Written by Gary
DOW futures are higher this morning in an advance that would exceed the 30-stock average’s closing record (SPY +0.4%). Bitcoin surges toward record levels above $43,000 after Tesla’s disclosure.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
European markets are broadly higher today with shares in London leading the region. The FTSE 100 is up 1.12% while France’s CAC 40 is up 0.90% and Germany’s DAX is up 0.52%. |
What Is Moving the Markets
Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
How U.S. Sanctions Against Venezuela BackfiredHarsh U.S. sanctions, a crumbling economy, and near collapsed petroleum industry have done little, if anything, to loosen President Maduros grip on power in Venezuela. It appears that one of Latin Americas most reviled heads of state has not only outmaneuvered his domestic opponents but beaten U.S. sanctions designed to remove him from power. By December 2020, Maduro had taken control of Venezuelas National Assembly, the only major state institution not controlled by the government and United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). | |
Green Tech Could Create The First TrillionaireBig tech has ignored green tech, but make no mistake: The worlds first trillionaire could well come from the green tech sector. And right now, while the only clear front-runners are Elon Musk–already the worlds richest person–and Bill Gates, the worlds second, the biggest redistribution of capital is probably still coming Its opening up massive new opportunities for the next round of high-profile green-tech entrepreneurs, from Facedrives (TSX.V:FD) Sayan Navaratnam and Plug Powers (NASDAQ:PLUG) | |
Absolute-Zero Is The New Net-Zero For EmissionsThe net-zero emissions goal of many governments has more or less become part of everyday life. Weve all heard about these plans, and we may remember a few details. Still, life goes on. Now, a report from a UK research group is taking things a lot further: it has called for the country to aim for not net, but absolute zero in emissions by 2050. UK FIRES, a research program involving scientists from several reputable universities and businesses from resource-intensive sectors, says that net-zero is not enough. Whats more, waiting for | |
Is A Career In Oil Still A Safe Bet?A whole generation of students is now wondering what to do when they graduate following a year of bankruptcies and redundancies across the oil and gas industry. While were gradually seeing oil companies across the US emerge after a difficult year, they are not unscathed. Few are looking to hire as they attempt to pull themselves back from the brink. According to last years figures, over 100,000 jobs have been lost in the oil and gas industry by October 2020. This was the fastest job-loss-rate in the history of the industry. | |
Chile Could Save Argentinas Shale BoomLatin America just seems to be unable to synchronize its long-mooted upswing with global energy trends. Venezuela boasts the largest reserves on earth yet just as it starts to recover from the havoc US sanctions cripple its entire oil and gas industry, Argentina was assumed to be the next non-US shale oil sensation yet just as international majors started drilling in earnest and exports started to flow out of the country COVID-19 has upended everything. Now Venezuela might be quite a challenge to save under the current circumstances, Argentina, | |
American Utilities Are Getting Pummeled By Unpaid BillsSince the onset of the pandemic, millions of Americans have been struggling with paying rent and utility bills, putting a strain on power utilities’ revenues and raising the question about who and when will foot the bill for the billions of U.S. dollars in energy bills arrearages. More than half of U.S. states introduced moratoriums on electricity and gas utility shutoffs in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 emergency as millions of Americans lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic impact on businesses and the economy. Those moratoriums | |
Target’s activewear brand hits $1 billion in sales, as retailer gains ground in apparelThe retail chain has used exclusive brands like All in Motion to differentiate itself from competitors and woo new customers. | |
AstraZeneca races to adapt Covid vaccine as South Africa suspends rolloutDrugmaker AstraZeneca is racing to adapt its Covid-19 vaccine in the face of new variants of the virus. | |
Hyundai, Kia shares tumble after automakers say they’re not in talks with Apple to develop a carHyundai said last month it was in early-stage talks with Apple to develop a car, but later revised the statement and made no mention of the iPhone maker. | |
Tahiti’s sudden tourism restrictions provide a lesson to people who can’t wait to travelThe French government suspended tourism to French Polynesia, Saint Martin and other territories to prevent the spread of new transmissible Covid-19 variants. | |
5 things to know before the stock market opens MondayDow futures rose Monday in an advance that would exceed the 30-stock average’s closing record. | |
Pandemic heats up state tax competition to attract businesses and residentsWith tax rates likely to rise, state income, property and sales taxes are big considerations for individuals and businesses in deciding where to locate and work. | |
UK coronavirus strain is doubling in the U.S. every 10 days, study findsThe coronavirus strain detected in the U.K. remains at low levels in the U.S. but is spreading quickly. | |
Cadillac Super Bowl ad: Winona Ryder and Timothà e Chalamet star in ‘Edward Scissorhands’ rebootThe 60-second commercial stars Ryder as the mother of Edgar Scissorhands, son of Johnny Depp’s character who had large metal scissors for hands. | |
The 11 most memorable Super Bowl halftime performancesIn the last 30 years, the Super Bowl halftime show has featured some of the hottest superstar performers including Prince, Beyonce and Lady Gaga. | |
Fashion brands see sales rebounding “eventually. Europe’s murky outlook could snag growthMost outlooks remain murky, at best. Fashion brands are reporting a strong rebound in China, but Europe remains a trouble spot. | |
Here are the biggest Super Bowl advertisers of the last 11 yearsOf the nine top advertisers of the last decade, at least four aren’t planning on running ads during the Super Bowl this year. | |
An Apple car would increase pressure on Tesla and other automakersApple entering a new segment ” phones, watches, music, etc. ” has meant significant pressure for legacy companies. A car would likely be no different. | |
What that ‘WandaVision’ cameo means for the future of the Marvel Cinematic UniverseA major cameo in the fifth episode of “WandaVision” has ramifications for the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. | |
Americans Have Collective Meltdown Over Tom Brady Not Wearing A MaskAmericans Have Collective Meltdown Over Tom Brady Not Wearing A Mask Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Summit News, Leftists on Twitter had a complete meltdown over the fact that Tom Brady didn’t wear a mask at any point before or after the Super Bowl. Brady led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to an easy 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs to extend his record-breaking Super Bowl winning streak to seven. Considered to be the greatest NFL player of all time, Brady is despised by the left because of their perception that he once supported President Trump and has managed to remain apolitical over the last five years of the culture wars. As players were caught on camera entering the stadium masked up, Brady’s face covering was totally absent.
