30Dec2020 Market Close: Wall Street Closed With Modest Gains With 1 Trading Day Remaining In 2020, DOW Closed Up 74 Points, Nasdaq At +0.2%, US Dollar Slips To 89.65, Bitcoin Higher At 28777

Written by Gary

Dow rises for the fourth time in five days, ekes out record closing high (SPY +0.1%). Dollar dumps, Bitcoin jumps, and pending home sales slide.

The Market in Perspective

Here are the headlines moving the markets.
	Greek Shipowners Easily Evade Venezuela Oil Sanctions In January 2019, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s oil shipping sector in an ongoing bid to force President Nicols Maduro from power. The sanctions deepened Venezuela’s already severe humanitarian crisis leading to runaway inflation and widespread fuel shortages. But the beleaguered nation can somewhat now breathe a sigh of relief after maritime intelligence firm Lloyd’s List reported that an Aframax tanker has loaded a third crude cargo destined for China via a ship-to-ship transfer five months after being sanctioned
	Fracking Could Save Colombia From Economic Crisis Colombia country is facing its worst economic catastrophe of modern times because of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The IMF believes that the strife-torn Latin American countrys economy will shrink by over 8% during 2020 with some analysts predicting that the contraction could be even worse predicting a 10% drop in gross domestic product. The threat of an extensive economic crisis and stalled recovery is heightened by low proven oil and natural gas reserves, a sustained oil price slump, weak investment inflows, and softer hydrocarbon production.
	Iran To Buy Covid Vaccines With Income From Gas Exports To Iraq Iran will use part of the proceeds from its electricity and natural gas exports to Iraq to buy COVID-19 vaccines from Europe, Iranian state media reported on Wednesday, quoting Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian. Earlier this week, Iran cut its energy exports to its neighbor Iraq, saying that Baghdad owes it some US$6 billion in arrears for the electricity and natural gas supply. Major Iraqi power plants are dependent on Iranian natural gas supply, and Iraq also imports electricity from Iran, as Baghdads power generation is not enough to ensure
	Can Venezuelas Oil Industry Bounce Back With The Help Of Iran? After five years of plunging oil production and experiencing the near-collapse of its economically crucial petroleum industry and the worst peacetime economic crisis of the modern age, there are signs a recovery is underway in Venezuela. For some time, President Nicols Maduro has claimed Venezuelas once-mighty petroleum industry is recovering, yet plummeting crude oil output, deteriorating infrastructure, and numerous oil spills indicate otherwise. The latest numbers from OPEC, of which Venezuela was a founding member, indicate that
	Russia Looks To Become Leader In Hydrogen Tech Russias mineral and energy wealth has given it a second chance in global affairs after the Cold War and the implosion of the Soviet Union. Oil and gas exports have provided the necessary income to rebuild the country and exert influence abroad. The energy transition is the Sword of Damocles hanging over the Russian fossil fuel industry. Moscow, therefore, is trying to find a new purpose for its energy industry by early investments in hydrogen technologies. Russias energy ministry is working on a hydrogen strategy in
	PetroChina Looks To Double Shale Gas Output By 2025 State energy giant PetroChina plans to increase the natural gas output from its shale operations in the Sichuan province twofold to over 22 billion cubic meters in the next five years, Reuters reported, citing state Chinese media. China has been looking to boost domestic natural gas production in the face of rising demand and with it, rising dependence on imports. Most recently, Beijing eased restrictions on foreign companies to invest in the countrys gas industry and offered subsidies for natural gas developments. The incentives include
	CDC says new Covid strain in U.S. could further stress ‘already heavily burdened’ hospitals The new variant “could lead to more cases and put even more strain on our already heavily burdened” hospitals, the CDC’s Dr. Henry Walke said.
	Colorado health officials are investigating a second suspected case of new Covid strain On Tuesday, Colorado health officials confirmed the nation’s first case of a new and potentially more infectious strain of Covid-19.
	JC Penney CEO Jill Soltau to leave retailer after it emerged from bankruptcy with new owners The company’s new owners are seeking a new leader after the legacy retailer emerged from bankruptcy.
	Operation Warp Speed chief says Covid vaccine distribution ‘should be better’ as U.S. misses goal “We agree that that number is lower than what we had hoped for,” Moncef Slaoui, chief advisor of Operation Warp Speed, said on Wednesday.
	Watch live: New York Gov. Cuomo briefs the press on Covid pandemic as outbreak worsens New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will hold a press briefing on the coronavirus Wednesday as the state reportedly searches for more hospital capacity.
	Trump blames states as he faces criticism for slow Covid vaccine rollout Biden Covid advisor Dr. Luciana Borio said the incoming administration will have to “dramatically ramp up” support to states to distribute the vaccine.
	AMC hopes to raise $125 million in fresh funding round as it fights bankruptcy In an effort to stave off bankruptcy, AMC has made an additional 50 million shares available for sale.
	Watch live: Trump officials discuss vaccine rollout as criticism mounts The briefing comes as the administration faces criticism for what appears to be a slower-than-expected rollout of the vaccines.
	U.S. confirms first case of the new Covid strain discovered in UK The infected individual, a man in his 20s, does not have a history of traveling and is in isolation in Elbert County, officials said.
	Biden slams Trump’s vaccine effort, reiterates plan to administer 100 million doses in 100 days Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the vaccine rollout has been slower than anticipated.
	California extends stay-at-home order for two regions of the state as ICU capacity remains tight The regional order, which Gov. Gavin Newsom first announced on Dec. 3 and was set to expire Monday.
	This chart shows 2020 had a chance to break box office records, but Covid caused lowest haul in decades The domestic box office fell 80% to $2.28 billion in 2020 because of Covid, the lowest tally in nearly 40 years.
