Connect with us

Futures, Global Stocks Jump After Trump Signs Coronavirus Stimulus Package

Futures, Global Stocks Jump After Trump Signs Coronavirus Stimulus Package

Global stocks jumped and US equity futures spiked in light overnight trading, after President Trump unexpectedly signed the $2.3 trillion spending package on Sunday…

Published

on

Futures, Global Stocks Jump After Trump Signs Coronavirus Stimulus Package

Global stocks jumped and US equity futures spiked in light overnight trading, after President Trump unexpectedly signed the $2.3 trillion spending package on Sunday evening and as investors continued to celebrate a last-minute trade deal clinched between Britain and the European Union.

By backing off from his previous threat to block the bipartisan bill, Trump allowed millions of Americans to continue receiving unemployment benefits and averted a federal government shutdown. The stimulus “could be supportive of the market, supportive of the U.S. economy,” said Suresh Tantia, strategist at Credit Suisse Group AG. “Next year all the building blocks are there for markets to continue this rally.”

“As the coronavirus pandemic has shown little sign of abating, the emergency aid was needed to avoid a sharp slowdown in the economy during the first quarter,” said Nobuhiko Kuramochi, market strategist at Mizuho Securities.  “It would have been unsettling if we hadn’t had it by the end of year,” he added.

The rollouts of COVID-19 vaccines were also bolstering hopes of more economic normalisation next year, with Europe launching a mass vaccination drive on Sunday, which however has been met with rising skepticism. Despite aggressive vaccine rollouts, more restrictions are being imposed to fight the spread of the new, more infectious strain. Japan is among the latest to act, banning the entry of most foreigners through the end of January. Meanwhile, the European Union kicked off a continent-wide vaccination campaign less than a week after clearing a shot developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE.

The MSCI world index rose 0.3% boosted by strong opening gains in Europe and a positive session in Asia overnight, although trading was thinner due to the holiday season.

The euro STOXX index rose 0.9% in the first trading session after London and Brussels signed an eleventh hour deal on Thursday evening that preserves zero tariff access to each other’s markets. Germany’s DAX Index climbed to a record while British markets were closed for the Boxing Day holiday.

“We can finally move on from the Brexit drama,” said Win Thin, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman. “After the last-minute deal was struck last week, the UK parliament will vote on the deal Wednesday. With (opposition party) Labour promising its support, it should pass handily,” he added.

Earlier in the session, Asian stocks rose after capping their first weekly drop in two months Friday. Stock  markets in Indonesia, Taiwan and India led a broad regional advance as the MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.4% with Japan’s Nikkei advancing 0.7% and China also rising, helped by strong industrial profit data. Gains in Samsung Electronics and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing helped a gauge of regional technology names rally more than 1%. IT was the best-performing sector even as Alibaba tumbled, leading a selloff in Chinese tech giants, triggered by fears antitrust scrutiny will spread beyond Jack Ma’s Internet empire.

An index of Asian communication services stocks was the sole loser among industry groups. Tencent Holdings slid more than 6% to be the biggest drag on the measure. Meanwhile, utilities and finance were the other top-performing industry groups in Asia Monday. Stocks in the Philippines and Thailand bucked the region’s rising trend amid concerns over virus outbreaks and related restrictions in those countries. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he’s open to reinstating tighter movement curbs if coronavirus infections spike. Markets in Australia and New Zealand remained closed for holiday.

In FX, the dollar fell 0.2% to 90.028; analysts believe the dollar will stay under pressure as investors bet on a prolonged period of loose U.S. monetary policy.  The euro was up 0.1% at $1.2206, a tad below its 2-1/2-year high of $1.22735, while the yen changed hands at 103.41 per dollar. The British pound slumped in anticipation of the EU-UK trade deal, as traders sold the news pushing cable to 1.3487, down 100 pips on the session.

