Written by Gary
U.S. personal income fell 7.1% in February, vs 7.3% drop expected (SPY +0.3%). U.S. trade deficit in goods widens.
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. |
What Is Moving the Markets
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
 | OPECs Biggest Fear Is Becoming A RealityU.S. oil drillers are no longer sitting in the trenches, waiting for the pandemic storm to pass. They are once again in growth mode, according to the first-quarter energy survey by the Dallas Federal Reserve. As oil prices rebound, activity in the oil patch is expanding, respondents to the Dallas Fed Energy Survey said. And it is expanding strongly: from a reading of just 18.5 for the fourth quarter of 2020, the business activity index of the survey soared as high as 53.6 over the first quarter of this year. The data supports evidence from other |
| Investors Are Betting Big On Energy Stocks In 2021Despite the recent sell-offs in oil, investors are warming up to the energy sector, which bore the brunt of last years shock of crashing oil prices and oil demand. The energy sector has been the top performer in the S&P 500 index year to date, despite the price routs last week and earlier this week. Some exchange-traded funds (EFTs) tracking oil prices have surged since the start of 2021 as investors turned their attention to industries expected to benefit the most from the economic recovery. Energy is one of those, and analysts |
| Chinese Oil Giant CNOOC Sees Profits Plunge By 59% In 2020Chinese oil giants were not immune to the ravaging nature of the COVID-19 pandemic that decimated oil demand the world over, with CNOOC Ltd reporting a 59% drop in profits for 2020. CNOOC, the China National Offshore Oil Corp., posted net profits of 24.96 billion yuan (around $3.82 billion), according to Reuters, citing the company’s Hong Kong Stock Exchange filing, and revenue of 155.37 billion yuan. In 2019, CNOOC posted 61.05 billion yuan in net profit. A 59% plunge in profits sounds ominous, but it was still in line with analyst expectations, |
| The UK Prepares To Boost North Sea DrillingThe U.K. has announced a Landmark Deal to drill new wells in the North Sea securing the future of U.K. oil and saving thousands of jobs while calling net-zero promises into question. The U.K. government has approved new licenses for the drilling of more wells in the North Sea, saying their aim is compatible with the transition away from fossil fuels. The deal strives to better safeguard the British economy as well as oil industry jobs. This comes just weeks after the Financial Times stated that in 2020 oil and gas company spending |
| Biggest Oil Lobby Throws Support Behind Carbon PricingThe largest U.S.-based crude oil lobby has voted to support a measure that would tax or otherwise levy a price on carbon dioxide emissions. While surprising that the American Petroleum Institute would support such a measure, there are two caveats: the API will support a carbon-pricing initiative only if it is applied economy-wide and only if it is a replacement for current greenhouse gas regulations, instead of in addition to them. We think that a carbon pricing policy that is market-based, transparent and economy-wide gives us the best |
| Energy And Our Collapsing Debt BubbleA $1.9 trillion stimulus package was recently signed into law in the United States. Can such a stimulus bill, plus packages passed in other countries, really pull the world economy out of the downturn it has been in 2020? I dont think so. The economy runs on energy, far more than it operates on growing debt. Our energy problems dont appear to be fixable in the near term, such as six months or a year. Instead, the economy seems to be headed for a collapse of its debt bubble. Eventually, we may see a reset of the world financial system |
| A wave energy project in Britain is using the animal kingdom for inspiration ÂFunding will come from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. |
| JC Penney’s interim CEO sees green shoots emerging as department store chain plots post-bankruptcy turnaroundJust a few months into serving as interim CEO of J.C. Penney, Stanley Shashoua said he sees signs of growth in the business. |
| Victoria’s Secret-owner L Brands shares jump on raised profit outlook, thanks to stimulus boostVictoria’s Secret-owner L Brands has raised its profit outlook for the first quarter, citing a boost from government stimulus. |
| 5 things to know before the stock market opens FridayDow and S&P 500 futures Friday added to Thursday’s late-session comeback, which saw Wall Street break a two-day losing streak. |
| Chinese electric car start-up Nio shuts factory for 5 days due to global chip shortageThough the temporary shutdown will hit deliveries, Nio is on track for more car deliveries to start 2021 than rivals Xpeng and Li Auto. |
| EU steps up vaccine exports rules and pressures AstraZeneca over deliveriesThe European Union has stepped up tough rules on the exports of Covid vaccines, while also piling pressure on AstraZeneca to deliver more shots to the region. |
| Confidence in Merkel’s leadership falters as Germany’s pandemic dragsGermany was initially widely praised for its handling of the pandemic. A year on, and the situation is very different with Merkel under pressure. |
| RH CEO confident in the retailer’s expansion plans: ‘We still feel like we’re just warming up’“We’re more excited than we’ve ever been and we see more opportunity than we’ve ever seen,” RH CEO Gary Friedman told CNBC’s Jim Cramer. |
| Cramer’s investment dos and don’ts for this tricky market environment“If you accept your predicament and you follow these rules, you’ll have a chance to prosper in this brand new market,” Jim Cramer said on “Mad Money.” |
| GrowGeneration focuses on East Coast expansion as New York moves closer to legalizing cannabis“You’ll see us entering the East Coast markets shortly,” GrowGeneration CEO Darren Lampert told CNBC. |
| Suez Canal blockage is delaying an estimated $400 million an hour in goodsLloyd’s List values the Suez Canal’s westbound traffic at roughly $5.1 billion a day, and eastbound traffic at around $4.5 billion a day. |
| Congress wants answers from NCAA after weight room disparity at women’s basketball tournamentMembers of Congress are seeking answers for last week’s NCAA weight room disparity in San Antonio, the site of the women’s basketball tournament. |
| Rutgers University to require Covid vaccine for students returning to campus in the fallRutgers University is one of the first U.S. colleges to require students returning to campus this fall to prove they’ve been vaccinated against Covid. |
| Trading & Investing In “Trend Stock” ThemesTrading & Investing In “Trend Stock” Themes Authored by Bill Blain via MorningPorridge.com, œI can only show you the door. You’re the one that has to walk through it. As Q1 wends to a close the threat of global recovery and higher rates overhang markets! Meanwhile, the market has spawned a whole new class of stocks: Trend Stocks ” based on what we collectively believe about the future. Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) look set to benefit from Trend Stock status!
And what an interesting week that was ¦ Imminent vaccine wars, the œthreat post-pandemic economic recovery triggers rate rises thus undoing unsustainable P/E stock price multiples, and regulators seeking to regulate the vim out of the big dogs of Big Tech. Money is flowing back into cyclicals and fundamental stocks ” but it seems based largely on what looks cheap to today’s already grossly inflated market. If it all looks like the ingre … |
| WeWork To Go Public In $9 Billion SPAC Deal 18 Months After IPO CollapseWeWork To Go Public In $9 Billion SPAC Deal 18 Months After IPO Collapse Update (0810ET): WeWork CEO Sandeep Mathrani kicked off a closely watched interview with CNBC by claiming that WeWork was approached by BowX, not the other way around. “Sometimes you don’t pick the path, the path picks you,” he said.
He went on to reiterate WeWork’s goal of achieving profitability “by the end of this year.” Ranadivà then laid out what could be described as the bull case for WeWork: “if they stay the current path…the opportunity that I see…they could become “the middleware” platform for commercial real estate. Using technology to optimize business…this tsunami that’s coming where just about every company in the world is booking flex space…WeWork’s clients are the companies of the future.” In other words, … |
| Futures Fade Overnight Surge As Jump In Yields Sparks Market JittersFutures Fade Overnight Surge As Jump In Yields Sparks Market Jitters US equity futures and global markets rose this morning, continuing yesterday’s torrid late day surge, as investors looked past supply chain disruptions and focused on the optimistic targets for vaccinations and economic re-openings, after Joe Biden doubled the goal for his vaccination drive even though Covid-19 cases keep rising, and the Federal Reserve freed banks from pandemic restrictions on dividends. Oil rebounded and pushed Treasury yields higher, prompting investors to buy undervalued energy and bank stocks ahead of what is expected to be the fastest economic growth since 1984. Investors awaited key income, spending and inflation data later in the day.
Risk appetite made a comeback across the world on economic-recovery bets, capping a volatile week beset with vaccine-supply disputes, a traffic block on the Suez canal and further deterioration in China’s relations with the West. The renewed optimism helped investors look past another poor 7Y debt auction in the U.S. œLike a flickering li … |
| Two Trains Collide In Egypt, Reports SayTwo Trains Collide In Egypt, Reports Say Egypt Today reports two trains have collided in Sohag, Upper Egypt, “resulting in derailing three passenger carriages.” There were reports of at least 50 people injured, according to Sputnik News. Middle East Eye says “49 ambulances have rushed to the site of the train collision.”Â
Reporting of the incident is scant at the moment, but Twitter users have been uploading alleged images of what appears to be passenger railway cars derailed in a twisted mess. |
| Asda workers win key appeal in equal pay fightSupreme Court rules shop workers are free to pursue fight to gain equal pay with warehouse staff. |
| People may quit if forced to work from home, Rishi Sunak warnsThe chancellor urges firms not to scrap offices altogether, warning employees may leave if they do. |
| Retail sales stage partial recovery in FebruaryOutdoor furniture and DIY sales were strong, but clothing stores continued to struggle. |
| Why are analysts & economists unruffled by Covid second waveIndia’s daily Covid count on Wednesday crossed the 50,000 mark for the first time since November 6. |
| IPO listing gains drying up: Days of making easy money got over?Some of these IPOs received ‘subscribe’ ratings for listing gains from top brokerages despite aggressive valuations. |
| Jefferies’ Chris Wood says investors should buy cyclical stocks on dipsIndia finds itself in the grips of a second wave of infections, although most of the cases have been concentrated in six states. |
| Rail Week Ending 20 March 2021 – Improvement ContinuesWritten by Steven Hansen Week 11 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 as well.
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| Europe Markets: Mining and energy stocks climb in Europe as U.S. post-pandemic optimism spreadsEuropean stocks pushed higher on Friday, driven by gains for commodity-related stocks as investors took inspiration from a positive session on Wall Street. |
| : Private-jet sales rose as airlines filed for bankruptcy through the pandemicIn the U.S. alone, sales of preowned private jets climbed nearly 10% in 2020 from 2019 levels, with 1,637 jets sold in the country, according to analysis from broker Colibri Aircraft. |
| : Global deal making hits $1.4 trillion amid blank-check IPO frenzySpecial-purpose acquisition companies have raised $94.4 billion this year through IPOs ” already more than the record annual total of $83.4 billion last year. |
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