Written by Gary
Alaska Airlines makes big Boeing 737 Max order in first U.S. sales since lifting of flight ban (SPY -0.1%). Midday movers: Peloton, Apple, IAC, CarMax.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
 | North and South American markets are mixed. The Bovespa is higher by 0.41%, while the IPC is leading the S&P 500 lower. They are down 1.13% and 0.13% respectively. |
What Is Moving the Markets
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
| Apple To Build Own EV With Breakthrough Battery TechApple plans to manufacture an electric passenger vehicle with its own breakthrough battery technology in 2024, sources with knowledge of the plans told Reuters, in what could be a revival of the iPhone makers car project ambitions. Apple targets a mass passenger EV with a battery technology expected to radically cut the battery costs and boost the range, a source who has seen the battery design of the cell phone maker told Reuters. Reports of Apple looking to develop a car are nothing new, but the company had reportedly significantly |
| Exxon Guyana Well Hits 120,000 Bpd MilestoneThe Liza-1 well in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana is pumping oil at a rate of 120,000 barrels per day, Exxon has announced, in a belated achievement of its target for the well. Argus quoted Exxon Guyana president Alistair Routledge as saying, “We are disappointed by the number of equipment issues experienced and that, because of these issues and Covid-19, commissioning of the gas injection system took longer than originally projected.” It added the 120,000-bpd milestone was supposed to be reached a year ago. Exxon, together with its partner |
| Oil Extends Losses As Demand Fears ResurfaceFollowing losses of more than 3-percent on Monday, oil prices continued to trade lower early on Tuesday, dragged down by renewed concerns about global oil demand as flight bans and lockdowns in Europe are grounding flights and upending travel plans. While the new U.S. relief package of $900 billion, which Congress passed on Monday, managed to lift equity markets in Europe and the United States on Tuesday, oil prices continued to lose ground as immediate demand fears trumped future prospects of an oil consumption recovery with the advance of vaccinations, |
| China Issues Higher Oil Import Quotas For 2021China has issued the first round of crude oil quotas for next year, and it is 18 percent higher than the respective round for 2019, Reuters has reported, citing unnamed sources in the know. At 122.59 million tons, the first 2021 quota batch equals almost 900 million barrels, based on a conversion factor of 7.33 barrels per one metric ton of crude. According to the report, China had announced earlier it would increase the oil import quotas for independent refiners by 20 percent next year, to a total of 243 million tons. China has been buying oil |
| Russian Energy Ministers Tells Biden Not To Disturb Oil MarketsJoe Bidens presidency will hopefully not interfere with OPEC+ actions taken to rebalance oil markets, Russian Deputy Prime Minister and former Energy Minister Alexander Novak said this week. We can see that the new U.S. administration is making statements contradictory to the countrys policy from the last four years, Novak said, as quoted by RT, adding, As far as we can see there will be more discussion of climate topics. This could affect U.S. oil production. We hope that the changes to the policy |
| How Electric Vehicle Hype Created A Brand New Trillion Dollar MarketBy now, you probably already know that electric vehicles were one of the hottest markets, if not the single hottest market in 2020. You might also already know that Tesla soared 592%, and that its Chinese counterparts NIO, Xpeng, and Li Automobile soared 1411%, 105%, and 106% respectivelyBut what you may not yet know is that theres another opportunity emerging in EV markets. Some of the biggest opportunities in the exploding EV space arent to be found only in stocks of EV makers, instead, they could be made in companies that are setting |
| Mayo Clinic CEO: Take the first Covid vaccine available, don’t wait for a specific one“Get the first vaccine that is offered because their benefits far outweigh any potential risk,” Mayo Clinic CEO Dr. Gianrico Farrugia told CNBC. |
| Sen. Warren introduces bill to provide free Covid testing for teachers, students and essential workers across U.S.“It’s long past time that the federal government throws real muscle behind controlling and mitigating the spread of COVID-19,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren said. |
| Alaska Airlines makes big Boeing 737 Max order in first U.S. sales since lifting of flight banAlaska Airlines is adding 23 Boeing 737 Max planes to its fleet. |
| Peloton shares hits all-time high as investors bet Precor deal will ease manufacturing delaysPeloton shares hit a record high on the heels of the company’s announcement that it plans to buy Precor for $420 million. |
| Rethinking stimulus: How Covid economic recovery can help battle climate changeGlobal carbon dioxide emissions will rebound next year and continue to surge unless the worldwide recovery effort from Covid-19 prioritizes climate change. |
| Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Peloton, Apple, IAC, CarMax and moreThese are the stocks posting the largest moves in midday trading. |
| GM’s defense unit sees $25 billion market in potential military contracts for automakerGM has significant growth plans for its new military defense unit, which quietly launched three years ago and recently started fulfilling its first contract. |
| ‘I think this is already in the U.S.,’ Dr. Scott Gottlieb says of new UK Covid strainWhile many countries are imposing lockdowns, Dr. Gottlieb explains why he thinks the new, highly contagious variant of Covid is already in the United States. |
| Watch live: Dr. Fauci, Azar receive Moderna’s Covid vaccine as rollout beginsDr. Anthony Fauci has long said he will publicly take the vaccine as soon as it’s available to him to encourage Americans to get the vaccine. |
| U.S. plans to study allergic reactions from Pfizer’s Covid vaccineThe U.S. is planning a study to find out why some people have suffered from allergic reactions after receiving a Covid vaccine, an NIAID official told CNBC. |
| VIX Curve Suggests Caution AheadVIX Curve Suggests Caution Ahead On Monday, the VIX explosion unleashed a powerful move for protection, soaring to as high as $31.46, having been range-bound between $26-$20 for much of November and December. The cause was primarily due to a virus mutation in the UK, raising concern that the central assumption of exceptional economic growth next year could turn out wrong.Â
IFR News points out a “kink” in the VIX futures curve for February.Â
The VIX curve suggests a period of elevated caution in financial markets “over the coming days with more Brexit/Covid headlines,” IFR said.Â
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| Buchanan: Can Democracy Hold Us Together?Buchanan: Can Democracy Hold Us Together? Authored by Pat Buchanan via Buchanan.org, If America were a company and not a country, we would have long ago dissolved the corporation, split the blanket, and gone our separate ways.
