Written by Gary
American Airlines plans $5 billion bond sale (SPY -0.5%). Labor market should rapidly improve in the coming months.
The Market in Perspective
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
 | Bidens Energy Secretary To Oil Industry: Adapt Or DieIm not going to sugarcoat how hard transitions are, new United States Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm stated on Wednesday. Her comment, made during IHS Markits annual CERAWeek conference, was in reference to the clean energy transition that serves as one of the cornerstones of President Bidens platform, but she could just as easily be talking, in grander terms, about the administrative changeover that she is part of. The new presidential administration has hit the ground running on climate change, with a demonstrative |
| Saudi Arabia: Houthi Rebels Launched New Ballistic Missile StrikeFollowing closely on the heels ofthe Sunday drone and missile attackfired from Yemeni Houthi territory targeting the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry, specifically on the Saudi Aramco facility at Ras Tanura, the Saudi-led coalition is reporting Mondaya new ballistic missile attack on Saudi soil. According to a coalition statement, the Saudis “destroyed a ballistic missile heading towards Khamis Mushait and booby-trapped drone heading towards the kingdom’s southern region.” The statement further blamed the Shia rebels fighting |
| Analysts Expect Further Growth For Booming Energy SectorSince the vaccine-led recovery of oil prices, the energy sector has turned from the worst performer on the market to the top-performing sector, and analysts believe there is still upside for energy stocks and ETFs. In early November, just before the first announcement of a successful vaccine trial and approval, the oil and gas industry was the biggest market loser of 2020, and also the worst performer on the marketever. However, the bull run in commodities, especially oil, is now making energy the top performer of the S&P 500 index. |
| Russias Gazprom Boasts First Carbon-Neutral LNG Delivery In EuropeRussian gas giant Gazprom said on Monday that it had delivered the first carbon-neutral liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Europe, shipping the fuel to Shell in the UK. Gazprom delivered the carbon-neutral LNG to Shell at the Dragon terminal in Wales. According to Gazprom, the Russian company and Shell are jointly offsetting the carbon footprint of the shipment via the Verified Carbon Standard and the Climate, Community and Biodiversity carbon credit standards. This delivery, made with Gazproms long-term partner Shell, confirms |
| Saudi Surprise Cut May Have Lasting Effect On Oil PricesThe OPEC+ decision to roll over current cuts till the end of March has come as a surprise to the oil markets as it is different from the group’s plan announced last December which has sent oil prices above $60. Crude prices rallied last week to end in the $65-$70 range. Concerns about the speed of recovery of the global economy seemed to be one of the major drivers for OPEC+ to keep production increases to a minimum. The Saudi Energy Minister already voiced his ongoing concerns about the global economy two weeks before the OPEC+ meeting, and he |
| Gold Prices Slide To 10-Month LowGold prices continued to slide on Monday as the dollar and US treasury yields kept marching higher and prompted investors to dump the non-yielding metal. Spot gold dropped another 1.2% to $1,679.67 per ounce by 11:40 a.m. EST, its lowest since early June. US gold futures too fell by 1.2%, down to $1,677.40 per ounce. Meanwhile, the greenback climbed to a three-month peak, while the US 10-year Treasury yield held close to a more than one-year high, increasing the opportunity cost of holding gold, which pays no interest. We have an economy |
| As the domestic box office inches toward recovery, studios move up major titlesTicket sales at the box office have been accelerating, inspiring some studios to move up the release dates of blockbuster films to earlier in the year. |
| CDC says people who are fully vaccinated against Covid can meet safely indoors without masksThe CDC on Monday released its first set of guidance for people who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. |
| 17.1 million viewers tuned in for Prince Harry and Meghan’s interview with OprahAround 17.1 million people tuned in for Oprah Winfrey’s interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on CBS, according to preliminary Nielsen data. |
| CDC study finds about 78% of people hospitalized for Covid were overweight or obeseAn overwhelming majority of people who have been hospitalized, needed a ventilator or died from Covid-19 have been overweight or obese, the CDC said. |
| American Airlines plans $5 billion bond sale, $2.5 billion loan backed by frequent flyer program to pay back other debtAmerican Airlines is mortgaging its frequent flyer program to secure $5 billion in bonds and a $2.5 billion term loan to pay back a Treasury loan and other debt. |
| CEO of Newark hospital says demand for Covid vaccines is way up in NJ’s biggest city“The good news, though, is that hesitancy is moving in the right direction,” University Hospital CEO Dr. Shereef Elnahal told CNBC. |
| GameStop takes its first steps in anticipated e-commerce shift, sparking a fresh rally; shares surge 35%Shares of GameStop jumped more than 35% after the company announced it has tapped Chewy founder Ryan Cohen to lead its shift to e-commerce. |
| Op-ed: Black women must make their own magic with their financesAs Black women endure the slow pace of societal change, I encourage all of us to continue the same path of making our own magic with our finances and our lives. |
| The UK’s National Health Service just approved a drug that costs nearly $2.5 million a doseThe innovative gene therapy called “Zolgensma” does not come cheap, with a reported list price of £1.79 million ($2.48 million) per dose. |
| Watch live: Biden Covid team holds briefing as U.S. warns states against rolling back restrictionsPresident Joe Biden’s Covid-19 response team is holding a news briefing Monday on the coronavirus pandemic. |
| NBA Commissioner Adam Silver supports new league that pays high schoolers $100,000The NBA boss said the Overtime league is good for basketball and mentioned NBA would pay attention. |
