26Nov2019 Midday Update: Wall Street’s Three Main Indexes Have Hit All-time Highs, DOW Up 30 Points, Gold Edges Higher, Disney And Best Buy Countered Weak Consumer Confidence Data

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

North and South American markets are mixed. The S&P 500 is higher by 0.17%, while the Bovespa is leading the IPC lower. They are down 1.66% and 1.09% respectively.

U.S.-China trade deal close, Trump says; negotiations continue

The United States and China are close to agreement on the first phase of a trade deal, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, after top negotiators from the two countries spoke by telephone and agreed to keep working on remaining issues.

Trump says near deal with China, but U.S. also has eye on Hong Kong

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the United States was in the “final throes” in its attempt to reach a trade deal with China, but that at the same time Washington stands with protesters in Hong Kong, where it wants to see democracy.

U.S. consumer confidence ebbing; housing market firming

U.S. consumer confidence fell for a fourth straight month in November amid worries about current business conditions and employment prospects, but remained at levels sufficient to support a steady pace of consumer spending.

Fed’s Brainard calls for ‘flexible’ average inflation target

The Federal Reserve should move from a strict 2% inflation target to a broad, “flexible” promise that it would average that level over time, a key member of the U.S. central bank’s board of governors said on Tuesday in one of the most explicit endorsements yet for changes in its monetary policy framework.

Oil gains, bolstered again by U.S.-China trade talks

Oil prices edged higher after news that U.S. and Chinese officials discussed trade on Tuesday, while predictions for a weekly draw on U.S. crude stockpiles lent some support as well.

Trade, Disney propel Wall Street to new record high

Wall Street’s three main indexes hit all-time highs on Tuesday, as comments by President Donald Trump on trade as well as gains for Disney and Best Buy countered weak consumer confidence data.

VW’s Audi to cut one in ten jobs to fund shift to electric vehicles

Volkswagen’s luxury car unit Audi on Tuesday said it would cut one in ten jobs, freeing up billions of euros to fund its shift toward electric vehicle production.

Xerox prepares to take HP buyout bid hostile

Xerox Corp said on Tuesday it was planning to take its $33.5 billion buyout bid directly to HP Inc shareholders after the personal computer maker refused to open its books for due diligence before a deadline.

Activist investor seeks to oust Trump friend Barrack from CEO job at Colony Capital

Activist investor Blackwells is pushing to remove Tom Barrack, a billionaire friend of President Donald Trump, as CEO of Colony Capital, saying his mismanagement of the real estate and investment firm has cost shareholders billions of dollars in lost gains.

Despite Small Tail, 5Y Auction Comes In Hot With Highest Bid To Cover Since July 2018

Despite Small Tail, 5Y Auction Comes In Hot With Highest Bid To Cover Since July 2018

One day after an impressive 2Y auction, that stopped well through the When Issued and saw a huge spike in Direct bidder demand, today’s sale of $41 billion in 5Y notes was more lukewarm.

The auction stopped at a high yield of 1.587%, 0.3bps above the 1.584% When Issued and 1.7bps higher than the October auction yield of 1.570%.

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of today’s auction was the jump in the Bid to Cover, which rose from 2.41 last month to 2.50, which was the highest going back all the way to July 2018.

Finally, the internals were generally in line, with Directs today taking down a far more modest 13.5%, about half of their activity in yesterday’s 2Y paper, and while above last month’s 11.5%, it was below the 6 auction average. And with Dealers taking down 21.6%, or modestly below the 25.3% six auction average, Indirects were left holding 64.8%, which while well above the recent average of 58.7%, was below last month’s 65.7%, the highest since August 2018.

Altogether this was another solid auction, despite the modest tail, and the stable demand made sure that the 10Y yield continues to trade just over 1 basis point lower on the day, if off the session lows.

‘Joe Biden Doesn’t Have It’: Obama Tells It Straight As 2020 Candidates Seek Wisdom

‘Joe Biden Doesn’t Have It’: Obama Tells It Straight As 2020 Candidates Seek Wisdom

Barack Obama has been frustrating the Democratic establishment of late. By refusing to endorse his former VP Joe Biden – who is barely clinging to his lead as the 2020 frontrunner, while at the same time panning progressive candidates such as Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, the former president appears to be tacitly admitting that the current pool of Democratic candidates – and Biden in particular, is not worth risking his reputation over.

Opioid-Makers/Distributors Dumped On Reports Of Federal Criminal Probe

Opioid-Makers/Distributors Dumped On Reports Of Federal Criminal Probe

Federal prosecutors have reportedly opened a criminal investigation into whether pharmaceutical companies intentionally allowed opioid painkillers to flood communities.

Martin Armstrong On Pole Shifts & Climate Change

Martin Armstrong On Pole Shifts & Climate Change

Via ArmstrongEconomics.com,

QUESTION:Â

Good morning, Mr. Armstrong. Last week, you wrote about the north and south poles flipping. Has Socrates ever suggested that the earth could flip so that the north and south poles move to where the equator is now; that is, has the earth ever moved sideways? I live in Edmonton, Alberta and, at one time, north-central Alberta lay in the tropics and was characterized by swampy river deltas; the rivers had their sources to the west and flowed into a large lake. Fossils clearly show plant, fern, and tree species that are now found in Florida and Louisiana. Even more exotic like ginkgo trees were present. Dinosaurs and other assorted reptiles thrived. Could it be that Edmonton and area swung to the north, thus killing off the dinosaurs?

Thanks for all that you do!!!

MG

ANSWER:Â

We were provided the data on all the pole shifts going back millions of years. Each time the plates move (expand), a strip of new lava appears on the seafloor. It is magnetized to where the north pole is at that time.

Modi govt is walking the talk on pending structural reforms

Modi govt is walking the talk on pending structural reformsThe current changes are part of a process to streamline 44 different federal labor laws into four codes.

Chinese excel at Wall Street’s toughest test

Chinese excel at Wall Street’s toughest testApplicants from Asia — and especially China — have been flooding into the exams.

RBI raises red flags on Mudra bad loans

RBI raises red flags on Mudra bad loansThe Mudra loan scheme was launched to help the highly under-funded SMEs in 2015.

Climate change: U.N. says ‘quick wins’ necessary to keep countries from missing Paris goals

Countries need to begin making steep cuts to their greenhouse gas emissions or risk missing their pledges to limit global warming, with potentially dire consequences, top United Nations officials said Tuesday.

Metals Stocks: Gold edges higher as economy and U.S.-China trade stay in focus

Gold sees a bounce as investors monitor the economy and U.S.-China trade developments.

Best Buy’s health offerings now serving 1 million seniors, with a goal of 5 million in fiscal 2025

Best Buy is building a customer base among seniors, with the goal of keeping them in their homes longer and lower health-care costs.