Written by Gary
The Fed ramped up its liquidity bailout facility to a stunning $175 billion per day and still the market kept collapsing (SPY -4.9%). COVID-19 is now a pandemic, and major oil producers announced plans to escalate the burgeoning price war.
The Market in Perspective
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
 | Wall Street tumbles, Dow confirms bear marketWall Street plunged on Wednesday, with the Dow confirming a bear market for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis as the World Health Organization called the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. |
| Bankers meet with Trump, say prepared to help economyLeading U.S. bank executives in a meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House said banks are strongly capitalized and prepared to help small businesses and American consumers weather the coronavirus outbreak. |
| U.S. again postpones high-level meeting on Huawei and China: sourcesTrump administration officials have postponed for a second time a critical meeting originally set for Wednesday to discuss potential new U.S. restrictions on sales of technology to Huawei and China, people familiar with the matter said. |
| Blackstone asks its companies hurt by virus to tap credit lines: BBGPrivate equity firm Blackstone Group Inc is asking companies it controls to draw down their credit lines to avoid liquidity crunch, a Bloomberg reporter tweeted on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. |
| Amtrak says bookings plunge, is set to lose several hundred million dollars on coronavirus fearsU.S. passenger railroad Amtrak said on Wednesday that bookings had plunged 50% since the coronavirus outbreak and that it now expected significant service reductions and losses of hundreds of millions of dollars. |
| California, other states end opposition to T-Mobile, Sprint mergerCalifornia and other states which had fought a merger of Sprint Corp and T-Mobile US Inc over concerns about higher prices for consumers and less innovation have agreed to end their opposition. |
| Oil slumps as stock markets sink, while Saudi, UAE plan to boost capacityOil prices fell 4% on Wednesday, sinking into the close of trading with renewed weakness in the stock market after the World Health Organization said the global coronavirus outbreak is now a pandemic, and as major oil producers announced plans to escalate the burgeoning price war. |
| Boeing to freeze hiring, overtime due to 737 MAX, virus impactsBoeing Co is freezing new hiring and overtime except in certain critical areas in efforts to preserve cash due to the coronavirus outbreaks and the 737 MAX grounding, people familiar the matter said on Wednesday. |
| Saudi, UAE gear up for long-term oil market fight with capacity plansTop oil exporter Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday it would launch a program to boost production capacity for the first time in more than a decade, signaling to Russia and other rivals it was ready for a long battle over production levels and market share. |
| Los Angeles County Confirms First Coronavirus Death; Seattle Closes Schools For “A Minimum” Of 2 Weeks: Live UpdatesLos Angeles County Confirms First Coronavirus Death; Seattle Closes Schools For “A Minimum” Of 2 Weeks: Live Updates Summary: WHO declares Covid-19 is a pandemic LA confirms first death Seattle schools close for two weeks MGM says guest at Vegas’s ‘The Mirage’ tested positive Denmark also closed schools Congressional doctor says up to Cuomo confirms 39 new cases in NY, raising total to 212 First death in Indonesia Confirmed cases in France top 2,000 Washington State to ban events over 200 Details of cruiseline industry’s ‘health and safety proposal’ leak ‘Waffle House’ employee in Atlanta confirmed UK reports 7th death Chicago cancels St. Paddy’s Day parade NY sends in National Guard IADB cancels meeting in Colombia as virus spreads across Latin America Mnuchin says first part of virus stimulus plan will be ready in 2 days Dr. Fauci warns virus 10x more deadly than flu and could infect millions if not handled early FEMA evacuates Atlanta office over coronavirus scare 3 Boeing workers test positie Washington DC advises cancellation or postponement of all gatherings with more than 1,000 people Harvard to prorate room and board for students US cases surpass 1,000 UK Health Minister catches virus Ireland, Bulgaria, Sweden report first deaths Connecticut declares state of emergency UK total hits 456 … |
| Stocks Puke Into Bear Market As US Financial Conditions Crash Most ‘Since Lehman’Stocks Puke Into Bear Market As US Financial Conditions Crash Most ‘Since Lehman’ Today the stench of a desperate liquidity scramble as The Dollar rallied while Stocks, Bonds, Bitcoin, Crude, and Gold were all dumped. The Fed ramped up its liquidity bailout facility to a stunning $175 billion per day and still the market kept collapsing… The Dow and S&P crash into a bear market…erasing most of the Trump rally… |
| Rabobank: We Cannot Help But Think Of Two Historical Comparisons, And Both Are TerribleRabobank: We Cannot Help But Think Of Two Historical Comparisons, And Both Are Terrible Submitted by Michael Every of Rabobank Tuesday duly delivered the Dead Bat Bounce we had expected; and, underlying just how unusual these times are, that included a near 5% rally in US stocks, a 29bp intraday sell-off in US 3o-year yields(!), a 10%+ jump in oil (even as the Saudis put the pedal to the metal with a pledge to exceed what this their normal maximum output), and a surge in USD that has pushed USDJPY back to 104.43, EURUSD back to 1.1338, and AUDUSD well below the psychological 0.65 level for a time. The market was also duly focusing on what is now seen as duty: promises of fiscal and monetary stimulus. In the US, the provider of fiscal stimulus was also duly focusing on an attack on the provider of monetary stimulus for not having done enough on rates, even after an emergency 50bp cut and expectations of a minimum of another 50bp at their meeting next week, which would leave them just 50bp away from the effective zero-bound again. Fiscally, we didn’t get any firm answers from the US. Indeed, the press reports the collective intelligence of Larry Kudlow and Steven Mnuchin has been pushing and pulling the president, initially in favour of a payroll tax cut–a bazooka–and then back towards smaller measures–( œbecause this is flu )–and then, after somebody on Air Force One had to self-isolate due to a potential virus infection, back to something bigger from the infamously germ-phobic Trump ¦.which has not been released yet. As we sit and wait to see what the US will do, I cannot help but think of two historical comparisons, and neither is flat … |
| Meet The New Streaming Service For Short Attention Spans And Ridiculous ContentMeet The New Streaming Service For Short Attention Spans And Ridiculous Content Quibi is a company that is trying to capitalize on the ever deteriorating attention span of the consumer. The service aims to compete with TikTok and YouTube by creating professional content people can watch on their phones that’s cut down to 7 minute segments – far shorter than traditional 22 minute TV shows. The platform is also taking advantage of consumers’ incessant need for the ridiculous. Some of the ideas it is launching its service with include “a cooking contest where competitors are slammed in the face with meals fired out of a cannon, a show about customized dog houses called ‘Barkitecture’, and a home-renovation program that ‘removes the stains’ from houses where murders were committed,” according to Bloomberg.Â
And of course, Wall Stree … |
| Coronavirus is now a pandemic; India shuts its doors to foreignersCoronavirus is now a pandemic; India shuts its doors to foreignersIndia on Wednesday suspended all tourist visas till April 15 in a bid to contain spread of coronavirus. |
| The world could be in for an all-out recessionThe world could be in for an all-out recessionDo not celebrate the crash in oil prices. The growing coronavirus disaster threatens a deep global recession. |
| Govt took too long to rescue YES, says RajanGovt took too long to rescue YES, says RajanSBI is set to pick up 49 per cent stake in crisis-hit Yes Bank under RBI’s reconstruction plan. |
| See What Elliott Waves Show Next For Stocks |
| In One Chart: ‘The numbers likely will get substantially worse,’ economist warnsOne look at Wednesday’s nasty action in the stock market ” the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down more than 1,400 points ” and you might take issue with Ian Shepherdson’s stance that we’re just seeing œthe calm before the storm. |
| Market Snapshot: Here’s how hard global markets could be hammered by a pandemic, according to UBSThe outbreak of COVID-19 has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, and that likely means more turbulence for global equity benchmarks that have already seen some of the most volatile trade since the 2008 financial crisis. |
| Market Extra: Chart of Wall Street’s ‘fear’ index in 2020 illustrates how unhinged stock markets have been over coronavirus compared to the 2008 crisisHow volatile and anxious is Wall Street amid this evolving worry about a potential global pandemic that could shake the global economy to its core? |
Summary of Economic Releases this Week
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:
