05Apr2019 Pre-Market Commentary: Hiring Speeds Up As US Economy Adds 196,000 Jobs, DOW Futures Up Almost 100 Points, Markets Expected To Open Subdued

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are higher today with shares in France leading the region. The CAC 40 is up 0.35% while London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.33% and Germany’s DAX is up 0.07%.

U.S. job growth rebounds in March; but wage gains slow

U.S. employment growth accelerated from a 17-month low in March as milder weather boosted activity in sectors like construction, which could further allay fears of a sharp slowdown in economic growth in the first quarter.

Take Five: Panic over? World markets themes for the week ahead

Following are the five big themes likely to dominate thinking of investors and traders in the coming week and the Reuters stories related to them.

Oil prices edge lower on economic concerns, but geopolitics support

Oil prices declined on Friday, with Brent slipping from the $70 mark reached the previous day, but both main contracts were set for weekly gains on mounting geopolitical risks.

EU-China summit preparations stumble over trade, human rights

Tensions over trade, investments and minority rights may prevent China and the EU from agreeing a joint declaration at a summit next week, four diplomats in Brussels said on Friday, sapping a European push for greater access to Chinese markets.

Canadian court dismisses Ecuador’s $9.5 billion claim against Chevron Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada on Thursday dismissed claims attempting to force Chevron Corp’s Canadian unit to pay a $9.5 billion judgment handed down in Ecuador against the U.S. oil major over pollution in the Andean country.

Trade hopes help world shares gain before U.S. jobs data

Cautious optimism over Sino-U.S. trade talks underpinned global stocks on Friday as benchmark bond yields ground higher and lifted the dollar to a three-week high against the yen ahead of U.S. job data.

Tokyo court approves 10-day detention of Ghosn, lawyer appeals

A Tokyo court approved on Friday a request by prosecutors to detain Carlos Ghosn for 10 days for further questioning, a move the ousted Nissan boss’ lawyer appealed.

Arrested, again: Why Ghosn has been detained, what is different now?

Ousted Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn is back in the Tokyo detention center where he previously spent 108 days, after being released just last month on a $9 million bail.

Singapore aviation regulator says it will join FAA’s Boeing 737 MAX review panel

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore on Friday said that it would participate in a technical review panel on the Boeing Co 737 MAX jet led by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

March Payrolls Surge By 196K But Wage Growth Disappoints

Expectations that the February cold weather”outlier” print would normalize in March were confirmed, when moments ago the BLS reported that the US added 196K payrolls in March, higher than the 177K expected, while February payrolls were revised modestly higher to 33K from 20K.

Heavy Police Presence, Supporters Gather Outside Embassy As Assange Expulsion Looms

A heavy police presence could be seen outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London in the early hours of Friday after WikiLeaks issued an alert the evening prior saying Julian Assange “will be expelled” in a matter of “hours to days” from the place of his asylum and safe haven from authorities since 2012. WikiLeaks said it was tipped off by two “high level” Ecuadorian government sources who described the expulsion as imminent.

Supporters as well as news crews also gathered across the street from the embassy, at a moment the Ecuadorian government seems to have run out of patience on the back of the so-called of the INA Papers scandal, involving key allegations that Ecuadorian president Lenín Moreno enriched himself from an offshore account in Panama, something he’s vehemently denied.

Rabo: “Stocks Are Trading As If Cain Has Already Been Appointed – Everybody Wants A Slice”

Submitted by Michael Every of Rabobank

An offer he can’t refuse

More than a few news agencies are now reporting that President Trump intends to nominate former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, Herman Cain, for a seat on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Mr. Cain did serve for one year as Chairman to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Other than that he has a proven track record in food, restaurants, retail and, more recently also being a contributor to Fox News. In 2011/12 Mr. Cain even made a bid for becoming President of the United States, calling for a much simplified US tax-code, where a flat tax rate of 9% would be the key feature in corporate, income and sales taxes. Although he did well during the campaign, he was forced to abandon his bid following allegations of sexual harassment.

According the NY Times, Mr. Cain used to be a proponent of a return to the gold standard (which would actually suggest he is an inflation hawk), but that he has changed his mind and has now embraced the notion that the risk of deflation outstrips that of inflation. So whether Mr. Cain is truly the best candidate out there remains to be seen (and the Senate has to confirm Mr. Trump’s nominees), but President Trump clearly appreciates Mr. Cain’s qualities (pizza, Fox News and a proponent of low interest rates). Indeed, Mr. Trump has already called Mr. Cain “a truly outstanding individual”. Did Trump make him an offer he cannot refuse?

So picture this: everyday could be “pizza day”! Surely equities are trading as if Mr. Cain has already been appointed – everybody wants a slice! The S&P500 made a y-t-d high yesterday, although bond investors, again, showed their more bearish nature with a flattening of the German curve (3m Bills +3bp, 30y -4bp) as well as the US Treasury curve.

In addition to Trump’s dovish nominees, the conviction of sitting hawks is also slowly fading. While …

Global Stocks Rise On, What Else, “Trade Talk Optimism”

Another day, another round of “US-China trade talk optimism.”

Global stocks continued their drift higher to close the week, with the MSCI World Index on track for a second straight week of gains while emerging-market stocks extended their winning streak to seven days, the longest stretch in more than a year, as both China and the U.S. claimed progress in trade talks.

Rail Week Ending 30 March 2019: Continuing Deeper In Contraction Year-to-Date

Written by Steven Hansen

Week 13 of 2019 shows same week total rail traffic (from same week one year ago) contracted according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR) traffic data. The economically intuitive sectors rolling averages remain in contraction.

Market Extra: Dow Jones Industrial Average’s 6-month drought nears an end

Is it time to break out the Dow 27,000 hats that were summarily shelved back in October?

Economic Report: Hiring speeds up as U.S. economy adds 196,000 jobs in March

The U.S. created 196,000 new jobs last month after a swoon in February, an encouraging gain that hints growth in the economy is ready for a revival. The flush of new jobs kept the unemployment rate near a 50-year low of 3.8%.

Need to Know: Why Amazon will triple to $5,000 a share, according to this hedge fund manager

Our call of the day, from Doug Kass, president of Seabreeze Partners Management, who predicts Amazon shares, currently at $1,818, could more than triple in a few years.