23Mar2021 Pre-Market Commentary: Dow Futures Slip Ahead Of Testimony From Yellen And Powell, DOW Down 127 Points, Nasdaq Up 0.1%, WTI Crude 59.15, US Dollar Higher 92.11, Bitcoin 55050

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are mixed. The DAX is higher by 0.06%, while the CAC 40 is leading the FTSE 100 lower. They are down 0.43% and 0.07% respectively.

Saudi Arabia Sidelined By Biden’s Middle East Strategy

After the first oil price war launched by the Saudis against the then-nascent U.S. shale sector in 2014, Washington took the view that the Kingdom had broken the core 1945 agreement made between the two countries and that consequently, the U.S. needed to begin to reduce its dependence on Saudi oil imports down to insignificant levels over time. This view was reinforced when the Saudis launched another oil price war in 2020, again principally aimed at damaging the U.S. shale sector, that was only ended with the direct threat from former President

Asian LNG Buyers Could Form The Worlds Next Energy Cartel

Global demand for liquefied natural gas will grow to 700 million tons annually by 2040 from 360 million tons last year, Shell said in its LNG Outlook 2021. As much as 75 percent of this demand growth will come from one regional market: Asia. Asian economies have been a key market for liquefied natural gas for years now. The fuel has been gaining growing prominence as a cleaner and cost-effective alternative to coal. This prominence will only continue growing with net-zero commitments, Shell said. And this growth could turn Asia into an LNG buyers

Russia Says LNG Production Capacity Could Jump Threefold By 2035

Russias government approved on Monday the countrys long-term development program for liquefied natural gas (LNG), expecting production capacity to rise threefold from current levels to 140 million tons per year by 2035. The program is based on a comprehensive approach, aimed at diversification of gas supply sources and first of all at an active use of resources of the Arctic shelf and the Far East, Russias Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said at a meeting with deputy prime ministers on Monday, as carried by news

3 Small-Cap Energy Sectors With Major Upside

Over the past few decades, some of the best and highest-yielding investments have been made by investors who recognized the potential of small-cap stocks. And that truism continues to ring true: The small and mid-cap sector has been running rings around its much bigger peer, with the Russell 2000 up 11.8% in the year-to-date compared with a 4.5% gain by the S&P 500. Despite their higher potential for growth, investors have often ignored small-cap stocks simply because most investors are too focused on bigger and well-known cult stocks

Record Renewables Investment Closes The Gap With Oil & Gas Spending

Renewable energy projects are expected to see a record investment at US$243 billion this year, further closing the gap with expenditure on upstream oil and gas projects, where capex is expected flat at around US$311 billion, Rystad Energy said in a recent analysis. Spending on renewable projects in 2021 is set to rise from last years estimated spend of US$224 billion, while upstream oil and gas spending will remain basically unchanged from 2020 as companies continue to keep a tight rein on capital expenditures, the energy research firm said.

U.S. And Canada At Odds In Oil Sands Schism

As one of his first acts in office, President Biden revoked TC Energy Corp.s (NYSE:TRP) license on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project. The project ran into trouble soon after TC proposed the pipeline in 2008, with environmental groups mainly citing the threat of spills. Many were also keen on reducing the amount of oil extracted from Canadas oil sands, widely regarded as one of the worst polluters among oil-producing regions anywhere in the world. The 1,700-mile pipeline is an expansion of an existing pipeline, called

Lockheed Martin partners with satellite start-up Omnispace to build a space-based 5G network

Lockheed Martin announced a strategic interest agreement with satellite startup Omnispace, “to explore jointly developing 5G capability from space.”

The future of the F-35 and the Air Force fight fleet

The Joint Strike Fighter is the most expensive weapons program ever, but costly delays may push the Air Force to look for a cheaper option.

5 things to know before the stock market opens Tuesday

Tuesday marks one year since the Covid low in the stock market, which ended the fastest bear market ever and ushered in another bull market.

‘Highly unfair’ to accuse the EU of vaccine nationalism, trade chief says

It is “highly unfair” to accuse the European Union of vaccine nationalism, Valdis Dombrovskis told CNBC on Tuesday.

