A big RIP to Jessye Norman who died yesterday in Georgia at the age of 74. Make a few minutes (or play it in the background while you read) to listen to this, today. More Talent than 100 "regular" singers... HERE
We're SCREWED!!! and by "WE" I mean me and any of you readers from NY, NJ, CT, MD, and CA. A Federal Judge ruled against a lawsuit brought by these States over the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction limit of $10,000. The Judge ruled that the Federal Government change to the Tax Code is not "Unconstitutionally Coercive because it does not preclude States from exercising their own Sovereign tax powers". For those that are NOT aware, RAJ is one of the 7% of Federal Tax Payers that did NOT get a tax cut under the 2017 Tax and Jobs Act. (Congrats to you 93%. I'm not bitter) .. I lost my deductions and I live in a high tax area. (Still, in principle, I agree its fair. Why should the States who run themselves efficiently and within budget have to subsidize the Tax-and-OVER-Spenders"??) NJ State Taxes are HIGH and not going lower soon. So, I just get used to paying more.. and live with it...
Today marks the start of China's 70th Anniversary Celebration festivities. They kicked off by having a parade into Tiananmen Square and showing off "Hypersonic Missiles and Stealth Drones". Certainly "Showing off their Muscles" .. You think they were showing them to the USA ??? or to the Hong Kong Protesters?? The police in Hong Kong were firing Water Canons and Tear Gas at protesters who were throwing "Corrosive Fluid" at police. (aka "Petrol Bombs" .. aka "Molotov Cocktails")... one report says police fired "Live Rounds". I have not seen that corroborated, yet... . .. over in India, its been raining for 5 days. Record Monsoons have killed 150 people already and the flooding is the worst they have seen in decades. Pray for them..
Back in the USA .. "Forever 21" Lied. They weren't "Forever" at all. The clothing and fashion company filed for bankruptcy. Several reporters tried to piece together "why it happened" but the answer is simple, "Fads Die". When you're not the "new cool thing" anymore kids move on ... over on Los Angeles, the homeless problem is now so bad that LA wants Governor Newsome to declare an official "State of Emergency". Sorry to you Americans in LA. Newsome is too busy protecting illegal aliens from the Evil Orange Man ...
In da Swamp: In the Long List of why people hate politicians we have a new entry. Scum Bag NY Rep R- Chris Collins is guilty of insider trading. He will enter his guilty plea today and has resigned from his post in NY Congress. Yet, he will still receive his pension. Yup, all the argument/discussion about Healthcare, benefits, pensions, retirement for all of us "Regular People" does NOT apply to them. Politicians vote for their OWN benefits and WE ALL PAY. .. Former Swampman and Comedian Al Franken is up to NINE. Franken signed on to do a Sirius Radio show after two years on "Hiatus from the World" after his "Not-Groping Picture" scandal. A woman has come forward and said that once when she was taking a picture with Franken 13 years ago that he grabbed her butt. She is now the ninth woman to allege Franken did something "inappropriate". C'mon Ladies. We all KNOW that Number 10 is out there somewhere !!! .
In the "I wouldn't do it.. but it's 'Justice' " category. I am ALL FOR Free speech. I am ALL FOR your rights to protest and speak your mind. But, only if you RESPECT other people's rights to live their lives, too. The "activists" that think it's OK to disrupt other people's lives should suffer consequences. They rarely do. But, THESE one's did. Some Violent Vegans tried to get in the way of people's Pizza the other day and it did not end well. When they wouldn't disperse and get out of the Pizza place they got thumped. Would I do it? Probably not. Is it about time? YUP. HERE ..
SPORTS: NFL: Raiders Vontaze Burfict was suspended for the SEASON for a helmet to helmet hit on Colts Tight End Jack Doyle this weekend. I went to look at "The Hit" and.. well. ..it certainly was helmet to helmet... and .. it COULD have been avoided.. but I have seen WAY worse.. HERE .. and .. NBA Preseason Hoops: It should not be surprising that James Harden already has a triple double.. but it is a LITTLE surprising that he had it BEFORE HALFTIME!!! That man can PLAY!!! .. and .....MLB: It's PLAYOFF TIME !!! Brewers/Nationals play tonight in the Wild Card and the other Wild Card is RAYS vs A's Tomorrow. WHO YA GOT???
CELEBRIDIOTS: Former Actress Stacey Dash was apparently Clueless that you can't slap your man upside his head and beat him about the chest, neck, face and head. She was arrested in Florida after a "Domestic Dispute". She should also be charged with "Lying to a Police officer". The officer asked her what she did and she said, "I am an actress. I did a film called, 'Clueless' " .. Look, Clueless came out in 1995. If you try to claim, "Yeah, I was in a movie in 1995" the correct answer to the Officer is really, "I AM UNEMPLOYED" .. ..and down in South Carolina, Hailey Baldwin and Justine Bieber got re-married.. or .. double married? .. or.. what do you call it when self absorbed girls get married a few times so they can have a bunch of parties? You can decide yourself which bride looked better. Justine HERE .. or Hailey HERE ... I like Hailey better but she sleeps until like 2:00 in the afternoon and NEVER wants to LEAVE!!! ..
