Written by Gary
AMC stock slides after CEO discusses plans to issue 500 million shares (SPY +0.8%). Tech shares lead gains.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
North and South American markets finished mixed as of the most recent closing prices. The Bovespa gained 1.21%, while the IPC led the S&P 500 lower. They fell 1.14% and 0.06% respectively. |
What Is Moving the Markets
Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
OPEC Meeting: Saudis Look To Unwind Unilateral Output CutsOil prices gave up earlier gains and turned lower as of 11:39 a.m. EDT on Thursday, after reports emerged that Saudi Arabia was offering to gradually ease its additional unilateral cut of 1 million bpd, on top of the OPEC+ group also gradually easing the cuts in the next three months. The Saudis are proposing to ease the extra cut, beginning with lifting production by 250,000 bpd in each of May and June, on top of the OPEC+ group also easing the cuts, by 350,000 bpd in each of the next two months, Amena Bakr, Deputy Bureau Chief and Chief OPEC | |
Oil Prices Rise After OPEC+ Agrees To Gradually Increase Output This SummerThe OPEC+ ministerial meeting is discussing gradual production increases over the next three months, sources say, while the group was still debating as of 11:10 a.m. EDT on Thursday how to proceed with its oil supply management policies. The OPEC+ alliance is reportedly debating raising its oil output by 350,000 bpd in each of May and June and by 400,000 bpd in July, a source told Reuters. The market was more or less expecting a rollover of the current cuts or just a slight increase in view of the recent weakness in oil demand with European lockdowns | |
Bidens Recovery Plan Has an Unforeseen Consequence: More Demand For OilWhen President Biden yesterday unveiled his $2-trillion economic recovery plan, few in his immediate circle likely thought about oil. Yet, the plan will have a positive effect on oil demand because $621 billion of the total would be used for transportation infrastructure, including lots of roads. And roads are built with asphalt. Of this $621 billion, $115 billion would be allocated for road and bridge construction, Bloomberg noted in a report, and another $16 billion has been earmarked for laid-off oilfield workers who would be tasked with plugging | |
U.S. Calls On Saudi Arabia To Ensure Supply Of Affordable EnergyThe United States has called on Saudi Arabia to make sure there is affordable energy supply in the world, ahead of todays OPEC+ meeting where the cartel will discuss production rates. As always, the outcome of the meeting is somewhat uncertain, although most seem to expect the group to keep its production rate unchanged, with Saudi Arabia specifically signaling that it was ready to extend its voluntary 1-million-bpd output cut through May and June. Even with this cut, however, OPECs combined output registered an excess | |
OPEC+ Meeting Begins: Russia Sees Improving Oil MarketsThe situation on the global oil market has improved since last months OPEC+ meeting, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said at the opening of this months OPEC+ ministerial meeting on Thursday, while Saudi Arabia called again for a cautious approach to easing the production cuts. There are still many uncertainties on the global oil market, especially in Europe, Russias top oil diplomat said. Yet, there is currently a deficit of 2 million barrels per day (bpd) on the market, Novak said at the start of the OPEC+ meeting, | |
The Future Of U.S. LNG Hangs In The BalanceSoaring American exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) could become a powerful tool of the Biden Administration to help other countries reduce their carbon footprint from more emission-intensive fossil fuels such as coal, U.S. shale gas producers say. Moreover, American natural gas is the sharpest diplomatic tool the Biden administration can wield in energy-related foreign policy and international trade negotiations, David Callahan, president of the Pittsburgh-based Marcellus Shale Coalition, wrote in InsideSources.com | |
AMC stock slides after CEO discusses plans to issue 500 million sharesAMC Entertainment’s stock fell as much as 5% on Thursday after the company’s CEO told CNBC it has asked for shareholder approval to issue 500 million shares. | |
MLB discussing options for Atlanta All-Star game following Georgia voting lawMLB is gathering feedback from teams and executives about the status of its 2021 All-Star Game in Atlanta. | |
Boston Red Sox chairman hopes Covid game cancellations will be a ‘rare event’ this MLB seasonOn Opening Day, Boston Red Sox Chairman Tom Werner told CNBC, “I certainly think that we’ve gone beyond where we were six months ago.” | |
Funko shares soar after toymaker strikes deal to enter NFT marketShares of Funko surged after the pop culture collectible maker said it acquired a majority stake in TokenWave, putting it into the NFT market. | |
Frontier Airlines raises $570 million in IPO, starts trading todayThe budget carrier is the latest U.S. airline to go public as the industry recovers from the Covid pandemic. | |
GM’s first quarter sales up 3.9% on strong consumer demandGM reports its retail sales increased 19% in the first quarter, while fleet sales declined 35% from a year earlier. | |
‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ scores $9.6 million opening day, a record for a pandemic release“Godzilla vs. Kong” tallied $9.6 million during its opening night, marking the best debut for any movie released during the pandemic. | |
Satellite company AST SpaceMobile expects to close SPAC deal next week and begin trading on NasdaqSatellite-to-smartphone broadband company AST & Science expects to close its SPAC merger next week, the company said on Thursday | |
This 34-year-old mom quit her job to work on her side hustle full-time “and made $300,000 in one yearAfter posting about motherhood on Instagram, Tina Meeks quickly gained a large following, and started collaborating with brands. Here’s how she turned her “mom influencer” side hustle into a 6-figure business. | |
‘Crazy Rich Asians’ director Jon M. Chu on Asian representation in Hollywood: ‘I think the doors are opening now’Jon M. Chu discusses the barriers Asian-American directors face in Hollywood and how the door for representation is opening wider. | |
‘Everyone here is confused’: Europe’s see-sawing over AstraZeneca’s vaccine is stoking uncertaintyThere are signs that Europe’s diverging ” and changing ” usage rules when it comes to AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine are sowing further confusion among citizens. | |
