Well, it’s “Let’s Make a Deal” around the world as the stock market rejoiced over how headline grabbing stories from Greece to China to Iran could soon fade away, at least for the time being.

In Greece, the parliament will decide tomorrow on the latest proposal from its European creditors. In some ways, this offer is tougher than the one rejected by the Greek’s in that now infamous referendum.

The deal calls for Greece to receive $95 billion in return for reform concessions on labor and pensions, and $50 billion in assets to be put into a fund for privatization.

There’s no way to say it is a done-deal since so many would-be done deals have been rejected, but the clock is well past midnight and an economic noose is getting tighter by the minute.

In addition, the Iranian nuclear deal missed another deadline, but it appears close to happening today.

However, it does not feel as though this is going to be a good deal for anyone other than Iran and its terrorist network; but a deal is a deal if your foreign affairs resume is thin. Of course, just as there are times when I tell investors that the best idea is not to do anything, this is a time when ‘no deal’ would speak of clarity and skill on behalf of the administration.

Be that as it may, Wall Street will probably be happy it is off the table until the first report of broken promises lead to a spike in crude oil; remember how much of a geopolitical risk (read Iran) can drive up crude? For now, the most important thing for the White House and Wall Street, is to get a deal done and put it in the rearview mirror.

My tweet on the Iranian nuke deal…I’d like your thoughts.

Charles V Payne ‏@cvpayne  17m17 minutes ago

Xerxes' Revenge 2,500 years after humiliating defeat by Spartans the Iranians (Persians) get a nuke Greece gets crumbs #GreatnessSquandered

Hillary’s Plan

Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton updated her economic plan in New York with another tactic shift to the left. For someone who has taken so much Wall Street money and obscene amounts for speeches, it was hard to take her seriously. Even without hypocrisy, it was tough to take her seriously. It’s not a pro-growth plan.

Hillary Clinton’s Economic Plan (and my thoughts)
Infrastructure Spending	I tried that. It’s just a parlor trick with temporary jobs.  Even Eisenhower’s highway program was not a jobs juggernaut.  That said, how about accountability in the billions that is currently taxed and wasted.  #IHatePotholes
Tax Break Small Businesses	This was a gimmick under Obama…really, most small businesses are not going to take the bait and buy a fax or a copy machine.
Better Child Care	Let’s encourage couples to get married this way; retiring baby- boomer grandparents can chip in rather than rewarding out- of- wedlock births.
College More affordable	This is a joke…government involvement has sent the cost curve through the roof- get government out of college loans.
Collective Bargaining	The left’s push for more unions underscores their reliance on each other at the expense of businesses, new employees, and wages.
Increase tax on wealthiest	Taxes have been going higher and it’s not helping…taking money from successful people doesn’t increase anyone else’s wages; it might decrease them.

It is real since it is more of the same stuff; the kind of stuff that might sound good, but in application, it is either a drop in the bucket or it does more harm than good.

While Hillary Clinton and the left continue to advocate raiding corporate balance sheets, the private sector is coming up with more innovative ideas.

Private Sector Solutions

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has invested $30 million in a plan to provide 100,000 “opportunity youth” with jobs, internships, and apprenticeships. The focus is on disconnected youth, the 5.5 million 16- to 24-year-olds who are not in school and who are not working.

He’s gotten 17 companies to join his effort, including:

Wal-Mart, Taco Bell, Target, Walgreens, Microsoft, Hilton, CVS Health, Alaska Airlines, Starbucks, Potbelly’s, Macy’s, JPMorgan Chase, Cintas, HMSHost, JC Penney, Lyft, and Porch.com.

Moreover, I think Schultz has ambitions for a higher office, but it does not mitigate the fact these kind of programs are becoming more common. It proves the private sector is stepping up, not having to be forced to use shareholder funds for the public domain.

Today’s Session

Equity futures were higher this morning until we got another surprising miss on retail sales. The inability for retail to gain sustained traction is problematic to be sure.

