Written by Gary
Futures flat in muted session as reflation concerns rise (SPY +0.00% flat). Biggest premarket movers: American Airlines, Teradata, Equifax.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
European markets are mixed. The DAX is higher by 0.06%, while the CAC 40 is leading the FTSE 100 lower. They are down 0.43% and 0.07% respectively. |
What Is Moving the Markets
Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
Could Iraq Really Become OPECs Largest Oil Producer?Iraqs Oil Minister, Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar, announced last week that the country plans to increase its oil production capacity to 8 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2029, compared to current production of around 3.8 million bpd that factors in OPEC-mandated cuts. Based on its vast oil resources there is no insurmountable reason why this output level should not be attained by that time or indeed even the 9 million bpd or 11 million bpd that were posited by the International Energy Agency in its 2012 production scenario analysis for Iraq. Even | |
U.S. Cancels All Q2 Oil, Gas Lease SalesThe United States Department of the Interior will cancel all oil and gas lease sales from public lands through the end of June, according to a Bureau of Land Management press release issued on Wednesday. On the very day President Biden was inaugurated, the DoI pulled back the reins on issuing permits for oil and gas exploration on federal lands and in federal waters. It did this not by banning permits outright but by limiting which Interior employees could approve permits. The number of employees to approve permits has dwindled significantly to | |
Why Helium Could Be The Next Commodity To BoomEvery once in a while, a niche commodity – usually a relatively rare one – comes along that the world simply cant get enough of. Normally, the investment script reads something like this: Word gets out about a looming shortage of a certain commodity; Small-cap natural resource companies quickly pivot to said commodity, and the next thing you know a surge of investment interest and commodity bubble quickly follow. Its happened with numerous rare earth metals, potash, graphite, cobalt, vanadium, and even marijuana | |
Oilfield Services Giants Optimistic About Drilling RecoveryTwo of the worlds largest oilfield services providers, Baker Hughes and Halliburton, reported on Wednesday profits beating expectations and expressed optimism that oil demand and oil drilling activity will grow through the rest of the year and into 2022. Baker Hughes (NYSE: BKR) booked adjusted earnings per share of $0.12 for the first quarter of 2021, up from $0.11 for Q1 2020 and from a loss of $0.07 for the fourth quarter of 2020, and beating the analyst estimate of $0.11 per share earnings. Free cash flow at Baker Hughes nearly doubled | |
Abu Dhabi Is Determined To Transform Middle East Energy MarketsAbu Dhabi is simultaneously preparing for an increase in oil and gas demand in the coming years and for the global rise of renewable energy. News has emerged that the emirate is considering the sale of a $4 billion stake in one of the most successful Arab energy companies, TAQA, in order to fund the renewable energy drive of ADNOC. The $4 billion figure comes from the governments plan to divest 10% of TAQA, also known as Abu Dhabi National Energy Company. News of the possible sale has already pushed TAQAs market value to $43 billion. | |
Gunmen Abduct Oil Workers In Northeast IndiaGunmen abducted early on Wednesday three employees of Indias Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) on a rig site in northeast India, the countrys biggest oil and gas production firm said in what could be a setback for the Indian efforts to reduce its reliance on crude oil imports. The abduction took place on a rig site of ONGC in the Lakwa field in the state of Assam, which is one of the three largest oil-producing states in India. Security-related issues at domestic producing oilfields could undermine Indias efforts to reduce | |
5 things to know before the stock market opens ThursdayU.S. stock futures fell slightly Thursday after Wall Street bounced back from a two-session losing streak. | |
American posts fifth consecutive loss, Southwest turn profit thanks to federal aidSouthwest says leisure bookings are on the rise and that it will increase its flying schedule later this spring. | |
Jeff Bezos, Drake and others invest $80 million in sports media company OvertimeOvertime will use a portion of the funds to fuel its basketball league that pays 16-to-18-year-old players at least $100,000 per year. | |
As women directors enter the Oscar spotlight, here are 13 filmmakers to watchThe historic nomination of two female directors signals that Hollywood is changing. A look at 13 women who are making waves in the film industry. | |
Department stores like Nordstrom and Macy’s are still Americans’ favorite place to buy shoesIn a new AlixPartners survey, consumers were asked were they’ve been buying shoes during the pandemic, and overwhelmingly the answer was department stores. | |
