European Election Results LIVE

Nigel Farage | Good Morning Britain: 

Good Morning Britain video published May 27, 2019: Nigel Farage interviewed the morning after the Brexit Party stormed ahead in the EU elections, said the Brexit Party will not stop until the UK leaves the European Union, citing the failure to depart on March 30th as the reason many in the UK chose to vote for the party.

UPDATE: Brexit Party & EU Populists Shatter EU Status Quo With Strong Showing In EU Parliamentary Vote--zerohedge.com. See this EU election results graphic.

European elections 2019 UK results: Brexit Party wins nine of first 10 regions; Liberal Democrats triumph over Labour Party in London--telegraph.co.uk

Centrist bloc to lose majority in EU vote as Greens and Euroskeptics gain, early results show--cnbc.com. The European parliamentary election is the second-largest democratic exercise in the world, with citizens across 28 nations voting for their new representatives. Over 400 million people are eligible to take part and the vote has major implications for the functioning of the EU and future national politics in each member state. The EU Parliament has a say on policies like agriculture and trade and is made of 751 MEPs (Members of the European Parliament).

Official Results: https://election-results.eu/

FRANCE 24 Live:

European Elections: May 23-26, 2019: The Netherlands and the UK voted first, on Thursday 23 May 2019, but most of the 21 EU member states vote Sunday, May 26, and results cannot be announced before the last polling station closes at 11pm Central European Time (CET) in Italy (Sunday 6pm EDT in the US).

Election Results: officials at the European Parliament expect to announce the first projection of results, based on exit polls and counted votes, as soon as 11:15pm CET (6:15pm EDT) on Sunday, May 26, 2019.

European Elections 2019:

source: europarl.europa.eu

See also:

• Euronews |  European Parliament | UKchannel4 | France24 | DWnews (Germany)

• European Elections | Bloomberg.com and EU News
• UK Voters Prepare to Punish UK Prime Minister in European Elections Over Brexit Delay--Polls show Theresa May’s Conservative Party is being deserted in favor of  The Brexit Party--WSJ.com.
• UK's Brexit Party maintains big lead in EU election poll--Reuters.com May 18, 2019.

Tweets by TelePolitics The Brexit Party (UK): Tweets by brexitparty_uk

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Tech Review | What the Uber IPO Says About Investors State of Mind

Tech Review (TR 2019-05-18)--Domain Mondo's weekly review of tech investing news: Feature • 1) What the Uber IPO Says About Investors State of Mind, 2) Investing: The Week & Investor Notes: Macroview | EU Elections, 3) ICYMI Tech News:  Apple & Antitrust, Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Oracle, China, and more.

1) What the Uber IPO Says About Investors State of Mind 

Financial Times (ft.com) U.S. managing editor Peter Spiegel and markets reporter Nicole Bullock discuss why Uber's stock traded below the $45 IPO price at the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, May 10, 2019. Video above published May 11, 2019.

Stock Exchange & Symbol: NYSE: UBER:

$UBER

See also:

• Morgan Stanley Clients Saddled With Massive Losses After Disastrous Uber IPO.

• Uber’s Future Looks Troubling: "Uber’s current $70 billion valuation seems difficult to justify. To reach profitability, both Uber and Lyft probably will be forced either to raise prices or to increase the cut they take from their drivers ... its core riding hailing business is faltering. Having faced a number of setbacks, Uber also is lagging in the longer term race to develop autonomous technology ..."

• Uber’s "adjusted net revenue has started to decline.This points to a fundamental challenge with Uber’s business model that it has not yet figured out: How to keep prices low enough to attract riders while paying drivers enough to keep them from defecting — and still make a profit. Competition from Lyft, which is willing to suffer similar losses, makes this particularly hard."--cnbc.com.

2) Investing

The Week: NASDAQ Composite -1.3% | S&P 500 Index -0.8% | DJIA -0.7%

U.S. stocks bounced back from deep losses Friday but still closed lower as trade-related jitters overshadowed strong economic data--MarketWatch.com.

U.S. consumer sentiment rose to a 15-year high of 102.4 in May, well above the 97.1 expected by economists polled by MarketWatch.com and April’s reading of 97.2, according to the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index.

The Conference Board’s estimate of leading economic indicators for the U.S. (pdf) rose for the third straight month in April to 112.1, up 0.2% from March. The survey of economic conditions is a collection of forward-looking data that attempts to predict future economic growth.

