The US oil phenomenon that could help spark the 'tale of two markets'

Get ready for a 'tale of two markets,' says oil expect Tom Kloza    5:57 PM ET Thu, 19 Oct 2017 | 01:31 The United States has started doing something unprecedented when it comes to oil, and the impact is expected to grow into next year. Tom Kloza of the Oil Price Information Service is alluding to the U.S. ramping up exports. It follows the 40-year ban that was lifted two years ago. "The highlight you need to watch for the next few months is going to be more record breaking exports of crude oil. Our view is that it's going to soften the price for Brent," the firm's global head of energy analysis said recently on CNBC's "Futures Now." According to Kloza, it's possible the U.S. will export 15 million

Here's How Money Managers Plan to Battle 401(k) Cuts in Trump's Tax Plan

Big money managers, already on guard to protect one of their richest sources of assets, are on alert as more details emerge on how prized 401(k) contributions could fall victim to President Donald Trump’s tax overhaul plan. The New York Times reported Friday that the administration may seek to limit pretax contributions to 401(k) plans to as little as $2,400 annually, down from the current maximum of $18,000 for most workers and $24,000 for those 50 years or older. The measure, rumored for months as a way to help offset the individual and corporate tax cuts that the Trump administration hopes to enact by year end, would essentially pull future tax revenues forward by requiring Americans to pay taxes on retirement savings now instead of when they tap their nest eggs.

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  Gov. Scott Walker praises the GOP tax reform plan

  FOX News Videos
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  McConnell Says Hasn't Given Up on Tax Plan Being Revenue Neutral

  Bloomberg

The new titans of Wall Street have their eyes on your savings (BX)

Private equity firms are killing it. Money typically follows performance, and so investors have been pouring funds into the private equity asset class in recent years. Nowhere is this more clear than at Blackstone, the largest publicly-traded private equity firm, which said Thursday that assets under management had hit a record high of $387 billion.

Billionaire Ken Fisher Reveals the Stocks to Own in This Bull Market

Given where we are in the bull market, investors should own certain types of stocks according to billionaire Ken Fisher, founder and executive chairman of Fisher Investments. "When we're in the latter third of a bull market, you want to own big, well-known names and overwhelmingly in tech, healthcare, consumer staples, but not consumer discretionary -- telecom and also financials." For financials, Fisher prefers foreign financials over U.S. financials. "The U.S. banks are impacted by a flattening yield curve to the extent that the Fed raises short-term rates - which doesn't apply to foreign banks," he said. "Foreign banks' loan structure is markedly different than American banks' loan structure."

Warren Buffett's advice for CEOs touches on a key issue plaguing the US economy

Warren Buffett generally likes to take a hands-off approach when it come to investing in companies, but he has some advice for CEOs on how to run a business better. Warren Buffett, generally speaking, likes to take the hands-off approach with companies he and Berkshire Hathaway invest in.

Brazil Sees Oil Exports Soar

Colombia oil reserves at the end of 2016 were 1.66 Gb (down 16.8 percent from 2 Gb in 2015 which followed a drop from 2.31 Gb in 2014). Ecoptrol, which accounts for more than three quarters of Colombia’s crude and natural gas reserves and output, estimated about 45 percent of their decline was due to the “pronounced fall in oil prices”.

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  Oil prices rise on tightening supply, strong demand

  Reuters
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  OPEC Says the Thirst for Oil Will Lead to 100 Million Barrels a Day by 2020

  Motley Fool

Why Retirees Should at Least Consider a Financial Adviser

Even those who think they have their retirement planning in hand can use someone to keep them from making a costly mistake.

Oil Extends Gains as OPEC Says All Options Open on Re-Balancing

Oil extended gains as OPEC and its allies reiterated that all options are open to re-balance the market. OPEC and its partners including Russia achieved a record-high level of compliance to output cuts during September, according to a statement Saturday from the committee responsible for monitoring the agreement. Oil is holding gains near $52 a barrel on speculation the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will decide to extend supply curbs past the end of March when it meets in Vienna on Nov. 30.

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  OPEC Dithering on Output Cuts Could Kill Oil's Rally

  Bloomberg
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  OPEC Says ‘All Options are Open’ With Compliance at Record Level

  Bloomberg

'Nobody really knows' state of play for proposed Aramco I...

Omar Al-Ubaydli, senior scholar, Mercatus Center says Saudi budget plans mean there is a need to raise funds from a stake sale in Aramco, whether via an IPO or private placement.

Tesla Reaches Deal for Shanghai Facility, WSJ Reports

Stocks of auto-parts suppliers jumped in Asian trading after Wall Street Journal reported that Tesla Inc. reached an agreement with Shanghai’s government to build a fully owned manufacturing facility in the city. Ningbo Xusheng Auto Technology Co. led gains among suppliers, surging by the 10 percent daily limit in Shanghai trading Monday. Tianjin Motor Dies Co. rose as much as 7.3 percent in Shenzhen.

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  Tesla Reaches Deal to Build Factory in China

  Fortune
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  Tesla strikes another deal that shows it's about to turn the car insurance world upside down (TSLA)

  Business Insider

Sorry Thomas Edison, It Could Be Lights Out for GE's Consumer Lighting Division

After reporting lower than expected quarterly profits and slashing its earnings outlook for 2017, General Electric's (GE) light bulb might be starting to burn out. After over 100 years of lighting darkened doorsteps, GE's consumer lighting division will likely be among the first of the $20 billion in assets that are sold or spun off as CEO John Flannery works to consolidate the aging company. GE formally put its consumer lighting division up for sale in June.  In a recent earnings call with investors, Flannery said "everything is on the table, and there have been no sacred cows." "Each GE business is being measured against a set of rigorous strategic and financial objectives," Flannery said.

Noble Group to Sell Oil Trading Unit to Vitol

Oct.22 -- Embattled commodity trader Noble Group announced the sale of its U.S. oil-liquids business to Vitol Group, with proceeds to be used to pay down dome of the company's debt. Bloomberg's James Poole reports on "Bloomberg Markets: Asia."

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  Singapore-Listed Noble Group Will Sell Its Oil Trading Business

  Bloomberg
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  Noble sells US oil unit for US$1.42b

  Singapore Business Review

Cisco nears deal to acquire BroadSoft: source

By Liana B. Baker SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Cisco Systems Inc , the world’s largest networking gear manufacturer, is nearing a deal to buy U.S. telecommunications software firm BroadSoft Inc for close to $2 billion, a person familiar with the matter said on Sunday. The deal, which comes after Reuters first reported in August that BroadSoft was exploring a sale, would allow Cisco to further diversify away from its stagnating switches and routers business by giving it a stronger foothold in selling unified communications software to big telecommunications firms. If deal negotiations are completed successfully, Cisco's agreement to buy BroadSoft could be announced as early as Monday, the source said, asking not to be identified because the deal discussions are confidential.

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  Cisco Near Deal for Software Maker BroadSoft

  Bloomberg
• Cisco reportedly close to acquiring Broadsoft

  MarketWatch

How Student Loan Debt Affects Your Mental Health

Feeling stressed about money isn't uncommon, but for many people with student loans, the burden takes a toll physically and psychologically. According to a Student Loan Hero survey of more than 1,000 student loan borrowers, respondents reported experiencing anxiety, insomnia, headaches, social isolation, and more as a result of their student loan debt. Starting your career with tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt can make the goal of financial security seem unattainable.

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  Colleges Try to Help Students Manage Their Finances

  WSJ
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  6 Student Loan Forgiveness Options You May Not Know About

  The Cheat Sheet

Why HR isn’t necessarily your friend if your boss has sexually harassed or bullied you

Experts say that workplace bullying is disturbingly common. A big part of the problem is that there are very few places bullied and harassed employees can turn to for help. Bullying bosses and toxic workplaces have dominated the headlines recently. Along with allegations of sexual assault and harassment perpetrated by movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, members of the entertainment industry have described how his brother Bob Weinstein would bully and verbally abuse staff. In a written statement to The Wall Street Journal, Weinstein said: “At times I have a temper, but I would not describe it as volatile, and I’m definitely not a bully.” The Weinstein company did not immediately return a request for

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  Harvey Weinstein: Some Men Don't Get It When Women Say #MeToo

  Forbes
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  Eric Holder: Harvey Weinstein Revelations Must Prompt Culture Shift On Sexual Harassment

  HuffPost

ADP CEO on proxy battle: 'It's really about growing the top line'

Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman’s proxy fight against the largest payroll processor in the world, Automatic Data Processing (ADP), has challenged the company to answer criticisms about its operational performance and particularly inflated costs. ADP CEO Carlos Rodriguez told Yahoo Finance that the battle has focused a lot of talk on cost cutting when it should be about growing the top line. ADP’s margins stand significantly below its closest peer, Paychex (PAYX), but Rodriguez emphasized it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison.

Merck to Lay Off About 1,800 U.S. Sales Reps in Cost-Cutting Move

Merck & Co. said it is laying off nearly 7% of its U.S. workforce in a reorganization the company says will cut costs and shift focus to products with growth potential.

THE INSURTECH REPORT: How financial technology firms are helping — and disrupting — the nearly $5 trillion insurance industry

The global insurance industry is worth nearly $5 trillion, and insurance companies are at risk of losing a share of this valuable market to new entrants. Some are helping incumbents deliver better end products, while others are directly competing with legacy players.

Amazon, Alphabet, and GDP — What you need to know for the week ahead

The benchmark S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq also joined the blue chip index at fresh records in a week that was heavy on earnings, news on tax reform, and reports about who will be the next leader at the Federal Reserve. Notable earnings due out this week include Hasbro (HAS), General Motors (GM), Lockheed Martin (LMT), Caterpillar (CAT), McDonald’s (MCD), AT&T (T), Chipotle (CMG), AMD (AMD), Visa (V), Coca Cola (KO), Boeing (BA), Comcast (CMCSA), Ford (F), Celgene (CELG), UPS (UPS), Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT), Expedia (EXPE), ExxonMobil (XOM), and Chevron (CVX) among others.

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  Why Microsoft Shares Could Soon Rise Above the Clouds

  The Street
• Catasys Inc. (CATS) Now Covered by Analysts at Telsey Advisory Group

  The Cerbat Gem

Walmart Is Running Itself Like a Startup

Walmart Stores, Inc.'s  ( WMT) stock has gone up nearly 25% this year.  Even with such a grand surge, the 55-year-old retailer, of which grocery is a big factor, appears poised for further growth because it is remaking itself into, for all intents and purposes, a startup.  Between its billion-dollar acquisitions of millennial-oriented brands like Bonobos and the hiring of a bona fide startup veteran to run its e-commerce platform, the supermarket's tech act is working out. Stocks grew from $66 in January to nearly $86.16 as of Wednesday, Oct. 18. That's compared to a 13% growth rate for the S&P 500 and about 34% for Amazon.com, Inc. ( AMZN)  in the same period. But unlike Amazon, Walmart's growth

The last 8 years of labor market improvement have been disturbingly uneven

Abby Joseph Cohen, CFA, is a senior investment strategist at Goldman Sachs. The deep recession triggered by the financial crisis technically ended in the summer of 2009. Despite eight years of economic growth, the labor market improvements have been disturbingly uneven.