17Jun2020 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street Set To Extend Three-day Rally, DOW Futures Up 117 Points, WTI Crude Steady At 38.00, US Dollar At 97.16, US Housing Starts And Building Permits Rise

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are broadly higher today with shares in France leading the region. The CAC 40 is up 1.44% while Germany’s DAX is up 0.84% and London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.66%.

UK’s Supreme Court rules against Mastercard, Visa in retailers’ fees battle

Britain’s highest court on Wednesday upheld an earlier Court of Appeal ruling that credit card companies Visa and Mastercard restricted competition in the way they set fees for retailers, opening the way for them to seek compensation.

Trade war? U.S. battle over kitchen cabinets really a domestic dispute

The anti-China trade mood has reached U.S. kitchens, where a battle is being waged over competing visions of where and how cabinets should be made.

Stocks grind higher as recovery hopes stand firm

Europe’s shares added to their best gains in almost a month as safety plays lost their lustre on Wednesday, with hopes of a rapid economic recovery holding firm against a resurgence of global coronavirus cases.

Wall Street set to extend three-day rally on recovery hopes

Wall Street’s main indexes were set to open higher on Wednesday, building on their three-day rally as signs of more official stimulus supported hopes of an economic recovery, even as six U.S. states saw a record rise in new coronavirus cases.

PepsiCo’s Aunt Jemima brand to change name, logo: NBC News

PepsiCo Inc’s Aunt Jemima pancake mix will change its name and image in an effort by the brand to distance itself from racial stereotypes, NBC News reported on Wednesday.

Wall Street rally wins more fans as economy hints at recovery

Record upside surprises in U.S. economic data are bolstering the case for a œV shaped recovery from the COVID-19 recession and boosting investor confidence in a stock rally that has already delivered hefty gains in recent months.

Lufthansa warns of threat to its $10 billion bailout deal

German airline Lufthansa warned on Wednesday that it might need to apply for protection from creditors if its state-backed bailout deal failed to win sufficient support at a shareholder vote on June 25.

Dollar regains ground as investors take refuge from murky outlook

The U.S. dollar rose from early lows on Wednesday as investors wary of wider geopolitical risks sought its relative safe haven.

Special delivery: activists urge France to rein in Amazon

Environmental campaigners delivered a 12-foot (3.6-metre) tall mock-up of an Amazon parcel to the French finance ministry on Wednesday to demand that the government rein in the e-commerce giant’s expansion in France.

No ‘V’ Here – US Housing Starts Hugely Disappoint

No ‘V’ Here – US Housing Starts Hugely Disappoint Tyler Durden Wed, 06/17/2020 – 08:39

Following April’s bloodbath to five year lows, housing starts and permits were expected to rebound V-like in May (despite lockdowns being in full swing that month). And as we suspected, the data disappointed with a massive miss in Housing Starts (+4.3% MoM vs +23.5% MoM expected). Building Permits rebounded more than Starts but also disappointed (rising 14.4% MoM against expectations of a 16.8% surge).

DOJ Goes After Google’s Comment Section: Trump Admin To Propose Section 230 Rollback

DOJ Goes After Google’s Comment Section: Trump Admin To Propose Section 230 Rollback Tyler Durden Wed, 06/17/2020 – 08:32

The DoJ just escalated its burgeoning feud with Silicon Valley by introducing a new legislative plan meant to make certain changes proposed in a Trump executive order signed late last month permanent – including a measure to strip tech giants of “liability shields” for activity and speech that happens on their platforms.

In effect, the DoJ proposal would rollback protections centered in Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, something that’s gaining bipartisan support (albeit for vastly different reasons).

Trader Sees “Sense Of Confusion”, Not “Battle Of Wills” In Markets

Trader Sees “Sense Of Confusion”, Not “Battle Of Wills” In Markets Tyler Durden Wed, 06/17/2020 – 08:19

Authored by Richard Breslow via Bloomberg,

Plenty of Price Action Signifying Not So Much

You certainly wouldn’t know it by looking at your screens, but it has been a wacky day. Equity markets around the world have switched serially from risk-on to risk-off and back again. But volumes have been unimpressive.

Stocks Shrugs Off China Second Wave Fears, Asian Clashes, Rise On Stimulus Hopes

Stocks Shrugs Off China Second Wave Fears, Asian Clashes, Rise On Stimulus Hopes Tyler Durden Wed, 06/17/2020 – 08:01

For the third day in a row, global markets have shrugged off concerns about rising global coronavirus cases and that China is set to suffer a “second wave” as much of Beijing is once again under lockdown, with US equity futures advancing and European shares adding to their best gains in almost a month thanks to continued government and central bank stimulus and hopes of a rapid economic recovery.

India may fight pitched battle against China on two other fronts

India may fight pitched battle against China on two other frontsThe rising tension has put focus on the issue of allowing Chinese telecom equipment firms in India’s 5G rollout.

How bad things are for consumers, in 5 charts

How bad things are for consumers, in 5 chartsA collapse in consumer spending shows very little sign of rebounding anytime soon.

Make-in-India snub for Pernod and Diageo

Make-in-India snub for Pernod and DiageoSpirit firms stop receiving orders for their imported brands from defense canteen stores.

Key Words: The rise of mom-and-pop investors in the stock market will ‘end in tears,’ warns billionaire Cooperman

Billionaire Leon Cooperman on Monday said that the emergence of individual investors eagerly scooping up stocks that have been rocked amid the coronavirus-induced downturn will ultimately œend in tears for those individual investors.

Bond Report: Treasury yields hold ground as reopening stays in focus

Treasury prices struggled for direction on Wednesday as investors closely watched how individual U.S. states were going about reopening businesses and easing social restrictions with coronavirus cases rising in some areas of the country, just as the economy is starting to recover.

The Conversation: How to stay safe from coronavirus in a public restroom

Touch as little as possible inside the bathroom, wash your hands but don’t use the hot-air dryer.