16May2019 Market Close: Dow On 3-day Winning Streak, Many Indexes Up Nearly 1 Pct. Treasuries Decline Slightly, Dollar Index Gains, WTI Shoots Higher.

Boeing completes 737 MAX software update, working on pilot training plan

Boeing Co said on Thursday it had completed a software update for its 737 MAX jets, which have been grounded worldwide since March after they were involved in two fatal crashes.

Huawei to challenge U.S. export sanction which it says will harm America

Huawei Technologies said on Thursday it will challenge a decision by the U.S. Commerce Department to add the Chinese company to a export blacklist, warning the decision “will do significant economic harm to the American companies with which Huawei does business.”

U.S. Commerce Department publishes Huawei export blacklist order

The U.S. Commerce Department on Thursday formally placed Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and 68 affiliates in more than two dozen countries on its so-called “Entity List” – a move that bans the telecom company from buying parts and components from American firms without U.S. government approval.

Wall St. rises for third straight day on data, earnings

Wall Street closed higher on Thursday as upbeat earnings and strong economic data put investors in a buying mood, with technology companies leading the charge.

U.S. commerce secretary says Huawei order effective Friday: interview

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Thursday that an order blacklisting Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies Co Ltd will go into effect on Friday.

Huawei ban clouds U.S.-China trade talks, tech sector

A U.S. bid to block China’s Huawei Technologies from buying vital American technology threw into question prospects for sales at some of the largest tech companies and drew a sharp rebuke from Beijing, which said the move could hurt trade talks.

Global stocks gain after earnings, deal news, data; U.S. yields move up

World stock markets were buoyed by deal-making news and solid earnings from Dow components Cisco and Walmart on Thursday while strong economic data pushed U.S. bond yields higher even as investors struggled to make sense of the latest developments in global trade relations.

With inflation elusive, two Fed policymakers lay out a welcome mat

Worried that current low inflation expectations will sap the U.S. central bank’s ability to combat a future downturn, two Federal Reserve officials on Thursday made an unusual pitch: if inflation rises unexpectedly, the Fed should lay out the welcome mat.

Austrian prosecutors see little basis for case against Airbus: report

Vienna prosecutors believe there is little basis for an investigation into a decade-old $2 billion Eurofighter jet purchase by Austria, two media reported on Thursday, citing an internal report.

Downward Mobility Matters More Than Liberal-Conservative Labels

Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,

The real heresy here is the American economy is now rigged for downward mobility.

In the conventional narrative, one’s economic class is overshadowed by one’s political belief structure: liberal, conservative, libertarian, etc. In terms of economic class, the conventional narrative divides people into their ideological beliefs about economic ideologies: free market capitalism, socialism, etc.

Economic class is one of the few remaining heresies in America: in the conventional narrative, it doesn’t exist or is meaningless due to the tremendous social mobility of the American populace: the working class stiff is one wise decision way from middle class status, and the middle class worker is one wise investment away from becoming wealthy.

What the conventional narrative purposefully ignores is the potential for downward mobility, in which one bad decision or investment triggers a drop in economic class and future financial prospects. I’ve been writing for years about the diminishing number of slots in America’s upper middle class, and the realities of diminishing social mobility has been documented by research.

As the recent college admissions scandal has highlighted, those already in the upper middle class have privileges such as alumni preference denied the lower classes. Those who already own assets have profited immensely from the credit-bubble economy while those without assets have been priced out and squeezed by relentless increases in rent, healthcare, childcare etc.

How Many Slots Are Open in the Upper Middle Class? Not As Many As You Might ThinkMarch 30, 2015

Nellie Ohr Deleted Emails Exchanged With Top Ranking DOJ Husband: Judicial Watch

Nellie Ohr – a CIA-linked operative who gave extensive anti-Trump research to her DOJ official husband Bruce while she was working for Fusion GPS’ anti-Trump efforts, deleted emails from Bruce’s account during an April, 2016 exchange about Russian influence in Europe.

Farmageddon Looms: Only 30% Of US Corn Fields Have Been Planted, 5 Year Average Is 66%

Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,

2019 is turning out to be a nightmare that never ends for the agriculture industry. Thanks to endless rain and unprecedented flooding, fields all over the middle part of the country are absolutely soaked right now, and this has prevented many farmers from getting their crops in the ground. I knew that this was a problem, but when I heard that only 30 percent of U.S. corn fields had been planted as of Sunday, I had a really hard time believing it. But it turns out that number is 100 percent accurate. And at this point corn farmers are up against a wall because crop insurance final planting dates have either already passed or are coming up very quickly. In addition, for every day after May 15th that corn is not in the ground, farmers lose approximately 2 percent of their yield. Unfortunately, more rain is on the way, and it looks like thousands of corn farmers will not be able to plant corn at all this year. It is no exaggeration to say that what we are facing is a true national catastrophe.

American Except-ionalism? Secret “Adversity” Boost To Raise SAT Results For Some

This is personal. Having watched a high school senior go through the college admissions process in California and witnessing ‘odd’ acceptances (and even more odd declines) among a diverse group of friends who have made sacrifices to live in good school districts and instilled a sense of responsibility in their children so that they will succeed in academia and in life, the following story confirms what many suspected (but did not want to believe in America’s so-called meritocracy).

“We can’t sit on our hands and ignore the disparities of wealth reflected in the SAT,” claim college administrators.

The Wall Street Journal reports that The College Board assigns a so-called “adversity” score to every student who takes the SAT to try to capture their social and economic background.

US-China trade war: Is there a silver lining for India?

US-China trade war: Is there a silver lining for India?With a reasonable purchasing power, no nation other than India will provide ready-made market for Chinese goods.

Infosys just gave Salil Parekh a Rs 10 cr gift

Infosys just gave Salil Parekh a Rs 10 cr giftCEO Salil Parekh will get shares worth Rs 10 crore under a new employee stock option plan.

Qatar Airways hasn’t given up on India dream

Qatar Airways hasn’t given up on India dreamQatar Airways said it will “seriously” consider any proposal for partnership from Indian carrier.

May 2019 Philly Fed Manufacturing Survey Improved

Written by Steven Hansen

The Philly Fed Business Outlook Survey improved and remained in expansion. Key elements remained in positive territory.

April 2019 Residential Building Improved

Written by Steven Hansen

The headline residential building permits improved and construction completions slowed relative to last month. Overall this data was near expectations.

Trump Today: Trump Today: President unveils immigration plan as he says he ‘hopes’ there’s no Iran war

President Donald Trump on Thursday unveiled a new immigration proposal based on workers’ skills, as he said he hopes the U.S. does not go to war with Iran.

Capitol Report: Here’s the background to Conrad Black’s conviction that Trump wiped away

Former media mogul Conrad Black’s long-running legal saga has just seen another plot twist, with President Donald Trump granting a pardon to his biographer and onetime business associate.

Currencies: British pound slumps to 3-month low on ‘no-deal Brexit’ fears

It’s back. Despite repeated parliamentary votes to rule out the prospect of the U.K. leaving the European Union without a deal in place to govern its relationship with the bloc, the revived threat of a “no-deal” Brexit is putting renewed pressure on the British pound.