STOCKS GO NOWHERE, GOLD RALLIES: Here’s What You Need To Know

MYLES UDLAND

 NOV. 15, 2014

REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

Gold ended the week with a big day.

Stocks went nowhere to close the week while the price of gold rallied in a quiet Friday for the markets. For the week, each of the equity markets finished with modest gains, lead by the Nasdaq’s 1% advance.

First, the scoreboard:

• Dow: 17,622.1, -31, (-0.2%)
• S&P 500: 2,039, -0.4, (-0.02%)
• Nasdaq: 4,685.5, +5.4, (+0.1%)

And now, the top stories on Friday:

1. In what was otherwise a quiet week for economic data, we got two pieces of positive economic news regarding the health of the US consumer. Retail sales in October rose 0.3% from the prior month, beating expectations for a 0.2% increase, as sales at gasoline stations fell 1.5% against the prior month amid a major bear market for oil. The University of Michigan’s preliminary consumer confidence reading for November came in at 89.4, its highest reading since July 2007. 

2. Following the retail sales report, Ian Shepherdson at Pantheon Macro said that while sales beat expectations in October, any real boost to consumer spending from the declining price of gas will likely not show up until the November report, though that impact should be larger. Paul Dales at Capital Economics, said the consumer confidence reading indicates there’s a good chance “retailers’ holiday wishes will be granted.”

3. Oil prices keep falling, and Business Insider’s Tomas Hirst has the big outline of the three main reasons being cited for the drop in the commodity: slowing growth in Europe and Asia, more supply drive by the US shale boom, and increased global production. And the International Energy Agency said in a recent report, “a return to previous price highs may not be a close prospect, as it is increasingly clear that we have begun a new chapter in the history of the oil markets.”

4. Virgin America made its debut on the Nasdaq on Friday, and shares of the airline owned by Richard Branson rose more than 30% in their debut, giving the company a valuation of about $1.25 billion. The offering was priced at $23, and shares closed Friday’s session at $x.

5. Despite the lack of action in the equity markets, the “flight to safety” trade — which also saw bonds gain — had a little bit momentum on Friday, lead by the price of gold spiking more than 2% to around $1,190, the highest price for the precious metal since it breached $1,200 back at the end of October.  

6. Hertz shares fell more than 5% on Friday after the company disclosed that its net income will be reduced by $87 million over its fiscal years 2011, 2012, and 2013 after it restates its financial results following an internal review. The company said the biggest errors identified in its probe related to depreciation for some assets and accounts in Brazil, among other items. 

7. It was a quiet week in the markets, but don’t let that lull you to sleep. In a midday email, the NYSE’s Rich Barry said that markets are in “quiet consolidation mode,” but this is okay! “As we noted yesterday, the major indices are technically overbought,” Barry wrote. “This means the recent action we’ve witnessed since the October 15th six-month low has represented nothing less than a buying stampede into stocks. History tells us that ‘overbought’ scenarios are usually corrected either by an abrupt pullback in prices or by a period of boring, sideways consolidation. Today, we are seeing the latter, but our feeling is that next week we might be confronted with the former. Either way, it is okay.”

STOCKS GO NOWHERE, TWITTER SURGES: Here’s What You Need To Know

MYLES UDLAND

NOV. 13, 2014

Kimberly White/Getty Images

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo.

Stocks on Wall Street went nowhere on Wednesday, with the Dow and S&P 500 falling slightly and the Nasdaq gaining 0.3%. Shares of social media company Twitter were big winners on Wednesday, gaining more than 7% as the company held an analyst day for the investment community. 

First, the scoreboard:

• Dow: 17,611, -3.1, (-0.02%)
• S&P 500: 2,038, -1.2, (-0.06%)
• Nasdaq: 4,674.7, +14, (+0.3%)

And now, the top stories on Wednesday:

1. The economic calendar is light this week, but on Wednesday we got the latest report on wholesale inventories, which rose 0.3% month-on-month in September which was better than consensus expectations for a 0.2% rise. In a note to clients following this report, Jesse Hurwitz at Barclays said that the changes, which include slight downward revision to August’s data, “suggest a slightly stronger profile than previously estimated,” though Hurwitz and Barclays kept their third quarter GDP tracking estimate at 3%. 

