After Hours: Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Tilray, Fitbit and more I CNBC

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Waverly Colville

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Josh Edelson | AFP | Getty Images

Check out the companies making headlines after the bell:
Fitbit Inc stock fell nearly 2 percent during post-trading hours. The stock closed up 6.4 percent, after President Donald Trump announced on Monday that the $200 billion tariff on Chinese goods will avoid smartwatch makers and fitness trackers.
Tilray Inc stock rose more than 5 percent after market-close, continuing the company's positive trend from the trading day. Shares soared 29% during the trading day after the announcement that the cannabis producer will be able to import marijuana to the U.S. for medical research.
AbbVie Inc stock rose as much as 1.2 percent after hours, partially rebounding from the day's losses. Shares fell almost 3 percent during the day after the California Department of Insurance sued the pharmaceutical company for allegedly giving health-care providers incentives to prescribe its Humira arthritis drug.

Keiser Report Video: Manafort Drained From From Bipartisa Swamp (E1281).

Where Are Coca-Cola Shares Headed After Big News? I Investopedia Chart

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Justin Kuepper

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The Coca-Cola Company (KO) shares rose three-quarters of a point on Monday after Bloomberg reported that the beverage giant was in talks with Aurora Cannabis Inc. (ACBFF) to develop CBD-infused functional wellness beverages. While Coca-Cola hasn't made any definitive decisions, the move would follow deals struck by Constellation Brands, Inc. (STZ) and Molson Coors Brewing Company (TAP) with Canadian cannabis companies.
The move also comes shortly after Coca-Cola announced a $5.1 billion acquisition of Costa, a U.K.-based coffee chain. While the fast-growing coffee market could boost revenue over the long term, some analysts are concerned that the entry into the food services market could negatively affect Coca-Cola's operating margins. But these developments point to bold moves into new markets that could significantly change the fundamental picture. (For more, see: Coca-Cola May Foray Into Cannabis-Infused Drinks.)

From a technical standpoint, the stock has moved up since the beginning of the month to retest its prior highs at around $46.50. The relative strength index (RSI) has risen near overbought levels with a reading of 64.61, but the moving average convergence divergence (MACD) experienced a bullish crossover above the zero line. These indicators suggest that the stock could see some near-term consolidation, but the medium-term trend remains bullish.
Traders should watch for some consolidation between upper trendline resistance at $46.50 and the 50-day moving average at $45.37. If the stock breaks out from trendline resistance, traders could see a move to R2 resistance at $47.35. If the stock breaks down from the 50-day moving average, it could move lower to test pivot point and trendline support at around $45.90 – although that scenario appears less likely to occur. (For more, see: How Rich Would You Be If You Followed Warren Buffett Into Coca-Cola?)
Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com. The author holds no position in the stock(s) mentioned except through passively managed index funds.

Tesla is Facing a Criminal Investigation. What Does it Mean? Markets I Investopedia

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Jake Frankenfield

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About a month and a half ago, Musk tweeted much to the surprise of investors, and chagrin of short-sellers:

Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 7, 2018

At the time, there was much speculation about what that could mean, for the company and its stock.

The stock ended trading up 11% that afternoon, rocketing from the low 340s to the 380s in a matter of hours.

But there was also speculation about what it could mean for the company, legally.

Following the tweet, from investors to regulators to Tesla fans, everyone was inquiring into the veracity of the claim that Musk and the company had the “funding secured” for a buyback of that size - a buyback that would have cost tens of billions. On CNBC, former SEC chair Harvey Pitt was quoted saying, “if you make a false statement in connection with the trading of securities, you run the risk of both having to pay for the damages you caused and also you run the risk of criminal prosecution.”

Days later, the New York Times reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had served Tesla with a subpoena. According to reporting from Bloomberg, this subpoena marked the beginning of a second ongoing civil investigation into the company. (The longer standing probe focuses on whether or not Tesla issued “misleading pronouncements on manufacturing goals and sales targets.”)

The Criminal Probe

Now Tesla is under additional, and perhaps more intense scrutiny, this time coming not from the SEC, but the Department of Justice, according to a report from Bloomberg published on September 18th.

In a statement to Bloomberg addressing the matter, a Tesla spokesperson said, “last month, following Elon’s announcement that he was taking the company private, Tesla received a voluntary request for documents from the DOJ and has been cooperative in responding to it. We have not received a subpoena, a request for testimony, or any other formal process. We respect the DOJ’s desire to get information about this and believe that the matter should be quickly resolved as they review the information they have received.”

So, there you have it. Tesla drew attention from the DOJ, understandably. The DOJ requested documents, they have them now, and soon we’ll all be able to put this behind us, says Tesla.

What It Means

However, it isn’t really clear what the nature of the investigation is. Sure, Musk’s going-private tweet certainly caught the DOJ’s attention, but the breadth and depth of the probe is pretty much unknown. We don’t even know what documents Tesla was invited to offer. It could be an inquiry into that one tweet, or it could be an inquiry into statements regarding the company’s health, or the resignation of Tesla’s CFO Dave Morton, some at Bloomberg have guessed.
It's also worth mentioning that this isn't the first time Tesla CEO Musk's tweets have put the company in a compromised position. Between the immense pressure of his job, described in a NYT interview, the potential of his other ventures, and his well-publicized preference to run his companies insulated from public scrutiny. (See also: What If Tesla Goes Private?)
But this is only one of three ongoing investigations into the company, from either the SEC or the DOJ. Tesla has recently transitioned from “production hell" to "delivery logistics hell,” according to a tweet from Musk (dude, stop tweeting). Earlier today, news broke that the Saudi Arabia's foreign wealth fund had invested up to $1billion in a Tesla competitor, Lucid. This news came after the fund bought a 3-5% stake in Tesla earlier this year. And Lucid isn't Tesla's only competitor in the electric vehicle market. Today, Audi released their electric SUV, and, though analysts have said the competition doesn't match up, it never encourages investors to be reminded of competition, or a market crowding.
For all these reasons, it's no surprise that the Tesla stock tumbled today, dropping dramatically before recovering some of the losses by the end of day. 

Stefan Gleason: Trump's back-door power play to rein in the Fed: GATA I THE GATA DISPATCH

Submitted by cpowell on 08:45PM ET Tuesday, September 18, 2018. Section: Daily Dispatches By Stefan Gleason

Money Metals News Service
Tuesday, September 18, 2018
"Just run the presses -- print money."
That's what President Donald Trump supposedly instructed his former chief economic adviser, Gary Cohn, to do in response to the budget deficit. The quote appears in Bob Woodward's controversial book "Fear: Trump in the White House."
Trump disputes many of the anecdotes Woodward assembled. But regardless of whether the president used those exact words, they do reflect an "easy money" philosophy that he has expressed many times before. ...
... For the remainder of the commentary:
https://www.moneymetals.com/news/2018/09/18/trumps-power-play-fed-001619

(Correction) Wall Street at Close Report: Dow surges about 185 points as latest US-China trade barbs are not as bad as feared

cnbc.com

Fred Imbert, Alexandra Gibbs, Thomas Franck

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Stocks rose on Tuesday as the latest tariffs on U.S. and Chinese goods are not as bad as previously feared. Strong gains in tech also lifted the broader market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 188.84 points to 26,246.96 as Nike and Boeing outperformed. The 30-stock Dow also posted its fifth positive day in six.
The S&P 500 gained 0.5 percent to close at 2,904.31, led by consumer discretionary and industrials. The S&P 500 is also less than half a percent removed from its record high. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.8 percent to 7,956.11 as Netflix, Amazon, Apple, and Alphabet closed higher.
China announced tariffs targeting more than 5,000 U.S. products will go into effect on Sept. 24. The goods targeted are worth approximately $60 billion. However, China will put a 10 percent tariff on some goods it had previously earmarked for a 20 percent levy. The announcement comes after the Trump administration announced the U.S. will impose 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, and those duties will rise to 25 percent at the end of the year.
"The market is thinking this wasn't the worst-case scenario," said Daniel Deming, managing director at KKM Financial. "That's why you're seeing this pseudo-rally taking place."
Deming added that strong gains in Asian markets also lifted investor sentiment. "Once we saw the Asian market had the ability to rally, most of the major indexes across the globe got their cue from that," he said. The Shanghai Composite rose nearly 2 percent while the Japanese Nikkei gained 1.4 percent overnight.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the new tariffs are aimed at modifying China's behavior and leveling the playing field for U.S. companies there. China is "out of bullets" to retaliate, Ross told CNBC's "Squawk Box."
The tariffs from both countries come after multiple news outlets reported U.S. officials were trying to restart U.S.-China trade talks.

"At least for now, instead of getting us closer to the bargaining table with China, we've only pushed them further away as they are likely canceling their trip to the US," said said Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Advisory Group.
President Donald Trump tweeted there will be "fast economic retaliation against China" if U.S. farmers, ranchers or industrial workers are targeted.

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The announcements also come after National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow told CNBC's Becky Quick that Trump has "not been satisfied" with the trade talks with Beijing.
Caterpillar and Boeing — considered trade bellwethers for their large overseas exposure — rose 1.95 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively.
Fears of escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China knocked equities off of record highs set last month. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq set all-time highs to end August. This month, however, both indexes are down 0.4 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively, through Monday's close.
Tech shares bounced back after steep losses in the previous session. Amazon rose 1.7 percent after posting its worst day since April on Monday. Netflix and Apple, meanwhile, rose nearly 5 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively. The overall tech sector rose 0.6 percent after dropping 1.4 percent on Monday.