Putin prepares to get Covid vaccine ” but the Kremlin refuses to say which one

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to receive a coronavirus shot on Tuesday, as intrigue surrounds the country’s vaccine strategy.

On an island north of Scotland, tidal power is providing juice for electric vehicles

The facility is located on Yell, which is part of Shetland, an archipelago of roughly 100 islands.

AstraZeneca may have included outdated information in Covid vaccine trial, U.S. health agency says

The statement comes just one day after the findings of a large U.S. trial showed the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was safe and highly effective.

‘The last 12 months has taken a huge toll on us’: Frustration rises in the UK amid lockdowns and loss

There are increasing signs that the British public are growing frustrated with the restrictions, with anti-lockdown protests hitting the capital at the weekend.

British EV start-up Arrival is setting up in North Carolina to build a UPS fully electric fleet

Arrival is investing $41 million into a production facility in Charlotte, North Carolina, to fulfill a UPS order of 10,000 fully electric vehicle.

Cramer endorses buying Roblox stock: ‘This is the real deal’

“You’ve got my blessing to put on a position in Roblox right now, right here,” Jim Cramer said while breaking down his position on “Mad Money.”

Jim Cramer says cyclical stocks are worth buying after Monday’s dip

Jim Cramer recommended Nucor, Boeing, Union Pacific and other industrial stocks after shares fell on a countertrend trade.

Travel industry urges Biden to set health passport standards, plan to lift international travel bans

Airlines and travel groups urge Biden administration to come up with a plan to lift international travel restrictions.

Chip shortage has Detroit automakers struggling to maintain truck production and meet orders

Ford is cutting a shift at a plant in Kentucky that produces pickups and temporarily shuttering another plant in Ohio due to the chip shortage.

AstraZeneca Admits Vaccine Efficacy Based On “Interim” Data, Vows To Release Update Within 48 Hours

AstraZeneca Admits Vaccine Efficacy Based On “Interim” Data, Vows To Release Update Within 48 Hours

Update (0800ET): As the media (and the rest of the world) tries to figure out what exactly is going on with the AstraZeneca trial data, and whether the vaccine’s ability to protect the population from COVID truly does outweigh the risks, the company has just released a statement promising to release up-to-date results from the final phase of the trial within 48 hours.

AZ said yesterday’s trial conclusions were based on an “interim analysis” with all data received by the cutoff date of Feb. 17. Then, it promised to “immediately engage with the independent data safety monitoring board to share our primary analysis with the most up to date efficacy data.” Results of this primary analysis will be available within 2 days.

The numbers published yesterday were based on a pre-specified interim analysis with a data cut-off of 17 February.

We have reviewed the preliminary assessment of the primary analysis and the results were consistent with the interim analysis. We are now completing the validation of the statistical analysis.

We will immediately engage with the independent data safety monitoring board (DSMB) to share our primary analysis with the most up to date efficacy data.

We intend to issue results of the primary analysis within 48 hours.

More academics complained about the optics of the situation.

“The last thing this vaccine needs is more concern when we kind of thought we were at that point now where we would put to bed all the other concerns,” said Paul Griffin, an associate professor of me …

Germany Orders Most Restrictive COVID Lockdown Yet Over Easter Weekend

Germany Orders Most Restrictive COVID Lockdown Yet Over Easter Weekend

We noted yesterday that Chancellor Angela Merkel had succeeded in persuading the leaders of Germany’s 16 states to agree to another extension of the federal lockdown. And while initial reports about Merkel’s proposal noted that Germans would receive a reprieve allowing them to spend the Easter holiday with family, apparently, the government appears to have changed its mind again and decided to tighten restrictions to the toughest point yet during a brief stretch coinciding with the Easter holiday weekend to try to defuse a œthird wave of Covid-19 infections fueled by faster-spreading mutations.

All but the most important services will be closed during the lockdown period, according to RT. Noting that the country is in a “race” to combat the pandemic, Merkel outlined the nationwide shutdown during a news conference early on Tuesday, saying th …

Futures Slide, Dollar Surges Ahead Of Powell-Yellen Doubleheader On Fresh Virus Fears

Futures Slide, Dollar Surges Ahead Of Powell-Yellen Doubleheader On Fresh Virus Fears

Lockdown fears are back, and so are concerns that disinflation may be making a return.

Global markets and US index futures slumped alongside shares in Europe, where a resurgence of virus cases and a planned lockdown in Germany cast doubt on the region’s economic recovery. Bond yields tumbled and the dollar jumped towards recent peaks on Tuesday with markets in a cautious mood ahead of Congressional testimony by Fed Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for clues on the pace of economic rebound.

At 715 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 137 points, or 0.42%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 11.75 points, or 0.31% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 7.00points, or 0.05%.

Energy giants Chevron, Occidental Petroleum and Exxon Mobil all dropped between 1.5% and 3.5% premarket as oil prices tumbled 3% on fears that new pandemic curbs and slow vaccine rollouts in Europe will slow a recovery in demand. Apple, Facebook and Microsoft eased between 0.2% and 0.7% from the previous …

Yield Curve Control: Another Recipe For Stagnation

Yield Curve Control: Another Recipe For Stagnation

Authored by Daniel Lacalle,

Central banks do not manage risk, they disguise it. You know you live in a bubble when a small bounce in sovereign bond yields generates an immediate panic reaction from central banks trying to prevent those yields from rising further. It is particularly more evident when the alleged soar in yields comes after years of artificially depressing them with negative rates and asset purchases.

It is scary to read that the European Central Bank will implement more asset purchases to control a small love in yields that still left sovereign issuers bonds with negative nominal and real interest rates. It is even scarier to see that market participants hail the decision of disguising risk with even more liquidity. No one seemed to complain about the fact that sovereign issuers with alarming solvency problems were issuing bonds with negative yields. No one seemed to be concerned about the fact that the European Central Bank bought more than 100% of net issuances from Eurozone states. What shows what a bubble we live in is that market participants find logical to see a central bank taking aggressive action to prevent bond yields from rising ¦ to 0.3% in Spain or 0.6% in Italy.

This is the evidence of a massive bubble.

If the European …

Jobless crisis shows signs of easing but under-25s hit hard

The number of workers on UK company payrolls climbed by 200,000 in the three months to February.

Goldman Sachs boss says ‘go extra mile’ despite 95-hour week

David Solomon says “it’s great” young analysts told bosses of 95-hour weeks and poor treatment.

Cineworld to reopen with cinema-first movie deal

US cinemas will reopen in April followed by the UK in May, with theatres getting exclusivity over streaming.

IT sector hiring could hit decade high in FY22, lead to margin pressure

In 2011-12, the net hiring by top five offshore IT companies stood at 1,11,022, which has not been exceeded in the following nine years.

Supreme Court order out, D-Street hopes banks will reveal NPAs now

The apex court said no compound or penal interest — or interest on interest — will be charged from borrowers for the six-month loan relief period, which was announced last year to ease the financial burden on borrowers due to the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Anupam Rasayan grey market premium drops, dims hopes of sharp listing gain

Dealers active in the unofficial market for unlisted shares said the stock trades at a premium of Rs 60-63 over its issue price.

Futures Movers: Oil prices sink 4% as European COVID curbs raise demand worries

Oil futures fall sharply Tuesday, pressured by fears renewed lockdowns to combat the coronavirus pandemic in Europe would crimp energy demand.

Market Snapshot: Dow futures slip ahead of testimony from Yellen and Powell

U.S. stocks are set to retreat on Tuesday ahead of the first of two days of testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on the state of the government’s efforts to limit the economic damage from the COVID-19 pandemic.

: Vaccines are here. That’s no reason to call off the hunt for effective COVID-19 treatments.

Millions of Americans are getting their COVID-19 shots every day now, but the U.S. is still going to need better treatments that can nip mild or moderate cases of COVID-19 before they become serious.