11Mar2019 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street To Open Mixed, DOW Down Almost 200 Points, US Retail Sales Rose 0.2% Vs 0.1% Drop Expected

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are higher today with shares in London leading the region. The FTSE 100 is up 0.35% while Germany’s DAX is up 0.30% and France’s CAC 40 is up 0.19%.

Merger speculation boosts shares in Deutsche and Commerzbank

Shares in Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank traded higher on Monday as German business warmed to the prospect of a tie-up between the country’s two largest banks.

U.S. retail sales rise in January; December revised sharply down

WASHINGTON, March 11 – U.S. retail sales unexpectedly rose in January, lifted by an increase in purchases of building materials and discretionary spending, but receipts in December were much weaker than initially thought.

China, Indonesia ground Boeing 737 MAX 8 fleets after Ethiopia crash

China and Indonesia grounded their fleets of Boeing’s 737 MAX 8 aircraft on Monday, and investigators recovered the black box from a crash that killed 157 people, the second disaster in less than five months involving the new model.

With budget, Trump throws opening jab in next funding fight with Congress

President Donald Trump on Monday will ask lawmakers to hike spending for the military and the wall he wants to build on the U.S.-Mexico border and slash other programs in his 2020 budget, the opening move in his next funding fight with Congress.

Barrick ends hostile bid for Newmont, signs Nevada joint venture

Barrick Gold Corp has withdrawn its proposal to buy Newmont Mining Corp, the companies said on Monday, ending a hostile takeover effort that sought to unite the world’s two biggest gold producers.

Levi Strauss IPO to raise as much as $587 million

Jeans maker Levi Strauss & Co said on Monday it expects to raise as much as $587 million through its initial public offering, which marks its return to public markets after more than three decades.

Oil gains as Saudi stands by OPEC cuts, U.S. drilling drops

Oil prices rose on Monday, lifted by comments from Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih that an end to OPEC-led supply cuts was unlikely before June and a report showing a fall in U.S. drilling activity.

Global Aerospace is lead insurer for Boeing

Britain’s Global Aerospace is the lead insurer for the world’s biggest plane maker Boeing Co, the insurer’s top boss said on Monday.

Boeing shares down 10 percent after second crash involving 737 MAX 8

Shares of Boeing Co slid almost 10 percent in early trading on Monday after some airlines grounded the world’s biggest planemaker’s new 737 MAX 8 passenger jet following the second deadly crash in just five months.

Rubio’s “Full Gangster” Comments Hinder US-Saudi Relations

Authored by Tim Daiss via Oilprice.com,

It didn’t take long for Florida Senator Marco Rubio’s comments that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had “gone full gangster” to make the news rounds all the way from the U.S. to the Middle East, across the globe and back again. The Republican senator made his controversial comments during Retired Gen. John Abizaid’s nomination hearing Wednesday in Washington to be the Trump administration’s first ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Despite increasing tensions between the two long-time allies, the U.S. has not had an ambassador to Saudi Arabia since Trump became president in January 2017. Abizaid is a retired four-star Army general who led U.S. Central Command during the Iraq war under the Bush and Obama administrations.

Key Events This Week: Brexit, Retail Sales And CPI

All eyes turn to Brexit this week in what could be a crunch few days for the UK government. Additionally, as DB notes, a BoJ meeting and US CPI, PPI and retail sales data are also highlights. China’s NPC also enters its second week while European Parliament votes on a resolution about security threats linked to Chinese tech.

With just three weeks to go until the UK is scheduled to leave the EU, another “crunch” week awaits the UK government. On Tuesday the House of Commons is scheduled to hold a meaningful vote on the amended Withdrawal Agreement. If the vote is rejected, lawmakers will then be asked on Wednesday if the UK should take a no-deal Brexit option off the table in its negotiations. If that is rejected, then on Thursday Parliament will hold a vote on an extension to Article 50. Should the extension be accepted then this would likely result in it being signed off at the March 21/22 EU summit. Needless to say that newsflow in recent days has been less than encouraging for PM May, despite signs that the two sides are engaging. That said it appears that the two sides remain far apart. Talks are expected to continue over the weekend and into Monday, however should they fail then it’s likely Parliament will vote against the deal on Tuesday. That would make an extension likely. Much could depend on the next 72 hours however.

As for the BoJ on Friday, no change in policy is expected and the meeting also doesn’t include an outlook report so it’s likely to be mostly a non-event. There was a bit of interest in a Bloomberg report this week which suggested that the BoJ would discuss a possible downgrade in its view of overseas economies, production and exports. Deutsche Bank economists consider this appropriate given the disappointing production and export data for January. Nevertheless, they note that the output gap as measured by the BoJ remains positive, so even a downward revision in production and exports should …

Global Markets Rebound On China Stimulus Hopes

After a weekend with relatively few news besides another deadly crash involving Boeing’s new 737 Max which prompted China to halt usage of the airplane and sent Boeing shares plunging and dragging Dow futures lower (Boeing is the biggest member of the Dow), all eyes were on China to see if Friday’s rout when the Shanghai Composite plunged nearly 5% following a key downgrade by a state-owned brokerage, would persist. It did not, and instead the Shanghai and Shenzhen Composites both closed at their highs, up almost 2% for the day following talk of more stimulus from Beijing.

‘Black Boxes’ Recovered From Wreckage Of Downed Ethiopian Air Plane

Update: Indonesia’s Transport Ministry will order the temporary grounding of all 737s while it carries out safety inspections, Reuters reported.

Reuters: #Indonesia’s transport ministry says to temporarily ground #Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft while it undertakes inspections

— Vincent Lee (@Rover829) March 11, 2019

In a sign that more details about the crash could soon be known, Ethiopian State TV says it has recovered both ‘black boxes’ from flight ET302, which contains important data that could shed some light on what caused the crash. Included in the data is a cockpit recording which could shed some light on what pilots were saying and doing in the plane’s final moments.

Reuters: #Ethiopia State TV says black box from #EthiopianAirlines flight that crashed Sunday has been recovered

— Vincent Lee (@Rover829) March 11, 2019

This could be the first major breakthrough in the investigation, and could reveal whether repor …

December 2018 Leading Index Review: Growth Forecasts Generally Slowing

Written by Steven Hansen

This post is a review of the Philadelphia Fed’s Leading Index and all major leading indicators – and their trends are generally slowing.

Nvidia to make largest acquisition in its history with $7 billion deal for Mellanox

Nvidia Corp. won a reported bidding war for high-performance chip maker Mellanox Technologies Ltd., announcing Monday morning that the two companies had agreed to a deal valued at nearly $7 billion.

The ‘smart money’ prefers Alibaba over Amazon, Intel over AMD, and Google over Apple

The change came after popular tech stocks were sold short late last year.

Economic Report: U.S. retail sales rebound slightly in January a month after biggest decline in 10 years

A month after the biggest decline in 10 years, sales at U.S. retailers rebounded slightly in January, led by Internet stores and home centers. Retail sales rose 0.2% in January vs. a revised 1.6% drop in December.