Written by Gary
Dow finishes slightly lower but near unchanged at around 31,060 (SPY +0.3%). U.S. Covid deaths reach another record as researchers find new variants in Ohio.
The Market in Perspective
Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
Europes Largest Oil Producer Bets Big On Deep-Sea MiningIn a shift away from fossil fuels, Norway is planning to deep dive for metals as part of its plan for a greener future. Having gained most of the countrys wealth from its successful oil industry, Norway is now looking to get ahead of the curve in metals by mining copper, zinc and other metals found on the seabed. The deep-sea mining project, expected to commence in late 2023, will see metals mined for use in electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines and solar farms. However, environmentalists worry that disturbing the seabed | |
Texas Gets $14 Billion In Taxes, Royalties From Oil & Gas In 2020The Texas oil and gas industry paid a total of $13.9 billion in state and local taxes and state royalties in fiscal year 2020, the Texas Oil & Gas Association (TXOGA) said in its annual Energy & Economic Impact Report this week. The amount of taxes and royalties the state collected last year was lower than the record-high $16.3 billion in local taxes and state royalties in fiscal year 2019, when oil and natural gas production in the Lone Star State surged to records. As challenging as last year was, the Texas oil and natural | |
Goldman Finds Unexpected Source Of Demand For 1 Million Bpd Of OilHaving recently turned even more bullish on the oil market,bringing forwardup its year-end $65 Brent price target to the summer on Monday, overnight Goldman’s commodity team turned even more bullish on oil, “discovering” an unexpected source of oil demand in the near term, which could lead to even higher oil prices in coming days. Specifically, according to to Goldman’s Damien Courvalin, global oil demand will be boosted by at least 1 million b/d in the coming weeks as cold weather spurs the use of diesel for power generation. As Courvalin | |
EIA Lowers 2021 Global Oil Demand Growth EstimateGlobal oil demand is expected to grow by 5.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2021 compared to the 2020 low of 92.2 million bpd, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its latest estimate, with the growth forecast now around 200,000 bpd lower compared to last months outlook. In its January Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), the EIA expects global consumption of petroleum and liquid fuels to average 97.77 million bpd this year, down from the December STEO estimate of 98 million bpd. For 2020, global oil demand averaged 92.2 | |
LNG Price Boom Obliterates Rally In BitcoinSpot prices of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Asia have staged an impressive rally over the past two months and have now soared 18 times from April 2020 lowsand the surge is obliterating even the recent rally in Bitcoin prices, according to Bloomberg. A perfect storm of unusually cold winter in north Asia, outages at major LNG exporters, and logistical and shipping constraints had driven the price of Asias LNG benchmark, the Japan-Korea Marker, to the highest on record, at $21.45 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) on | |
Energy Transition Threatens Oil Producers: IEACountries dependent on oil revenues for much of their budgets will become increasingly vulnerable to problems caused by the global energy transition, the head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, told Bloomberg in an interview. The world will still need oil this year and next, and for years to come, but it will need less and less of it, Birol said, noting that government regulation was instrumental in cementing the global course to a more renewable energy future. Birols comments came after the IEA reported it will later this | |
Surprise! This chart shows holiday shoppers did rush to malls in final weeks of 2020A data analysis released this week by Placer.ai shows how shopper visits to malls have ebbed and flowed with the nature of the Covid pandemic. | |
Ohio researchers say they’ve identified two new Covid strains likely originating in the U.S.Jason McDonald, a spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a statement to CNBC the agency is looking at the new research. | |
Walgreens looks to credit card, financial services to drive loyalty and boost revenueThe drugstore chain is looking for growth opportunities as consumers shop more online and competitors take some of its business. | |
Target’s same-store sales up 17% over the holidays as it holds on to some of its pandemic gainsTarget must prove it can hold on to market share gains as Americans get vaccinated and feel more comfortable returning to malls. | |
What we know about the spread of Covid among children ” and whether shutting schools reduces the riskSchool closures have a clear negative impact on children’s health, the United Nations health agency has warned. | |
Operation Warp Speed chief resigns at Biden team’s request, will stay through transition, sources sayThe scientific leader of the U.S. vaccine effort will stay in the role for 30 days, but won’t be chief advisor as of Inauguration Day, sources say. | |
Moderna CEO says the world will have to live with Covid ‘forever’“We are going to live with this virus, we think, forever,” he said during a panel discussion at the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference. | |
Airlines, airports beef up security ahead of Biden inaugurationAirlines are moving crews to airport hotels, adding airport personnel ahead of Biden inauguration. | |
5 reasons General Motors’ shares are trading at all-time highsGM used the CES technology show to flex its size and scale more than ever as it makes a big push into EVs, flying cars and self-driving vehicles. | |
