In his much anticipated address to Congress that was widely described as "presidential" avoiding attacks on the media and Democrat opponents, even if once again thin on detail, President Donald Trump reaffirmed his pledge on infrastructure, defense spending and tax overhaul, in broad brush strokes, and judging by the surging futures and US Dollar this morning, investors are giving him the benefit of the doubt for now.
The boycott against Target over its bathroom policy is costing the retailer more than anybody expected, as a record share price plunge and weak sales drive the big-box retailer to the brink of financial collapse. In April last year after Target announced that it would welcome transgender customers to use any bathroom or fitting room that matched their gender identity. Since then a determined grassroots boycott campaign has dug its heels in, and the company is having trouble hiding the financial damage.
Via MauldinEconomics.com,
The probability that a real estate bubble may burst in China is rising. The financial sector heavily depends on real estate, which in turn exposes the entire Chinese economy to systemic risk.
This link means that a downturn in real estate could soon spread to other areas of the Chinese economy if banks face liquidity shortfalls.
In the first bit of good news to surface for the Dallas Police and Fire Pension (DPFP) in quite some time, the Dallas News is reporting the pension board has "won" a $2 million settlement against their former real estate fund advisor, CDK Realty Advisors. Of course, the settlement falls slightly short of the $320mm in losses allegedly caused by CDK, but a win's a win, right?
Meanwhile, city officials who complain they had little control over the fund’s activities but are now being forced to find a way to bail it out, had mixed reactions to the settlement.
Yesterday we noted that GM launched an aggressive incentive program in the month of February to clear out some of its pickup truck inventory. In fact, incentives on the company's Silverado were up 56% YoY to $6,996, while discounts on the Sierra were up 82% to $5,315 (see "GM Pickup Incentives Surge Over 80% As Auto Bubble Continues To Show Signs Of An Imminent Bust").