Written by Gary
The Dow was the least worst of the majors with Nasdaq lagging just behind Small Caps (SPY -0.5%). Biden administration weighs rule to reduce nicotine levels in cigarettes.
The Market in Perspective
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
 | Lithium Mega-Merger Creates New $3 Billion CompanyAustralian lithium minersGalaxy Resources (ASX:GXY)andOrocobre (ASX:ORE)haveagreed to a merger that would create a $3.1 billion (A$4bn) company, set to be the worlds fifth largest producer of lithium chemicals, the refined form of the raw material used to make electric vehicle (EV) batteries. The business combination, the biggest mining sector deal of the year so far, will unlock significant synergies for the new company, the miners said. The logic of this merger is compelling, Orocobre |
| First Venezuela, Now Ecuador: US Refiners Need A New Source Of Heavy CrudeU.S. refiners were forced to source their heavy crude from somewhere else after the United States sanctioned Venezuelan crude oil. Now, U.S. refiners may again be forced to resource crude oil as French bank Natixis stops funding the Ecuadorian oil trade. So far, six European banks have been called out for financing the trading of crude oil from Ecuador. Concerns have been raised that the oil industry has encroached on indigenous territories in Ecuador, including in the Amazonthe worlds largest rainforest. Natixis, according to Reuters, |
| Gulf Of Mexico Oil & Gas Pipelines Need Better Safety RegulationsThe U.S. Department of the Interior lacks a robust oversight process to monitor and ensure the safety and integrity of some 8,600 miles of active offshore oil and gas pipelines located on the seafloor of the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report made public on Monday. According to GAO, the Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) needs to improve the process of monitoring the operations and safety of the pipelines and their eventual decommissioning. “Pipelines can contain |
| India Is Pushing For More Coal CapacityOne of the worlds largest carbon dioxide emitters, India, could add more coal-fired electricity generation capacity despite the global push for clean power sources. India could still need new coal capacity in the coming years to balance more renewable energy sources, also because coal is still the cheapest source of generation, according to a draft new strategy, National Electricity Policy (NEP) 2021, which Reuters has seen. While India is committed to add more capacity through non-fossil sources of generation, coal-based generation |
| The War For Control Of Mexicos Energy IndustryMexicos Energy Laws Since 1960, Mexicos energy sector has largely been dominated by the federal government. However, important changes occurred in 2013 and 2014 when then-President Enrique Pea Nieto presented Congress with proposals to amend Mexicos constitution to enable broader participation for private firms in the energy sector. One key change was the creation of the Electricity Industry Law (LIE) in 2014, which opened up the wholesale electricity market and engagement in power generation to private firms. |
| Tesla Crash In Texas Leaves 2 DeadA crash with a Tesla Model S left two men dead in Texas, Reuters reports, quoting local police authorities that said the car was driverless. “There was no one in the driver’s seat,” said a sergeant from the Harris County police. According to a local TV station also quoted in the report, the Model S was moving fast, failed to navigate a curve, and went off the road, hitting a tree and exploding. Tesla has repeatedly warned drivers, following crashes where the driver blamed the Autopilot, that the system does not turn the vehicle into a self-driving |
| MLB seeing record-high streaming viewership despite All-Star Game backlashMLB said its MLB.TV service saw 1.3 billion streams through its first three weekends of the 2021 season. |
| Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Peloton, GameStop, Harley-Davidson and moreThese are the stocks posting the largest moves in midday trading. |
| Amazon signs with ULA for rockets to launch Jeff Bezos’ Kuiper internet satellitesAmazon signed a contract for nine launches of its Project Kuiper internet satellites on United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rockets. |
| Fauci says it’s ‘disturbing’ that some people won’t take Covid vaccine because of politics“It’s almost paradoxical that they don’t want to get vaccinated,” White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said. |
| Coca-Cola CEO says company will raise prices to offset higher commodity costsCoca-Cola CEO James Quincey told CNBC on Monday that the company will raise prices on its drinks to combat the impact of higher commodity costs. |
| CDC says fewer than 6,000 Americans have contracted Covid after being fully vaccinatedU.S. officials have confirmed fewer than 6,000 cases of Covid-19 in fully vaccinated Americans, just 0.007% of the 84 million Americans with full protection. |
| Greta Thunberg urges world leaders to end the ‘tragedy’ of Covid vaccine inequityAn average of one-in-four people in high-income nations has received a Covid vaccine, compared to just one in more than 500 for people in low-income countries. |
| FDA asks Emergent plant to pause manufacturing while it investigates botched Covid vaccinesEmergent said the FDA initiated an inspection on April 12 and asked the company to temporarily halt manufacturing four days later. |
| Nobull, the athletic apparel brand with a cult-like CrossFit following, raises cash to speed global expansionThe CrossFit community’s favorite clothing and footwear brand, Nobull, has raised new funding, giving it a more than $500 million valuation, CNBC has learned. |
| Dr. Scott Gottlieb expects Covid cases in U.S. to fall ‘quite dramatically’ in coming weeksWarming weather and continued progress administering Covid vaccines will help lower U.S. coronavirus cases, Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC. |
| Europe should be open to Russia’s Sputnik V shot amid ‘Pfizer monopoly,’ vaccine backer saysEurope should be open to taking up and using Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, according to Kirill Dmitriev, the chief executive of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund. |
| U.S. vaccinations hold steady as deadline arrives to open eligibility to all adultsThe U.S. is reporting 3 million daily shots given as President Biden’s deadline arrives for states to expand vaccine eligibility to all adults. |
| ‘Disgusted’: Plans for a breakaway European Super League met with widespread furyThe European Super League has been met with widespread criticism and resistance from former players, politicians, governing bodies, pundits and fans. |
| Cryptos Crushed, Dollar Dumped, Semis Slammed As VIX SpikesCryptos Crushed, Dollar Dumped, Semis Slammed As VIX Spikes Bitcoin, the buck, bonds, big-tech (and small caps) were all sold today amid a vacuum of economic data, COVID uncertainties, and “infrastructure” bill size negotiations. It seems investors just didn’t like Monday… Small Caps were the worst performer today (and the cash open sparked chaos in that index). The Dow was the least worst of the majors with Nasdaq lagging just behind Small Caps…
Small Caps broke back down below its 50DMA… |
| Biden Considering Rule To Cut Nicotine In Cigs; Tobacco Stocks TumbleBiden Considering Rule To Cut Nicotine In Cigs; Tobacco Stocks Tumble The nanny state is about to go to 11. In a country of 350 million (double-masked) people, where nobody can be trusted to make a correct decision – at least in the eyes of the liberal left – without the government’s sage micromanagement, said government is about to intervene again this time in determining what the correct level of nicotine in cigarettes should be. According to the WSJ, the Biden administration is considering requiring tobacco companies “to reduce the nicotine levels in all cigarettes sold in the U.S. to levels at which they are no longer addictive.”
