[Follow Up on Story Reporting by Networks courtesy of NewsBusters TM]

Networks Refuse to Declare Trump Victorious as E.U. Buckles on Trade

By Nicholas Fondacaro | July 25, 2018

At a Wednesday press conference in the White House Rose Garden, President Trump and E.U. Chief Executive Jean-Claude Juncker announced that the two trade partners were moving forward on a plan to end their trade war. Juncker’s presence at the White House illustrated that it was the E.U. that caved under pressure, but the liberal broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) were having none of it and refused to give Trump the win.

During World News Tonight, ABC was so against declaring Trump the victor that they insisted he was the one that failed under pressure.

“To the President tonight, under pressure after his own tariffs igniting a trade war,” sensationalist anchor David Muir began the segment. “Well tonight, the President with a new promise. Reaching out to the European Union, he called them a foe just a week ago, but late today, calling a press conference outside the White House to say they will now work together.”

After the report was handed off, chief foreign correspondent Terry Moran suggested Trump was “reeling under increasing pressure from American farmers, Congressional Republicans, and nervous Wall Street investors”. And declared “President Trump suddenly shed his trade warrior persona today and declared a truce with the European Union.”

Trump’s supposed capitulation to Europe was the sole theme of Moran’s report. He set up the scene from the very beginning as he touched on the farmers affected by retaliatory tariffs and Republicans outraged by Tuesday’s announcement of a $12 billion bailout for farmers. “All that led to today's declaration. Tariffs remain in place for now, but the U.S. and E.U. will work together to open markets completely,” Moran opined.

Meanwhile, on NBC Nightly News, the network barely touched on the E.U. trade agreement. Out of a nearly two-minute-long report on the state of the U.S.’s trade wars, only 11 seconds of it were spent on Wednesday’s development. The rest was spent on stoking fears of the trade war with China.

“Now to the late development that could mean the U.S. and its European allies are stepping back from the brink of a trade war,” anchor Lester Holt announced. “Yet, the nation's automakers and some suppliers say they’re already feeling the pain from the trade war on another front with China.” Ironically, he flubbed during his introduction and said Trump “denounced” a trade compromise instead of announced it.

NBC correspondent Tom Costello was the reporter covering the trade wars and he didn’t give one word to Europe’s surrender. He was too busy focusing on China:

They make door hinges for the Jeep Wrangler on this Michigan assembly line, a small company with nearly 50 employees that gets parts from China. But President Trump's tariffs on Chinese imports have Lucerne International considering layoffs.

While the CBS Evening News didn’t say Wednesday’s announcement was a victory for Trump, they portrayed it in a more positive light. “It appears quite a bit has changed in just a little over a week between President Trump and the European Union,” quipped anchor Jeff Glor. “Foes were friendlier today as the President and E.U. Chief Executive Jean-Claude Juncker announced progress.”

CBS White House correspondent Weijia Jiang touted the President, saying it was a new phase in a “close friendship.” “Europe has agreed to buy more products from the U.S., including soybeans and liquefied natural gas. Both sides have agreed to lower industrial tariffs and resolve the steel and aluminum ones already in place,” she added, which was the most serious coverage of the agreement from any network.

snip [of more garbage coverage]

https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/nic...u-buckles-trade

[The networks didn't report it, but the stock market certainly reacted positively to it!!! TM]

Dow surges more than 150 points in sudden move after Trump reportedly gets concessions from EU to avoid a trade war

-- The major indexes surged in the last hour of trading after Dow Jones reported that the EU has agreed to import more U.S. soybeans.
-- The Dow jumped to close more than 150 points higher while the Nasdaq posted a record close.

Stocks closed sharply higher on Wednesday after President Donald Trump reportedly obtained concessions from the European Union to avoid a trade war.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 172.16 points to close at 25,414.10 after falling more than 100 points earlier in the session. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.2 percent to an all-time high of 7,932.24 as Google-parent Alphabet, Facebook and Amazon all jumped. The S&P 500 gained 0.9 percent to 2,846.07, closing less than 1 percent from its record high, as tech rose 1.5 percent.

Dow Jones reported, citing an EU official, that the EU has agreed to import more U.S. soybeans. Dow Jones also said the EU agreed to lowering tariffs on industrial goods.

Caterpillar jumped to close 1.8 percent higher on heavy volume following the report. Ford shares nearly went positive after falling as much as 4 percent earlier in the day.



snip

Wall Street has high hopes for this earnings season, with analysts polled by FactSet expecting a 20 percent year-over-year increase in second-quarter profits.

"For the most part, the earnings season has gone as expected," said Ryan Nauman, market strategist at Informa Financial Intelligence. But the biggest takeaway thus far "is the forward-looking narratives companies are giving, citing the stronger dollar and rising material costs."

Moving forward, "I think that's going to be the No. 1 headline from companies."

Nearly 30 percent of S&P 500 companies have reported quarterly results thus far. Of those companies, 82.6 percent have reported better-than-expected earnings, according to FactSet.

Facebook shares dropped nearly 10 percent after the close following the release of the company's quarterly earnings.

The Commerce Department is scheduled to release the first look at second-quarter economic growth on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters expect the economy to have grown by 4.1 percent.

"For several months, we've had this concern over what tariffs will do to the economy, while at the same time seeing a booming U.S. economy," said Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Baird. He also said the market's overall trend has been to the upside, but added he would not be surprised "if we ran into a headwind after this earnings season. The global economy seems to be slowing down."

Friday's GDP report will follow disappointing new home sales data. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that new home sales dropped to their lowest since October 2017. Shares of hombuilder companies fell sharply on the data, with the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) sliding 1.9 percent.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/25/us-stock...s-in-focus.html