Written by Gary
Investors await Biden infrastructure plan (SPY +0.1%). U.S. has added 517K private-sector jobs in March. This is the 3rd straight month of gains since the drop in December.
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. | |
Will The Worlds Newest Oil Benchmark Be A Success?At a time when highly leveraged U.S. exploration and production (E&P) companies have been struggling with dwindling valuations, shrinking credit lines, and mounting bankruptcies, Middle East state-owned oil and gas companies (NOCs) appear to be having little trouble courting foreign investors. The majority of investors are aware of oil giant Saudi Aramcos moves, including its IPO and (self-estimated) $2 trillion valuation. Few, however, know about the other Middle East oil giant that could actually beat Aramco to the public punch: The | |
Will 2021 Mark The Start Of A Major Shale Recovery?U.S. shale was among the biggest victims of the demand destruction caused by the coronavirus pandemic. But the sector has already proved resilient once, and now this resiliency is coming to the fore again. Earlier this month, JP Morgan said it expected U.S. shale output to start growing in the second half of the year, thanks to higher prices. The Energy Information Administrations latest Drilling Productivity Report also pointed towards a recovery in production – but a selective one. The EIA forecast an overall decline in U.S. shale output | |
Ad Companies Are Boycotting Big OilIn 1939, studies began to suggest that smoking might not be that great for you, sullying a great American pastime and a key United States economic industry. What was once a stalwart sector and an established cultural norm soon crumbled. Throughout the 40s, scientists continued to link cigarettes to alarmingly higher instances of cancer and heart disease and by the late 1950s, every single U.S. state had instated laws banning the sale of cigarettes to children. An infamous 1969 surgeon general report linked smoking with low birth weight and | |
Republican States Are Pushing Back Against Bidens Oil Lease SuspensionIn January, Bidens new administration called for a suspension of all new oil and gas leases as part of its efforts to drive forward climate change policies. But several states are fighting back in support of the oil industry. Last week, 13 states sued the current administration to put an end to the new oil and gas lease suspension on federal land, in the hope of rescheduling leases in the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska waters and western states. The republican-leaning states wants to reinitiate canceled leases that were scheduled in the Gulf | |
India Unlikely To Commit To Net-Zero Emissions TargetDespite growing international pressure, India is unlikely to commit to carbon neutrality by 2050, government officials have told Reuters. Expecting strong energy demand growth in the coming decades and even to outpace China as the worlds largest energy growth driver at some point this decade, India is not willing to bind itself to a hard deadline for reaching net-zero emissions as it fears it may have to compromise economic growth and consumption, Reuters sources said. We may not be able to commit ourselves to net zero emissions, | |
Blocking The Sun: A Crazy Idea To Stop Climate Change?The Arctic Blast has exposed the U.S. energy grid as being ill-prepared for climate change, with electric grid regulators now saying the U.S. needs to rapidly develop vast supplies of power storageincluding giant batteries and hydrogen storage. But we probably saw it coming. Six years ago, 196 Parties at COP 21 in Paris agreed to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels in a bid to prevent catastrophic and irreversible warming of the planet. The 2015 Paris | |
U.S. Covid cases are on the rise as vaccination pace picks up amid expanded eligibility guidelinesU.S. Covid-19 cases are trending upward again as many states are expanding eligibility guidelines for who qualifies to get a Covid-19 vaccine. | |
Pfizer says Covid vaccine is 100% effective in kids ages 12 to 15Pfizer plans to submit the new vaccine data to the FDA “as soon as possible,” CEO Albert Bourla said. | |
Germany suspends use of AstraZeneca’s Covid shot for the under-60s, dealing another blow to drugmakerGermany has suspended use of the Covid vaccine created by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford in the under-60s, dealing another blow to the drugmaker. | |
Warren Buffett-backed electric automaker hit by rising battery costs, analysts trim price targetsCredit Suisse analysts said disappointing guidance was partly the result of rising prices for battery raw materials. | |
Covid in Brazil ‘completely out of control,’ says Sao Paulo-based reporterBrazil just reached a grim Covid-19 milestone, and a reporter based in Sao Paulo doesn’t see the situation improving in the near future. | |
Los Angeles Rams safety Taylor Rapp to launch NFT and donate funds to fight anti-Asian hateJumping on the NFT craze, LA Rams safety said he has a collection coming and will donate proceeds to the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders community. | |
5 things to know before the stock market opens WednesdayU.S. stock futures were mixed Wednesday after the Dow broke a three-session winning streak and slipped from its previous record high close. | |
Saudi Aramco CEO says oil giant can still meet dividend expectations as crown prince prioritizes investmentsSaudi Arabia has announced oil giant Saudi Aramco and petrochemical firm SABIC will fund the majority of a 5 trillion riyals private sector investment plan. | |
Satellite imagery specialist ICEYE continues U.S. expansion, with $50 million in contracts last yearFinnish satellite imagery firm ICEYE continues to expand its business in the U.S., announcing on Wednesday that it had signed $50 million in contracts last year. | |
Cramer says there’s no reason for Ark’s new space ETF to exist“There aren’t enough genuine space-related stocks to make a decent ETF,” CNBC’s Jim Cramer said on “Mad Money” after ARKX began trading. | |
New York state legislature passes bill to legalize recreational marijuanaNew York’s state legislature passed a bill Tuesday to legalize recreational marijuana. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has vowed to sign it. | |
