28Jan2021 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street Futures Mixed, Europe Tumbles Amid Fears Reflation Trade Is Dead, Short Squeeze Turmoil, DOW Up 65 Points, Nasdaq Down -0.6%, WTI Crude Climbs 53.07

Written by Gary

Fourth quarter GDP increased 4.0% vs 4.3% estimate (SPY 0.2%). American Airlines shares rocket nearly 50%. Biggest premarket movers: American Airlines, GameStop, Apple.

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money
	European markets are broadly lower today with shares in France off the most. The CAC 40 is down 1.16% while London’s FTSE 100 is off 1.06% and Germany’s DAX is lower by 0.84%.

What Is Moving the Markets

Here are the headlines moving the markets.
	Why China Cant Replicate Americas Shale Boom China has been betting big on developing its shale gas resources, driven by surging natural gas demand and efforts to boost energy security. State oil and gas majors have been investing heavily in shale gas development in the key shale provinces and have really boosted shale gas production in recent years. Although China is estimated to have a lot of shale gas resources, even higher than those in the United States, its shale gas boom has just started. But it could end as early as the middle of this decade because shale gas
	New Oil Deals In Iraq Carry Serious Geopolitical Implications Near the beginning of December, Bloomberg sources suggested that the French oil major Total SA was looking to rid itself of its 18% stake in the Sarsang exploration block in northern Iraqi Kurdistan. Now, Iraqs oil ministry has signed an MOU with the oil giant to execute large and promising projects in Iraq, specifically in natural gas and clean energy, the countrys oil ministry said on Wednesday. Totals CEO Patrick Pouyanne was in the country at the time of the signing. Total already has a 22.5% interest in Iraqs
	The Real Reason Teslas Stock Exploded In 2020 Teslas been the hottest stock on the market over the last year, but most people have overlooked what we think is the most important reason for their success. Its the reason their shares soared 695% during 2020 and they landed on the main stage with their inclusion in the S&P 500. Now, Teslas delivered a blueprint for how to thrive in the post-pandemic world. While major automakers have been spinning their wheels fighting to survive after a gut-wrenching year… Teslas moves have Morgan Stanley analysts putting them
	Duke Energy Customers Could Pay $5 Billion For Stranded Plants Customers of Duke Energy in the Carolinas could end up paying more than $4.8 billion for planned natural gas-fired capacity that could become stranded as part of the companys pledge to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, a report published by the Energy Transition Institute has found. The report, authored by Tyler Fitch, regulatory manager for the Southeast at advocacy organization Vote Solar, examined Duke Energys 2020 Integrated Resource Plans (IRPs) in North and South Carolina. These were the first plans the utility has
	Is This The End Of Albertas Oil Industry? A week ago, President Joe Biden did what many in Alberta feared: he revoked the permit for the Keystone XL pipelineon his first day as President, no less. The move angered many in Alberta. After all, oil producers in the province are already starved for pipelines, and TV Energy had just started inviting bids for capacity on the new pipeline. Alberta Premier Kenney called the revocation a gut punch and an insult, and threatened to sue. Meanwhile, Federal PM Justin Trudeau expressed mild disappointment. Just a few days later, the Alberta
	IEA: Energy Transition In Developing Economies Crucial To Climate Goals Massive investment in renewable energy in the developing economies, which are set to produce most of the global emissions in the coming years and decades, will be necessary to achieve global climate goals, according to Fatih Birol, the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA). If our aim is to reach net zero emissions, if our aim is to address the climate change globally there is no way without hugely accelerating the clean energy investment in emerging countries we can reach this goal. No way whatsoever,
	McDonald’s earnings fall short, hurt by European lockdowns, but sees this year’s sales topping 2019 Shares of McDonald’s are about flat over the last year, giving it a market value of $161 billion.
	American, Southwest post record annual losses as recovery remains elusive Airlines cap a brutal 2020 and expect a difficult start to 2021.
