Decision tree – the key thing to assess -RISK- can be determined if you consider the underlying trend and key support and resistance.
Archives of “January 7, 2020” day
rssReports that China will not increase its annual import purchase quotas of farm goods from the US
Reuters report on senior agriculture official Han Jun speaking with Caixin
- China will not increase its annual import quotas for corn, wheat and rice to accommodate stepped-up purchases of farm goods from the United States,
There are no further details, Straits Times with the info
If so then there is no phase one trade deal. Weird report, but here we are ….
If you are trying to escape from Japan this might help – how Carlos Ghosn did it
Ex-Nissan CEO Ghosn escaped inside a road case, a box used for concert equipment such as speakers, controllers, instruments and what have you.
The Wall Street Journal have a piece up on what they say is how Ghosn got out, and why:
- escape involved a 300-mile sprint across Japan on a fast train
- from Tokyo to the Osaka airport
- then inside a large black box, generally used for concert equipment, with breathing holes drilled in the bottom, into a waiting private jet
- flown to Turkey, then Lebanon
- Ghosn … made his own, final decision to go through with the plan … after signs his trial might drag on for years, and amid the court’s refusal for him to have contact with his wife during the holidays
The conviction rate in Japan approaches 99%. LOL.
Besides, if Ghosn’s box was handled by typical roadies he would have suffered enough 😉
China – US trade talks update – phase 1 signing coming on January 15 (maybe)
OK, probably rather than maybe but hey, we’ve been hoodwinked on this trade deal business over and over again.
The latest is (good idea to update this after the long break):
- A Chinese trade delegation is heading to Washington for a January 15 signing
- plan is to sign the first phase of the trade deal with the US
- Vice Premier Liu He will lead the delegation
- Will arrive in Washington on the 13th (thankfully that’s not a Friday, eh?)
So, for the rest of 2020 we can look forward to tension over the next phase (more soybeans?)
US government has denied an entry visa to Iran’s foreign minister Zarif
Zarif was to address the United Nations Security Council but has been denied entry into the United States.
Foreign Policy reports:
- The Iranian government was awaiting word on the visa Monday when a Trump administration official phoned U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres to inform him that the United States would not allow Zarif into the country, according to the Washington-based diplomatic source.
This sort of diplomatic spat is better than a shooting war.
US major indices close at session highs
Major indices all erase early declines
The Dow was down as was just -217 points and is closing up 69 points.
The NASDAQ index is down -77 points and is closing up 51 points
The S&P was down -20 points, and is closing up 11.4 points
It is a big turnaround day for major indices:
More details of the closes are showing:
- S&P index, +11.45 points or 0.35% to 3246.29
- NASDAQ index up 50.695 points or 0.56% to 9071.46
- Dow index 68.67 points or 0.24% to 28703.55
Some winners include:
- Slack, +4.74%
- Netflix, +3.03%
- Alphabet, +2.76%
- Tesla, +1.97%
- Facebook, +1.93%
- Amazon, +1.54%
- GE, +1.42%
- Stryker, +1.32%
- General Mills, +1.23%
- McDonald’s, +1.11%
- General Dynamics, +1.10%
Some losers include:
- Under Armor, -6.41%
- Alcoa, -2.28%
- Lam research, -1.82%
- Micron, -1.80%
- General Motors, -1.27%
- Beyond Meat, -1.13%
- Target, -10.91%
- Nucor, -0.83%
- Starbucks, -0.80%
- Chipotle, -0.77%
CFTC commitments of traders report. GBP longs are the largest long position since May 2018.
Forex futures positioning data for the week ending Tuesday, December 31, 2019
- EUR short 74K vs 72K short last week. Shorts increased by 2K
- GBP long 12K vs 8K short last week. Longs increased by 4K
- JPY short 25K vs 33K short last week. Shorts trimmed by 8k
- CHF short 6K vs 10K short last week. Shorts trimmed by 4K
- AUD short 38k vs 46K short last week. Shorts trimmed by 8K
- NZD short 5K vs 8K short last week. Shorts trimmed by 3K
- CAD long 12k vs 9K long last week. Longs increased by 3K
Highlights:
- The GBP’s longs increased by 4K. Last week, the position swung around from being short to long. The long position is the largest since May 2018.
- EUR shorts remained fairly hefty although little changed from last week. The position is the biggest with the AUD the second-largest speculative position
- The AUD shorts – although the 2nd largest speculative position – was trimmed by 8K
- GBP, CHF, NZD and CAD positions are all within 12K of being square
Some geopolitical comments from China and France are hitting the news wires
Speaking on the Middle East risks
France’s foreign minister is saying:
- if tensions are not diffused today than there is a real risk of war in Middle East
- there is still room for diplomacy on Iran crisis
- Iran must refrain from reacting, start broader talks
- says Soleimani was a key player in destabilizing the region
- latest decision by Iranians enables them to enrich uranium without constraints
- we can question the validity of nuclear deal in long-term
- decision on triggering Iran nuclear deal dispute mechanism process will be made in coming days
meanwhile China is saying:
- US unilateral use of force has violated international law and destabilizes the region
- Urges US not to use a further force in Middle East, calls on all parties to exercise maximum restraint
Finally, the Trump administration has said that they would provide closed-door briefing on Iran to the full US Senate on Wednesday. Secretary of State Pompeo, defense secretary Esper and CIA director Haspel, and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Milley will address the Senate.
I guess the earlier tweet by Pres. Trump will be stepped up with some more formal communication.
The recessions in the US UU. They seem to be less and less common.
Thought For A Day
