Written by Gary
Oil prices began crashing on Thursday afternoon, falling nearly 9%. WTI slid 8.68% to $58.99 per barrel by 4:04pm ET (SPY +0.3%). Futures Rebound In Solid Start To Volatile Quad-Witch, the biggest movers in the premarket: Nike, FedEx, Skillz, Ford.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
What Is Moving the Markets
Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
Oil Traders Made A Killing Last YearRetail investors with long positions in crude oil markets had to endure one of the most volatile years on record in 2020 thanks to the Saudi-Russia oil price war, oil price crash, and a global pandemic that dealt a massive blow to energy demand. However, it was yet another annus mirabilis for large oil traders who took full advantage of the choppy markets and a massive spike in volatility to make a killing on oil trades. Bloomberg reported that dozens of large oil traders made billions of dollars in profits in 2019, with many posting record earnings | |
Fossil Fuels Will Continue To Dominate For Decades To ComeThe stone age didnt end due to a lack of stones, and the oil age will end long before the world runs out of oil. This quote, often attributed to Saudi Oil Minister Shiekh Yamani, highlights a vital and frequently misunderstood fact about the oil industry. Oil supplies are not going to run out, but oil will eventually be replaced by cheaper, cleaner, and more efficient energy sources. This misunderstanding has led many analysts to predict the death of the oil industry. The Paris Agreement has set a global goal to control climate | |
Heavy-Handed Government Intervention To Hurt Brazils Oil BoomA spat over fuel prices last month saw Brazils President Jair Bolsonaro replace the CEO of national oil company PetrobrasRoberto Castello Branco, who is popular among investors with former Defense Minister and army general Joaquim Silva e Luna. Brazils federal government was able to exercise such a monumental power because it is the majority owner of Petrobras. The Brazilian state directly owns 28.67% of Petrobras with another 8.08% held by the Latin American countrys national development bank, giving a total controlling | |
Oil Major BP Plans UKs Biggest Blue Hydrogen ProjectOil and gas supermajor BP said on Thursday it had started developing plans for what would be the largest hydrogen project in the UK, aiming to produce 1 GW of blue hydrogen by 2030, as part of its efforts to contribute to industry decarbonization and the UKs low-carbon energy plans. Blue hydrogen is hydrogen produced by converting natural gas into hydrogen and carbon dioxide, with the CO2 then captured and permanently stored. BP is proposing the development of the H2Teesside project, which would be a significant step in developing BPs | |
Oil Sees Biggest Single-Day Loss Since April 2020Oil prices began crashing on Thursday afternoon, falling nearly 9%. WTI slid 8.68% to $58.99 per barrel by 4:04pm ET, while Brent had slipped 8.01% to $62.55 per barrel. It is the biggest drop in absolute terms since April 2020, when oil slipped into negative territory. Analysts have been volleying predictions during the recent price rally, with bulls signaling there is more room to run, making proclamations of a coming supercycle. Others, more cautious in their outlooks, have warned for a couple of weeks that the optimism present in the oil markets | |
India Throws The Oil Tanker Industry A LifelineIndias growing demand for oil and its plans to rely less on crude from its biggest supply region, the Middle East, is set to support demand for oil tankers traveling on longer routes to the worlds third-largest oil importer. India, which imports more than 80 percent of the crude oil it consumes, has been hinting in recent years that it needs to look beyond the traditional Middle East suppliers for oil. As fortunate as it has been for the country to have some of the worlds biggest oil exporters so close to its shores, | |
Boat sales took off during the pandemic and now dealers can’t keep up with demandSales leaped to a 13-year high in 2020 to $47 billion, increasing 9% from the prior year, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association. | |
Porsche’s ambitious EV plans don’t include an all-electric 911Luxury German automaker Porsche expects to significantly increase sales of all-electric vehicles in the coming years, but don’t expect an EV version of its iconic 911 sports car anytime soon, if ever. | |
7 lesser-known destinations to consider when it’s safe to travel againTravelers are bypassing big cities in favor of smaller destinations that attract fewer tourists and provide plenty of outdoor fun. | |
India could vaccinate 300 million people by summer, Serum Institute director predictsAs of Wednesday evening, more than 36 million people have been inoculated per data from the Indian health ministry. | |
Williams-Sonoma CEO refocuses on in-store traffic after a surge in online sales last year“We talk about e-commerce, and that will be our growth, but this retail recovery is a big part of the story as well,” Williams-Sonoma CEO Laura Alber told CNBC. | |
Britain’s Boris Johnson to receive first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine, urges others to do the sameA flurry of countries around the world had suspended the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot following reports of blood clots in some vaccinated people. | |
5 things to know before the stock market opens FridayU.S. stock futures bounced Friday after soaring Treasury yields clobbered tech stocks again Thursday, causing the Nasdaq to drop 3%. | |
Op-ed: Here are some safe money moves investors should make nowGiven a rebounding economy, government aid flowing to taxpayers and the pace of Covid vaccinations, how should investors play the rest of 2021? | |
FedEx earnings beat estimates on ‘unprecedented’ holiday shipping seasonCEO Fred Smith said the logistics giant expects demand for its “e-commerce and international express solutions to remain very high for the foreseeable future.” | |
Nike posts mixed results as sales fall short of estimates, hurt by U.S. port congestionNike reported quarterly sales Thursday that missed analysts’ estimates, as its North American business was hurt by congested ports and container shortages. | |