"We think that China represents 15% of global GDP, yet less than 1% of all cross-border currency settlement is in their currency. It's important for us to realize that the joke is on us--if they were to open their capital account and let Chinese invest abroad--their [China's] currency would depreciate 40% in a day. I think we're making the right moves here in taking a little bit of market pain to maintain our national security in the long run. Just so you can hear from me, I don't have a vested interest in China's currency any more. It's such an important moment in time for US national security that most of my interest has been moving toward the political sphere. If you can get over the fact that there's no rule of law there, and they don't respect human rights ... then maybe you should invest money in China."--Kyle Bass

Shocked Traders Respond To Trade War--"The biggest problem is the huge disconnect with what markets have been hoping for and what is transpiring now. Markets had priced the best-case scenario and odds are shifting towards the worst-case scenario."--zerohedge.com May 13, 2019

Long View

Investor Notes: Macroview | EU Elections (May 23-26):

Brexit Party Surges: after parting ways with the increasingly irrelevant UK Independence Party (UKIP), Nigel Farage co-founded the Brexit Party [domain: thebrexitparty.org], which is now polling above the Labour and Conservative parties put together ahead of the European Parliamentary elections May 23rd:

source: statista.com

France: "The 'yellow vest' demonstrations against Macron are basically the demonstrators who, more or less, voted for Trump here [U.S.]. It’s people coming from small cities, from rural areas, lower-middle-class, saying, 'We have been left behind.' And, on the right, our conservative party is moving in the same direction as the Republicans are here."--Gérard Araud, French Ambassador to the U.S., from 2014 until retiring 19 Apr 2019.

European Elections 2019:

source: europarl.europa.eu

Editor's note: the Brexit Party also has Annunziata Rees-Mogg (twitter: @zatzi). Watch her in this YouTube video. She is the sister of well-known Conservative Party Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg. For the Conservative Party, the problem is Theresa May: "For the Conservatives to go into a General Election without having delivered Brexit and with Theresa May as leader would be electoral suicide."

3) ICYMI Tech News:

Apple $AAPL move downward accelerates after losing SCOTUS antitrust case:

$AAPL

Apple and tech-industry allies said before the ruling that a decision allowing the lawsuit could lead to expensive antitrust claims against other companies that run online marketplaces, potentially affecting Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Amazon.com Inc. and Facebook Inc. See also: Apple Releases iOS 12.3 With New TV App and Channels Feature--macrumors.com.

Will Amazon Put UPS Out Of Business?--zerohedge.com. See also Amazon Butts in on Google-Facebook “Duopoly” in the Huge Business of Internet Advertising. Publishers Hung Out to Dy--wolfstreet.com.

Microsoft or Google? $MSFT "has a bigger share in my portfolio ... because of its dividends, growth in cloud, improving margins, visionary leadership, and the improving FCFs"--seekingalpha.com.

Oracle is shutting down its R&D arm in China, laying off 900+ employees--zdnet.com.

Online markets have grown 10X in the last two decades, more $1B-$10B+ software startups will exist, and startups can grow faster than ever--blog.eladgil.com.

Quicktakes:

• Italy's watchdog investigates Google for alleged antitrust abuse;
• Amazon backing for UK food app Deliveroo;
• Samsung Electronics undecided on further investment in its China NAND plant.
• German finance minister expects OECD deal on digital tax in 2020;
• Consumer bodies seek to force Alibaba portal to honor EU shoppers' rights;
• Baidu swings to net loss for first time since listing, shares fall;
• Nvidia revenue forecast beats as demand for gaming chip rises

Personal Tech: Death by PowerPoint: the slide that killed seven people.

-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo  

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MacroView | Forget Brexit, Fear of Italy Doing a EURO Exit Shakes Markets

UPDATE: Wall Street Climbs as Worries Over Italy's Politics Ease | NYTimes.com: May 30, 2018 12:32pm EDT.

Original post:
If you're in the U.S. and got back from your Memorial Day weekend late, you may be wondering, what happened to cause markets to tumble Tuesday? Here's a recap:

Italian president rejects nomination of Eurosceptic minister

Financial Times (ft.com) video above published May 27, 2018: Leaders of Italy's leading populist parties have dropped their bid to form a government after President Sergio Mattarella rejected their nomination of a Eurosceptic finance minister.

