Written by Gary
Schumer, Pelosi target gun owners with new reforms (SPY +1.4%). States lift Covid restrictions, drop mask mandates and reopen businesses.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
 | North and South American markets are broadly higher today with shares in U.S. leading the region. The S&P 500 is up 1.40% while Brazil’s Bovespa is up 0.85% and Mexico’s IPC is up 0.51%. |
What Is Moving the Markets
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
| Extra Saudi Cut Sends OPEC Oil Production Plunging By 650,000 BpdOPECs crude oil production fell by 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) in February, due to the extra cut from top producer and de facto leader Saudi Arabia, the cartels Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) showed on Thursday. According to secondary sources, which OPEC considers legitimate for measuring production and compliance, total oil production averaged 24.85 million bpd in February 2021, a drop by 650,000 bpd compared to January. Crude oil production increased in all three OPEC members exempted from the OPEC+ cuts Iran, Libya, |
| Budget Airlines: European Clean Fuel Quotas Are UnfairSeveral low-cost European airlines and a few environmental groups have asked the European Commission to extend a quota plan for sustainable aviation fuels from local flights only, to long-haul ones as well. Excluding long-haul flights from the SAFs mandate would mean the very area of our sector that most needs to decarbonise would not be covered at all by this legislation, the group said in a letter it sent to the Commission, as quoted by Reuters. Sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs)accountfor 34 percent of the carbon emission |
| American EV Maker Canoo Joins The Electric Pickup Truck RaceCanoo, a U.S. EV startup, said it plans to launch an all-electric pod-like pickup truck in 2023, adding to a fast-growing choice of electric vehicles available to American buyers. The company showcased the truck at the Motor Press Guilds Virtual Media Day this week, saying it will start accepting preorders this month. We are so passionate about building vehicles that can change peoples lives, said Tony Aquila, Canoos executive chairman. Our pickup truck is as strong as the toughest trucks out there and |
| Two Major Institutions Team Up To Boost Renewables In Latin AmericaThe Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) are teaming up to promote renewable energy investment in Latin America and the Caribbean, backing the energy transition in the region. IRENA and the development bank will support each others energy investment in Latin America as part of their initiative to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, the agency said in a statement. The parties will facilitate renewable energy investment and development in the region, backing initiatives to create |
| Saudi Minister: OPEC Wants Fair Price For Its OilThe Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries is looking for a fair price for its crude, Saudi Arabias Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan said this week after a meeting with his counterpart from Russia, Sergey Lavrov. I would like to assure that we and Russia would like an oil price which is fair to consumers and to producers, bin Farhan said, adding, This is what OPEC+ looks to achieve and there is good coordination in this initiative and we continue in working to support what benefits the |
| Why U.S. Shale Production Remains Stubbornly HighI have written on shale production in the U.S. a number of times over the past couple of years for OilPrice. My expectation that shale production would fall sharply to ~5-6 mm BOEPD by the end of 2020, has not been borne out. My view was that a lack of drilling/completion activity due to adverse price conditions would cause production to fall sharply. Historical annual decline rates for shale wells can be as high as 60% in the first year. In this article, I discuss some of the reasons I feel this has occurred and what it may portend for oil supplies |
| Covid variant in the U.K. appears to be 64% more deadly than other strains, study findsThe highly contagious coronavirus variant first identified in the U.K. is associated with a 64% higher risk of dying from Covid-19, according to a new study. |
| Beeple NFT becomes most expensive ever sold at auction after fetching over $60 millionAn NFT by the artist Beeple sold at Christie’s for over $60 million, making it the most expensive NFT ever sold at auction. |
| Even at pandemic’s peak, enforcing Covid rules was a challenge at fast-food distributor’s warehousesAt some Sygma warehouses, procedures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 have rarely been enforced, employees of the fast-food distributor told CNBC. |
| Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot Covid vaccine cleared for use in the EUThe vaccine has the added benefit of only requiring a single dose and can be stored in most standard refrigerators at temperatures of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius. |
| Pfizer Covid vaccine blocks 94% of asymptomatic infections and 97% of symptomatic cases in Israeli studyPfizer said its Covid-19 vaccine blocked 94% of asymptomatic infections in an Israeli study ” a result CEO Albert Bourla called “extremely important.” |
| Activist investor group cuts its Kohl’s board slate to 5 directors from 9The group of activist investors looking to seize control of Kohl’s board reduced the number of directors that it plans to nominate, to five from nine. |
| Jeep unveils long-awaited Grand Wagoneer SUV topping $111,000The Grand Wagoneer SUV will test whether Jeep can expand its product range into the lucrative luxury segment and attract new customers. |
| States lift Covid restrictions, drop mask mandates and reopen businesses despite warnings from Biden officialsDespite warnings from the Biden administration, more states are lifting capacity restrictions on businesses and ending mask mandates. |
| Drones used in search and rescue trials at a North Sea wind farmThe use of unmanned aerial vehicles within the energy sector is well established. |
| Here are the states with the longest and shortest life expectancies, according to the CDCPeople born in Southern U.S. states had a lower life expectancy when compared with people in other parts of the country, the CDC found. |
| WHO investigators say Covid origins could be known ‘within the next few years’“I’m convinced we are going to find out fairly soon,” Dr. Peter Daszak, a member of the WHO-led team and an animal disease specialist, said. |
| These college students are working as contact tracers to stop the spread of Covid on campusThese college students are stepping up to help stop the spread of Covid on campus. This is part of CNBC’s College Voices series. |
| Biden to lay out his vision for a post-Covid world in first prime-time address as presidentBiden is poised to embark on a nationwide tour to tout the passage of the $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill, his first major legislative accomplishment. |
| “Supply Has Become Difficult To Absorb”: JPMorgan Issues Stark Warning About US Treasury Auctions“Supply Has Become Difficult To Absorb”: JPMorgan Issues Stark Warning About US Treasury Auctions Following yesterday’s impressive 10Y auction, which only tailed as a result of traders realizing just how massive the short overhang in 10Ys remains (first pointed out here) which sparked a furious rally in the 10Y two hours ahead of the auction’s 1pm deadline, the situation in the repo market has stabilized somewhat, but still remains clearly troubled, with Bloomberg writing that the cost to borrow 10-year Treasuries in the repo market has retreated from extremes hit on Thursday after the 10Y auction, though the security still remains special ahead of the March 15 settlement. According to ICAP, the daily repo rate for 10-year Treasuries was around -1.60%/-1.85%, while Break Capital quoted it at -1.75%/-2% earlier, confirming something we have noted for the past week: funding markets continue to respond to the heavy supply of cash in the front end. The big question for traders is what this means for today’s 30Y bond auction at 1pm, and whether the $24BN reopening will be met with the same enthusiasm as yesterday’s benchmark sale, especially when considering the massive bond sale from Verizon which is tapping a whopping seven-part offering to help pay for its 5G spectrum commitment. The sale encompasses maturities from three years to 40 years, and the combined size – perhaps up to $25 billion, if not slightly more – is substantial. According to Bloomberg, “it’s potentially one of the five largest corporate deals ever.” And while we anticipate that today’s 30Y auction will sneak through without much effort, … |
| Mayor De Blasio, 59 Dem Lawmakers Officially Call On Cuomo To ResignMayor De Blasio, 59 Dem Lawmakers Officially Call On Cuomo To Resign Dems in the NY state legislature voted last week to strip embattled Gov. Andrew Cuomo of the emergency powers granted to him during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Then a few days later, two of the state’s most powerful legislative leaders (both Democrats) called on the governor to resign “for the good of the state”. Well, apparently the latest allegations published by the Albany Times-Union last night have inspired dozens more Democrats to follow suit. As Cuomo denies “aggressively groping” a much-younger female staffer whose name hasn’t been published, 59 Democrats from the State Assembly and New York Senate have called on the governor to resign via a letter. The governor, who is halfway through his third term, has been accused of sexual harassment ranging from lewd comments, unsolicited kisses and under-the-blouse groping. Although the governor has denied this last claim, insisting earlier this week that he never touched any woman inappropriately. The letter cites both the sexual harassment scandal and a cover-up purportedly perpetrated by Cuomo’s office to underreport the number of nursing home patients who succumbed to COVID during the early days of the outbreak in the state, when a state policy required hospitals to send infected elderly long-term-care-home patients back to their facilities, where infections spread like wildfir … |
| Watch: Fauci Admits There Is No “Science” Behind Continued LockdownWatch: Fauci Admits There Is No “Science” Behind Continued Lockdown Authored by Steve Watson via Summit News, In a rare moment of truth of CNN Wednesday, Anthony Fauci admitted that there is no scientific reason why people who have had the COVID vaccine are still having their freedoms restricted.
CNN host John Berman asked Fauci œWhat’s the science behind not saying it’s safe for people who have been vaccinated ” received two doses, to travel? œWhen you don’t have the data and you don’t have the actual evidence, you’ve got to make a judgment call, Fauci replied, declaring that Americans will just have to trust the CDC:
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| ‘No More Thoughts And Prayers’: Schumer, Pelosi Target Gun Owners With New Reforms‘No More Thoughts And Prayers’: Schumer, Pelosi Target Gun Owners With New Reforms House Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) vowed on Thursday to reintroduce gun reform legislation, while the House passed a second bill aimed at background checks within the last hour.
“No more hopes and prayers, thoughts and prayers “a vote is what we need,” said Schumer, vowing to bring a bill, H.R. 8, out of former Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s ‘legislative graveyard’ after it stalled in the Senate in early 2019 after passing through the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives.
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| John Lewis warns of ‘painful’ store closuresThe retail giant reports big losses and says it does not expect to reopen all of its shops post-lockdown. |
| HSBC plans to phase out coal financing by 2040The bank will ask investors to back the plan following pressure from a shareholder campaign group. |
| Brexit: UK delays border checks on EU goods into Great BritainMinisters say the move will help firms after Covid – but Labour says it “smacks of ill-preparedness”. |
| Ahead of Market: 12 things that will decide stock action on FridayOverall, market breadth remained in favour of bulls. As many as 302 stocks on the BSE 500 index settled the day in green, while 189 settled the day in red. |
| Key breadth indicator hinting at possible higher levels for Nifty50The most important use of this AD Line Breadth Indicator is to examine any divergence; bullish or bearish, against the index. In the current case, this Breadth Indicator is shown a bullish divergence against Nity50 Index. |
| Gold ‘failing’ as equity hedge, faces risks: BlackRockBullion is proving to be a less effective hedge against moves in other assets, such as stocks, as well as inflation, according to Russ Koesterich, portfolio manager for BlackRock’s Global Allocation Fund. |
| Cryptos: What is an NFT? A Beeple NFT just sold on Christie’s for nearly $70 million, highlighting craze for cryptosA digitized work of art created by the artist known as Beeple just sold on Christie’s for nearly $70 million, cementing the fervor surrounding cryptographic technology known as NFTs. |
| : Goldman Sachs pledges $10 billion to change the lives of ‘One Million Black Women’New initiative will focus on areas including access to capital, healthcare, job creation and education. |
| Dispatches from a Pandemic: As U.K. eases COVID-19 lockdown restrictions ” Pandemic Year 2 provides equal helpings of anxiety and hopeCamden, a North London hamlet home to both the haves and have-nots, attempts to get back on its feet one year later. |
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