02Jul2019 Market Close: Wall Street Mostly Traded Sideways, With A Late Closing Sprint Higher, DOW Closed Up 69 Points, SP 500 Closed Up 9 Points, Near Recent Historical Highs

EU leaders choose France’s Lagarde for ECB after marathon summit

European Union leaders agreed on Tuesday to name France’s Christine Lagarde as the new head of the European Central Bank and sealed a deal on filling the EU’s other top four jobs after marathon talks that have exposed deep divisions in the bloc.

Oil dives 4% on demand worries even as OPEC, allies extend cuts

Oil prices fell more than 4% on Tuesday, even after OPEC and allies including Russia agreed to extend supply cuts until next March, as weak manufacturing data had investors worried that a slowing global economy could dent oil demand.

Stocks stall as trade enthusiasm fades

U.S. stocks held near the unchanged mark on Tuesday as optimism over the U.S.-China trade truce faded after the United States threatened tariffs on additional European goods, stalling a recent rally.

Weak economic data, tariff concerns weigh on stocks globally

Weak U.S. and euro zone manufacturing data and Washington’s threat to impose additional tariffs on European goods weighed on global stock markets on Tuesday, cooling a rally that pushed U.S. stocks to near-record highs the previous day.

EU open to talks with U.S. in aircraft subsidies dispute

The European Union said on Tuesday it was open to talks with Washington in a dispute over aircraft subsidies after the United States threatened an additional $4 bln in tariffs on EU goods including olives, Italian cheese and Scotch whisky.

Scotch Whisky Association urges U.S. and EU to end trade stand-off

The Scottish government and the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) urged the United States and the EU on Tuesday to end a trade dispute after Washington threatened tariffs on $4 billion of goods including Scotland’s most famous export.

Canada aboriginal pipe dream might end Trudeau’s Trans Mountain nightmare

An indigenous-led group plans to offer to buy a majority stake in the Trans Mountain oil pipeline from the Canadian government this week or next, a deal that could help Prime Minister Justin Trudeau mitigate election-year criticism from environmentalists.

Scottish government ‘deeply concerned’ whisky involved in U.S.-EU trade dispute

The Scottish government said on Tuesday it is “deeply concerned” about Scotch whisky being implicated in a long-running trade dispute between the United States and the European Union.

Kering crown jewel Gucci banks on high-end gems for growth

Gucci, the luxury brand that powers most of parent Kering’s profits, made its first steps in high-end jewelery on Tuesday with a dedicated store in Paris – part of its bid to expand its reach after a blowout fashion makeover.

Gold Soars Most In 8 Months As Copper & Crude Collapse

Stocks and bond yields sink on a trade truce, oil tanks on an OPEC deal, and AUD spikes on a RBA rate cut…

Chinese stocks went nowhere overnight…

Zimbabwe Stops Issuing Passports As Cash Shortage Hits Crisis Levels

According to Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa, the reintroduction of the Zimbabwean dollar (which was officially abandoned a decade ago), the banning of the use of other international currencies, and the resulting hyperinflation (analysts are already forecasting a 100% inflation rate for 2019) are simply important steps to “restoring normalcy to our economy.”

But as anybody who has lived in, or visited, Zimbabwe over the past couple of decades, “normal” isn’t exactly a high bar. Considering that, under ex-leader Robert Mugabe, the Zim dollar once depreciated to 35 quadrillion per $1 (transforming the wheelbarrow into an essential tool for facilitating routine, every-day transactions like buying groceries), we’d think Zimbabweans are looking for something different, rather than a return to the country’s insanely dysfunctional status quo.

Two-Thirds Of College Grads Regret Their Diploma, Costs And Major

Submitted by Andrew Malcolm at Hot Air

For decades now it’s been a sellers’ market for American universities. Conventional wisdom held that the most important way to succeed in life was to get a college diploma, no matter the cost. Perhaps you’ve noticed university tuitions going up and up. And up. Inexorably.

And so has the debt incurred by their students and those students’ parents. It now totals about $1.6 trillion.

This being another tedious presidential election season, such a massive debt burden has attracted the attention of feeding politicians seeking to reap votes from younger Americans tasked with repaying the loans they signed up for.

As we wrote here earlier this week, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Julian Castro and a growing list of the growing field of candidates have announced various plans to make public school tuitions free and to forgive these massive debts using — you guessed it — new taxes on someone else, namely the well-to-do.

Now comes a new wrinkle in these schemes and the universities’ hopes of continuing to reap huge tuition increases.

A new poll of nearly a quarter-million Americans has found fully two-thirds of them have buyer’s remorse about their diploma, their major and the higher education experience in general. How much longer do you think folks are going to keep paying such fees that produce such dissatisfaction and unhappiness?

Not surprisingly perhaps, the new survey found the top regret was incurring immense debts for that higher education, a debt whose payments run on f …

Boeing Abandons Families Of 737 Max Crash Victims: Report

Several families of the nearly 350 people who died in two Boeing 737 Max crashes say they haven’t received so much as a letter of condolence from the planemaker, according to Business Insider.

The parents of a woman killed on one of the flights told Business Insider they had received “no condolences” and “no direct communication” from Boeing despite numerous public apologies by the plane maker and said Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg “talks to other people but not us, the victims’ families.”

Nadia Milleron and Michael Stumo lost their 24-year-old daughter, Samya Stumo, when the Boeing 737 Max 8 jet operated by Ethiopian Airlines crashed in March, killing all 157 people on board. -Business Insider

And while we’re guessing the Boeing legal department may have been involved in the decision not to directly contact the families of inevitable (and current) plaintiffs as the likely cause of the crashes became more clear, attorneys representing over 50 families of those killed told Business Insider that their clients were treated similarly.

Miami-based aviation attorney Steve Marks said that Boeing’s response was not “unusual” from manufacturers, however the company’s reaction was “worse” than a typical response.

Direct tax code: Does India really need a new law?

Direct tax code: Does India really need a new law?A new law is certain to consume precious time and energy for all stakeholders .

No let-up in number of Niravs, Mallyas in India

No let-up in number of Niravs, Mallyas in IndiaBanks had classified Rs 1.50-tn worth of loans as “wilful defaults”, the finance minister said in the parliament.

India-US to resume talks after trade tiff

India-US to resume talks after trade tiffThe revival of the talks comes after PM Narendra Modi met US President Donald Trump at the G20 Summit.

Market Extra: Mortgage bonds at heart of crisis dwindle in supply as new breeds take root

Crisis-era mortgage bonds from 2005-2008 tally more than $600 billion in losses

Media companies are taking the wrong approach as they play catch-up with Netflix, analyst says

Traditional media companies that are reclaiming their content from licensees or planning their own direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming services may be biting off more than they can chew, according to BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield.

Cannabis Watch: Cannabis stocks hit by holiday slump but Aleafia shines after getting Australia export license

Cannabis stocks fell Tuesday, tracking declines in the broader market where excitement about a U.S.-China trade truce had dissipated on concerns about how quickly a deal can be achieved.