Written by Gary
Wall Street ends higher, GameStop shares drop, extending 80% slump from last week (SPY +0.7%). Australia to build the worlds largest battery.
The Market in Perspective
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
 | The Hydrogen Economy Is No Longer A Pipe DreamThe fifth World Energy Forum, hosted by the Atlantic Council as part of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, occurred virtually late last month. In conjunction, Atlantic Council released a first edition of The Global Energy Agenda with results of recent surveys of global energy leaders. When asked which carbon-free energy technologies will see the greatest increase in investment in 2021, most respondents (31%) said hydrogen, followed by battery storage (23%), prompting the think tank to suggest that 2021 might be the year of |
| Oil Loading At Libyan Export Terminal Disrupted AgainA tanker had to leave Libyas Hariga export terminal without oil after members of the Petroleum Facilities Guard stopped the vessel from loading crude amid an ongoing strike over delayed salary payments, a source with knowledge of the situation told Bloomberg on Monday. In just a few months, Libya has managed to restore its oil productionback to 1.25 million bpd, the level the OPEC member exempted from the OPEC+ cuts was pumping before the eighth-month-long oil port blockade in January 2020. However, the North African oil producer has |
| Car Makers Slammed By Semiconductor ShortageAmid a global shortage of semiconductors, the U.S. auto manufacturing industry is scaling back production this month, including that of the top-selling U.S. vehicle. Chinas soaring imports of semiconductors, the rise in the electronics industries, and the jump in technology use during the pandemic, combined to create a perfect storm on the global semiconductor market, whose supply chain is strongly interconnected. Detroits Big Three announced this month that they would be reducing production at some factories in the United States, |
| Oil Sees Strongest January In 30 YearsCrescat’s Tavi Costa points out something remarkable which many may have missed amid the short squeeze and “growth” stock frenzy: oil, that “value” age relic, has had its best YTD performance in 30 years. As Costa puts it “commodities are leading the way and the inflationary thesis keeps building up” (incidentally none of this is lost on those long XOM which is not only the most levered – for better or worse – way to bet on rising oil prices but pays a generous 7%+ dividend while waiting for Warren Buffett to announce that he has amassed a 10% |
| Egypt Set To Launch Next Oil & Gas Auction This MonthEgypts state oil and gas companies are set to launch the countrys new oil and gas exploration bid round by the end of this month, the petroleum minister said a month after the North African nation signed exploration agreements with international oil majors. Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), the state-held oil and gas firms, are set to launch the tender by the end of February, Africa Oil+Gas Report reported, citing Egypts Petroleum Minister Tarek El Molla. |
| Australia To Build The Worlds Largest BatteryWhat if Australia could display the largest grid-scale battery in the world in two years from now? The company CEP Energy decided to take that gamble, and unveiled, on February 5th, its plans for constructing a battery of up to 1.2 GW capacity. With this announcement, Australia is hitting a milestone in its metamorphosis towards a clean energy economy. With a cost of $2,4 billion, this 1.2 GW mega-battery will challenge the dominance of the Moss Landing storage facility, located in California, which is currently the biggest in the world. |
| Jeff Bezos would owe $2 billion a year in state taxes if Washington passes wealth taxCritics warn that since none of Washington’s top billionaires have any day-to-day corporate roles, they could simply move to another state to avoid the tax |
| CDC director warns Covid variants could reverse the recent drop in cases and hospitalizationsNew variants are a “threat” to the U.S. and could reverse the recent declines in Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said. |
| Sports gambling sites crash during Super Bowl amid surging demandIt was supposed to be one of the biggest nights of the year for gambling sites. Instead, they couldn’t handle the traffic. |
| WHO warns of potential for more Ebola cases after woman dies in DRC“It’s possible there will be further cases because the woman had contact with many people after she became symptomatic,” WHO Director-General Tedros said. |
| New York aims to reopen Broadway, large venues, with extensive Covid testing, Gov. Cuomo says“I think reopening with testing is going to be the key,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday. |
| Trump administration influenced CDC guidance to suppress Covid testing, House panel saysIn December, Rep. Clyburn released a trove of emails that showed “a pernicious pattern of political interference by Administration officials,” Clyburn said. |
| Disney+ will fuel Hasbro gains long after the pandemic is over as Star Wars toy sales jumpMovie theaters have been deprived of content from Hollywood because of the pandemic, but Disney+ is making up for that loss with shows like “The Mandalorian.” |
| Judge sets March hearing in SpaceX dispute with government over hiring foreignersSpaceX is fighting a subpoena by the Department of Justice for records as part of a probe of whether the Elon Musk company discriminates against foreigners. |
| UK health expert says no reason to think Covid variant from South Africa will become dominant strainDrugmaker AstraZeneca is now racing to adapt its Covid-19 vaccine in the face of the new variants. |
| How Jeep landed Bruce Springsteen for its 2021 Super Bowl adWhy Bruce Springsteen for a Super Bowl ad? It dates back to the automaker’s former CEO Sergio Marchionne, who unexpectedly died in 2018. |
| Dr. Scott Gottlieb expects Covid vaccine appointments to be widely available by April in the U.S.Former FDA chief Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC a lack of demand for Covid vaccines will mean eligibility has to be expanded to more Americans. |
| 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 to variant as South Africa suspends rolloutDrugmaker AstraZeneca is racing to adapt its Covid-19 vaccine in the face of new variants of the virus. |
| Bitcoin, Bonds, Bullion, Biotech, & Big-Shorts Bid As Buck Breaks-DownBitcoin, Bonds, Bullion, Biotech, & Big-Shorts Bid As Buck Breaks-Down Well the big headline for the day is likely to be bitcoin…
Source: Bloomberg …and its spike to new record highs on the heels of Tesla’s disclosure…
Source: Bloomberg
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| Majority Of GOP Voters Would Join A New Trump-Led Political Party, Poll ShowsMajority Of GOP Voters Would Join A New Trump-Led Political Party, Poll Shows Authored by Annaliese Levy via SaraACarter,com, A new Hill-HarrisX poll, reveals that a majority of Republican voters would likely join a new political party created by former President Donald Trump.