From Seekingalpha.com
Chinese President Xi Jinping marked 70 years of Communist Party rule during a National Day event by saying the country must maintain lasting prosperity and stability in Hong Kong and Macau. While the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Shanghai Stock Exchange were both closed for the holiday, trading was active on other Asia markets. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.6% amid a weaker yen and after a Bank of Japan survey of business sentiment at large manufacturers came in better than expected. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.4%, while Australia's ASX 200 finished 0.8% higher after the Reserve Bank of Australia cut a key interest rate. Meanwhile, European stocks are having a softer day, with the Stoxx 600 Index slipping 0.1% at midday after PMI reports limped in. U.S. stock futures are pointing higher ahead of the trading day, with the earnings calendar highlighted by reports from Stitch Fix (NASDAQ:SFIX), McCormick (NYSE:MKC) and United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI).
Oil prices are tracking higher on reports that production in the U.S. and Russia fell during the third quarter. While oil prices are forecast to remain fairly steady for the balance of the year, many market watchers think upward pricing pressure is fading away with Saudi Arabia believed to have restored capacity to 11.3M barrels per day after the attack on September 14 knocked out 5.7M bpd of output. "Demand growth is weakening, oil supply outside OPEC is rising significantly and OPEC+'s production discipline has recently faded," noted Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch. In today's early action, WTI crude oil futures +1.3% to $54.77/bbl and Brent crude +1.2% to $59.96/bbl.
Unemployment in Japan remained at 2.2% in August to match the lowest level of the last 26 years. Government officials say the labor market is close to "full employment" with a record 67.51M people working. Another significant economic development in Japan occurs today with the consumption tax rising to 10% from 8%. The government maintains the increased burden on consumers is necessary to boost social welfare programs and reduce the mounting national debt. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe aims to prop up consumer spending through fiscal policy moves.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is expected to update on deliveries sometime during the first few days of October. The EV automaker delivered 95,356 cars in Q2 and is forecast by analysts to deliver around 97K in Q3, although Elon Musk told employees last week the company has a shot at hitting 100K deliveries. Looking ahead to Q4, the consensus estimate from analysts is for deliveries of 104K, consisting of 85K Model 3s, 10K Model X SUVs and 9K Model S cars. Go deeper: See a breakdown of Tesla's profitability grade.
U.S. auto sales are forecast by Edmunds to fall 11.6% in September to 1,267,607 new cars and trucks for an estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of 17.1M. "September auto sales look a little bleak on paper, but it's just a matter of a tough year-over-year comparison," noted Edmunds analyst Jeremy Acevedo on the timing of the Labor Day holiday. Unit sales are expected to drop 5.2% for General Motors (NYSE:GM) in September, while Toyota (NYSE:TM), Ford (NYSE:F) and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (NYSE:FCAU) are all expected to post a double-digit drop for the month. Incentive spending in Q3 is projected to rise 6% to $4,159 to mark the highest level ever for the period and fall just $28 short of the all-time quarter high set in Q4 of 2017. In addition to the sales updates, commentary from Ford execs on demand trends and GM management on the impact of the workers strike will be closely watched this week. Go deeper: CHECK OUT THE PERFORMANCE OF THE FIRST TRUST NASDAQ GLOBAL AUTO INDEX FUND.
The Macau sector is being watched closely with China's National Day holiday in full swing and the report on gross gaming revenue for September showing 0.6% growth vs. +1.0% consensus. Hong Kong-listed names took a day off from trading due to the holiday, but U.S. parents Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ:WYNN), MGM Resorts (NYSE:MGM) and Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) could see some volatility off the developments. Looking ahead at the full Golden Week period (October 1-7), analysts think the mix of mass-market traffic will be higher this year based on hotel booking trends.
Five drugmakers tied up in sprawling opioid crisis lawsuits are pressing a novel plan to shrink or end the litigation: latching on to the bankruptcy of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Teva (NYSE:TEVA), Endo International (NASDAQ:ENDP), Allergan (NYSE:AGN) and Mallinckrodt (NYSE:MNK) are pursuing a global settlement where they'd fund a trust through Purdue's case, in exchange for release from liability - a plan not dissimilar to an approach tried in the Takata airbag litigation.
Walgreens (NASDAQ:WBA) and Rite Aid (NYSE:RAD) have joined CVS (NYSE:CVS) in pulling Zantac off their shelves. The FDA issued an alert about potential low levels of a known human carcinogen in ranitidine medicines like Zantac, made by Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY). There's no recall of the medication, but the three pharmacies are refunding money to purchasers returning it.
A Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) investigation has cleared its CEO Tidjane Thiam in the case of botched surveillance of the bank's ex-head of wealth management. Iqbal Khan abruptly left his position at Credit Suisse in July before joining rival UBS, and private detectives observed him on suspicion that he'd poach employees from his former bank (but found no evidence). The internal probe said Credit Suisse Chief Operating Officer Pierre-Olivier Bouee acted alone in the case, and he has resigned.
What else is happening...
REITs in harm's way from Forever 21 bankruptcy.
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan +0.6%. Hong Kong closed. China closed. India -1.0%. In Europe, at midday, London -0.16%. Paris -0.12%. Frankfurt -0.07%. Futures at 6:20, Dow +0.30%. S&P +0.27%. Nasdaq +0.38%. Crude +1.29% to $54.77. Gold -0.20% to $1,470. Ten-year Treasury Yield +7 bps to 1.743%.
Today's Economic Calendar
4:15 Fed's Evans Speech 8:50 Fed’s Clarida Speech 8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales 9:15 Fed's Bullard Speech 9:30 Fed’s Bowman Speech 9:45 PMI Manufacturing Index 10:00 ISM Manufacturing Index 10:00 Construction Spending
Regards,
Roger “Raj” Searing rajsearing@gmail.com
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