2. The big stock mover on Wednesday was Twitter, which rose more than 7%, its best day since the summer, as the social media company held its first analyst day and made some bullish predictions about its future. Business Insider’s Jay Yarow has the full report on comments made by Twitter CEO Dick Costolo regarding some of the company’s future plans, but the big news out of its analyst day was this chart from Twitter CFO Anthony Noto. The chart shows Twitter’s revenue growing to $14 billion in ten years, and while Noto said this is not a forecast, Jay noted that this is an unusual, and risky, chart and puts a big target on Twitter’s back. 

3. Goldman Sachs announced its new partners on Wednesday, and Business Insider Julia La Roche has the full list of the firm’s 78 new partners. This brings the list of partners at Goldman to 467, or 1.6% of the firm’s full-time staff. 

4. A big loser on Wednesday were shares of SeaWorld, which fell more than 9% after the theme park operator again reported a decline in attendance. The drop in SeaWorld shares of Wednesday follows a more than 30% drop in the stock price seen back in August, as the company still struggles with the fallout from CNN’s documentary “Blackfish.” 

5. This morning, Macy’s cut its earnings and sales outlook for the year, while also reporting a disappointing 1.3% decline in revenue during the third quarter. “We knew we were up against very strong third-quarter sales growth for our company last year, and thus we had anticipated that our year-over-year comparison would be lower,” Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren said. “Even so, sales did not live up to our expectations in the quarter.”

6. Wednesday marked four weeks since the stock market bottomed on October 15, and in an email on Wednesday morning, Jonathan Krinsky at MKM Partners highlighted some impressive facts about the recent stock snapback. Overall, the S&P 500 fell about 9% peak-to-trough through late summer to the October bottom, but rose 12% after bottoming out in just 19 trading days. In the fall of 2012, stocks fell by a similar amount, but didn’t rise 12% from the bottom for 49 days. And as of Tuesday, the S&P 500 had been trading above its five-day moving average for 18 straight days, one of the longest streaks since 1996, which indicates strong short-term momentum in the stock market. 

STOCKS GO NOWHERE, OIL PLUNGES: Here’s What You Need To Know

Myles Udland

 Nov. 4, 2014

REUTERS/Amit Dave

We got a mixed read on the US manufacturing sector on Monday.

Stocks finished Monday little changed, with the S&P 500 hitting a new all-time intraday high before losing ground late in the day to close.
Crude oil was the big loser on Monday, with prices settling below $79 for the first time since the summer of 2012.
First, the scoreboard:

• Dow: 17,365, -25, (-0.15%)
• S&P 500: 2,018, -0.4, (-0.02%)
• Nasdaq: 4,639, +8, (+0.2%)

And now, the top stories on Monday:

1. Oil crashed. Again. Crude oil prices, which have been near $80 a barrel for the last few weeks or so took another leg lower late in the day on Monday, quickly dropping more than $2 to settle below $79 for the first time since June 2012. The drop in oil came late in the day, but about an hour after reports that Saudi Arabia cut its official price for deliveries. Crude oil, which is down more than 20% this year and is in a bear market, could also have an impact in the bond market. Business Insider’s Sam Ro noted that currently, about 15% of the high-yield, or “junk,” bond market is made up by energy companies. 

2. The pace of auto sales in October rose from the prior month. According to data from Wards Auto, the pace of auto sales climbed to 16.35 million in October, while AutoData statistics said sales came in at a pace of 16.5 million. September’s auto sales came in at an annualized pace of 16.34 million. In a note to clients Jesse Hurwitz of Barclays wrote that October sales were little changed from September, and while they came in “broadly in line” with expectations, sales were below the second quarter average of 16.8 million.

3. In the US, we also got three pieces of economic data. Manufacturing data from Markit Economics showed that manufacturing activity slowed to its slowest past since July, with Markit’s PMI reading coming in at 55.9 against expectations for a reading of 56.2. Meanwhile, the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing PMI came in at 59.0, better than the 56.1 that was expected by economists. 

4. Also on the economic data front, construction spending in September fell for a second straight month, dropping 0.4% to an annual rate of $950.9 billion. The report also showed that investment in both public and private projects declined in September. 

