Written by Gary
Rail Week Ending 17 April 2021 – Carload Year-to-Date Compared to 2020 (SPY +1.0%). California Governor Newsom To ban fracking and Gymnast Simone Biles is leaving Nike.
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 Urges Its Members To Lobby Against NOPEC BillSecretary-General Mohammad Barkindo is urging OPEC members to lobby with the United States that a NOPEC bill against the organization would harm American interests, Reuters reported on Friday, quoting a letter Barkindo had written to the oil producers. The United States has tried several times in the past to pass antitrust laws targeting OPECs market-fixing policies. This week, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee passed the NOPEC bill, officially referred to as the No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels (NOPEC) Act of 2021. House Judiciary | |
Venezuela Ups Domestic Oil Refining, Hurting Crude ExportsVenezuela’s PDVSA is using more of its domestic output of medium and light crude oil grades for refining, reducing their availability as diluents for its heavy export grades, Reuters has reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. The increase in local refining has been prompted by fuel supply shortages that have led to rationing, queues, and additional disgruntlement among the Venezuelan population. “They need to distribute the production between the refineries and blending in the [Orinoco] Belt,” one of the Reuters sources said. “There | |
California Governor Newsom To Ban FrackingCalifornia Governor Gavin Newsom is today expected to announce a ban on new hydraulic fracturing permits, Politico reports, citing unnamed sources in the know. The move follows the state Senate rejecting a bill that would have banned not only hydraulic fracturing but most conventional oil and gas drilling, too. The sponsors of the bill that enjoyed strong support from environmentalist organizations said, asquotedby the San Francisco Chronicle, they were extremely disappointed. While popular among environmentalists and | |
Small Companies Rush To Buy Up Big Oils AssetsBig Oil is shedding assets like a dog sheds its winter coat. In a rush to prove their emerging environmentally conscious credentials, the supermajors are pledging billions in low-carbon energy investments and committing to net-zero goals over the next decade. Meanwhile, smaller oil and gas companies are snapping up the shed assets. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that small energy independents are happy to relieve Big Oil of its unwanted assets as they bet on the long-term future of oil and gas despite the seemingly ubiquitous ambition | |
The Era Of Lithium Is Only Just BeginningIts been a big week for lithium, with a multi-billion-dollar mega-merger, a new major production deal in Chile, and funding for Europes first large-scale lithium refinery in Chile. Things are looking up for the vital battery metal. Australian lithium miners Galaxy Resources (ASX:GXY) and Orocobre (ASX:ORE) agreed on a merger worth $3.1 billion, which will make them the fifth-largest lithium producer in the world. The company, to be based in Buenos Aires, plans to produce electric vehicle (EV) batteries using refined lithium to meet | |
Refiner Valero: U.S. Renewable Diesel Stocks Are Running LowThe U.S. renewable diesel market is hotso hot, in fact, that one of the feedstocks for the highly profitable renewable fuel is running low, according to Valero. That feedstockused cooking oil, or rather, waste oilis considered less carbon intense than vegetable oil when it comes to making renewable diesel. And this makes it a highly profitable enterprise for those companies hoping to earn trading credits under Californias low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS). In fact, those incentives, which include a $1/gallon | |
More than 30 colleges now say Covid vaccines will be mandatory for fall 2021The number of colleges and universities that will require students be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 is suddenly escalating. | |
Watch live: CDC panel debates use of J&J Covid vaccine after rare blood clot issueA Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel is holding an emergency meeting Friday to debate the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine. | |
Offshore wind firm to work with researchers on recycling glass fibers to tackle blade wasteThe aim is to scale-up and commercialize a process developed by team at the University of Strathclyde, in Scotland. | |
Single dose of Pfizer-BioNTech or Oxford-AstraZenca vaccine reduces infection rate by 65%, study findsResearchers found that 21 days after a single dose of either the Oxford-AstraZeneca or the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, new Covid-19 infections had fallen by 65%. | |
U.S. Covid vaccinations slow as more states pass half of residents jabbedAverage daily reported Covid vaccinations in the U.S. dipped below 3 million Thursday, after more than two weeks above that level. | |
‘Nomadland’ leads the pack for best picture heading into the Oscars, but best actress award is wide openWhile more than two dozen awards will be presented this Sunday. Here’s a look at who could take home the prize in the top categories. | |
Elon Musk thinks NASA’s goal of landing people on the moon by 2024 is ‘actually doable’Elon Musk thinks that SpaceX can help NASA meet its ambitious goal of returning astronauts to the moon within three years. | |
Presumptive top NFL draft pick Trevor Lawrence announces first endorsement deal ” with GatoradeThe star-studded Clemson quarterback has signed his first endorsement deal, with sports drink maker Gatorade. | |
Gymnast Simone Biles is leaving Nike to work with Gap’s Athleta brandBiles is going to have her own performance wear line, Gap said. | |
India reports more than 330,000 new Covid cases, setting a fresh global recordAs of Friday, India has reported more than 4 million cases in April and at least 24,452 people have died. | |
China’s best-selling, GM-backed electric car brand launches a mini convertibleThe electric car is the latest from the popular Hongguang Mini EV line developed by GM’s joint venture with Wuling Motors and state-owned SAIC Motor. | |
Delta orders 25 additional Airbus A321neo jetliners, options for 25 moreDelta increases its Airbus A321 order as the carrier prepares for a rebound in travel. | |
Mattel sales soared 47% as parents bought toys with stimulus checks, toymaker raises outlookMattel’s sales jumped 47% in the latest quarter as families spent more on toys for their children. | |
Caitlyn Jenner Launches Campaign To Run For Governor Of CaliforniaCaitlyn Jenner Launches Campaign To Run For Governor Of California Former Olympian and Reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner has just announced plans to run for California governor as Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom faces a recall election amid widespread public resentment over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hammered the Golden State despite Newsom’s restrictive, economy-killing measures. In a statement shared on her twitter account, Jenner promised to fight for small business owners, lamenting that businesses across the state have been “devastated because of the over-restrictie lockdown. An entire generation of children have lost a year of education and have been prevented from going back to school, participating in activities or socializing with their friends.” She also noted in her statement that she has been a resident of the state for nearly 50 years: “I came here because I knew that anyone, regardless of their background or station in life, could turn their dreams into reality. But for the past decade, we have seen the glimmer of the Golden State reduced by one-party rule that places politics over progress and special interests over people. Sacrame … | |
Alternate Juror On Chauvin Trial Says She Feared Riots, People Turning Up At Her HomeAlternate Juror On Chauvin Trial Says She Feared Riots, People Turning Up At Her Home Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Summit News, A woman who sat as an alternate juror on the Derek Chauvin trial told a local news station that she was concerned about œrioting and destruction as well as people turning up at her house if they were angry at the verdict. Lisa Christensen also revealed to KARE 11 how the riots that preceded the verdict were close to her house and that she routinely witnessed them after the trial had concluded for the day.
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Watch Live: Yellen Urges US Allies To Spend More On Green ‘Infrastructure’Watch Live: Yellen Urges US Allies To Spend More On Green ‘Infrastructure’ Two days ago, Treasury Secretary Yellen laid out what CNBC described as a “bold climate agenda”, making clear what many have long suspected: That under Biden, Yellen will openly collaborate with her former No.2, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, to realize the MMT-enabled vision laid out in AOC’s ‘Green New Deal’. But Yellen offered even more details on the administration’s targets and plans than Biden has. Yellen laid out the goal of achieving “net zero” emissions in the US by 2035. Meanwhile, yesterday, Biden said his administration would aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% (vs 2005 levels) by 2030, another ambitious target that will require significa … | |
Rabo: The Irony Is That Both Wall Street And Silicon Valley Went All-In To Get Biden ElectedRabo: The Irony Is That Both Wall Street And Silicon Valley Went All-In To Get Biden Elected By Michael Every of Rabobank Now THAT’S escalation! What a relief that a Russian troop withdrawal and an explanation short of Iran targeting Israel’s nuclear reactor mean the near-term risk of Hot War is removed, ¦and we can get back to focusing on Cold War (as more bipartisan US anti-China legislation races through Congress). Let’s forget about military experts concluding that because Russia left its military hardware right next to the Ukrainian border it can complete a new build-up within days, and far less visibly; and that the risk of an Iranian attack on Israel remains. Let’s look just at markets, eh? Even there, we see remarkable pushing of boundaries. The ECB left rates on hold as expected; stressed negative rates stimulate the economy (?!); maintained QE levels; pushed the PEPP envelope as its latest weapon; and mentioned they are looking at the exchange rate too in terms of what inflationary/deflationary signals it sends ” so hardware left near that frontier too. Just take a step back, please, and consider that what was once a simple rate decision is now negative rates + QE + PEPP + an eye on EUR. And yet they are still losing the battle towards 2% CPI. What secret super-weapon would be next, one wonders? More importantly for markets, US President Biden launched another stimulus package. No, not the USD1.9 trillion bill that already went through; and not the USD2.25 trillion infrastructure bill than redefines social spe … | |
Convicted Post Office workers have names clearedJudges quash convictions of 39 former postmasters after the UK’s most widespread miscarriage of justice. | |
Post Office scandal: What the Horizon saga is all aboutThe background to the case of sub-postmasters whose convictions were based on evidence from faulty IT. | |
Postmaster’s widow: ‘I will never forgive them’The convictions of 39 Post Office branch managers have been overturned, but for one family it is too little, too late. | |
Can increased focus on renewable energy change fortunes of Torrent Power?Starting from 50 MW wind power plant in 2012, the company has till date implemented various renewable projects over the years aggregating to 786.5 MW. | |
Rupee’s fortunes depend on RBI’s intent to prevent further weakness: EconomistsThe rupee has already lost 2.6% against the dollar so far this month, putting it on the cusp of marking its worst month, since the pandemic hit the country early last year. | |
Yellen, Powell’s views on crypto show lack of knowledge, says Chris WoodWood’s comments came after the US Federal Reserve Chief Powell recently said that cryptocurrencies are œreally vehicles for speculation at a virtual event. Even the US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had termed Bitcoin a œhighly speculative asset in her remarks in February. | |
Rail Week Ending 17 April 2021 – Carload Growth Now In Positive Territory Year-to-Date Compared to 2020Written by Steven Hansen Week 15 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 – which has been in contraction for over one year – is now surging as it is being compared to the pandemic lockdown period one year ago. | |
The Tell: ‘Massive helicopter drop of money’ from Fed and Washington raises inflation risk, says manager of $88 billion bond fundPolicymakers are making a big gamble that their extraordinary efforts to stimulate the economy wouldn’t send inflation out of control, but one of the biggest bond fund managers says its an open question if their wager will pan out. | |
Market Extra: Which tech stocks can build on pandemic gains? Fund manager Ryan Jacob offers these two names.Fund manager Ryan Jacob has survived plenty of market crises. The Jacob internet Fund got its start in 1999 and is still going strong. He lays out two tech stocks for right now. | |
: Former Kentucky basketball player Terrence Clarke dies in car a crashTerrence Clarke had declared for the NBA Draft — he was 19 years old. |
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