Trump considers tariffs on wide range of Chinese imports: report

The Trump administration is considering a broad range of import tariffs on Chinese goods, according to a Bloomberg report citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter. Under the most severe scenario being considered, the U.S. government would levy tariffs on items that range from shoes and clothing to consumer electronics, the report said. The administration is also weighing clamping down on Chinese investments in the U.S. as it aims to respond to claims that Beijing is engaging in intellectual-property theft, according to the report. Concerns about a possible global trade war have been intensifying due to President Donald Trump’s plan to introduce tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and due to the resignation of Gary Cohn, who had been a pro-trade White House adviser. U.S. stock futures were trading sharply lower early Wednesday.

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From:: Stock Market News

Pressure remains on U.S. stock futures after Gary Cohn’s resignation

U.S. stock futures were under pressure early Wednesday, in a move triggered hours earlier after the resignation of Gary Cohn, the White House National Economic Council director. Dow futures’s: ymh8] fell 400 points late Tuesday as that news reached traders. Those futures were down 377 points, or 1.5%, to 24,475 on Wednesday, with S&P 500 futures dropping 34.90 points, or 1.3%, to 2,688.75. Nasdaq-100 futures tumbled 85 points, or 1.2%, to 6,822.25. Other perceived riskier assets, such as oil, came under pressure as well. April crude futures dropped 55 cents, or 0.9%, to $62.05 a barrel. Cohn’s resignation comes days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, a move which the economic advisor had opposed. “With Cohn’s steadying influence no longer steering economic policy in the Trump administration, in addition to Trump’s recommitment to his nationalist trade agenda, market participants are growing increasingly nervous of where the Trump administration is going,” said Jasper Lawler, head of research at London Capital Group, in a note to clients. The ICE Dollar Index fell 0.1% to 89.482. Asian markets were also lower across the board on Wednesday.

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From:: Stock Market News

Dow futures down about 300 points on news of Cohn’s resignation from Trump’s White House

U.S. stocks look poised to tumble in coming trade following news late Tuesday that National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn is resigning from President Donald Trump’s administration in the coming weeks. Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executive, was seen as a level head within the administration and one of the chief architects of Wall Street-friendly corporate tax cuts rolled out late last year. Speculation about Cohn’s plans to exit the White House in August similarly roiled markets. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down about 300 points, or 1.2%, at 24,542 late Tuesday, while those for the S&P 500 were down 1% at 2,698. Cohn’s sudden departure comes amid turmoil in the White House over Trump’s plan to implement tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, which Cohn has opposed, arguing that it could undercut the Trump’s economic achievements, according to reports. The loss of Cohn may be viewed by viewed by Wall Street as a headwind to the president’s pro-business agenda and underlines ongoing turmoil in the White House, highlighted by a parade of departing officials.

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From:: Stock Market News

Justice Department sues California over ‘sanctuary’ laws: report

The Justice Department is suing the state of California over its “sanctuary” laws, according to a New York Times report Tuesday night. The federal government filed suit late Tuesday against California, Gov. Jerry Brown and state Attorney General Xavier Becrerra over three recent laws that the Justice Department claims are unconstitutional and make it impossible for federal immigration officials to do their jobs, the Times reported. The suit claims that California is violating the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, which generally states then when federal and state laws conflict, federal law wins. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is expected to formally announce the suit during a speech Wednesday in the state’s capitol, Sacramento. Last year, California passed laws restricting when local law enforcement officers could cooperate with immigration officials. California has been one of the most outspoken opponents of Trump administration policies, including the crackdown and deportation of undocumented immigrants.

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From:: Stock Market News

Top adviser to United Arab Emirates cooperating with Mueller investigation: report

An top adviser to the United Arab Emirates with ties to the Trump administration is cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, the New York Times reported Tuesday, and has already testified before a grand jury. The Times said Mueller’s probe into Russian election meddling may also delve into whether money from the UAE was illegally funneled to the Trump campaign. The adviser, George Nader, reportedly attended a meeting in January 2017 in the Seychelles between a Russian investor with ties to Vladimir Putin and Erik Prince, the founder of the former private security firm Blackwater and at the time an informal Trump adviser. Nader represented the UAE’s crown prince at the meeting, which U.S. intelligence agencies at the time found suspicious. It is illegal for foreign entities to donate to U.S. political campaigns, and also illegal for Americans to knowingly accept such funds.

