Written by Gary
US stock markets continue to surge this morning (SPY +0.3%). US initial jobless claims rise 2.12 million and US economy contracted by 5% in first quarter.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
 | European markets are broadly higher today with shares in London leading the region. The FTSE 100 is up 1.07% while France’s CAC 40 is up 1.04% and Germany’s DAX is up 0.60%. |
What Is Moving the Markets
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
 | Dollar chains report surge in sales on coronavirus-driven demandThe top two U.S. dollar store chains reported better-than-expected quarterly sales and profit on Thursday, benefiting from a surge in demand for affordable groceries and household essentials amid the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| Exclusive: TikTok owner ByteDance moves to shift power out of China – sourcesTikTok’s poaching of Disney’s Kevin Mayer to be its CEO was just the most visible part of a broader strategy by its Chinese owner to shift its centre of power away from China at a time of rising global tensions, several people familiar with the plans said. |
| Nissan plans to slash costs after first loss in 11 yearsNissan Motor Co outlined a new plan on Thursday to become a smaller, more cost-efficient carmaker after the coronavirus pandemic exacerbated a slide in profitability that culminated in its first annual loss in 11 years. |
| Nissan must watch cash given possible risk of second virus outbreak: CEONissan Motor Co’s cash situation is “tough” as the coronavirus has sapped car sales, and the automaker must be vigilant in the coming months as a second wave of infections may add to liquidity issues, CEO Makoto Uchida told Reuters on Thursday. |
| Home trading triggers bank ‘black hole’ surveillance alertsPotential breaches of market rules have spiked since traders began working from home in March, drawing scrutiny from regulators and piling pressure on banks to plug “black holes” in surveillance systems, industry officials say. |
| Latin America grabs world spotlight for airline bankruptciesLATAM Airlines and Avianca Holdings survived the Great Depression, but just a few weeks of quarantines forced both companies into bankruptcy, marking Latin America as the world’s top spot for airline financial ruin. |
| Europe cheers super-sized stimulus plan, U.S.-China tensions simmerEuropean shares rose for a fourth straight session on Thursday and the euro perched at a two-month high, as businesses returning to work and a 750 billion euro EU stimulus plan outweighed rising U.S.-China tensions. |
| U.S. firms shield CEO pay as pandemic hits workers, investorsSonic Automotive Inc , which operates 95 U.S. car dealerships, started laying off and furloughing about a third of its workforce as the coronavirus pandemic crushed its sales. Then it changed its executives’ pay packages – handing them a multimillion-dollar windfall. |
| Dollar Tree quarterly same-store sales rise 7%Dollar Tree Inc reported a surge in quarterly same-store sales on Thursday, joining rival Dollar General , as the discount retailer benefited from consumers stockpiling on groceries and other essentials due to the coronavirus crisis. |
| Q1 GDP Revised To -5% As Corporate Profits Plunge 14%Q1 GDP Revised To -5% As Corporate Profits Plunge 14% Tyler Durden Thu, 05/28/2020 – 08:45 With everyone’s attention focusing on what the state of the economy is currently as opposed to last quarter, today’s 2nd revision of Q1 GDP was unlikely to get much attention, and that’s why the fact that according to the 2nd estimate of first quarter growth the US economy contracted at a 5% annualized pace will have no impact on markets. With Q1 GDP initially reported a sinking -4.8%, this number has now been revised to -5.0%, following an upward revision to consumer spending offset by a sharp drop in private inventories. |
| The Collapse In US Durables Goods Orders Accelerates In AprilThe Collapse In US Durables Goods Orders Accelerates In April Tyler Durden Thu, 05/28/2020 – 08:40 After March’s collapse (a record ex-one off outliers), April’s durable goods orders weakness was expected to accelerate and it did, with preliminary data plunging 17.2% MoM (worse than the 16.6% decline in March). This sent durable goods orders down 19.4% YoY – the worst since the financial crisis… |
| “Big Day For Fairness” – White House Plans To Empower FCC To Regulate American Social Media Giants“Big Day For Fairness” – White House Plans To Empower FCC To Regulate American Social Media Giants Tyler Durden Thu, 05/28/2020 – 08:38 Update (0840ET): Just as we expected, President Trump just confirmed that he will be rolling out his administration’s agenda for regulating speech on American social media platforms on Thursday – and will probably make a show of it, to keep the news media focused on his latest culture war, and less about the growing coronavirus death toll.
* * * The first leaks detailing the Trump Administration’s plan to iron out left-wing bias on American social-media platforms have just arrived. During a live on-air report, CNBC’s Ylan Mui shared what appeared to be the first details of the White House’s plan, which the president said would be released on Thursday. According to Mui, the White House plans to empower the FCC to write guidelines for American social media companies to help them determine what content should and shoul … |
| Over 40 Million Jobless In 10 Weeks – “Nobody Ever Imagined It Would Get This Bad So Fast”Over 40 Million Jobless In 10 Weeks – “Nobody Ever Imagined It Would Get This Bad So Fast” Tyler Durden Thu, 05/28/2020 – 08:33 In the last week 2.123 million more Americans filed for unemployment benefits for the first time (versus the 2.10mm expected). |
| A deal that could put Vodafone Idea back in the telecom gameA deal that could put Vodafone Idea back in the telecom gameGoogle is reportedly considering to buy a stake of about 5 per cent in Vodafone Idea. |
| Why the economy should really worry youWhy the economy should really worry youS&P Global Ratings forecast Indian economy to contract 5 per cent in the current fiscal. |
| Airlines face a long haul back to normalcyAirlines face a long haul back to normalcyAnalysts believe that the government’s stance to cap ticket prices will affect the sector’s profitability. |
| Need to Know: Why hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman says he dumped Berkshire Hathaway but held on to these winnersPershing Square Capital Management hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman told investors on a call on Wednesday that he is dumping Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. The stocks he bought more of and is keeping are worth paying attention to. |
| Market Snapshot: Stock-index futures edge higher after Dow retakes 25,000 even as jobless toll tops 40 millionStock-index futures trade mostly higher Thursday, a day after the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 25,000 and the S&P 500 retook the 3,000 level in a rally fueled by optimism over the reopening of the economy in the wake of the COVID-19 lockdowns. |
| The extra $600 Americans receive in weekly unemployment benefits ends in July ” how that could cost the U.S. more jobsFor every dollar spent on unemployment insurance, there’s a multiplier effect leading to a 1.64 increase in GDP, research shows. |
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