if no orderly Brexit

BMW could move some production of engines and its Mini model out of Britain if the country does not secure an orderly departure from the European Union, the German carmaker said on Tuesday, in the latest Brexit warning from the auto industry.

We Are Just Days Away From A Critical CTA “Sell Trigger”

Last week, Nomura’s cross-asset strategist Charlie McElligott who correctly predicted the aggressive steepening in the yield curve observed in recent weeks as traders embraced a late-cycle reflation trade, and who has been pounding the table on a (violent) rotation out of growth and into value stocks, laid out a sequence of events that would lead the market to the “long awaited” selloff (incidentally, a true selloff, not the gentle turbulence observed on Monday).

Now, there is one even more bearish technical catalyst to consider.

As McElligott writes in his latest note, referring to the dynamic he has been discussing recently in terms of the CTA Trend model’s US Equities extremely over-weighted 1Y window (where 90% of the overall model signal input across the five horizons), the window of “mechanical” sell-trigger levels for the trend-following community, is “kicking-off” in the coming-days—and thus moves us closer to triggering systematic trend fund “deleveraging” looking-out. The timing would coincide with his prior “Ides of March” warning, and would strike in about two weeks, coinciding with the March Op-Ex pullback phenomenon, and commencement of corporate “buyback blackout” at same time.

As a reminder, Nomura’s current CTA position estimates are “+100% Max Long” almost uniformly across the board (including SPX, RTY, NDX, EuroStoxx 50, Nikkei 225, FTSE100< CAC40, Hang Seng, Hang Seng CH and ASX), and only the DAX and Kospi still see CTAs net short.

Trade War Deepens: US Probes Titanium Imports In Possible Tariff Case

The Trump administration on Monday launched a national security inquiry into titanium sponge imports, a critical material used in military and aerospace applications.

The titanium sponge probe under Section 232 follows a 2017 investigation by the Commerce Department at the request of Titanium Metals Corp., an American manufacturer of titanium-based products.

Return Of The Debt Limit And Sequestration: What Happens Next

Authored by Philip Marey of Rabobank

After being suspended for about a year, the debt limit returned on March 2. However, the Treasury Department will take extraordinary measures that could delay a federal government default to September or October.

Consequently, raising the debt limit could become tied to the budget negotiations for fiscal year 2020, which starts on October 1, 2019.

If no budget deal is reached before October 1 there are two possibilities: either Congress adopts a continuing resolution (triggering automatic spending cuts) or the government shuts down again.

Therefore, we may be heading toward a game of chicken between Republicans and Democrats with the threat of a government default and either sequestration or another government shutdown.

Introduction

While another government shutdown was averted in February, the debt limit returned in March. In early 2018, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 suspended the debt limit through March 1, 2019. During this period, the Treasury Department was allowed to borrow what it needed to meet existing commitments. However, the amount of debt on March 2 will be the upper limit for the Treasury going forward. This does not mean that the government will go into default in March. The Treasury is able to take extraordinary measures that may delay a default to September or October. However, this means that the discussion about the debt limit could become tied to the negotiations about the budget for fiscal year 2020, which starts on October 1, 2019. The tricky aspect of the FY2020 budget negotiations is that if no budget agreement is reached before October 1, and Congress will have to pass a continuing resolution, automatic budget cuts will take place through sequestration. What’s more, if Congress also fails to pass continuing resolution, another government shutdown will take place in October. …

NSA Abandons Part Of Mass Surveillance Program Exposed By Snowden

The National Security Agency (NSA) has reportedly abandoned part of their infamous surveillance apparatus exposed by former contractor Edward Snowden, and used for the mass collection of Americans’ communications records; including phone logs, metadata and text messages.

December 2018 Headline New Home Sales Improved

Written by John Lounsbury and Steven Hansen

The headlines say new home sales improved but remained in contraction. Median and average sales prices improved – but the backlog of unsold homes grew.

Futures Movers: Oil inches lower as China cuts growth forecast, Libya reopens its largest oil field

Oil futures move lower on Tuesday, after posting gains a day earlier, pressured by news that Libya has reopened its largest oil field and China lowered its economic growth forecast.

Trump Today: President slams Democrats over probe he calls harassment

President Donald Trump escalated attacks on Democrats investigating him and his associates, as he prepared Tuesday to sign an executive order establishing a task force addressing veteran suicide.

The Ratings Game: Tesla stock slides another 4% as analysts question recent decisions, fret about cash burn

Barclays and Morgan Stanley join the chorus of Tesla doubters as stock falls for the third straight session.