5. According to Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s latest Sell Side Indicator survey, Wall Street equity strategists are so bearish on stocks, it might be time to buy. In a note to clients Monday morning, Savita Subramanian and the equity strategy team at BAML wrote that that “we remain encouraged by Wall Street’s ongoing lack of optimism and the fact that strategists are still recommending that investors significantly underweight equities.” When the Sell Indicator has been this low or lower, BAML said, total stock returns have been positive over the next year 96% of the time. 

6. Bill Gross released his latest investment outlook, which talked about the need for not just central banking stimulus, but real fiscal stimulus from the government.

STOCKS GO NOWHERE: Here’s What You Need To Know

MYLES UDLAND

 OCT. 28, 2014

REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino

Brazil’s President and Workers’ Party (PT) presidential candidate Dilma Rousseff celebrates during a news conference after disclosure of the election results, in Brasilia Oct. 26, 2014

Stocks went nowhere to start the week after news out of the European banking on Sunday wasn’t much of a surprise while crude oil prices fell hard early in the session but recovered about $1 of their losses during the day.

First, the scoreboard:

• Dow: 16,825.2, +19.8, (+0.1%)
• S&P 500: 1,962.5, -2, (-0.1%)
• Nasdaq: 4,488, +4.1, (+0.1%)

And now, the top stories on Monday:

1. On Sunday, Brazilian President Dilma Rouseff was reelected, and the market did not take kindly to the news. Stocks on Brazil’s Ibovespa exchange fell 2.5% on Monday, though the ‘EWZ’ ETF that trades in New York and tracks Brazilian stocks lost about 5% following the news. Rouseff’s challenger, Aecio Neves, was considered the more business-friendly candidate. Among the notable losers following Rouseff’s election were shares of Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petrobras, which saw shares trading in New York fall more than 13% on Monday. 

2. Crude oil prices fell again on Monday, falling below $80 a barrel early on Monday for the first time since June 2012. Throughout the day on Monday, crude recovered most of its losses, but the early morning drop in crude followed a research report out of Goldman Sachs over the weekend that saw the firm take its price target for oil down to $70 a barrel by the second quarter of next year. 

3. On Monday, markets were still digesting the results of the European Central Bank’s stress tests, which saw 25 of 130 banks fail the test, with banks from Italy having heavy representation among the banks that could need a capital injection under the ECB’s adverse scenario. Among the questions still lingering for investors is why the ECB elected not to include deflation as scenario under an “adverse” scenario. 

4. In the US, we got some economic data from Markit Economics, which released its October flash PMI reading for the services sector,which came in at 57.3, a six-month low. Any reading above 50 for this report signals expansion. In a release, Markit said, “Service providers attributed higher levels of business activity to supportive domestic economic conditions and an associated upturn in incoming new work. However, in line with the trend for output levels, the rate of new business growth eased to a three-month low in October and was softer than the post-crisis high recorded in June.”

5. Pending home sales rose just 0.3% in September, up from a 1% decline in August, but a bit lighter than the 1% rise that was expected by economists. “Housing supply for existing homes was up in September 6% from a year ago, which is preventing prices from rising at the accelerated clip seen earlier this year,” said the National Association of Realtors’ Lawrence Yun. “Additionally, the current spectacularly low mortgage rates should help more buyers reach the market.”

6. In Europe, German business confidence fell to its lowest point since August 2012, with the October survey showing confidence falling to 103.2 this month, down from 104.7 in September and missing expectations for a 104.3 reading. Following the report, Claus Vistesen at Pantheon Macro said, “The headline German business confidence index continues to point to subdued growth ahead for the industrial sector in the euro area’s largest economy, with the decline in both the headline and expectations reinforcing the downtrend that began in April.”

7. GoPro shares were among the big losers on Monday, with the wearable camera company seeing its stock decline more than 9% on Monday, a move that follows a 9% decline on Friday. GoPro is set to release third quarter earnings after the market close on Thursday.

STOCKS GO NOWHERE: Here’s What You Need To Know

MYLES UDLAND

 OCT. 17, 2014

REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo

Stocks went nowhere on Thursday despite opening lower again as markets in Europe were notably weak again ahead of the US open. Bond yields in Germany continued to power lower while yields in Greece rose the most in two years. US stocks finished the day little changed, though each of the averages were down more than 1% at their lows. The small-cap Russell 2000, for the fourth straight day, outperformed the major stock indexes and gained 1.4% on Thursday.

First, the scoreboard:

• Dow: 16,118.9, -23, (-0.1%)
• S&P 500: 1,864.2, +1.8, (0.1%)
• Nasdaq: 4,220.9, +5.6, (+0.1%)

And now, the top stories on Thursday:

1. On Thursday, St. Louis Federal Reserve president James Bullard moved markets after saying the FOMC should consider pausing the taper of its QE program; the Fed is currently on track to finish this program later this month. Speaking in an interview on Bloomberg TV, Bullard said that in the face of  declining inflation expectations, this is something that the Fed should at least think about, and these comments sent stocks rallying off their lowest levels and jump-started the averages to begin meaningfully shaving their losses.

2. On Thursday, analysts at Credit Suisse noted that following recent market developments, including worries over global growth and declining inflation expectations, the market has pushed back its expectations for the Fed’s first rate hike to the fourth quarter of 2015, the latest these expectations have been since May 2013.

3. The weekly report on initial jobless claims came in far better than expectations, as claims fell to 264,000 from 287,000 a week ago, the lowest level since April 15, 2000. Following the report, Ian Shepherdson at Pantheon Macroeconomics said, “In one word: Spectacular… Whether claims can be sustained at such a low level — an all-time low, as a share of employment — is debatable…but this is a clear signal of real strength in the labor market.”

4. Industrial production data from the Federal Reserve showed that production rose 1% month-over-month in September, better than the 0.4% expected by economists. This also showed an increase of 3.2% on an annualized basis for the third quarter. “This was a very encouraging report, and the strong performance in the manufacturing sector will go some way in allaying fears about weakening momentum in this sector,” TD Securities’ Millan Mulraine said following the report. 

5. The National Association of Homebuilders’ Market Index unexpectedly fell to 54 in October from 59 in September. Expectations were for the reading to be unchanged at 59. Following the report, David Crowe, NAHB chief economist, said, “After the HMI posted a nine-year high in September, it’s not surprising to see the number drop in October. However, historically low mortgage interest rates, steady job gains, and significant pent up demand all point to continued growth of the housing market.”

6. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s latest manufacturing report came in better than expected, showing a reading of 20.7 against expectations for a decline to 19.8 from last month’s 22.5.

7. Netflix shares got smoked on Thursday, falling about 19% after the streaming internet video company last night reported third quarter subscriber growth that missed expectations and gave a fourth quarter earnings outlook that disappointed. Following the report, Morgan Stanley analyst Benjamin Swinburne wrote in a note to clients that, “We are disappointed Netflix fell short of its 3Q guidance in both the US and internationally. However, stepping back from the miss, we see points of light particularly in the context of shares trading [at around $330.]” The steep drop in Netflix shares may have cost Carl Icahn up to $200 million.

8. Goldman Sachs was the latest of the big US banks to report earnings, reporting earnings per share of $4.57 against expectations for earnings of $3.21. “The combination of improving economic conditions in the US and a strong global franchise continued to drive client activity across our diverse set of businesses,” CEO Lloyd Blankfein said. In the third quarter, investment banking revenue at the firm rose 26%. 

9. Warren Buffett has begun reducing his stake in Tesco, the UK retail chain that has seen ten senior executives either been asked to leave the firm or resign since the company acknowledged it overstated profits by $316 million. Buffett has trimmed his stake to less than 3% of the company, down from a stake of almost 4% at the beginning of the month.

STOCKS GO NOWHERE: Here’s What You Need To Know

MYLES UDLAND

OCT. 3, 2014

REUTERS/Mike Stone

Students disembark from a school bus outside The Ivy Apartments, where a man diagnosed with the Ebola virus was staying in Dallas, Texas October 1, 2014.

Stocks went nowhere on Thursday after dropping in morning trade European stocks fell sharply following the latest monetary policy announcement from the ECB. In morning trade, each of the major US averages was down more than 1%, but a rally through the afternoon sent the markets into the close little changed.

First, the scoreboard:

• Dow: 16,816.2, +11.5, +0.1%
• S&P 500: 1,948.17, +2, +0.1%
• Nasdaq: 4,434.9, 12.8, +0.3%

And now, the top stories on Thursday:

1. The biggest story on Thursday was Europe. The ECB announced its latest monetary policy decision, keeping interest rates unchanged, but the real action came during ECB president Mario Draghi’s press conference. Draghi didn’t give the amount of detail regarding the ECB’s asset-backed security purchase program that the market was expecting. Draghi didn’t give any detail as to the size of the potential asset purchases from the ECB, and European stocks paid the price, especially Italy, which saw shares fall more than 3.5% on Thursday. 

2. The weekly report on initial jobless claims showed that claims fell last week to 287,000, better than the 297,000 that was expected by economists. Following the report, TD Securities’ Gennadiy Goldberg said, “The ongoing decline in weekly jobless claims continues to suggest that labor market slack is on the decline, with the layoff side of the labor equation remaining on a path of gradual improvement as claims hover around cycle lows.”

3. Warren Buffett appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Thursday morning and announced a big move into the auto dealership space, announcing the acquisition of the Van Tuyl Group. Van Tuyl is the fifth-largest auto dealer operator in the US and has annual sales of about $9 billion. Buffett said this company would be in the Fortune 500 on its own, bringing the total number of would-be Fortune 500 companies under the Berkshire umbrella to 9.5. Buffett also talked about the Burger King deal, for which he is providing $3 billion in financing, and which he says is not being done for tax reasons. 

4. GoPro shares fell more than 6% after the company’s founder, Nick and Jill Woodman, announced that they would gift 5.8 million of their personal shares of the company to a charitable foundation. The move wasn’t met kindly by investors as the Woodman’s were forced to break the 180-day lock-up expiration that typically prevents company insiders from selling shares following an IPO. CNBC reported on Thursday afternoon, however, that the founders have no plans to sell shares and were moving the stock now simply for tax reasons. 

5. Stocks in Argentina got crushed on Thursday, falling more than 8% after news that the country’s central bank head Juan Carlos Fabrega resigned from his post. Thursday’s loss in the Merval index followed a sharp drop on Wednesday, bringing the index’s five-day losses to more than 13%. 

6. Starboard Value, the hedge fund that issued a long presentation about Olive Garden a few weeks back, offered to buy the remaining shares of RealD it does not already own for $12.00. RealD makes 3D glasses and the technology that enables movie theaters to show movies in 3D. 

7. On Thursday, a report from Bloomberg got comment from several of the 23 people who signed a letter to the Federal Reserve urging the central bank to stop quantitative easing programs, and all of the people reached by Bloomberg declined to concede that their call for massive inflation and dollar debasement has turned out to be wrong. 

8. Friday is Jobs Day in America, and expectations are for the latest report from the BLS to show that nonfarm payrolls grew by 215,000 in September. 

STOCKS GO NOWHERE AND GLOBAL YIELDS TUMBLE: Here’s What You Need To Know

SAM RO

 MARKETS  

AUG. 28, 2014

REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Zhang Guanhui, impersonating Michael Jackson, dances in front of his house located in a village for migrant workers during an interview with Reuters in Beijing.

Stocks didn’t do much, but they remain near all-time highs. The bond markets, however, made some notable moves.

First, the scoreboard:

• Dow: 17,114.3, +7.6, (+0.0%)
• S&P 500: 1,998.9, -1.1, (-0.0%)
• Nasdaq: 4,566.4, -4.2, (-0.0%)

And now, the top stories on Monday:

1. Today was one of those not-so-exciting days. There wasn’t much volatility, and there were no major economic reports released to move markets in a major way.

2. Interest rates around the world continued to make their way lower. According to Bloomberg, the yield on the German 10-year bond fell to a record low of 0.909%. Spain’s 10-year yield fell to 2.083%.  “Rates on similar-maturity Austrian, Belgian, Dutch, Finnish, Irish and Italian debt also fell to all-time lows,” reported Bloomberg’s David Goodman and Lukanyo Mnyanda.

3. Earlier Wednesday, we learned that Germany’s Gfk consumer confidence index fell to 8.6 from 8.9 a month ago, and France’s INSEE business confidence index fell to 91 from 93. Both were worse than economists’ already pessimistic expectations. All of this follows a series of disappointing economic reports from the region, which have economists and bond traders increasingly convinced that the European Central Bank will make moves to ease monetary policy further.

4. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond fell to as low as 3.11%, the lowest level since May 2013.

Latest
U.S. stocks ended little moved on Wednesday as Wall Street caught its breath, with the S&P 500 closing at a record just above 2,000 for a second consecutive session.

