EU ENERGY SECTOR: Exxon Mobil: BP Bid Speculation   

• Stocks have retreated from modest early Wednesday session gains, the timing of the reversal coinciding with headlines that Pres Trump likely to fire Fed Chairman Powell soon, citing a White House official that added there was "no exact timeline" for any decision to act.
• The Fed statute authorizes the president to remove Fed governors for cause, but there's no case law in what would constitute cause, Lev Menand, an ex-senior Treasury adviser who specializes in legal matters around central banking at Columbia Law School, told MNI in April.
• The basis for "cause" my be tied to accusations of cost overruns on the renovation of the Fed building in DC.
• Currently, the DJIA trades down 264.27 points (-0.6%) at 43765.43, S&P E-Minis down 41.75 points (-0.66%) at 6242.25, the Nasdaq down 170 points (-0.8%) at 20510.2.
• A mix of Energy, Tech and Financials stocks led the late morning sale: Vistra Corp -4.05%, Applied Materials -4.01%, Teradyne Inc -3.92%, Micron Technology  -3.51%, Constellation Energy -3.47% and Morgan Stanley -3.59%.
• Earnings expected after the close: Rexford Industrial Realty, Alcoa Corp, United Airlines Holdings Inc and Kinder Morgan Inc.

• CANADA CONTRIBUTING CAD1B TO STEEL INNOVATION FUND
• CANADA SETS EXTRA 25% TARIFF ON NON-US STEEL POURED IN CHINA
• CANADA SETS 100% TARIFF QUOTA ON NON-US FREE TRADE-DEAL COUNTRIES
• CANADA PM CARNEY SAYS MEASURES PROTECT AGAINST TRADE DIVERSION

Reuters reports that, according to EU diplomats, the Union has once again failed to approve the 18th package of sanctions on Russia. EU ambassadors met for a Coreper II meeting in Brussels today after EU foreign ministers failed to reach a unanimous consensus yesterday, with Slovakia again the obstacle. The gov't of PM Robert Fico has held up the sanctions over another issue, the EU's planned phase-out of Russian fossil fuels. 

• On 15 July, Fico stated that EU assurances on ensuring a sufficient supply of hydrocarbons despite the phase out were "insufficient", risking a major escalation in tensions between Brussels and Bratislava. The phase out only needs a qualified majority, meaning Slovakia cannot block it. However, sanctions need unanimous approval, resulting in Slovakia holding up the package until its demands on the phase out are met.