Millions of Barrels of Iranian Oil Are Piled Up in China's Ports

Two and a half months after the White House banned the purchase of Iran's oil, the nation's crude is continuing to be sent to China where it's being put into what's known as “bonded storage,” say people familiar with operations at several Chinese ports. This oil doesn't cross local customs or show up in the nation's import data and is not necessarily in breach of sanctions. The store of oil has the potential to push down global prices if Chinese refiners decide to draw on it, even as Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies curb production amid slowing growth in major economies.

Nifty, Sensex fall; HDFC Bank plunges as bad loans rise

The broader NSE Nifty was down 0.7% at 11,344.5 as of 0446 GMT, while the benchmark BSE Sensex was 0.76% lower at 38,044.83. HDFC Bank, India's largest lender by market capitalisation, dropped as much as 3.1% to its lowest since May 16 and was among the top drags on the indexes. The lender's quarterly profit rose slightly lower than expected on Saturday, while its asset quality worsened and loan growth eased, in signs that the slowdown in economic growth was hurting some of the biggest companies in the country.

Fed Is Trying to Avoid Being Reactive, Says Conning’s Yeo

Siew Mee Yeo, Asia Pacific chief investment officer at Conning, discusses Fed policy and her outlook for markets. She speaks on “Bloomberg Markets: Asia.

Your portfolio is probably heavy on index funds. Now may be the time to make changes

If you have money in the stock market, you probably own an index fund somewhere, including through target-date retirement funds that own stocks and other assets in mixes that are appropriate for investors of specific ages. Research Affiliates, in its latest report on bubbles, isn't arguing against indexing per se. Nor is it calling for a stock-market crash, though the company's chairman, Rob Arnott, said he views the market as expensive.

Can I take my 401(k) to buy a house?

Example For example, if you leave $10,000 in your IRA or 401(k) instead of using it for your home purchase, that $10,000 could potentially grow to become $54,000 in 25 years with a 7% annualized return. If you leave $20,000 in your 401(k) or IRA, that $20,000 could grow to $108,000 in 25 years, earning the same 7% return. Look to Your IRAs First If you absolutely must take a distribution from one of your accounts, the best move would be to take a distribution from your Roth IRA—if you have one.

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  Are 401(k) Loans Taxed?

  Investopedia
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  Best Ways to Use Your 401(k) Without a Penalty

  Investopedia

Dow Jones Futures: For Stock Market, Amazon, Facebook, ServiceNow, Zscaler, Keep Both Eyes Open

IBD's earnings calendar shows 30 companies with IBD Composite Ratings of at least 95 with earnings on tap, including Amazon stock, Facebook and ServiceNow stock. To paraphrase Nick Fury, if you're going to stay abreast of this stock market rally, you need to keep both eyes open. Dow Jones Futures Today Dow Jones futures were even with fair value.

Morgan Stanley: 3 Surprising Stock Picks Ahead of Earnings

Luckily the firm has released a valuable report setting out its top picks this earnings season. What makes this report so unique is that the firm purposefully highlights stocks with a more bearish outlook from the rest of Wall Street. “For each of these stocks, our analyst has a view that diverges from the Street's, and expects a near-term event to drive the stock as the market's view moves closer to ours,” the firm told investors.

Circuit breakers trip, shares soar as China's Nasdaq-style bourse debuts

Trading hit a fever pitch, with shares rocketing as much as 520%, as China's new Nasdaq-style board for homegrown tech firms debuted on Monday, with valuations exceeding even the expectations of veteran investors braced for a wild ride. All of the first batch of 25 companies - ranging from chip-makers to health care firms - more than doubled their already frothy initial public offering (IPO) prices on the STAR Market, operated by the Shanghai Stock Exchange. "The price gains are crazier than we expected," said Stephen Huang, vice president of Shanghai See Truth Investment Management.

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  China's new Nasdaq-style board for tech shares starts trading with 25 companies listed

  TechCrunch
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  Shares blast off as 'China's Nasdaq' debuts

  AFP

Best Ways to Use Your 401(k) Without a Penalty

The 401(k) is an employer-sponsored retirement plan that millions of American workers depend on to help fund their retirement years. The best way to use your 401(k) is simply to take normal distributions after you reach retirement age. Under the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules, you can withdraw funds from your account without penalty only after you reach age 59½, become permanently disabled, or are otherwise unable to work.

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  Are 401(k) Loans Taxed?

  Investopedia
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  Can I roll my 401(k) and/or IRA funds into a more liquid investment fund without penalty?

  Investopedia

Berkeley Bans Natural Gas

Poor and minority families will pay more for utilities.

This Week: Coca-Cola, AT&T and Starbucks results

Wall Street expects Coca-Cola will report that its earnings stagnated in the second quarter while its revenue grew. Analysts surveyed by FactSet estimate that the Atlanta-based maker of Coke, Sprite, Minute Maid and other beverages made 61 cents per share in the period, the same as a year earlier. Shares in AT&T have been mostly flat since April, when the second-largest wireless carrier after Verizon said it had lost almost 630,000 video customers in the first quarter.

• Coca-Cola Earnings Are Coming. Here’s What to Expect.

  Barrons.com
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  Will Coca-Cola Earnings Stay Flat in the Second Quarter?

  Motley Fool

Fed’s Powell, Williams: Override the Models, Cut Rates and Do it Swiftly

Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) members dominated the news last week along with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Some hinted at what they consider to be the key factors that will influence the Fed policymakers when they meet on July 30 – 31, and even one fueled a dramatic move in the four major asset classes – Treasurys, the dollar, gold and equities. In addition to the Fed speakers, the central bank also released stronger-than-expected reports on New York and Philadelphia Federal Reserve District manufacturing.

Apple Upgraded Ahead of Earnings

This upgrade comes in the face of mixed expectations on earnings and the business outlook; and so now let's take a closer analysis of the tug-of-war between the bears and bulls on AAPL. The Earnings Situation Apple-watchers know what to expect in the two key bottom-line numbers – revenues are expected to come in at $53.4 billion, about the same as last year's Q3, while EPS is projected at $2.10, a 10% drop from a year ago. Apple's Services segment showed 16% growth last quarter, and is expected to show further growth for fiscal Q3.

Should Investors Pick Amazon Into Earnings?

With many analysts saying AMZN has the momentum to continue this upward trajectory, investors are wondering if they should also buy the stock before its July 25 earnings release. Q2 Earnings Guidance In management's Q2 2019 guidance, they are expecting to see revenue within the range of $59.5 billion and $63.5 billion, up 12.5% to 20% year-over-year. According to consensus estimates, EPS should be $5.58, up from $5.07 from the year- ago quarter.

Oil gains as Middle East Gulf tensions flare, Libya field shut

SINGAPORE/TOKYO (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Monday on concerns that Iran's seizure of a British tanker last week may lead to supply disruptions in the Middle East and after Libya reported the shut down of its largest oil field. Brent crude futures climbed 85 cents, or 1.4%, at$63.32 a barrel by 0404 GMT. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 47 cents, or 0.8%, at $56.10 a barrel.

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  Oil gains as Middle East Gulf tensions flare, Libya field shut

  Reuters
• Oil Prices Rise; Middle East Tension, China-U.S. Trade Worries Remain in Focus

  Investing.com