Written by Gary
Stocks close lower for a second day amid coronavirus aid uncertainty (SPY -0.6%). Mnuchin casts doubt on pre-election stimulus.
The Market in Perspective
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
 | The U.S. Is Backing Hydrogen Trucks With A New $100 Million InitiativeUntil now, the United States has been trailing other countries when it comes to plans for a post-COVID clean energy push. As countries around the world have rushed to put together green stimulus packages for a post-pandemic economic recovery, the U.S. has been slow to adopt a similar policy. The private sector, too, has taken a drastically different approach in the U.S. when compared to energy companies in Europe. In a New York Times report last month headlined U.S. and European Oil Giants Go Different Ways on Climate Change, reporter |
| Chinas New Refineries Are Embarking On A Crude Buying SpreeNew refinery start-ups in China are helping to absorb some of the crude oil from the Middle East amid an otherwise depressed market with stalled demand recovery. Large private Chinese refiner Zhejiang Petrochemical has been buying millions of barrels of crude from the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Iraq in recent days, for delivery in December and January, oil traders told Reuters and Bloomberg. Rongsheng Petrochemical, the trading arm of Zhejiang Petrochemical, has bought at least 5 million barrels of UAEs Upper Zakum crude and Qatars |
| Whats Behind The Azerbaijan-Armenia Conflict?Turkey by October 2020 seemed to closer than at any time since the Cold War to unambiguous and overt hostilities with Russia. But, then, Turkey was already in some form of conflict with at least 21 adversaries. Turkey and Russia are strategically interdependent, but simultaneously remain great rivals and with deep, historically-developed, mutual animosities. Not surprisingly, the Turkish Government of Pres. Reep Tayyip Erdo?an moved yet again to carefully instigate a crisis with Russia, this time by triggering a military escalation between |
| Norways Serious Oil, Gas Incidents Surge During PandemicCompany responses to the coronavirus pandemic may have contributed to deteriorating safety at Norways oil and gas infrastructure, which has seen 50 serious incidents so far this yeardouble that from the same time last year and four times higher than in 2018, the Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA) said on Wednesday. The regulator is concerned about the alarmingly high number of incidents and has asked companies to prioritize safety. This trend is a source of concern, PSA director general Anne Myhrvold said in a statement. |
| India Continues To Bet Big On Coal Despite Renewable Energy AmbitionsMost of Indias recent history can be characterized by economic isolationism and import independence. However, policy changes and reforms have unleashed the countrys potential leading to economic growth and higher energy consumption. Indias growing appetite for oil and gas is increasingly a strain on the climate. Fortunately, New Delhi is very much committed to the Paris Climate Agreement, and the country’s ambitions and achievements eclipse even some developed countries. The per capita consumption of energy in |
| Energy Traders Expect Another Jump In Natural Gas PricesNatural-gas futures soared to levels not seen in more than seven quarters this week, as colder weather in the latest round of forecast data suggests energy demand is set to increase. Natural gas futures inched towards $3 a million British thermal units (MMBtu) on Monday, closing up 5.1% at $2.881 MMBtu, their highest close since January 2019. Since July, prices have doubled with recent gains this month, around 19%, as nat gas power generation demand is set to increase. This is the biggest relative seasonal surge since 2016… |
| CDC may not recommend coronavirus vaccine for children at firstThe CDC said most of the drugmakers working on a potential coronavirus vaccine have tested only nonpregnant, healthy adults. |
| AMC shares tumble as company works to raise funds, faces cash crunch at year’s endAMC CEO Adam Aron said the company is not considering bankruptcy at the moment and is focused on raising cash. |
| Cuomo Warns Cluster Effect to Be New Norm for a Year as Hotspots Drive Hospitalizations to Highest Level Since JuneGov. Andrew Cuomo is clamping down on enforcement in red zone areas, notifying schools in violation of closure orders that the state will withhold funding, effective immediately, and until the situation resolves, NBC New York reports. |
| Bill Gates: Vaccine conspiracies targeting Dr. Fauci and me are ‘unfortunate’ and hurt public trustThe Microsoft co-founder worries that anti-vaxxer conspiracy theories will prevent people from getting a coronavirus vaccine when one comes out. |
| Starbucks pledges to have 30% of corporate workforce identify as a minority by 2025Starbucks announced new details in its plan to step up its commitment to diversity and inclusion within the global coffee chain. |
| Despite ratings decline, NBA still sees a bright future for its $150 million patch sponsorship programThe NBA projected increased revenue for its jersey patches but with pandemic losses and a ratings decline, it could impact potential agreements. |
| Watch Healthy Returns: The path forward with the FDA’s Dr. Janet WoodcockFDA Senior Advisor Dr. Janet Woodcock joins Meg Tirrell to talk monoclonal antibody treatments, Operation Warp Speed, and how to run better clinical trials. |
