How People Reacted to China's Rating Downgrade Hints the Whole Market Is Crazy

What is going on here?

Do investors care anymore about risk to global businesses and major countries? Sure as heck doesn't look like it. 

In the latest sign investors are wearing blinders, stocks overseas barely reacted to Moody's first downgrade of China's credit rating since 1989. The ratings agency took China's credit rating down to A1 from Aa3, changing its outlook to stable from negative, citing worries that efforts to boost growth will lead to ballooning debt levels. China obviously moved quickly to shoot down what Moody's had to say.

In a statement on its website, China's finance ministry said the downgrade was based on an "inappropriate method" and that Moody's was undervaluing China's growth efforts and ability to make structural reforms. 

The lack of market reaction to the downgrade follows a yawn by investors to the horrible attack in Manchester and another round of weak retail earnings. It's almost as if the market is trading higher on the thesis that the longer Trump stays out of the Washington bubble and doesn't make more gaffes, his growth agenda has a chance to pass. Unfortunately for that line of thinking, Trump will soon return to DC after a well-orchestrated trip to the Middle East and bring with him renewed headline risk.

 

Moreover, stock valuations continue to inflate to levels that seem out of touch with the reality of what companies will report for the second quarter.

Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend barbecue; things are likely to get rough as the calendar turns to June. 

 

Read This Or Lose Out

Step it up, Lowe's: In the battle for your home improvement dollars, Home Depot (HD) continues to kick in the face of Lowe's (LOW) . The differences in performance continue to be striking. Lowe's shares will likely go on sale after the weak first quarter results they announced on Wednesday.  

This feels wrong: Why can't classic movies just stay classics (obviously because of the money in sequels). Tom Cruise confirmed in an interview on an Aussie network that he will soon start shooting a sequel to 1986 classic Top Gun. Reportedly, the plot will revolve around a senior flight related person in Maverick. Ugh.

WORLDWIDE EXCLUSIVE: @TomCruise just confirmed that Top Gun 2 is happening! "I'm gonna start filming it probably in the next year". #sun7 pic.twitter.com/X17xvxz4Q4

— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) May 23, 2017

Speaking of sequels: This one isn't even worth commenting on. Dirty Dancing, the new TV movie remake starring Abigail Breslin that airs Wednesday night on ABC, will surely dominate Twitter talk Thursday morning. Reviews have been mixed so far.

Let's just leave it at that. Enjoy.

It's the music, dancing and classic love story that you can't resist. #DirtyDancing premieres TOMORROW at 8|7c on ABC. pic.twitter.com/DN9sgRmAnY

— ABC Network (@ABCNetwork) May 23, 2017

iPhone 8 leaks continue: After images floated around on Twitter last week, a new video has emerged reportedly showing a finished Apple (AAPL) iPhone 8. Feast your eyes on this one. 

Check out the Pope's cheap ride: Pope Francis is a notoriously modest fella, so it's no surprise he rolled up in a blue Ford (F) Focus to meet President Trump for the first time. Wonder if the Pope knows about what went down with Ford this week.

Trump drove up in an armored limo.

Pope Francis rolls out in a blue Ford Focus pic.twitter.com/ca32Zm3Xmo

— Julie Pace (@jpaceDC) May 24, 2017

Microsoft is OK with being boring: Leave being the coolest kids in Silicon Valley to Facebook (FB) , Alphabet (GOOGL) , and Apple -- Microsoft (MSFT) is OK with being boring, TheStreet reports. Hard to argue with Microsoft's focus on making great products without all the glitz and glamour of an Apple event. Shares have surged 35% over the past year under the leadership of CEO Satya Nadella. 

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