Written by Gary
Fed’s Powell says US economy faces ‘whole new level’ of uncertainty amid coronavirus pandemic (SPY -0.7%).
The Market in Perspective
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
 | GM to restart part of its plant in Silao, Mexico, ThursdayGeneral Motors Co will restart its eight-speed transmission line at its plant in Silao in Mexico’s Guanajuato state on Thursday, according to a company message sent to workers. |
| Trump arrives in Michigan to visit Ford plant amid political tensionsPresident Donald Trump traveled on Thursday to the crucial U.S. election battleground state of Michigan to visit a Ford Motor Co plant amid hostility with its Democratic governor over how quickly to reopen its economy during the coronavirus pandemic. |
| U.S. secures 300 million doses of potential AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccineThe United States has secured almost a third of the first one billion doses planned for AstraZeneca’s experimental COVID-19 vaccine by pledging up to $1.2 billion, as world powers scramble for medicines to get their economies back to work. |
| U.S. senators urge Delta, JetBlue to restore employee hoursA group of U.S. senators is urging Delta Air Lines Inc and JetBlue Airways Corp to immediately reverse their decisions to reduce employees’ hours, calling them contrary to the requirements of taxpayer-funded payroll assistance. |
| Stocks slip on U.S.-China tensions; oil rises to 2-1/2-month highGlobal equities slid on Thursday on concerns about the long-term impact of the new coronavirus and renewed U.S.-China tensions, though oil markets ignored those worries and marched to a 2-1/2 month highs. |
| U.S.-China tensions pull Wall Street lowerWall Street receded on Thursday, a day after hitting two-month highs, on a fresh wave of China-U.S. tensions, raising doubts about the trade deal reached early this year between the world’s two largest economies. |
| Facebook’s Zuckerberg embraces remote work outside Silicon ValleyFacebook Inc will permanently embrace remote work even after coronavirus lockdowns ease, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg told employees on Thursday, accelerating the tech sector’s geographic diversification away from its home in Silicon Valley. |
| Brent at highest since March on U.S. stock draw, recovering demandGlobal benchmark Brent rose more than 1% on Thursday to its highest since March, supported by lower U.S. crude inventories, OPEC-led supply cuts and recovering demand as governments ease coronavirus restrictions on people’s movements. |
| How big unions smooth the way for Amazon worker protestsWarehouse employees last month staged a walkout in Michigan to demand safer working conditions at their facility. So did workers in New York, Illinois and Minnesota. |
| Bitcoin & Bullion Battered As Stocks, Bonds, & The Dollar Do NothingBitcoin & Bullion Battered As Stocks, Bonds, & The Dollar Do Nothing Tyler Durden Thu, 05/21/2020 – 16:01 Another 2.4 million Americans added to the jobless rolls, China tensions soar, Leading Indicators were a disaster, Housing Data a shitshow, PMIs bounced but remain historically bad… so buy small cap (domestically focused) stocks, and dump gold, silver, and cryptos… Gold puked on major volume at 10amET… |
| Do Lockdowns Work? Mounting Evidence Says NoDo Lockdowns Work? Mounting Evidence Says No Tyler Durden Thu, 05/21/2020 – 15:50 Authored by Ryan McMaken via The Mises Institute, The coerced economic “shutdowns” – enforced with fines, arrests, and revoked business licenses – are not the natural outgrowth of a pandemic. They are the result of policy decisions taken by politicians who have suspended constitutional institutions and legal recognition of basic human rights. These politicians have instead imposed a new form of central planning based on an unproven, theoretical set of ideas about police-enforced “social distancing.” |
| “Feeding Fednzy”: Powell To Announce $2.5 Billion In Bond ETF Purchases Today“Feeding Fednzy”: Powell To Announce $2.5 Billion In Bond ETF Purchases Today Tyler Durden Thu, 05/21/2020 – 15:38 One week ago we reported that after avoiding the capital markets for weeks, the Federal Reserve finally started waving corporate bond ETFs in, and as of May 13 owned $305 million in corporate bond ETFs under the Corporate Credit Facility, i.e., the corporate bond ETF buying program. With the Fed set to provide its latest weekly balance sheet update at 4:30pm today, some are curious how many more bond ETFs (i.e., LQD and HYG) the Fed purchased in the past week to make sure stocks can only go up as companies use the mispriced bond market to issue even more bonds (up to $1 trillion YTD at last check) and repurchase their stock, if much more quietly. According to BofA’s credit strategist Hans Mikkelsen, the Fed has continued buying at roughly that average daily pace and the bank’s expectation is that the Fed will report holding around $2.5bn of corporate bond ETFs as of Tuesday this week. Looking at daily IG ETF inflows they have risen to about $780bn after the Fed began buying from $360bn the prior period. Meanwhile, HY ETF inflows actually declined. |
| YouTube Censors Video With Medical Doctors Saying Hydroxychloroquine Might Help Treat COVID-19YouTube Censors Video With Medical Doctors Saying Hydroxychloroquine Might Help Treat COVID-19 Tyler Durden Thu, 05/21/2020 – 15:20 Authored by Daniel Payne via JustTheNews.com, YouTube on Wednesday reinstated a video it has previously censored in which several medical doctors suggested that the drug hydroxychloroquine might be useful in treating coronavirus, with the company reportedly claiming at the time of censorship that the presentation was “dangerous.” |
| Raghuram Rajan picks holes in India’s Rs 20 lakh cr Covid lifelineRaghuram Rajan picks holes in India’s Rs 20 lakh cr Covid lifelineIndia’s stimulus is inadequate in providing recovery of an economy pummelled by COVID-19, Rajan said. |
| Herd immunity may fix India’s Covid problemHerd immunity may fix India’s Covid problemIndia has the most desirable demography to aim for herd immunity: 82% of the population is less than 50. |
| Will China Inc abandon US listings?Will China Inc abandon US listings?It will be a delicate balance for investors weighing between the risks, said Jingyi Pan. |
| The Tell: Did the coronavirus keep the stock market from taking an even bigger hit?There’s a case to be made that it could have been even worse with the stimulus brought on by the pandemic. |
| Splunk sales and forecast come in low amid cloud transition, stock fallsSplunk Inc. reported Thursday that sales grew less than executives expected and issued a second consecutive disappointing forecast. |
| Are ETFs safe… for retail investors?Have ETFs made high finance TOO accessible for everyone? |
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:
