14Feb2020 Midday Update: Wall Street Drifts Near Flat As Virus Impact Weighed, Oil On Track For Weekly Gain, DOW Down 53, WTI Crude Little Changed At 51.74, Gold Climbs To 1583

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

Nvidia pushes S&P 500, Nasdaq higher amid coronavirus worries

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq edged higher on Friday, supported by Nvidia shares after its upbeat outlook, but concerns about an economic hit from the coronavirus outbreak limited gains.

Oil rises 1% on hopes demand will rebound from coronavirus effect

Oil prices rose on Friday, on track for their first weekly gain since early January as investors bet the economic impact of the coronavirus would be short-lived and hoped for further Chinese central bank stimulus to tackle any slowdown.

Google in talks with publishers to pay for premium news content: WSJ

Alphabet Inc’s Google is in talks with publishers on paying a licensing fee for content that would be packaged in a premium news product, the Wall Street Journal reported https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-in-talks-to-pay-publishers-for-content-in-premium-news-product-11581689169, citing people familiar with the matter.

Stocks drift near flat as virus impact weighed, oil on track for weekly gain

Major world stock indexes were little changed on Friday as investors further assessed the economic fallout of China’s coronavirus outbreak, while oil prices were on track for their first weekly gain since early January.

Delta to invest $1 billion to curb global air travel’s climate impact

Delta Air Lines Inc said on Friday it will invest $1 billion over the next decade in initiatives that would limit the impact of global air travel on the environment, the first airline to make a commitment of that scale.

New UK business minister urged to move fast on audit reform

Britain’s new business minister Alok Sharma was urged on Friday to come forward as soon as possible with a draft law to create a more powerful accounting watchdog.

Europe wants G20 to make taxing digital giants top priority this year

Europe wants the world’s financial leaders to make it their top priority this year to reach a deal on global rules for taxing digital giants like Google , Amazon and Facebook , a document showed.

Kraft Heinz’s credit rating cut to ‘junk’ by Fitch

Kraft Heinz Co’s debt rating was cut to “junk” by global credit ratings agency Fitch on Friday, a day after the ketchup and sausage maker reported lower-than-expected quarterly sales and wrote down the value of some businesses.

Fiat Chrysler halts production in Serbia over China disruption

Fiat Chrysler (FCA) said on Friday it had temporarily halted production at its Serbian plant, the first such suspension by an automaker in Europe in response to the coronavirus outbreak in China.

Fired FBI Deputy Director McCabe Won’t Face Charges For Lying, Lawyers Claim

Fired FBI Deputy Director McCabe Won’t Face Charges For Lying, Lawyers Claim

With General Flynn battling the system (and his previous legal team), and Roger Stone’s case jumping from re-trial to a now-withdrawn reccomendation of up to nine years in jail, it will come as no surprise that, according to  The New York Times, former deputy F.B.I. director Andrew McCabe will not face charges in an investigation into whether he lied to investigators about a media leak.

Attention Tesla Bears: The Man Responsible For Your Suffering Is Now In Charge Of Wuhan’s Coronavirus Response

Attention Tesla Bears: The Man Responsible For Your Suffering Is Now In Charge Of Wuhan’s Coronavirus Response

Remember this guy?

WHO Turns On China, Demands To Know How Nearly 2,000 Doctors Were Infected With COVID-19

WHO Turns On China, Demands To Know How Nearly 2,000 Doctors Were Infected With COVID-19

Summary:

China says 1,716 medical workers have been infected

WHO demands to know more about sick doctors, insists group of 12 virus experts will reach Beijing over the weekend

Singapore reports largest daily jump in cases amid increased human-to-human transmission

Egypt confirms first case; virus now present in 29 countries/territories

Hong Kong reports 3 new cases

Hubei’s new party boss orders quarantine tightened

President Xi touts new “biosecurity law”

Hong Kong Disney land offers space for quarantine

Chinese company says blood plasma of recovered patients useful in combating the virus

US mulling new travel restrictions

Japan reports 4 new cases; one patient recently returned from Hawaii.

CDC Director: Virus is “Coming” to the US.

* * *

Update (1200ET): Bloomberg just reported that Egypt has confirmed its first coronavirus case.

EGYPT CONFIRMS FIRST CORONAVIRUS CASE, HEALTH MINISTRY SAYS AFFECTED PERSON IS A FOREIGNER – STATE TV

That’s the 29th country or territory to report at least one case of the coronavirus. It’s not yet clear where the patient might’ve been infected.

* * *

Update (1040ET): The WHO has just wrapped up its now-daily presser for Friday, and it appeared to focus on imminent plans to send a group of a dozen scientists and resea …

Goldman Cuts Brent Forecast By $10 To $53, Sees Chinese Oil Demand Plunging By 4 Million bpd

Goldman Cuts Brent Forecast By $10 To $53, Sees Chinese Oil Demand Plunging By 4 Million bpd

Just days after OPEC slashed its oil demand forecast as a result of the slowdown in China’s economy due to the Covid-19, moments ago Goldman has doubled down on its bearish oil take and has cut its oil price target by $10 to $53 in Q1 through the end of the year, as a result of what it now estimates is a loss of as much as 4 million barrels per day out of China.

In a note from Goldman’s Damien Courvalin, the commodity strategist writes that fundamental uncertainty in the oil market is exceptionally high, adding that “the loss of Chinese and global oil demand from the coronavirus outbreak is significant but remains unknown in both scale and duration while the timing and scale of a potential OPEC+ production cut remains highly uncertain as well.”

As a result, in his first attempt at measuring this hit on Chinese demand points to a peak of 4 million b/d yoy loss in demand currently.

At the stroke of midnight, a lot may change for Airtel, Voda

At the stroke of midnight, a lot may change for Airtel, VodaThe order by the DoT has asked telcos to clear dues by 11.59 pm Friday.

Yet to link PAN with Aadhaar? Read this

Yet to link PAN with Aadhaar? Read thisPAN will become inoperative if it is not linked with Aadhaar by March 31, the I-T department has said.

Budget was no full stop, will do more: FM

Budget was no full stop, will do more: FM Sitharaman said that if required, the government would take more steps beyond Budget announcements.

07 February 2020 ECRI’s WLI Growth Rate Declines

Written by Steven Hansen

ECRI’s WLI Growth Index which forecasts economic growth six months forward declined but remains in expansion.

The Ratings Game: Nvidia stock surges to new high as record data-center sales prompt analyst love fest

Nvidia Corp.’s stock surge Friday as analysts practically write Valentine’s Day notes for the company and hike their price targets after the chip company barrels past expectations in data-center sales following a tough year of revenue declines.

Outside the Box: We don’t know if the SALT cap is driving away residents of high-tax states

Although some claim that more taxpayers are fleeing high-tax states because of the new limits on deducting state and local taxes from their federal income taxes, the honest answer is that we don’t have any idea.

Commodities Corner: Why silver prices may climb to their highest yearly average since 2014

Silver has fared better than some of its metal peers against the backdrop of a disease-threatened global economy, in part because of its dual role as both a precious and industrial metal.