16Dec2020 Midday Update: Wall Street Mixed, DOW Down 50 Points, Nasdaq Up 0.4%, Bitcoin Breaks Above $20,000 For First Time

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

North and South American markets are mixed today. The IPC is up 0.70% while the S&P 500 gains 0.17%. The Bovespa is off 0.37%.

Low Oil Prices Force Saudi Arabia To Cut 2021 Budget Plan

Saudi Arabia reduced its budget plan for 2021 by 7 percent from this years in response to the economic fallout of the pandemic, which pushed oil prices to multi-year lows. Reuters reported that Riyadh will spend some $264 billion next year, or 990 billion riyals, as it battles a substantial deficit resulting from the latest oil price collapse. Earlier this year, the Kingdom was forced by oil market circumstances to implement some unpopular austerity measures, including a triple increase in value-added tax and the cancellation of so-called

Biden Set To Pick Former Michigan Governor For Energy Department

President-elect Joe Biden is expected to nominate the environmental advocate and former governor of Michigan Jennifer Granholm for Secretary of Energy, Reuters has reported, citing unnamed sources in the know. Granholm served two terms as Michigan’s first female governor and was a supporter of EV battery plants for the state and diversifying its energy mix into renewables. According to Politico, if Granholm is confirmed by Senate, her experience in dealing with the car manufacturing industry would be put to good use in Biden’s plan to accelerate

Oil Jumps On Crude Inventory Draw

Crude oil prices rose today after the Energy Information Administration reported a crude oil inventory decline of 3.1 million barrels for the week to December 11. The report came out a day after the American Petroleum Institute estimated inventory builds across crude and fuels, pressuring prices just as they had started to improve again. Analysts had expected the EIA to report a 3.5-million-barrel decline in crude oil inventories for the week to December 11, after it estimated a huge build of over 15 million barrels for the previous week. In gasoline,

Russian Analysts: Nord Stream 2 Could Start Gas Deliveries In 2021

The controversial Russia-led gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 is likely to start delivering first gas to Germany by the end of 2021, Russian energy experts tell news agency TASS, while the U.S. is targeting the project with additional sanctions to stop its completion. Last week, work off the coast of Germany, the endpoint of the pipeline, resumed, with the pipe-laying vessel Fortuna laying a 2.6-kilometer (1.6-mile) section of the pipe. U.S. sanctions have delayed offshore construction works as the United States looks to thwart the completion

World Bank Sees Oil Prices Averaging $44 In 2021

Oil prices, defined as an average of Brent, West Texas Intermediate, and Dubai prices, are expected to rise to an average of $44 per barrel next year and $50 a barrel in 2022, up from expected $41 in 2020, the World Bank said on Wednesday in its latest report on Russia. According to the World Bank, the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to impact global oil demand, with consumption still below pre-pandemic levels next year. Oil consumption is expected to remain around 5 percent lower than in 2019 by the end of 2021, the World Bank said. The

Is It Time For A Correction In Oil Markets?

Crude oil prices rose to the highest since early spring after the FDA yesterday gave the green light to the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, with government officials saying several hundred vaccination sites across the country would be supplied with vaccines by tomorrow. But traderswho have been buying oil and fuels futures with renewed eagerness over the past few weeksare now preparing for a market correction. Traders from hedge funds slowed down their purchases of crude oil and derivatives contracts, Reuters John Kemp said

U.S. quarantines Pfizer vaccine shipments in California and Alabama after transit ‘anomaly’ left vials too cold

Doses of Pfizer’s vaccine were quarantined after an “anomaly” in the transportation process caused the storage temperature to get too cold.

Watch live: New York Gov. Cuomo holds a press briefing as state starts distributing Covid vaccine

The first round of vaccinations come as New York responds to a surge in Covid-19 cases matching levels last reported in the spring.

Sweetgreen will pilot a drive-in restaurant as part of suburban push

Salad restaurant chain Sweetgreen will open its first location with a drive-thru lane next year as it expands beyond cities into suburban America.

AMC could benefit from bankruptcy, analysts say

For AMC, the world’s largest cinema chain, bankruptcy could be the best option to survive the coronavirus pandemic.

FDA staff endorses emergency use of Moderna’s Covid vaccine in a critical step toward approval

Moderna’s vaccine could be administered as early as next week if it wins emergency use authorization from the FDA.

Watch live: Trump health officials discuss Pfizer Covid vaccine as U.S. administers shots

Officials from the Health and Human Services Department and Pentagon are holding a joint briefing on Operation Warp Speed.

Your next flight might be carrying Covid vaccines as United ships doses on passenger planes

United Airlines has started shipping the Pfizer vaccine on passenger flights within the U.S. as demand for additional capacity increases.

Satellite-to-smartphone broadband company AST & Science to go public through a SPAC

Special purpose acquisition company New Providence will take next-generation satellite broadband specialist AST & Science public through a SPAC deal.

It’s going to be a make-or-break holiday season for these retailers

All retailers could use a strong holiday season to ring in 2021. But for some companies it is especially true, with the holidays being a make-or-break time.

Prisoners have been excluded from Covid vaccine plans, and health experts are sounding the alarm

Health experts alike are deeply concerned about the notable absence of prison populations in existing vaccine guidance.

Euro zone business activity ‘close to stabilizing’ in December despite Covid lockdowns

Business activity in the euro zone picked up in December, according to the latest preliminary purchasing manager’s index (PMI) data for the region.

British retailers are set for a bumper ” but very different ” holiday shopping season

The coronavirus crisis has caused serious challenges for many retailers but experts say there are reasons to be positive ahead of the holiday shopping season.

HHS Secretary Azar says the public will get Covid vaccine ‘by the end of February into March’

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar provides an update on when he believes the American public will be able to get a Covid vaccine.

Joel Osteen’s Church Received $4.4 Million In Stimulus Payments

Joel Osteen’s Church Received $4.4 Million In Stimulus Payments Tyler Durden Wed, 12/16/2020 – 12:00

Authored by John Vibes via TheMindUnleashed.com,

Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church received a $4.4 million loan through the Paycheck Protection Program, as part of the federal CARES Act that was intended to be a stimulus to keep businesses and employees afloat while the pandemic kept everyone at home.

Churches were also eligible for the money, and some of the most prestigious churches in the country took advantage of the opportunity.

Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church was not on the initial list of recipients and claimed that they did not apply to receive any money. However, the church later applied and was granted $4.4 million, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Osteen himself is estimated to have a net worth of overÂ

In Leaked Audio, Julian Assange Warns Clinton State Department Lawyer About Cables Stolen From WikiLeaks

In Leaked Audio, Julian Assange Warns Clinton State Department Lawyer About Cables Stolen From WikiLeaks Tyler Durden Wed, 12/16/2020 – 11:44

Leaked audio obtained by Project Veritas reveals that in 2011, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange warned the Hillary Clinton-led State Department that a rogue employee had stolen a trove of classified cables from the whistleblower organization and was about to release it.

Pompeo Quarantines After Contact With COVID-19 Positive Individual

Pompeo Quarantines After Contact With COVID-19 Positive Individual Tyler Durden Wed, 12/16/2020 – 11:41

On Wednesday morning the State Department announced Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is taking voluntary self-isolation measures after coming into contact with someone who later tested positive for COVID-19.

Pompeo has since tested negative following the initial contact but will quarantine “in accordance with [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidelines” a State Dept. spokesperson said.Â

“Secretary Pompeo has been identified as having come into contact with someone who tested positive for COVID. For reasons of privacy we can’t identify that individual,” the statement said, adding that “He is being closely monitored by the Department’s medical team.”

Massachusetts Regulator Alleges Robinhood “Aggressively Marketed” To Inexperienced Investors

Massachusetts Regulator Alleges Robinhood “Aggressively Marketed” To Inexperienced Investors Tyler Durden Wed, 12/16/2020 – 11:22

Regulators in Massachusetts have filed a complaint against Robinhood alleging the company has “aggressively marketed to inexperienced investors and failed to implement controls to protect them,” according to a Wall Street Journal exclusive.Â

The Massachusetts Securities Division filed the complaint and said that Robinhood “exposed Massachusetts investors to ‘unnecessary trading risks’Â by ‘falling far short of the fiduciary standard'” adopted by the state this year. The complaint comes after Robinhood settled claims from FINRA for $1.25 million after the regulator alleged it didn’t take steps to ensure it was getting the best pricing for its customers. Robinhood, as we have noted numerous times, sells its order flow to make up for loss of revenue from commissions.Â

Bosses earn ‘100 times lowest paid staff’

Data shows huge gaps in earnings from the top to the bottom of the UK’s largest firms.

Brexit: Hornby stops non-UK orders due to price confusion

The model train maker says it’s in a difficult position and has paused all international orders until January 2021.

Heathrow wins court battle to build third runway

In a blow to campaigners, judges say ministers’ decision to approve the runway was legitimate.

PNB, IDBI Bank complete QIP helped by peer PSU banks

PNB managed to raise about Rs 3,800 crore out of its targeted Rs 7,000 crore while IDBI Bank managed to raise about Rs 1,400 crore out of its targeted Rs 2,000 crore in the offer, multiple people familiar with the issue said.

Bitcoin breaks above $20,000 for first time

The cryptocurrency jumped 4.5% to move as high as $20,440. It has gained more than 170% this year, buoyed by demand from larger investors attracted to its potential for quick gains, purported resistance to inflation and expectations it will become a mainstream payment method.

Post Burger King and Mrs Bectors stellar response, should investors bet big on QSRs?

Shares of Westlife Development, which operates McDonald’s in the West and South through its subsidiary Hardcastle Restaurants, Speciality Restaurants, which owns Mainland China and Sigree, and Domino’s Pizza operator Jubilant FoodWorks have also gone up over the past three days on the BSE.

: Americans are draining their checking accounts as stimulus talks drag on

Direct stimulus checks and enhanced unemployment benefits allowed lower-income Americans to increase their checking-account balances by 65% year-on-year in April.

: Health-care workers are getting the COVID-19 vaccine first. But that begs the question: Who is a health-care worker?

Roughly 21 million Americans could qualify as health-care workers, but there likely aren’t enough vaccine doses for all of them yet.

London Markets: Housing stocks lead FTSE 100 higher as U.K. house prices hit record high

U.K. house builders led the index higher, after Office for National Statistics data showed average house prices grew 5.4% in the year to October ” the fastest growth since 2016.