There will not be any Weekly Re-Cap for the week of Oct 8 to Oct 12 2018. We are away for some needed R&R.

The staffs at EGS.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com:

“I have learned through the years that after a good run of profits in the markets, it`s very important to take a few days off as a reward. The natural tendency is to keep pushing until the streak ends. But experience has taught me that a rest in the middle of the streak can often extend it.”– Martin Schwartz

1. Sharp Joins the OLED Revolution — Japan’s Sharp (OTCPK:SHCAY) has finally jumped into the organic light-emitting diode market as it looks to catch up to rivals. The long-awaited decision comes as the major iPhone supplier continues its recovery after being bought two years ago by Taiwan’s Foxconn (OTC:FXCOF). Sharp will offer the OLED panels in its new smartphones later this year and plans to sell the screens to other manufacturers.
2. Exxon Eyes Major Investment at Singapore Refinery — Exxon Mobil is considering a multi-billion dollar investment at its Singapore refinery, the company’s largest, as the shipping and oil refining industries scramble to prepare for new marine fuel regulations starting in 2020. New rules from the International Maritime Organization limit sulfur content to 0.5%, from 3.5% currently, to curb pollution produced by the world’s ships. Singapore is also home to Exxon’s (NYSE:XOM) biggest integrated petrochemical complex.
3. Shell Green Lights Canadian LNG Project — Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) is pressing ahead with Canada’s largest-ever infrastructure project, designed to send gas from Canada, where prices are relatively low, to demand centers in Asia. Construction of the 14M tons/year venture – which is expected to generate an internal rate of return of around 13% – will start immediately, with LNG production expected to begin before the mid-2020s. Minority partners include PetroChina (NYSE:PTR), Mitsubishi (OTCPK:MSBHY), Korea Gas and Malaysia’s Petroliam Nasional Bhd.
4. U.S. and Canada Reach Last-Minute Pact to Revise Nafta — the U.S. and Canada struck a deal at the last minute to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement just before a U.S-imposed deadline of October 1. The pact allows Canada to join the accord reached between the U.S. and Mexico in August. The new agreement, to be officially called the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, now includes rules for financial services and digital business that have emerged since Nafta was originally signed in 1994. Canada agreed to curb protection for its dairy industry, while the U.S. dropped demands to get rid of special Nafta courts that allow member states to challenge trade restrictions imposed by others.
5. AAII Weekly Sentiment Survey — According to the weekly sentiment survey from AAII, bullish sentiment surged 9.4 percentage points to 45.66% from last week’s reading of 36.22%.
That move represents the largest one-week increase since early July and the highest weekly reading since mid-February. While we’re not quite at the 50% reading yet, we would note that the last time optimism in this survey neared the 50% level was in late December. That wasn’t the exact top of the market right before the correction, but it was close to it.

bearish sentiment is back down in the mid-20 percent range, which is a level it has seen repeatedly throughout the year.

6. Chinese Spy Chip Report Weighs on Apple Suppliers — shares in Apple’s suppliers saw a broad decline on the back of a bombshell report that alleged Chinese spy chips were discovered in data center equipment used by Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). The tech giants have denied the allegations by Bloomberg Businessweek, which said the hack reached almost 30 U.S. companies and compromised America’s technology supply chain. Companies effected are: AMS,Largan, LG Display, Murata, Wistron, Hon Hai, AAC Tech, Merry, TDK, TSMC .

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com:

“Prices are too high” is far from synonymous with “the next move will be downward.” Things can be overpriced and stay that way for a long time . . . or become far more so.” ― Howard Marks

1. Brent Crude Spikes to Fresh Four-Year High Near $81/bbl — brent crude jumped to its highest in four years overnight after the world’s biggest oil producers, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, decided against further increases in production, despite calls from Pres. Trump for OPEC to lower prices. At its last meeting in Algiers, OPEC said it was satisfied “regarding the current oil market outlook, with an overall healthy balance between supply and demand.” Brent spiked as much as 2.6% higher to $80.94 per barrel to its loftiest levels since 2014, while U.S. WTI climbed 1.8% to $72.06 per barrel, its highest since this June.
2. EU Plans Route To Do Business with Iran Without U.S. Sanctions — the EU will establish a special payment channel allowing companies to legally continue financial transactions with Iran without exposure to U.S. sanctions. The mechanism would facilitate payments related to Iranian oil trade, exports, and imports. The details of the mechanism will come after future meetings with technical experts. The special purpose vehicle was jointly announced by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif.
3. Ontario Expected to Unveil Cannabis Law — expectations on Ontario that a new legalization law will be unveiled on Sept 28 ’18. Ontario is the only province that hasn’t created guidelines for how cannabis will be sold in brick-and-mortar retail shops, despite the province accounting for more than 40% of all cannabis usage in the nation last year. An announcement isn’t anticipated until after the market closes today, which could lead to more speculative trading on Aurora Cannabis (OTCQX:ACBFF), Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC), Cronos Group (NASDAQ:CRON) and Tilray (NASDAQ:TLRY).
4. SEC Sues Elon Musk For Fraud, Seeks Removal from Tesla — the SEC sued Elon Musk for fraud and sought to remove him from Tesla Inc(TSLA). It sued Mr. Musk in Manhattan federal court, alleging he “had not even discussed, much less confirmed, key deal terms, including price, with any potential funding source,” according to the lawsuit. U.S. law forbids public-company executives from making false statements or misleading investors about information that is material to an investment decision.
5. U.S., Japan Agree to Trade Talks; Japan Avoids U.S. Auto Tariffs For Now — President Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Abe have agreed to start trade talks in an arrangement that for now protects Japanese automakers from further tariffs. As part of the agreement, Abe said the U.S. would not impose additional tariffs on the auto sector, while also protecting the politically important farm sector from access that goes beyond the terms in the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement that Trump abandoned last year. U.S. Trade Representative Lighthizer said the talks would occur in two “tranches” with hopes for an “early harvest” from the initial talks on lowering trade barriers.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com:

“Always something new, always something I didn’t expect, and sometimes it isn’t horrible.” – Robert Jordan

1. U.S. LNG Deliveries to Germany by 2022 — U.S. companies expect to begin delivering LNG to Germany in four years at the latest, according to deputy U.S. energy secretary Dan Brouillette, and will challenge Russia which now accounts for 60% of German gas imports. In July, President Trump accused Germany of being a “captive” of Russia due to its energy reliance and urged it to halt work on the $11B, Russian-led Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
2. Aurora Cannabis(OTCQX:ACBFF) on talks with Coca-Cola on CBD drinks — Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) said it was closely watching the fast-growing marijuana drinks market for a possible entry. Molson Coors (NYSE:TAP) has already announced a joint venture with Hydropothecary to develop cannabis drinks, while Diageo (NYSE:DEO) is in talks with at least three Canadian cannabis producers about a possible deal.
3. SEC subpoenas Goldman, Silver Lake in Tesla probe — the tension continues to build at Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) as a DOJ probe runs alongside a wide-ranging SEC investigation. Subpoenas have already been received by Goldman Sachs and Silver Lake, the two firms hired by Tesla to help the company explore Elon Musk’s go-private plan.
4. US/China Tarriff Escalate — President Trump ordered another $200 billion in 10% tariffs on Chinese goods, which could rise to 25% by year end. China retaliated with $60 billion in tariffs at 5% to 10% and Trump threatened $267 billion more.
5. AAII Weekly Investor Sentiment — in the latest survey of individual investor sentiment from AAII, bullish sentiment declined (ever so slightly) for the third straight week, dropping from 32.09% down to 32.04%.

Meanwhile, bearish sentiment came in at the exact same level as bullish sentiment this week, dropping from 32.84% down to 32.04%. The last time both gauges of sentiment were at the exact same level was in June 2016.

