30Apr2021 Pre-Market Commentary: Wall Street Futures Slide On Last Day Of April Despite Blowout Earnings And Econ Data, DOW Down 168 Points, Nasdaq Down 0.8%, WTI Slides 63.50, Bitcoin Higher 54700

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.

Canadas Oil Patch Is Preparing For A Production Hike

At a time when U.S. shale, OPEC+, and dozens of oil producers have laid out blueprints to limit production in a bid to return the global oil industry to its former glory, CanadasOil Patch appears to be merely paying lip service to the notion of keeping production subdued. Like everybody else, Canadas oil and gas producers have been preaching capital discipline and assuring investors they have no intention of boosting spending, preferring to return capital to investors mainly in the form of dividends and buybacks. But behind

Oil Prices Rally Towards $70 As Demand Outlook Improves

Crude oil prices got a major boost this week thanks to optimistic expectations about demand from OPEC+ and rebalancing fuel inventories in the United States. Brent jumped to over $68 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate neared $65 per barrel by the middle of the week and could rise even further unless headwinds appear. Earlier in the week, OPEC+ forecast that oil demand this year would increase by 5.95 million bpd. This was an upward revision of 70,000 bpd from an earlier projection, and this fact injected optimism in traders, as did OPEC+’s

The Great Car Comeback Brightens Oil Demand Outlook

Despite high vaccination rates in many parts of the world, people appear to be still wary of public transit, opting for personal vehicles, which is driving up demand for crude oil along with metals. Called the great car comeback by Bloomberg, the trend is visible in locations as diverse as Tel Aviv, Moscow, and Bucharest, according to data from satellite navigation device maker TomTom. Car sales in Europe soared by 63 percent last month to 1.39 million, which was high not just compared to last year, when sales of everything but handwash

China Snubs U.S. With Huge Iraqi Gas Deal

The China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) last week signed a 25-year deal with Iraqs Ministry of Oil that gives it a 49 per cent stake in the Mansuriya non-associated natural gas site. The contract, which may be extended for an additional five years, follows Sinopecs signing of a long-term purchase and sales agreement with Qatar Petroleums for 2 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for a term of 10 years. It also comes shortly after the official announcement of the multi-faceted 25-year deal

Shell Raises Dividend As Q1 Earnings Jump On Higher Oil Prices

Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) reported on Thursday a surge in adjusted earnings for the first quarter and lifted its dividend by 4 percent as higher oil and gas prices and demand drove profits higher. Shell reported adjusted earnings of $3.23 billion for the first quarter of 2021, a surge from the $393 million earnings for the fourth quarter of 2020, and a rise from the Q1 2020 earnings of $2.86 billion. The expected and previously announced dividend increase is the second small dividend hike at Shell, which this time last year had slashed its dividend for

Chinas Shale Industry Faces Numerous Challenges

China has bet on developing its vast shale gas resources to boost its natural gas supply as demand surges. Despite recent shale production surprises to the upside, China still has several major challenges to overcome if it were to replicate, at least partially, the American shale boom. China is estimated to have a lot of shale gas resources, even higher than those in the United States. China actually has the highest technically recoverable shale gas resources in the world, as per EIA estimates. However, Beijing has struggled to develop those huge

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Burger King parent’s earnings beat estimates as systemwide sales top 2019 levels

Restaurant Brands International reported quarterly earnings that topped Wall Street’s expectations as its systemwide sales surpassed 2019 levels.

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India reports record Covid cases again ” with over 386,000 new infections

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The European Super League plan collapsed. But it might not be dead forever

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Private jet charter company VistaJet targets carbon neutrality by 2025

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Cramer backs Ford, undrafted in the CNBC Stock Draft, to outperform recovery favorites

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Unvaccinated people could start to grow resentful as the vacation season nears, British study shows

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Cramer recommends owning food stocks and names hurt by the chip shortage

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Domino’s Pizza CEO says phone ordering is near obsolete as digital sales continue to climb

“Once customers shift to digital ordering, they don’t go back to calling restaurants on the phone,” Domino’s Pizza CEO Ritch Allison said after posting earnings.

Stimmies Spark Record Surge In Personal Incomes In March, Spending Spikes

Stimmies Spark Record Surge In Personal Incomes In March, Spending Spikes

After February’s MoM collapse in income (no stimmies) and drop in spending, analysts expected March’s income and spending data to rebound massively as more government handouts reached the hungry American consumer. Analysts were right as personal income exploded by a record 21.1% MoM (vs 20.3% exp) and personal spending soared 4.2% MoM…

Source: Bloomberg

Totally normal…

Source: Bloomberg

Spending is up 11.0% YoY (and incomes up 4.6% YoY)…

Exxon Pays Down Billions In Debt Thanks To Soaring Cash Flow

Exxon Pays Down Billions In Debt Thanks To Soaring Cash Flow

After loading up to the gills during the 2020 oil crash, Exxon is slowly but surely emerging from the crisis period (which it survived without slashing its dividend unlike so many of its peers) and moments ago the former world’s largest company reported stellar earnings which not only snapped a record streak of losses as rising oil and natural gas prices bolstered one of the biggest dividends in the S&P 500 Index, but beat across the board.

More importantly, Exxon revealed a surge in cash flow as oil prices have rebounded, allowing Exxon to not only comfortably pay its dividend and capex, but also aggressively pay down debt: the key line from CEO Darren Wood. œCash flow from operating activities during the quarter fully covered the dividend and capital investments.

Here are the Q1 highlights which as noted, were solid across the board:

Revenue $59.2bln (exp. $4.60bln);

EPS $0.64 (exp. 0.59),

Capex $3.1bln (exp. 3.33bln, -4bln Y/Y)

The company’s Adjusted net income of $2.76BN (above the $2.55BN expected), was the first profitable quarter for XOM since Q1 2020, and benefited among other things from a boost in output in the Permian Basin, the world’s busiest shale patch, by 12% to the equivalent of 394,000 barrels of oil a day:

Exposed: The Myth Of “Efficient Markets”

Exposed: The Myth Of “Efficient Markets”

Authored by James Rickards via The Daily Reckoning,

What took Wall Street so long to figure out something I’ve been saying for months?

Six months ago, even before the presidential election in November, I began warning my readers that Joe Biden was going to double the capital gains tax.

It wasn’t a difficult prediction. Biden said so himself in his campaign website as one of a long list of policy proposals.

Of course, the mainstream media didn’t report this because they were all-in for Biden and were determined to beat Donald Trump (remember how they covered up the Hunter Biden laptop report?).

The media were careful to cover-up any Biden policies that might prove unpopular with voters. Still, Democratic Party progressives knew about the plan and were all for it.

One Simple Rule

My rule for making policy forecasts is simple. If a politician tells you he’s going to do something, believe him.

Policies don’t drop out of the sky. They’re the result of intense internal debate and compromise by competing factions. Once a policy makes it to a candidate’s website, you can bet they will try to deliver.

This doesn’t mean that every proposal becomes law because there can be opposition in Congress and the courts. However, it does mean the politician will work to achieve his stated goals.

With the White House and both houses of Congress in the Democrat’s hands, the odds of this doubling of the capital gains tax becoming law look very good.

Despite my forecast …

Futures Slide On Last Day Of April Despite Blowout Earnings And Econ Data

Futures Slide On Last Day Of April Despite Blowout Earnings And Econ Data

“As good as it gets.”

U.S. index futures slumped on the final trading day of April, dragged lower alongside European and Asian markets, despite stellar economic data and blockbuster earnings as traders took a month-end breather amid a record high for the S&P 500 Index and some earnings disappointments. The dollar pared April losses, and the VIX jumped.

Russell 2000 futures tumbled 1.1% and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 0.8% after China’s antitrust crackdown weighed on Asian technology shares. Twitter plunged 13% in premarket trading after forecasting second-quarter revenue below some expectations, while Amazon’s blockbuster earnings helped push the stock to all time highs, although gains were trimmed in the premarket.

As Bloomberg notes, confidence in the U.S. economy has surged amid a string of positive data culminating in a report Thursday that showed quarterly growth at an accelerate …

Eurozone suffers double-dip recession as pandemic impact continues

Activity in the bloc has been hit by a renewed surge in infections this year and Covid-related restrictions.

Banks fail in bid to share cost of refunding scam victims

Negotiations between banks to create a permanent, central pot of money to refund scam victims have collapsed.

UK housing market ‘on the boil’ as prices rise

UK house prices rose by 7.1% compared with a year ago, the Nationwide says, amid high demand from buyers.

You too can join Warren Buffett’s Woodstock of Capitalists tomorrow: Here’s how

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Analysts gung ho on this midcap even as top brass flags Covid risks

Managing Director Harsha Kadam sounded caution on the volatile external scenario. But analysts are unfazed.

F&O rollover data tells you May will be full of jolts & jumps

The domestic equity market has been witnessing heightened volatility over the past couple of days, and analysts expect it to continue in the next series as well.

Deep Dive: These 20 stocks performed the best over the first 100 days of Biden’s presidency

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 have had their biggest gains during a president’s first 100 days in office since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933.

Metals Stocks: Gold steady, on track for weekly loss as bond yields edge higher

Gold futures trade little changed Friday but were on track for a weekly loss as U.S. Treasury yields edge higher.

Key Words: Podcast star Joe Rogan amid backlash to anti-vaccination remarks: ‘I’m not a doctor, I’m a f “ing moron’

On his massively popular Spotify podcast Thursday, Joe Rogan attempted to walk back comments he made last week that suggested young, healthy people don’t need to get the COVID-19 vaccine.