YOU GET $13 Million ...and YOU get $13 Million...and YOU get $13 Million .. Oprah Winfrey took a detour on her way back from the Opening of Tyler Perry's new Film Production compound to give some money to Morehouse College. Oprah came to be honored for the Scholarship she funded at the school, 30 Years ago. She said, "I can't believe it was 30 years ago I gave $12 million to endow that scholarship. Let's make it $25. Im donating another $13 million" . So, My "headline" is a little misleading. YOU aren't getting $13 million. YOU are getting NOTHING and LIKE IT!!! ...unless you're the students that win the Oprah Scholarship...
There is Hong Kong/China news in the SPORTS section.. So, we'll jump straight to the SWAMP.
It is ON in the SWAMP!!! The White House sent a letter to Nancy Pelosi that they will in NO WAY cooperate with the "Unconstitutional Impeachment Inquiry". They object because it "Violates the Separation of Powers and Denies Due Process and is therefore, Unconstitutional". ..Think this is just another "Spin Move" by The Donald? Think Again. The "scuttlebutt" is that the reason the Inspector General and Attorney General did not "take up the case" of the "Whistleblower" is because the man works on the campaign of one of the 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidates. If that is true, the partisan hit job unravels. The lawyers for the "whistleblower" and Rep. Adam Schiff-for-brains are doing everything they can to keep the identity of the whistleblower out of the public domain. Here is the thing, in America, the "Accused" has a right to cross-examine witnesses and question the accuser. If Pelosi calls a vote to open an official impeachment inquiry and the President's lawyers get to question the "WhistleBlower" then obviously, their name is public. If they are working with a Democratic Candidate, that is REALLY BAD .. .. another wrinkle in the story?? There are documents just released showing that the Ukrainian President and Attorney General had re-opened the "Biden Case" weeks before the infamous, "Perfect Phone Call" where the President is accused of demanding the investigation in exchange for money (aka, a Quid Pro Quo).. Now, in a REAL NEWS world.. if this is all true.. the Media would be ashamed.. and apologize to America .. but.. NAAHHHHH .. they'll just say, "Well ... what about his TAXES?!?!?!? " ... and...
The UN General Secretary is saying the UN is broke. He says unless members kick in some funds, the UN will run out of money by Thanksgiving. Ummm.. SO? .. Other than a bunch of annoying "Diplomats" losing their free parking stickers in NYC, what happens if the UN shuts down for a while? They vote on all kinds of stuff and then no one follows the resolutions. .. So, Dude.... Have a bake sale .. or a car wash .. I don't think the US should bail them out again..
Technology has brought us many great things... but most of you have not heard about the rebirth of an "old-school" game. Russian Roulette. Yup. The "old crowd pleaser" is making a comeback with the kids... using TASERS!!! ... The new Taser has a barrel that spins and ONE of the fake chambers has a charge in it.. The kids stand in a circle with one arm holding the kid next to them up..and the other hand holding a TASER to the neck of the other guy next to them. One, Two, Three - TASE!!!!! ... all I can say is that its a good thing TASERs aren't easy to get. Otherwise, there would be dozens of Fraternity boys in the emergency room every Saturday!!!
SPORTS: NO SOUP FOR YOU!!! China is flexing their muscles in front of the NBA. After the GM of the Rockets tweeted support for Hong Kong protesters (then took it down) Chinese officials were furious and the NBA is scrambling. China has now banned NBA games from TV in their country. NBA commissioner, Adam Silver, says while "the players and employees of NBA teams do not speak for the NBA, they have the freedom to express themselves." Yup..That works in AMERICA, Adam. The damage is NOT fixable. You watch, the MILLIONS the Houston Rockets make in China just went, "POOF". The "Yao Ming-Houston Rockets" lovey dovey China gig is kaput.. The "NEW TEAM" when China allows NBA games back on TV is gonna be the Brooklyn Nets. They are owned by a guy from Taiwan. Joe Tsai, the Co-founder of Alibaba. You heard it here FIRST (well, second if you read the same article I did... ).. .. in addition to the NBA, China came down hard on ESports gamer Chung Ng Wai. Wai was at the Grandmasters Tournament and screamed, "Liberate Hong Kong, NOW" after an interview. China has ordered his prize money be withheld, he was booted from the tournament. Blizzard Gaming banned Chung Ng Wai for a year and is facing backlash from Gamers. Blizzard is a US Company but is minority owned by Tencent, a Chinese. Cultures are indeed CLASHING... and...