6. Dow Theory Generates Buy Signal for the Dow Theorist Followers — this occurs when the Dow Industrials sets a new high following a new high for Dow Transports. This happened over the last two weeks as industrials set their high on September 21 following transports on September 14. This signal did not work in 2008 as Dow Transports was the last average to peak when it topped out in May 2008 while Dow Industrials peaked in October 2007.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com:

“A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful,” Warren Buffett

1. Trump Says Apple Should Shift Production to U.S. to Avoid China Tariffs — President Trump tweeted that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) should make more of its products in the U.S. if it wants to avoid tariffs on Chinese imports. In the filing, Apple said the new proposed tariffs would affect prices for a “wide range” of products, including the Watch, AirPods headphones and Beats headphones. China has warned it will match any U.S. tariffs.
2. Trump Readies New Tariffs on Chinese Imports — the Trump administration reportedly set to announce a new round of tariffs on as much as $200B in Chinese goods, while Beijing considers scrapping upcoming trade talks in response. The duties will be set at 10%, below the 25% level announced in early August, to diminish the impact on U.S. consumers ahead of the holiday shopping season and before midterm elections. Global shares are edging down on the news, while the Shanghai Composite closed at its lowest level since 2014. former finance minister Lou Jiwei told a forum, besides retaliating with tariffs, China could also restrict export of goods, raw materials and components core to U.S. manufacturing supply chains.
3. EPA Set to Ease Rules On Methane Leaks for Oil and Gas Companies — the Environmental Protection Agency will reportedly announce a rollback of Obama-era methane emission rules. The EPA proposal wants to give oil and gas companies more time to assess and safely repair infrastructure that’s often found in remote areas. The changes would give drillers a year to perform leak inspections and 60 days to make repairs, double the current time frames.
4. Apple’s iPhone Launch — AAPL unveiled its biggest and most expensive iPhone at its fall launch event, with most of the buzz swirling around a rumored phablet (iPhone Xs Max?) that’s supposed to boast a 6.5-inch OLED screen. Two other models will likely be called the iPhone Xs (5.8-inch OLED) and Xr (6.1-inch LCD). the iPhone XR starting at $749, iPhone Xs starting at $999 and iPhone Xs Max starting at $1,099. More products anticipated include the Watch Series 4, third-gen iPad Pro, budget MacBook, and updated AirPods with a long-delayed charging mat.
5. More Strikes Entertainment Deals — Twitter has struck a host of new media partnerships, bringing “hundreds of hours” of entertainment to audiences in the Asia Pacific region. The deal includes game highlights from the UEFA Champions League, live-streaming from Formula One and live Red Carpet events. Twitter (TWTR) has seen double-digit audience growth in Asia Pacific and is “projecting by about 2020, we’ll be at about a billion views here in (Asia Pacific) alone.”
6. Gas explosions near Boston — NiSource’s (NYSE:NI) Columbia Gas explosions killed at least one person, injured 12 more and forced thousands to evacuate from three communities north of Boston. Some 70 fires, explosions or investigations of gas odor were reported, according to Massachusetts State Police. NiSource’s (NYSE:NI) Columbia Gas unit had said earlier that it would be upgrading gas lines in neighborhoods across the state.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com:

“The secret to being successful from a trading perspective is to have an indefatigable and an undying and unquenchable thirst for information and knowledge.” — Paul Tudor Jones

1. EU Open to More U.S. Beef Imports — the EU is willing to start talks with Washington on increasing U.S. beef imports, a move aimed at cementing a trade truce agreed upon in July. The bloc already upped its U.S. soybean imports, which rose 283% Y/Y in July, bringing the EU’s total American soybean share to 37%, up from 9% a year ago. Both agricultural products have been hit by retaliatory tariffs from China and Mexico, with U.S. beef producers forced to stockpile meat in cold storage facilities.
2. China Warns of Retaliation Over New U.S. Tariffs — according to the country’s commerce ministry “If the U.S., regardless of opposition, adopts any new tariff measures, China will be forced to roll out necessary retaliatory measures,” . Due to China’s massive trade surplus over the U.S., many expect the nation could further devalue its currency or crack down on U.S. firms inside the country. The Trump administration is reportedly ready to move ahead with a next round of tariffs .
3. Emerging-Market Stocks Hover Near Bear Territory — Emerging markets were teetering on the verge of bear territory last week as a rising dollar and higher U.S. interest rates are siphoning money from the developing world and making their debts more expensive. The gauge of 24 emerging-market countries has now dropped by a fifth since its January high after steep falls in the Turkish and Argentine currencies sparked a wider selloff. The Shanghai Composite Index has fallen 24% from its peak in January, while the yuan is down around 6% since June. The recent bout of selling was partly triggered last month by sharp declines in the Turkish lira, which is down by more than 40% this year, and later the Argentine peso, which has fallen 51%. Elsewhere, the Indian rupee reached its weakest-ever levels this week, and the Indonesian rupiah is trading around two-decade lows.
4. Goldman Sachs Is Said to Cool to Crypto-Trading as Bitcoin Runs Cold — Crypto prices continue to tumble following a Business Insider report that stated Goldman Sachs was dropping plans to open a trading desk for cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is down about 12% over the last 24 hours to a low of $6,279. The alts posted far worse during that time, with the price of Ethereum (ETH-USD) tumbling by 20%, Ripple (XRP-USD) dropping by 14% and Bitcoin Cash (BCH-USD) falling 19%.
5. Ebola Outbreak Spreading in Congo — Congo has confirmed its first Ebola death in the eastern city of Butembo, the first urban outbreak of the virus. The current wave has already killed 89 people and it’s close to becoming the eighth largest Ebola outbreak in history. A vaccination campaign has already been underway for weeks, with experimental treatments from companies like Merck (NYSE:MRK) and Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD).

