Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:    

• China’s Total Services Trade Plunges 10.8% in First Quarter.

• China Opposes Taiwan Participation in U.N. After U.S. Tweet.  

• Spain Allows Outdoor Exercise; European Cases Slow: Virus Update.

• Emirates, Etihad Say 85% of Airlines to Collapse Without Aid.

• Charting the Global Economy: ‘Contraction’ Becomes Common Theme.  

• U.S. Beef Output Is Down Way More Than Shutdowns Suggest.  

• Another Week, Another Risk That Weighs on Italy’s Battered Bonds.  

• Russia’s Oil Output Rose Slightly in April Ahead of OPEC+ Cuts.

• Airport Screeners May Check For Fever Under Plan Being Discussed.

• America’s Retailers Return to Lure Virus-Weary Shoppers to Malls.

• Big Tech’s Earnings Triumph Belies the Economic Pain Ahead. 

• Apple’s $1.5 Billion Headwind Adds FX to Litany of Company Woes.   

• Oil ETF’s Survival Tactics Embolden Its Swelling Retail Fan Base.  

• ‘False Dawn’ Recovery Haunts Virus Survivors Who Fall Sick Again.

• From Houston to New York, America’s Muni Finances Are in Tatters.  

• The World Lurches Toward an Unknown New Normal: Weekend Reads.  

• After Quant Bust 2020 Comes a Reckoning for Stock Math Wizzes.

Wall Street Journal:

• Business After Coronavirus: How One Cleveland Restaurant’s Choices Ripple Through the Economy.

• The Judge and Michael Flynn.

• As Restrictions Ease, Economic Rebound Remains Elusive.

• ‘Quarantinis,’ Bread Makers and Badminton: What’s Hot in Down Consumer Market.

• Airlines Brace for Slow Recovery.

• Auto Lenders Lure Borrowers With Generous Terms—For Some.

• Biden Aims to Out-Tough Trump on China While Invoking His Obama Experience.

• How to Entertain Kids at Home? They Have 34 Suggestions.

• The U.S. Consumer Is Nesting. Will That Last? 

• Georgia Officials Watch Infection Data After Reopening.

CNBC:

• Dow drops more than 600 points to start the new month, Amazon falls 7%.

• Amazon told investors they ‘may want to take a seat,’ here’s what that means.

• Coronavirus pandemic tanks US auto sales in April.

• Tesla shares tank after Elon Musk tweets the stock price is ‘too high’.

• Wasted milk, euthanized livestock: How coronavirus has devastated US agriculture.

• Coronavirus updates: Spain opens after seven-week lockdown; protesters demand states ease restrictions.

• Warren Buffett built up cash and bought only small amounts of stock during the market rout.

• Clorox CEO boosts ad spend by $50 million as disinfectant demand surges amid coronaviurs pandemic.

• Warren Buffett says Berkshire sold all its airline stocks because of the coronavirus.

• Stocks are up against big ‘resistance’ and likely need actual economic improvement to overcome it.

IG:

• Weekend Markets Trading Live.

Barron's:

• Had bullish commentary on (COP), (CVX), (VLO), (CNQ), (PSX), (BP), (WMB), (LNG), (MMP), (EPD), (EL), (HPQ), (FOXA), (LULU), (ULTA), (LEVI), (JCI), (CVNA), (MSGE) and (NTAP).

MarketWatch.com: 

• Spaniards fill streets for first time in seven weeks as Europe relaxes lockdown but Russian numbers spike.

George W. Bush Presidential Center:

• A Message from President George W. Bush. (video)

Fox News:

• New York Times calls for DNC investigation into Biden sexual assault claims.

• Western intel details how China deceived, bullied world with pandemic.

• Mass graves in the Amazon a sign of things to come for Brazil.

• Two new sources claim Reade told them about aspects of alleged sex-assault, harassment, AP says.

• Dossier on COVID cover-up claims consistent with US findings: officials.

Zero Hedge:          

• Here Are The Key Findings From The Bombshell Government Dossier On China's Bat Virus Program.

• "Bad News" - 20% Of New Yorkers Test Positive As NY, Italy COVID Deaths Resurge: Live Updates.

• China Issues Odd Animated Lego Video Attacking Trump's COVID-19 Response. Conveniently absent from the state media 'narrative' is the glaring and scandalous fact that China arrested the very doctor who was the earliest to try and warn his country as the severity. We'd like to see a Lego cartoon about that one. 

• 50 Dead, 60 Wounded After Venezuela Prison Uprising: Live Updates.

• Andy Hall Says "Unlikely" We See Negative WTI Again, But Doubtful On "V-Shaped" Recovery In Oil.

• NYPD Dispatches 1,000 Cops To Stop New Yorkers From Barbecuing On Saturday.

• Fauci Links & Virus-Lab Leaks: Newsweek Report Raises Urgent, Important Questions.

• Democrats Slammed Over Biden-Kavanaugh Double Standard.

• Watch: Militia In Michigan And Beachgoers In California Protest Quarantines.

• Crisis In Processing - Thousands Of Meatpacking Workers Infected, Deaths Hit 20.

• Data Privacy Advocates Alarmed By NHS's New 'Contact-Tracing' App.

• Berkshire Hathaway Reports Record $50 Billion Q1 Loss, Cash Pile Hits $137 Billion.

• Macau Gaming Revenues Down 97% As Travel Restrictions Take Toll.

• Johnstone: The Way Liberals Smear Tara Reade Is Everything Rape Survivors Fear.

• SUVs Are Being Parked In The Middle Of The Ocean As Auto Inventory Crisis Deepens.

• North Korea's Kim Jong-Un 'Back From Dead', Makes First Appearance In 20 Days; Report.

• Maryland Deploys National Guard To Protect Covid Tests From Feds.

• Kroger Begins Limiting Purchases On Ground Beef And Pork In Some Stores.

• Biden Bumbles Over Tara Reade Answers During Tense MSNBC Interview.

• White House Blocks Dems Attempt To Drag Dr, Fauci To Testify Before Congress.

• Is This Why Elon Musk Is Talking Down His Stock Price.

• 7 Facts That Suggest Illinoisans Can & Must Get Back To Work.

• Is This The Post-COVID-19 World? Cashiers Work Inside Plastic Tents At Supermarket .

• Why The Meat Shortages Are Going To Be Much Worse Than Most Americans Are Anticipating.

• Feds Probe 'Substantial Contractual Relations' Between University Of Texas And Wuhan Biolab.

• David Einhorn Smells Blood, Unveils A "Host Of New Questions" For "Fraud" Elon Musk.

• Mayday On May-Day - Stocks Slammed After Awesome April On China Threat, Dismal Data.

Business Insider: 

• Amazon employees say they're scared to go to work, but they're not alone — here are 9 big companies facing worker criticism over their coronavirus safety response.  

• For a growing number of COVID-19 patients, symptoms last more than a month. Four young patients who've been sick 30-plus days say they're 'terrified.'

• McDonald's designed a new type of restaurant for the coronavirus era in Europe — here's what it's like to visit.

• People are spending up to 3 hours waiting in drive-thru lines for McDonald's and Burger King as the chains reopen locations around the world.

• These are the photos of Kim Jong Un's first public appearance in 20 days after the world wondered if he was dead.

• Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway sold more than $6 billion in stock in April, its first-quarter earnings show.

• Apple's most important product launch in years could be in jeopardy, but Wall Street didn't ask about it once during the company's earnings call.

