Written by Gary
US air travel falls to 6-month low as COVID-19 infections, travel restrictions hinder recovery (SPY -1.7%). Biggest movers midday: GameStop, AMC Entertainment, Microsoft.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
North and South American markets are broadly lower today with shares in Mexico off the most. The IPC is down 2.27% while U.S.’s S&P 500 is off 1.67% and Brazil’s Bovespa is lower by 0.73%. |
What Is Moving the Markets
Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
Is Maduro Trying To Steal Guyanas Oil Riches?For roughly two decades since Hugo Chavez won the Venezuelan presidency and commenced his socialist Bolivarian revolution, the country, which was once Latin Americas largest oil exporter, is now a destabilizing force in the region. That has only intensified in recent years under the leadership of Chavezs successor Nicolas Maduro with a near-bankrupt Caracas, under considerable pressure from a prolonged oil price slump, crumbling energy infrastructure, and strict U.S. sanctions. To reinforce his grip on power, obtain urgently needed | |
Is Brazil A Threat To OPEC?As far back as the early 1980s, Brazils national oil company Petrobras as well as the government were aware of the vast untapped oil wealth trapped under the pre-salt layers in the Atlantic Ocean. The considerable technological and operational hurdles associated with ultra-deep-water petroleum extraction and tapping the thick pre-salt crust prevented those oil resources from being commercially exploited. By 2005, Petrobas had renewed its focus on Brazils pre-salt offshore oil basins and started making significant oil discoveries in | |
The Activist Investor Transforming Americas Largest Oil CompanyEngine No. 1, the new activist investor firm seeking long-term policy changes at Exxon, said on Wednesday it had formally nominated four independent director candidates to the supermajors board, continuing shareholder pressure on the biggest U.S. oil and gas firm to start thinking of its business in the energy transition. Investors increasingly want to see companies focused on the long-term and ExxonMobil is no exception. We believe that ExxonMobils Board needs new members who have proven success positioning energy companies | |
Oil Prices Jump On Large Inventory DrawCrude oil prices jumped higher today after the Energy Information Administration reported a crude oil inventory draw of 9.9 million barrels for the week to January 22. Fuel inventories were mixed. The crude oil draw compared with a build of 4.4 million barrels for the previous week. It also compared with analyst expectations for a modest increase of some 600,000 barrels. In gasoline, the authority reported an inventory increase of 2.5 million barrels for the week to January 22, with production averaging 8.7 million bpd. This compared with a modest | |
Texas Regulator Slams BP For FlaringThe Texas Railroad Commission has gotten a chance to strike back at BP, which last year urged it to reduce flaring in the state. BP appears to be the company with the most flaring requests to be considered by the regulator, and one commissioner has called the practice a waste of our precious resources. I am amenable to allowing fair time for flaring to occur in certain circumstances, but limits must be set,the newest member of the Commission, Republican Jim Wright, said, as quoted by Bloomberg. This appears to | |
Big Oil’s Exploration Cuts Exacerbate Supply DeficitThe idea that crude oil could ever again hit three-digit price levels may sound ridiculous at a time when slack demand amid a pandemic has oil stuck in the $50s. Yet one thing any market is not is static, and many expect vaccines to boost demand before this years end. In fact, some are warning about a looming oil deficit. And Big Oil is slashing exploration activities. Reuters reported this week, citing data from Rystad Energy, that new onshore and offshore lease acquisitions by the worlds top five oil companies fell to the lowest | |
Why you’re about to see even more of your favorite films from the ’80s and ’90s turned into TV showsHollywood has spent decades recycling popular franchises and cult favorite films trying to capture the attention of a new generation. | |
FDA places import alert on hand sanitizers from Mexico after discovering ‘dangerous levels’ of toxic ingredientsThe FDA places import alert on hand sanitizers from Mexico after half of the products tested contained toxic ingredients. | |
U.S. air travel falls to 6-month low as Covid infections, travel restrictions hinder recoveryU.S. airlines have warned they expect a rocky start to 2021 as vaccinations will take more time. | |
Stellantis agrees to $30 million fine to settle federal corruption probe of Fiat ChryslerStellantis, formerly Fiat Chrysler, has agreed to pay $30 million as part of a plea deal to settle a criminal probe into the company and United Auto Workers. | |
Biden to sign major executive orders on climate changeBiden’s climate actions include establishing climate change as a national security priority and conserving at least 30% of federal land and oceans by 2030. | |
General Motors partners with Navistar to supply fuel-cell technology for new semitruckThe companies are billing the undisclosed financial partnership as a “complete solution” for customers of Illinois-based truck manufacturer Navistar. | |
Stocks making the biggest moves midday: GameStop, AMC Entertainment, Microsoft and moreThese are the stocks posting the largest moves in midday trading. | |
Boeing CEO says travel rebound will take longer because of slow vaccine rolloutBoeing’s CEO said a travel recovery will take several more months because of the slow vaccine rollout. | |
GameStop’s surge has made its 3 largest shareholders billions overnightThe chief beneficiary of the GameStop rise is Ryan Cohen, co-founder of Chewy, who made an investment in GameStop last year to help its online push. | |
Boeing posts record annual loss, pushes out 777X deliveries to late 2023Boeing’s loss worsened after the company pushed out the deliveries of its 777X plane to late 2023. | |
