Witches, Real Estate Agents, and Prostitutes. There are now more people in these groups in the USA than CNN Viewers. Ratings are so bad that over 100 CNN Employees had to take "voluntary Exit packages". I guess the country is figuring out they can get better information with a Subscription to the RANT and a Google page ... None of the survivors of the Russian Jet crash were seated behind row 10. Why? Fat Guy. A Fat guy struggled to get his baggage from the overhead and no one could get by him. He made it out and those behind him were burned to death. (This according to other survivors) .. Obese people on planes. Safety hazard? Obviously, in this case he was ... Reuters reporters who were held in prison for a year and a halffor possession of secret state information in Myanmar, have been released. After international pressure and court challenges didn't work, they were lucky enough to be part of the "New Years List". It is custom for the President to let prisoners out of jail at their New Years. This year reporters Wa Lone, 33 and Kyae So Oo, 29, were two of 6,520 released on Tuesday. Pretty Nice, Eh? Pontius Pilot only Freed Barrabas. Think how different history would be if Pilot released ALL the prisoners that day. (Don't bother going to Google. Pilot released Barabbas and left Jesus in jail to be crucified) .. Trade Rep Lighthizer and Secretary of Treasury Mnuchin say they were close to a final trade deal with China and China reneged on agreements. The World Markets are hoping they can figure this out by Friday when the Chinese delegation will be in Washington... Speaking of Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, he has formally told Congress he will NOT release the Presidents Tax returns because there is no legitimate legislative reason for the request.. You can just BET what is coming next: SUE SUE SUE. Our country pays 3 times the amount of money for the same medications available in other countries. Same companies, same drugs, THREE TIMES the amount. Why? Because the Drug companies engage in their own view of Socialism. WE can afford to pay more than they do in Mexico..or Costa Rica, for example. So, the Pharma Companies figure out the amount they need to cover their Research and overhead. Then they, figure out the "Average" price and charge the USA customers WAAYYY more so that other countries can pay less. Both the Republicans and the Democrats understand this procedure and want to change it.. So, DO IT!!!! Write some Legislation for Fair Drug Prices and FORGET ABOUT STUPID TAX RETURNS and Forget about continuing a two year investigation because you didn't like the outcome!!!.. Also in the Swamp, Anti-Semites Rep Omar of Minnesota and Rep Tlaib of Michigan doubled down on their support of terrorists, Hamas. (Don't take my word that they're terrorists, look it up.). These two Congresswomen claim that Hamas is just retaliating against the "Israeli Occupiers" in Gaza. Uh.. Yeah.. Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005. Gaza is governed by the Palestinians who "elected" Hamas. The terrorists lob rockets and missiles into Israel and Israel "responds" by firing back. This is NOT oppression. Get a history book you loonie Freaks .. Tiger Woods was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom (The Highest Civilian Award the President gives). Many on Social Media showed their ignorance saying things like, "For winning a golf tournament" and "cheaters stick together". Yes, Tiger got famous playing golf. But, the Tiger Wood Foundation has helped educate 2,000 children from bad neighborhoods and employed 1,000 educators. Tiger's annual golf tournament has raised MILLIONS for Veterans and their families. How many millions have YOU raised for our combat veterans, you social media hacks? Yeah.. ZERO.. So, shut your cake holes .. SPORTS: NHL: The Bruins win 3-0 over Columbus and advance. Again, nothing like watching the "Handshake Line". They played a brutal series but when its over, they congratulate the winner.. blood and missing teeth and all. No disgrace in being beaten if you leave it all out there on the ice!! .. ... Colorado beats San Josein Overtime and the series goes to the best thing in sports: GAME SEVEN !!!!Win or Go to the Golf Course .. and.. The USA wins the Sled Hockey Gold in the Paralympics. I gotta say, this sport should be in the REGULAR Olympics. I've watched professional hockey players try to play sled hockey and the sled guys from the Paralympics killed them ...and NFL: Hey Bears Fans .. Your GM just made a quiet trade you might want to