| Beyond Amazon Prime Day: 4 ways e-commerce has shaken up the retail industry over the past 5 yearsAmazon held its first-ever e-commerce holiday, Prime Day, in July 2015. And ever since then, the online shopping event has helped to reshape the entire retail industry. |
| Virgin Galactic’s next spaceflight test remains on track to launch in the coming weeksSpace tourism venture Virgin Galactic on Wednesday confirmed to CNBC that it remains on track to conduct its next test spaceflight this fall. |
| WHO warns Canada is facing a ‘second wave’ of coronavirus cases“Canada is currently facing its second wave and areas that were not previously affected are now surpassing the numbers seen during the first wave,” PAHO’s top official said. |
| Here’s why rich kids could get hundreds of billions from their parents if Biden wins“Everything is being fast-tacked because of the election,” said Suzanne Thau, trusts and estates attorney with Schwartz Sladkus Reich Greenberg Atlas. “It’s just an explosion in estate planning activity.” |
| Healthy young people might not be able to get the coronavirus vaccine until 2022, WHO says“People tend to think that on the first of January or the first of April, I’m going to get the vaccine, and then things will be back to normal,” Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, WHO’s chief scientist, said. “It’s not going to work like that.” |
| Branson’s Virgin Orbit aims to redo launch demo in December, as it seeks $150 million in new capitalSir Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit looks bounce back its first demonstration launch failure in May, aiming to fly again in December. |
| Barron Trump Infected With CoronavirusBarron Trump Infected With Coronavirus Tyler Durden Wed, 10/14/2020 – 16:06 Barron Trump, the youngest of the president’s five children, was diagnosed with coronavirus, Bloomberg reports.
The timing of the infection is unclear. Cue the outrage mob, as the world demand why the White House concealed this critical fact from the public. The youngest of the Trump children, and the only one to reside in the White House, has drawn attention for his height (at 14, he has already outgrown his father). |
| Banks Bloodbath, Bonds Bid, Dollar Drops & Gold PopsBanks Bloodbath, Bonds Bid, Dollar Drops & Gold Pops Tyler Durden Wed, 10/14/2020 – 16:00 Mnuchin’s “difficult to get a deal done before the election” prompted weakness in stock markets but a glance at Nasdaq and it would seem that as op-ex looms on Friday, the ‘gamma-squeezers’ have backed off… |
| Traders Puzzled By “Mysterious Mega Flows” In Biggest Tech ETFTraders Puzzled By “Mysterious Mega Flows” In Biggest Tech ETF Tyler Durden Wed, 10/14/2020 – 15:40 Three weeks ago, when looking at the latest EPFR fund flows we said that traders are getting whiplash after the “fastest ever fund flows swing from euphoria to despair” as US equity funds and ETFs reported $26.87 BN of outflows in the last week of September, the we observed the largest weekly outflow since December 2018 and the third largest outflow ever, more than reversing a $22.67bn inflow one week earlier; this was the third the biggest weekly swing in fund flows in history, and showed “how extreme market sentiment has become, and how it can seemingly swing overnight from euphoria to despair.” |
| Here Are The 4 Election Scenarios For Markets, And How To Trade ThemHere Are The 4 Election Scenarios For Markets, And How To Trade Them Tyler Durden Wed, 10/14/2020 – 15:22 While the latest Fund Manager Survey from BofA revealed that a vast majority of investors are concerned about a contested election, and the resulting volatility this may entail especially if (when) the Supreme Court is called in to decide the next president… |
| ‘If we tell people to wear a mask we get bawled at’Retailers have met with police to look at ways to encourage shoppers to comply with rules on face coverings. |
| Morrisons and Waitrose ditch glitter for ChristmasThe supermarkets won’t use glitter in own-brand crackers and cards as part of sustainability efforts. |
| Coronavirus: Thousands of self-employed quizzed over grantsThe UK’s tax authority has written to traders asking whether they claimed support without being eligible. |
| Looking for value picks? Unglamorous PSU stocks can yield outsized returnsInvestors have been selling PSU stocks on concerns that the government may sell stakes in them to fund its growing commitments, and lack of resources to support those commitments. |
| Revenue and margin revision by Infosys signal better growth than peersIn each of the two quarters to September 2020, Infosys reported higher year-on-year incremental revenue than TCS and Wipro. |
| Leading fund houses lap up IT and pharma stocks in SeptemberThe industry’s exposure to healthcare sector companies was at four-and-a-half-year peak of 8.7% as on September 30. |
| Key Words: Dr. Fauci: ‘This is an outbreak of historic proportions, the likes of which we’ve not seen in 102 years’As winter approaches, Fauci said, ‘I think we’re facing a whole lot of trouble.’ |
| The Moneyist: I’m 24 and dating a 64-year-old man. He wanted to get married, but I discovered he never got divorced. Have I been conned?‘He’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a person: He’s smart, funny, intelligent, caring and handsome.’ |
| The Moneyist: My parents died from COVID-19. They died without a will ” but wrote in emails that they wanted me to inherit their home‘There are four daughters. I paid the house off for my parents seven years ago and have paid the taxes each year since then.’ |
Summary 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:
