Movers & Shakers: Aug 14, 2019

Recession signal rocks stocks. U.S. stock futures are pointing to a rough open, with the Dow off more than 300 points. The selling was sparked after the spread between the 2-year and 10-year Treasury yields inverted early Wednesday morning for the first time in 12 years. Such an event has preceded every U.S. recession of the last 50 years. The bottom line: short term borrowing costs are more expensive vs. longer-term borrowing.

Hong Kong airport chaos has leaders finger-pointing. China is trying to shift the blame for its pro-democracy protestors as the Hong Kong airport struggles to resume normal operations after two days of being closed. A spokeswoman for China's Foreign Ministry said comments from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer "have provided the world with new and powerful evidence" of the U.S. involvement in the Hong Kong protests, according to CNBC. The allegations come after a photo surfaced last week showing a U.S. diplomat meeting with anti-Beijing activists.   

The world economy is slowing down. The global economy got more bad news Wednesday as China's industrial production weakened to a 17-year low and Germany's economy contracted for the second time in four quarters. Germany, Japan and France are among the nations that already have negative interest rates as those central banks work to prop up local economies.

Jeffrey Epstein death fallout continues with a major shakeup. The warden at the Metropolitan Correctional Center has been reassigned and the two guards assigned to Epstein's cell were put on administrative leave as the Department of Justice continues its probe into the financier's death, the Washington Post reports. Autopsy results are pending amid reports the cause of death was suicide.

Jay-Z is teaming up with the NFL. Jay-Z's entertainment and sports company Roc Nation has reached an agreement with the NFL to enhance the league's live game experiences and to magnify its social justice efforts. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The partnership comes amid the ongoing attention on the league and its players following Colin Kaepernick's kneeling during the national anthem in 2016.