23Aug2019 Midday Update: Wall Street Slides Moderately, DOW Down 460 Points, WTI Crude Slips Into The 53 Handle, Gold Rises To 1525, Trade War Threatens Global Economy

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

North and South American markets are broadly lower today with shares in Brazil off the most. The Bovespa is down 2.65% while U.S.’s S&P 500 is off 1.80% and Mexico’s IPC is lower by 0.43%.

China strikes back at U.S. with new tariffs on $75 billion in goods

China said on Friday it will impose retaliatory tariffs against about $75 billion worth of U.S. goods, putting as much as an extra 10% on top of existing rates in the dispute between the world’s top two economies.

Powell stops short of committing to rate cuts, and Trump fumes

The Federal Reserve will “act as appropriate” to keep the U.S. economy healthy, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Friday, remarks that did not say how fast it might cut interest rates, drawing fire from President Donald Trump.

IMF’s Gopinath says U.S. monetary policy being accommodative and data driven

International Monetary Fund chief economist Gita Gopinath said on Friday that U.S. monetary policy is being accommodative and data driven.

Trump presses U.S. companies to close China operations

President Donald Trump said on Friday he was ordering U.S. companies to look at ways to close their operations in China and make more of their products in the United States instead, a rhetorical strike at Beijing as trade tensions mounted.

Trump meets with trade team at White house: CNBC reporter on Twitter

President Donald Trump was meeting with his trade team at the White House, according to CNBC, after China imposed retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods and the Republican leader told American companies to get out of China.

Stocks and oil fall, yen rallies as Trump threatens counter to China tariffs

A global stock index fell alongside oil prices and U.S. yields after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to further escalate his trade war with China “this afternoon” after a new round of retaliation tariffs from Beijing.

Wall Street tumbles as Trump escalates trade dispute with China

Wall Street’s three main indexes lost more than 1% on Friday after President Donald Trump ordered U.S. companies “to immediately start looking for an alternative to China” in response to Beijing’s threat to impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods.

Trump’s China trade comments send US stocks tumbling

Wall Street’s main indexes lost more than 1% on Friday after President Donald Trump said U.S. companies should “immediately start looking for an alternative to China” after Beijing officials earlier retaliated by imposing tariffs on U.S. goods.

For some, currency wars may not be fun or easy to win

It’s a maxim for private investors: Don’t fight the Fed.

The Yuan Is Crashing

According to CNBC, Trump is currently meeting with his trade aides…

TRUMP MEETING WITH HIS TRADE AIDES NOW, CNBC REPORTS

… to decide what additional measures and tariffs to declare against China, and if there is one currency that Trump’s economic team is currently keeping an eye on it is China’s yuan.

What said team is seeing is nothing short of carnage, because – somewhat paradoxically – even as the Bloomberg dollar index is plunging ever since Trump unleashed his tirade targeting China for daring to retaliate to US tariffs, the offshore yuan is plunging even more, tumbling below 7.13 – a new 11.5 year low – in what the White House can correctly interpret as official intervention to weaken the currency which should be rising against the greenback, yet is doing precisely the opposite.

Apple Rolling Out “New” iPhone That’s “Nearly Identical” To Existing Model

With sales of iPhones having permanently plateaued and now declining year after year, and the state of Apple’s once consistent blowout iPhone numbers under growing threat (explaining the company’s pivot to a “service” company), Apple is now looking to produce new “Pro” versions of its iPhones, along with upgrades to its iPads and laptops, according to Bloomberg. The new products will be rolled out next month.

As most are well aware, Apple has struggled to generate any “killer” innovation over the last few years – in fact ever since Steve Jobs died – and has instead leaned on its legacy iPhone business and offered relatively tepid new “wearable” products, like Apple Watch and HomePod, while hoping to transition ever more to a services company.

Here’s what we know so far: Tim Cook will announce three new iPhones at an event next month which will likely go on sale in September. The new products will come in time for the fourth quarter and the crucial holiday season. Apple’s hopes to avoid the enormous earnings miss it posted at the end of the year last year.

Libra Members Consider Quitting Project Due To Gov’t Pressure: Report

Authored by Marie Huillet via CoinTelegraph.com,

At least three of Facebook’s early backers for its planned Libra stablecoin launch are considering withdrawing their support in light of the fierce regulatory pushback.

Stocks Plunge After Trump Vows To Retaliate To China “This Afternoon”, Orders US Companies To Find “An Alternative To China”

Anyone who was hoping for a quiet end to the week is currently having a panic attack, as first China announced new tariffs on the US, then Powell’s J-Hole speech came and went, and then, as we expected, Trump responded to China’s trade war escalation when in a barrage of 4 tweets he lashed out at Beijing, saying “We don’t need China and, frankly, would be far better off without them”, and ordered “Our great American companies… to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing your companies HOME and making your products in the USA.”

He also ordered “all carriers, including Fed Ex, Amazon, UPS and the Post Office, to SEARCH FOR & REFUSE, all deliveries of Fentanyl from China (or anywhere else!). Fentanyl kills 100,000 Americans a year. President Xi said this would stop – it didn’t.”

The reason for Trump’s ire: the continued theft of US IP over the years:

Our Country has lost, stupidly, Trillions of Dollars with China over many years. They have stolen our Intellectual Property at a rate of Hundreds of Billions of Dollars a year, & they want to continue. I won’t let that happen! We don’t need China and, frankly, would be far better off without them

But Trump wasn’t finished, and filling traders with dread what he may announce next, he promised that “I will be responding to China’s Tariffs this afternoon.”

We can’t wait to see what Trump unveils in his pursuit of Quantitative Easing sparked by global economic war, just as we explained three days ago in “Mr. President, This Is How To Get The Fed To Launch Quantitative Easing”.

From Trump:

Our Country has lost, stupidly, Trillions of Doll …

How Sitharaman plans to pull economy out of the current slowdown

How Sitharaman plans to pull economy out of the current slowdownFM Sitharaman said reform is a continuous process for the government and it tops the agenda.

FM gives Motown sops to get it back on track

FM gives Motown sops to get it back on trackThe govt announced a slew of measures to kick start the auto sector, which has been going through a slump.

Videocon case slips on oil as asset row rages

Videocon case slips on oil as asset row ragesIf assets are not sold, the share which would have come to the Indian co will go to an Indonesian firm.

16 August 2019 ECRI’s WLI Growth Rate Goes Deeper Into Contraction

Written by Steven Hansen

ECRI’s WLI Growth Index which forecasts economic growth six months forward declined and is in contraction.

Trump Today: Trump blasts Powell and Xi as ‘enemies’ of U.S. as Fed fight, trade war heat up

President Donald Trump on Friday slammed Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell after a closely watched speech, asking if the central bank chief or China’s president was a bigger enemy of the United States.

This man was $70,000 in debt — then one song changed everything

He now only splurges on things that ‘make me happy on the inside.’

The Moneyist: I’m 34 and have 5 to 10 years to live — I want to spend $50K on a new kitchen, but my wife is vehemently opposed

‘With my limited time left, I want to invest in a new kitchen — both as a gift to my wife and as something positive and new to lift my spirits, since I’m largely confined to our home.’