Opening Bell: 10.24.18
Oil falls to $76 as worries mount on demand outlook [Reuters]
In a sign supply is plentiful, industry group the American Petroleum Institute said on Tuesday U.S. crude stocks had risen by 9.9 million barrels - more than forecast. The U.S. government’s supply report is due at 1430 GMT.
Brent crude LCOc1, the global benchmark, was down 37 cents to $76.07 a barrel at 1020 GMT. It fell earlier in the day to $75.11, the lowest since Aug. 24. U.S. crude CLc1 was unchanged at $66.43.
“Rising oil inventories and growing petro-nations’ output calm the supply fears related to the Iran oil embargo,” said Norbert Ruecker, head of macro and commodity research at Swiss bank Julius Baer.
Trump Steps Up Attacks on Fed Chairman Jerome Powell [WSJ]
In an interview Tuesday with The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Trump acknowledged the independence the Fed has long enjoyed in setting economic policy, while also making clear he was intentionally sending a direct message to Mr. Powell that he wanted lower interest rates.
“Every time we do something great, he raises the interest rates,” Mr. Trump said, adding that Mr. Powell “almost looks like he’s happy raising interest rates.” The president declined to elaborate, and a spokeswoman for the Fed declined to comment.
Mr. Trump said it was “too early to say, but maybe” he regrets nominating Mr. Powell.
Slow Drip Stock Sell-off Getting Worse Than Past Flash Crashes [Bloomberg]
Nobody’s saying the market can’t bounce back -- after Tuesday’s midday rebound, many saw signs of the old pattern re-emerging -- but it’s hard to deny the ground has shifted. Gone are days when the Federal Reserve was a reliable backstop for liquidity. Instead, the central bank has raised interest rates eight times and shows little inclination to stop.
Selloffs in 2011, 2014 and 2015 all came with Fed-fomented anxiety, though back then policy makers weren’t doing much, said Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at RW Baird. “In the present example, rates are actually going up. That’s certainly a different environment than what we’ve experienced in the past years.”
Wells Fargo's Mike Mayo says he's 'all in' on US bank stocks, upgrades Morgan Stanley [CNBC]
The long-time analyst known for his tough questioning of executives — and for a time, bearish view of the sector — raised his price target for Morgan Stanley to $60 from $56. Morgan Stanley shares closed Tuesday at $44.52 and were little changed in premarket trading on Wednesday.
Bank stocks have struggled lately even with interest rates rising and the firms reporting strong results. Morgan Stanley's third-quarter earnings topped the Street last week as investment banking revenue climbed.
"Results this year and in 3Q18 reflected better than expected trends in trading, wealth and investment management, and revenues," Mayo wrote.
$30 Billion in Saudi Deals Even as Investors Denounce a ‘Horrendous’ Killing [NYT]
The unannounced appearance of Prince Mohammed, who is suspected of playing a role in the killing of the journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, highlighted the risk facing American businesses that chose to attend an event aimed at bringing together prominent global executives. The crown prince is now scheduled to participate in a panel discussion on Wednesday morning about building the region into a global economic powerhouse.
Many Western executives and government officials have canceled their appearances, including the chief executives of Blackstone Group, JPMorgan Chase, and foreign and finance ministers from the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
AT&T Loses Subscribers in Sign It’s Not Keeping Up With Verizon [Bloomberg]
The stock dipped as much as 3.4 percent in early trading after the earnings shortfall. Profit amounted to 90 cents a share, excluding some items. Analysts had projected 94 cents.
AT&T, which is coming off five straight quarters of customer gains, was hit hard by dwindling tablet subscriptions. The devices have become less popular, and many consumers don’t see a need to keep paying monthly connection fees for them. With the rise of online video services like Netflix and Amazon, AT&T also has seen a troubling erosion of its pay-TV customer base.
Lonely office worker buys adorable 'puppy' from breeder only to discover it is a 'RAT' [Mirror]
According to btime, he felt something was wrong as the pooch was "behaving weird" and "didn't run like a dog".
Perplexed by the four-legged creature, he took to social media to seek advice.
He shared pictures of his new "dog" on Weibo in the hope that someone may be able to tell him what it was.
Small, with large ears and short legs, the animal was very identified as a bamboo rat, a rodent commonly found in Southern China, Burma and Vietnam.