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From:: Stock Market News

Porn star sues Trump, claiming nondisclosure deal invalid because Trump didn’t sign: report

Stephanie Clifford, the adult film star also known as Stormy Daniels, is suing President Donald Trump, claiming that her nondisclosure agreement is invalid because Trump did not sign it, NBC News reported late Tuesday. The suit alleges that while she and Trump lawyer Michael Cohen signed the document in which she agreed not to disclose her intimate relationship with Trump, spaces where Trump was supposed to sign were left blank, making the agreement void, NBC News said. Clifford alleges Cohen has pressured her not to speak about the alleged affair as recently as last week. In January, the Wall Street Journal reported Cohen used a shell company to pay Clifford $130,000 for her silence regarding an alleged 2006 sexual encounter with Trump. Clifford reportedly received the money two weeks before the 2016 presidential election. On Monday, the Journal reported that Cohen has complained that Trump had not reimbursed him for the payment.

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From:: Stock Market News

Stifel analyst downgrades Netflix, citing lofty valuation

Stifel analyst Scott Devitt has downgraded Netflix Inc. stock to a hold from a buy rating due to the current valuation of the stock, according to a research note late Tuesday. “We are attracted to Netflix’s business and competitive position but believe share price may have sprinted ahead of fundamentals in the short-term,” Devitt wrote. The note says that Netflix stock has reached the analyst’s new $325 price target and that shares are up nearly 70% year-to-date compared with the S&P 500 index , which has gained 2%. This follows a 55% gain in 2017, the analyst wrote. Netflix stock is down 2.5% after hours amid broad market uncertainty following the late Tuesday resignation of Gary Cohn, the head of President Donald Trump’s National Economic Council.

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From:: Stock Market News

Dow futures fall about 400 points on news of Cohn’s resignation from Trump’s White House

U.S. stocks look poised to tumble in coming trade following news late Tuesday that National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn is resigning from President Donald Trump’s administration in the coming weeks. Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executive, was seen as a level head within the administration and one of the chief architects of Wall Street-friendly corporate tax cuts rolled out late last year. Speculation about Cohn’s plans to exit the White House in August similarly roiled markets. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down about 381 points, or 1.5%, at 24,464 late Tuesday, while those for the S&P 500 were down 1.3% at 2,688. Cohn’s sudden departure comes amid turmoil in the White House over Trump’s plan to implement tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, which Cohn has opposed, arguing that it could undercut the Trump’s economic achievements, according to reports. The loss of Cohn may be viewed by viewed by Wall Street as a headwind to the president’s pro-business agenda and underlines ongoing turmoil in the White House, highlighted by a parade of departing officials.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

Dow futures fall 340 points on news of Cohn’s resignation from Trump’s White House

U.S. stocks look poised to tumble in coming trade following news late Tuesday that National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn is resigning from President Donald Trump’s administration in the coming weeks. Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executive, was seen as a level head within the administration and one of the chief architects of Wall Street-friendly corporate tax cuts rolled out late last year. Speculation about Cohn’s plans to exit the White House in August similarly roiled markets. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down about 340 points,r or 1.3%, at 24,521 late Tuesday, while those for the S&P 500 were down 1.1% at 2,694. Cohn’s sudden departure comes amid turmoil in the White House over Trump’s plan to implement tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, which Cohn has opposed, arguing that it could undercut the Trump’s economic achievements, according to reports. The loss of Cohn may be viewed by viewed by Wall Street as a headwind to the president’s pro-business agenda and underlines ongoing turmoil in the White House, highlighted by a parade of departing officials.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

RBS Reaches Another RMBS Settlement

A unit of the Royal Bank of Scotland has agreed to settle allegations that it misrepresented the quality of residential mortgage-backed securities to investors prior to the financial crisis.

RBS Financial Products Inc. allegedly sold the securities in 2006 and 2007 even though due diligence vendors warned it that many of the loans did not meet its own guidelines.

In addition, a number of the securitized mortgages had loan-to-value ratios in excess of 100 percent, while many of the loans had no due diligence performed on them.


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From:: Financing