What still holds this disputatious and divided people together? Consider. In announcing the $900 billion stimulus bill to deal with the pandemic, Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not mention that the gifts for her distressed countrymen and women at Christmas would have been twice as large had she taken President Trump’s offer of $1.8 trillion in October. Why did the speaker slap that offer away?
Rather than let Donald Trump take credit, Pelosi stiffed millions of Americans. … |
| CDC Says “No Evidence” UK COVID Mutation Is Deadlier, Or More Severe: Live UpdatesCDC Says “No Evidence” UK COVID Mutation Is Deadlier, Or More Severe: Live Updates Summary: CDC says ‘no evidence’ new COVID strain causes ‘increased risk of death’ Dr. Fauci vaccinated with Moderna jab France allows truckers from UK with negative COVID test US 7-day deaths average hits new record EU calls on members to continue freight trade with UK Public health official warns “only matter of time” before mutation arrives in Germany Hungary sees lowest tally of new cases in 2 months Ireland expect to impose holiday lockdown * * * Update (1145ET): As the world continues to panic about the new COVID mutation discovered in southern England (while others wonder about the ‘hard evidence’, of which there appears to be none), the CDC has officially weighed in for the first time, with the agency stating that there’s “no evidence” the variation causes more severe illness, or in any way increases the risk of death. The variant, which is knownby the name “B.1.1.7.” also has yet to be identified by scientists in the US, though former FDA chief Scott Gottlieb said during an interview earlier that the new strain has almost certainly already made its way here. Here’s the rest of the executive summary:
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| “The Robot Made Me Do It”: Research Finds AI Encourages Risk-Taking Behavior“The Robot Made Me Do It”: Research Finds AI Encourages Risk-Taking Behavior Good news for people that like to make terrible decisions and avoid taking responsibility: robot scapegoats are here. According to a new academic paper published by the University of Southampton on December 11, robots can actually encourage risk-taking behavior in humans. The study was led by Dr Yaniv Hanoch, Associate Professor in Risk Management at the University of Southampton. The paper was published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. The study involved 180 undergraduate students who were given a computer assessment that measured how likely they would be to “press their luck” in situations where they were awarded money and had the option to keep going, facing potential losses, or take the money and run.Â
The experiment found that the group that was encouraged by the robots took more risks – and also earned more money overall. “We know that peer pressure can lead to higher risk-taking behavior. With the ever-increasing scale of interaction between humans and technology, both online and physically, it is crucial that we understand more about whether machines can … |
| Royal Mail ends two-year dispute with union in ‘landmark’ dealThe postal service agrees a deal with unions to end a bitter dispute over pay and conditions. |
| Ports chaos ‘bad for trust and post-Brexit trade’The food industry says port disruption makes it hard for foreign firms to trust UK exporters post-Brexit. |
| Air charter firms see demand surge as companies bid to beat blockagesOne air charter company says it has received more than 800 enquiries from those looking to move goods. |
| Top 10 consistent and biggest wealth creators of Dalal StreetBerger Paints and HDFC delivered CAGR returns of 24 per cent and 19 per cent, respectively. |
| Why now is a good time to bet on smallcap stocksSince January 2018, the Nifty 50 has given a 29% absolute return, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 has lost 28%. Fund managers said this has made valuations cheaper compared to large-caps. |
| Can automakers protect margins from rising raw material costs?Steel, a major input, is costlier by 49% YoY. It accounts for 50-85% of the total raw material costs. The percentage of steel usage is the highest in the commercial vehicle and lower in the two-wheeler. Steel traders expect more price increases in December. |
| London Markets: FTSE 100 climbs despite new COVID-19 strain keeping U.K. shut off from EuropeFrance’s border with the U.K. — a main trade route into Europe — remained closed on Tuesday with hundreds of lorries stuck at Dover. |
| The Wall Street Journal: Cryptocurrency company Ripple to face SEC suit over XRP salesRipple Inc. said it will defend itself against a lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission that claims the company violated investor-protection laws when it sold a bitcoin-like digital asset called XRP. |
| : Yes, your employer can require you to get a COVID-19 vaccine, the EEOC says‘This guidance makes it very clear that employers have the law on their side.’ |
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