Baltic Dry Index. 913
+24 Brent
Crude 71.82
Never ending Brexit
now October 31, maybe.
Day 151 of the
never-ending USA v China trade talks. Everyone’s “optimistic.”
USA v EU trade war 15
days away? No one optimistic.
Let me get this straight, “you’re only
talking to me because the rent’s not paid? Is that all I am to you? A tenant?”
Today, Asia pauses, China
slows again, the Fed gets a complication, Trump’s trade war against China
stumbles on. Europe up next possibly as early as May 15. Europe prepares by taking tomorrow off. British
voters prepare to eradicate May’s Conservatives on Thursday, that’s if any
voters bother to show up at all.
In an unwise lame
excuse move all too likely to backfire, Boeing’s CEO blames the pilots.
Below, slow markets
in a slow week.
“We knew we wouldn’t be able to pay next month’s rent, so we
decided to not pay this month’s rent either.”
Asian markets mixed as U.S.-China trade talks resume
By Marketwatch
and Associated
Press Published: Apr 30, 2019 12:00 a.m. ET
Asian markets were mixed in early trading Tuesday, as a
fresh round of U.S.-China trade talks were set to kick off in Beijing.Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who will lead the U.S. delegation along with Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, said Monday that negotiators should know this week or next whether a final trade deal will be made — or not. “We hope within the next two rounds of (talks) in China and in D.C. to be at the point where we can either recommend to the president we have a deal or make a recommendation we don’t,” Mnuchin told Fox Business Network. “There is a strong desire for both sides to see if we can wrap this up or move on.”
----“Softer than expected, manufacturing PMI out of China sets the region up for decline,” said Jingyi Pan of IG in a report.
That suggests some of March’s improvement was due to the rebound from
the Lunar New Year holiday, when factories close for up to two weeks, said
William Adams of PNC Financial Services Group. But he noted it was the
second-strongest reading since October.
More
China April factory growth unexpectedly slows as economy struggles for traction
April 30, 2019 /
2:52 AM
BEIJING (Reuters)
- Factory activity in China expanded for a second straight month in April but
at a much slower pace than expected, an official survey showed on Tuesday,
suggesting the economy is still struggling for traction despite a flurry of
support measures.
The unexpected loss of momentum at the start of the second quarter
followed upbeat data in March which had raised hopes among global investors
that the world’s second-largest economy was getting back on firmer footing.
A private business survey on Tuesday also pointed to a loss of momentum,
confounding expectations for a pick-up, with factories starting to shed jobs
again after adding staff in March for the first time in years.
The weak manufacturing readings, along with softer construction growth,
could stoke debate over how much more stimulus China needs to generate a
sustainable recovery, without risking a rapid jump in debt.
The official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for manufacturing fell to
50.1 in April from March’s reading of 50.5, which was the first expansion in
four months, data from the statistics bureau showed.
It hovered just above the neutral 50-point mark which separates
expansion from contraction on a monthly basis.
Analysts surveyed by Reuters had forecast the PMI to match March’s 50.5.
“For now, the official PMIs suggest that Q2 got off to a weaker start
and reinforce our view that there are still some downside risks to near-term
activity,” Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist at Capital Economics,
said in a research note.
More
Warning Signs Are Flashing in China's Stock Market After Surge
Bloomberg News
Updated on 30 April 2019, 03:26 BST
·
March consumer spending climbed at highest rate since 2010
April 29, 2019 /
1:02 PM
April 29 (UPI) -- U.S. consumer spending rose about 1 percent in March, the Bureau of
Economic Analysis said Monday, a possible indication the post-recession rebound
continues.The Commerce Department said in its monthly report personal income increased $11.4 billion, or 0.1 percent, while disposable personal income rose by $600 million. Personal consumption expenditures increased $123.5 billion and were widespread across the economy, officials said. Spending in the automotive sector was the leading contributor.
The report is the latest sign the U.S. economy remains strong in its 11th year of recovery since the 2008 recession. The job market has added 180,000 workers per month, on average, so far this year and wages increased 0.4 percent for the month after a slightly weaker rise in February.
Unemployment claims have decreased to record lows.
Inflation has remained below the Federal Reserve's Open Markets Committee's target range of 2 percent. The FOMC will meet Tuesday to consider raising interest rates, although it has previously signaled a hike is unlikely.
The increase in March consumer spending, which was the largest monthly boost since 2010, is a possible indicator the U.S. economy will have a strong second quarter after a growth of 3.2 percent in the first quarter.
More
In defence spending
news, Uncle Sam tops the list yet again, while Russia slips out of the top 5.
More grist to the mill of the Democrat Socialists hoping to run against
President Trump in 2020.
U.S. tops world in defense spending; Russia falls out of top 5
April 29, 2019 /
9:13 AM
April 29 (UPI) -- The United States spent more than any other country on defense in
2018, but Russia fell out of the top five for the first time in nearly 15 years,
a report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said Monday.The report detailed regional and selected national military expenditure data for 2018 and trends over the past 10 years. The SIPRI database outlines military spending by countries from 1949 to 2018.
According to the report, the United States spent $649 billion on defense
for 2018, far and away more than any other country, followed by China with $250
billion and Saudi Arabia with $67.6 billion. India spent $66 billion and France
nearly $64 billion. Russia was sixth, with $61.4 billion.
"Starting in 2016, Russia's military budget has trended
downwards," the report said. "However, due to a one-off government
debt repayment of almost $11.8 billion to Russian arms producers in 2016,
spending rose 7.2 percent. Without this payment, Russia military spending would
have fallen by 11 percent."
The report noted Russia spending is still 27 percent higher than it was in 2009. Russia had been in the top five since 2006.
U.S. spending increased by 4.6 percent and continues to spend more on defense than the next eight countries combined, the study said.
Concern over Russia's military, though, continues to drive spending in Europe. Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Latvia and Lithuania all showed an increase in military spending.
More
Finally, in other
news, a desperate Boeing fights back by smearing the dead 737 Max pilots. I
doubt that this will cut any ice with the American tort bar or the victims
families.
“I’m getting really
tired of paying this rent every month!” “I’ll pay you when I can.”
Boeing CEO: Pilots didn't 'completely' follow procedures in 737 Max crashes
April 29, 2019 /
5:26 PM
April 29 (UPI) -- Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said Monday that pilots did not
"completely" follow the company's procedures in two crashes involving
its 737 Max airliner.Speaking to media after a shareholder meeting in Chicago, Muilenburg said Boeing was unable to find any "technical slip or gap" in its anti-stall software -- known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System -- that was linked to both crashes.
"When we design these systems, understand that these airplanes are flown in the hands of pilots," he said.
Muilenburg also reiterated the company's stance that it "owns" the responsibility to update the software, but doesn't entirely "own" the Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air crashes that collectively resulted in 346 deaths.
Reports detailing the events of both crashes mentioned that inaccurate sensor readings related to MCAS occurred prior to the crashes. Muilenburg said these issues were "one link in a longer chain of events," but didn't indicate a design flaw.
"There are multiple contributing factors. There are factors that we can control in the design and in this case that common link related to the MCAS system and its activation," Muilenburg said. "We're going to break that link and this will prevent accidents like this from happening again."
Muilenburg also disputed reports that pilots had not been properly made aware of MCAS, saying it is "not a separate system" but rather something that is included in training a pilot to fly the plane.
---- American Airlines pilot and union spokesman Capt. Jason Goldberg told NPR pilots do train to overcome pitch adjustment system issues, but MCAS malfunctions create other problems.
"You would have the stick shaker, which [activates] a rather
violent aggressive shaking of the control column," Goldberg said.
"You would have the appearance of unreliable airspeed. You would have a
number of warnings that don't immediately or intuitively give the impression of
a pitch trim problem."
More
Boeing didn’t tell Southwest that 737 Max safety feature had been turned off
By Andy
Pasztor Published: Apr 28, 2019 7:13
p.m. ET
Biggest buyer of 737 Max unaware of change until after Indonesia crash
Plane maker Boeing Co. didn’t tell Southwest Airlines Co. when the carrier began flying 737 Max jets in 2017 that a standard safety feature, found on earlier models and designed to warn pilots about malfunctioning sensors, had been deactivated.Federal Aviation Administration safety inspectors and supervisors responsible for monitoring Southwest LUV, -0.69% , the largest Max customer, were also unaware of the change, according to government and industry officials.
Boeing BA, -0.33% had turned off the alerts which, in previous versions of the 737, informed pilots if a sensor known as an “angle-of-attack vane” was transmitting errant data about the pitch of a plane’s nose. In the Max, which featured a new automated stall-prevention system called MCAS, Boeing made those alerts optional; they would be operative only if carriers bought additional safety features.
Southwest’s cockpit crews and management didn’t know about the change for more than a year after the planes went into service. They and most other airlines operating the Max globally learned about it only after the fatal Lion Air crash last year led to scrutiny of the plane’s revised design. The FAA office’s lack of knowledge about Boeing’s move hasn’t been previously reported. “Southwest’s own manuals were wrong” about the status of the alerts, said Southwest pilots union president, Jon Weaks. Since Boeing hadn’t communicated the modification to the carrier, the manuals still reflected incorrect information.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
Look, I
know I owe you money, but don’t worry, it won’t be long before I pay you. The cheque’s
in the mail.
Crooks and Scoundrels Corner
The bent, the seriously bent, and the totally doubled
over.
With little surprise Virgin
Australia delays accepting their 737 Max’s. Someone didn’t get CEO Muilenburg’s latest excuse.
Virgin Australia delays Boeing 737 MAX order
Date created :
Virgin Australia said on Tuesday it had delayed delivery of its order of
48 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft over safety concerns, following two deadly crashes.
The 737 MAX has been grounded worldwide since mid-March following the
crash of an Ethiopian Airlines flight and an earlier Lion Air crash in
Indonesia, which killed a total of 346 passengers and crew.
Virgin Australia said in a statement that it was deferring delivery of
its first batch of planes from November 2019 to July 2021.
"Safety is always the number one priority for Virgin Australia. As
we have previously stated, we will not introduce any new aircraft to the fleet
unless we are completely satisfied with its safety," Virgin Chief
Executive Paul Scurrah said.
"We are confident in Boeing's commitment to returning the 737 MAX
to service safely and as a long-term partner of Boeing, we will be working with
them through this process."
Virgin also said it was shifting some of its orders of 737 MAX 8s to Max
10s while keeping the total at 48 planes.
The Virgin announcement comes as Boeing executives faced several
shareholder challenges Monday at its annual general meeting, with the crisis
raising questions about whether the aerospace giant put profits ahead of safety
to market a new narrow-body plane.
The US firm has said both crashes involved erroneous information
generated by the anti-stall system.
But it has defended the design of the MAX saying multiple factors can
contribute to catastrophic accidents.
Boeing expects the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct a test
flight of a software fix for the anti-stall system soon.
Technology Update.
With events happening
fast in the development of solar power and graphene, I’ve added this section.
Updates as they get reported. Is converting sunlight to usable cheap AC or DC
energy mankind’s future from the 21st century onwards?
Shell to replace gas with solar for Oman port
April 29, 2019
Global energy company Shell has partnered with
major port in Oman to set up several solar power projects to replace gas power
for local businesses.SOHAR deep-sea port and free-zone has signed a 600-hectare lease agreement with Shell Development Oman (SDO) for land to set up industrial and commercial solar panels. The port is managed in a joint-venture between the Port of Rotterdam and the Sultanate of Oman.
An initial 25MW project will directly supply Al Tamman Indsil Ferrochrome LLC. The region is a major exporter of Chromite ore.
Mark Geilenkirchen, CEO of SOHAR Port and Freezone said: “Sustainability is one of our key values in driving development at SOHAR and this partnership with Shell will create solar-powered solutions that are the first-of-its-kind in the country. This also marks an incredible milestone and the first step in our proactive long-term programme, that we have already begun implementing, to transform our 4,500-hectare development into a ‘green Freezone’. We hope that the changes we are implementing today will encourage current clients and future investors to adopt cleaner technologies and sustainable practices tomorrow.”
Chris Breeze, Shell Oman country chairman, added: “These solar PV projects will free up natural gas resources for better economic use, support the green agenda of the Sohar freezone and enable further economic development in Sohar, by unlocking large-scale solar opportunities.” Recent Shell activity has included the acquisition of German energy storage firm sonnen, the re-branding of its UK consumer-facing renewables-only energy supplier First Utility to Shell Energy.
Are you interested in the transition to solar energy in the Middle East? You'll love this story on the world's largest solar park.
https://www.smart-energy.com/renewable-energy/shell-to-replace-gas-with-solar-for-oman-port/
The monthly Coppock Indicators finished March
DJIA: 25,929 +54 Down. NASDAQ: 7,729 +94 Down.
SP500: 2,834
+53 Down.
Normally this
would suggest more correction still to come, but with President Trump wanting
to be judged by the performance of the stock market and the Fed’s Plunge
Protection Team now officially part of President Trump’s re-election team,
probably the safest action here is fully paid up synthetic double options on
most of the major indexes.
