ONE BILLLLLIIIOONNN DDOOLLLAAARSSS.. no. wait.. its 1 Billion EURO... but.. ya can't convert that.. ya can't say "ONE point ONE" BILLLLIOOONN DOOLLAARRSS...it doesn't sound right.. and you can't say "Euros" because Dr Evil said dollars .. .. ahh.. Anyways.. Thieves set fire to an electrical box down the block and knocked out electricity to the Grunes Gewolbe museum in Dresden, Germany. The museum (called Green Vault in English) houses the "Largest Collection of Treasures in Europe". The collection started in the 1500's and has been a public museum since 1723 when "Frederic the Strong" moved the treasures there. The thieves knocked out the power, bent/broke some iron bars over a window, smashed display cabinets and three out of the ten diamond sets were taken, with each set consisting of 37 items, and made up of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. The thieves went out through the same window, down the street to a waiting black sedan.. and POOF. GONE.. Gone with ONE BILLION EURO worth of jewels!!! ...Police have found a sedan several miles away that was burnt to a crisp. They are researching if it is the same one. Cameras caught only a quick glimpse of two of the thieves and they are described as "very short". Experts say the goods cannot be sold without the thieves being caught. They will need to pull out the precious stones and re-cut them making them worth FAR less (although still worth millions and millions) .... and....
An Earthquake hit Albania overnight (Its across the Adriatic Sea from the heel of the boot of Italy). 11 are dead and the count it rising. 325 are injured. The 6.4 quake leveled buildings in the middle of the night. It appears the worst damage is in the port city of Durres. Rescue workers are still scrambling to dig people out.. and...
In Iran, there have been massive demonstrations going on since the decision to raise gas prices. Iranian officials are blaming (You guessed it) The Americans for "stoking the unrest". The head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard said, "we are showing restraint against the US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia but we will DESTROY you if you cross our red lines" (Hmm.. Is Obama's speech writer working for this guy? Crossing Red lines? Are the in the sand?)..Anyways.. I think the Saudis and Israel should be more concerned. They're closer...
China has summoned the US Ambassador to warn us of the Grave Consequences of meddling in China's internal affairs. (I think I'd be kind of afraid if I was "summoned to meet high officials in China" I'd be thinking I might be "disappeared"..Not as bad as say, North Korea.. but I'd certainly be a little edgy). All of this tension is due to America's support for Democracy in Hong Kong which most of the world sees as a "Human Rights" issue and China sees as a slap in the face... Oddly, while this is happening, OTHER Chinese officials are confirming that "Phase One" trade talks with the US are "progressing nicely" . ...and..
It starts, the Town Council of Brookline, Mass voted to allow 16 year-olds to vote. They will now petition the State of Massachusetts to allow the kids to vote. Geez.. We gotta figure our rules out in America. You can get an abortion at 13 without parental knowledge but you cannot drive a car until you're 18. When you're 18 you can enlist in the Army, go to Iraq an get shot at.. but when the day is over.. you can't go have a beer.. We have to figure out what age it is when you can officially be held responsible for your stupid decisions and STICK WITH IT!! I really don't think 16 is that age. 18, MAYBE. I am reminded of the great Mark Twain quote: "When I was 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But, when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years" .... The 16 years old voting thing is an attempt to skew elections. It is a mistake ... and..
Can you come over here? Why? BECAUSE YOU'RE FIRED !!! Secretary of Navy, Richard Spencer, was fired for continuing to pursue Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher, after Gallagher had been pardoned by the President. Gallagher was acquitted of murder and 6 other counts in a matter related to the death of an ISIS prisoner in Iraq. Gallagher was found guilty of one charge, "appearing in an inappropriate photograph" for posing for a picture with the dead ISIS soldier. The fired Secretary Spencer was part of the "Establishment" that has taken to aggressively prosecuting the soldiers in the field accused of crimes. The President tried to send a message to "back off" the soldiers and Spencer wasn't hearing it.. Best comment on this story was, "lets take bets... How long until Spencer is a "Contributor" on CNN or MSNBC ? " HAHAHAHA.... and..
In da Swamp: Impeachment Pandemonium. Dem leaders are on TV everywhere playing the "Spin Game" because they are painted into a corner. If they have an impeachment vote the Senate will have a full on trial and call Hunter Biden and "the Whistleblower". If they do NOT vote to Impeach their "Base" will be angry..and the moderates/undecideds will be angry about the waste of time and money. Rep Adam Schiff-for-brains himself was on TV and backpedaling saying he now wants to "talk to his constituents before making any final decisions" on Impeachment Ummm.. WOW...
