Back to the Futures
After yesterday’s selloff in equities, the S&P 500 (NYSEARCA:SPY) may attempt a bounce here off of down-trendline support at 2711. The last time a down trendline was broken to the upside on the index since volmageddon occurred in early February, the breakthrough was negated 6 days later. Nasdaq futures (NASDAQ:QQQ) are basically flat, as are S&P Futures, with the Dow down 14 points in the premarket. Bulls are pretty spooked from yesterady, as stocks, gold, and bonds all took deep nosedives and interest rates on the 10-year (^TNX) broke through 3.1%.
Crypto Goes Down
Bitcoin is down over 4% this morning along with the rest of the cryptocurrency complex. One of the few digital currencies up today is Zcash, which specializes in double-blinded privacy. See: Winklevoss Bitcoin Exchange Wins NY Approval To Expand, Offer Zcash
Medical Marijuana Next After Federal Sports Betting Ban Scrapped?
Earlier this week the Supreme Court scrapped a 1992 law that banned sports betting everywhere in the country except Nevada. States are now in a position to legalize sports betting if they so choose. Regional casino stocks like MGM (NYSE:MGM), Penn National Gaming (NASDAQ:PENN) and Boyd (NYSE:BYD) all rose on the news. The ruling was given on the basis of the 10th Amendment of the constitution, which reserves rights not explicitly granted to the Federal government, to the States, or to the people. Meaning, the federal government has no power to enforce a federal sports betting ban. This has medical cannabis activists speculating, could this reasoning also be applied to scrap a federal ban on marijuana as a Schedule I drug? There is, after all, nothing in the Constitution expressly giving the federal government the authority to override states on medical marijuana policy. Stocks to watch: (NASDAQ:GWPH), (OTCMKTS:APHQF) (OTCMKTS:KSHB)
Kim Jong Un Does Not Like Lybia References
North Korea abruptly called off talks with South Korea and threw the upcoming June meeting with US President Donald Trump into question, protesting National Security Advisor John Bolton’s use of the term “Lybia-style denuclearization,” which is understandable, considering that Lybia’s denuclearization was quickly followed by a coup and the killing of long-time Lybia leader Muamar Gaddafi. Kim may not like the idea of being lynched, it seems.
Amazon Fumes at Seattle City Council, Ups Ante in Grocery Wars
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is none too happy about the employment tax just passed unanimously by Seattle’s city council in an effort led by socialist city council member Kshama Sawant, whose new book, “Kshama Sawant American Socialist,” which features among other things how evil Amazon is, is now available for preorder on Amazon. The book isn’t ready yet. In any case, the new employment tax will cost companies with $20 million or more in annual revenues $275 dollars per employee, whether full or part time. The affect is expected to be layoffs for part time workers since employing them will no longer be worth the tax, compared to full time workers. Sawant may be planning to support these newly unemployed Seattleans with unemployment benefits funded by the new employment tax, which has been touted as a solution to the Seattle homeless problem caused by, among other things, unemployment. Meanwhile, Amazon has cut prices at Whole Foods for Amazon Prime members. It is unclear whether members of the Seattle city council are Amazon Prime members.
Greek Redux? Reports Indicate Italy Seeks Debt Forgiveness
What’s €2.3 trillion between friends? Not much if you’re an Italian politician looking to cement a deal to form a government without spending even more money on another round of elections. Italian shares are down close to 3% in the premarket as reports indicate that Italy may seek debt forgiveness as a compromise towards forming a government. Italy conducted elections back in March but has since been unable to figure out who will be Prime Minister. Both the 5-Star Movement, who won the most seats, and the Northern League, its most probably coalition partner, want to spend more money, but the Euro authorities in Brussels are not happy about this, given the country’s 132% debt to GDP ratio which isn’t getting any smaller.