In rates, 10-year yields rose to 0.9581% and 10-year German bund yields inched lower to -0.550%. Treasuries opened lower with the curve steeper after Trump relented on the stimulus deal, with a compressed Treasury auction cycle (2- and 5-year notes Monday, 7-year notes Tuesday) totaling $176 billion is an additional headwind. Yields are higher by nearly 4bp at long end, leaving 2s10s and 5s30s spreads wider by 2bp-3bp; 10-year ~0.955%, 3bp cheaper vs. Dec. 24 close

In commodities, oil prices rose, with Brent crude futures up 0.7% at $51.67 per barrel and U.S. crude futures up 0.8%. Precious metals were flat despite gold rising 1.3% at one point to a one week high as investors welcomed Trump’s signing of the pandemic aid bill, with a weaker dollar lending further support. However, they have since given up all gains. One can't say the same thing for cryptos however, with the entire sector continuing its relentless surge higher. Bitcoin, which hit a new record high over the weekend, was up 2.2% at $26,876, bringing the total value of the cryptocurrency in circulation to over $500 billion.

No major economic data releases or U.S. company earnings are expected.

Market Snapshot

  • S&P 500 futures up 0.6% to 3,716.75
  • STOXX Europe 600 up 0.6% to 398.31
  • German 10Y yield unchanged at -0.547%
  • Euro up 0.4% to $1.2239
  • Brent Futures up 1.1% to $51.83/bbl
  • Italian 10Y yield unchanged at 0.474%
  • Spanish 10Y yield fell 0.5 bps to 0.068%
  • MXAP up 0.4% to 195.53
  • MXAPJ up 0.08% to 644.47
  • Nikkei up 0.7% to 26,854.03
  • Topix up 0.5% to 1,788.04
  • Hang Seng Index down 0.3% to 26,314.63
  • Shanghai Composite up 0.02% to 3,397.29
  • Sensex up 0.8% to 47,353.04
  • Australia S&P/ASX 200 up 0.3% to 6,664.77
  • Kospi up 0.06% to 2,808.60
  • Brent Futures up 1.1% to $51.83/bbl
  • Gold spot down 0.01% to $1,883.24
  • U.S. Dollar Index down 0.2% to 90.03

Top overnight news from Bloomberg

  • Prime Minister Boris Johnson said major changes are coming in the U.K. as the result of the trade deal his government negotiated with the European Union, completing the country’s separation from the bloc, the Telegraph reported. Major Issues the Brexit Deal Leaves Unresolved
  • A coordinated vaccination campaign is under way in Europe, just days after the European Union cleared a shot developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE. The U.K. could clear AstraZeneca Plc’s vaccine as early as this week
  • Japan’s industrial production failed to eke out an overall gain in November, slowing more than expected from previous advances amid a resurgence in the coronavirus at home and abroad
  • Oil fell in Asian trading as pessimism over a new strain of Covid-19 that’s threatening more travel restrictions outweighed the passage of a U.S. stimulus bill into law

US Event Calendar

  • 10:30am: Dallas Fed Manf. Activity, est. 10.2, prior 12
Tyler Durden Mon, 12/28/2020 - 07:53

Read More

Continue Reading

Government

Mike Pompeo Doesn’t Rule Out Serving In 2nd Trump Administration

Mike Pompeo Doesn’t Rule Out Serving In 2nd Trump Administration

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Former Secretary…

Published

on

Mike Pompeo Doesn't Rule Out Serving In 2nd Trump Administration

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a new interview that he’s not ruling out accepting a White House position if former President Donald Trump is reelected in November.

“If I get a chance to serve and think that I can make a difference ... I’m almost certainly going to say yes to that opportunity to try and deliver on behalf of the American people,” he told Fox News, when asked during a interview if he would work for President Trump again.

I’m confident President Trump will be looking for people who will faithfully execute what it is he asked them to do,” Mr. Pompeo said during the interview, which aired on March 8. “I think as a president, you should always want that from everyone.”

Then-President Donald Trump (C), then- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L), and then-Vice President Mike Pence, take a question during the daily briefing on the novel coronavirus at the White House in Washington on April 8, 2020. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

He said that as a former secretary of state, “I certainly wanted my team to do what I was asking them to do and was enormously frustrated when I found that I couldn’t get them to do that.”

