What’s going on in the world…
Market opens in the green, trying to reclaim some of yesterday’s losses. About half was carved back at the open. Europe is leading the way, after a couple of ugly sessions, led by Italy and Spain. Remember the PIIGS (Portugal Italy Ireland Greece and Spain) from 2011? They never really left. They certainly never resolved their debt issues. The Euro currency and European Union are being tested yet again. Brexit has yet to be finalized which still presents great complexity to the global economy. Crude prices are also getting a lift in early trading. Interest rates are ticking higher too, though the 10-Year Treasury yield stays below 2.9%. Salesforce is giving a lift to the S&P and NAS after another solid Qtr. Tech stocks have had a remarkable 2-year run. There has been some sense of stalling of late, but CRM is igniting a bit of a rally this morning. The DOW is still down on the year. The Volcker Rule is being chipped away. Most banks don’t like it. In a you can’t make this stuff up event, the White House seems to be reversing course yet again on trade by placing a 25% tariff on Chinese goods. Financials got hit hard yesterday, on the falling rates, but also due to some comments from management about its commission business. It’s shrinking. But who doesn’t already know that? Fee-based, incentive aligned models are the way to go. That’s how we’ve done it from day 1 and the industry is catching up.
Have a great morning,
Mike Frazier
