Written by Gary
US major stock indexes rose fractionally this morning and have since rolled over (SPY +0.9%). A green finish is still within reason.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
 | North and South American markets are mixed today. The S&P 500 is up 1.05% while the IPC gains 0.41%. The Bovespa is off 4.91%. |
What Is Moving the Markets
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
| Virgin Money plans to cut 500 jobs and close 52 branchesBritish challenger bank Virgin Money is planning to cut 500 jobs as it presses ahead with cost-cutting after bulking up through the merger of Virgin Money and Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banking Group in 2018, it said on Wednesday. |
| U.S. Supreme Court allows retirement plan lawsuit against IntelThe U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to back stricter deadlines for workers to sue retirement plans over alleged mismanagement, ruling Intel Corp cannot avoid a suit accusing it of unlawfully making high-risk investments that cost retirement plan beneficiaries hundreds of millions of dollars. |
| Walmart in talks with third parties over investment in UK arm AsdaWalmart , the world’s largest retailer, is in talks with third parties regarding a possible investment in Asda, its UK supermarket arm that it tried, and failed, to merge with rival Sainsbury’s last year. |
| Oil inches up on U.S. crude inventories, coronavirus limits gainsOil prices edged up on Wednesday after U.S. crude in storage grew less than expected and gasoline inventories dropped, but hundreds of new coronavirus cases reported in Asia, Europe and oil-producing countries in the Middle East limited gains. |
| Lufthansa and United weigh takeover of Portugal’s TAP: SueddeutscheLufthansa and United Airlines are considering taking over TAP-Air Portugal, a German newspaper reported on Wednesday. |
| Delta Air waives travel change fees for South Korea as coronavirus spreadsDelta Air Lines Inc said on Wednesday it has expanded its travel change fee waiver to include Seoul, South Korea, through April 30, as coronavirus spreads to regions outside China. |
| Jury weighs verdict for ex-Barclays bankers in Qatar fee trialThe jury in the London trial of three former Barclays bankers accused of funneling secret fees to Qatar in return for emergency funding during the financial crisis in 2008, retired to consider its verdict on Wednesday. |
| Apple faces shareholder vote over Chinese app removal policiesApple Inc’s shareholders on Wednesday will vote on a proposal critical of its moves to remove apps at the request of the Chinese government and calling on the iPhone maker to report whether it has “publicly committed to respect freedom of expression as a human right.” |
| BlackRock Vice Chairman and co-Founder Barbara Novick to step downBlackRock Inc vice chairman and co-founder Barbara Novick will step down from her day-to-day duties at the asset manager, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Wednesday. |
| Pakistan Confirms 1st Coronavirus Case; Congress Begins Talks On Emergency Spending Bill: Live UpdatesPakistan Confirms 1st Coronavirus Case; Congress Begins Talks On Emergency Spending Bill: Live Updates Summary: Iran deaths hit 19 Brazil confirms first case in South America France confirms 2nd death Tokyo pushes back against Tokyo Games cancellation talk Greece confirms first case Germany unleashes fiscal stimulus after confirming new cases Dems one-up Trump with $8.5 billion package. Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain confirm new cases Finland confirms 2nd case 1st case reported in Pakistan HHS Secretary tells Congress infectious disease fund has no extra uncommitted cash Congress begins talks on corona virus spending bill with vote expected early next month Germany health minister warns we’re at beginning of epidemic in Germany Italy confirms 12th death South Korea cases soar above 1,200 as gov’t begins testing of 200k patients Brazil confirms infected patient came on plane from Paris * * * Update (1130ET): It’s been another relatively hectic morning for coronavirus-related news in the US. Here are some of the latest updates” -Finland has confirmed its second case of coronavirus as the outbreaks spread into northern Europe. -Pakistan reports first case, despite closing border with Iran -German health minister warns we’re at the beginning of an epidemic, tells hospitals to review planning -Brazil is worried about an interruption of medical supplies from China like facemasks (they’re not the only ones) -White House |