"We had a big move yesterday; these big, round numbers have a psychological impact on investors, who are taking a pause as opposed to going significantly one way or the other," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott.

"We're flirting with the milestone 2,000 on the S&P 500, and there is a lack of any catalyst to jar prices above that level," Luschini added.

Symbol	Name	Price		Change	%Change
DJIA	Dow Jones Industrial Average	17122.01		15.31	0.09%
S&P 500	S&P 500 Index	2000.12		0.10	0%
NASDAQ	Nasdaq Composite Index	4569.62		-1.02	-0.02%

After a session of fluctuating between modest gains and declines, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 15.31 points, or less than 0.1 percent, at 17,122.01.

Finishing at a record just above the 2,000 milestone for a second day, the S&P 500 added a fraction to 2,000.12, with utilities the best performing of its 10 major sectors.

Getty Images

A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York.

On Tuesday, stocks gained, lifting the Dow to an all-time high and the S&P 500 to its first finish above 2,000, after better-than-expected reports -- including a jump in orders for durable goods -- cast favorable light on the U.S. economy.

STOCKS GO NOWHERE: Here’s What You Need To Know

MYLES UDLANDAUG. 7

REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Stocks went nowhere amid a light economic calendar and in the wake of more than $100 billion of proposed mergers were pulled last night. 

First, the scoreboard:

• Dow: 16,447.90 +18.4, (+0.1%)
• S&P 500: 1,920.10, -0.2, (-0.02%)
• Nasdaq: 4,356.91, +4.1, (0.1%)

And now, the top stories on Wednesday:

1. The U.S. trade deficit narrowed to $41.5 billion in June from a revised $44.7 billion May. Following this report, a number of Wall Street firms raised their outlooks for the second estimate of second quarter GDP. Wells Fargo raised their outlook to 4.25% from 4%, Barclays raised its outlook to 4.3% from 4%. Capital Economics also raised their outlook, to 4.2% from 4%, writing that, “Overall, we expect the trade deficit to widen modestly over the second half of this year. Exports should continue to grow, but the evident strength in domestic demand suggests that the gain in imports will be even more rapid. Nevertheless, any increase in the deficit should be relatively modest, particularly if the U.S. continues to reduce its reliance on imported oil as domestic production increases.”

2. The biggest stock story of the day was 21st Century Fox withdrawing its offer for Time Warner, and Sprint no longer looking to buy T-Mobile. Fox pulled its previously announced $85 per share offer for Time Warner, saying that Time Warner management, “refused to engage with us to explore an offer which was highly compelling. Additionally, the reaction in our share price since our proposal was made undervalues our stock and makes the transaction unattractive to Fox shareholders.” Following the announcement, Fox shares gained 3% and Time Warner shares fell more than 12%. Sprint shares fell nearly 19%, as the company also replaced its CEO, Dan Hesse, while T-Mobile shares lost 8% after the news.

3. Walgreen announced it would acquire the remaining stake in European pharmacy chain Alliance Boots it didn’t already own for about $5.3 billion. The company also said it wouldn’t move its tax base from Illinois, spurning the recently popular plan by companies to execute a so-called “tax inversion” in which they adopt the tax base of an acquired foreign company. Walgreen’s announcement comes just a day after the Obama administration signaled it was reviewing options in attempts to prevent tax inversions, which  have been on the rise this year. Following the news, shares of Walgreen were down more than 14%. 

4. Bank of America received approval from the Federal Reserve for its 2014 capital plan, and as a result announced it would raise its dividend 400% to $0.05 per share from $0.01 per share. Bank of America shares gained more than 1% following the news. 

5. Jeff Gundlach of DoubleLine Capital was profiled in The Financial Times, and said he sees the Federal Reserve resurrecting its quantitative easing program in 2020. Gundlach told the FT’s Stephen Foley that 2020 is an “interesting timeframe” for the bond market, telling Foley that, “It seems like one of the consequences of this zero interest rate policy is you’ve pushed out the problem of refinancing, of rolling over, but you’ve really compounded the magnitude of it and it seems to be focused around the 2020s.”

6. Reports from Interfax said Russian president Vladimir Putin has banned food imports, as well as some farm produce and raw materials, from countries that have issued sanctions against Russia.