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com:

“The core problem, however, is the need to fit markets into a style of trading rather than finding ways to trade that fit with market behavior.” – Brett Steenbarger

1. U.S., Canada Set for High-Stakes Trade Talks Under Cloud of White House Threat — Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland traveled to Washington to continue trade negotiations. “We’ll give them a chance to have a separate deal, or we could put it into this,” President Trump declared, adding that the “simplest deal is more or less already made. White House Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow told CNBC “We may have to resort to auto tariffs if the U.S. and Canada can’t reach a fair deal,”.
2. Apple to Take iPhone X Design to New Phones — Apple plans to unveil three new phones using the edge-to-edge screen design of the iPhone X, sources told Bloomberg. The new “S year” devices, expected to be unveiled at Apple’s product event in September, will include updated features and cover a broader range of prices, colors and sizes. One will even include a 6.5-inch display, the largest Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has ever included on an iPhone.
3. U.S. to Pay Farmers $4.7 Billion to Offset Trade-Conflict Losses — the Trump administration pledged to pay farmers $4.7 billion to offset losses from trade disputes with foreign buyers of U.S. agricultural products. The payments would help protect farmers from “unjustified tariffs” some nations have applied in response to President Trump’s trade policies. China, Mexico, the European Union and other trade partners have levied tariffs on U.S. farm goods from soybeans to pork to apples, leaving growers vulnerable during a downturn in the agricultural economy. Soybean farmers are in line to get roughly three-fourths of the direct payments, or $3.6 billion, followed by producers of pork, cotton, sorghum, dairy and wheat.
4. India Set for Record Oil Demand Growth — India is set to overtake China as the biggest source of growth for oil demand by 2024, according to a forecast by Wood Mackenzie. The country’s expanding middle class will be a key factor, as well as its growing need for mobility. On the other hand, China – which overtook the U.S. as the biggest importer of crude oil in 2017 – is set to see a decline due to two trends: Alternative energy sources and a more efficient freight system.
5. Fresh Stress for Emerging Market Currencies — Argentina’s peso tanked 7.5% against the dollar late last week, bringing losses to nearly 50% over the past year, after President Macri asked the IMF to speed up delivery of a $50B bailout package. In response to the suffering peso, other fragile emerging market currencies sold off sharply overnight, with Turkey’s lira and the South African rand feeling heat, and India’s rupee slumping to a new record low. The tumult highlights a heavy international dependence on the dollar. Some 48% of the world’s $30T in cross-border loans are priced in the U.S. currency, up from 40% a decade ago.
6. Moody’s Lowers Rating on Ford — Moody’s has lowered Ford’s (NYSE:F) credit rating to one notch above junk bond status, and warned of further downgrades if it doesn’t make “clear progress” on its $11B turnaround plan. The second-largest U.S. auto manufacturer is faces weakening profit margins in North America, a retrenching business in China, and losses in South America and Europe.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com:

“Amateurs think about how much money they can make. Professionals think about how much money they could lose.” – Jack Schwager

