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Markets Take a Huge Dovish Turn, Just in Time for Powell’s Speech

Markets Take a Huge Dovish Turn, Just in Time for Powell’s Speech

Key employment data is due this morning, but the bigger story may be Jerome Powell in the afternoon. The Federal Reserve chairman is scheduled to deliver a speech at 2 p.m. ET today. The venue is an event called "Fed Listens: Perspectives on Maximum Employment and...

Stocks Down as Range Tightens Before a Huge News Month

Stocks Down as Range Tightens Before a Huge News Month

Stocks fell again last week but remain trapped in a range as investors wait for some huge news events next month. The S&P 500 slid 1 percent between Friday, September 20, and Friday, September 27. Still, the index held some key levels and remained within striking...

Market Gets a Timeline for China Talks, Just in Time for Earnings Season

Market Gets a Timeline for China Talks, Just in Time for Earnings Season

Investors just got a timeline for the most important concern facing the market, President Trump's trade war with China. Last night, CNBC reported that Vice Premier Liu He will visit Washington on October 10 and 11. Those are the first specific details the talks since...

Will Jerome Powell Signal an October Cut? All Eyes on the Fed

Will Jerome Powell Signal an October Cut? All Eyes on the Fed

The Federal Reserve's expected to cut interest rates today, but next month's the real question. Will the central bank follow with a second rate cut on October 30? If you asked CME's FedWatch tool in mid-August, odds were at least two-thirds in favor. But they've...

Stocks Fell Again Last Week as Trade War Kept Getting Worse

Stocks Fell Again Last Week as Trade War Kept Getting Worse

Stocks remain under pressure as the trade war against China worsens. The S&P 500 was positive for most of last week, but then came a quick succession of events on Friday morning. First, Beijing imposed tariffs on an additional $75 billion of U.S. products....

Trade War Escalates as China and Trump Exchange Blows

Trade War Escalates as China and Trump Exchange Blows

So much for a quiet Friday in August. The drama started early today when China slapped tariffs on $75 billion of U.S. goods. S&P 500 futures (@ES) fell 25 points. About 2-1/2 hours later President Donald Trump hinted in a tweet that he viewed Chinese leader Xi...

The Yield Curve Inverted, and the Bears Are Going to Work

The Yield Curve Inverted, and the Bears Are Going to Work

The big story today is that weak economic numbers overseas caused the yield curve to invert. That means the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds fell below the two-year rate. Stocks, especially financials, are crashing as a result. The "inverted curve" is a potentially big...

Emerging Market ETF Has Options Traders Feeling Bearish

Emerging Market ETF Has Options Traders Feeling Bearish

Some big options traders seem to think the pain may continue in emerging markets. Two large strategies were detected today in the MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM), which is heavily concentrated in China and East Asia. One will profit from the fund dropping further,...

South American Oil Giant Gets Big Vote of Confidence: Options Recap

South American Oil Giant Gets Big Vote of Confidence: Options Recap

Brazilian markets are running higher, and yesterday an investor placed a big vote of confidence in the nation's most important stock. A large put sale occurred in Petrobras (PBR) minutes after the opening bell. The transaction was unusually bullish, looking for the...