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Bitcoin Explodes To All Time High After Tesla Buys $1.5 BIllionBitcoin Explodes To All Time High After Tesla Buys $1.5 BIllion In retrospect it was so obvious. Back on January 9, when discussing the recent surge of institutional and corporate purchases of bitcoin and conversion of cash into the cryptocurrency, we said that it was just a matter of time before Elon Musk joined MicorStrategy and bought “several billion” in bitcoin. Specifically, in “How Bitcoin Hits $100,000 Next: Morgan Stanley Boosts Stake In Microstrategy, Opening The Floodgates” we said…
Our confidence was based on the following late-December exchange between Elon Musk and MSTR CEO Michael Saylor:
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Futures Hit New Record High As 30Y Rises Above 2%, Oil Tops $60Futures Hit New Record High As 30Y Rises Above 2%, Oil Tops $60 World stock hit a record high as did Emini S&P equity futures, which topped 3,900 on Monday, while the 30Y TSY hit 2.00% and Brent surpassed $60 a barrel for the first time since January amid a wholesale rush in reflation trades on hopes that a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid package will be passed by U.S. lawmakers as soon as this month after Janet Yellen pushed for rapid stimulus and coronavirus infections slowed across the globe. Gold, bitcoin and dollar all rose as well amid a “buy everything” wave. MSCI’s index of world stocks hit its ninth record high of 2021 overnight as Tokyo’s Nikkei jumped on talk of Japan relaxing emergency restrictions and as China’s markets got busy before the start of the lunar new year. Investors chased risk assets, comforted by the continued rollout of vaccines and data showing a collapse in new hospitalizations and infections in countries like the U.S. Optimism was boosted after Treasury Secretary Yellen said on Sunday that the U.S. coul … | |
South Africa Halts Vaccine Rollout As AstraZeneca Jab Ineffective At Combating Mutant COVIDSouth Africa Halts Vaccine Rollout As AstraZeneca Jab Ineffective At Combating Mutant COVID As we previewed over the weekend, a new study suggests that AstraZeneca’s COVID vaccine, developed in partnership with Oxford, is significantly less effective at preventing patients from being infected by a new “variant” – aka mutant – strain first isolated in South Africa. We posited that the new data could be used by European regulators, as well as regulators from elsewhere, to justify another round of lockdowns and other restrictions even as cases and infections continue to decline worldwide. Already, it’s looking like that assessment was correct. Because on Monday, Bloomberg reported that South Africa had suspended its vaccination rollout until developers finish working on the highly educated. Meanwhile, Sarah Gilbert – whose name readers may recognize from her overly optimistic projections about when the UK’s AstraZeneca jab might finally be ready to face the FDA -a few months back – is already doi … | |
Boohoo buys Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton but 2,450 jobs lostThe online fashion retailer also buys the Wallis and Burton brands from failed retail group Arcadia. | |
Tesco tells chancellor to hit online rivals with sales taxBoss Ken Murphy has asked Chancellor Rishi Sunak for a “level playing field” when it comes to tax. | |
Boohoo tells suppliers not to subcontract, raising job fearsThe demand has caused concern among some suppliers about how they will pay to hire new workers. | |
After a 50% rally, revenue visibility just got better for this IT stockIn line with bigger peers, Persistent showed a strong topline growth and margin improvement in the third quarter. Revenue grew by 7.4% sequentially to $146.2 million. | |
Market Movers: Tata Motors, IT stocks do heavy lifting as defence stocks surgeAs many as 240 stocks listed on the National Stock Exchange hit their 52-week highs in the session reflecting the broad rally in the equity market. | |
India plans more than $41 billion in bond purchasesThe Reserve Bank of India has so far bought about 2.5 trillion rupees of net debt in the current financial year. | |
Outside the Box: To address climate change, the SEC should require corporations to disclose more information about their risksTo make informed decisions about how to allocate capital and manage risks, investors and the public need complete, comparable, and reliable information about companies’ climate risk.  | |
: These are the top TikTok accounts that are fueling the stock buzz for younger investorsHow does a young investor navigate TikTok without getting lost in the scroll? Top financial TikTokers have some advice. | |
: ‘Overconfidence’: Why it’s mostly men under 30 trading bitcoinAlready, the frenzy over WallStreetBets and GameStop is beginning to fade. In its wake, financial markets should be reminded that the most enduring retail investing mania over the last few months has focused on bitcoin. |
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