| SpaceX wants to connect its Starlink satellite internet network to moving vehiclesSpaceX wants to begin connecting moving vehicles ” from cars and trucks to jets and ships ” to its Starlink satellite internet network. |
| U.S. hits record daily Covid vaccinations but health officials warn against loosening restrictionsLast week, Arizona, Texas, Alabama, South Carolina, California and Mississippi all relaxed restrictions to varying degrees. |
| Afternoon Wood: ARK Founder Says “Carnage” Coming In Energy & Finance, “Optimistic” About Tech NamesAfternoon Wood: ARK Founder Says “Carnage” Coming In Energy & Finance, “Optimistic” About Tech Names Cathie Wood made the first appearance in her Monday media tour when she took to CNBC at 3PM eastern to talk about the tech rout, which has crushed numerous ARK ETFs. ARKK was plumbing new lows when the conversation started with “the woman who has captured the attention of Wall Street”, as CNBC’s Wilfred Frost introduced her. About The Sell Off When asked how concerned she was about the market, Wood did not attribute the tech pullback to rates rising. “We’ve been struck that the market never priced in 0.5%, 1% or 1.5% interest rates,” she said. “Over time markets have used a normalized 3% to 5%, and we don’t think that’s why the market is correcting.” “We’ve been in a 40 year bull market in bonds, so I think there’s a lot of confusion and a bit of paralysis here,” she commented. “There’s a very rapid rotation into value here,” she continued. “I think that’s been part of the reason for ARK’s setback. But this happened to us in Q4 2016, right after Trump was elected. In that period of time, our strategies went negative. What I said at the time and what I believe now is that the bull market was broadening out to incorporate value.” “The worst thing that could happen to us would be a tech bubble,” she said, apparently unaware of what has happened in the last 12 months. |
| Dow Dominates As Tech Wrecks; Bitcoin, Bond Yields, & The Buck BounceDow Dominates As Tech Wrecks; Bitcoin, Bond Yields, & The Buck Bounce For the first time since 1993, the Dow is at a record, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq is down around 10% from its high…
Source: Bloomberg
And it was a chaotic day with futures sold in the Asia session after a gap up open, then bid through the European session… then divergent (tech wrecked, rest bid) before everything rolled over. S&P ended red into the close, but Nasdaq was hammered… |
| Solomon: New Declassified Texts Expose FBI’s “Media Leak Strategy” Used To Influence Election, Trump PresidencySolomon: New Declassified Texts Expose FBI’s “Media Leak Strategy” Used To Influence Election, Trump Presidency Watch as investigative reporter John Solomon explains in detail how the newly declassified text shows the FBI œmedia leak strategy that was used to influence the outcome of the election, and the Trump presidency. Watch the latest video at foxnews.com
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| The Word “Rotation” Is Now JustifiedThe Word “Rotation” Is Now Justified By Jim Reid, chief credit strategist at Deutsche Bank Risk assets are just about hanging in there at the moment in the face of rising yields. Much of this is due to the winners continuing to do spectacularly well and thus offsetting more high profile losers largely in the tech space. Today’s Chart of the Day updates a graph I adapted from DB’s Alan Ruskin last year where we looked at the returns of various global assets from the March 2020 lows to November 6th ” the Friday before the spectacular vaccine efficacy numbers were released from Pfizer/BioNTech the following Monday – and also from this point onwards. Since the vaccine news, anything related to banks and oil have done extremely well with many other cyclically exposed assets/indices also very strong.
The NASDAQ and NYFANG+ index are also up over this four month period even if they’ve both struggled over the last 3 weeks. They are now down -8.3% and -11.1% respectively from thei … |
| Mark & Spencer launches online operations in 46 marketsThe retailer’s expansion into 46 markets marks the latest move to grow its digital business. |
| Fears for 5,000 UK steel jobs as lender collapsesThe main backer of the UK’s third-largest steelmaker has gone into administration. |
| Bank of England governor sees light at the end of the tunnelBut Andrew Bailey says the economy will need to adapt as people work and shop from home more often. |
| GameStop shares surge over 40% after Cohen tapped to lead e-commerce pivotThe stock surged more than 1,600% in January after a wave of buying forced large short-sellers betting against the company’s shares to unwind their positions, before paring most of those gains the following month. |
| Sorry folks, the SPAC party’s overEven with prices crashing, SPACs have so far been able to keep raising capital. However, their IPOs are no longer massively oversubscribed |
| India needs to groom women for leadership roles in finance: S&P DJI’s Koel GhoshGlobally, there is increasing research quantifying the benefits of advancing women’s participation in the work force in the overall economy, she said. |
| January 2021 Conference Board Employment Index: Labor Market Should Rapidly Improve In The Coming MonthsWritten by Steven Hansen The Conference Board’s Employment Trends Index – which forecasts employment for the next 6 months – improved with the authors saying “The economy is likely to add 5-6 million jobs through the end of the year, and the unemployment rate will drop well below 5 percent”.
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| : Amazon-backed Deliveroo gets ready to test a red-hot global IPO marketThe IPO is expected to value Deliveroo at around $7 billion and will be the largest listing on the LSE in three years. |
| Capitol Report: White House expects many Americans to get stimulus checks by ‘end of the month’The Biden administration on Monday said it’s expecting a œlarge number of Americans to get stimulus checks by the end of this month, as the House of Representatives prepares to vote on a $1.9 trillion COVID-relief bill. |
| : Christian Louboutin valued at $3.8 billion as Italian dynasty takes stake in luxury shoe makerItaly’s billionaire Agnelli family says Paris-based shoe maker has growth potential in China. |
Summary of Economic Releases this Week
Earnings Summary for Today
leading Stock Positions
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