Macy’s CEO says company is already benefiting from vaccinations and stimulus checksGennette said business from loyal Macy’s customers is already up by 10% from the company’s fiscal fourth quarter. | |
Tilman Fertitta says he’s been surprised by strength of his restaurants and casinos in March“The high-end restaurants, my hotels, the casinos, are having record numbers right now,” Tilman Fertitta told CNBC on Tuesday. | |
Blain: The Market “Has 1929, 1987, 2000 Writ In Bold Blood Letters” All Over ItBlain: The Market “Has 1929, 1987, 2000 Writ In Bold Blood Letters” All Over It Authored by Bill Blain via MorningPorridge.com, The Tail That Wags The Dog œDaddy was a bankrobber, but he hurt nobody. He just liked to live that way, stealing all your money As Greensill and Archegos roil markets and cause losses, they beg the question ” who is next? Why is 2021 turning into the year the scams are unravelling? Will leverage on leverage trigger wider implosion or will it be something else, like liquidity? Back in the day ¦ Archaos was a terrifying alternative French Circus. They were brilliant and shocking ” anarchy on steroids as they juggled chainsaws, played with fire on motorbikes, and ignored the conventions of gravity on the high-wire! In contrast, the collapse of Archegos Capital is anything but brilliant. It seems to be a  developing theme for 2021: the year the shysters of finance are being revealed as t … | |
ADP Employment Data Disappoints In March, Service Sector Jobs SoarADP Employment Data Disappoints In March, Service Sector Jobs Soar With some economists forecasting a stunning 1.8 million jobs for Friday’s payrolls print, all eyes are on ADP’s employment data (for all its noise), which is estimated to come in at +550k after last month’s disappointing +117k. However, ADP disappointed with the addition of ‘just’ 517k jobs. This is the 3rd straight month of gains since the drop in December. Source: Bloomberg
All segments (size-wise) saw employment gains with small- and medium-sized businesses seeing the biggest pick ups. | |
Volkswagen Says “Bogus” Name Change That Popped Stock 5% Was “April Fool’s Joke”Volkswagen Says “Bogus” Name Change That Popped Stock 5% Was “April Fool’s Joke” Either VW has gotten one over on some analysts, or the company’s PR department made a last minute clawback of a proposed name change for the company. Either way, the company appears to be doing its best Elon Musk impression not only with EVs, but also with making false announcements to the market. We’re talking, of course, about the recent news that Volkswagen would be changing its name in the U.S. to “Voltswagen”, a nod to the company’s focus on EVs going forward and an idea that may or may not have originated from our Twitter feed to begin with.
The company came out yesterday and admitted to the press – who have mostly been unamused by the antic, judging by the tone of a recent AP piece – that the idea for the name change was just an “April’s Fool’s Joke”.
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Futures Flat, Yields Rise Ahead Of Biden Multi-Trillion Infrastructure PlanFutures Flat, Yields Rise Ahead Of Biden Multi-Trillion Infrastructure Plan US index futures were little changed and global stocks treaded water on Wednesday as Treasury yields resumed their upward march ahead of Joe Biden’s Pittsburgh event where he will announce a $2.25 trillion dollar plan – one which the administration says will be the most sweeping since investments in the 1960s space program and 1950s interstate-highway system – to rebuild America’s infrastructure, with traders weighing the inflation and tax impact of the stimulus. At 07:30 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 27 points, or 0.06%, and S&P 500 E-minis were up 3.5 points, or 0.09%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 75 points, or 0.56%, as Apple Inc rose 1.6% after UBS upgraded the stock to Buy on stable long-term demand for iPhones with better authorized service providers. MSCI’s All Country World Index traded 0.1% lower. Europe’s STOXX 600 index was up 0.2%, on course for its second straight month of gains. Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.1% as shares in online food delivery firm Deliveroo sl … | |
Deliveroo shares drop 30% on stock market debutDeliveroo shares open well below expected price after big investors’ attitude to company soured. | |
PwC says start when you like, leave when you likeAccountancy giant staff can choose the hours they work and mix home and office following pandemic. | |
What Brexit changed for clothes, flower and sausage firmsThree months since the end of the transition period, bosses share their stories of how trade has changed. | |
Steel stocks resist sell-off; which one should you buy?The resilience in the sector is due to the belief among investors that steel prices will continue to rise globally due to supply constraints and higher demand spurred by normalization of the global economy. | |
Should investors worry over this bluechip auto stock’s range-bound performance?The volume growth of Mahindra’s tractor division was 1.5 per cent lower than the sector volume growth of 14.6 per cent during April-February 2021, affected mainly due to supply disruption amid the pandemic. | |
India’s first unicorn plans US IPO at value of up to $15 billionA successful debut could make InMobi the first of India’s unicorns to directly list in a U.S. stock exchange, highlighting the country’s shift beyond information technology and outsourcing services. | |
Market Snapshot: U.S. stock futures mixed as investors await Biden infrastructure planStock-index futures struggle for direction Wednesday as investors await details of President Joe Biden’s multitrillion-dollar infrastructure spending plan. | |
: World leaders call for global pandemic treatyThe coronavirus experience has shown the need for a global treaty on the coordinated management of pandemics, writes a group of 23 world leaders. | |
The Tell: The stock market could double by 2030 because COVID has ‘utterly changed’ the policy environment: analystA prominent stock-market analyst throws in the towel as the S&P 500 index nears his end-of-decade target with œeight-and-a-half years to go, writing that he now agrees with colleagues that the U.S. benchmark could hit 8,000 by 2030. |
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