Mr. Pompeo, a former U.S. representative from Kansas, served as Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2018 before he was secretary of state from 2018 to 2021. After he left office, there was speculation that he could mount a Republican presidential bid in 2024, but announced that he wouldn’t be running.

President Trump hasn’t publicly commented about Mr. Pompeo’s remarks.

In 2023, amid speculation that he would make a run for the White House, Mr. Pompeo took a swipe at his former boss, telling Fox News at the time that “the Trump administration spent $6 trillion more than it took in, adding to the deficit.”

“That’s never the right direction for the country,” he said.

In a public appearance last year, Mr. Pompeo also appeared to take a shot at the 45th president by criticizing “celebrity leaders” when urging GOP voters to choose ahead of the 2024 election.

2024 Race

Mr. Pompeo’s interview comes as the former president was named the “presumptive nominee” by the Republican National Committee (RNC) last week after his last major Republican challenger, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, dropped out of the 2024 race after failing to secure enough delegates. President Trump won 14 out of 15 states on Super Tuesday, with only Vermont—which notably has an open primary—going for Ms. Haley, who served as President Trump’s U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

On March 8, the RNC held a meeting in Houston during which committee members voted in favor of President Trump’s nomination.

“Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump on his huge primary victory!” the organization said in a statement last week. “I’d also like to congratulate Nikki Haley for running a hard-fought campaign and becoming the first woman to win a Republican presidential contest.”

Earlier this year, the former president criticized the idea of being named the presumptive nominee after reports suggested that the RNC would do so before the Super Tuesday contests and while Ms. Haley was still in the race.

Also on March 8, the RNC voted to name Trump-endorsed officials to head the organization. Michael Whatley, a North Carolina Republican, was elected the party’s new national chairman in a vote in Houston, and Lara Trump, the former president’s daughter-in-law, was voted in as co-chair.

“The RNC is going to be the vanguard of a movement that will work tirelessly every single day to elect our nominee, Donald J. Trump, as the 47th President of the United States,” Mr. Whatley told RNC members in a speech after being elected, replacing former chair Ronna McDaniel. Ms. Trump is expected to focus largely on fundraising and media appearances.

President Trump hasn’t signaled whom he would appoint to various federal agencies if he’s reelected in November. He also hasn’t said who his pick for a running mate would be, but has offered several suggestions in recent interviews.

In various interviews, the former president has mentioned Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Vivek Ramaswamy, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, among others.

Tyler Durden Wed, 03/13/2024 - 17:00

Read More

Continue Reading

International

Riley Gaines Explains How Women’s Sports Are Rigged To Promote The Trans Agenda

Riley Gaines Explains How Women’s Sports Are Rigged To Promote The Trans Agenda

Is there a light forming when it comes to the long, dark and…

Published

on

Riley Gaines Explains How Women's Sports Are Rigged To Promote The Trans Agenda

Is there a light forming when it comes to the long, dark and bewildering tunnel of social justice cultism?  Global events have been so frenetic that many people might not remember, but only a couple years ago Big Tech companies and numerous governments were openly aligned in favor of mass censorship.  Not just to prevent the public from investigating the facts surrounding the pandemic farce, but to silence anyone questioning the validity of woke concepts like trans ideology. 

From 2020-2022 was the closest the west has come in a long time to a complete erasure of freedom of speech.  Even today there are still countries and Europe and places like Canada or Australia that are charging forward with draconian speech laws.  The phrase "radical speech" is starting to circulate within pro-censorship circles in reference to any platform where people are allowed to talk critically.  What is radical speech?  Basically, it's any discussion that runs contrary to the beliefs of the political left.

Open hatred of moderate or conservative ideals is perfectly acceptable, but don't ever shine a negative light on woke activism, or you might be a terrorist.

Riley Gaines has experienced this double standard first hand.  She was even assaulted and taken hostage at an event in 2023 at San Francisco State University when leftists protester tried to trap her in a room and demanded she "pay them to let her go."  Campus police allegedly witnessed the incident but charges were never filed and surveillance footage from the college was never released.  