	10,000 stores are expected to close in 2021, as pandemic continues to pummel retailers Coresight Research is forecasting there could be as many as 10,000 store closures announced by retailers in the U.S. this year, which would set a record.
	Walmart enlists The Trade Desk as it plots big growth for its ads business Walmart is renaming its ads business and announcing a number of strategic moves, including a new offering through ad tech company The Trade Desk.
	EU suggests AstraZeneca diverts supplies of Covid vaccine from UK amid battle over doses The EU has told drugmaker AstraZeneca divert supplies of its coronavirus vaccine from the U.K. to mainland Europe, as a battle rages over supplies to the bloc.
	Low-cost airlines may be ‘better positioned’ for 2021 challenges Analysts say this year will remain a challenge for airlines and the industry will likely see more carriers go out of business.
	BMW cuts prices for its China-made electric SUV by $10,000 BMW has cut prices for its all-electric iX3 SUV in China, bringing the car into closer competition with vehicles from Tesla and Chinese start-ups like Nio.
	Dr. Fauci says Covid vaccines can be easily adapted to new variants, drugmakers working on boosters The newly developed mRNA technology used to make the Covid vaccines makes it easy to adapt to the new strains from South Africa and the U.K., Fauci said.
	West Virginia governor claims if his state had enough doses by Valentine’s Day, ‘every person over 65 would be vaccinated’ West Virginia’s governor touts his state’s vaccination success and claims that if he had the doses, everyone over 65 or would be vaccinated by Valentine’s Day.
	Reddit co-founder calls GameStop frenzy a ‘bottom-up revolution,’ shifting power to small investors “I don’t think we go back to a world before this because these communities, they’re a byproduct of the connected internet,” Alexis Ohanian told CNBC.
	A rare Botticelli portrait could fetch $80 million in Sotheby’s auction The sale could boost the reputation and prices for Old Master paintings at a time when the art world is focused on post-war and contemporary artists.
	ElectricityÂ could beÂ the keyÂ toÂ decarbonizingÂ society, but the challenge is huge Top executives address the challenges and opportunities brought about by the electrification of cars and homes.
	Analyst Who Has Covered GameStop For 19 Years Calls The Current Run “A Pyramid Scheme” Analyst Who Has Covered GameStop For 19 Years Calls The Current Run “A Pyramid Scheme” Wedbush’s Michael Pachter just can’t seem to get any love. Pachter, whose claim to fame last yearÂ was being “hugely bearish” on Netflix while the stock exploded to all-time highs (Pachter has had an “underperform” rating on Netflix since 2017 when it traded at $68 per share), is now realizing that no one is taking his $16 price target on GameStop seriously.Â Pachter has been covering GameStop for 19 years, according to a new CNBC report, and says he is still comfortable with his $16 price target despite the stock trading at about 20x those estimates at the time of this writing. According to the report, he “knows his opinion doesn’t matter right now.” This, of course, prompts us to ask:Â has it ever mattered?
	Futures Fall, Europe Tumbles Amid Fears Reflation Trade Is Dead, Short Squeeze Turmoil Futures Fall, Europe Tumbles Amid Fears Reflation Trade Is Dead, Short Squeeze Turmoil US equity futures rebounded from an overnight selloff even as European shares wiped out their gains for the year early on Thursday, soured by Wednesday’s furious sell-off which sent the S&P down 2.6% in its worst rout since October, exacerbated by pandemic lockdowns with no end in sight and as retail traders piled into heavily-shorted companies, sparking losses at hedge funds who are forced to sell their favorite longs and causing turmoil in parts of the market. Apple reported holiday-quarter sales and profit that beat Wall Street expectations, however, shares of the iPhone maker fell 1.8% premarket. Facebook dipped 0.6% as it warned Apple’s impending privacy changes could hurt revenue by interfering with ad targeting even after soundly beating quarterly revenue estimates. Tesla lost 4.4% after the electric-car maker reported disappointing fourth-quarter results and failed to provide a clear target for 2021 vehicle deliveries. Southwest Airlines’s shares fell 0.2% after the airline pos …
