Saturday, August 06, 2016

Today's Headlines

Posted by Gary .....at 7:40 PM
Bloomberg:
  • S&P 500 Rises to Record as Dollar Gains on Jobs Data; Bonds Fall. (video) Traders sent U.S. stocks to a record after better-than-forecast jobs data underscored the strength of the world’s largest economy. The dollar rose and Treasuries fell as the report also bolstered the case for higher interest rates. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index closed above their all-time highs, while the dollar strengthened against most of its 16 major peers, as payrolls exceeded all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of 89 economists. Yields on two-year notes, the most sensitive to Federal Reserve policy, rose for the first time in four days. Gold, oil and copper retreated. European shares climbed amid thin trading volume. The S&P 500 rose 0.9 percent at 4 p.m. in New York, advancing for a third day. The index has climbed 19 percent since hitting a 22-month low back in February. Technology giants Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. paced gains in the Nasdaq Composite, which added 1.1 percent. 
  • 8,000 Syrian Refugees Enter U.S. as Obama Looks to Meet Goal. The Obama administration expects to hit its goal of admitting 10,000 Syrian refugees to the U.S. by the end of September, officials said Friday. "We can now say we have welcomed 8,000 Syrian refugees so far this year and we are very confident we will welcome at least 10,000 refugees from Syria by the end of this fiscal year," Anne Richard, assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, said in a conference call with reporters.
  • Syrian Rebels Break Siege of Opposition Neighborhoods in Aleppo. Syrian rebels cut through government forces in southern Aleppo, Al Jazeera TV reported Saturday, ending a weeks-long siege of 275,000 civilians in opposition-controlled neighborhoods in the city. The rebel offensive, led by an Islamist alliance that includes fighters formerly pledged to al-Qaeda, overran several military bases this week. Syrian government forces, supported by Iranian-backed militias and Russian air power, besieged eastern Aleppo in July in what a monitoring group said was their most significant advance in the province since 2013.
  • Japan Says Chinese Ships Near Disputed Islands Should Leave. Japan’s government made an official demand for vessels from China that are surrounding a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea to leave and not return, saying their presence could cause escalated tensions between the two nations.
  • Shale Drillers Add Oil Rigs for Longest Streak in a Year. U.S. oil drillers added rigs for the sixth-straight week, marking the longest period of expansion in a year as the shale patch revives from the worst downturn in a generation. Rigs targeting crude in the U.S. rose by 7 to 381 in the past week, Baker Hughes Inc. said on its website Friday. Explorers have now added 51 rigs since June 24, expanding activity in nine of the past 10 weeks. The rise was prompted by a rebound in prices that peaked in June before falling off again. 
  • Goldman Warns ‘Supply Storm’ to Engulf Global Copper Market. (video)
  • Florida Shudders as Zika Spread Forces Miami Shops to Close. (video) Cafes and art galleries in Miami’s Wynwood Art District would normally be bustling this week, even during some of the hottest days of the year, but with Zika virus spreading in the area, businesses like Wynwood Yard and Gallery 212 are keeping their doors shut. There were 16 cases of mosquito-transmitted Zika reported in the mainland U.S. as of Friday, and health officials have traced most to a square-mile area north of downtown Miami. Empty streets there reminded Gallery 212 owner Michael Perez of when he had to temporarily close a store in New York in 2001, after the Sept. 11 attacks. “I’m just like living my life all over again, with this Zika thing,” he said in a telephone interview. “It’s crazy, the streets are bare right now.”
  • U.S. Farmland Prices Fall $10 an Acre in First Drop Since 2009. U.S. farmland values in 2016 dropped for just the second time in almost three decades after grain and soybean prices extended a slump, eroding grower profit and capping a decade-long boom when land costs jumped 65%. Farmland values in the lower 48 states, including land used for crops and for livestock, declined $10 to $3,010 an acre, the first drop since 2009, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday in a report. Cropland declined 1 percent to $4,090 an acre, while pastureland was unchanged at $1,330 an acre. 
Wall Street Journal:
  • Two Policewomen Wounded in Machete Attack in Belgian City of Charleroi. Assailant who shouted ‘Allahu akbar’ shot by authorities and later dies.
  • The All-Time Regulation Record. Team Obama has hit 600 major rules, and 50 more may follow. The progressive explanation for the slowest economic recovery in nearly 70 years is that expansions after financial crises are always like this. There appears to be no statute of limitations on this excuse, which is especially convenient every four years. But those who want more than a political rationalization might look to the all-time presidential record of costly regulation set by the Obama Administration.
Barron's:
  • Had bullish commentary on (ISBC), (DY), (VMC), (JEC), (FIS), (IR), (AMGN), (RHI), (HBI), (AVGO), (PPG) and (RCL).
  • Had bearish commentary on (MNRO).
Fox News:
  • At GOP urging, Trump turns focus on Clinton emails, 'short circuit' explanation. (video) Donald Trump this weekend pounced on Hillary Clinton’s email scandal and her continuing efforts to fully explain her culpability, amid Republicans and other supporters now repeatedly urging him to stick with his likely best winning strategy. “The more the they talk about the emails the worse it gets,” David Morey, of the international strategy firm DMG Global, on Saturday told Fox News’ “America’s News Headquarters.
Zero Hedge:
Business Insider:

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