Walmart bets bigger on online grocery as it ramps up automated fulfillment at storesThe big-box retailer has seen online grocery orders spike during the pandemic and it’s trying to fend off competitors while keeping costs low. | |
Watch PepsiCo’s CEO and top UN officials discuss the future of food systemsMore than 1 billion tons of food is wasted every year. And agriculture is still a major driving force of climate change. | |
When YOLO Goes “YOL-Oh No!”When YOLO Goes “YOL-Oh No!” Via SpotGamma.com, Current markets reflect a great amount of risk and face the prospect of a violent drawdown. This is due to the following: Hedging:            Low levels of options-based hedging. Short-Selling:     Low levels of stock shorting. Speculation:       High levels of margin used to buy stocks.   Explanation: 1. Exposure: Low levels of options-based hedging When investors purchase put contracts, their goal is to make money when stocks decline. This will drive outright returns or provide a hedge against their long investments.   When an investor makes this put purchase as the buyer, often times the seller is a market maker. The market maker then, in turn, is required to short shares of the underlying stock to hedge their risk. In normal healthy markets, the buying and selling pressures find an equilibrium. Today, that is not the case, and the market is in a much more precarious situation.  The chart below shows the difference between options bought to open against options sold to open.  The orange line drops below zero, meaning that a record number of puts are being sold to open, as indicated by the red arrow. If we have a downturn, this setup creates additional selling pressure.  This selling pressure can increase the speed of market selling, and forces implied volatility levels higher. … | |
Proud Boys Leader Was ‘Prolific’ FBI Snitch: Court DocsProud Boys Leader Was ‘Prolific’ FBI Snitch: Court Docs While US officials claim that ‘far-right extremism’ is one of the largest threats facing America, the leader of the group most commonly singled out as an example – the Proud Boys – was a ‘prolific’ informant for federal and local law enforcement, according to Reuters, citing a 2014 federal court proceeding. Enrique Tarrio (left) Enrique Tarrio repeatedly worked undercover for investigators following a 2012 arrest, court documents reveal. Curiously, Tarrio was ordered to stay away from Washington D.C. one day before the January 6 Capitol riot after he was arrested on vandalism and weapons charges – upon a request by government prosecutors that he … | |
In Unprecedented Move, TD Ameritrade Puts “Restrictions” On Transactions In GME, AMCIn Unprecedented Move, TD Ameritrade Puts “Restrictions” On Transactions In GME, AMC With the move higher in GME seemingly unstoppable… … and with the SEC silent and refusing to step in and bailout the millions of shorts who remain trampled by the short squeeze stampede, the exchanges have decided to step in and moments ago TD Ameritrade was the first brokerage to announce that “in the interest of mitigating risk for our company and clients”, the company has put in place several restrictions in GME, AMC and other securities. | |
Rand Paul: Dems Are “Angry, Unhinged, Deranged By Their Hatred” Of TrumpRand Paul: Dems Are “Angry, Unhinged, Deranged By Their Hatred” Of Trump Authored by Steve Watson via Summit News, Senator Rand Paul argued against the impeachment of Donald Trump Tuesday, urging that œDemocrats are about to drag our great country down into the gutter of rancor and vitriol the likes of which has never been seen in our nation’s history. Paul proclaimed that Democrats are œangry, unhinged partisans, deranged by their hatred of the former president.
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Gamestop: ‘Failing’ firm soars in value as amateurs buy stockShares in a games company have soared more than 300% – the result of a fight between private and professional investors. | |
Boeing 737 Max cleared to fly in UK and EU after crashesRegulators say the plane is safe to resume service after two fatal crashes led to its grounding. | |
Contactless limit could rise to £100The financial regulator will consult “shortly” on a rise from the current limit of £45. | |
Axis Bank Q3 takeaways: High slippages, provisions dent PAT, but loan growth lifts moodAxis Bank reported a 36 per cent on-year decline in net profit for the quarter as against expectations of a 30 per cent growth. At the same time, its net interest income grew 14 per cent as against an estimate of 17 per cent rise. | |
HUL Q3 Takeaways: Food segments leads growth; biz outlook positiveHUL’s domestic consumer growth, which was riding largely on Horlicks for the last couple of quarters, is finally showing some signs of revitalisation. | |
GameStop shares surge 140% as short sellers start to surrenderThe stock rose 140% to $354.83 as of 9:30 a.m. in New York, after having surged more than threefold in the past four days. | |
Headline Durable Goods New Orders Improved Again In December 2020Written by Steven Hansen The headlines say the durable goods new orders improved for the eighth consecutive month. Our analysis shows the rolling averages improved. . | |
: YouTube suspends Rudy Giuliani’s channel from making money over election misinformationGiuliani has been falsely claiming the Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election on his YouTube channel | |
In One Chart: GameStop’s surge is making it one of the most traded stocks in the U.S.The parabolic ride higher for GameStop, driven by a klatch of investors congregating on sites like Reddit’s WallStreetBest forum, has made the company the most traded stock in the U.S., according to Deutsche Bank data. | |
: ‘Most people would seriously be stunned if they knew just how many credit scores there are’: Why your FICO score differs from Credit KarmaIt’s a common misconception that you only have one credit score. |
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