23Jan2020 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street Futures Contracts For The Three Main U.S. Stock Benchmarks Are Trading Lower, DOW Futures Down Almost 70 Points, WTI Crude Slip Further To 55.35

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are lower today with shares in Germany off the most. The DAX is down 0.60% while London’s FTSE 100 is off 0.47% and France’s CAC 40 is lower by 0.32%.

Union Pacific profit misses estimates as energy shipments fall

U.S. railroad operator Union Pacific Corp reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit, as freight volumes of agricultural products and energy shipments fell.

American Airlines beats quarterly profit estimates on strong travel demand

American Airlines Group Inc edged past Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit on Thursday, as strong travel demand and lower fuel costs cushioned the U.S. carrier from flight cancellations due to the 737 MAX grounding.

JetBlue resets cost structure to enable low airfares for next decade

JetBlue Airways Corp said on Thursday it had shaved $314 million off its cost base over the past three years, delivering on a cost-cutting drive designed to enable budget-friendly airfares over the next decade. Curbing costs is a priority for many companies, but particularly for airlines like JetBlue, where costs have been rising faster than for many peers and whose business model depends on fares that can compete with legacy airlines.

Futures inch lower on worsening China virus concerns, mixed earnings

U.S. stock index futures edged lower on Thursday on rising worries over the coronavirus outbreak in China that prompted a lockdown of two cities in the country, with a mixed bag of results adding to the dour sentiment.

Lebanon’s new government may have little reserves left to stabilize economy

Lebanon’s new government faces huge upcoming debt repayments and a currency peg at breaking point, but it may already have run out of the hard cash firepower it needs to tackle these problems.

ECB launches review that will redefine its mission and tools

The European Central Bank launched a broad review of its policy on Thursday that was likely to see new President Christine Lagarde redefine the ECB’s main goal and how to achieve it.

P&G posts first quarterly sales miss in over a year

Procter & Gamble Co on Thursday reported its first quarterly sales miss in over a year, hurt by weakness in its baby and feminine care business that sells everything from deodorants to diapers.

Virus fears sap stocks; ECB gets ready for rethink

World shares fell on Thursday, led by the biggest tumble in Chinese stocks in more than eight months, as concern mounted about a new coronavirus outbreak in China.

Insys founder faces stiff prison sentence, $100 million-plus in forfeiture

John Kapoor, the founder of Insys Therapeutics Inc, on Thursday could be sentenced to several years in prison and ordered to forfeit up to $113 million for his role in a bribery and fraud scheme that contributed to the U.S. opioid crisis.

Yes, Rates Are Still Going To Zero

Yes, Rates Are Still Going To Zero

Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com,

œIf the U.S. economy entered a recession soon and interest rates fell in line with levels seen during the moderate recessions of 1990 and 2001, yields on even longer-dated Treasury securities could fall to or below zero. “ Senior Fed Economist, Michael Kiley ” January 20, 2020

I was emailed this article no less than twenty times within a few hours of it hitting the press. Of course, this was not a surprise to us. To wit:

œOutside of other events such as the S&L Crisis, Asian Contagion, Long-Term Capital Management, etc. which all drove money out of stocks and into bonds pushing rates lower, recessionary environments are especially prone at suppressing rates further. Given the current low level of interest rates, the next recessionary bout in the economy will very likely see rates near zero. Â

That article was written more than 3-years ago in August 2016.Â

Of course, three-years a …

Watch ECB’s Christine Lagarde Explain How Greenwashing Central Bank Policy Will Save Europe

Watch ECB’s Christine Lagarde Explain How Greenwashing Central Bank Policy Will Save Europe

Having kept rates unchanged and done nothing to signal a slowdown in money-printing malarkey, most investors eyes and ears will be glued to ECB President Lagarde’s ‘strategic review’ and how her new-found focus on virtue-signaling climate change management will affect the European Central Bank’s mandate.

China Quarantines 3rd City As Wuhan Virus Spreads To Singapore

China Quarantines 3rd City As Wuhan Virus Spreads To Singapore

Update (0800ET): CNA, an English-language news website based across Asia, has just reported that Singapore has confirmed the first case of the Wuhan coronavirus.

“Let’s Talk After She Finishes College” – Mnuchin Slams Greta Thunberg

“Let’s Talk After She Finishes College” – Mnuchin Slams Greta Thunberg

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin took a jab at climate activist Greta Thunberg on Thursday during a news conference with reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, reported Reuters.Â

“Who is she? The chief economist?” Mnuchin told reporters. “After she goes and studies economics in college, she can come back and explain that to us.” Â

Here’s what’s making investors regain faith in abandoned houses

Here’s what’s making investors regain faith in abandoned housesPositive interest follows govt’s Rs 25,000 crore boost for stressed housing projects.

Insider trading by Indians on the rise in US

Insider trading by Indians on the rise in USThe illegal trading ring was active for nearly 3 years before being discovered last year.

Reliance Jio clears its AGR dues

Reliance Jio clears its AGR duesThe Mukesh Ambani led telco’s dues are a fraction of what its rivals – Vod Idea and Airtel – have to pay.

Market Snapshot: Dow futures sag amid earnings deluge and China’s efforts to contain viral outbreak

Futures contracts for the three main U.S. stock benchmarks early Thursday were trading lower as investors parse earnings from a pair of Dow components and an update on monetary policy from Europe’s central bank, while eyeing China’s struggles to contain a potential viral outbreak.

Economic Report: New jobless claims rise slightly to 211,000 in mid-January, but still show very few layoffs

The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits in mid-January rose slightly, but layoffs remain near a 50-year low and there’s no sign of deterioration in the strongest U.S. labor market in decades. Initial jobless claims increased by 6,000 to 211,000.

Need to Know: The one value strategy that wasn’t a disaster now favors commodity sector over techs

There was one value strategy that wasn’t a disaster in 2019, and it now likes commodity producers over techs.