The Epoch Times:  

• Lawmakers Investigate NIH Over Chinese Espionage Aimed at US Medical Research. Reps. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) have launched an investigation into the NIH’s handling of cases of scientists who were recipients of U.S. grants but failed to disclose their ties to the Chinese communist regime. The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs launched a bipartisan investigation into China’s talent recruitment plans and found that since the late 1990s “China began recruiting U.S.-based scientists and researchers and incentivizing them to transfer U.S. taxpayer-funded intellectual property to China for China’s own economic and military gain … while federal agencies have done little to stop it.”

• Northern Chinese City Shuts Eateries Amid Second Wave of Virus Outbreak.

John Hopkins University:

• Coronavirus Global Cases. (map)

BNO News:

• Tracking Coronavirus: Map, data and timeline. 

Google Docs:

• Coronavirus Testing by State.

Weekly Scoreboard*

S&P 500 2,830.71 -.21%

The Weekly Wrap by Briefing.com.

 
Indices

• DJIA 23,723.69 -.22%

• NASDAQ 8,604.95 -.34%

• Russell 2000 1,260.48 +2.22%

• S&P 500 High Beta 33.09 +1.82%

• Goldman 50 Most Shorted 112.73 -.8%

• Wilshire 5000 28,539.10 +.11%

• Russell 1000 Growth 1,691.86 -.10%

• Russell 1000 Value 1,055.63 +.05%

• S&P 500 Consumer Staples 590.51 -1.95%

• MSCI Cyclicals-Defensives Spread 1,125.36 +2.84%
  

• NYSE Technology 2,143.44 -2.15%

• Transports 8,144.86 +.65%

• Utilities 759.08 -4.51%

• Bloomberg European Bank/Financial Services 48.39 +8.6%

• MSCI Emerging Markets 36.31 +.3%

• HFRX Equity Hedge 1,146.03 +.62%

• HFRX Equity Market Neutral 871.37 +.85%

Sentiment/Internals

• NYSE Cumulative A/D Line 392,561 +1.55%

• Bloomberg New Highs-Lows Index 40.0 +40

• Commercial Bullish % Net Position -43.06 -6.93%

• CFTC Oil Net Speculative Position 587,180 +14.98%

• CFTC Oil Total Open Interest 2,276,638 -3.28%

• Total Put/Call 1.17 +16.8%

• OEX Put/Call 1.17 -5.6%

• ISE Sentiment 61.0 -11.0

• NYSE Arms 1.54 +30.3%

• Volatility(VIX) 37.57 +7.77%

• S&P 500 Implied Correlation 76.70 +6.0%

• G7 Currency Volatility (VXY) 9.01 -7.99%
  

• Emerging Markets Currency Volatility (EM-VXY) 11.82 -3.11%

• Smart Money Flow Index 16,205.86 +.65%

• ICI Money Mkt Mutual Fund Assets $4.734 Trillion +1.77%

• ICI Domestic Equity Mutual Fund/ETFs Weekly Flows -$1.522 Million

• AAII % Bulls 30.6 +23.1%

• AAII % Bears 44.0 -11.9%

Futures Spot Prices

• CRB Index 117.63 +4.32%

• Crude Oil 19.77 +12.98%

• Reformulated Gasoline 76.59 +8.74%

• Natural Gas 1.89 +10.4%

• Heating Oil 80.33 +18.7%

• Gold 1,709.50 -2.2%

• Bloomberg Base Metals Index 145.58 -1.09%

• Copper 230.95 -2.27%

• US No. 1 Heavy Melt Scrap Steel 244.0 USD/Metric Tonne unch.

• China Iron Ore Spot 79.06 USD/Metric Tonne -1.92%

• Lumber 332.80 +3.9%

• UBS-Bloomberg Agriculture 790.31 +2.7%

Economy

• Atlanta Fed GDPNow Forecast -12.05% -12.31 percentage points

• ECRI Weekly Leading Economic Index Growth Rate -38.8% +3.1 percentage points
• Bloomberg US Recession Probability Next 12 Months 100.0% unch.