	The pandemic’s new chefs and foodies: How the health crisis shaped what we cook and crave Americans have made more meals at home, expanded their palates with new flavors and gravitated toward premium items during the coronavirus pandemic.
	Dollar Dumps, Bitcoin Jumps, & Stock Short-Interest Slumps Dollar Dumps, Bitcoin Jumps, & Stock Short-Interest Slumps The dollar continued its race to the bottom today after a brief pop on Monday… Source: Bloomberg Pushing the world’s reserve currency to the brink of critical support against its fiat peers… Source: Bloomberg And Bitcoin and Gold already know it…
	McConnell Dooms $2,000 Stimulus Check After Refusing To Split Trump’s Three Demands McConnell Dooms $2,000 Stimulus Check After Refusing To Split Trump’s Three Demands In a move that all but doomed Congressional approval for $2,000 stimulus checks (up from $600), top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell said he would not separate the plan for $2K checks, from President Donald Trump’s other demands: section 230 repeal and an election fraud commission. “The Senate is not going to split apart the three issues that President Trump linked together just because Democrats are afraid to address two of them. The Senate is not going to be bullied into rushing out more borrowed money into the hands of Democrats rich friends who don’t need the help,” McConnell said from the Senate floor. Over the weekend, the Democratic-controlled House approved a stand-alone bill to boost the checks to $2,000 from $600, as 44 Republicans prodded by Trump joined nearly all Democrats in backing the measure. But the Republican-controlled Senate has said it will not pass the checks without attaching other Trump priorities that Democrats consider toxic, and would sink any legislation. The latest twist in this bizarre saga of Helicopter Money and government handouts came just as the Treasury Department started to send out the payments of up to $600 on Tuesday night. If Congress can overcome the thorny political dynamics to increase the deposits to $2,000, the government would later add on to the cash it already distributed. On Tuesday, McConnell introduced the bill that would boost the payments to $2,000 but also repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which provides legal liability protections for internet platforms, and create a commission on voter fraud, …
	The World Is Awash In Negative-Yielding Debt The World Is Awash In Negative-Yielding Debt Authored by Michael Maharrey via SchiffGold.com, So far, the US has escaped negative interest rates as a matter of central bank policy. Back in May, many thoughtÂ a Fed move to negative rates was a real possibility. Of course, much of the world has operated under negative rates as a matter of policy for years. The European Central Bank (ECB) launched negative rates in June 2014. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) introduced negative rates in January 2016. Both are still maintaining a negative rate policy today. While the Fed has resisted the temptation of a negative rate policy so far, that doesn’t mean Americans have escaped the reality of below-zero real rates. In fact, the world is awash in negative-yielding debt. Financial analyst Jim Grant’s newsletter, Almost Daily Grant (ADG …
	2020 In 12 Stunning Charts 2020 In 12 Stunning Charts With just one day left in what has been a dismal year, we decided to look back at the past 12 months and summarize the most notable market events and developments in 12 charts. So without further ado, and courtesy of BoA’s Michael Hartnett, here is… 2020 in 12 charts. 2020 was a year dominated by a virus identified in 2019, which as BofA notes, “spread into a pandemic shattering all 2020 social,political, economic and financial market predictions.” According to Hartnett, “75mn people have contracted COVID-19,and 1.7mn people have died from COVID-19 in 2020; US & Europe (Exhibit 1) harderhit than Asia.” The 1st wave of the virus Mar-May precipitated a financial market crash,lockdowns & recessions; the less deadly autumn 2nd wave did not. In response to the pandemic, there were multiple COVID-19 vaccines in development by the end of 2020, with several approved out with unprecedented speed/ 2021 will be a year of the vaccine not thevirus ¦BofA forecasts 1.1bn people will be vaccinated by year-end ’21, a figure tha …
	Firms moving into tier four: Devastated and disappointed Thousands more businesses will now have to close or extend closures as restrictions escalate.
	Four-day week means ‘I don’t waste holidays on chores’ A new study suggests a four-day working week could be introduced immediately and be affordable for most firms.
	UK house prices see highest growth in six years in 2020 UK house prices bucked the pandemic and climbed 7.5% in 2020, according to building society Nationwide.
	Investors are flocking to PSU stocks again, but can they retain the momentum? Over the past decade, the BSE PSU index contracted by 38% whereas the benchmark Nifty 50 rose by 128%.
	10 stocks that made most money for investors in the last 10 years As one of the most volatile decades for investors comes to an end, ETIG finds out the stocks in the BSE 500 index that made investors rich despite the topsy-turvy market movements.
	Vedanta says no pledge on shares; fund raise conditions bar promoters from share sale Vedanta had on Tuesday informed stock exchanges about its promoters raising USD 1 billion debt by issuing equivalent notes to Citicorp International Ltd and another USD 400 million in notes to an entity under Oaktree Capital Group.
	November 2020 Headline Pending Home Sales Slide Written by Steven Hansen The National Association of Realtors (NAR) seasonally adjusted pending home sales index declined. Our analysis also shows slowing this month. The quote of the day from this NAR release: … [the] decline is largely due to the shortage of inventory and fast-rising home prices
	: No œrealistic path for vote by Senate on bigger stimulus checks, McConnell says Prospects for larger direct payments to Americans from Washington dimmed Wednesday, as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he will not allow a standalone vote on the proposal approved by House Democrats on Monday.
	: These unsung investing heroes say 10 overlooked stocks are poised to outperform in 2021 Newsletter writers say out-of-favor sectors will be among the best performers, small- and mid-cap companies will continue to fare better, and value will outperform growth.
	Where Should I Retire?: We want clean air and a pastoral life ” where should we retire on a budget of $40,000 a year? Three suggestions for a quieter life; which would you pick?