03Apr2019 Pre-Market Commentary:Higher Open Predicted For U.S. Markets

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are mixed today. The DAX is up 1.14% while the CAC 40 gains 0.57%. The FTSE 100 is even.

Dubai’s Emirates NBD to buy Turkey’s Denizbank for $2.8 billion in a revised deal

Dubai’s Emirates NBD said on Wednesday it will buy Turkey’s Denizbank from Russia’s Sberbank at a roughly 20 percent discount to a previously agreed price, after a steep fall in the Turkish lira.

Superdry slumps as founder’s return sparks board revolt

Shares in Superdry Plc fell more than 11 percent on Wednesday after founder Julian Dunkerton narrowly forced his way back into the company, which sparked the exit of most of its board members, including top executives.

Exclusive: Boeing software engaged repeatedly before the crash – sources

Boeing anti-stall software on a doomed Ethiopian Airlines jet re-engaged as many as four times after the crew initially turned it off due to suspect data from an airflow sensor, two people familiar with the matter said.

GM, Ford, and Toyota join to advance self-driving testing, standards

Three major automakers said on Wednesday they were forming a consortium to help draw up safety standards for self-driving cars that could eventually help create regulations in the United States.

Toyota to give royalty-free access to hybrid-vehicle patents

Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp will offer free access to its hybrid-vehicle patents through 2030, it said on Wednesday, seeking to expand the use of the lower-emission technology even as the global industry shifts toward fully electric cars.

Novartis’s Alcon spinoff ousts Baer from Swiss benchmark SMI

Novartis’s spinoff of its eye care division Alcon, set for Tuesday, April 9, marks the largest Swiss stock deal in a decade and forces a reshuffle of the benchmark Swiss Market Index (SMI) as private bank Julius Baer gets booted out.

Brent nears $70 as oil prices rise for the fourth day

Oil prices rose for a fourth day on Wednesday, pushing Brent toward a nearly five-month high of $70 a barrel as support from OPEC-led supply cuts and U.S. sanctions overshadowed a report showing an unexpected rise in U.S. inventories.

Ford to launch more than 30 new models in China over the next three years

Ford Motor plans to launch more than 30 new models in China over the next three years of which over a third will be electric vehicles, the U.S. automaker said on Wednesday, as it seeks to reverse slumping sales in the world’s top auto market.

French carmaker PSA launches Citroen C5 Aircross SUV in India

PSA Group on Wednesday launched its Citroen C5 Aircross SUV in India and said it would be available before the end of 2020, as the French carmaker re-enters the Indian market to expand beyond Europe.

Chicago Elects First Gay Black Woman Mayor

The former federal prosecutor and political neophyte Lori Lightfoot made Chicago history Tuesday night when she won a runoff nonpartisan election to become Chicago’s first black woman, and first openly-gay candidate, ever elected mayor. Winning with a staggering 74% of the vote after parlaying her leadership of a task force on police killings, Lightfoot’s outsider status gave her a huge edge over her opponent, Toni Preckwinkle, the head of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and a former boss of the city’s Democratic Party, who was also a black woman.

After Mayor Rahm Emmanuel declared he would not seek reelection in September as the city’s precarious finances and the appearance of a coverup of police misconduct tainted his image, 14 candidates vied for the position during a non-partisan election, which led to Tuesday’s runoff after none of the candidates managed to secure a majority in the first round. Both Preckwinkle and Lightfoot beat out Bill Daley, the brother of Emmanuel’s predecessor, Richard Daley, and a member of a Chicago political dynasty, a sign that voters were fed up with the city’s political class and its reputation for self-dealing.

The Brexit Desperation Rises As The Betrayal Deepens

Authored by Tom Luongo,

The British parliament is now worse than a joke. And they have no one to blame but themselves.

Toyota’s 207-cm Basketball Robot Is A Superstar Three-Point Shooter

Watch out massively overpaid basketball players: you may be next to get swept away by the great robot revolution.

While it can’t dribble or slam dunk just yet (it soon will) Toyota’s basketball robot is deadly from downtown, and hardly ever misses a free throw or a 3-pointer.

Forget ‘Creepy’ – Biden Has A Major Ukraine Problem

Joe Biden appears to have made a major tactical error last year when he bragged to an audience of foreign policy experts how he threatened to hurl Ukraine into bankruptcy if their top prosecutor, General Viktor Shokin, wasn’t immediately fired, according to The Hill’s John Solomon.

The Challenges And Promises Of Rural America

from the St Louis Fed

— this post authored by Ray Boshara, Director, Center for Household Financial Stability

The day after November’s midterm elections, I traveled from urban St. Louis to rural southwest Minnesota to give a talk about the growing economic divide in America. Scanning the headlines that morning, it appeared that I had traversed a political divide as well:

Urban voters had overwhelmingly chosen Democrats.

Rural voters had overwhelmingly chosen Republicans.

Nascent Hopes

from the International Monetary Fund

— this post authored by Marwan Muasher

The Arab uprisings may have set in motion a long-term transformation in the region

The antigovernment uprisings that began in Tunisia in late 2010 and quickly spread across most of the Arab world clearly did not lead to the rapid establishment of democratic countries as many had hoped. Nearly all nations have returned to the bad governance that prevailed nearly seven years ago and fed the regionwide revolt.

The Wall Street Journal: Ethiopian airlines pilots initially followed Boeing’s emergency steps to disable 737 MAX system

Pilots at the controls of the Boeing Co. 737 MAX that crashed in March in Ethiopia initially followed emergency procedures laid out by the planemaker but still failed to recover control of the jet, according to people briefed on the probe’s preliminary findings.

London markets left behind as Europe rallies

Solid gains Wednesday across Europe didn’t translate to the U.K., where markets were flat

European markets enter the fourth day of a broad rally

Stocks lifted by positive rumblings about U.S.-China trade and encouraging PMI survey figures