MLB: The RAYS actually scored on Justin Verlander !!! (Don't feel bad for him.. Justin went home and scored with Kate Upton). Verlander said it "was not the short rest, it was a slider that wasn't working" that did him in. Rays win 4-1 and tie the series 2-2 with Houston. ... and.. Let's hear if for the Philadelphia Flyer Management. They have installed a "Rage Room" for those crazy fans to take out their anger. They can put on protective gear and smash things with hammers and throw stuff at walls. What a GENIUS idea .. For those that don't know, Philadelphia fans are NOT your normal group. They booed and threw batteries at Santa Claus... Flyers play the NJ Devils tonight.. Let's see how this goes ...
CELEBRIDIOTS: If I leave here tomorrrroooowww.. would you still remember meeee???... RIP to Larry Junstrom, 70. Larry was the Bass Guitarist in Lynyrd Skynyrd and then .38 Special. .. We'll Remember you, Larry ... and.. a Big Shout Out to Ellen DeGeneres. Social Media tried to shame the crap out of her after she was seen on TV watching the Cowboys game with Former President George W. Bush. She immediately addressed the "Fallout" on her show saying, "Yes, I am friends with the former President. I am friends with A LOT of people that I don't "agree with on everything" with. That's OK. That's the way things are supposed to be. When I end my shows saying, "Be Kind to each other" I don't just mean everyone that agrees with you. I mean EVERYONE" . The audience applauded. Unfortunately, Ellen.. IMMEDIATELY after your show your network, (and almost ALL OTHERS), commenced being mean to people. Not your fault. That's what they do. But, nice try.. and keep Trying.. I do.. (by the way.. she then threw in.. "Oh, and ...Mr Bush?? You owe me $6 for the Nachos!) HAHAHAHA.... and.... I NO LONGER SUPPORT THE BRASS AT THE MIAMI PD !!! .. They suspended officer William Beeker for SERVING HIS COMMUNITY!!! and That is just NOT RIGHT !!!.. Officer Beeker appears in a few Instagram videos where he "Fake Arrests" a few women. The reports say it was a "sexually inappropriate video" because the girls were dressed in Lingerie. Really?? MOST of the girls on the beach across the street were wearing LESS CLOTHES!!! HERE What is WRONG in America that a cop cannot assist three women who are just trying to make a living??!!??? The horror. THE HORROR!!!
From Seekingalpha.com
U.S. stock index futures rise as investors weigh the latest developments in the U.S.-China trade and foreign policy disputes. Reuters reports that China is planning visa restrictions for U.S. nationals with ties to anti-China groups. The Nasdaq is up 0.9%, the S&P gains 0.8% and the Dow increases 0.7%. The 10-year Treasury ticks up, pushing yield up 1 basis point to 1.54%. Crude oil slips 0.5% to $52.87 per barrel. Gold rises 0.3% to $1,508.40 per ounce. Asian stocks dropped the most in a week as the U.S.-China dispute over trade and foreign policy continues to escalate. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.6%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed down 0.8% and Japan's Nikkei 300 Index sank 0.3%. In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 Index rises 0.2%, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index gains 0.4%, and Germany's DAX advances 1.1%. On tap today, Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to deliver opening remarks at an event in Kansas City.