..and..
The Loser media is all giddy reporting; "FEDERAL JUDGE says White House officials must testify". This is over the White House claiming that close advisors to the President are allowed to keep conversations secret. The House says they have the right to subpoena them. The judge is an Obama appointee and the decision will be overturned, just like all the other activist judge decisions. You cannot destroy the "Presidency" and the Constitution just because you hate the current President... and..
Grand Theft Burrito !!! ... An Ex-con in Arizona is headed back to jail for Grand Theft Burrito. The thief accosted a guy on the street and stole his Burrito. The bigger problem is that the attacker ALSO made "threatening statements" which makes the theft a Felony. Jail time for stealing a burrito.. That's gotta stink. (Threat or not.. he'd be going back in for a parole violation)
SPORTS: Tuesday Sports Wrap-up STINKS. All the weekend stuff was in yesterday's rant. You have Monday Night Football (Baltimore rolls 45-6 over the Rams and Lamar Jackson is REALLY good. But, we all know that already) .. and..
Some early College Basketball that no one really cares about...
I did read one funny story about Redskins QB Dwayne Haskins was SO EXCITED about their win that he was celebrating with fans.. taking selfies.. ONE problem. They had to take the last snap and kneel in order to run the clock out. ..and he MISSSED IT!!! The coach was asked after the game if he put Back-up Case Keenum in to avoid Haskins getting hurt and he said, "No. We couldn't find Dwayne" .. AHAHHAAH... ..and...
The NY Mets recently hired Carlos Beltran to be their new Manager. This is a little risky seeing as Beltran has never been a Manager. But they are going to be just fine, now. They hired Bam Bam Meulens to be his bench coach. BAM BAM !! What a NAME !!! .. If you can't win games with a guy named BAM BAM on the bench flashing signs there is something wrong.
CELEBRIDIOTS: "I ain't sorry.. its all a set up !!!" Bill Cosby did his first interview behind bars and said there will be "no remorse at my parole hearing. I'm not sorry. It was all a set up" .. Hmmm.. OK Cos.. maybe the first 10 girls are a "set up" .. and maybe the next 10 were a "misunderstanding" .. but when you hit 50, You're a rapist, dude. You gotta come to grips with it.. and...
Someone tell Pete Townsend it's Bad Form to Crap all over the dead. Townsend said it was "a good thing that Keith Moon and John Entwistle are gone". Basically, he said they were awful musicians and its way easier to play great live "The Who" shows without them. OUCH.. That's just MEAN and unnecessary. You don't see Paul McCartney going around announcing to the world that Ringo was the third best drummer in the Beatles!!! (Even though he was... ) . Paul lets ME Say mean things like that... ...and..
The ratings are IN for the AMA's .. and .. can you say "Move the Goal Posts"? Ratings in the coveted 18-49 year old group were a 1.7, the lowest EVER. So, what do you do then? You publish OVERALL ratings were UP 2%. Because.. you know.. having those 8 year olds watch is IMPORTANT to advertisers. Too many regular viewers opted for Football over.. well.. self important singers with attitude issues... and..
"This is NOT US". Actor Justin Hartley, who plays Kevin on the hit show, "This is US" is now AVAILABLE, Ladies !! Hartley and wife Chrishell Strause are splitting after 2 years of marriage because Hartley caught an incurable case of I'm more important now and I can do better than you .. ohh..no.. wait.. Because Justin could not get used to being married to someone with such a stupid name. (Who names their kid, Chrishell?) .. uhhh.. no... "Irreconcilable Differences". Yeah.. THAT's IT!!! She wanted to get pregnant.... he wanted to just keep.. "Practicing" ..
For those attacking Selena Gomez for singing off key at the AMA's you need to BACK OFF. Have any of YOU tried to sing on stage in front of hundreds of people when your ear monitors aren't working right? Well, I HAVE .. It is REALLY hard..So, ignore them Selena.. and look at some hot pics of yourself from my phone to make you feel better.. HERE .. and come over tonight.. I have new batteries for your stage earpieces. They're in the drawer right next to your batteries for.. um... uhh..your "other" things....
