Written by Gary
Dems To Cut Off Stimulus Checks At $200K Household Income (SPY +0.02% flat). Bitcoins Tesla-driven rally fizzles, Super Bowl ratings hit 15-year low but viewership jumps 65%.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
 | North and South American markets are mixed. The IPC is higher by 1.59%, while the S&P 500 is leading the Bovespa lower. They are down 0.14% and 0.03% respectively. |
What Is Moving the Markets
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
| India Will Drive Energy Demand For The Next 20 YearsIndia will be the biggest driver of global energy demand over the next 20 years as its population continues to increase fast and affluence spreads, the International Energy Agency said in a new report. This growth in energy consumption will provide opportunities for renewable energy developers as the country needs to add a power system the size of the European Union to what it has now, while reducing its reliance on fossil fuels and solid biomass, the IEA said. On a per capita basis, Indias energy use and emissions are |
| National Oil Companies On Collision Course With Climate TargetsState-owned oil companies are on course to invest $400 billion in oil and gas projects that could only break even if the world exceeds the Paris Agreement targets, a think tank has said in a new report. State oil companies investments could pay off, or they could pave the way for economic crises across the emerging and developing world, and necessitate future bailouts that cost the public, the Natural Resource Governance Institute said. Some oil-dependent governments in Africa, Latin America and Eurasia are making particularly |
| Could Oil Prices Break $100 Next Year?Oil prices could go as high as $100 a barrel next year on the back of very easy monetary policy and reflation trade, Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at Energy Aspects, told Bloomberg in an interview. Its a futures market, we always discount stuff thats going to happen in the future, now. Thats why prices are rallying right now, the analyst said on the Bloomberg Surveillance program. Weve always called for $80 plus oil in 2022. Maybe that is $100 now given how much liquidity there is in |
| Total Reports Huge Loss For 2020French supermajor Total reported a net loss of $7.2 billion for 2020, down from a profit of $11.27 billion for 2019, and said it will change its name to reflect its shift to renewable energy. The company said that 2020 had presented it with the dual challenge of the pandemic, which destroyed oil demand, and the oil price crash, which at one point drove Brent crude prices below $20. The supermajor, however, noted its low production costsas low as $5.1 per barrel of oil equivalentthat helped it weather the crisis. The company said it |
| Russian, Saudi Oil Giants To Benefit From Bidens Anti-Oil AgendaThe growing number of Western countries aiming for net-zero emissions by 2050 and the U.S. Administrations drive to limit oil and gas extraction on federal land and waters are likely to benefit the biggest oil firms in Russia and Saudi oil giant Aramco, analysts and portfolio managers told Bloomberg. While major developed economies are vowing to build back greener, the world will still run on oil, and the beneficiaries, at least in the short term, will be the oil firms in countries that havent pledged net-zero targets |
| The Oil Deal That Could Break Up IraqSince the formation of the new system of governance in Iraq in 2003 immediately after the fall of Saddam Hussein there have been a slew of problems between the Federal Government of Iraq (FGI), centred in Baghdad, and the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), governed in large part by its government (the KRG) based in Erbil. Back then in 2003/4 it was broadly agreed that the KRG would export a certain volume of oil from its own fields and Kirkuk via the FGIs State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) and would absolutely not independently |
| Boeing delivers 26 planes in January as cancellations continue to outpace new salesBoeing delivered 26 planes in January and its backlog shrunk as cancellations outpaced new orders. |
| Michelle Obama returns to Netflix with children’s cooking show ‘Waffles + Mochi’“Waffles + Mochi” is a children’s cooking show coming to Netflix starring former first lady Michelle Obama. |
| GM extending plant shutdowns at three car and crossover plants due to chip shortageGM said the shutdown extension, which will be re-assessed in mid-March, is meant to assist in maintaining production of more profitable pickup trucks and SUVs. |
| Uber will offer free rides to Walgreens to expand Covid vaccine access in underserved communitiesWalgreens and Uber are teaming up to make it easier for people who do not have a car or a pharmacy nearby to get the coronavirus vaccine. |
| Nissan lowers sales forecast as CEO acknowledges disruption caused by chip shortageA range of factors have squeezed the global supply of semiconductors. |
| WHO says Covid ‘most likely’ originated in animals and spread to humans, dismisses lab leak theoryScientists have been working in the Chinese city of Wuhan for the past four weeks as part of their search for clues to the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic. |
| Burger King tests loyalty program as part of digital pushBurger King is testing a loyalty program in five U.S. markets. |
| Tilray shares surge nearly 40% on deal to import and distribute medical cannabis in the UKTilray stock soared after an agreement with Grow Pharma to import and distribute its medical cannabis products in the United Kingdom. |
| CEO of America’s biggest mall owner says some retailers are excited for growth opportunities in 2021Simon Property Group, the biggest U.S. mall owner, is expecting this year to be better than last, as some retailers start to think about opening new stores. |
| Super Bowl posts worst viewer ratings since 2007CBS said the Super Bowl attracted 96.4 million viewers, the lowest-watched NFL championship since 2007, when the Indianapolis Colts played the Chicago Bears. |
| SpaceX begins accepting $99 preorders for its Starlink satellite internet service as Musk eyes IPOSpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service on Monday began accepting $99 preorders from potential customers, with Elon Musk still expecting Starlink will IPO. |
| NBA players oppose All-Star Game, but the league knows there’s a lot of money on the lineThe NBA is pressing to hold an All-Star Game despite pushback from top players. |
| Fauci’s approach to the two-dose vaccine is the right one, says former CDC acting director Richard BesserRichard Besser, who served as the acting director of the CDC under President Obama, agrees with Dr. Fauci on prioritizing two-dose vaccines. |
| Biden Runs Into ‘Most Important Person You Don’t Know’Biden Runs Into ‘Most Important Person You Don’t Know’ Authored by Philip Wegmann via RealClearPolitics.com, Introductions were in order just four years ago. Republicans controlled not just the White House but also both chambers of Congress, and even in that moment of unified government at the beginning of the Trump presidency, their power was not complete. Then-House Speaker Paul Ryan was strategizing with party lawmakers behind closed doors about how to accomplish the single most defining GOP promise of the 2016 campaign: repealing the Affordable Care Act. The person to watch in the Senate, Ryan said, was œElizabeth. Do you mean, one congressman asked, the junior senator from Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren?