Administration officials are considering the policy – which was first floated in 2017 – as they approach a deadline for declaring the administration’s intentions on another tobacco question: whether or not to ban menthol cigarettes. As the Journal notes, the FDA must respond in court by April 29 to a citizens’ petition to ban menthols by disclosing whether the agency intends to pursue such a policy. Meanwhile, the Biden administration is now reportedly weighing whether to move forward on a menthol ban or a nicotine reduction in all cigarettes “or both. The thinking goes that a menthol ba … |
| The Next Gamma Squeeze…The Next Gamma Squeeze… Via SpotGamma.com, Big Banks Get Stuck ¦ Then Unwind Before presenting our view on the next potential œgamma squeeze , we want to share a theory of what may have driven the strong stock market performance over the last few weeks. On March 25th, it was revealed that a large fund, Archegos, had blown up. Archegos did what many large investment houses do ” they traded their position on a SWAP basis. This essentially means that the brokers (banks) hold Archegos investments, and in this case, the banks were left holding Archegos investments when the fund imploded. As a result, several banks, including Credit Suisse, were left facing large losses. At SpotGamma, we are making the assertion that these banks would have been forced to hedge out the long exposure of these SWAPs. After placing these hedges, we now think that (through a tangled web of counterparty risk and hedging) unwinding them could be the driving force behind the recent market rally. The Archegos debacle could have created a larger immediate hedging reaction across any comparative SWAP position, which amplifies the rate of the unhedging action by the banks. For evidence, the price movement has been steady and progressive since the start of April. Specifically, the S&P500 is up 5%, with 15/16 positive days to start the month. The bid feels mechanical, and each day begins with major blocks of stocks trading as big bank losses are revealed. |
| Maxine Waters Leaps Into Victim Mode After Inciting Mob; May Become Witness In Her Own LawsuitMaxine Waters Leaps Into Victim Mode After Inciting Mob; May Become Witness In Her Own Lawsuit What’s the first thing Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) did after conservatives called her out for crossing state lines to incite violence in Brooklyn Center, MN, hours before the National Guard and police were targeted in a drive-by shooting?
Why, play the victim of course. In Monday comments, Waters ripped GOP lawmakers for criticizing her – saying they are trying to “send a message” to white supremacists. “I am nonviolent,” Waters told The Grio on Monday following a tweet by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) – who accused her of condoning political violence and using “dangerous rhetoric” when she told protesters to get more confrontational.” “Maxine Waters is inciting violence in Minneapolis ” just as she has incited it in the past. If Speaker Pelosi doesn’t act against this dangerous rhetoric, I will bring action this week,” McCarthy tweeted on Sunday.
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| Tesco fined £7.56m for selling out-of-date food in BirminghamOffending items were found at three stores in Birmingham between 2016 and 2017. |
| UK government intervenes in Nvidia takeover of chip designer ArmThe government is to examine Nvidia’s planned purchase of the UK firm on national security grounds. |
| London Capital and Finance: Treasury expects £120m compensation billThe government says an estimated 8,800 bondholders of the collapsed scheme will receive a share of the money. |
| Nestle India Q1 preview: PAT may rise 12% YoY led by strong domestic performanceThe company is expected to report a strong 8.2 per cent on-year growth in revenues in the quarter to Rs 3,598.1 crore, an analysts’ poll showed. Nestle India considers January-December as its financial year. |
| NSE unlisted shares soar 80% in six monthsNSE shares are currently traded at Rs. 1,750 apiece in the unlisted market compared with Rs. 900-1000 in September last year, said brokers. At the current price in the unlisted market, NSE is valued at Rs 87,000 crore. |
| Will ‘vaccine for all’ news arrest D-Street’s freefall and take it to record highs?The second wave of Covid-19 infections in the country had triggered fears that India’s economic recovery will be hamstrung due to the return of localized lockdowns. |
| The Wall Street Journal: Biden administration could require tobacco companies to reduce nicotine in cigarettesThe Biden administration is considering requiring tobacco companies to reduce the nicotine levels in all cigarettes sold in the U.S. to levels at which they are no longer addictive, according to people familiar with the matter. |
| : Young, healthy adults will be deliberately reinfected with COVID-19 to boost vaccine developmentResearchers at the University of Oxford have launched a “human challenge” trial to investigate what happens when someone who has recovered from COVID-19 is re-exposed to the virus |
| : Big investors ask banks to get serious on climate changeBankers’ pay should include an element indexed on attaining the net-zero emissions targets, said the major global investors. |
Summary of Economic Releases this Week
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