18May2020 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street Casino To Open Higher After A Shot Of “Hopium”, DOW Up Over 750 Points, WTI Climbing Past 32.01, US Dollar Remains Strong At 100.18, Gold At 1755

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are sharply higher today with shares in Germany leading the region. The DAX is up 3.74% while France’s CAC 40 is up 3.45% and London’s FTSE 100 is up 3.00%.

U.S. mulls paying companies, tax breaks to pull supply chains from China

U.S. lawmakers and officials are crafting proposals to push American companies to move operations or key suppliers out of China that include tax breaks, new rules, and carefully structured subsidies.

Trump admin slaps solar, wind operators with retroactive rent bills

The Trump administration has ended a two-year rent holiday for solar and wind projects operating on federal lands, handing them whopping retroactive bills at a time the industry is struggling with the fallout of the coronavirus outbreak, according to company officials.

Futures jump on promising data for COVID-19 vaccine

U.S. stocks futures jumped on Monday after Moderna Inc said its experimental vaccine for COVID-19 showed promise in early trials and that it was looking to advance the vaccine into late-stage trials in July.

Thyssenkrupp in talks with rivals over steel business: source

German conglomerate Thyssenkrupp is in talks with international rivals about consolidating its loss-making steel business, a person familiar with the matter said.

Oil and European shares rise as lockdowns ease; gold jumps

European stock markets rose on Monday and oil prices climbed to their highest in as much as two months as a loosening of coronavirus shutdowns boosted market sentiment, even though the deadly outbreak has yet to be fully contained.

Automated delivery cashes in on pandemic-driven demand

The coronavirus crisis is accelerating a shift in the world of autonomous cars toward delivering packages instead of people, as big players open up a lead over startups in the race for funding.

Factbox: Investors pour billions into automated delivery startups

Since September, investors have pumped at least $6 billion into more than two dozen startups that are automating delivery of goods and food, from heavy trucks to sidewalk robots and drones.

SoftBank’s Vision Fund tumbles to $18 billion loss in ‘valley of coronavirus’

Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp reported a stunning $18 billion loss at its giant Vision Fund, pushing Masayoshi Son’s conglomerate to a record loss and highlighting the deepening crisis at its portfolio companies from the global downturn.

SoftBank to raise over $11 billion for buybacks using Alibaba shares

Softbank Group will raise 1.25 trillion yen ($11.7 billion) using Alibaba stock to fund buybacks of its own shares, Chief Executive Masayoshi Son said on Monday.

‘Tidal Wave’ Of Delinquent Mortgages Set To Surpass Great Recession

‘Tidal Wave’ Of Delinquent Mortgages Set To Surpass Great Recession Tyler Durden Mon, 05/18/2020 – 08:35

With nearly 4 million homeowners in some type of mortgage forbearance plan – representing 7.54% of all mortgages, delinquencies are set to eclipse the great recession which peaked at 10%.

Beware The CoronaNazis

Beware The CoronaNazis Tyler Durden Mon, 05/18/2020 – 08:19

Authored by Bill Blain via MorningPorridge.com,

We learn and adapt quickly.Â

Business and markets are arbitraging government support packages and central bank QE Infinity to stay œinsanely high despite the massive economic hit of the virus. If the proverbial Martian visited the stock market today, he’d struggle to understand just why markets are so high when prospects look so low.

At which point we come back to earth with a bump. The papers this morning are full of doom and gloom ” particularly re the UK. My email is full of analyst gibberish about why I should be buying Bitcoin, Tesla and other crap. I shall ignore them all, and focus on the real picture

Even if the global economy was to magically reopen tomorrow, we’d still see earnings for 2020 massively impacted, reduced credit worthiness as companies leveraged themselves with more debt to see them through the crisis, and an increasingly protectionist trade uncurrent.

That’s not a favourable market for anyone. And we all get it ” the world has changed.Â

Understanding the nuances of this new markets is going to …

“We Print It Digitally”: Futures, Gold Soar After Powell Vows “Lot More We Can Do”

“We Print It Digitally”: Futures, Gold Soar After Powell Vows “Lot More We Can Do” Tyler Durden Mon, 05/18/2020 – 08:09

It took Jerome Powell just two days to confirm what we said late on Friday, namely that with the Fed expected to boost QE by over $3 trillion (assuming Powell doesn’t cut rates negative), the Fed chair said that “there’s a lot more we can do” and just so everyone, including Ben Bernanke understands what the Fed does, he added “We print [money] digitally… we have the ability to create money digitally and we do that by buying Treasury Bills or bonds or other government guaranteed securities.” Of course, traders ignored the “other” part of Powell’s message, namely that the recovery would take at least until the end of 2021, or the implication that stocks first need to crash before the Fed unleashes more QE, and as a result S&P futures surged more than 2% overnight, rising above 2,920, with the last 30 points in that burst coming after news out of biotech company Moderna which reported it may be getting closer to a coronavirus vaccine.

Moderna Spikes 20%, Lifting Futures On Promising Early COVID Vaccine Trial Data

Moderna Spikes 20%, Lifting Futures On Promising Early COVID Vaccine Trial Data Tyler Durden Mon, 05/18/2020 – 07:52

In what appear to be the first data from a human vaccine trial, Modern has reported promising early signs that its vaccine “can create an immune-system response in the body that could help fend off the new coronavirus” according to sampling data from a small group of humans who participated in the phase 1 study.

Signs that one of the most hyped vaccines out of the 130+ projects underway around the world have helped Moderna’s shares soar 20%+ in premarket trade.

How Maruti managed to come out unscathed from a bruising quarter

How Maruti managed to come out unscathed from a bruising quarterWhile sales volume declined by 16% in FY20, Maruti’s cash reserves went up by over $500 million.

Analysts punch holes in Modi’s stimulus

Analysts punch holes in Modi’s stimulusThe hype around the Rs 20,00,000 crore government stimulus seems to have fizzled out.

SoftBank records largest ever annual loss

SoftBank records largest ever annual lossSoftBank lost $17.7 billion last fiscal year after writing down the value of investments.

Market Snapshot: Dow futures rise nearly 700 points, extend gains after favorable, early results for coronavirus vaccine candidate

U.S. stock-index futures jump early Monday, with assets perceived as risky adding to gains after drugmaker Moderna announced positive, early results from its first human trial of its experimental Covid-19 vaccine.

Need to Know: ‘Betting against the U.S. economy and consumer is a loser’s game’ ” why one strategist sees Dow 40,000 on the horizon

An upbeat Monday has become something of a collector’s item in recent months, but a wave of positivity has indeed swept across stocks to start the week.

The Moneyist: I did NOT file my taxes in 2018 or 2019. Is it too late to file taxes for a $1,200 stimulus check now?

Five people write to The Moneyist with the same question. They were late filing their taxes ” and now fear they’ve missed their chance to received an economic impact payment.