Written by Gary
All major stock indexes closed fractionally in the red (SPY -0.1%). Looks like major traders are playing the market, watch out.
U.S. total rig count posts sixth drop in seven weeks; oil rigs up 1.
The Market in Perspective
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
 | S&P 500 touches record high as Wall Street eyes trade talksWall Street was little changed on Friday, as U.S. Vice President Mike Pence’s decision to defer a speech on China policy increased optimism on upcoming trade talks between Washington and Beijing, though tensions between the United States and Iran undercut sentiment. |
| Fed officials face weak inflation, but split over what it meansU.S. Federal Reserve officials were divided Friday over how seriously to treat a slide in inflation, with one top policymaker saying the Fed was “close” to its inflation target and three others warning the weak price increases posed major risks the Fed may need to attack with lower interest rates. |
| Four U.S. states join lawsuit to stop T-Mobile-Sprint dealFour more U.S. states joined an unusual effort by state attorneys general to stop T-Mobile US Inc’s acquisition of Sprint Corp, a New York official said at a court hearing on Friday. |
| U.S. oil soars 10% in week on fears of U.S.-Iran conflictOil futures rose 1% on Friday, with U.S. crude up 10% in the week and global benchmark Brent gaining 5%, on fears the United States could attack Iran and disrupt flows from the Middle East, which provides more than a fifth of the world’s oil output. |
| PG&E to float $31 billion restructuring plan: BloombergPower producer PG&E Corp will propose a $31 billion bankruptcy restructuring plan that will include two funds worth a total of $34 billion to cover past and future wildfire claims, Bloomberg reported https://twitter.com/scottdeveau/status/1142117995680030720 on Friday. |
| Global money-laundering watchdog launches crackdown on cryptocurrenciesCryptocurrency firms will be subjected to rules to prevent the abuse of digital coins such as bitcoin for money laundering, a global watchdog said on Friday, the first worldwide regulatory attempt to constrain the rapidly growing sector. |
| Oil gains after Iran tensions, stocks at seven-week highsOil prices built on recent gains on Friday on fears any U.S. military attack on Iran would disrupt flows from the Middle East, while a gauge of global stock markets hovered near seven-week highs following a run spurred by optimism over monetary policy. |
| Sparkly unicorn ice cream: Kroger’s bid to win grocery wars(This June 20 story is refiled to correct typographical error in paragraph five.) |
| Soft U.S. factory activity darkens economic outlookU.S. manufacturing activity barely grew in early June and the service sector cooled, signs that President Donald Trump’s trade war with China could be weighing on the economy. |
| Texas Wants To Make Sex-Jokes IllegalAuthored by Simon Black via SovereignMan.com, Here’s our Friday roll up of the most absurd and concerning articles we came across this week. UK bans advertisement with “harmful gender stereotypes” UK bureaucrats will now decide if ads and commercials are too offensive. New regulations ban advertisements with gender stereotypes “that are likely to cause harm, or serious or widespread offence.”
It seems that, in 2019, consumers are far more capable of regulating a company’s advertising decisions. If people don’t like a company’s ads, they’re free to boycott the product. And if enough companies catch grief over their ads, they’ll change the ads or go out of business. Having a government commission to regulate this sort of thing is going to be simply comical. We have a feeling this isn’t what the Brexiters had in mind when they voted to leave. Click here for the full story. Texas wants to make sex jokes illegal College snowflakes have become so delicate that even sex jokes could soon become illegal on campuses. |
| One Bank Warns Direct US Currency Intervention Is Increasingly PossibleHere’s a “shocker”: Donald Trump is right about the dollar being overvalued. In attempt to answer the ongoing debate about whether the USD is overvalued relative to its peers, in a lengthy report from Bank of America’s Ben Randol and Adarsh Sinha we read that the simplest gauge is to compare the real effective exchange rate (REER) to its long-run history, which shows that it is about 13% above its long-term average… |
| How Many Are Not Blowing The Whistle?Authored by Caitlin Johnstone via CaitlinJohnstone.com, Given the example being made out of Chelsea Manning, silence must be spreading fast… |
| Amazon Patents Creepy Drone Technology To Spy On Your HomeAccording to a new patent awarded to Amazon on June 4 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) could “perform a surveillance action” over the home of an Amazon customer. It’s being dubbed as “surveillance as a service,” is a disturbing reminder that corporate America not only wants to monitor your search trends and social media posts but now wants to monitor the outside of your home. A network of delivery drones would film Amazon customers’ homes from the skies while on their way to delivering packages. Artificial intelligence will observe the property for anything unusual during the flyover, such as broken windows, doors left open, and unauthorized people on the property. Customers can request security flyovers hourly, daily, or weekly, the patent said. |
| Modi 2.0 could be planning a DeMo-like move to curb tax fraudModi 2.0 could be planning a DeMo-like move to curb tax fraudA prominent market analyst says Modi 2.0 is readying a major crackdown on indiscipline in tax payment. |
| This could be India’s reply to US on trade warThis could be India’s reply to US on trade warComparative advantage could be a way India can guard its turf against US’ trade offensives. |
| When Facebook’s banker is BoE GovernorWhen Facebook’s banker is BoE GovernorCarney has proposed that tech firms and other non-banks be allowed to hold funds directly at the central bank. |
| Bond Report: 10-year Treasury yield stages biggest one-day jump in nearly three monthsTreasury yields rise Friday after news reports said President Donald Trump declined to launch military strikes against Iran in retaliation for shooting down a U.S. drone. |
| TaxWatch: After Trump’s sweeping tax reform, more Americans owed the IRS moneyThe first year under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was a rude surprise for many workers. |
| Commodities Corner: OPEC readies for ‘critical’ meeting, decision on oil output cutsThe meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies in early July is coming at a particularly important and volatile time for oil. Prices have been supported by major producers’ output cuts, growing tensions in the Middle East, but also pressured by forecasts of a slowdown in global demand. |
Summary of Economic Releases this Week
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