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces a rebellion in his cabinet, as a group of ministers are poised to quit amid concerns that he’s leading the country towards a no-deal Brexit, The Times reports, citing an unnamed cabinet member. Among those on a “resignation watchlist” are British Minister for Northern Ireland Julian Smith, Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan, Justice Secretary Robert Buckland, Attorney General Geoffrey Cox, and Health Minister Matt Hancock. Go deeper: Track the movement of THE BRITISH POUND VIA THE INVESCO CURRENCYSHARES BRITISH POUND STERLING TRUST ETF.
The Saudi Arabian Oil Co. - Aramco (ARMCO) - will reportedly put out its IPO prospectus by month's end, seemingly putting a massive offering back on track for this year. The company delayed an IPO from last year, and attacks on oil facilities looked to postpone it once again. But Aramco has since said output has stabilized, and the prospectus is expected to be followed by November book-building and a go or no-go decision shortly after that, on a listing that could value it from $1.5T-$2T.
A Philadelphia jury ruled that Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) must pay $8B in punitive damages to a man who previously won $680,000 over his claims that the company failed to warn that men using its Risperdal anti-psychotic drug could grow breasts. The verdict is the first case in which a Pennsylvania jury was able to consider awarding punitive damages in one of thousands of Risperdal cases pending in the state. If the track record for similarly large punitive damage awards holds up, the award is likely to be reduced on grounds that it violates due process.
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is re-evaluating its role as co-sponsor of the planned IPO of China's Megvii Technology, an AI facial recognition specialist, after Megvii was added to the U.S. human rights blacklist. The United States put eight companies on the list, implicating them in repression of Muslim Uighur minorities in western China. Megvii was scheduled to debut in Q4 and raise $1B in the offering.
Struggling The We Company (WE) will shed a third of its employees in the technology division, according to a report in The Information. Some 500 of about 1,500 engineers, product managers and data scientists will be let go, with 350 cuts coming from the main corporate division while others would exit as the company cuts loose recent acquisitions like Teem and SpaceIQ, according to the report.
Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) will hire 2,000 employees for cloud computing, an effort to catch up a bit to rivals making inroads including Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). Enterprise firms like Oracle and IBM (NYSE:IBM) have fallen behind more nimble competitors, but Oracle argues there's a lot of business to hunt for, saying only 20% of enterprise computing is currently in the cloud. The company will hire up and shift internal jobs toward the technology.
U.S. Steel (NYSE:X) CFO Kevin Bradley plans to resign as of Nov. 4 to be replaced by Christine Breves, as the steelmaker implements an enhanced operating model and organizational structure to accelerate its strategic transformation. The initiatives are intended to cut costs and more closely align its corporate structure with previously announced investments in advanced manufacturing. Breves joined U.S. Steel in 2013 after 14 years at Alcoa (NYSE:AA). Go deeper: Compare U.S. Steel’s key stats with those of its peers.
What else is happening...
Lions Gate (LGF.A, LGF.B) weigh Starz sale, spinoff.
Goldman (GS) sets up emergency trading floor in a WeWork (WE) space.
General Motors (NYSE:GM) suffers 165K vehicles in lost production.
Libra’s (NASDAQ:FB) head of product exits.
PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) expects $177M loss on strategic investments.
Tuesday's Key Earnings
Levi Strauss (NYSE:LEVI) reports Q3 earnings beat.
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan -0.61%. Hong Kong -0.81%. China +0.39%. India +1.66%. In Europe, at midday, London +0.40%. Paris +0.78%. Frankfurt +1.11%. Futures at 6:20, Dow +0.67%. S&P +0.76%. Nasdaq +0.86%. Crude +0.48% to $52.87. Gold +0.30% to $1,508.40. Ten-year Treasury Yield +1.4 bps to 1.553%.
Today's Economic Calendar
7:00 MBA Mortgage Applications 10:00 Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey 10:00 Wholesale Trade 10:30 EIA Petroleum Inventories 11:00 Jerome Powell Speech 11:00 Fed's George Speech 1:00 PM Results of $24B, 10-Year Note Auction 2:00 PM FOMC minutes
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