Written by Gary
Historic winter storm delays Covid vaccine shipments (SPY -0.2%). CRI’s WLI growth rate modestly declines and oil rig count ends 12 weeks of gains as oil prices slip.
Baker Hughes data show U.S. total weekly active drilling-rig count unchanged at 397
Baker Hughes data show U.S. weekly active oil-rig count down 1 to 305
The Market in Perspective
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
 | Some Of Texas’ Biggest Refineries Could Take Weeks To RestartSome of the largest oil refineries in Texas could take weeks to restart as they would need to repair the damages from the big Texas freeze, Bloomberg reports, citing sources with knowledge of the situation. The Baytown and Beaumont refineries of ExxonMobil, Marathon Petroleums Galveston Refinery in Texas City, and the Port Arthur refinery operated by Total are expected to be down for at least several weeks as the winter storm caused damage to the facilities. Those four refineries have a combined refining capacity of 1.76 million barrels |
| Oil Prices Fall Back Below $60Oil prices have fallen back below $60 but remain at levels not seen since January 2020.In this week’s Global Energy Alert, our investing team breaks down the best way to trade the Texas freeze. Sign up today to get breaking news, expert analysis, and trading tips.Friday, February 19th, 2021The Texas electricity crisis is easing, but the outages, damage, and human toll were historic. As of Friday morning, Texas grid operator ERCOT said that it would be emerging from emergency conditions later in the day. After a crazy week, WTI fell |
| Oil Rig Count Ends Twelve Week Streak Of Gains As Oil Prices SlipBaker Hughes reported on Friday that the number of oil and gas rigs in the United States stayed the same this week. The total number of active oil and gas rigs in the U.S. hangs at 397or 394 fewer than this time last year. This week marks the end of a twelve-week streak of increases to the number of oil and gas rigs that saw 87 more drilling rigs put into service. The oil rig count slipped by 1 this week, and the number of gas rigs increased by 1. The number of miscellaneous rigs remained unchanged. The EIAs estimate for oil production |
| ERCOT Declares “End” To Texas “Emergency Conditions”Texas power grid operator “ERCOT” officials lift emergency conditions today.They said, “we have left the last stage of emergency operations – so we’re completely back to normal operations as of now.” As of writing this note, PowerOutage.US showed 197k customers in Texas are without power as ERCOT has brought on significant amounts of a generation back online in the last 24 hours to stabilize the grid. In more welcoming news, warmer weather trends are expected to begin this weekend and continue into next week for Southwest, |
| Big Oil To See Production Peak In 2028The pandemic shock to demand and the energy transition strategies are set to bring peak crude and natural gas production for Big Oil in 2028, at a lower volume and earlier than previously expected, Rystad Energy said in an analysis this week. The five integrated supermajors ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Shell, and Total will see their combined crude oil and natural gas production peak at 18 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in 2028, compared to projections from before COVID-19 that had expected the combined production |
| Pemexs Oil Production Increase Is More Illusion Than RealityMexicos Pemex reported its oil production grew last year, for the first time in fifteen years. However, theres a big catchthe increase was only a result of how the company is counting barrels, Bloomberg reports. And anyone trying to compare production figures from year to year will run into a problem of comparing apples to oranges. The change in calculations is pretty straightforward; Pemex simply started adding gas condensate output to the total crude oil production it counts. Without condensates, Pemex and its partners produced |
| 20 Black filmmakers who have changed Hollywood in the last centuryOver the last 100 years, there have been Black filmmakers paving the way for a more inclusive and diverse industry. |
| Airlines’ latest challenge: Rising jet fuel pricesA rally in oil prices has lifted the cost of jet fuel to more than one-year highs. |
| Winter storm has delayed shipments of 6 million Covid vaccine doses across U.S., health officials sayThe backlog represents three days’ worth of delayed shipments, White House senior advisor for Covid response Andy Slavitt said on Friday. |
| CDC says these are the most common side effects people report after getting Covid vaccineThe CDC published new data listing the most common side effects Americans reported after receiving shots of Pfizer’s or Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccines. |
| Tyson Foods begins vaccinating workers against Covid, but struggles to find dosesTyson Foods received 1,000 Covid vaccine doses this week for its 120,000 employees. |
| What’s behind SpaceX’s $74 billion valuation: Elon Musk’s two ‘Manhattan Projects’Elon Musk’s SpaceX is now worth $74 billion and investors believe the company’s Starlink and Starship projects will drive that valuation even higher. |
| Cuomo, once heralded, now faces a political crisis over Covid death criminal probe, bullying complaintsGov. Andrew Cuomo was lauded as a hero last year for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. But critics are blasting over Covid-19 deaths in nursing homes. |
| Watch live: Biden speaks at Pfizer vaccine manufacturing site as storm delays shipmentsPresident Biden is speaking at Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan as his administration works to ramp up the supply of doses. |
| New York health chief defends state’s decision to make nursing homes take Covid patients“We made the right public health decision at the time and, faced with the same facts, we would make the same decisions again,” Dr. Howard Zucker said on Friday. |
| Watch live: Biden Covid team briefs press as winter storm delays vaccine deliveriesPresident Joe Biden’s Covid-19 response team will hold a press briefing Friday amid the winter storm that has delayed vaccine deliveries across the U.S. |
| Historic winter storm delays Covid vaccine shipments across the U.S.White House Covid advisor Andy Slavitt said officials are going to have to “work double time next week, presuming the weather improves.” |
| Pfizer asks FDA to approve storing Covid vaccine doses at higher temperaturesIf the FDA grants Pfizer’s request, it could make it easier to distribute the vaccine across the U.S. |
| Supersonic jet company adds former Boeing CEO Phil Condit as advisorCondit said he was drawn to Boom “by the significant progress the team has already made in developing a sustainable supersonic airliner.” |
| Bitcoin Breaks Records As Rates Surge & Reddit Stocks Slump, Santelli Rant RememberedBitcoin Breaks Records As Rates Surge & Reddit Stocks Slump, Santelli Rant Remembered Today is the anniversary of the pre-COVID peak in US equities (2/19/20). Things have gone just a little bit turbo since then…
Source: Bloomberg Additionally, 12 years ago today, Rick Santelli unleashed some honest hell on the CNBC audience and unintentionally sparked The Tea Party movement…
(fwd to around 1:00 for the real fun and games) The big headlines this week were made in the three Bs – Bitcoin, Bonds, & Bullion: The Good – Bitcoin exploded to new record highs this week, topping $55k… |
| Google Trends Reveals The Catastrophe On The Ground In TexasGoogle Trends Reveals The Catastrophe On The Ground In Texas During the Texas power crisis where up to 15 million people lost power, we uncovered some disturbing internet searches in the Lone Star State of desperate people trying to find resources to survive. On Monday, when wholesale electricity rates jumped and rolling blackouts plunged millions into darkness, we noted internet search trends in the Lone Star State for firewood exploded. By Thursday, we showed readers internet searches for “pipe burst” erupted and even suggested that insurance claims were about to erupt. Shedding more light onto the “humanitarian crisis” as millions of Texans got a taste of what it’s like to live in a third world country, Google Trends adds more color onto the distressing search trends as millions struggled to survive the Arctic blast. Searches for soup, fireplace, propane, among other things, erupted this week. |
| AOC Demands “Full Investigation” Of Cuomo Nursing Home CoverupAOC Demands “Full Investigation” Of Cuomo Nursing Home Coverup Now that President Trump is gone, Democrats are no longer circling the wagon around New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his nursing home scandal – which began last year after reports that COVID-positive patients were being housed in nursing homes, and most recently intensified after Cuomo aide Melissa DeRosa privately admitted to state lawmakers that they had deliberately concealed nursing home deaths out of fear they would be “used against us” by the Trump DOJ.Â
Now, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) wants answers – writing in a Friday statement: “I support our state’s return to co-equal governance and stand with our local officials calling for a full investigation of the Cuomo administration’s handling of nursing homes during COVID-19.” “Thousands of vulnerable New Yorkers lost their lives in nursing homes throughout the pandemic. Their loved ones and the pub … |
| Saved You $200,000: How To Get WallStreetBets Realtime Sentiment For FreeSaved You $200,000: How To Get WallStreetBets Realtime Sentiment For Free Last week we reported that in the aftermath of the Reddit Rebellion (and short squeeze raids) demonstrating the power the online stock forum has, one recently launched quant fund, Cindicator Capital, was looking to hire “sentiment traders” who had extensive prior experience on Wall Street Bets, i.e., someone with “3+ years of active trading experience with both impressive gains and losses, in-depth knowledge of options greeks and indicators, a solid grasp of probability even if you don’t know the theory (i.e. be good at poker)” and to be “an active member of r/wallstreetbets with an account age of >365 days and karma of over 1000”. Of these, the last requirement was most important, because what the fund was really hoping to do was hire someone with WSB “street cred” who would submit trade ideas as a “veteran” WSB account, and hope that at least one reco sparks a buying (or selling) frenzy. |
| Uber drivers are workers not self-employed, Supreme Court rulesThe decision could mean thousands of Uber drivers are set to receive minimum wage and holiday pay. |
| Covid: Matt Hancock acted unlawfully over pandemic contractsThe health secretary breached his “legal obligation” to publish details of deals, the High Court rules. |
| UK finances see first January deficit in 10 yearsGovernment borrowing hit £8.8bn last month, the highest January figure since records began in 1993. |
| Toppy stock markets spark more “bubble” chatterAs financial assets worth $1.1 billion are gobbled up by global central banks every hour, there is irrational exuberance on Wall Street, according to BofA. |
| GIFT City starts gaining share in currency market, and how!Trades at IFC doubled in the past three months, taking the aggregate to $61 billion in the first seven months of operations at the facility. |
| Dalal Street may see a darker shade of red. Should you buy the dip?Keen observers pointed to the unrest in the government bond market that’s creating uncertainty among investors to price future risks and form expectations around returns. |
| 12 February 2021 ECRI’s WLI Growth Rate Modestly Declines
ECRI’s WLI Growth Index which forecasts economic growth six months forward modestly declined but continues well into expansion. |
| January 2021 Headline Existing Home Sales: Rate Of Growth Continues To Slow
The headline existing home sales improved relative to last month with the NAR stating “Sales easily could have been even 20% higher if there had been more inventory and more choices”. |
| Dispatches from a Pandemic: Are people willing to live with more COVID-19 deaths? One of Europe’s most-infected cities has just loosened restrictionsWhile other European cities keep a tight grip on citizens, Spain’s capital region and city has just loosened its rules, even as COVID-19 cases remain high. |
| : Uber loses key legal fight, which could hurt its business model in the U.K. and hit gig-economy companiesUber lost a key court ruling on Friday, which could hurt its business model in one of its biggest international markets. |
| Market Extra: Bitcoin market value tops $1 trillion for first time ever as crypto price soarsThe world’s No. 1 cryptocurrency hit a record high on Friday, propelling it to a market value above $1 trillion for the first time ever. |
Written by Steven Hansen
Written by Steven HansenSummary of Economic Releases this Week
Earnings Summary for Today
leading Stock Positions
Current Commodity Prices
Commodities are powered by Investing.com
Current Currency Crosses
The Forex Quotes are powered by Investing.com.
To contact me with questions, comments or constructive criticism is always encouraged and appreciated:
