Written by Gary
Consumers spent $900 billion more online in 2020 (SPY +0.1%). IMF forecasts stronger recovery for world economy.
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. | |
Oil Trading Giant Vitol Sees Revenues Drop In 2020Commodity trade major Vitol reported a drop in its 2020 revenue to $140 billion from $225 billion a year earlier as the pandemic plunged its traded oil volumes sharply lower. The company said it had traded 7.1 million bpd of crude oil and products last year, down from 8 million barrels daily a year earlier. It is just over 12 months since Covid-19 was declared a pandemic, chief executive Russell Hardy said. The virus shaped our business and our lives in 2020. The extraordinary market conditions in the initial stages of lockdown | |
Goldman Sachs: Return Of Iranian Oil Won’t Shock MarketsIranian oil potentially returning legitimately to the market will not be a shock and a complete return will not take place at least until the summer of next year, Goldman Sachs says, as the U.S. is taking part in indirect talks about the so-called Iran nuclear deal. With OPEC+ appearing to manage its exit for now, supply concerns will likely shift to the potential return of Iran to the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) agreement, analysts at Goldman Sachs said in a note on Monday, as carried by Reuters. The United States | |
A Global Helium Shortage Is Now LoomingThe so-called noble or inert gases such as helium, argon, neon, xenon, and krypton frequently tend to be confined to niche markets. But whereas their stable structure renders them mostly unreactive in many chemical reactions, rare gases are anything but inert in our economies. To wit, helium, the second most abundant element in the universe behind only hydrogen, is a vital resource with several modern-day applications in microchip manufacture, hybrid air vehicles, helium-filled hard drives, and space exploration among | |
India Cuts Orders For Saudi Oil After Price HikeIndia will buy some 36 percent less crude oil from Saudi Arabia next month, unnamed sources told Reuters soon after the Kingdom said it would increase its official selling price for oil for its Asian buyers. Saudi Arabia said this week it would hike its crude oil prices for Asian buyers by $0.40 per barrel and cut those for European and U.S. buyers by $0.20 and $0.10 per barrel, respectively. The price increase concerns May cargos. This means the May shipments price for Arab LightSaudi Arabias flagship gradewill cost Asian | |
BP On Track To Meet Net Debt Target Ahead of ScheduleBP is on track to reach its net debt goal reduction to $35 billion ahead of schedule, the company said in a statement. According to the statement, the UK-based supermajor expects to have reached this level of net debt by the end of March. “Weare pleased to announce that we now expect to have reached our $35 billion netdebt target during the first quarter 2021,” chief executive Bernard Looney said. “This is a result of earlier thananticipated delivery of disposal proceeds combined with very strong businessperformance during | |
Oil Rises On Strong Economic Growth SignalsOil prices rose early on Tuesday along with rallies in other commodities and equities globally, following encouraging economic reports out of the United States and China and increased forecasts for the global economy this year and next. As of 9:37 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, WTI Crude was back up above $60 a barrel, rising by 2.42 percent at $60.06, and Brent Crude was up by 2.17 percent on the day at $63.50, also helped by weakness in the U.S. dollar. The weaker dollar and strong economic news out of the worlds top oil consumer, the United States, | |
CDC director says hospitalizations among seniors are declining as more than half of the age group is fully vaccinatedMore than half of Americans 65 and older are fully vaccinated, and emergency department visits and hospitalizations associated with that age group are falling. | |
Starbucks will discontinue disposable cups in South Korea by 2025Starbucks has pledged to discontinue disposable cups in South Korea by 2025 as it aims to cut its global landfill waste in half by the end of the decade. | |
Biden to move deadline for states to open Covid vaccines to all U.S. adults to April 19Biden is expected to announce the new deadline for states later Tuesday following his visit to a vaccination site in Alexandria, Virginia. | |
United Airlines to open flight school later this year in hiring push, plans to increase diversityUnited started accepting applications for its flight-training academy and aims to train 5,000 pilots by 2030, half of them women or people of color. | |
Medical students haven’t been deterred by the stress of Covid on hospitals and staff ” they are eager to helpCollege Voices: Medical students haven’t been deterred by the stress of the coronavirus pandemic on hospitals and staff ” applications to med schools are up. | |
GM confirms electric Chevrolet Silverado pickup to follow Hummer EVThe new Chevy Silverado EV is part of a $2.2 billion investment in a Detroit plant to produce an array of vehicles beginning later this year with a Hummer EV. | |
SpaceX does not plan to add ‘tiered pricing’ for Starlink satellite internet service, president saysSpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell does not think the company will add “tiered pricing” for its direct-to-consumer Starlink satellite internet service. | |
Consumers spent $900 billion more online in 2020. Here’s who will keep the biggest gainsGrocery stores and discount stores will see the most dramatic and lasting shift to e-commerce beyond the pandemic, according to a report from Mastercard. | |
Topps to go public through SPAC deal as baseball card company ventures into NFTsTopps, which is best known for its baseball cards and Bazooka candy line, has agreed to go public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company. | |
Goldman Sachs, Starbucks among organizations pledging to close racial wealth gap in U.S.The NinetyToZero initiative, also backed by the Robin Hood foundation and other groups, is the latest corporate action focused on fighting racial inequality. | |
Qatar Airways CEO says Covid vaccines likely to be required for travel: ‘This will be the trend’When asked whether coronavirus vaccinations will be necessary in order to fly, the CEO said: “I think this will be the trend initially.” | |
Airline stocks in Asia-Pacific boosted by Australia-New Zealand travel bubble, rising optimismA number of developments, including an air travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand, buoyed airline stocks in Asia-Pacific. | |
Yields Slide As Doubts Grow Over Biden Infrastructure PlanYields Slide As Doubts Grow Over Biden Infrastructure Plan Last week we asked if Biden’s $2.25 trillion “Infrastructure” plan, also known as the American Jobs Plan (not to be confused with its sequel the American Family Plan) will pass Congress, and observed that the plan’s fate will ultimately depend on how centrists such as Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema end up voting:
Since then, amid increasing criticism by progressives (and outright opposition by the GOP) of the Biden infra plan, the market appears to have repriced the likelihood of the $2.25TN plan passing, with Bloomberg yesterday noting that “the response so far in bond markets has been muted, with inflation concerns easing amid doubts over the viability of more-generous spending, even as central banks remain committed to keeping interest rates lower for longer.” It is these growing doubts about the passability of the Biden infrastructure plan that explains why yields dipped on Monday despite the blockbuster jobs report, and why both 5Y and 10Y yields have slumped further t … | |
Biden Admin Appears To Waver On Promise To Strengthen Iran Nuclear DealBiden Admin Appears To Waver On Promise To Strengthen Iran Nuclear Deal By Foreign Desk News , As world leaders meet in Vienna this week to discuss the United States reentering the 2015-era Iran nuclear deal, Israel is voicing its concern over potential U.S. appeasement toward Tehran.
Danon, who now leads Israel’s Likud political party, is referring to a PBS NewsHour interview in which U.S. Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley made no mention of the administration’s former commitment to pursue a œlonger and stronger agreement. | |
Top US Auto Group Calls For Lawmakers To Beef Up Chip Production Amid ShortagesÂTop US Auto Group Calls For Lawmakers To Beef Up Chip Production Amid Shortages The global chip shortage, which has forced automakers to dial back production, or in some cases, suspend production, is the latest example of supply chain bottlenecks. The shortage is so impactful on the US auto sector that an industry group Monday urged lawmakers on Capitol Hill for support. Chip disruptions could result in 1.28 million fewer vehicles produced this year, and bottlenecks may persist well into the second half of the year. “Given the importance of chips to current auto production and future automotive innovation, it would be regrettable if none of the funding under the CHIPS for America Act, once appropriated, was used to increase the resiliency of automotive supply chains through the construction of new facilities that produce or can produce auto-grade chips,” John Bozzella, president and chief executive officer of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, said in written responses to the US Department of Commerce that Bloomberg reviewed. | |
Ron Paul: Why Is The Biden Administration Pushing Ukraine To Attack Russia?Ron Paul: Why Is The Biden Administration Pushing Ukraine To Attack Russia? Authored by Ron Paul via The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity, On March 24th, Ukraine’s President Vladimir Zelensky signed what was essentially a declaration of war on Russia. In the document, titled Presidential Decree No. 117/2021, the US-backed Ukrainian leader declared that it is the official policy of Ukraine to take back Crimea from Russia. The declaration that Ukraine would take back Crimea from Russia also followed, and was perhaps instigated by, President Biden’s inflammatory and foolish statement that œCrimea is Ukraine. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was a chief architect of the US-backed coup against Ukraine in 2014, continued egging on the Ukrainians, promising full US support for the œterritorial integrity of Ukraine. Many Americans wonder why they are not even half as concerned about the territor … | |
IMF forecasts stronger recovery for world economyThe IMF has upgraded both its UK and global forecasts compared with what it projected in January. | |
Test travel regime must be easy and cheap, says PMIt comes after airlines criticised plans to make travellers pay for pre and post-travel testing. | |
Peacocks stores back in business but only half will reopenHalf the fashion chain’s 400 stores will reopen, saving 2,000 jobs, but the rest are left behind. | |
Macrotech Developers raises Rs 740 crore from 14 anchor investorsThe company has allocated 1.52 crore shares at Rs 486 per share to these anchor investors. | |
Banks turn RBI’s hot-money move into lucrative trade strategyLenders are using a regulatory loophole to make a sizable profit, according to people with knowledge of the matter. A large bank could easily rack up exposures of more than $1 billion using this strategy, multiple traders said. | |
Cement stocks may rally as prices expected to rise this weekThe price rise, coupled with improved capacity utilization in the March quarter, would result in upgrades of earnings estimates, according to analysts. | |
February 2021 Headline JOLTS Job Openings Significantly ImprovesWritten by Steven Hansen The BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) can be used as a predictor of future job growth, and the predictive elements show that the year-over-year growth rate of unadjusted private non-farm job openings year-over-year rate of growth SIGNIFICANTLY improved and continues in expansion. | |
: Goldman Sachs waves white flag on its short U.S. dollar recommendationGoldman Sachs strategists marked to reality their bearish stance on the U.S. dollar, as they ended a recommendation to bet against the world’s reserve currency in the face of surprising strength. | |
: SoftBank snaps up $2.8 billion stake in Norway robotics firmJapanese investment giant will take a 40% stake in AutoStore, whose technology allows robots to maximize storage space in warehouses. | |
Market Extra: The Tom Brady of asset management? People love to hate Cathie Wood, but her funds get resultsCathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF just got some negative attention from Morningstar but it’s worth asking whether a less qualitative methodology results in a more helpful analysis for investors |
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