The Jan. 28 survey was conducted among 945 registered voters, 340 of which self-identified as Republicans. The results found that 64% of registered GOP voters said they’d join a new political party led by the former president and 32% said they would very likely join. While 36 … |
| Is Apple About To Announce A $5 Billion Bitcoin Purchase? One Bank Thinks SoIs Apple About To Announce A $5 Billion Bitcoin Purchase? One Bank Thinks So Over a month ago, we correctly predicted today’s “shock” announcement by Tesla, in which Elon Musk’s company decided to pivot once again, this time into the word of cryptocurrencies, by purchasing $1.5 billion in bitcoin (an amount which will give it tremendous leeway in non-GAAP financial when accounting for XBT Mark-to-Market moves, giving it even more buffer to beat estimates). Discussing the major US companies which we expected would announce shifts away from dollar-based cash into bitcoin, we said “one such company which we are convinced will announce it is converting billions of its existing cash into bitcoin, is none other than Tesla, whose CEO Elon Musk was urged by MSTR CEO Saylor to make a similar move with Tesla’s money. And since Musk, already the world’s richest man thanks to the most aggressive financial engineering on the planet, has never been one to shy away from a challenge, we are absolutely confident that it is only a matter of time before Tesla announces that it has purchased a few billion bitcoin.” While as of this morning, this prediction has clearly come true, we’ll remind readers that our January forecast had a follow-on component: once Tesla breaks the seal on major companies converting cash (and equivalents, including buybacks) into bitcoin, other companies would quickly follow suit. This prompted us to inquire the general publ … |
| Watch Live: SpaceX Prepares To Test Starship SN10Watch Live: SpaceX Prepares To Test Starship SN10 Preparations for SpaceX’s Starship SN10’s test were conducted over the weekend. There are indications SN10 could be ready for a test as soon as this afternoon.Â
NASASpaceFlight.com said three Raptor engines were installed on SN10. The Starship will be tasked with replicating SN8 and SN9 flights that have both crashed. Photojournalist “Mary” (@bocachicagal) tweeted Sunday that an “alert notice” was distributed to residents around the SpaceX South Texas launch site, located in Boca Chica, approximately 20 miles east of Brownsville, Texas. The notice read:Â
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| Bank Governor Bailey ‘angry’ at criticism over regulatory roleThe Bank of England boss has rejected claims that reforms were too slow when he was head of the City watchdog. |
| Elon Musk’s Tesla buys $1.5bn of Bitcoin causing currency to spikeThe cryptocurrency surges 17% as Tesla also said it could start accepting Bitcoin as payment. |
| Problem gamblers generate 4% of Kindred revenueThe betting giant opens up on how much money it makes from customers showing signs of harmful gambling. |
| GameStop shares drop, extending 80% slump from last weekThe stock fell as much 4.7% to $60.77 at 10:40 a.m. in New York trading, after whipsawing between gains and losses earlier. It slumped 80% last week, a drop that followed three weeks of dizzying gains. |
| New world order! Realty, healthcare among sectors that will transform the mostThe brokerage believes that in the post-pandemic world order, sectors such as real estate, digital, automation, healthcare, media and retail, and green energy will see the most transformation. |
| BPCL Q3 profit zooms 120% to Rs 2,778 cr; co declares dividend of Rs 16The company’s revenue growth reflected likely recovery from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on sales as the reopening of the economy helped in rise of diesel and petrol demand. |
| January 2021 Conference Board Employment Index: Uncertainty Remains But A Stronger Employment Recovery May Occur By Late SpringWritten by Steven Hansen The Conference Board’s Employment Trends Index – which forecasts employment for the next 6 months – improved with the authors saying “Over the next few months, expect some uncertainty around job growth, especially if some potentially adverse COVID-19 developments manifest – namely, the rapid spread of more aggressive virus strains”.
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| Next Avenue: Start a small business by capitalizing on these 4 trendsMany behaviors we’ve adopted will endure long after this crisis eases, opening opportunities if you’re thinking of launching a business or side gig in 2021. |
| Capitol Report: DOJ drops California lawsuit, opening door for return of net neutralityThe Department of Justice is withdrawing a lawsuit aimed at blocking California from establishing statewide net neutrality laws, after the Federal Communications Commission repealed similar federal laws in 2018. |
| : Biden signals tough line on China and IranPresident Joe Biden on Sunday gave the first indications that he would not entirely reverse the tough lines adopted by the former U.S. administration toward China and Iran. |
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