NFL finalizes new 11-year media rights deal, Amazon gets exclusive Thursday Night rightsThe new agreement runs through 2033 and will feature two Super Bowls returning to Disney’s ABC network channel. | |
Lamborghini reports record profits in 2020, CEO teases electric futureDespite a mandatory factory shutdown during the pandemic, the “raging bull” of the auto world delivered 7,430 cars in 2020. | |
Dollar General will open more than 1,000 stores this year and expand its Popshelf brandThe discount chain said it will grow its store footprint and appeal to a broader range of customers to drive sales beyond the pandemic. | |
Here Are The Stocks To Watch Ahead Of Today’s Quad-Witch Gamma ‘Unclenching’Here Are The Stocks To Watch Ahead Of Today’s Quad-Witch Gamma ‘Unclenching’ Brace for the ‘unclenching’… Today’s quad witching options expirations are likely to remove even more potential stabilizing flows from US equity markets as we estimate roughly 25% of S&P gamma rolling off, with 40% of QQQ and 50% of single stock. The bulk of SPX gamma expires at 9:30AM EST, but note that position is heavily outsized by SPY/QQQ which expires at the 4pm EST close.  This gamma unclench and delta de-risk lower definitely accelerate any downside moves in the markets. SpotGamma says that the S&P must hold the 390/3900 critical flip line, even though we see little in the way of S&P put positions (and therefore negative S&P500 gamma) below | |
Chinese Military Bans Tesla Vehicles From Bases Over Camera ConcernsChinese Military Bans Tesla Vehicles From Bases Over Camera Concerns Could there be trouble brewing in Elon Musk’s communist paradise? For months, we have been raising the question of when Tesla’s China fairy tale may come to a screeching halt. Now, it looks like we may be one step closer to the inevitable honeymoon ending. That’s because, in a stroke of ultimate irony, Tesla vehicles have now been banned from Chinese military complexes and housing compounds due to “concerns about sensitive data being collected by cameras built into the vehicles,” according to Bloomberg. The order was issued by the Chinese military and directs Tesla owners to park their vehicles outside of military property. China has concerns that Tesla is “collecting sensitive data via the cars’ in-built cameras in a way the Chinese government can’t see or control”. Images of a purported notice of the ban were circulating on Chinese social media, with the notice proclaiming that cameras and ultrasonic sensors in Tesla cars may œexpose locations, the report notes. | |
COVID Cases Are Spiking In A Dozen States With High Vaccination RatesCOVID Cases Are Spiking In A Dozen States With High Vaccination Rates As Europe struggles with a “third wave” of COVID infections that’s forcing more governments to reimpose at least some lockdown measures, the US is finding that the number of newly confirmed cases is climbing again, with some of the biggest week-over-week increases seen in states that had been praised for their vaccination diligence. Source: Axios The US is adding roughly 55K new cases per day, a level that it has plateaued over the past months (though deaths have continued to move lower). Yesterday, health authorities counted 56.9K new case, and 1,052 deaths. | |
Futures Rebound In Solid Start To Volatile Quad-WitchFutures Rebound In Solid Start To Volatile Quad-Witch The first quad-witching of 2021 has arrived and so far it has been relatively smooth sailing, perhaps because today’s quad witch sees an abnormally low amount of option expiries (for a list of today’s highest gamma single stocks click here). US equity futures rebounded after Thursday’s rout, led by technology stocks as bond yields withdrew from 14-month peaks and oil prices retraced some losses. At 07:15 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 58points, or 0.18%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 11.75 points, or 0.2% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 69.25.5 points, or 0.53%. | |
Builders told to remove ‘unfair’ ground rent termsCompetition watchdog says Countryside and Taylor Wimpey must change contracts or face legal action. | |
Labour seeks probe over Cameron Greensill lobbyingReport alleges former Prime Minister met officials to push for business for collapse finance firm. | |
UK government borrowing hits February record as virus impact continuesThe government borrowed £19.1bn last month, the highest figure for February since records began. | |
Days of making ‘easy money’ may be getting over in this marketSome argue that the best of the bull market may likely be behind us, and cautioned investors against extrapolating this year’s performance into the future. | |
Negative yields come to India, as RBI tries to put a leash on short sellersBond dealers said the 6.17 per cent government bond maturing in 2021 was offered at a yield of minus 1.5 per cent, a first in the government securities market. | |
Crorepati maker! After 1,400% rally in Covid year, this stock is still gung hoAnalysts tracking the company appreciated its BFSI and technology capabilities, but said the stock might already be priced to perfection after the recent rally. | |
Rail Week Ending 13 March 2021 – Improvement ContinuesWritten by Steven Hansen Week 10 of 2021 shows the same week total rail traffic (from the same week one year ago) improved according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR) traffic data. Total rail traffic has been mostly in contraction for over one year – and now is slowly recovering from the coronavirus pandemic although economic intuitive sectors are not doing well. | |
The Moneyist: My parents want to use $300,000 in retirement savings to pay off $160,000 left on their home. Is that a good idea?‘I would like to be able to help them financially and be their safety net, but my means are limited.’ | |
The Moneyist: ‘We did not place blame or offer advice’: Are we flaunting our wealth if we give our friends and family money?‘We have some family and friends who are struggling to make ends meet, particularly as result of the pandemic. Having means, we chose to help them financially and sent sizable checks.’ | |
: Online grocer Ocado dismisses Amazon as a ‘very small competitor’ ahead of first Kroger warehouse launchThe largest supermarket retailer in the U.S. has teamed up with Ocado to open a series of automated warehouses. |
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