1. U.S. Proposed Sale from Strategic Oil Reserve to Reduce Global Oil Supplies — the U.S. Department of Energy is offering 11M barrels of crude for sale from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve ahead of sanctions on Iran that are expected to reduce global oil supplies and increase prices. The SPR was established in the 1970s after the U.S. economy was paralyzed by an oil embargo. As recently as 2011 it contained 727M barrels in caverns along the Texas and Louisiana coasts.
2. JPMorgan to Unveil New Investing App — JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) is rolling out a digital investing service next week that comes bundled with free or discounted trades, a sophisticated portfolio-building tool and no-fee access to the bank’s stock research. “You Invest,” more than two years in the making, has a distinct advantage over many competitors: JPMorgan already has financial ties with half of American households.
3. Hospitals Shut At a Rate of 30 Annually — U.S. hospitals have been closing at a rate of about 30 a year, according to the American Hospital Association, and patients living far from major cities may be left with even fewer hospital choices as insurers push them toward online providers like Teladoc (NYSE:TDOC) and clinics such as CVS’s MinuteClinic (NYSE:CVS). The next year to 18 months could see a further increase in shutdowns, with the risks coming following years of mergers and acquisitions.
4. China Retaliates Against New U.S. Tariffs — a fresh round of U.S. tariffs on $16B worth of Chinese imports kicked in at last week, prompting Beijing to retaliate with its own levies on American goods worth the same amount. The world’s two largest economies, which are in the midst of trade talks, have now slapped tit-for-tat duties on a combined $100B of products since early July, with more in the pipeline. Economists reckon that every $100B of imports hit by tariffs would reduce global trade by around 0.5%.
5. SEC Dismisses More Bitcoin ETFs — the SEC has once again thwarted an attempt to build a bitcoin ETF, rejecting applications for nine separate bitcoin-based exchange-traded funds. Cboe Global Markets (NASDAQ:CBOE) and NYSE Arca (NYSE:ICE) would have listed the products. The commission leaned on the same reasoning as for the earlier rejections, mainly that there aren’t enough protections against fraud and market manipulations.
6. U.S.-China Trade Talks End with No Major Progress — Mid-level trade talks between the U.S. and China ended without any formal signs of progress, although Chinese officials said they plan to keep the lines of communication open. Sources indicated the two sides mainly swapped talking points without getting any detailed negotiations. Representatives from the U.S., European Union, and Japan plan to meet in Washington to extend talks on how to leverage the World Trade Organization and other ways pressure can be exerted on China.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com:

“The game of speculation is the most uniformly fascinating game in the world. But it is not a game for the stupid, the mentally lazy, the person of inferior emotional balance, or the get-rich-quick adventurer. They will die poor.” – Jesse Livermore

1. Turkey Retaliated With Tariffs on U.S. Cars, Alcohol, Tobacco — a reeling Turkey has responded to U.S. tariffs with retaliatory duties on U.S. passenger cars, alcohol, tobacco, cosmetics and other products. Tariffs on cars are set to rise by 120% and those on made-in-the-U.S. alcoholic drinks by 140%, alongside a 60% increase on tobacco products. The move comes amid increasing fears of contagion from Turkey’s collapse.
2. China, U.S. to Resume Trade Talks This Month — China will send a delegation to the United States later in August to resume trade talks that largely broke down a couple of months ago. Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen will discuss economic and trade issues with U.S. counterpart David Malpass in a new attempt at defusing a trade war that has resulted in billions of dollars in tariffs so far, with threats of more. Formal talks between the U.S. and China broke down last month and led to dueling tariffs.
3. Amazon Eyes Online U.K. Healthcare Market — Major insurance firms in Europe have been invited by Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) to participate in a U.K. price comparison website. While there are no firm details on a launch by Amazon into financial services in the region, online insurance comparison players such as AXA (OTCQX:AXAHF), Hastings (OTC:HNGGF), Esure (OTC:ESXRY) and GoCompare are on watch.
4. Federal Probe Focuses On Apartment Mortgage Fraud — WSJ reported the investigation, still in its early stages, has so far resulted in a fraud-conspiracy indictment against four real-estate executives in upstate New York for falsifying information that helped them secure loans multi-family properties. The indictments made fraud-conspiracy charges against Todd Morgan and Kevin Morgan, a son and nephew of Robert Morgan, and charged their mortgage brokers, Frank Giacobbe and Patrick Ogiony of Aurora Capital Advisors. One owner of properties investigators reviewed is Robert C. Morgan, who ran a firm called Morgan Management LLC, but changed its name in June to Grand Atlas Property Management.
5. Q2 Latest Hedge Fund 13F — Hedge funds have finished up reporting on the investments they held at the end of Q2. New portfolio additions such as Keurig Dr Pepper (NYSE:KDP) by Citadel, Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) by Engaged Capital and GrubHub (NYSE:GRUB) by Jana Partners. Perhaps not a surprise, Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) was one of the names that cropped up the most times in the portfolio updates. Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) was added by at least six funds in Q2 as a new addition, while ten funds dropped the tech stock or trimmed exposure. In addition, Berkshire boosts stakes in Apple, US Bank, Teva, BNY Mellon, Delta in Q2 — in the latest 13F from Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) showed its stake in Apple (AAPL) as boosted to about 252M shares as of June 30 – up roughly 5% from three months earlier. The Oracle and company also added to holdings in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB), Teva Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:TEVA), Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:BK), General Motors (NYSE:GM), and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS). Among those showing trimmed stakes were American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL), Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX), Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR), and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC).
6. U.S. Seen Near Deal with Mexico On Revised NAFTA But Canada Remains Apart — the U.S. is close to reaching a deal with Mexico on a revamped North American Free Trade Agreement, but thorny issues are yet to be resolved with Canada, according to reports. Both Mexico and the U.S. are seen as having strong incentives to push through a deal quickly: Mexico wants to lock in an agreement before its new leftist president takes office, and the Trump administration wants a win on trade ahead of the midterm elections. U.S. negotiators this week have been meeting with senior Mexican officials in Washington, and the two sides are said to have largely agreed to new rules on auto trade – a top White House priority – that could boost investment in the U.S. President Trump says he is “in no hurry” to complete a NAFTA deal, remarks seen mostly as an attempt to put pressure on Canada.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com:

“The markets are always changing, and the successful trader needs to adapt to these changes” — Michael Steinhardt

1. U.S. Reimposes Sanctions on Iran — the first batch of American sanctions on Iran has come into effect, 90 days after the U.S. withdrew from the nuclear deal. The new measures bar the sale of U.S. currency to Iran’s government, sanction trade in precious metals and industrial materials, outlaw the purchase of Iran’s sovereign debt, and restrict the country’s auto and aerospace sector. Unless Iran complies with the U.S. demands, far-tougher steps will take effect on Nov. 5, when the U.S. will cut off Iran’s oil exports and impose sanctions on shipping.
2. China Outspent the U.S. in 5G — since 2015, China has outspent the U.S. by $24B in 5G infrastructure, potentially creating a “tsunami” that will be difficult to catch up with, according to a new study by Deloitte. China has built 350,000 new cell sites, while the U.S. has built fewer than 30,000 in the same time frame. 5G would support connected infrastructure in cities, including driverless cars, and make it possible for people to stream high-bandwidth video.
3. SEC Delayed Decision & Bitcoin Crashes Under $6,500 — the crypto reaching as high as $8,496 in July, but its latest descent has seen the digital currency fall overnight to under $6,500. The move was accelerated after the SEC pushed back an eagerly-awaited decision on the SolidX Bitcoin ETF (XBTC), sponsored by SolidX Management with marketing assistance from Van Eck Securities. A verdict is now expected by the end of September.
4. U.S.-Japan Enters New Trade Talks — Japan and the U.S. are headed for a new round of trade talks today in Washington. Economic Revitalization Minister Toshimitsu Motegi will try to avert steep tariffs on car exports and stress the significance of multilateral free trade, with an eye on persuading the U.S. to return to the TPP. The world’s third-largest economy will also face demands from U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, including a trade deficit reduction and the further opening of Japan’s automobile and agriculture markets.
5. Turkish Crisis Rattles Global Markets Amid Escalating Spat With U.S. — the lira dropped as much as 25% against the dollar, extending a tumble that ranks as one of the steepest in world markets this year. Turkey’s problems are spilling over into the greater market following reports that the ECB is concerned over the impact of a weak lira on European banks, especially BBVA, UniCredit (OTCPK:UNCFF), and BNP Paribas (OTCQX:BNPQF). Data from the BIS also showed the currency, which plunged 13.5% overnight to an all-time low against the dollar, will weigh on banking exposure internationally.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com: