Written by Gary
U.S. oil consumption dropped to 25-year low in 2020 ($RUT +1.8%). Cryptos & small caps surge as ‘hard’ data’s hammered to 2-year lows.
The Market in Perspective
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
 | Renewables Need Big Oil To ThriveWe need the expertise, experience, and financial backing of Big Oil to drive wind energy forward in the U.S., following years of strong investments from oil firms across the country kickstarting the industry. As activists and international agencies continue to criticize Big Oil for its role in climate change and environmental degradation, it is precisely those firms that have made some of the more significant investments and added some of the greatest value to renewable energy projects across North America. Wind capacity is expected |
| Commodity Traders Eye Huge Payday After Major RallyGlencores shareholders are looking at an around 2bn payday this year after commodity price surges hoisted the mining giant to a record performance in the past six months. Revenue hit 67.4bn in the first half of the year, up by some 16.3bn in comparison with the first half of 2020. The London-listed mining and trading company joined rivals Rio Tinto and Anglo American in declaring hefty shareholder cheque after record half-year profits. Shares opened lower this morning, down 0.6 percent at 327.2p per share. Its adjusted |
| Australia Takes Aim At The EUs Carbon Tax PlanThe European Union seeking to impose a carbon tax on imports would be detrimental to Australias export industry, its Australian energy and emissions reduction minister has warned. The minister, Angus Taylor, urged against a new wave of European protectionism that would significantly bruise Australias export industry on which a large portion of its economy hangs. Australia pulls in some $284bn from its export products, while its service exports bring in around $75.6bn, according to the Observatory of Economic |
| Low-Income Households To Bear The Brunt Of All-Electric HomesSwitching from natural gas to electricity for U.S. homes will result in higher energy bills, which will impact mostly low-income households, new research showed on Thursday. The push to switch away from natural gasa fossil fuelto electricity in homes is aimed at addressing emissions from buildings and residential energy consumption. Yet, the push has the potential to hit financially low-income American households, Catherine Hausman, an associate professor at the University of Michigans Ford School of Public Policy, and |
| Oil Prices And Energy Stocks ReboundOil rebounded on Thursday morning, pushing up U.S. energy stocks higher, after three days of declining crude prices over concerns about global oil demand with rising COVID cases in major economies. Oil prices were up early on Thursday, despite continued concerns that renewed restrictions in China could hit oil demand in the worlds largest crude oil importer. In addition, many countries in Southeast Asia, where the vaccination rates are low, have been seeing a spike in new COVID cases in recent weeks, which also doesnt bode well for |
| U.S. Oil Consumption Dropped To 25-Year Low In 2020U.S. petroleum consumption declined to 18.1 million barrels per day (bpd) last year, the lowest level in 25 years, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Thursday. Petroleum consumption in the transportation sector plunged by a record-breaking 15 percent in 2020 compared to a year earlier. Oil consumption declined in every single energy-consuming sector, the EIA said in new estimates of U.S. petroleum products consumption by source and sector for last year. Lockdowns and other measures to contain COVID across the United States |
| Covid vaccinations in Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama more than double since JulyMore residents in states ravaged by the delta strain are rolling up their sleeves for Covid vaccinations to slow the spread. |
| Weber CEO describes new smart grill lineup as stock pops in market debutWeber Grills has plans to launch a new line, CEO Chris Scherzinger told CNBC on Thursday ahead of the company’s public listing Aug. 5. |
| Third Covid vaccine shot for people with weakened immune systems ‘very high priority,’ Fauci saysU.S. health officials are working “as quickly as possible” to authorize a third Covid-19 vaccine for those with weakened immune systems, Dr. Anthony Fauci said. |
| Richard Trumka, head of AFL-CIO union federation, dies at 72Richard Trumka served as president of the 12.5-million-member AFL-CIO since 2009. President Joe Biden called the labor leader a close friend. |
| Space company Maxar stock drops 14% after delaying launch of next-generation satellitesSpace company Maxar Technologies shares dropped in trading Thursday after it announced another delay to the launch of its next-generation imagery satellites. |
| Airline stocks are close to ‘max fear’ ” and it could be the best time to buy, trader saysFor airline stocks, sentiment matters more than technical levels, says JC O’Hara of MKM Partners. |
| Fauci warns more severe Covid variant could emerge as U.S. cases near 100,000 dailyDr. Anthony Fauci warned that a more severe Covid variant could soon emerge, as daily average new case totals approach 100,000 per day. |
| The mass manufacture of huge tidal turbines could be one step closer after firm seals fundingThe money will be used to support Nova Innovation’s Volume Manufacturing and Logistics for Tidal Energy project. |
| Spirit Airlines cancels half of Thursday flights as travel chaos enters fifth daySpirit has canceled more than 1,700 flights since last weekend due to staffing shortages, technology problems and bad weather. |
| Shares of theScore close up 79% after Penn National announces plans to buy the company for $2 billionPenn National’s purchase of Toronto-based media company Score Media and Gaming allows the company to grows its presence across North America. |
| Astra stock jumps 24% as rocket builder targets late August for first launch since going publicPublicly traded rocket builder Astra will go for its first launch of the year later this month, planning to transport a Pentagon payload to orbit. |
| Pete Buttigieg says he doesn’t know why Elon Musk’s Tesla wasn’t invited to Biden’s clean-car showcaseElon Musk tweeted overnight, “Yeah, seems odd that Tesla wasn’t invited” to Biden’s clean-car event at the White House alongside Ford, GM and the UAW. |
| Germany’s winter Covid strategy could see unvaccinated people face tougher restrictionsGerman authorities are wary of the potential impact of the delta Covid-19 variant at a time when many pandemic restrictions have been dropped. |
| Cryptos & Small Caps Surge As ‘Hard’ Data’s Hammered To 2-Year LowsCryptos & Small Caps Surge As ‘Hard’ Data’s Hammered To 2-Year Lows Small Caps went wild again surging higher at the cash open (after tumbling at the open on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday) and everything melted up into the close. All the major indices closed green today with a record high for Nasdaq composite and S&P…
This chart shows the cash-opening moves for Small Caps…
And guess what… today’s surge was yet another major short squeeze… |
| Hurricane Quiet Period Ending As New Forecast Suggest Imminent Tick Up In StormsHurricane Quiet Period Ending As New Forecast Suggest Imminent Tick Up In Storms The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) upgraded the number of named storms to 21 from its prior forecast of 15 in May. NOAA expects at least ten hurricanes and up to five major ones with winds in excess of 100 mph.Â
“While the tropics have been slow the past few weeks, NOAA forecasters believe a busy hurricane season lay ahead,” said Matthew Rosencrans, the lead seasonal hurricane forecaster at the U.S. Climate Prediction Center. |
| California Wildfires Force 16,000 Evacuations, Destroys Entire TownCalifornia Wildfires Force 16,000 Evacuations, Destroys Entire Town Update (1540ET): At least 16,000 people have been evacuated as wildfires burn across Northern California. According to Bloomberg, the Dixie Fire, which has burned more than 322,000 acres is 35% contained, may have been sparked by utility giant PG&E Corp.’s power lines.Â
The fire ripped through Greenville on Wednesday night, tearing through the small town about 115 miles northeast of Sacramento. Â
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| Crocs Selling $350 Million In Junk Bonds To Pay For Stock BuybackCrocs Selling $350 Million In Junk Bonds To Pay For Stock Buyback With junk bond yields refusing to follow the general stock euphoria, and on Wednesday creeping up to a two week high of 4.68% according to the Bloomberg Barclays Corporate High Yield Index – still not too far from their record lows of 4.53% – it is probably not a surprise that companies are rushing to issue as much debt as they can before the issuance window closes.
Enter Crocs – as Bloomberg notes, the clog maker is selling a 10 year junk-bond to capitalize on still super-cheap rates and will use the proceeds to fund stock buybacks. The company, which has seen its popularity rise thanks to the likes of Justin Bieber and rapper Bad Bunny, is selling $350 million of notes that may price as soon as Thursday. It won’t be Crocs first foray into the “high” yield space: earlier this year, the Niwot, Colorado-based Crocs raised the same amount – $350 million … |
| Amazon delays office return until 2022 as Covid spreadsAmazon joins Wells Fargo and BlackRock in extending work-from-home guidance due to the pandemic. |
| Oatly loses trademark battle against Glebe Farm over oat milkCambridgeshire’s Glebe Farm Foods PureOaty drink does not copy the Oatly branding, a judge rules. |
| Inflation rise will be temporary, says Bank governor BaileyBank of England’s Andrew Bailey says rising inflation is understandable given a “bumpy” economic recovery. |
| Crisis deepens: Can Vodafone Idea share price reach zero?Analysts say theoretically it is not possible, but there are some scenarios in which investors may be left with nothing in their hand. The answer largely lies in what form the company will survive, if it does. |
| A collapse of Voda Idea will hurt IDFC First Bank, YES Bank mostVodafone Idea is unlikely to be able to service its gross debt of over Rs 1.8 lakh crore. The telecom operator owes at least Rs 28,700 crore to several state-owned and private sector lenders. |
| Bucking market trend, HSBC projects 19% downside in ZomatoHSBC Securities and Capital Markets has (India) initiated coverage on Zomato with a 12-month target price at Rs 112, meaning a potential downside of about 19 per cent from last close. This is in contrast to earlier initiation target around Rs 165-170. |
| July 2021 Conference Board Consumer Confidence Little Changed
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) was relatively unchanged in July, following gains in each of the prior five months. The Index now stands at 129.3 (1985=100), up from 128.9 in June and its trough of 85.7 in April 2020. |
| The Ratings Game: Revolve stock plunges 15% as delta variant, Apple iOS privacy rules pose a riskRevolve shares were downgraded by no less than two analysts on Thursday. |
| The Wall Street Journal: How Russians crushed the Tokyo Olympics under an aliasRussia’s not really at the Olympics. But that hasn’t stopped the world’s largest country from hauling gold out of Tokyo like a Siberian mine. |
| Market Extra: PG&E’s corporate bonds take a lashing as Dixie fire ragesThe Dixie Fire in Northern California, already the state’s eight largest ever, burns a small Gold Rush-era town overnight and prompts area evacuations, weeks after Pacific Gas and Electric said its equipment may have sparked the blaze. |
Written by Steven HansenSummary of Economic Releases this Week
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