	Did American Airlines Shorts Just Get WSB’d? Did American Airlines Shorts Just Get WSB’d? American Airlines shares exploded higher this morning, up almost 100% at one point, following lackluster 4th quarter earnings and a cautious outlook on when a recovery would materialize after an unprecedented drop in air travel last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. œAs we look to the year ahead, 2021 will be a year of recovery, Chief Executive Officer Doug Parker said in an earnings statement. œWhile we don’t know exactly when passenger demand will return, as vaccine distribution takes hold and travel restrictions are lifted, we will be ready. The reaction appears to be driven by the fact that AAL is among the most-shorted of its peers… …and we note thatÂ Reddit user u/cardiffgiantthe1st in an online discussion Wednesday said: œAAL the next GME? It could be!
	EU Spat With AstraZeneca Continues As Russia Offers Help With COVID Vaccines: Live Updates EU Spat With AstraZeneca Continues As Russia Offers Help With COVID Vaccines: Live Updates Summary: AstraZeneca battle with EU intensifies Germany recommends AZ shot only for people 18-64 US cases near 26MM Global cases near 101MM WHO team ready to start investigation in China Cuomo lifts restrictions on hot spots CCP tightens security in Beijing Russia offers vaccine help South Africa’s first vaccines arrive Feb. 1 Africa secures another 400MM doses Vietnam reports outbreak Mexico’s AMLO recovering from COVID infection Malaysia sees cases top 4.1K South Korea starts emergency vaccination program next month, while most will wait until Oct. * * * The battle between Brussels and AstraZeneca intensified Thursday due to the shortage of AstraZeneca vaccine doses, as the company (which developed the vaccine with the help of the UK’s Oxford University) doesn’t have enough doses to supply all of Europe during the first three months of the year. Talks held last night were apparently not very constructive, according to the FT, as they did little to resolve the dispute over whether AstraZeneca should distribute tens of millions more doses to the EU than it had planned, depriving other countries (including the UK) of promised doses.
	Paperchase rescue safeguards 1,000 jobs The stationery chain is bought out of administration in a deal rescuing up to 90 of its 127 stores.
	GameStop: Amateur investors continue to outwit Wall Street Private investors using online chatrooms have led to a trading frenzy in some unexpected shares.
	Car insurance cover extended during lockdown The extension covers drivers who are having to use their car to get to work owing to Covid restrictions.
	Is Redditors’ GameStop short squeeze a crypto-esque farce? These are obviously existential times for the regulators themselves, not just traders. The SEC’s terse statement was openly mocked on Reddit ” one post on the WallStreetBets forum called the watchdog “government poodle regulators.
	GameStop briefly tops $500 as stock resumes momentous surge Trading has remained volatile since the last regular US session, in which the stock rose 135%. Gains were briefly pared postmarket after the Reddit page that has fueled this month’s surge was made private and then later reopened by the group’s moderators.
	Market Movers: United Spirits fizz runs out as Axis Bank, SBI surge In the broader market, the selling pressure was less intense as the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 index closed 0.6 per cent and 0.7 per cent lower, respectively.
	Documentary Of The Week: Credit Expansion And Land Speculation Written by John Lounsbury Banking expert Richard Vague talked about the role of credit-driven speculation in causing economic crises with land economist Polly Cleveland, Council of Georgist Economists president Dan Sullivan and webinar attendees in a session in the spring of 2020. This virtual conference was supported by the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation.
	: As EU battles AstraZeneca shortages, U.K. races ahead with manufacture of new COVID vaccine French biotech Valneva will start manufacturing the first 60 million doses of its experimental shot in Scotland within days.
	Market Extra: How will this wild GameStop saga end? The ghosts of trading catastrophes past offer clues Champions of GameStop’s jaw-dropping stock surge portray it as a victory by long-suffering mom-and-pop investors over nefarious Wall Street institutions, but some veteran market observers question who, exactly, is getting played.
	Bond Report: 10-year U.S. Treasury yield hovers around 1% before economic data U.S. Treasury yields are slightly lower on early Thursday ahead of a rush of data that will provide more insight on the health of the economy at the end of last year.