know about.. He picked up kicker Eddy Pinero. Never heard of him? Well, Eddy has been seen making kicks from 81 YARDS OUT in practices. (Yes, its different with full equipment and game conditions.. but 81 yards? Are you KIDDING????!?!?!) .. CELEBRIDIOTS: Royals Meghan Markle and Prince Harry welcomed their new son. They haven't decided on a name for the boy who is seventh in line to the Throne. Pregnant for nine months and can't figure on a name? Great work, there. Keep it up.. For you "Game of Thrones" watchers.. did you notice the scene in the dining room? .. The one where they were doing their "Medieval" acting .. and there was a Starbucks cup left on the table that some crew member forgot about?? (And, so did the editors.. So, when they win the award for "Best Editing" you just KNOW the awards are FIXED!!) ... One more time for the stupid folks out there in Magazine land: If there is something covering your boobs, you are NOT TOPLESS. This means a shirt, bra, OR your hands or arms. There is much ADO about Jennifer Anniston looking great at 50 (She Does) and posing topless on the cover of Harpar's Bazaar (She's NOT. She is covering up with her ARM. FAKE NEWS!! FAKE NEWS!!!) ..and then there was "Famous People Boot Camp" ..otherwise known as the "Met Gala". Now, I would say I HATE these pretentious things were famous people act like they are important.. But, they didn't invite NY Mayor deblasidiot..which I think is FCKING HILARIOUS ..anyways.. First Question: Who the heck is AwkwafinaHERE First of all, she looks like CP-30 from Star Wars got hit by an M-80Firecracker and exploded. Did anyone check if her parents BRIBED a crew coach to get her in the Gala? .. The "theme" was "Camp: Notes on Fashion".. which apparently means look as weird as you can. There were dozens that could have won the "What were you thinking" Award .. but, I am going to pick Katy Perry because she chose to come as the Candleabra from Beauty and the Beast HERE .. and I am going to award TWO Winners. Penelope Cruz ALWAYS looks HOT and Classy. HERE Kind has that "Audrey Hepburn" vibe working, eh? .. Then we had Hailey Bieber who has ZERO fcks to give. She doesn't care what you think about her marrying her girlfriend...and she doesn't care what the "Theme" is .. She says, "I LOOK LIKE THIS . HERE.. And YOU DON'T .. So DEAL WITH IT!!!!" (Hailey, you spelled RAJ wrong on your Raj-thong. Step up your game, GIRL!!! )
From SeekingAlpha.com
U.S. markets on Monday recovered most of their lost ground after a steep initial plunge, as stocks stabilized amid hopes that a trade agreement could get back on track. China has confirmed that Vice Premier Liu He will visit the U.S. on May 9-10 ahead of a Friday deadline President Trump has set for an increase in tariffs, after Washington accused Beijing of "reneging" on its trade promises. Dow futures are down 91 points, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq pointing to opening losses of 0.4%, while fears appeared to be waning in Europe and Asia, where stocks were trading mixed.
A new escalation of retaliatory tariffs would weigh on the global economy, with an attempt at a new deal likely not occurring until later in 2019, or even in 2020. The two sides could also reach a deal by this weekend, with President Trump's tweets needed to show China hawks that he was being tough to avoid a political backlash at home. Even if a deal isn't reached by the end of this week, it may not trigger a full-blown return to confrontation, with Chinese officials possibly making some overtures to the U.S. side.
Talks between the government and opposition Labour Party are set for a crunch meeting today and the stakes couldn't be higher. Theresa May's Brexit offer takes the shape of a customs union-style arrangement lasting until 2022, the time of the U.K.'s next scheduled general election. Labour could then offer the electorate a full customs union while a future Tory administration could pursue a looser relationship that lets Britain strike trade deals with other countries. Failure to agree would boost the chances of another referendum or even an emergency general election.
Given that trade worries are back in view, the health of Europe's economy is again in focus. German industrial orders rose less than expected in March after two months of steep declines, bringing little relief for Europe's largest economy which is facing a sharp slowdown in growth. Contracts for "Made in Germany" goods were up 0.6%, figures from the Federal Statistics Office showed, undershooting a consensus forecast of 1.5%.