A house just rented in the Hamptons for $2 million for the summerA home in the Hamptons rented for $2 million for the summer, as demand far outstrips a record low supply of homes for sale and for rent, according to brokers. | |
India reports record single-day jump in Covid cases, with more than 314,000 new infectionsSo far in April, India has reported more than 3.78 million new cases and over 22,000 deaths. | |
Six vaccinated medical experts reveal their summer travel plansOn the fence about summer travel plans? Here’s what medical professionals who are involved in treating or researching Covid-19 are doing. | |
Chipotle’s quesadillas bring in new customers, contribute to digital sales growthChipotle launched quesadillas as a digital exclusive in mid-March. | |
Whirlpool CEO sees strong home trends boosting appliance sales even as prices riseDemand for housing goods and appliances is on the rise and it won’t go away anytime soon, according to Mark Bitzer, the CEO of appliance maker Whirlpool. | |
EU prepares legal action against AstraZeneca over vaccine delivery shortagesThe European Commission told EU ambassadors on Wednesday that it was considering legal action against AstraZeneca for these delivery issues, four EU officials told CNBC. | |
$100 million New Jersey deli company Hometown International delisted from an over-the-counter marketHometown International has a high market value given meager sales at the Your Hometown Deli in Paulsboro, New Jersey, its sole business. | |
Cramer says bidding war for Kansas City Southern shows bargains remain in stock marketCNBC’s Jim Cramer considers the competing bids for Kansas City Southern to be a “very encouraging sign” for the stock market amid concerns of frothiness. | |
The Shaming Continues: Global Times Says “Tesla Blunder” Can “Inflict Serious Damage” On Chinese MarketThe Shaming Continues: Global Times Says “Tesla Blunder” Can “Inflict Serious Damage” On Chinese Market Just yesterday, we wrote about how it appeared the love affair between China and Elon Musk was starting to fizzle out in a big way. Among other things, we pointed out what appeared to be an ongoing wave of criticism of Musk and Tesla being engineered by Chinese state media. That “wave” doesn’t look like it’s going to stop anytime soon. Later in the day on Wednesday, state run media outlet the Global Times joined the fray, publishing an article characterizing Tesla’s response to its quality issues this week as a “blunder” and using the chance to shame Tesla and use them as an example for other foreign firms that may want to do business in China. “US electric carmaker Tesla is under serious fire in China in what could be the biggest public relations crisis for the otherwise highly popular company in the Chinese market,” the piece said. “The blunder was created by the company itself and could have been avoided.” The piece is referring to Tesla reportedly “lashing out” against a protestor at this week’s Shanghai Auto Show, who jumped onto the roof of a Tesla and called the quality of the company’s brakes int … | |
Futures Flat In Muted Session As Reflation Concerns RiseFutures Flat In Muted Session As Reflation Concerns Rise U.S. index futures traded flat on Thursday morning, rebounding from some early weakness ahead of today’s ECB meeting, as investors assessed earnings from companies, including Southwest Airlines and AT&T, while awaiting weekly jobless claims data for clues on the pace of recovery in the U.S. labor market. Treasury yields steadied near a five-week low. At 7:30 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 15 points, or 0.04%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 5 points, or 0.11%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 22 points, or 0.16%. On Wednesday, Wall Street’s main indexes closed higher, recovering from a two-day decline in the previous session with value stocks gaining about 1.1%. Shares of AT&T gained 1% in premarket trading after the company’s wireless subscriber additions trounced analysts’ estimates. read more. Southwest Airlines posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly adjusted loss and forecast lower cash burn in the second quarter. The airline’s shares, however, fell 1.7%. The recent Russell 2000 underperformance signaled the rotation toward growth-friendly cyclical … | |
Has The Bubble Already Popped?Has The Bubble Already Popped? Authored by Sven Henrich via NorthmanTrader.com, Has the bubble already popped and we haven’t realized it yet? I recognize it could be considered a ludicrous question to even ask considering indices just made new all time highs last Friday and we’re barely down 2% on $SPX. And frankly I don’t know the answer myself here, but in context of the peak liquidity question I am submitting some data points that suggest that the speculative part of the bubble may have already popped back in February/March. Consider the following: What happened in February? Well, the same thing happened in March and April. Risk assets made new all time highs, be it $SPX, crypto, you name it. Yet while $NDX made a new all-time high again last week along with Bitcoin and $DJIA and $SPX we can observe changes. Take a look at cumulative advance-decline $NAAD. It peaked in February and last week’s highs show a very pronounced relative weakness in cumulative adv … | |
ECB Keeps Policy Unchanged, Reaffirms Faster Bond-BuyingECB Keeps Policy Unchanged, Reaffirms Faster Bond-Buying As expected, the ECB kept monetary policy unchanged without introducing any new changes, while reconfirming its “very accommodative” monetary policy stance and the “significantly” faster pace of bond buying, which however remains well below the pace from a year ago. The ECB said that it will continue to conduct net asset purchases under the PEPP until at least the end of March 2022, and will purchase flexibly according to market conditions. Some more details: The Governing Council will continue to conduct net asset purchases under the pandemic emergency purchase program (PEPP) with a total envelope of ‚¬1,850 billion until at least the end of March 2022 and, in any case, until it judges that the coronavirus crisis phase is over. Since the incoming information confirmed the joint assessment of financing conditions and the inflation outlook carried out at the March monetary policy meeting, the Governing Council expects purchases under the PEPP over the current quarter to continue to be conducted at a significantly higher pace than during the first months of the year. The Governing Council will purchase flexibly according to market conditions and with a view to preventing a tightening of financing conditions that is inconsistent with countering the downward impact of the pandemic on the projected path of inflation. The flexibility of purchases over time, across asset classes, and among jurisdictions will continue to support the smooth transmission of monetary policy. If favorable financing conditions can be maintained with asset purchase flows that do not exhaust the envelope over the net … | |
Jaguar Land Rover to suspend output due to chip shortageBritain’s biggest carmaker to suspend output at two factories because of global semiconductor shortage. | |
E.On compensates customers after Christmas blunderThe energy firm will pay more than £650,000 after taking payments on Christmas Eve instead of January. | |
Greensill lender Credit Suisse suffers ‘unacceptable’ lossCredit Suisse raises $2bn to shore up its finances as regulators widen a probe into the Swiss bank. | |
Has ICICI Securities found a magic formula to beat margin rule impact?Analysts tracking the company remain positive in outlook and see up to 35 percent upside in the stock. | |
How a new player made it to the top of PMS industry amid Covid-19Marcellus’ investment philosophy is an extension of Bob Kirby and Peter Thiel’s ideas. | |
TCS among 10 stocks that may deliver solid returns in the next few weeksAs Covid caseload is rising non-stop, the market has also been under pressure, with one-third of BSE500 stocks under bear grip. But that doesn’t mean you can not make money in the market. “Due to the Covid second wave impact, India has been an underperformer in April. But this has the potential to reverse when the Covid graph peaks & declines. There is safety in IT & pharma stocks which will do well irrespective of the disruptions,” Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said.Here are 10 stocks that analysts recommend may deliver strong returns in the next few weeks. | |
Documentary Of The Week: Who Was Karl Marx?Written by John Lounsbury Karl Marx was born 203 years ago from May of this year in Trier in the southwestern German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. He is still considered one of the most influential economists in history, ranked along with Adam Smith and John Maynard Keynes, along with a handful of others. | |
Capitol Report: Cannabis businesses still don’t have access to banking ” this congressman is trying to change thatAfter his bill got more than 300 votes on the House floor, Rep. Ed Perlmutter is optimistic about the odds for his proposal to make it easier for cannabis-based businesses get access to the banking system. | |
: Senate hearing on app stores puts Apple, Google under regulatory spotlightIn a contentious hearing before the Senate Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights, representatives from Apple Inc. and Google parent Alphabet Inc. were tenderized for the wide-ranging powers of the App Store and Google Play Store digital-distribution platforms. | |
The Conversation: The U.S. electric-power sector is halfway to zero carbon emissionsEmissions are half what they were projected to be 15 years ago, driven lower by rapidly changing markets, policy and technology. |
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