13May2019 Market Close: Trade War Sinks Stocks – Dow Drops Over 600. Nasdaq Hit Low For The Year. WTI Down More Than 1 Pct To High 60 Handle

Vodafone offloads NZ business to Brookfield, Infratil for $2.36 billion

Vodafone Group Plc said on Monday that it had agreed to sell its New Zealand business for about 2.1 billion euros ($2.36 billion) to a consortium comprising of New Zealand-based Infratil Ltd and Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management.

Trump to meet Xi after defiant China slaps U.S. with new tariffs

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he would meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping next month and that he expected their discussions would be “very fruitful,” as the trade war between the world’s two largest economies intensified.

Wall Street hit hard by escalation of tariff war

Wall Street’s main indexes tumbled on Monday after Beijing announced plans to retaliate with higher tariffs on U.S. goods, raising fears that another round of tit-for-tat measures could push the U.S. economy toward recession.

Trump says U.S. farmers to get $15 billion in aid amid China trade war

President Donald Trump said on Monday that his administration was planning to provide about $15 billion in aid to help U.S. farmers whose products may be targeted with tariffs by China amid a deepening trade war.

In setback for Apple, U.S. Supreme Court lets App Store antitrust suit proceed

A divided U.S. Supreme Court on Monday gave the go-ahead to an antitrust lawsuit accusing Apple Inc of forcing consumers to overpay for iPhone software applications, a decision that could lead to billions of dollars in damages and put at risk the company’s lucrative way of selling apps.

Wall Street shudders as U.S.-China trade war intensifies

Wall Street sank on Monday after China defied Washington by announcing retaliatory tariffs, the latest salvo in the two countries’ increasingly belligerent trade war, sending investors fleeing equities for less risky assets.

Stocks dive, yuan weakens as U.S.-China trade fight intensifies

Global stock markets tumbled on Monday and the Chinese yuan weakened to its lowest level since December as the trade war between the United States and China escalated.

Fed officials see risks in weaker inflation expectations, trade row

A drop in the consumer outlook for inflation and intensifying trade tensions drew caution from Federal Reserve officials on Monday as policymakers faced fresh market volatility and a renewed set of risks.

Fed can lower rates if U.S.-China trade spat causes slowdown: Rosengren

The Federal Reserve has the tools it needs, including lowering interest rates, to respond to any slowdown resulting from the U.S.-China trade spat, a top Fed policymaker told Reuters on Monday, adding that he is not necessarily expecting such a need now.

Junk-Bond Issuance Soars As Companies Scramble To Lock In Lowest-Possible Rates

In at least one important way, President Trump’s decision to browbeat the Fed into pausing its program of interest-rate hikes is paying off bigly for America’s most vulnerable corporate borrowers.

The Fed’s decision to ‘pause’ interest rate hikes comes as nearly one-third of the entire $1.2 trillion US high-yield market is slated for maturity over the next four years. That’s a record proportion, according to a team of strategists at Barclays led by Bradley Rogoff, and compares with a post-2000 average of just 20%. And after the historic market ‘freeze’ late last year where not a single high-yield bond was issued, corporate America has apparently got the message: Now is the time to strike while the iron is hot. The more speculative-grade the rating, the more important it is for companies to act now to refinance that debt.

Though many companies have years to plan on refinancing (almost none will pay off their debt tabs entirely), many are choosing to refinance now, while rates are low, and demand for higher-yielding debt is high. Junk bonds tanked last week as markets shunned risky assets, but this didn’t dampen buyers’ appetite: Last week was the biggest week for issuance in nearly two years, with junk issuers selling $12 billion. So far this year, more than $80 billion of bonds that listed refinancing in the prospectus have been issued. That has accounted for more than 70% of the issuance so far this year, according to Bloomberg.

World War 3? Top Iranian Official Taunts: US “Not Ready For A War, Specially When Israel Is Within Our Range”

Authored by Michael Snyder via The End of The American Dream blog,

The Iranians are openly threatening to start firing missiles at Israel if Trump decides to attack Iran. And this threat should not be taken lightly, because Iran has a highly sophisticated ballistic missile arsenal, and Hezbollah has approximately 150,000 missiles pointed directly at Israel right now.

Bitcoin, Bonds, & Bullion Bid As Trade Turmoil Trounces Stocks

With MSCI World down another 2% today, adding to the losses from last week, trade turmoil has wiped around $3.5 trillion in market cap (down $1 trillion today) from global stocks. Not a fleshwound…

China’s Friday afternoon panic-bid from The National Team gave way overnight

Academic Study Exposes Google’s Left-Leaning Media Bias

According to data compiled by researchers from Northwestern University, Google’s left-wing bias has been exposed

Researchers from Northwestern University have used an algorithm to study Google search results – and found an overwhelming left-leaning bias towards news outlets such as CNN and The New York Times, which the search giant repeatedly promoted in November, 2017 according to the Daily Mail.

Amazon takes big leap into future, but without 1,300 employees

Amazon takes big leap into future, but without 1,300 employeesAmazon is rolling out machines to automate a job held by thousands of its workers: boxing up customer orders.

Women in driver’s seat at car dealerships

Women in driver’s seat at car dealershipsCar cos are putting women in driver’s seat by appointing them in customer facing roles at prime dealerships.

You may’ve to wait longer for final poll tally

You may’ve to wait longer for final poll tallyThe counting of VVPAT, postal ballots and EVM votes will make the process lengthy.

13May2019 Pre-Market Commentary: May Be Another Bumpy Day For The Markets

Written by Gary

The trade war continues to weigh on market futures, as the market players try to figure out what is next between the U.S. and China. Dollar is up, and oil also rose.

Housing Data Shows Rise In Rental Prices And Home Values In Tech-Rich Areas

from US Census

— this post authored by Earlene K.P. Dowell

You’ve heard of the “Amazon Effect.” Now you can see it.

By combining U.S. Census Bureau data and their own housing listings, economists from Zillow, an online real estate search engine, have been able to show just how much rental prices and home values have skyrocketed in areas across the country that are experiencing a tech boom.

The Tell: Here are the stocks to buy if an all-out U.S.-China trade war erupts, says Goldman

As uncertainty over the outcome of Sino-American trade talks grows, so does the possibility of a longer-than-expected negotiations or an all-out trade war, strategists at Goldman Sachs are providing some timely trading strategies.

Salary transparency helps close the gender pay gap, but also has a nasty side effect

A new study examines what happens when employees learn about each other’s pay.

Major flooding in the South is a cautionary tale for all homeowners

Natural disasters can ruin your finances. Here’s how to avoid that.