Dow Tumbles Nearly 400 Points; S&P 500 and Nasdaq Also Decline | TheStreet.com May 29, 2018: "Stocks fall sharply Tuesday as a political crisis in Italy rocks markets across the globe." Also: Investors are dumping Italian government debt | ft.com.


Italian bond yields are rising rapidly because the country is laden with debt and in political turmoil. TheStreet.com's Tracy Byrnes enlisted London Bureau Chief Martin Baccardax to help explain how it will affect the rest of us.

Germany's DAX

Who  is  was Carlo Cottarelli?

Financial Times (ft.com) video above published May 28, 2018: As newly appointed prime minister, the former IMF official will focus on improving Italy's finances ahead of new elections, but many think he will immediately face a vote of "no confidence" and some now think new elections may be scheduled as early as July, 2018--major parties in Italy say Cottarelli’s mission is 'all but dead' and parliament will soon be dissolved --Italy may return to polls in July, sources say, amid market rout | Reuters.com.

BREAKING: Dow falls more than 2%, or more than 500 points, to session low as worries about Italy and Spain ripple through the markets https://t.co/Bpl38EW7eE pic.twitter.com/08gHOdsm5q

— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) May 29, 2018

The MacroView:
Italy's new election could become a referendum on the European Union and the euro--President readies Italy for snap polls to be fought on EU, euro | Reuters.com--the far-right League and anti-establishment 5-Star Movement may unite for an upcoming new election in Italy. League leader Matteo Salvini said on Monday, May 28: “Today Italy is not free; it is occupied financially by Germans, French and eurocrats ... if there’s not the OK of Berlin, Paris or Brussels, a government cannot be formed in Italy. It’s madness, and I ask the Italian people to stay close to us because I want to bring democracy back to this country.” When? New elections in Italy 'by start of 2019' at the latest or as early as autumn: Italy's president named a former IMF economist Carlo Cottarelli as caretaker prime minister to lead the country into new elections, possibly as soon as the autumn in the eurozone's third largest economy.  Mr Cottarelli, 64, was director of the IMF's fiscal affairs department from 2008 to 2013 and became known as "Mr Scissors" for making cuts to public spending in Italy--rte.ie.

Most Exposed to Italy’s Sovereign Debt? (Other than Italian Banks): BNP Paribas, France’s largest bank, with €16 billion of Italian sovereign debt holdings, Dexia (French-Belgian) holds €15 billion of Italian debt, and Banco Sabadell has €10.5 billion invested in Italian bonds (40% of its entire fixed asset portfolio, worth €26.3 billion, and 110% of its tier-1 capital)--WolfStreet.com.

ECB & Eurozone: Banque de France to pursue efforts to spur consolidation of Europe's financial sector: Villeroy | Reuters.com--Editor's note: if consolidation is "encouraged," Europe may end up with a few (5 or 6?) large banks (mostly German or French) controlling the EU/eurozone financial sector. The five largest commercial banks in the U.S. had 44 percent of total assets in the banking system as of 2014 (most likely even more now). Unlike the U.S., however, Europe still has a lot of large "troubled" banks with underlying financial problems--consolidation now could exacerbate a situation the ECB has failed to remediate.

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Tech Review | Russia, Tech, & Elections: We Have Met The Enemy, She Is

Tech Review (TR 2017-11-04)--Domain Mondo's weekly review of tech news with commentary, analysis and opinion: Features • 1) Elections, Tech, & Russia: We Have Met The Enemy, She Is, 2) Google Has a New Plan for China, 3) Investing: a. The Week, b. Amazon Doesn't Care About Profits, c. What You Need To Know About Alibaba $BABA d. Cryptocurrency Speculators, e. 80/20 Rule? 4) ICYMI Tech News.

1) Russia, Tech, & Elections: We Have Met The Enemy, She Is: 

Hillary Clinton’s Secret Takeover of the DNC | POLITICO.com: "When I was asked to run the Democratic Party after the Russians hacked our emails, I stumbled onto a shocking truth about the Clinton campaign ..."--by Donna Brazile, November 02, 2017.  See also:

• Twitter Admits It Buried "Podesta Email" Tweets Ahead Of The Presidential Election | ZeroHedge.com: "... A question emerges: did Jack Dorsey [CEO of Twitter], with his arbitrary decision to censor specific content damaging to Democrats, interfere with the election, and a funnier question: if Hillary lost with Twitter censoring anti-Hillary content, what would the outcome have been if Twitter actually respected the First Amendment? 
• Facebook $FB says Trump and Clinton spent $81,000,000 total, Russian agency $46,000--TechCrunch.com, and Elizabeth Warren: "Yes," Democratic Primary Was Rigged For Hillary.
• Thousands attended anti-Trump protest organized by Russian-linked group on Facebook--TheHill.com, and "A U.S. political party [DNC] applied to a hostile power [Russia] for lurid stories about a domestic opponent."--The Trump Dossier Dam Is Breaking | WSJ.com.
• DNC Chair Wasserman Schultz Shunned FBI, Hid Security Breach From DNC Officials--ZeroHedge.com.
• Mainstream Media Now Claiming That It Is 'A Crime' To Investigate Hillary Clinton's Ties To Russia--ZeroHedge.com.

2)  Google $GOOGL $GOOG Has a New Plan for China: Artificial intelligence, not search--Google actively promoting TensorFlow in China, Alphabet putting scouts on ground from Google and CapitalG units to look at Chinese companies for potential AI investments--Bloomberg.com. See also: Google Cannot Be Stopped | TheAtlantic.com: "The company's global ad business is now larger than that of Facebook, Alibaba, Baidu, Twitter, Amazon and Snap, combined."

3) Investing

a. The Week: As expected, the Federal Reserve left rates unchanged at 1.00%--1.25% and President Trump nominated Jerome Powell to be the next Chair of the Federal Reserve when Janet Yellen's term expires in February, 2018. Markets: U.S. stocks finished the week by breaking another set of records on Friday, as all three major benchmarks closed at highs due to strong Apple earnings and ISM nonmanufacturing data for October. Apple $AAPL shares soared to $900 billion in market cap after reporting earnings and iPhone X guidance.

b. Amazon $AMZN doesn't care about profits: "The aim is not to make money on any particular service; Amazon likely lost $7.2 billion on shipping last year and is selling hardware supporting its virtual assistant Alexa around or below cost. It’s adding to the value of the system itself. Entire industries are loss leaders for Amazon. For companies that must make money on what they sell, it’s a terrifying prospect."--QZ.com See also: Amazon: “Our view is that just because Amazon can disrupt somebody else’s profit stream, it doesn’t mean that Amazon earns that profit stream. For the moment, the market doesn’t agree. Perhaps, simply being disruptive is enough.”--Einhorn Vents his Frustrations about the Crazy Markets | WolfStreet.com.

c. What You Need to Know About Alibaba Group Holding Ltd $BABA: "BABA stock is pricey, trading at a jaw-dropping 17x sales. Even Amazon, which is rarely called a cheap stock, sells at just 3x its sales. Is a dollar of Alibaba revenues worth almost five times as much as a dollar of Amazon’s sales? ... The company’s [Alibaba] accounting system is complex, to say the least. And it seems that JD.com is catching up to them on their home turf, particularly in terms of delivery technology. Alibaba’s frenetic rush for growth may leave them exposed on their home turf. In any case, with the stock up more than 100% year-to-date, this probably isn’t the best time to be buying shares."--InvestorPlace.com

d. Cryptocurrency speculators are chasing profits in a world where all risks appear to have been removed by years of central bank liquidity that is trying to find a place to go.--Big Bitcoin Investor Believes Bitcoin Might Still Go to “Zero,” Just Riding the Momentum | WolfStreet.com: “My view on bitcoin is that it is a technological experiment that may or may not prove to have any long lasting value. Bitcoin has a market capitalization greater than 90% of the companies in the S&P 500, but it still might fail. I don’t know and neither does anyone else, no matter how certain they are of their opinion.”  See also Coinbase Adds A Record 100,000 Bitcoin Traders In One Day | ZeroHedge.com,

e. 80/20 Rule? 78% Of US Workers Are Living 'Paycheck-To-Paycheck' & 71% Of Them Are In Debt | ZeroHedge.com.

4) ICYMI Tech News:

• Qualcomm accuses Apple of sharing proprietary information with Intel--TheHill.com. 
• Reuters.com: App developer access to iPhone X face data spooks some privacy experts.
• Effectively Handing U.S. Government Purchasing Power Over to Amazon--theintercept.com.
• The Nokia 2 is a very cheap Android phone with a huge battery: "99 Euros for a smartphone that promises two days of use"--engadget.com.
• Honor the Flag & Cut the Cord? ESPN Lost lost 480,000 paying subscribers last month and Fox Sports One lost 584,000 households--ZeroHedge.com.

-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo  

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MacroView: Election in Germany (video), ECB, EU, Spain, IMF & Greece

Germany election 2017 UPDATE 24 Sep 2017: Far-right AfD stuns German establishment by finishing third with 13.5% and will enter parliament for the first time, but Merkel wins fourth term--"Of course we had hoped for a slightly better result." said Angela Merkel, who must now form a coalition government, a potentially difficult task that could take months trying to woo unwilling potential coalition partners.

The Latest: German election: Merkel vows to form stable govt | The Washington Post: "Center-left challenger Martin Schulz, whose Social Democrats were the junior partners in Merkel’s outgoing government, said shortly after exit polls showed his party headed for a historic election defeat Sunday that it would go into opposition. In a television discussion involving major party leaders, he accused Merkel of conducting a “scandalous” campaign that avoided debate and created “a vacuum” that the nationalist Alternative for Germany party filled."

The German Election Explained

Wall Street Journal (WSJ.com) video published Sep 18, 2017: German voters head to the polls this Sunday in an election that determines whether Chancellor Angela Merkel remains at the helm of Europe’s biggest economic power. WSJ.com's Niki Blasina explains how the election will be won and why the race for third place is all important. See also: German election polls 2017 | FT.com

Germany's AfD Tests Merkel's Leadership, Says Posen

Bloomberg.com video published Sep 19, 2017: Adam Posen, president at Peterson Institute for International Economics, previews the upcoming German election. He speaks with Bloomberg's Francine Lacqua on "Bloomberg Surveillance."

How German Elections Can Influence the ECB's (European Central Bank) Future:

Video above published Aug 18, 2017, by Bloomberg.com: Themis Themistocleous, head of European investments at UBS Wealth Management, explains how choices made by voters in the German election on 24 Sept 2017, can impact the European Central Bank (ECB). He speaks on "Bloomberg Markets: European Close." See also:

• Merkel quashes hopes of ambitious eurozone reform | POLITICO.eu Aug 29, 2017: "... the comments suggest Merkel will continue to push the current German strategy for the eurozone, placing emphasis on economic reforms in member countries rather than pooling financial risk through common debt issuance and other measures ..."
• Why 'More Europe' Won't Solve Europe's Fiscal Quandary | Bloomberg.com Aug 31, 2017.

• France's Debt Is Euro-Zone's Largest | Bloomberg.com Aug 30, 2017

• Greece hopes for debt relief as bailout program enters final 12 months | cnbc.com: "Greece's debt isn't manageable in the long-run without being either extended or forgiven, according to the IMF."
• Spain-Catalonia split: Here’s how bad economically it could really be | cnbc.com and Catalonia’s Defiance of Spanish Authority Turns into Rebellion--WolfStreet.com.

• ECB Tightens Noose Around Bank Accounts | WolfStreet.com: "Locking up the money of unsuspecting depositors to prop up collapsing banks. The European Central Bank (ECB), arguably the European Union’s most powerful and least accountable institution, apparently needs more power, according to Daniele Nouy, the ECB’s top supervisor. Chief among the fresh powers it seeks is the power to temporarily prevent people from withdrawing their money from their accounts at banks that are in distress, including by electronic fund transfers." and The Next Spanish Bank Teeters, at Worst Possible Time | WolfStreet.com.

"It's been a lost decade for investors in the world's banks. For Europe's lenders in particular, the wounds are far from healed."--Bloomberg.com

"The IMF remained upbeat about the soundness of the European banking system ... this lapse was largely due to the IMF’s readiness to take the reassurances of national and euro area authorities at face value"--IEO report, infra

IMF admits disastrous love affair with the euro and apologises for the immolation of Greece | telegraph.co.uk: "The three main bailouts for Greece, Portugal and Ireland were unprecedented in scale and character. The trio were each allowed to borrow over 2,000pc of their allocated quota – more than three times the normal limit – and accounted for 80pc of all lending by the fund between 2011 and 2014 ... “Before the launch of the euro, the IMF’s public statements tended to emphasise the advantages of the common currency," ... Some [IMF] staff members warned that the design of the euro was fundamentally flawed but they were overruled." (emphasis added)