As the Wall Street Journal reported at the time, Ryan was talking about Elizabeth MacDonough. The Washington Post would go on to introduce her as the staffer who œcould change the course of the health-care debate, while The Hill later |
| Jeff Ubben Seeks To Raise $8BN As He Considers “Meaningful” Exxon StakeJeff Ubben Seeks To Raise $8BN As He Considers “Meaningful” Exxon Stake Activist investor Jeff Ubben is looking to raise as much as $8 billion for a hedge fund at his firm Inclusive Capital Partners. Ubben is looking to raise the capital for his Spring Fund II, a successor to his $1.5 billion Spring Fund that he started while at ValueAct, which he founded in 2000, according to Bloomberg. The goal of the fund is reportedly going to be looking at “impact investing”, which aims to “make systemic changes at companies and sectors to the betterment of society,” the report notes. This, of course, would fit nicely if Ubben was looking to make a major operational, ideological (and PR) shift at an undervalued legacy oil and gas company like Exxon. Last week we reported that Ubben was considering a “meaningful stake” in Exxon and could, as a result, even wind up with a seat on the board. The news sparked a rally in XOM shares which remain far below year-ago levels. |
| “A Signal Fire Of Warnings Is Under Way”“A Signal Fire Of Warnings Is Under Way” Authored by Sven Henrich via NorthmanTrader.com, The more things change the more they stay the same. So we had the bounce off of the 50MA and the other signal points we highlighted. The resulting rally brought markets right back to new highs, precisely the year 2000 script we had discussed. Hence so far no surprises really. A steep rally since November, new all time highs in January, then a swift corrective move into the end of January and then a rally to new highs:
Oh, I’m sorry, that’s the chart from 2019/2020, here’s the current version: |
| Dems To Cut Off Stimulus Checks At $200K Household Income: Here’s What Else Is In The Fiscal PackageDems To Cut Off Stimulus Checks At $200K Household Income: Here’s What Else Is In The Fiscal Package On Monday afternoon, House Dems released a draft of their fiscal package. Amid the top highlights is that Biden is going for the full $1.9T and is not succumbing to pressure to reduce the size of the bill to accommodate the GOP nor centrist lawmakers who may be at-risk in 2022 elections. Further, the timing appears to be Feb 22 to get a bill completed and sent for a floor vote with the goal of putting the bill into law by early/mid-March. Following criticism that Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package would benefit the rich, House Democrats agreed that individuals earning more than $100,000 and couples with income above $200,000 will not be eligible for direct payments. Draft legislation released Monday by the House Ways and Means Committee (full summary below) called for $1,400 payments for single people earning $75,000 or married couples earning $150,000. The checks will now completely phase out for individuals making $100,000 or joint taxpayers making $200,000. The payments will scale down more quickly than previous rounds, where the top levels were determined by the size of the payment and the number of children in the household. The first round of checks, approved in the Cares Act last March, started at $1,200 before they began phasing out. |
| Brexit worse than feared, says JD Sports bossChairman Peter Cowgill says the new EU trade deal has meant “double-digit millions” in extra costs. |
| Can I get a cold weather payment and how much are they?Cold weather payments are available to some as temperatures stay low. |
| Bitcoin sets fresh records after Elon Musk investmentBitcoin sees further strong gains after Elon Musk’s Tesla bought $1.5bn of the cryptocurrency. |
| Bitcoin’s Tesla-driven rally fizzles after prices hit $48,000Bitcoin’s ascent to its latest summit came with big swings that continue to stoke controversy about its outlook. |
| Up 22% in 2 days, this PSU stock in no mood to slow downThe fact that Gujarat Gas recorded a double-digit volume growth despite raising prices shows that it has started commanding pricing power among industrial clients. |
| InterGlobe Aviation settles case with Sebi amid promoters’ feudThe capital markets regulator said in its order on Tuesday, Rakesh Gangwal, co-founder of InterGlobe Aviation, had in his complaint alleged several violations including non-compliance of corporate governance norms by the company |
| NewsWatch: 24 bank stocks with dividends of at least 3.57%, three times what 10-year Treasurys payBanks have “come full circle” through the pandemic, according to Christopher Marinac from Janney Montgomery Scott. |
| Project Syndicate: Despite the Capitol insurrection, Trump was never a would-be fascist dictatorNotwithstanding the mob assault on the U.S. Capitol and the start of his second impeachment trial, the fact that Donald Trump has left the White House is proof that he was never a fascist dictator but rather an American-style populist demagogue. |
| : Super Bowl ratings hit 15-year low, but streaming sets recordsRatings from the Buccaneers blowout over the Chiefs in the Super Bowl were down 9% from last year. |
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