29Jan2020 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street Futures Point To A Moderately Higher Opening, DOW Futures Up 150 Points, WTI Crude Up In The 54 Handle, Gold Moves Upward To 1572

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are higher today with shares in France leading the region. The CAC 40 is up 0.40% while Germany’s DAX is up 0.19% and London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.09%.

Mastercard beats profit estimates on strong holiday season spending

Mastercard Inc beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit on Wednesday as customers spent more on its cards during the U.S. holiday shopping season, boosting fees for the world’s second-largest payment processor.

Centerview lures top French dealmakers to its new Paris hub: sources

U.S. boutique investment bank Centerview has found an office in the heart of Paris and is hiring senior bankers to establish a second European hub as Brexit looms, three sources told Reuters.

Oil rises as markets wait on virus impact and U.S. stockpiles fall

Oil prices rose for a second day on Wednesday, recouping some losses after a five-day rout, on talk that OPEC could extend oil output cuts if a new coronavirus hurts demand and data showing a decline in U.S. stockpiles.

GE beats profit, cash flow estimates on aviation, lower spending

General Electric Co quarterly profit and cash flow beat analysts’ estimates on Wednesday, boosted by its aviation unit, but the industrial conglomerate set a relatively modest profit target for 2020.

EU guidelines allow members to either restrict or ban high risk 5G providers like Huawei

EU countries can either restrict or exclude high-risk 5G vendors from core parts of their telecoms networks, according to new EU guidelines announced on Wednesday, a move targeting China’s Huawei Technologies but falling short of a U.S. call for a complete ban.

Factbox: Huawei’s involvement in telecoms networks around the world

European Union countries can either restrict or exclude high-risk 5G vendors from core parts of their telecoms networks, according to new EU guidelines announced on Wednesday, a move targeting China’s Huawei Technologies but falling short of a U.S. call for a complete ban.

Boeing posts surprise loss, 737 MAX costs climb to $19 billion

Boeing Co expects nearly $19 billion in costs related to the grounding of its 737 MAX jets, the U.S. planemaker said on Wednesday while posting a surprise loss and indicating it would cut production of its bigger 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

United States tells Britain: look again at Huawei 5G decision

The United States on Wednesday urged Britain to look again at its decision to allow China’s Huawei a limited role in 5G networks, cautioning that American information should only pass across trusted networks.

Futures gain as Apple earnings take some focus off virus concerns

U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday as strong results from Apple and other marquee companies kicked fourth-quarter earnings into top gear and overshadowed concerns over the economic impact of the fast-spreading coronavirus.

‘Flash Crash’ Scapegoat Nat Sarao Sentenced To 1 Year House Arrest

‘Flash Crash’ Scapegoat Nat Sarao Sentenced To 1 Year House Arrest

Last week, we reported that US prosecutors had recommended to a judge presiding over the sentencing of 2010 ‘flash crash’ scapegoat Nat Sarao that the former day trader be sentenced to time served.

Though that’s not exactly how things went during his Tuesday sentencing, at least Sarao – nicknamed the ‘Hound of Hounslow, the London neighborhood where his parents own a home – won’t see the inside of another jail cell. According to the Guardian, “the story of the British day trader charged with triggering a trillion-dollar “flash crash” that caused havoc on Wall Street in 2010 ended where it began on Tuesday with a judge sentencing him to one year of home incarceration at his parent’s house.”

Sarao’s parents leave in West London, and after five years of legal struggles that included being extradited from the UK to the US, the former day trader, who has been diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum, and who was reportedly scammed out of nearly all of the $35 million-plus he earned trading. Sarao used a custom-designed algorithm that cancelled his orders before execution to manipulate markets, prosecutors said.

Spoofing, or placing orders and then cancelling them before execution to create the appearance of more – or less – demand, is illegal in the US.

Coronavirus And The “Unsinkable” Titanic Analogy

Coronavirus And The “Unsinkable” Titanic Analogy

Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,

Unthinkable doesn’t mean unsinkable.

Boeing Reports Epic $4 Billion Revenue Miss, Announces $20BN In 737 MAX Costs, Cuts 787 Production; Stock Surges

Boeing Reports Epic $4 Billion Revenue Miss, Announces $20BN In 737 MAX Costs, Cuts 787 Production; Stock Surges

If there ever was a “kitchen sink” quarter, Boeing just had it.

Moments ago, the ailing US aerospace giant reported Q4 earnings which prompted traders to do a double take after revenues cratered by 37% Y/Y, down from $28.3BN a year ago, and nearly $4 billion below the Wall Street consensus of $21.7BN; Q4 EPS was a whopping loss of $2.33/share, compared to expectations of a $1.47 profit, and down from $5.48 a year ago, resulting in the worst quarter in over two decades.

‘If I Listened To Him, We’d Be On World War Six’ – Trump Slams “Nasty & Untrue” Bolton Book

‘If I Listened To Him, We’d Be On World War Six’ – Trump Slams “Nasty & Untrue” Bolton Book

The coordinated leak of the Bolton manuscript has revived Democrats’ hopes for calling the former National Security Advisor to testify at Trump’s trial in the Senate, Mitch McConnell reluctantly admitted last night.

And as Republican frustration with the mustachioed neocon reaches a boiling point, President Trump – who famously fired Bolton via Twitter – has taken to his favorite social media platform to bash his former NSA.

Trump begins by slamming Bolton’s disloyalty, claiming that Bolton begged him for a “non-Senate approved” job and that Trump caved and gave it to him despite “many saying ‘don’t do it, sir’.”

Trump also mocked Bolton’s tendency toward gaffes during TV appearances, like the time he claimed the US was looking at “the Libya model” to handle North Korea. He was immediately roasted by national security experts who noted that Gadhafi’s decision to surrender his nuclear ambitions eventually led to his overthrow and brutal murder.

For a guy who couldn’t get approved for the Ambassador to the U.N. years ago, couldn’t get approved for anything since, œbegged me for a non Senate approved job, which I gave him despite many saying œDon’t do it, sir, takes the job, mistakenly says œLibyan Model on T.V., and..

” Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2020

…

The story so far of India’s quest to reach the $5-tn GDP goal

The story so far of India’s quest to reach the $5-tn GDP goalAs per our survey, most believed that while $5 trillion was possible, doing so in just 5 years was not.

Tata has advice for startups that burn money

Tata has advice for startups that burn moneyTata exhorted businesses to conduct themselves ethically and not to be “fly-by-the-night” operators.

Ambani wants to make roads with old plastic

Ambani wants to make roads with old plasticRIL is in talks with state governments and local bodies across the country for offering the technology.

The Ratings Game: Analysts divided on how much further Apple shares can climb after ‘blowout results’

Wall Street analysts start weighing in on Apple results, and some say growth prospects may not look as bullish as investors want to believe.

The Roth strategy we wish we’d built for early retirement

There is a lot to love about a Roth ” here’s why.

Outside the Box: You’ve saved up for early retirement. Can you help to save the world?

FIRE’s financial security gives you enormous power to do good