In addition, earnings beats that initially sent stocks higher are fading.

• Johnson and Johnson (JNJ) beat by $0.04, but international sales took a 15% bite out of results because of the strong dollar.
• JPM beat consensus by $0.10, but it looks more like cost cuts and accounting gimmicks that bolstered the bottom line.

In both cases, I suspect the stocks will come back even if it’s not today, but underscores the worrisome issues of lack of top line growth and the unrelenting strong dollar which benefits as much from ineptitude and issues in Europe, Japan and China.

Comments

Iran gets to sell their oil and increase the world glut, and we get a 'promise' they will play nuclear nice. What a negotiator! Never send a pussy to buy a rug! ed bradley on 7/14/2015 10:29:05 AM

Charles brings common sense and an even handed appraisal to HRC's "economic" plan. It's the same old big gov, tax and spend, redistribute the existing pie, be tethered to the Federal dole that Liberals, Progressives and Democrats rant about as being "FAIR" and prociding "SOCIAL JUSTICE". BS: it's about buying votes, propping up those that won't get out and make it on theirown and ultimately keeping "ELITIST POLITICIANS" in power to rule over us. Garro on 7/14/2015 11:09:43 AM

Will America get it's head out of the sand in time to avert a disaster? May God help us an protect us from our stupidity. Drtoofy on 7/14/2015 11:25:23 AM

Valerie( not Obama) is now big man on campus. Hillary loves it (how much money was the Foundation paid for this) and the Chinese get Micron .....plus the Russians can now sell arms to Iran...What do we get ? bonnie on 7/14/2015 11:42:38 AM

Charles is telling it like it is. My only problem is with the "electorate." It is that group, that elected, and then REELECTED Obama, that is the problem. All the commonsense in the world cannot discount the fact that American people simply don't get it - and they WILL be dumb enough to elect Hillary Clinton - regardless of how inept her, and her concepts are. There was once an elementary school election and the two candidates, a smart little boy and a bright-face girl were running for president. The boy said, "I will make recess longer, less homework and more time to play computer games." The girl said, "I will make sure everybody gets free ice cream and can eat all they want." The little girl won - in a landslide. When all the children in class demanded their free ice cream, the little girl said, "There is no free ice cream. I just wanted to win the election." Wake up, America! Lawrence Klepinger Lawrence Klepinger on 7/14/2015 1:24:09 PM

I worked to go to College, HARD. No one ever gave me anything. I did it all MY WAY. UNLIKE THE KIDS OF TODAYWHO WANT A FREE RIDE ON ANY MEANS POSSIBLE. AND OUR SOCIALIST GOV'T WILL GIVE IT TO THEM, AND EVEN ENCOURGAES IT. DANGER AHEAD Joe Caymam on 7/14/2015 8:54:16 PM

This coming election is so important, if any of the radical measures taken by Obama and the liberals are to be overturned. The most electable republican candidate is without a doubt, Ben Carson....Why? He's articulate, likable, has common sense, is a Christian, is not a lawyer, and has a brilliant mind. What's not to like? Being black is another huge asset. paul meyerhoff on 7/15/2015 1:52:51 AM

I thank you for pointing out that government's involvement in student loans is the primary cause for rampant inflation in college costs. Imagine if student loans were underwritten. A C student with 0 ambition or motivation would receive a loan barely high enough for community college instead of the opportunity to flunk out of a state school or private school.... JPB on 7/17/2015 5:03:25 PM

I went to college when it was only $90/semester. Paid this country back many times over with 35 productive years of hard work. Don't our kids deserve the same chance? I agree we should take government out of student loans, but we should also roll back executive salaries at colleges, bring back tenured professors instead of hiring adjuncts at slave wages, and give more of our tax money to higher education instead of tax loopholes for multi-national corporations. Education is an investment in our country's future. Dawn Wolfson on 10/13/2015 7:08:05 PM

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