20Jun2019 Market Close: Wall Street Makes Turn-around After Trump’s Hint Of War, DOW Closes Up 249 Points, WTI Settles Higher At $57.21, US Dollar Down -0.6%

Fed rate-cut sign boosts stocks, dollar and yields drop

World stock markets jumped on Thursday, with the U.S. benchmark S&P 500 hitting a record high, while the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell below 2% as investors digested a signal from the Federal Reserve of potential U.S. interest rate cuts as soon as its next meeting.

Rate-cut euphoria elevates S&P 500 to record high

The S&P 500 hit a record high on Thursday, lifted by Wall Street’s expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates as soon as next month to keep the U.S.-China trade war from stalling economic growth.

Exclusive: Chevron Phillips Chemical in bid to acquire Nova Chemicals – sources

Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP, a joint venture between Chevron Corp and Phillips 66, has offered to acquire Nova Chemicals Corp for more than $15 billion including debt, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Oil jumps 5% on Iran tension, potential U.S. fed rate cut

Oil soared more than 5% on Thursday after Iran shot down a U.S. military drone, raising fears of a military confrontation between Tehran and Washington.

Apple, Keurig Dr Pepper, Dollar Tree press U.S. to drop China tariff plan

Apple Inc, Keurig Dr Pepper Inc and Dollar Tree Inc filed public comments on Thursday urging the U.S. government to drop plans for tariffs on Chinese imports that would raise the cost of consumer products from iPhones to coffee pods.

Exclusive: Deutsche Bank braced for continued Fed restrictions on U.S. business – sources

Deutsche Bank AG executives expect U.S. regulators to continue to impose restrictions on its Wall Street investment bank even if it passes an annual health check, three sources familiar with the matter said.

Sparkly unicorn ice cream: Kroger’s bid to win grocery wars

Kroger Co has room to improve on sales and is looking to its Deluxe Unicorn Swirl ice cream and other store-brand products to boost growth, Chief Executive Rodney McMullen said on Thursday.

Slack stock surges at debut, values company at more than $25 billion

Shares of Slack Technologies Inc, the fast-growing workplace messaging and communication platform, soared nearly 60% in their public trading debut on Thursday, valuing the company at more than $25 billion.

Factbox: What is Slack?

Slack Technologies Inc, whose instant messaging app has taken workplaces by storm, went public via a direct listing on June 20, instead of the more popular initial public offering route.

Schiff: The Fed’s ‘Insurance Cut’ Pretense “Is Just Wishful Thinking”

Via SchiffGold.com,

It looks they’ve run out of patience at the Eccles Building.

Iran Releases Video Of Drone-Downing, Trump Warns “You’ll Soon Find Out” If US Will Attack

Update 4 (1615ET): The Iranian government has released alleged video of their military shooting down the unmanned US drone, also showing the alleged path of the drone, which they claim had entered their airspace (US maintains the drone remained in international waters)…

#BREAKING: Iran releases video of downing RQ-4A pic.twitter.com/3YTHJUAIyA

– Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) June 20, 2019

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Update 3: Iran has sent a letter to the UN saying it would defend itself by land, air and sea.

* * *

Update 2: In his clearest threat yet, President Trump replied “you’ll soon find out” when asked whether the US would attack Iran.

In remarks to the press, Trump reiterated that Iran made a “very bad” mistake, and insisted that the drone was in international waters. Though it seems like that ship has already sailed, the UN has warned the US and Iran to refrain from any actions that might “inflame the situation.”

That remark sent stocks spiraling lower as the prospect of renewed war in the Middle East weighs on markets.

Markets Turmoil On Downed-Drone, Powell-Promises, & Trump-Tweets

Stocks up to record highs (Fed and Energy stocks), Bonds (price) up (Fed and Iran safe-haven), Gold up (Fed and Iran safe-haven), VIX up (hedging melt-up gains or levered longs), Dollar down hard (Fed uber-easy and no safe-haven bid?), and Rate-Cut Expectations soared…

Chinese stocks exploded higher overnight in the morning session (as policymakers hinted at more potential easing) but were flat in the afternoon session…

1,000 Quakes In 3 Weeks In Key SoCal Seismic Zone: “We’re Watching This Actvity Closely”

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

In a key seismic zone approximately 40 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, there have been more than 1,000 earthquakes since May 25th.

How Sitharaman can make her maiden Budget impressive

How Sitharaman can make her maiden Budget impressiveA perusal of Budget speeches over years shows gradual shift of focus from fiscal to politico-economic issues.

Nasscom’s word of caution for US on H-1B

Nasscom’s word of caution for US on H-1BIncreasing visa scrutiny over the past few years has compelled Indian cos to ramp up local hiring in the US.

Navy plans 6 ‘Make-In-India’ submarines

Navy plans 6 ‘Make-In-India’ submarinesThe EOI for shortlisting foreign OEMs will be issued in two weeks, the defence ministry said.

19 June 2019 FOMC Meeting Statement: Federal Funds Rate Unchanged and The Economy Softened

Written by Steven Hansen

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) – the board of directors of the Federal Reserve made no change to the federal funds rate as expected, and stated:

…. that the labor market remains strong and that economic activity is rising at a moderate rate ….

Overall the Fed appears to believe the economy has weakened since the last meeting.

Market Snapshot: S&P 500 closes at historic peak after Fed adopts easy-money posture

U.S. stock indexes close higher Thursday, with the S&P 500 hitting a record, after the Federal Reserve signaled that an interest-rate cut may be forthcoming.

The Ratings Game: Oracle stock closes at record high on database license strength

Oracle Corp. shares rallied to close at a record high Thursday after the database giant showed signs of long-awaited growth in cloud-based services and analysts responded by boosting price targets on the stock.

Your Digital Self: Russian meddling in U.S. elections ‘blown out of proportion,’ says intelligence-studies researcher

Sven Dekleva from the University of Ghent in Belgium says Russia is undoubtedly interested in U.S. affairs, but its priorities are on internal control.