Russia’s Dirty Oil Crisis Is Worse Than Almost Anyone Predicted

After any normal voyage the tanker would quickly deliver its 700,000 barrels of Russian crude into a refinery for processing into gasoline, diesel and other petroleum products. Back in April, unusually high levels of the chemicals known as organic chlorides were discovered in Russian crude flowing through the giant Druzhba pipeline, built in the 1960s to carry crude from the U.S.S.R. to allied countries in Eastern Europe. The chlorides can severely damage oil refineries and on April 24 Russia's state pipeline operator, Transneft PJSC, halted shipments.

• Exclusive: Russia to pump dirty oil back from Belarus - sources

  Reuters
• Russia removed two million tonnes of tainted Druzhba oil using rail, sea, storage: sources

  Reuters

Could Ford Buy Tesla? Here's How Likely A "Doomsday" Scenario Is

The auto maker is burning through $1 billion in cash a quarter, the cash from the latest $2.7 billion funding round will be gone within ten months, and demand is falling off. One of the classic business solutions would be an acquisition. Maybe a white knight with the cash and managerial and operational wherewithal to come in, buy the company, fix the broken parts, and let Tesla become what it had the potential to be.

Huawei's 'fake demand' distorted global semiconductor growth

In the months leading up to Washington's decision to ban Huawei from doing business with US suppliers, the Chinese company stockpiled nearly a years worth of components in anticipation of coming headwinds. Now, the global semiconductor sector may have to pay for it. In all, analyst Sebastian Hou says the Chinese company's inventory buildup added 8% to the chip sector's global revenue growth in the 1st quarter, or $35 to $40 billion.

25 Stocks to Avoid After Memorial Day

Below, we take a look at the 25 worst stocks to own the week of Memorial Day. Looking at S&P 500 Index stocks over the past 10 years -- and considering only stocks with at least eight years' worth of returns -- a handful of bank names made the list. STI and FITB have ended the week lower 80% of the time, averaging losses of 2.49% and 2.07%, respectively, per data from Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White.

• 
  Biogen Stock One of the Best to Own Next Week

  Schaeffer's Investment Research
• 
  Finjan Holdings Enters Oversold Territory

  Zacks

Mark Cuban explains how he would fight the trade war differently than Trump

In a new interview, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban sharply criticized the tariffs slapped on Chinese products by President Donald Trump, proposing instead that the U.S. stop allowing Chinese companies to go public or trade on U.S. stock exchanges. I'd shut down all Chinese IPOs—that's the first step,” says Cuban, a billionaire entrepreneur and host of the show “Shark Tank. Given [Trump's] propensity for using Twitter and throwing warning shots, I would throw out there that we might put a halt on the trading of Chinese-listed stocks in the United States.

• 
  Mark Cuban joins Influencers with Andy Serwer

  Yahoo Finance Video
• 
  ‘I love AOC’ but her criticism of capitalism is ‘headline porn,’ says Mark Cuban

  Yahoo Finance

Cramer: 5G rollout has tower stocks in 'raging bull market mode'

"Once you build a tower, you can just add another antenna to it when you pick up a new client, so the margins are terrific," he says.

• 
  Edgewell CEO: Building the next-generation consumer products platform

  CNBC Videos
• 
  Cramer's key to maintaining the perfect portfolio: Stay flexible

  CNBC Videos

Uber's first employee, Ryan Graves, resigns from board

Uber's first employee and one-time chief executive Ryan Graves will step down from the company's board of directors, Uber said on Friday. Graves this week informed the company of his intention to resign from the board, beginning Monday. Graves started at Uber in 2010 as the first employee and held a brief stint as CEO until co-founder Travis Kalanick took over that position.

Why Economist Gary Shilling Says the U.S. Will Win the Trade War

As the top buyer of Chinese-made goods and the biggest economy on earth, the U.S. has the upper hand in the trade conflict, Shilling argues.

Tesla's bad news accelerates as Wall Street loses faith

But around the middle of December, investors started having doubts about the former Wall Street darling's prospects for continued growth, and the stock started a gyrating fall that was among the worst in company history. For the year, the share price is down around 40%, largely on concerns Tesla is running out of buyers for its vehicles, which range in price from a base $35,400 Model 3 to a larger Model X SUV that can run well over $130,000. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas, on a private call with investors this week, raised the possibility that Tesla would have to be restructured due to rising debt and falling sales.

• 
  Tesla's financial outlook under scrutiny on Wall Street

  CNBC Videos
• 
  Tesla finishes wild week in red after some bearish calls from Wall Street

  CNBC Videos

3 Oil Stocks to Drop Now

To keep production high, the Administration is giving the oil companies everything they always wanted. It's possible because oil and gas no longer represent cheap energy. The lifetime cost of solar and wind installations, $63.20 per Megawatt-hour, is now below that of coal, and approaching that of natural gas. The solar power expansion that began early this decade in the Far West, spurred by favorable tax laws, has now spread to the heart of the U.S. oilpatch.

China ramps up war of rhetoric in trade standoff with US

Stepping up Beijing's propaganda offensive in the tariffs standoff with Washington, Chinese state media on Friday accused the U.S. of seeking to "colonize global business" with moves against Huawei and other Chinese technology companies. There was no word from either side on progress toward resuming talks between the world's two largest economies, though President Donald Trump said he expected to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, next month at a G-20 meeting in Japan. Negotiations over how to cut the huge, longstanding U.S. trade deficit with China and resolve complaints over Beijing's methods for acquiring advanced foreign technologies foundered earlier this month after Trump raised tariffs on billions of dollars of imports from China.

• 
  U.S. Beer Industry Blames Trump Tariffs for 40,000 Job Losses

  Bloomberg
• 
  CONSUMER CATCH-UP: Researchers predict how much tariffs will cost American families, and Apple vows to disclose iPhone performance information

  KGO – San Francisco

Cramer's lightning round: This CEO tells a good story, but sell the stock

Jim Cramer fields calls and deliver answers to viewers' stock picks.

• 
  Hardest part of individual investing

  CNBC Videos
• 
  Cramer: The bad trade news is partially baked in, but the sell-off isn't over

  CNBC

Michigan Legislature approves bill to cut high auto premiums

Michigan's Legislature on Friday passed a landmark bill that would cut the country's highest auto insurance premiums by letting drivers forego a one-of-a-kind requirement to buy unlimited medical coverage for crash injuries. The votes followed the announcement of an agreement between Republican legislative leaders and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. She said the legislation would guarantee rate reductions for every motorist and offer choice among personal injury protection, or PIP, levels.

• 
  Bipartisan Deal Aims to Lower Michigan's Highest-in-the-Nation Car Insurance Premiums

  Car and Driver
• The Latest: Michigan Legislature passes auto insurance bill

  Associated Press

This Simple Savings Strategy Could Make You $1,000 Richer – But 69% of Americans Aren't Doing It

You could be earning hundreds of dollars extra each year.

Why Bull Market Could Rise Over 25% In 2019 Despite Trade War

The escalating U.S.-China trade war has raised bearish sentiment, but several respected investment strategists remain bullish, predicting the S&P 500 Index (SPX) will be up by 25% to 30% in 2019. Through the close on May 23, the S&P 500 gained 12.6% year-to-date. Binky Chadha, head of asset allocation and chief equity strategist at Deutche Bank, projects that the S&P 500 will end 2019 at 3,250, up by 29.7% for the year, and the most bullish call among 17 firms surveyed by CNBC.

Life Insurance vs. IRA for Retirement Saving

A 401(k) plan is an obvious place to start squirreling away retirement funds – if your employer matches a portion of your contribution. One is to contribute to an individual retirement account (IRA), which usually offers a little more flexibility. Another possible route is to buy permanent life insurance.

• 
  25% of US adults have no retirement savings

  CNBC
• 
  A Third of Americans Can't Answer This Simple Retirement Question

  Motley Fool

Goldman: Here's what an escalating trade war means for stock prices

There's a binary outcome for the stock market tied to the ongoing trade talks between the U.S. and China, according to Goldman Sachs. Put simply, the implementation of additional tariffs could lead to another stock market pullback, while a trade deal is set to boost stocks. According to Goldman's proprietary Financial Conditions Index (GSI), financial conditions have tightened since the latest escalation of trade talks, which began on May 5, with an ominous tweet from President Trump threatening to raise existing tariffs on Chinese goods to 25% from 10%.

• 
  U.S. Beer Industry Blames Trump Tariffs for 40,000 Job Losses

  Bloomberg
• 
  CONSUMER CATCH-UP: Researchers predict how much tariffs will cost American families, and Apple vows to disclose iPhone performance information

  KGO – San Francisco

House passes bill to help workers with retirement savings

The House overwhelmingly approved a bill Thursday to promote retirement security by making it easier for small businesses and other companies to offer retirement plans. The bipartisan bill, approved 417-3, also makes it easier for workers to transfer retirement plans when they change jobs and allows part-time workers to save for retirement. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, called the bill the most significant retirement legislation in 15 years.

• 
  Young people blame climate change for their small 401(k) balances

  MarketWatch
• 
  Life Insurance vs. IRA for Retirement Saving

  Investopedia

25 Stocks to Buy Before the Long Weekend

The battered chip sector tends to do well after Memorial Day

• 
  Memorial Day weekend travel: Gas prices up, but rental car and hotel costs down

  CBS News Videos
• 
  10th annual 'Race to the Flag' honoring military veterans will be held Memorial Day weekend

  WLS – Chicago

10 Tech Stocks Walloped by the Huawei Ban

U.S. technology companies from chip makers to software providers are seeing their stock impacted by the Huawei ban. Some are being hit despite not being directly involved with Huawei — the move has further ramped up a trade war between China and the U.S. and that brings the threat of boycotts and retaliatory tariffs. Top 7 Service Sector Stocks That Will Pay You to Own Them From Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) to Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), here are 10 tech stocks that are feeling the effects of the U.S. ban on Huawei.

• 
  China accuses U.S. officials of misleading public on trade war

  Reuters
• 
  Trade tensions slam Wall Street as global growth worries mount

  Reuters

The Bursting of the Tesla Stock Bubble

Morgan Stanley threw the biggest blow, declaring that in a worst-case scenario, Tesla's shares could sink to a shocking $10. A Wedbush analyst said the carmaker is facing a “code red situation” and cast doubt on whether Tesla can sell enough of its electric cars to make a profit. Some $23 billion in shareholder value has been wiped out, sinking the company's market cap back below that of General Motors and Ford.

• 
  Wall Street misunderstands Tesla, says analyst whose lowest price target is triple current levels

  CNBC
• 
  Tesla releases DIY guide series for Model 3 maintenance

  Mashable