It's probably the last thing a champion female swimmer ever expects, but her head-on collision with the trans movement and the institutional conspiracy to push it on the public forced her to become a counter-culture voice of reason rather than just an athlete.

For years the independent media argued that no matter how much we expose the insanity of men posing as women to compete and dominate women's sports, nothing will really change until the real female athletes speak up and fight back.  Riley Gaines and those like her represent that necessary rebellion and a desperately needed return to common sense and reason.

In a recent interview on the Joe Rogan Podcast, Gaines related some interesting information on the inner workings of the NCAA and the subversive schemes surrounding trans athletes.  Not only were women participants essentially strong-armed by colleges and officials into quietly going along with the program, there was also a concerted propaganda effort.  Competition ceremonies were rigged as vehicles for promoting trans athletes over everyone else. 

The bottom line?  The competitions didn't matter.  The real women and their achievements didn't matter.  The only thing that mattered to officials were the photo ops; dudes pretending to be chicks posing with awards for the gushing corporate media.  The agenda took precedence.

Lia Thomas, formerly known as William Thomas, was more than an activist invading female sports, he was also apparently a science project fostered and protected by the athletic establishment.  It's important to understand that the political left does not care about female athletes.  They do not care about women's sports.  They don't care about the integrity of the environments they co-opt.  Their only goal is to identify viable platforms with social impact and take control of them.  Women's sports are seen as a vehicle for public indoctrination, nothing more.

The reasons why they covet women's sports are varied, but a primary motive is the desire to assert the fallacy that men and women are "the same" psychologically as well as physically.  They want the deconstruction of biological sex and identity as nothing more than "social constructs" subject to personal preference.  If they can destroy what it means to be a man or a woman, they can destroy the very foundations of relationships, families and even procreation.  

For now it seems as though the trans agenda is hitting a wall with much of the public aware of it and less afraid to criticize it.  Social media companies might be able to silence some people, but they can't silence everyone.  However, there is still a significant threat as the movement continues to target children through the public education system and women's sports are not out of the woods yet.   

The ultimate solution is for women athletes around the world to organize and widely refuse to participate in any competitions in which biological men are allowed.  The only way to save women's sports is for women to be willing to end them, at least until institutions that put doctrine ahead of logic are made irrelevant.          

Tyler Durden Wed, 03/13/2024 - 17:20

Read More

Continue Reading

Uncategorized

Part 1: Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-March 2024

Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Part 1: Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-March 2024
A brief excerpt: This 2-part overview for mid-March provides a snapshot of the current housing market.

I always like to star…

Published

on

Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Part 1: Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-March 2024

A brief excerpt:
This 2-part overview for mid-March provides a snapshot of the current housing market.

I always like to start with inventory, since inventory usually tells the tale!
...
Here is a graph of new listing from Realtor.com’s February 2024 Monthly Housing Market Trends Report showing new listings were up 11.3% year-over-year in February. This is still well below pre-pandemic levels. From Realtor.com:

However, providing a boost to overall inventory, sellers turned out in higher numbers this February as newly listed homes were 11.3% above last year’s levels. This marked the fourth month of increasing listing activity after a 17-month streak of decline.
Note the seasonality for new listings. December and January are seasonally the weakest months of the year for new listings, followed by February and November. New listings will be up year-over-year in 2024, but we will have to wait for the March and April data to see how close new listings are to normal levels.

There are always people that need to sell due to the so-called 3 D’s: Death, Divorce, and Disease. Also, in certain times, some homeowners will need to sell due to unemployment or excessive debt (neither is much of an issue right now).

And there are homeowners who want to sell for a number of reasons: upsizing (more babies), downsizing, moving for a new job, or moving to a nicer home or location (move-up buyers). It is some of the “want to sell” group that has been locked in with the golden handcuffs over the last couple of years, since it is financially difficult to move when your current mortgage rate is around 3%, and your new mortgage rate will be in the 6 1/2% to 7% range.

But time is a factor for this “want to sell” group, and eventually some of them will take the plunge. That is probably why we are seeing more new listings now.
There is much more in the article.

Read More

Continue Reading

Trending