24Sep2019 Midday Update: Wall Street Opened Up, Quickly Descends, DOW Down 200 Points And Falling, Nasdaq Down 1.5%, WTI Slips To 57.60, Gold Rises To 1534 On Trump’s Trade Comments

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

North and South American markets are lower today with shares in U.S. off the most. The S&P 500 is down 0.95% while Brazil’s Bovespa is off 0.77% and Mexico’s IPC is lower by 0.60%.

Novartis blames former AveXis executives for Zolgensma data manipulation

Novartis AG blamed former executives Brian and Allan Kaspar for the manipulation of data behind its $2.1 million gene therapy Zolgensma, saying they either personally manipulated the data or pressured subordinates into doing so.

Wall Street drops on Trump’s trade comments, weak consumer data

U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday, after President Donald Trump delivered a stinging rebuke to China’s trade practices, while disappointing consumer confidence data raised concerns over the impact of a prolonged trade war between the two nations.

Chipotle faces more labor complaints at New York City stores

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc is facing fresh claims that it violated New York City’s labor laws after the city sued the fast casual restaurant chain two weeks ago.

FCC probes Sprint for subsidies for 885,000 subscribers that did not receive service

The Federal Communications Commission said Tuesday Sprint Corp received tens of millions of dollars in monthly government subsidies for 885,000 low-income subscribers that were not using the service and said its Enforcement Bureau is investigating.

Tesla’s Musk pushed for SolarCity deal despite major cash crunch: lawsuit

Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk urged investors to approve the 2016 purchase of SolarCity at a big premium to its market value despite knowing the solar installer faced a cash crunch and publicly stating he had recused himself from involvement in the deal, according to court documents unsealed on Monday.

U.S. consumer confidence falls in September, trade fears dominate

U.S. consumer confidence ebbed in September as an escalation in trade tensions fanned concerns about business and labor market conditions, a potentially worrying signal for consumer spending, which has been driving the economy.

Private detective acted ‘defensively’ in Credit Suisse case: memo

Private detectives from security firm Investigo, hired to shadow a former Credit Suisse manager Iqbal Khan, took defensive action when Khan tried to photograph one of them with his mobile phone, an Investigo memo seen by Reuters said.

As Thomas Cook customers return home, blame game begins

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and unions questioned the part played by Thomas Cook’s richly rewarded bosses in the company’s demise on Tuesday, and asked why the state had to foot the bill for bringing tens of thousands of tourists home.

Factbox: Countries scramble after Thomas Cook collapse strands travelers

The collapse of British travel operator Thomas Cook has left hundreds of thousands holidaymakers abroad and forced governments and insurers to coordinate a huge operation to get them home.

Impeachment Scare? Gold Spikes As Stocks & Bond Yields Extend Drop

Impeachment Scare? Gold Spikes As Stocks & Bond Yields Extend Drop

The S&P is back to post-Powell lows (before his QE4 hint) following weak macro data, Trump’s China comments, and increasing likeliness of a Trump impeachment proceeding. Bonds and bullion are bid…

Rivals Slam Trudeau As PM Pulls Out Of Election Debate Amid ‘Blackface’ Scandal

Rivals Slam Trudeau As PM Pulls Out Of Election Debate Amid ‘Blackface’ Scandal

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is clearly hoping to minimize his time in the spotlight after being hit with an embarrassing “blackface” scandal just one month before election day. In that spirit, the PM has decided to skip a debate on foreign policy with his rivals, prompting the organizer, Munk Debates, to cancel the event.

The chairman of the organization, Rudyard Griffiths, told the Globe and Mail that the debate was cancelled because of Trudeau’s refusal, seeing as he would be the only one on stage with any foreign policy experience.

“It’s really unfortunate that Canadians are not going to have a standalone debate on foreign policy this election,” Mr. Griffiths said.

It’s not difficult to imagine how Trudeau’s rivals might use a debate about foreign policy to attack Trudeau about his ‘blackface’ scandal. At this point, any events that aren’t tightly controlled by Trudeau and his campaign are probably off limits, or best avoided, as Trudeau and his party struggle to regain their lead in the polls with only weeks to go until election day.

Why The Saudis Are Lying About Their Oil Production

Why The Saudis Are Lying About Their Oil Production

Authored by Simon Watkins via OilPrice.com,

Saudi Arabia’s comments about its hydrocarbons industry have long been regarded by industry experts as being as believable as China’s comments about its economic growth: that is, not at all. Saudi Arabia’s skill in lying is definitely improving, though, from the outright transparent lies about its level of oil reserves, spare capacity, and why the omni-toxic Aramco should nonetheless be valued at US$2 trillion.

Its latest lies – along the lines of ‘everything is fine after the attacks and we will be back to full production really quickly’ ” are relatively nuanced.

œThe Saudi statements may not contain any direct falsehoods as such but nor are they entirely being fulsome with the truth, Richard Mallinson, senior energy analyst for Energy Aspects, in London, told OilPrice.com last week.

Insider Selling Hits 20 Year High As Stock Buybacks Soar

Insider Selling Hits 20 Year High As Stock Buybacks Soar

When it comes to the “fair value” of stocks, nobody knows it better than insiders, who tend to aggressively offload shares any time they see the price of their equity holdings as generously high. This, however, may be a problem for the broader market because according to research from Smart Insider, the market is now the most overbought since the first dotcom bubble, as “executives across the US are shedding stock in their own companies at the fastest pace in two decades, amid concerns that the long bull market in equities is reaching its final stages.”

As the FT reports, corporate insiders – typically CEOs, CFOs, and board members, but also venture capital and other early state investors – sold a combined $19BN of stock in their companies through to mid-September. Annualized, this puts them on track to hit $26BN for the year, which would mark the most active year since 2000, when executives sold $37bn of stock amid the giddy highs of the dotcom bubble. That 2019 total would also set a post-crisis high, eclipsing the $25bn of stock sold in 2017.

The inadvertent effect of India’s $20 billion mega tax cut

The inadvertent effect of India’s $20 billion mega tax cutTraders say the spread offers lenders little incentive to pass on past interest rate cuts to customers.

MSMEs get 2nd shot to reclaim belly-up firms

MSMEs get 2nd shot to reclaim belly-up firmsPromoters can be considered for resolution of their own cos as they are exempt from section 29(A) of IBC.

Major changes in existing drug laws soon

Major changes in existing drug laws soonThe move is aimed at promoting self-care & reducing cost of treatment without compromising patient safety.

Metals Stocks: Gold perks back up after Trump’s hard-line UN speech

Gold prices move up Tuesday, giving up earlier losses after President Donald Trump criticized China and took a hard-line stance on Iran during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, pressuring U.S. stocks and boosting the metal’s haven appeal.

The Technical Indicator: Charting a delayed breakout attempt, S&P 500 hesitates near record territory

Technically speaking, the U.S. benchmarks continue to draw muted September selling pressure, preserving a late-year breakout attempt, writes Michael Ashbaugh.

In One Chart: This map shows the easiest place to live car-free in America ” and, surprisingly, it’s not New York City

Coastal areas and college towns are the easiest places to live without owning an automobile.