From Seekingalpha.com
Shares of Alibaba's secondary listing in Hong Kong closed at HK$187.60, 6.6% higher than the issue price, marking this year's largest share sale and a boost for the embattled Hong Kong market. Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) intends to use the funds to diversify and has raised at least $11.3B from the deal (that could reach as much as $12.9B if an over-allotment option is exercised). While the offering was larger than the roughly $8B raised by Uber (NYSE:UBER) in May, it's still expected to be topped by Saudi Aramco's (ARMCO) anticipated listing in Riyadh in December. Go deeper: 'Alibaba's Undervaluation Has Reached A Critical Point' by Oleh Kombaiev.
Signs of trade progress on Monday helped propel U.S. indices to records as the DJIA tacked on 190 points and returned to the 28,000 level. Dow futures are now ahead by 0.6%, though S&P and Nasdaq futures have pulled back a bit, as leaders of the U.S.-China trade negotiations held another phone call on Tuesday morning. Investors today are also eyeing the U.S. data front, with new home sales expected to jump and consumer confidence figures on tap. Go deeper: Ironman at Political Calculations models S&P 500 through end-2019.
"Monetary policy is now well positioned to support a strong labor market and return inflation decisively to the Fed's 2% target," Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Monday evening at the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce. "At this point in the long expansion, I see the glass as much more than half full. With the right policies, we can fill it further, building on the gains so far and spreading the benefits more broadly to all Americans." Go deeper: Alexander Veytsman says not to forget the yield curve.
T-Mobile's (NASDAQ:TMUS) efforts to close its deal with Sprint (NYSE:S) are gathering pace before a trial with opposing attorneys general on Dec. 9. Nevada is the next state to drop its opposition to the tie-up in exchange for early deployment of next generation wireless networks and the promise of several hundred jobs. On Monday, Texas attorney general Ken Paxton announced that his office additionally "reached a settlement with T-Mobile resolving the state's antitrust claims against the proposed merger." TMUS +1.3% premarket. Go deeper: Stone Fox Capital comments on T-Mobile CEO Legere's retirement.
eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) agreed to sell its StubHub business on Monday to Viagogo Entertainment, a significant competitor internationally - and particularly in the U.K. and Europe. Already among the largest players in the growing secondary market for sports, music and live-entertainment, the combined company expects to sell hundreds of thousands of tickets each day across more than 70 countries. The $4.05B deal is also a major cash windfall for eBay, which scooped up StubHub for $310M in 2007. Go deeper: eBay faces competition from specialized marketplaces, writes Gainsboro Capital.
Impossible Foods is in talks with investors about a new funding round that would more than double the $2B valuation the alternative protein company attained earlier this year. Sources additionally told Reuters that the fundraising could mean an initial public offering may be on tap as early as next year. Rival Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) still trades at 3X the level where the company's IPO was priced in May and the strong rally has pushed most of the sell-side community to the sidelines.
Giving an estimated date for their proposed tie-up, Fiat Chrysler (NYSE:FCAU) and Peugeot-owner PSA (OTCPK:PEUGF) told their employees they would sign a binding merger agreement in the coming weeks. Nine working groups were further established to create the world's fourth-largest carmaker. FCA Chairman John Elkann said last week he was not worried that a shock racketeering lawsuit from GM (NYSE:GM) would derail the merger, which aims to keep the companies ahead of the curve with connected, electrified, shared and autonomous mobility.
What else is happening...
Starboard Value takes stake in CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) - Dow Jones.
Calvin Klein owner (NYSE:PVH) warns on China tariffs.
Canada's biggest rail strike enters the eighth day.
House Democrats 'within range' of USMCA trade deal.
Tuesday's Key Earnings
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) -4.5% AH as revenue came up short. Palo Alto Networks (NYSE:PANW) -8.5% AH on downside FY EPS outlook.
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan +0.4%. Hong Kong -0.3%. China flat. India -0.2%. In Europe, at midday, London +0.1%. Paris -0.1%. Frankfurt +0.2%. Futures at 6:20, Dow +0.6%. S&P -0.1%. Nasdaq -0.1%. Crude +0.4% to $58.24. Gold +0.1% to $1457.70. Ten-year Treasury Yield -2 bps to 1.75%
Today's Economic Calendar
8:30 International trade in goods 8:30 Retail Inventories (Advance) 8:30 Wholesale Inventories (Advance) 8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales 9:00 S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index 9:00 FHFA House Price Index 10:00 Consumer Confidence 10:00 New Home Sales 10:00 Richmond Fed Mfg. 11:30 Results of $18B, 2-Year FRN Auction 1:00 PM Results of $41B, 5-Year Note Auction 1:00 PM Fed's Brainard: “Federal Reserve Framework Review of Monetary Policy Strategy, Tools, and Communication”
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