The IMF and the Crises in Greece, Ireland, and Portugal | ieo-imf.org executive summary excerpt:

"The IMF’s handling of the euro area crisis raised issues of accountability and transparency, which helped create the perception that the IMF [International Monetary Fund] treated Europe differently. Conducting this evaluation proved challenging. Some documents on sensitive issues were prepared outside the regular, established channels; the IEO faced a lack of clarity in its terms of reference on what it could or could not evaluate; and there was no clear protocol on the modality of interactions between the IEO and IMF staff. The IMF did not complete internal reviews involving euro area programs on time, as mandated, which led to missed opportunities to draw timely lessons." (emphasis added)

Press release (highlighting added):

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UK Election June 8: Results, Markets, Macroeconomics, & Brexit (video)

Sky News LIVE

UPDATE June 9: Conservatives lost 12 seats but remain the largest party, with Labour gaining 29 seats, and both parties winning seats from the Scottish National Party (SNP) which lost 21 seats. PM Theresa May to form a new government with the DUP, according to Sky News | sky.com:

The London Stock Exchange benchmark index FTSE100 closed UP Friday, June 9:

The UK election explained

Video above published May 24, 2017: Prime Minister Theresa May has brought forward the UK's next general election. The FT.com's Henry Mance explains why and how the country votes for its government.

Brexit Deadline:

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$SNAP Just Snapped, Global Market Volatility Increases, EU Doomed?

Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) stock price fell Monday, March 6, 2017 (see chart above), erasing all of its post-IPO gains and fell back beneath $24.00, the price that it opened at last Thursday.

UPDATE March 7, 2017: $SNAP Closes Down 24% Since Monday's Open:

Markets Fall as Volatility Increases Across the Globe | moneymorning.com: "SNAP stock fell more than 12% after an advocacy group representing large institutional investors approached several stock market index providers. The advocacy group asked to bar companies that fail to provide voting rights to shareholders on the open market from their stock benchmarks."

What else is bothering markets? Geopolitical risks from Washington, D.C. to the EU to China to North Korea. Here are two views of the building crisis in the European Union (EU):

Farage: The EU is dying before our very eyes

Video above published Mar 6, 2017, by FoxBusiness.com: Nigel Farage, former UK Independence Party leader, on what to expect from President Trump's meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the state of play in the upcoming elections in the Netherlands and France.

The European Union is facing a threat to its very existence

Video above published Mar 6, 2017, by The Economist | Economist.com: The Treaty of Rome was signed 60 years ago this month. But can European leaders make the EU appealing to a new generation of more sceptical voters?

In addition, the Fed's FOMC appears set for an interest rate increase at its next meeting March 14-15, and some Wall Street investors are in addict-like withdrawal from 8+ years of ZIRP.

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LIVE Video Stream: Donald Trump's First Press Conference Since Election

LIVE Stream Replay: Donald Trump Press Conference Jan 11, 2017:

Video above scheduled for:  Wednesday, Jan 11, 2017, 11:00am EST. President-elect Donald J. Trump 's News Conference, his first since winning the 2016 election. 

Fortunately ABC's Cecilia Vega asked my question about whether any Trump associates contacted Russians. Trump said no.

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) January 11, 2017

Also on Wednesday, Secretary State Nominee, Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson testifies at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee:

Video above: Rex Tillerson confirmation hearing Wednesday, Jan 11, 9:15am EST.

Why is Trump's Press Conference important?

1. Dow Jones (DJIA) Futures Reverse Gains Ahead of Trump News Conference | EconomicCalendar.com: "Dow industrials reversed course to finish lower on Tuesday [Jan 10], as jittery investors awaited a press conference from President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average settled down 31.85 points, or 0.2%, at 19,855.53, its lowest since December 30. The benchmark drifted between gains and losses, and at one point looked poised to make another attempt at the 20,000 milestone."
2. Nasdaq closes at 4th straight record—marks best such streak since 1999 | MarketWatch.com: "The Nasdaq Composite notched its fourth record close in a row Tuesday [Jan 10], representing the longest stretch of record closes for the tech-heavy index since 1999. Fresh all-time highs for the Nasdaq came as the Dow industrials failed to reach the psychologically significant level of 20,000 again, amid otherwise tepid enthusiasm for equities ahead of a news conference from President-elect Donald Trump set for Wednesday—his first since being elected on Nov. 8."

