Written by Gary
Upbeat data suggest US economy still on moderate growth path (SPY +0.3%).
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
 | North and South American markets are higher today with shares in Brazil leading the region. The Bovespa is up 0.72% while U.S.’s S&P 500 is up 0.31% and Mexico’s IPC is up 0.08%. |
What Is Moving the Markets
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
| Upbeat data suggest U.S. economy still on moderate growth pathThe number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits increased less than expected last week, pointing to strong labor market conditions that should continue to support an economy growing at a moderate pace. |
| Exclusive: France’s CNP and Brazil’s Caixa close to reaching $1.7 billion insurance deal – sourcesFrance’s CNP Assurances SA is close to reaching a deal worth 7 billion reais ($1.7 billion) with Brazil’s state-owned lender Caixa Economica Federal [CEF.UL] to sell insurance in the bank’s more than 3,000 branches, two sources with knowledge of the matter said. |
| Military strike against Iran would result in ‘all-out war’: ZarifAny U.S. or Saudi military strike against Iran would bring “all-out war”, Tehran said on Thursday, keeping up a drumbeat of warnings to its adversaries after they accused the Islamic Republic of a strike on Saudi oil facilities. |
| Real crunch from Saudi Arabia’s oil outage has yet to be feltSaudi Arabia’s ability to avert a global oil supply crunch will only become clear in a few weeks, because for now its crude held in storage can fill the gap and mask the scale of damage to its facilities, traders and analysts say. |
| Facebook CEO Zuckerberg, under fire, seeks to mend fences in WashingtonFacebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill for a second day on Thursday as part of an effort by the social media giant to mend its reputation as it faces a slew of government investigations. |
| Airbnb plans stock market splash in 2020In a short statement posted on its website on Thursday, Airbnb did not give any details on how it plans to list its shares, although it is widely expected to take a direct-listing route. |
| Activist investor Peltz says GE CEO Culp is doing a good jobLawrence Culp has held the top job at General Electric for nearly one year and on Thursday one of the industrial conglomerate’s biggest shareholders, activist investor Nelson Peltz, gave him a shout-out for being “fantastic.” |
| ‘Show me the money’; dollar-hungry businesses squeezed in LebanonCars line up to fill their tanks but the worker at the gas station in Lebanon’s capital city waves them off, standing by the ‘Strike!’ signs. “No fuel today,” he shouts. |
| Shares rise after Fed cut, oil prices jumpA gauge of global equity performance rose Thursday within 1% of a record high a day after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates but crude prices jumped on concerns the weekend attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities pose supply risks. |
| Lenders Raise Collateral Concerns Over WeWork CEO’s $500 Million Personal Credit LineLenders Raise Collateral Concerns Over WeWork CEO’s $500 Million Personal Credit Line And the hits keep coming for the ‘trillionaire-to-be’ CEO of WeWork as Bloomberg reports that the lenders are looking to revise terms on Adam Neumann’s massive personal credit line amid collateral concerns as the real estate company’s valuation plummets. |
| Altria Tumbles To 5 Year Low As Mystery Vaping Disease Cases Rise To 530Altria Tumbles To 5 Year Low As Mystery Vaping Disease Cases Rise To 530 Altria stock, which already had a disappointing 2019, tumbled to fresh five year lows after the CDC announced during a Thursday briefing that 530 people have fallen ill from the mysterious vaping-related lung ailment that has raised alarms across the U.S., up from 380 “confirmed and probable cases” that the government reported last week. Worse, no less than seven people have already died from the mystery illness. Officials said they still hadn’t determined a cause of the ailment, and that there didn’t appear to be one product or substance involved in all instances. Cases have been identified in 38 states. After hitting the market with a bang with the implicit endorsement of both regulators and established tobacco companies, vaping has found itself under fire from all sides, especially now that it was unveiled that vaping addicts tend to shift to traditional cigarettes, making vaping a wonderful “gateway” product for big tobacco… one which may now have served its purpose.
“We are leaving no stone unturned,” said Mitchell Zeller, director of the Center for Tobacco Products at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The sudden and “u … |
| The Fed Will Restart QE In November: This Is How It Will Do ItThe Fed Will Restart QE In November: This Is How It Will Do It One of the reasons for the sharply hawkish response to yesterday’s FOMC meeting – one which saw both the dollar and yields spike – is that as we pointed out yesterday morning, in the hours ahead of Powell’s press conference, Wall Street consensus quickly shifted with many expecting the Fed to announce some form of permanent repo facility or restart of POMO (or QE for those who call a spade a spade) to push reserves back to a level where the funding market is stable. This, as we showed with the following chart, would require some $400 billion in new reserves for the FF-IOER spread to normalize. |
| FedEx Pilot Arrested In China; Accused Of Illegally Transporting AmmunitionFedEx Pilot Arrested In China; Accused Of Illegally Transporting Ammunition A FedEx pilot was arrested in the southern Chiense city of Guangzhou last week after flying deliveries throughout Asia from the Guangzhou airport, according to the Wall Street Journal. |
| Sitharaman announces ‘loan melas’ to boost credit growthSitharaman announces ‘loan melas’ to boost credit growthFinance Minister announced that banks won’t declare any new NPA for MSME loans till March 2020. |
| Foreign carmakers see potential in Indian ITForeign carmakers see potential in Indian ITAutomotive cos that are facing so much disruption are now willing to engage with Indian IT services providers. |
| India’s manufacturing woes, in numbersIndia’s manufacturing woes, in numbersManufacturing sector investments declined 10.3% in 2017-18, as pet the data released by the ASI. |
| August 2019 Leading Economic Index Unchanged!Written by Steven Hansen The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) for the U.S was unchanged this month – and the authors say “The recent trends in the LEI are consistent with a slow but still expanding economy, which has been primarily driven by strong consumer spending and robust job growth”.
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| Amazon aims to hit Paris climate goals 10 years early and reach carbon neutral on deliveries by 2040Amazon has set a goal to meet the Paris Climate Agreement objectives by 2040, 10 years early, including a pledge to emit net-zero carbon. |
| The Tell: The next financial crisis will be triggered by something nobody’s prepared for, warns market strategistKevin Muir, longtime trader and market strategist at Toronto-based East West Investment Management, says he’s preparing for a market storm that everybody else seems to be discounting. He explains how you can, too. |
| The Tell: The ‘Fed put’ on the stock market may expire worthless because of these mistakes: Stifel’s BannisterThe Federal Reserve might not be able to rescue the stock market even if it wants to, thanks to mistakes its already made, says the analyst who called last year’s fourth-quarter selloff. |
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