| Stockman Warns “The Jig Is Up!” – Covid-19 And The Defenestration Of The Central BankersStockman Warns “The Jig Is Up!” – Covid-19 And The Defenestration Of The Central Bankers Authored by David Stockman via Contra Corner blog, Let it be said that historians will surely marvel – and at some point soon – about the grand delusion of the present era. Namely, the near universal belief that central bankers could print, peg and palaver the main street economy into unfailing expansion and ever rising prosperity and that there were essentially no macro-risks to soaring stock prices that their toolkits couldn’t contain and counteract. |
| White House Denies Plan To Appoint “Coronavirus Czar”White House Denies Plan To Appoint “Coronavirus Czar” Update (1130ET): Unfortunately for Dr. Gottlieb, the White House has denied plans to appoint a coronavirus czar. The White House added that Trump is “pleased” with Azar’s performance in the spotlight so far. Azar also said he isn’t aware of any such plan. WHITE HOUSE SAYS IT IS NOT WEIGHING WHETHER TO APPOINT CORONAVIRUS ‘CZAR’ -SPOKESMAN WHITE HOUSE SAYS TRUMP IS ‘PLEASED WITH THE LEADERSHIP OF’ HEALTH SECRETARY AZAR ON CORONAVIRUS AZAR SAYS HE DOESN’T EXPECT TRUMP TO APPOINT VIRUS CZAR We suspect this might be pushback from somebody in Azar’s camp. * * * With the White House struggling to control the narrative following one of the most brutal two-day equity selloffs in years, Politico reports that the administration is weighing whether to appoint a ‘coronavirus czar’ to coordinate the federal response to the epidemic and – as we imagine Democrats will allege – act as a public cheerleader for the administration’s handling of the crisis. The report is being taken seriously by other journalists and the public, and some have half-jokingly suggested that Jared Kushner might soon be adding ‘coronavirus response’ to his portfolio, now that the Middle East peace plan has been released.
|
| Saxobank: “We Do Not Want To Advocate Panic” But “This Has Clearly Been A Huge Mispricing Of Risk”Saxobank: “We Do Not Want To Advocate Panic” But “This Has Clearly Been A Huge Mispricing Of Risk” Submitted by Eleanor Creagh of Saxobank Summary: The COVID-19 spread outside of China has sparked concerns the outbreak is evolving into a global pandemic, despite the WHO saying it is too early to re-classify. This has triggered a reassessment of downside risks which has seen a wave of selling wash across risky assets. * * * The market flipped very suddenly from outright complacency to all out panic and risk assets were offered across the board as investors woke up to the realities of what has clearly been a huge mispricing of risk. Risk assets had been remarkably resilient in the face of a double whammy demand and supply shock ready to hit economic activity, with investors taking an optimistic view that the virus outbreak would be contained within China and an impending cocktail of fiscal and monetary stimulus would serve as a cure all. It is far from clear how effective monetary stimulus and tax cuts will be whilst people are quarantined, factories operate at reduced capacity and uncertainty prevails. As investors have reassessed the real impact of COVID-19, the simultaneous unwind in positioning has been violent, given the complacent positioning prior to the sell off and the increasingly stretched valuations which left the market over extended and vulnerable to larger falls as positioning flipped. Although the move has been swift and sharp, to put the selloff into perspective, markets are still trading at elevated multiples and the ASX 200 is just back at levels last seen in January. No doubt the pandemic fears are a catalyst, … |
| Is US really India’s true friend? The answer isn’t what you thinkIs US really India’s true friend? The answer isn’t what you thinkUS is an overbearing friend intent on maintaining its global primacy. It is even more so in Trump era. |
| Green shoots or dead wood? We’ll know soonGreen shoots or dead wood? We’ll know soonThe GDP growth will stay flat at 4.5 per cent in the October-December 2019, economists at SBI have said. |
| Inside India’s oldest port’s mega land planInside India’s oldest port’s mega land planKolkata Port Trust is looking to lease its land as big as London Docklands to boost profit. |
| Key Words: The Pope wants Catholics to give up trolling for LentœPeople insult each other as if they were saying ‘Good Day,’ he said. |
| How valuable is your 401(k)? These numbers will tell youIf you want to retire you need to know these numbers first |
| Key Words: Billionaire Leon Cooperman says he just ‘lost a lot of money’ in a selloff sparked by a ‘blemish’ on a ‘beautiful lady’The fund manager admitted he’s œlost lots of money this week, just like most investors, but at this point, he says he’s a buyer in this market. However, he cited two issues that need to be resolved: |
Earnings Summary for Today
leading Stock Positions
Current Commodity Prices
Commodities are powered by Investing.com
Current Currency Crosses
The Forex Quotes are powered by Investing.com.
To contact me with questions, comments or constructive criticism is always encouraged and appreciated:
