14Jan2020 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street Stalls Ahead Of U.S.-China Trade Deal, DOW Futures Flat At +10, WTI Up At 58.52, Gold Down To 1540

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are mixed. The FTSE 100 is higher by 0.02%, while the CAC 40 is leading the DAX lower. They are down 0.15% and 0.08% respectively.

Delta beats profit forecast on strong demand as rivals battle 737 MAX crisis

Delta Air Lines Inc on Tuesday reported a fourth-quarter profit that beat estimates, boosted in part by customers it gained from rival airlines’ 737 MAX cancellations and growing air travel demand.

Citigroup profit beats as credit card, trading revenue jump

Citigroup Inc beat analysts’ estimates for fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday, boosted by growth in its credit card business and a jump in trading revenue.

UK’s Johnson says Huawei critics need to suggest alternatives

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said those opposed to the use of equipment made by China’s Huawei in the UK’s new 5G networks need to say what alternative technology should be used instead.

Wells Fargo quarterly profit slumps as legal costs mount

Wells Fargo & Co reported a 55% slump in fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday, as the fallout from a sales scandal that erupted in 2016 drove the bank to set aside another $1.5 billion toward legal expenses.

BlackRock takes tougher stance on climate after activist heat

BlackRock Chief Executive Larry Fink has warned company boards to step up efforts to tackle climate change, marking a significant shift in the public stance of the world’s biggest investment manager amid mounting concerns about global warming.

China to ramp up U.S. car, aircraft, energy purchases in trade deal: source

China has pledged to buy almost $80 billion of additional manufactured goods from the United States over the next two years as part of a trade war truce, according to a source,

Futures pause after rally, JPMorgan results draw cheer

U.S. stock index futures were flat to slightly lower on Tuesday, as investors took a breather following a record rally, even as JPMorgan’s quarterly results set a positive tone for big bank earnings.

Phase 1 commodity targets likely more than China can chew: analysts

Commodity traders and analysts are struggling to map out how China will reach the eye-popping amounts it is committing to buy from the United States under Phase 1 of their trade deal.

Record stocks stall ahead of U.S.-China trade deal

Global markets experienced a slight bout of weakness on Tuesday as traders cashed in on recent record highs, awaited a long-anticipated U.S.-China trade deal and began to digest the first Wall Street earnings of the new year.

US Consumer Prices Accelerate At Fastest Since Oct 2018

US Consumer Prices Accelerate At Fastest Since Oct 2018

Headline consumer price inflation was expected to accelerate its recent trend higher in December, and it did, but slightly disappointing.

Headline CPI rose 2.3% YoY (below the +2.4% YoY) but above November’s +2.1% and the highest since Oct 2018. Core CPI also rose 2.3% YoY (as expected)…

Wells Reports Dismal Q4 Earnings: Huge Earnings Miss, NIM Tumbles As Expenses Soar

Wells Reports Dismal Q4 Earnings: Huge Earnings Miss, NIM Tumbles As Expenses Soar

If JPMorgan was the posted child for how one should frontrun the Fed’s QE4 (which JPMorgan triggered thanks to the repo market crisis it itself created by pulling liquidity from the market and investing it in risk assets) and report blowout Q4 earnings, Wells Fargo was the polar opposite.

Warren Buffett’s favorite bank reported revenue and EPS which both missed estimates, with Q4 revenue sliding 5.1% to $19.9BN, below the $20.1BN estimate, while Net income of $2.9 billion and diluted EPS of $0.60 (which included the impact of $1.5 billion, or $(0.33) per share, of litigation accruals) also missed estimates of $1.10, even with the one-time adjustment. There were several other adjustments including i) $362 million gain from the sale of our Eastdil Secured (Eastdil) business; ii) $166 million of expenses related to the strategic reassessment of technology projects in Wealth and Investment Management (WIM); iii) $153 million linked quarter decrease in low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) investment income; iv) $134 million gain on loan sales predominantly junior lien mortgage loans. All this was offset by a $125 million reserve release.

However one defines it, the Net Income trend is hardly Wells Fargo’s friend:

Apple Responds To AG Barr’s Claim That It Did Not Assist FBI In Pensacola Shooting

Apple Responds To AG Barr’s Claim That It Did Not Assist FBI In Pensacola Shooting

Attorney General William Barr requested Apple’s help to extract data from two iPhones that belonged to the Saudi aviation student that fatally shot three US soldiers at a Pensacola naval base last month, reported The Verge.Â

Barr updated the situation on Monday during a press conference and said Apple had provided no “substantive assistance” in supporting investigators with the unlocking of the smartphones.

TSLA & BYND Continue Short-Squeeze Melt-Up In Pre-Market

TSLA & BYND Continue Short-Squeeze Melt-Up In Pre-Market

Nothing to see here, move along!

Tough balancing act awaits RBI’s new Dy Guv Michael Patra

Tough balancing act awaits RBI’s new Dy Guv Michael PatraMichael Patra will take over as the fourth deputy governor at the RBI and will handle the monetary policy portfolio.

Fantastic inflation fixes & where to find them

Fantastic inflation fixes & where to find themLast month’s jump in inflation to 7.35%, way above the RBI’s 2% to 6% target range, was driven by food.

India’s job crisis may go from bad to worse

India’s job crisis may go from bad to worseIndia is projected to create 16 lakh less jobs in FY20, according to a SBI research report.

Germany and Italy don’t have their own currencies to manipulate, but the U.S. Treasury is still right about them

Both countries are on the U.S. watch list for their massive trade surpluses. This should not shock European officials, who have been saying the same thing.

Market Snapshot: Dow futures hold steady as earnings season kicks off

Stock-index futures trade near unchanged Tuesday, pointing to consolidation a day after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite scored another round of records and as big banks kick off earnings season.

In One Chart: The U.S. jobs market is healthy, but workers in these small towns are being left behind

Geographic unequal distribution of job gains is an important factor in today’s economy