Updated throughout the day
September 21
Good evening,
Stocks opened up Monday, with the Dow gaining 0.77% by the close. The Nasdaq barely scraped a 0.04% boost, and the S&P 500 added 0.46%. Biotech stocks took a hit after Hillary Clinton tweeted her plan to attack the “price gouging” of specialty drug makers. Oil added more than 3%, closing above $46/barrel. Both commodities and dollar rebounded overnight despite disappointment that the Federal Reserve refrained from raising interest rates last week. December, that’s the ticket, traders have decided. And we’re off to another stretch of “Will they or Won’t They?” — the ongoing reality central bank show.
Here’s what else you need to know:
Volkswagen under criminal probe for lying to EPA. The company admitted that it tricked the Environmental Protection Agency so its diesel vehicles would pass emission tests. The Hill
Rate hike coming this year. Really. So says Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart in a speech Monday. ““I put most of [last week’s] decision weight on prudent risk management around recent and current market volatility. As things settle down, I will be ready for the first policy move on the path to a more normal interest-rate environment.” Lockhart is a voting member on the Federal Open Market Committee. MarketWatch
And then there were 15. Scott Walker is dropping out of the Republican presidential race. Walker, the governor of Wisconsin, entered the race as a front runner in July, but was quickly hurt by his mediocre performance during the two Republican debates. In a weekend poll, Walker didn’t even register 0.5% of support from GOP primary voters. CNN
CEOs won’t make the best presidents. That’s what JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says. Corporate CEOs have some leadership qualities similar to running a country, but politics are best left to the politicians. “When I go to Washington, I don’t walk away saying, ‘It’s terrible,'” he says. “I’m saying, ‘my God, they’re dealing with some really complex stuff, and it’s not that easy to do.'” US News
Home sales drop. August posted a more drastic drop in home sales in the U.S. than expected. The 4.8% fall to 5.31 million units is still up more than 6% from a year ago. Economists had predicted 5.5 million annualized in August, down from 5.59 million in July. Reuters
Big read: The bond market is bigger and more fragile than ever, contends a new series. It’s bigger than ever– $39.5 trillion. And in more hands of individual investors. And now the Fed is getting ready to throw a monkey wrench into this little growth machine: higher interest rates. Wall Street Journal (paywall)
The Pope meets Fidel Castro. After addressing tens of thousands in Revolution Square, the Pope had an informal meeting with the ailing Cuban revolutionary. The pair exchanged books. BBC
Actress Viola Davis makes history with Emmy. The award for best actress in a drama series has never been awarded before to an African-American. The star of “How to Get Away With Murder” said in her acceptance speech: “Let me tell you something: The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity. You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there.” New York Post
Malaysian police confirm body of missing investigator. Anthony Kevin Morais, a Deputy Head of the Attorney-General’s Chambers Appellate and Trial Division that had worked on the 1MDB task force, has been identified as the man found dead in a drum filled with concrete in Subang Jaya, Selangor. Channel News Asia
Died: Romance novelist Jackie Collins at age 77. The legendary chronicler of Hollywood sex and glamour died on Saturday in Los Angeles after a private struggle with breast cancer. Variety
You wont believe this…
Cancer! The Musical is really funny. Is it as funny as The Producers and their sure-to-fail hit Springtime in Germany for Hitler? If you’re in L.A., let us know. Vice
Photo: WisPolitics.com