Written by Gary
Oil, Gas Rigs Increase For Fourth Week In A Row (SPY -0.4%). November 2020 leading economic index improvement continues.
The Market in Perspective
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
 | Energy Stocks Soar And Oil Prices ClimbOptimism about COVID-19 vaccines is driving oil prices higher and energy stocks are now on course to see their largest quarterly gain since 1989For Global Energy Alert members there are now two new free reports available in your dashboard. The first of these reports is on how to interpret stock charts and the second outlines the three biggest mistakes made by traders today. Make sure you become a member to read these reports and many more.Friday, December 18th, 2020Crude oil prices held their gains this week and pushed to new highs. In midday trading |
| Oil, Gas Rigs Increase For Fourth Week In A RowBaker Hughes reported on Friday that the number of oil rigs in the United States rose by 5 to 263. The total number of active oil and gas rigs increased for the week by 8. The oil and gas rig count has risen for four weeks in a row for a four-week gain of 36. Oil rigs increased by 5 and gas rigs rose by 2. Miscellaneous rigs rose by 1. Total oil and gas rigs in the United States are now down by 467 compared to this time last year. The EIAs estimate for oil production in the United States fell to 11.0 million barrels of oil per day, 2.1 million |
| Coal Consumption Set to Jump In 2021Coal consumption is set for a rebound of 2.6 percent next year as the worlds heavy industry emerges from the pandemic crisis, the International Energy Agency said in its latest report on the fossil fuel. The forecast is, of course, based on the assumption that the global economy will begin to recover next year, which is far from certain. Chinas and Indias recovery, however, has a higher degree of certaintyboth countries are already on the mend. The IEA acknowledged this in its report, noting the rebound in coal consumption |
| 2020: A Historic Year In ReviewFor most people, the idea of looking back on the last year is probably not that appealing. The phrase because, you know, 2020 has become a punchline, and for good reason. This year will forever be remembered as the year that Covid-19 arrived, killing hundreds of thousands of Americans and over 1.5 million people worldwide. With that tragedy came the attempts to limit the carnage, at least for a while, businesses closed, and people stayed at home, resulting in the largest single-quarter drop in GDP ever, massive job losses |
| Oil Markets Ignore Bearish RisksU.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures are edging higher on Friday as investors showed no signs of lightening up on the long side ahead of the weekend and next weeks holiday-shortened week. The market is currently trading at its highest level since March 3 as traders shrugged off negative future demand news throughout the week and instead focused on the optimism created by the rollout of the coronavirus vaccines and hopes for a new fiscal stimulus deal. A weaker U.S. Dollar, which fell to more than a 2-1/2 year low also drove up |
| U.S. LNG Exports Surge1. Chinas oil import surge ended- Chinas imports of crude oil are set to jump 10% this year, but the import surge occurred during the downturn earlier this year when crude prices collapsed. In fact, Chinas exports of refined products are on the rise. – Chinas oil demand dipped slightly by 30,000 bpd in October, but the IEA expects Chinas demand to be up 480,000 bpd in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, dramatically better than OECD countries. – Despite Covid-19 vaccine optimism, a huge buildup of global oil |
| General Motors and Ford won’t mandate Covid-19 vaccinations for employeesGM’s confirmation follows the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission this week saying employers can require workers to get vaccinated . |
| ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ has a messy plot, but Gal Gadot shines bright, critics say“Woman Woman 1984” currently holds a 88% “Fresh” rating from Rotten Tomatoes from 92 reviews. |
| December is shaping up to be the Covid pandemic’s deadliest month yet in the U.S.“We’re also seeing unprecedented numbers of people getting ill, hospitalized and dying,” said Dr. Leana Wen, a former Baltimore health commissioner. |
| Milwaukee Bucks credit ‘Giannis effect’ for uptick in business, now rethinking jersey patch plansThe Milwaukee Bucks’ five-year, $225 million extension of superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo has changed its plans around its jersey patch. |
| You might want to add these extra costs to your budget when planning a safe vacation during CovidWith the vaccine rollout underway, now might be the time to cautiously plan your future vacation. Here are a few things that may end up costing you more. |
| COVAX global Covid vaccine program secures nearly 2 billion doses as UNICEF prepares for distributionCOVAX, the global alliance aiming to deliver Covid-19 vaccines to the world’s poorest countries, said it now has supply agreements for nearly 2 billion doses. |
| Dr. Scott Gottlieb expects Covid vaccine shortages to last even if Moderna receives clearance“I think they could have pushed out more vaccine through the hospitals this month than what they’re doing,” Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Friday. |
| FDA says it hasn’t yet approved Moderna Covid vaccine despite Trump tweet saying otherwisePresident Trump tweeted Friday that the FDA has “approved” Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine and it would be distributed immediately. |
| Vice President Mike Pence gets Covid vaccine, Fauci says ‘I’m ready to go’Pence, his wife, Karen, and Surgeon General Jerome Adams got inoculated on live national television. |
| Dick’s Sporting Goods teams with Instacart for same-day delivery at 150 stores amid last-minute holiday crunchDick’s Sporting Goods is teaming with Instacart to offer same-day delivery from more than 150 stores. |
| CVS Health, Walgreens start to provide Covid vaccines at thousands of hard-hit nursing homesNursing home and assisted living facility residents are among the first to get the shots because they have been particularly hard-hit by the coronavirus. |
| Olive Garden parent’s revenue falls 19% as new dining restrictions hit same-store salesDarden Restaurants topped analysts’ expectations for its quarterly earnings but fell short of estimates for its revenue. |
| Watch live: New York Gov. Cuomo briefs the press on Covid pandemic as state distributes vaccinesNew York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is scheduled to hold a press briefing Friday on the coronavirus pandemic. |
| Silver Soars, Bitcoin Roars, Stocks Snore As COVID-Relief Rancor ContinuesSilver Soars, Bitcoin Roars, Stocks Snore As COVID-Relief Rancor Continues Tyler Durden Fri, 12/18/2020 – 16:01 A very mixed week into quad witch with Small Caps soaring and S&P and Dow snoring until the last few minutes of the week…
Small Caps are at their strongest relative to mega-tech Nasdaq since March… |
| “A Year Like No Other”: 20 Charts Showing The Insanity Unleashed By Central Banks“A Year Like No Other”: 20 Charts Showing The Insanity Unleashed By Central Banks Tyler Durden Fri, 12/18/2020 – 15:45 “It all happened in five weeks.” That’s the beginning of the annual recap note published by Goldman’s chief credit strategist Lotfi Karoui, and it summarizes perfectly the period between March and May 2020 in which we saw “a faster drawdown and recovery than 2008/2009.” Alas, said record recovery came at a price: the nationalization of bond markets by central banks. So to commemorate what he says has been “a year like no other”, Karoui has put together 20 charts showing the absolute insanity unleashed by central banks in credit markets in 2020 in order to avert the collapse of financial markets – and civilization – as we know them. 1. The biggest rollercoaster in history: The sudden stop in global economic activity and the subsequent policy response sparked the fastest drawdown and recovery in the three-decade history of the USD corporate bond market. This is illustrated in Exhibit 1, which plots the 20-day excess returns on IG and HY cash indices since 2000. While spreads peaked at tighter levels relative to the Global Financial Crisis, the veloc … |
| Supreme Court Responds To Claims That Roberts Screamed At Other Justices Over Texas Election LawsuitSupreme Court Responds To Claims That Roberts Screamed At Other Justices Over Texas Election Lawsuit Tyler Durden Fri, 12/18/2020 – 15:28 Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times, A spokesperson for the U.S. Supreme Court disputed a report that claimed Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts shouted at the eight other justices in a room in the high court, urging them not to the Texas election lawsuit against four other key states. |
| UBS Chief Economist: There Is No Inflation, Consumers Are Just Imagining ItUBS Chief Economist: There Is No Inflation, Consumers Are Just Imagining It Tyler Durden Fri, 12/18/2020 – 15:11 Yesterday we asked if it was time to start worrying about food inflation while discussing recent notes by both Goldman and SocGen’s Albert Edwards, who highlighted the current burst in food inflation across the globe and especially emerging markets, pointing out troubling similarities to the period of soaring food inflation in late 2010 – sparked by QE2 – and which culminated with the Arab Spring which led to numerous governments … |
| Christmas post delays blamed on ‘high demand’Fears remain over Christmas deliveries as online shopping balloons amid Covid restrictions. |
| Covid tests offered to John Lewis and Waitrose staffDepartment store chain John Lewis is offering free Covid tests to up to 16,000 workers a week |
| Lloyds Banking Group cancels bonuses after profit dropBankers were told in a memo on Thursday first reported by the Financial Times. |
| The quest to replicate Tesla’s success keeps EV mania aliveFor startups aiming to mimic Musk’s success and for traditional carmakers struggling to disrupt themselves, most lingering doubts about future demand for electric vehicles have dissipated. |
| What technology charged up stock broking in the year of RobinhoodsBrokers are increasingly migrating to cloud-based systems to meet the spike in trading volumes and new account openings. |
| Borosil Renewables raises Rs 200 cr via through QIPBorosil Renewables Ltd (BRL) has successfully completed fundraising of Rs 200 crore through a qualified institutions placement (issue), a company statement said. |
| 11 December 2020 ECRI’s WLI Growth Rate Improvement Continues
ECRI’s WLI Growth Index which forecasts economic growth six months forward improved and remains in expansion. ECRI also released their coincident and lagging indicators for November. |
| November 2020 Leading Economic Index Improvement ContinuesWritten by Steven Hansen The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) for the U.S increased 0.6 percent in November to 109.1 (2016 = 100), following a 0.8 percent increase in October – and the authors say but the “pace of improvement has been decelerating in recent months, suggesting a significant moderation in growth as the US economy heads into 2021”.
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| Personal Finance Daily: No matter what Congress does, 12 million jobless Americans will temporarily lose unemployment benefits and how to get your ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ refundFriday’s top personal finance stories |
| : How Britain and France are gearing up for year-end Brexit border chaos, and why it mattersBusinesses are rushing to stockpile ahead of the departure of the U.K. from Europe’s single market and customs union on Jan. 1. |
| The Margin: Here’s how to get your ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ refundAmazon, Sony, Microsoft, Best Buy and videogame developer CD Projekt Red are giving refunds for the title featuring Elon Musk and Keanu Reeves. |
Written by Steven Hansen
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