• Philly Fed ADS Real-Time Business Conditions Index -3.94 +10.2%

• US Economic Policy Uncertainty Index 477.82 -14.5%

• S&P 500 Blended Forward 12 Months Mean EPS Estimate 142.35 -1.14%

• Citi US Economic Surprise Index -128.0 -26.2 points

• Citi Eurozone Economic Surprise Index -267.0 -47.3 points

• Citi Emerging Markets Economic Surprise Index 9.0 +9.2 points

• Fed Fund Futures imply 100.0% chance of no change, 0.0% chance of rate cut on 4/29

• US Dollar Index 99.07 -1.21%

• MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index 1,574.95 +1.25%

• Bitcoin/USD 8,729.50 +15.7%

• Euro/Yen Carry Return Index 121.60 +.75%

• Yield Curve 43.0 +5.75 basis points
  

• 10-Year US Treasury Yield .63% +4.0 basis points

• Federal Reserve's Balance Sheet $6.616 Trillion +1.25%

• U.S. Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 22.16 -2.85%

• Illinois Municipal Debt Credit Default Swap 510.52 -.09%
  

• Italian/German 10Y Yld Spread 235.0 +3.75 basis points

• China Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 47.97 -4.79%
  

• Brazil Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 318.08 -13.5%
  

• Israel Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 76.23 +.32%

• South Korea Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 34.45 -11.4%

• Russia Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 173.83 -2.23%

• iBoxx Offshore RMB China Corporate High Yield Index 163.64 -1.02%

• 10-Year TIPS Spread 1.06% -5.0 basis points

• TED Spread 45.75 -42.75 basis points

• 2-Year Swap Spread 13.0 -3.5 basis points

• 3-Month EUR/USD Cross-Currency Basis Swap 6.0 -15.0 basis points

• N. America Investment Grade Credit Default Swap Index 89.67 -4.33%
  

• America Energy Sector High-Yield Credit Default Swap Index 1,312.0 +50.1%

• European Financial Sector Credit Default Swap Index 103.84 -4.4%
  

• Emerging Markets Credit Default Swap Index 349.10 -4.72%
  

• Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate CMBS Avg. OAS 1.72 -1.71%
• Markit CMBX BBB-6 68.0 +1.96%

• M1 Money Supply $4.873 Trillion +2.82%

• Commercial Paper Outstanding 1,093.10 +2.3%

• 4-Week Moving Average of Jobless Claims 5,033,250 -753,250

• Continuing Claims Unemployment Rate 12.4% +140.0 basis points
  

• Average 30-Year Mortgage Rate 3.23% -10.0 basis points

• Weekly Mortgage Applications 743,400 -3.27%

• Bloomberg Consumer Comfort 39.5 -1.9 points

• Weekly Retail Sales -5.70% -130.0 basis points

• Nationwide Gas $1.78/gallon -.01/gallon

• Baltic Dry Index 635.0 -4.51%

• China (Export) Containerized Freight Index 851.10 -3.74%

• Oil Tanker Rate(Arabian Gulf to U.S. Gulf Coast) 87.50 -20.5%

• Rail Freight Carloads 222,013 +3.9%

Best Performing Style

• Small-Cap Value +3.2%

Worst Performing Style

• Large-Cap Value -.1%

Leading Sectors

• Homebuilding +10.9%

• Education +7.5%

• Airlines +7.4%

• Gaming +6.0%

• I-Banking +4.9%

Lagging Sectors

• Medical Equipment -3.4% 

• Pharma -3.6%

• Video Gaming -3.8%

• Biotech -4.4%

• Utilities -4.7%

Weekly High-Volume Stock Gainers (8)

• ARCT, LOCO, ASGN, BAND, ASIX, FBHS, CALX and LPLA

Weekly High-Volume Stock Losers (7)

• NEO, NTUS, CINF, LRCX, HRC, INSG and KPTI

Weekly Charts

ETFs

• High-Volume Gainers

• High-Volume Losers

Stocks

• High-Volume Gainers

• High-Volume Losers

*5-Day Change