Hedge fund managers took the stage at the Sohn Investment Conference on Monday, pitching stock ideas and sectors for investment. Greenlight Capital's David Einhorn announced a long position in airplane leasing company AerCap (NYSE:AER) and a short position in rail car leasing company GATX Corp. (NYSE:GATX), which he said has higher maintenance costs and less visibility into future revenues. Glenview Capital Management's Larry Robbins is meanwhile shorting shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) due to pollution litigation concerns, but on the healthcare front, he likes HMO stocks Cigna (NYSE:CI), Humana (NYSE:HUM) and UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH).
New Pixel smartphones, a fresh OS called Android Q, and a foray into gaming will likely be the focus at Google's (GOOG, GOOGL) I/O developer conference, a three-day event for app developers and hardware makers that begins today. A keynote address from Google CEO Sundar Pichai will begin at 10 a.m. PT in Mountain View, California. Google executives are also likely to talk about privacy, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, Google Assistant, Nest and smart home devices.
While Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) often refrains from announcing deals with smaller firms, CEO Tim Cook told CNBC that the tech giant buys a company every two to three weeks on average. In fact, in roughly the last six months alone, the iPhone maker scooped up approximately 20 to 25 businesses, "primarily looking for talent and intellectual property." The aggressive acquisition style highlights Apple's massive purchasing power with $225.4B in cash on hand, making it one of the most cash-rich companies in the world.
With spending on pets in the U.S. estimated to exceed $75.3B this year, Walmart (NYSE:WMT) aims to have 100 veterinary clinics open in its stores within the next 12 months, growing from the 21 it has today. The retailer is also for the first time launching an online pet pharmacy, WalmartPetRX.com, rivaling Chewy.com. Walmart has seen a roughly 60% increase in the number of dog- and cat-related health-care items sold on its website over the past year, according to a company spokeswoman.
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is opening up its twelfth cashier-less convenience store in the U.S. at Brookfield Place in downtown Manhattan. It's the first outlet to make it to New York, with most of the others blanketing the West Coast. Amazon will start accepting cash at its new 1,300-square-foot location, having faced backlash from people who say its cashier-free stores are discriminatory toward the unbanked. As many as 3,000 Amazon Go stores may open by 2021, according to several media reports.
Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC) has declared Occidental Petroleum's (NYSE:OXY) sweetened $38B takeover a "superior proposal," giving Chevron (NYSE:CVX) four days to either boost its offer or walk away from the oil industry’s biggest deal in at least four years. The announcement by Anadarko, which had rebuffed several prior bids from Occidental, comes almost a month after it agreed to be purchased by Chevron for $33B. Chevron has so far refused to increase its offer, saying its proposal is a better long-term option for Anadarko shareholders.
What else is happening...
'Dividend Growth Investing Or ETFs?' contributor The Dividend Guy gives an answer to Ben Felix.
There's still no shipping date for Samsung's (OTC:SSNLF) Galaxy Fold.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) unveils new software tools to protect elections.
Fresh currency crisis in Turkey as Istanbul election annulled.
Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) buys autonomous mining truck fleet from Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT).
Luckin Coffee (LK), the Chinese challenger to Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX), sets IPO terms.
Monday's Key Earnings
AIG (NYSE:AIG) +7.6% AH on improved underwriting, lower costs. Bausch Health (NYSE:BHC) +8.7% raising guidance.
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan -1.6%. Hong Kong +0.5%. China +0.7%. India -0.8%. In Europe, at midday, London -1%. Paris -0.6%. Frankfurt -0.5%. Futures at 6:20, Dow -0.3%. S&P -0.4%. Nasdaq -0.4%. Crude -0.6% to $61.89. Gold -0.1% to $1282.60. Bitcoin +4.8% to $5901. Ten-year Treasury Yield -2 bps to 2.48%
Today's Economic Calendar
7:00 Fed's Kaplan Speech
8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales
10:00 Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey
1:00 PM Results of $38B, 3-Year Note Auction
3:00 PM Consumer Credit
Regards,
Roger “Raj” Searing
rajsearing@gmail.com
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