Wall Street Brunch- September 4

Summary

• Please keep political comments off of the comment board unless these are tied to stocks and investing. Thank you for your consideration!
• This Day in History brought to you by www.history.com.
• Stock and investing news is brought to you by Seeking Alpha, Google Finance, Market Watch!, and @SowingAlfalfa.

Let's start with a little history, shall we?

On September 4, 1886, Apache leader Geronimo surrenders to U.S. government troops. For 30 years, the Native American warrior had battled to protect his tribe’s homeland; however, by 1886 the Apaches were exhausted and hopelessly outnumbered. General Nelson Miles accepted Geronimo’s surrender, making him the last Native American warrior to formally give in to U.S. forces and signaling the end of the Indian Wars in the Southwest. Geronimo was born in 1829 and grew up in what is present-day Arizona and Mexico. His tribe, the Chiricahua Apaches, clashed with non-Native settlers trying to take their land. In 1858, Geronimo’s family was murdered by Mexicans. Seeking revenge, he later led raids against Mexican and American settlers. In 1874, the U.S. government moved Geronimo and his people from their land to a reservation in east-central Arizona. Conditions on the reservation were restrictive and harsh and Geronimo and some of his followers escaped. Over the next decade, they battled federal troops and launched raids on white settlements. During this time, Geronimo and his supporters were forced back onto the reservation several times. In May 1885, Geronimo and approximately 150 followers fled one last time. They were pursued into Mexico by 5,000 U.S. troops. In March 1886, General George Crook (1829–90) forced Geronimo to surrender; however, Geronimo quickly escaped and continued his raids. General Nelson Miles (1839–1925) then took over the pursuit of Geronimo, eventually forcing him to surrender that September near Fort Bowie along the Arizona-New Mexico border. Geronimo and a band of Apaches were sent to Florida and then Alabama, eventually ending up at the Comanche and Kiowa reservation near Fort Sill, Oklahoma Territory. There, Geronimo became a successful farmer and converted to Christianity. He participated in President Theodore Roosevelt’s inaugural parade in 1905. The Apache leader dictated his autobiography, published in 1906 as Geronimo’s Story of His Life. He died at Fort Sill on February 17, 1909.

On this day in 476, Romulus Augustus, the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, is deposed by Odoacer, a German barbarian who proclaims himself king of Italy. Odoacer was a mercenary leader in the Roman imperial army when he launched his mutiny against the young emperor. At Piacenza, he defeated Roman General Orestes, the emperor’s powerful father, and then took Ravenna, the capital of the Western empire since 402. Although Roman rule continued in the East, the crowning of Odoacer marked the end of the original Roman Empire, which centered in Italy. Romulus Augustulus (there are two spellings of his name) was 14 years old at the time he was deposed. His life was spared by Odacer and he was sent to live with relatives in southern Italy. The rest of his life was not documented.

On September 4, 1951, President Harry S. Truman’s opening speech before a conference in San Francisco is broadcast across the nation, marking the first time a television program was broadcast from coast to coast. The speech focused on Truman’s acceptance of a treaty that officially ended America’s post-World War II occupation of Japan. The broadcast, via then-state-of-the-art microwave technology, was picked up by 87 stations in 47 cities, according to CBS. In his remarks, Truman lauded the treaty as one that would help “build a world in which the children of all nations can live together in peace.” As communism was threatening to spread throughout Pacific Rim nations such as Korea and Vietnam, the U.S. recognized the need to create an ally in a strong, democratic Japan. The Multilateral Treaty of Peace with Japan, as it was ultimately called, was ratified by the U.S. Congress on March 20, 1952.

Now for some stock and investing news-

The DOJ plans to bring an antitrust case against Google (GOOG, GOOGL) in coming weeks after Attorney General William Barr overruled career lawyers who hoped to have more time to build the case, NYT reports. Some of the vulnerabilities they were worried about had to do with the part that focused on Google's search practices, while other attorneys probing Google's online ad business wanted more time to deal with complexities there. A coalition of 50 states and territories currently support antitrust action against Google, reflecting an area of broad bipartisan support.

Apple (AAPL) is postponing a privacy feature in its upcoming iOS 14 release (until early 2021) that would prompt users to consent to having their behavior tracked on an app-by-app basis. Critics of the change, like Facebook (FB), expect most users to opt out and said it would hurt app makers by making it harder to sell personalized ads. "We want to give developers the time they need to make the necessary changes," an Apple spokesman said in a statement. "More information, including an update to the App Store Review Guidelines, will follow this fall."

Tech stocks that have powered U.S. equities to record highs this summer went into sharp reverse on Thursday, with the Nasdaq Composite dropping 5%, and the Dow and S&P 500 falling 2.8% and 3.5%, respectively. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) contributed a big portion of those losses, falling over 8%, while Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) also closed the session sharply lower. Futures were still red at the start of the night, though contracts tied to the Dow and S&P 500 have changed direction to trade 0.8% higher, while the Nasdaq erased its losses.

Not sure why Tesla is being listed with Tech stocks. Either it is a automotive stock, which it is when its Market Cap rises to levels that make headlines, or it is a technology stock. A sector needs to be picked for $TSLA. Enough is enough.

The tech bloodbath is still being analyzed by analysts and traders alike, with opinions spanning the spectrum as to what drove the market selloff. Some are pointing to profit-taking, the "Retail Bros" and a long-due breather, while others are drawing attention to record valuations and a rotation out of tech. Bloodbath? I guess it has been some time since certain stocks went through minor corrections, but I am not sure I would call yesterday's sell-offs a Bloodbath. Just me, perhaps.

Off to Google Finance and Market Watch! as WSB is very light on information today.

The Congressional Budget Office released an updated budget outlook on Wednesday, originally published in July, to reflect the impact the pandemic has had on the economy. In the report, the agency said the budget deficit will reach a record $3.3 trillion this year — and $13 trillion over the next decade. The national debt, which is projected to be 98% of gross domestic product this year, is also expected to surpass the levels of World War II next year, when it’s expected to reach 104% in 2021. Among the numerous adverse effects of the current crisis is the steep incline in the expected insolvency dates for Social Security and Medicare’s programs, which are expected to run out of money in 11 years compared with the previous projection of 15 years. Yikes!

Where is Jon Corzine and is MF Global buying share of Tech stock which fundamentally did not change from Wednesday to Thursday?

Where is Marissa Mayer and will her online sports betting company hire former NBA player Dave Corzine by mistake when they really wanted Jon Corzine as a consultant?

Where is Elizabeth Holmes and why was her "massive" fraud trial move from August to the fall and then to March? If children can attend school, Elizabeth Holmes can show up to court.

Have a great day and wonderful weekend everyone. Stay safe out there.

This is the day The Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.