Aerojet Rocketdyne completes first AR1 rocket engine, but won’t test fire until at least ‘late 2022’Aerojet Rocketdyne finished building the first of its AR1 engine series, but lacks both a customer and plans to test-fire until at least late 2022. | |
U.S. Covid deaths reach another record, as researchers find two new variants in Ohio“We’re in a very difficult situation, and it’s getting worse,” White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday. | |
Capitol riot reaction: Corporations and the future of political donationsCorporations are pulling back on political candidate contributions after Capitol Hill rioting in what could be a sea change in corporate spending on politics. | |
New York City may turn vacant retail space into Covid testing sites, says real estate mogulConverting vacant retail space into rapid testing sites could help people feel comfortable going back to restaurants, real estate executive William Rudin said. | |
Bonds & Big-Tech Bid As Penny-Stock Buying-Panic ExplodesBonds & Big-Tech Bid As Penny-Stock Buying-Panic Explodes Bucking the recent trend, Nasdaq surged as small caps were purged today… The Dow, helped by INTC today, clung to unchanged on the week but Nasdaq remains red… Utes and Tech were the best-performing sectors today (barbell much)… | |
Watch Live: House Votes On Impeachment After DebateWatch Live: House Votes On Impeachment After Debate Update (1545ET): After several hours of bloviating, the House is finally voting to impeach President Trump. Watch live: *Â *Â * Update (1357ET): The following GOP lawmakers have announced that they will vote for Trump’s impeachment: Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) – Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) – Rep. John Katko (R-NY) – Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) – Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) – Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) *Â *Â * House Democrats are leading the charge on a Wednesday vote to impeach President Trump on one count of incitement of insurrection after protesters were allowed into the US Capitol building last week through an open door – calmly walking inside before proceeding to take selfies and ransack lawmakers’ offices. | |
Eurodollar Curve Chaos As Fed Does “Full 360 Degree” In Tapering DebateEurodollar Curve Chaos As Fed Does “Full 360 Degree” In Tapering Debate As Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid writes in his EMR report, “the big theme yesterday was a big intraday swing in rates as the European session saw yields rise everywhere but with this more than reversing late in the US session.”
As Reid concludes, “we’ve only had 7 business days this year and we’ve already had a full 360 degree tapering debate played out by the Fed” and observes that “Fed Reserve president George, considered one of the more hawkish central bank officials, says it is œtoo soon to speculate on when monetary policy support should be pulled back and that the Fed is not likely to react even if inflation rises just over 2%.”
Meanwhile, a look at the ED curve shows rather aggressive steepening as rate hike expectations are brought … | |
D.C. Mayor Keeps Restaurant Dining Rooms Closed Through The InaugurationD.C. Mayor Keeps Restaurant Dining Rooms Closed Through The Inauguration By Restaurant Business, The mayor of Washington, D.C., has extended her suspension of indoor restaurant dining through next week’s presidential inauguration, citing œpublic safety and health concerns. The ban on indoor seating was scheduled to expire this Friday at 5 a.m. Mayor Muriel Bowser issued a little-noticed executive directive late Monday night that extends the suspension by one week, until Jan. 22 at 5 a.m. Restaurants can continue to offer takeout, delivery and outdoor dining. Bowser has already appeal to Washingtonians to stay home during … | |
Brexit will increase food supply chain costs, warn business groupsMore red tape after the EU trade deal will raise food and manufacturing costs, business groups tell MPs. | |
Morrisons to be first UK supermarket to pay minimum £10 an hourRival supermarkets defend their pay, with Asda saying looking at hourly rates does not tell the whole story. | |
Furlough fraud: I’m still registered as furloughed for a job I quit’Amid reports of mass furlough fraud the BBC hears from one worker who quit work but still gets furlough pay. | |
Are PFC retail bonds an attractive alternative to bank fixed deposits?This is billed as an alternative to bank fixed deposits that offer record low rates now. While investors can subscribe in four maturity categories, they can exit before scheduled maturities in the liquid secondary market. | |
Value investing’s rebound is a question of when not ifInvestors readily and rightly accept that explanation in many other contexts, not least when it comes to the contest between stocks and bonds. | |
After strong Q3 results, will the top IT stocks sustain high valuations?A spate of large deal wins amid higher operating margins improves the revenue and profit visibility, which should help their stocks defend the current high valuations. | |
The Margin: Joe Biden’s rescue dog is getting an ‘indoguration’ this weekendThe virtual inauguration-themed event for Major will raise money for the future First Dog’s former shelter | |
: Pharma industry warns against interfering with COVID vaccine shot intervalsGovernments and national health authorities should œstick to the dosing that has been assessed in clinical trials, said U.S. and European pharmaceutical industry organizations on Wednesday. | |
Realtor.com: ‘Daily Show’ host Trevor Noah reportedly buys Bel-Air mansion for $27.5 millionThe host of the œDaily Show, Trevor Noah, has picked up another purchase in Bel-Air, the L.A. Times reported. |
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: