29Mar2019 Market Close: Wall Street Ends Week On A Higher Note, SP 500 Notches Best Start To A Year Since 1998, Dow Rises More Than 211 Points On Trade Optimism

Lyft shares soar on Nasdaq debut, setting stage for Uber

Lyft Inc’s shares opened up more than 20 percent in their market debut on Friday, giving the ride hailing startup a market value of more than $27 billion, amid strong investor demand that bodes well for larger rival Uber Technologies Inc.

Factbox: Venture backers reap multibillion-dollar payday in Lyft IPO

Lyft Inc’s initial public offering on Thursday marked the latest chapter in the seven-year journey of the U.S. ride-hailing app, from a startup backed by seed funding to a publicly traded company worth more than $27 billion.

Trade optimism boosts Wall St; S&P 500 notches best quarter since 2009

U.S. stocks ended the final trading day of the first quarter on a strong note on Friday, and the S&P 500 registered its best quarterly gain since 2009, boosted by optimism over trade talks between the United States and China.

Outsider CEO won’t be a quick fix for Wells Fargo: analysts

Wells Fargo & Co’s plan to bring in an outsider as its next chief executive could give the scandal-plagued bank a much needed fresh start, but a turnaround will not be easy for whoever takes the helm, analysts said.

Fed policymakers do not want rate cuts, not even the doves

Barely a week after the U.S. Federal Reserve called a halt to interest rate hikes, policymakers are now battling a view growing in financial markets, and embraced by the Trump administration, that the Fed will need to cut rates before long.

U.S., China hold ‘candid and constructive’ trade talks in Beijing

The United States and China said they made progress in trade talks that concluded on Friday in Beijing that Washington called “candid and constructive” as the world’s two largest economies try to resolve a bitter, nearly nine-month trade war.

White House’s Kudlow says U.S.-China trade talks making headway

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Friday the United States and China are making progress in trade talks.

U.S. consumer spending soft, inflation benign as economy slows

U.S. consumer spending barely rose in January and income increased modestly in February, suggesting the economy was fast losing momentum after growth slowed in the fourth quarter.

Anti-stall system active before Ethiopian 737 MAX crash: sources

An anti-stall system at the center of a probe into the crash of a Boeing 737 MAX jetliner in Indonesia five months ago was also at play when an identical aircraft crashed in Ethiopia earlier this month, three people briefed on the matter said.

Stocks End Q1 With Best Start In 21 Years As Earnings & Bond Yields Plunge

Summarizing Q1 in one chart: Stocks soared alongside a renewed surge in global money supply as top-down and bottom-up fun-durr-mental data collapsed…

A Wokester’s Nightmare: “The End Of The Era When Anything Goes & Nothing Matters”

Authored by James Howard Kunstler via Kunstler.com,

The tides are shifting. Something’s in the wind. And it’s not just the fecund vapors of spring. The political soap opera of RussiaGate ended like a fart in a windstorm last weekend, leaving Mr. Mueller’s cheerleaders de-witched, bothered, and bewildered. And then a crude attempt was made to cram the Jussie Smollett case down Chicago’s memory hole. These two unrelated hoaxes emanating out of Wokester Land may signal something momentous: the end of the era when anything goes and nothing matters.

Mueller Report Will Be Released By “Mid-April, If Not Sooner”, AG Barr Says

Update: In response to Barr’s letter announcing the upcoming release of a redacted version of the Mueller report, Chairman Nadler said: “As I informed the Attorney General..Congress requires the full and complete Mueller report, without redactions, as well as access to the underlying evidence, by April 2. That deadline still stands.”

Nadler to Barr saying he’ll release rpt by mid-April if not sooner: “As I informed the Attorney General..Congress requires the full and complete Mueller report, without redactions, as well as access to the underlying evidence, by April 2. That deadline still stands”

— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) March 29, 2019

***

Attorney General William Barr wrote a Friday letter in response to Senate Judiciary Chair Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) notifying them that a redacted copy of the Mueller report will be delivered to Congress, then available to the public, by mid-April “if not sooner.”

SEC Publishes Satirical Letter from “Melon Tusk” Trolling the Agency

On March 25, the SEC memorialized what will could become an iconic document in the ongoing legal saga whether Elon Musk should be held in contempt of court. The letter was discovered and posted on Twitter by Aaron Greenspan. It is addressed to “The SEC, Whom I Do Not Respect”.

The letter is satirically written by Elon Musk and signed with the name “Melon Tusk”, placing an “M” and a “T” in front of Elon Musk’s signature. It opens by ridiculing former SEC Chair Jay Clayton, stating:

“Jay is a being a good boy in cutting slack for highly important executives whose mission is to save the world and humanity.”

The letter then thanks Hester Peirce for “her hard work towards dismantling the SEC”.

“Peirce is doing a splendid job of neutering @SEC_Enforcement as much as possible, and turning the SEC into the perfect tool for businesses to ‘hunt for profits’ in pretty much any way that they see fit – especially those selling dreams that will come true in 3 months maybe, 6 months definitely,” the letter reads, mocking public timelines once set by Elon Musk.

22 March 2019 ECRI’s WLI Growth Rate Index Continues to Improve

Written by Steven Hansen

ECRI’s WLI Growth Index which forecasts economic growth six months forward improved but remains in contraction.

Final March 2019 Michigan Consumer Sentiment Down Marginally From Preliminary

Written by Steven Hansen

The final University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment for March came in at 98,4 – down from the preliminary of 98.7 – and up from the February final of 93.8.

Howard Gold’s No-Nonsense Investing: Don’t buy Lyft and other money-losing IPOs

The winners will be venture capitalists and Wall Street, not individual investors, writes Howard Gold.

IPO Report: Lyft stock pops on first day of trading in encouraging sign for unicorn pipeline

Shares of Lyft Inc. soar in Friday trading after the ride-hailing company made its debut on the Nasdaq.

Economic Report: Mortgage rates plunge at the fastest pace in a decade as growth fears resurface

Rates for home loans tumbled in the wake of a more-dovish-than-expected Federal Reserve meeting which sent investors piling into bonds.