Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Today's Headlines

Posted by Gary .....at 2:35 PM
Bloomberg:    
  • China Faces Make-or-Break Moment, Says Forecaster of Japan Slide. (video) China’s decades of rapid development under tight Communist Party control may be coming to an end, according to Roy Smith, the New York University academic who as a banker in 1990 anticipated Japan’s decline. "China has now arrived at an existential moment after nearly 40 years of extraordinary economic progress," said Smith, who also warned about budding Japan-like financial strains ahead of the Chinese stock rout in 2015. The country’s "increasingly complex and troubled economic and social system with all its scarcities" will make it tougher for Communist cadres to manage, he said.
  • Shanghai Composite Falls Below 3,000. (video) 
  • Chinese Shares Tumble With Oil While Early Rally in Japan Fades. The Shanghai Composite dropped as much as 4.5 percent as traders struggled to explain the reason behind the sudden selloff, which isn’t an unusual occurrence in a market dominated by individual investors. Interest in mainland equities has been fading this month after March’s 12 percent surge amid concern that improving economic data will prevent the government from adding stimulus. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.9 percent, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland stocks traded in the city dropped 1.2 percent.
  • European Stocks Advance as Crude Reverses Loss, Miners Climb. European stocks advanced in late trading, extending a three-month high, as a rebound in oil spurred energy stocks, and miners climbed. Total SA led energy companies higher as crude recovered following data that showed a drop in U.S. output. BHP Billiton Ltd. paced gains in resource-related shares as metals rose after it cut its iron ore production forecast. ABB Ltd added 3.8 percent after the world’s largest maker of power grids posted profit that beat estimates. Volkswagen AG jumped 6.6 percent after saying it expects no need for a U.S. trial in mid-2016 over damages related to rigging diesel-engine control software to dupe emission tests. The Stoxx 600 rose 0.4 percent to 350.74 at the close of trading, after earlier falling as much as 0.5 percent.
  • Steel-Glut Challenge Shown as China Shuns Global Statement. China declined to sign up to an international statement on actions needed to tackle the steel glut in a sign of the obstacles to balancing a market dominated by Chinese mills. Representatives of the European Union, the U.S., Japan, Canada, Mexico, South Korea, Switzerland and Turkey issued a statement on steel-market overcapacity after meeting this week in Brussels. China, which is the world’s No. 1 steel-producing country and took part in the April 18 gathering, isn’t among the signatories, according to the European Commission, the 28-nation EU’s executive arm.
  • Templeton's $38 Billion CEO: Stocks May Be Set for a ‘Sharp Correction’. A penchant for safety in global stock markets is about to blow up in investors’ faces, says Norm Boersma, the $38 billion money manager who runs Templeton Global Advisors Ltd. Bond defectors seeking better returns have pushed up valuations in equities less sensitive to the economy, creating the potential for a “sharp correction,” according to Boersma. Templeton’s approach of picking beaten-down companies will recover after one of the worst periods of underperformance for value investing in a century, he said, noting he sees opportunities in financial and energy shares.
  • Hedge Funds Suffer Worst Outflows Since Financial Crisis Era. Hedge funds suffered the worst withdrawals last quarter since the tail-end of the financial crisis as wild swings in stocks and commodities caused losses at some of the best-known firms. Investors pulled a net $15 billion between January and March, reducing assets under management to $2.86 trillion from $2.9 trillion, Chicago-based Hedge Fund Research Inc. said Wednesday. The last time outflows were higher was in the second quarter of 2009, when $43 billion was redeemed. Clients are redeeming after many hedge funds failed to protect them during market turmoil in the second half of last year and again at the start of 2016. Managers including John Paulson, Chase Coleman, Andreas Halvorsen, Ray Dalio and Bill Ackman posted losses in some of their funds last quarter, even as global stocks edged out a small gain with dividends reinvested.
Wall Street Journal:
  • China Stock Markets Tumble. Shanghai shares suffer worst day since late February. The Shanghai Composite Index closed down 2.3%, marking its biggest daily percentage drop since late February. It is now down 16% since the beginning of the year. Meanwhile, China’s smaller Shenzhen Composite Index plunged 4.4%. The Nasdaq -style ChiNext benchmark dropped 5.6%.
  • Russia Moves Artillery to Northern Syria, U.S. Officials Say. Deployment is a sign Moscow and the Assad government are preparing for a return to full-scale fighting. Russia has been moving artillery units to areas of northern Syria where government forces have massed, raising U.S. concern the two allies may be preparing for a return to full-scale fighting as the current cease-fire falters, U.S. officials said. The recent Russian redeployments of the units and the forces that operate them have been accompanied by the return of some Iranian army forces to government-controlled areas close to the front lines, according to officials briefed on the intelligence. Russia, Iran and the...
  • Q&A: Harriet Tubman, Alexander Hamilton and the Currency Redesign.
Fox News:
  • Change for a $20: Tubman to replace Jackson on new bills. The Treasury Department plans to announce Wednesday that the new $20 bill will feature abolitionist Harriet Tubman, replacing former President Andrew Jackson. A Treasury official confirmed the planned announcement to Fox Business Network. It would make Tubman the first woman on U.S. paper currency in 100 years. Politico also reported that Alexander Hamilton will remain on the front of the $10 bill, and other design changes are also being rolled out.
CNBC:
Business Insider:

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