“If Donald Trump succeeds to cheer up investors at this week’s conference, we could see a fresh rally in the U.S. stocks and the U.S. dollar. Therefore, the upside risks prevail in the U.S. markets”--Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior market analyst, London Capital Group, note to investors.

DJIA January 10, 2017 (source: google.com)

Trump's Cabinet picks appear to be much stronger than Clinton's would have been, even Sarah Jones of the liberal New Republic seems to agree:

Hillary Clinton's cabinet would have sucked and no one should be surprised https://t.co/9zBjqP7X1i

— Sarah Jones (@onesarahjones) January 10, 2017

"Clinton had a team in waiting. By Election Day, her roster was so refined that most jobs just had one name. Here's her prospective Cabinet and West Wing staff, based on interviews with numerous Clinton insiders."--Mike Allen, Axios.com. See also: Consortiumnews.com: "... the think tank run by Michele Flournoy, the former Defense Department official considered to be most likely to be Clinton’s choice to be Secretary of Defense, explicitly called for “limited military strikes” against the Assad regime." Here's a partial listing of what Hillary's Cabinet would have looked like:

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Dow Heading for 20,000, Stocks Rise, Gold Falls Ahead of Fed Rate Hike

Blue-chip index nears milestone as tech joins the Trump rally--Traders assign 100% odds to a Fed rate hike on Wednesday:

DJIA 3-month chart (source: google.com)

S&P500 Index (source: google.com)

Fed Interest Rate Hike Bad News For China? At the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on Wednesday, an interest rate hike of 0.25% is expected. This rate hike will be only the second increase by the Federal Reserve in 10 years (the first increase took place December 2015). This may have ramifications on emerging markets in general and China in particular which faces an economic slowdown. A U.S. interest rate increase will likely increase capital outflows and generate additional growth headwinds for China. 

Headlines Tuesday leading up to the expected Fed Rate Hike:

Dow Heads for 20,000 as Stocks Rise, Gold Falls: "Global stocks advanced, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average within 50 points of 20,000 on speculation that the Federal Reserve’s expected rate increase is a signal of confidence that the economy is strengthening. The dollar and Treasuries were little changed. IBM Corp. and Intel Corp. led gains in the blue-chip index as it heads for a fresh record and the round-number milestone ... Its relative-strength index stood at the highest level in two decades ..."--Bloomberg.com

IBM Lays Out Plans to Hire 25,000 in U.S. Ahead of Trump Meeting: "IBM Chief Executive Officer Ginni Rometty said she plans to hire about 25,000 people in the U.S. and invest $1 billion over the next four years, laying out her vision for filling technology jobs in America on the eve of a meeting of industry leaders with President-elect Donald Trump. Rometty, who is on Trump’s advisory panel of business leaders, will join Facebook Inc.’s Sheryl Sandberg, Amazon.com Inc.’s Jeff Bezos and Alphabet Inc.’s Larry Page and Eric Schmidt at a summit with Trump Wednesday in New York that is said to focus on jobs."--Bloomberg.com

Small Business Owners' Optimism Skyrockets Following Trump Victory: "The November reading of the National Federation of Independent Businesses' small business optimism index jumped to 98.4 from 94.9 — its sharpest surge since 2009 — with all of the increase in sentiment coming after the U.S. elections held on Nov. 8."--Bloomberg.com

After talking with Trump, Bill Gates likens president-elect to JFK: "... in the same way President Kennedy talked about the space mission and got the country behind that, I think whether it's education or stopping epidemics ... [or] in this energy space, there can be a very upbeat message that [Trump's] administration [is] going to organize things, get rid of regulatory barriers, and have American leadership through innovation ... Of course, my whole career has been along those lines. And he was interested in listening to that. And I'm sure there will be further conversation."--Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates after recently speaking with Trump--CNBC.com.

"Allegations of Hacking Election Are Baseless" Say High-Level American Intelligence Officials: "The various ways in which usually anonymous spokespeople for U.S. intelligence agencies are equivocating – saying things like “our best guess” or “our opinion” or “our estimate” etc. – shows that the emails alleged to have been “hacked” cannot be traced across the network. Given NSA’s extensive trace capability, we conclude that DNC and HRC servers alleged to have been hacked were, in fact, not hacked."--WashingtonsBlog.com

Obama Says No Evidence that Russia Tampered with Votes in Election: During an interview with the Daily Show’s Trevor Noah, Obama downplayed the hack of a private email account of Clinton campaign chief John Podesta. "We were frankly more concerned in the run up to the election to the possibilities of vote tampering, which we did not see evidence of, and we’re confident that we can guard against ... None of this should be a big surprise,” Obama said, “Russia trying to influence our elections dates back to the Soviet Union.” Obama dismissed the hack and the leaked emails as “not very interesting” and lacking “explosive” revelations. He puzzled as to why it was an “obsession” by the news media despite the knowledge that the Russians were responsible.--Breitbart.com.

Trump's selection of  Tillerson lifts hope of US rapprochement in Moscow: "Sergei Karaganov, one of Russia's most senior foreign policy hands, says the difference is that Tillerson is a hard-nosed pragmatist who [as Secretary of State] will focus on getting things done, and leave aside the many political and philosophical issues where Russia and the US will never agree. Like many in Moscow's upper circles, Mr. Karaganov has met Tillerson and says that his ratification would be a signal that genuine and lasting detente between the two powers is a real possibility."--CSMonitor.com

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Trump Rally Day 2: Asian Markets Rebound, Dow Jones Hits Record High

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) Hits Record High:

FindTheCompany | Graphiq

Trump Rally Day 2--Dow hits record high Nov 10, 2016--The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) surged more than 200 points, blasting to new record highs, marking Day 2 of the "Trump Bounce" as Wall Street fears related to Donald Trump’s stunning election win gave way to hopes that the President-elect's policies could boost the economy. --read more at USAtoday.com.

Stan Druckenmiller: "I'm optimistic about the future"--Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller told CNBC.com on Thursday he's "quite, quite optimistic" about the U.S. economy following the election of Donald Trump. "I sold all my gold on the night of the election," the founder and former chairman of Duquesne Capital said in a "Squawk Box" interview. He said he's betting on growth by shorting bonds globally and he likes stocks that respond to growth. He also likes prospects for the U.S. dollar, especially against the euro stating "... hopeful as I've been in a long time ... I would not be surprised if we're not looking at the peak of the divisiveness."

Druckenmiller's new outlook is in stark contrast to what he said at the Sohn Investment Conference in New York, May, 2016. At that time he told attendees they should sell their stock holdings and that gold was his "largest currency allocation."

Asian Markets Rebound as Trump Victory Sinks In:

Video above published Nov 10, 2016: Financial markets bounced back across Asia on Thursday as investors digested the news that Donald Trump will be the next President of the United States.

In Washington, a new domain name, greatagain.gov, marks the transition website of the President-elect: Help Wanted: 4,000 Presidential Appointees | President-elect Donald J. Trump: "More than 4,000 political appointees, many of whom hold important leadership and policymaking positions, will be heading out the door next year with the change in administrations."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on the Election and Next Steps:

Video above published Nov 10, 2016: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke to the press the day after Donald Trump's electoral victory about what he expects to transpire in the coming weeks and months.

See also:

• Tech CEOs Look Ahead After Trump Victory | WSJ.com: "Let’s move forward—together!"--Tim Cook, Apple CEO
• Huffington Post Continues Campaigning for Hillary Clinton | WashingtonsBlog.com
• Lefsetz.com: "... He defeated Hillary fair and square. How did the intelligentsia get it so WRONG? First, the mainstream press thought people were listening to it. To these holier-than-thou talking heads who are paid millions to bloviate in a world where we get our news from the internet, not television… If you’re still watching TV for the answers, you ain’t got a clue ..."

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FIFA Election: Who Wants to Clean Up the Mess? (video)

FIFA Election: Who Wants to Clean Up the Mess? Nine months of scandal. Allegations of massive corruption. A former president banned for eight years. Now, for the second time since May, world soccer's governing body is holding a presidential election. So who wants to clean up the mess at FIFA? WSJ's Joshua Robinson explains. Published on Feb 1, 2016

FIFA
Football Organization · Domain name: fifa.com
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association is the governing body of association football, futsal and beach football. Wikipedia

See also on Domain Mondo: 

• FIFA Corruption Scandal, Lessons For ICANN and IANA Transition
• Caveat ICANN: FIFA Bans Blatter and Platini For Conflict of Interest (video)

Tweets about fifa scandal Tweets by @FIFAcom Tweets by @FIFAWorldCup

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