11Apr2019 Market Close: Wall Street Equities Slide Before Corporate Results, DOW Closes Down 14 Points, Small Caps Big Losers Down 0.2%, Dollar Gains, Healthcare Stocks Slide

French court finds Bayer’s Monsanto liable for farmer’s sickness

A French court has ruled that Monsanto was liable for the sickness of a farmer who inhaled one of its weedkillers, in another legal setback for the Bayer-owned business over health claims.

S&P 500 ends flat but healthcare a drag

The S&P 500 ended flat on Thursday as investors waited for earnings season to kick into high gear, but healthcare stocks fell.

Campbell to sell fresh food unit for about $500 million to former executive: WSJ

Campbell Soup Co is nearing a deal to sell its fresh food unit’s Bolthouse Farms for about $500 million to a group led by the former chief executive officer of the brand, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

Boeing CEO says two thirds of MAX customers have tested software fix

Boeing Co Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg said on Thursday that 67 percent of its more than 50 737 MAX customers have tested the manufacturer’s software fix in simulator sessions, with additional tests expected in the coming weeks.

Stocks slide before corporate results, dollar gains

A gauge of global equity markets slid on Thursday as investors waited for U.S. first-quarter earnings reports while Treasury yields rose after strong U.S. data and a six-month extension of a deadline for Britain to leave the European Union.

Oil prices slip as OPEC mulls output hike, U.S. stocks build

Oil prices fell on Thursday after sources said OPEC may raise output from July if Venezuelan and Iranian supplies fall further and prices keep rallying.

Anti-Uber protests flare in Argentina as ride-hailing app prepares IPO

Thousands of taxi drivers snarled traffic in the center of Buenos Aires on Thursday to protest the threat to their business from Uber, in the latest reminder of the headaches the ride-hailing platform faces worldwide as it prepares to go public.

FAA to meet with U.S. airlines, pilot unions on Boeing 737 MAX

The Federal Aviation Administration will hold a meeting Friday with major U.S. airlines that fly now grounded Boeing 737 MAX airplanes and three major pilots’ unions, the agency confirmed.

U.S. labor market strong; inflation pressures benign

The number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits dropped to a 49-1/2-year low last week, pointing to sustained labor market strength that could assuage fears the economy was rapidly losing momentum.

Stocks, Bonds, Bitcoin, & Bullion Sink As USA ‘Risk’ Plunges

Liquidity drying up?

Notable weakness in Chinese stocks overnight, pushing them all into the red for the week…

“Bubble Drunk” Asian-Millennials-In-Hoodies Blow $28 Million On Simpsons Art

Authored by Jesse Colombo via RealInvestmentAdvice.com,

During an economic bubble like the late-1990s dot-com bubble or the U.S. housing bubble, frivolous, hubristic investments and business decisions become appealing to many people who are what I call “bubble drunk.” In a bubble, money is flowing, the social mood is euphoric, and asset prices are surging – greed is the dominant emotion and risk is barely an afterthought. In this type of environment, speculation in art and collectibles becomes popular, often leading to an art bubble (for example, Japan’s bubble fueled an art bubble in the late-1980s). Of course, after a tremendous surge, the bubble eventually bursts and speculators are left holding works of art that are worth a fraction of what they paid. For the past several years, there has been an art bubble that has been primarily driven by the Greater China region – here is a recent anecdote reported by Bloomberg:

Millennials snapped up $28 million worth of art inspired by the Simpsons television show, along with skateboarding shoes and cans of spray paint at a Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong as a new generation of collectors comes of age.

“The auction room suddenly got a lot hipper, with all these cool millennial buyers in hoodies,” said Edie Hu, art advisory specialist at Citi Private Bank in Hong Kong. “Their tastes are very different from their parents, and Sotheby’s is tapping into that.”

The highlight of the 33-lot auction of items belonging to Ja …

Ominous Signal Hints At Coming Emerging Market Turmoil

In a world drowning in complacency following the abrupt dovish reversal by virtually all central banks, investors have been starving for clues about potential market inflection points. Indeed, in the first quarter we saw cross-asset vols testing lows not seen since the record low days of 2017, even though as BofA notes, realized vols have been “more constructive”. And while, investors sold volatility across markets at already cheap levels to improve yield, doing so exposed them to highly asymmetric risks according to BofA FX strategist Vadim Iaralov.

Coinbase Crypto Exchange Launches Visa-Enabled Payments Card

Authored by Ana Alexandre via CoinTelegraph.com,

Major American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has launched Coinbase Card, that enables its United Kingdom-based customers to pay in-store and online with cryptocurrency. The development was announced in a blog post published on April 10.

The Wall Street Journal: Senate Republicans effectively sink Cain chances to join Fed

Four Republican senators say they oppose President Trump’s latest pick for the Federal Reserve Board, Herman Cain, effectively sinking the former presidential candidate’s chances.

Earnings Outlook: Risk of an earnings recession rises, as S&P 500 profits to fall for first time in 3 years

Investors should brace themselves for the first negative print for S&P 500 earnings in nearly three years and for the possibility of an earnings recession, as macroeconomic headwinds continue to pull down analyst estimates.

The effects of being poor can literally alter the human genes, study finds

Poor eating habits associated with the impoverished can increase the risk of certain diseases. This we already knew. But a scientific discovery shows that those nutrition-linked diseases can make their way into the genome.