Convincing skittish parents to vaccinate their children will be key to curbing Covid, says Dr. HotezDr. Hotez explains why it will be important for the U.S. to launch a successful communications campaign when it comes to parents vaccinating their children. | |
Have vaccine, will travel: Retirees hitting the road should check their Medicare coverage firstIt’s worth making sure health services away from home would be covered by your Medicare plan before you take off. | |
Zen And The Art Of Risk ManagementZen And The Art Of Risk Management Authored by Michael Lebowitz via RealInvestmentAdvice.com,
Growing wealth occurs over a long time horizon, including many bullish and bearish market cycles. While making the most out of bull markets is important, it is equally important to avoid letting the inevitable bear markets reverse your progress. Making this task much more difficult are extreme market environments and inane investor beliefs at such times. When markets are frothy and grossly overvalued, greed takes over, leading to lofty performance expectations and excessive risk stances. Equally tricky is buying when fear grips the markets. In both extremes and all points in between, we must maintain investor Zen. The best way to accomplish such mindfulness and awareness of market surroundings is to understand the risks and rewards present in markets. Zen-like awareness allows us to run with the bulls and hide from the bears. Measuring Risk The price of every almost every asset represents the cost to receive cash flows in the future. With equities, for instance, we are buying future earnings. When someone buys Apple stock, they are an owner of Apple. Like every company, public or private, Apple has options with what they can do with their earnings. The decision frequently boils down to paying them out as a dividend … | |
OPEC+ Agrees To Gradual Output HikesOPEC+ Agrees To Gradual Output Hikes Update (1150ET):Â OPEC+ has indeed agreed to output cuts as follows, and as leaked earlier: 350k BPD in May 350k BPD in June 450k BPD in July Update (1130ET): The leaks are coming thick and fast now with reports that delegates have agreed to gradually raise output over the next few months. Amena Bakr reports: “This is what the easing will look like for the group: May 350k, June 350k and July 450k” Saudi Arabia will gradually bring into the market, during the next three months, its voluntary one million reduction, according to Reza Zandi. And WTI just cannot make its mind up… A reminder of the tensions the alliance faces: While Saudi Arabia is making deep cuts to its exports – 1 million barrels a day since December – Iraq is keeping its own sales up near a nine-month high. Meanwhile, Libya, not part of the supply-management pact, is exporting the most in at least seven years. *Â *Â * … | |
Fed’s “Most Important Rate” Falls For First Time Since FebruaryFed’s “Most Important Rate” Falls For First Time Since February We previously pointed out that the ongoing flood of reserves and liquidity into the financial system, as the Treasury draws down its cash balance at the Fed to fund the latest Biden stimulus sending cash in the TGA account to just $1 trillion from $1.6 trillion a month ago… … had hammered overnight and short-term rates, with G/C repo flipping between positive and negative for the past two weeks as the record reserve glut pushes short-term rates to zero and in some cases lower (of note, overnight G/C repo traded first traded at 0.02%, according to ICAP with a bid-ask spread 0.05%/0.03% in early morning trading). | |
Trump Blasts Biden’s Tax Hike As “Globalist Betrayal”Trump Blasts Biden’s Tax Hike As “Globalist Betrayal” Authored by Steve Watson via Summit News, After Joe Biden proposed a huge tax hike to pay for a $2-3 trillion spending spree, President Trump blasted it as a œglobalist betrayal and a œcruel and heartless attack on the American dream. Despite promising not to raise taxes for middle class Americans, Biden’s latest Spending proposal will likely effect people at the earning threshold of $200,000 per year, with the White House now suggesting that the previously announced $400,000 threshold for tax increases applies only to families, and not individuals. Trump labeled the hike as œa massive giveaway to China, and many other countries, that will send thousands of factories, millions of jobs, and trillions of dollars to these competitive Nations. | |
Liberty Steel boss: Plants won’t shut on my watchMetal tycoon Sanjeev Gupta is racing to refinance his business after his financial backer collapsed. | |
Minimum wage rises for two million workersMost low-paid workers will receive a pay rise, but those on furlough will miss out. | |
Young and old shoppers boost Next’s online salesThe British retailer saw an uplift in online sales in the year to January, despite profits plunging. | |
OPEC+ agrees on gradually easing oil output cuts from MayTwo sources had said earlier that OPEC+ was considering increasing output by 350,000 barrels per day in May, 350,000 bpd in June and 400,000 bpd in July. | |
Brookfield India REIT well-poised to benefit from market recovery: JM FinancialBrookfield India REIT offers a compelling value proposition with a global parentage of Brookfield Group and a stable portfolio of 75% of the rentals from MNCs with committed same store occupancy of 91% as of February 2021. | |
Big spending makes financial markets matter lessThere were four distinct financial market shocks that happened in the first quarter that could have created negative spillover in financial markets and the real economy, yet none of them did. | |
NewsWatch: How 6 feet became 3: Meet an ER doctor behind the research showing kids are still safe in school with new social-distancing standardDr. Elissa Schechter-Perkins is an emergency room physician at Boston Medical Center. She’s also one of the authors of a study that indicates three feet of spacing is just as safe for students as six feet of distance as long as they are masked. | |
The Moneyist: My parents claimed me on their 2019 taxes and received my 3rd stimulus check, but I don’t qualify based on my 2020 taxes. Will the IRS ask for it back?‘Am I safe to spend the money? Or will the Internal Revenue Service want it back from me when the next tax season rolls around?’ | |
Futures Movers: Oil pares gains on reports OPEC+ has a plan to gradually lift productionOil futures give up much of their gains on Thursday on reports that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies have come up with a plan to gradually lift production starting in May. |
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