Written by Gary
March 2021 real income and expenditures significantly improve (SPY -0.6%). Stimmies spark record surge in personal incomes in march, spending spikes.
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 Looks To Enter The Permian Through Major Asset SaleCommodity trading major Vitol is reportedly negotiating a deal to acquire the oil wells of Hunt Oil Co. in the Permian Basin. According to Bloomberg, which cited unnamed sources, this would be the biggest foray of an independent oil trader into the upstream. The report notes that the Swiss-based commodity trader last year set up a limited liability company called Vencer Energy in Texas. The purpose of the company was to buy oil and gas production assets as the United States returned to the oil-exporting world in 2015. Few details about the deal |
| Oil Slips On Profit Taking, Stronger U.S. DollarOil prices dropped early on Friday as profit-taking and a strengthening U.S. dollar put a stop to this weeks rally that saw prices hit a six-week high on Thursday. As of 10:14 a.m. EDT on Friday, WTI Crude was trading down below $64 a barrel, at $63.43, down by 2.32 percent. Brent Crude prices were down by 1.87 percent on the day at $67.26. On Thursday, oil prices had jumped to their highest levels in six weeks as a brighter outlook on the American economy and oil demand offset bearish demand prospects from the COVID crisis in India. |
| Chesapeake Considering Texas Asset SaleChesapeake Energy plans to sell its producing oil assets in South Texas in the hopes of pocketing some $2 billion, Reuters has reported, citing two anonymous sources. Chesapeake filed for bankruptcy in June last year and agreed to eliminate $7 billion in debt during the restructuring it entered into under Chapter 11 protection. Chesapeake had a total debt load of$9 billion at the time of its last financial report before filing, and few ways to reduce this meaningfully amid the oil and gas price depression on global markets. It had been close |
| OPEC Production Rises As Iran Continues To Increase SupplyOPEC likely raised its total oil production in April, driven by another supply increase from Iran, one of the three OPEC members exempted from the OPEC+ production cuts, according to the monthly Reuters survey. Iran raised its oil production by as much as 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) in April compared to March, to reach output of 2.5 million bpd, the Reuters survey showed on Friday. Irans supply increase was the largest among all OPEC members, according to the survey of OPEC sources, sources at oil firms, and tanker-tracking data. As a |
| Canadas Oil Patch Is Preparing For A Production HikeAt 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 ImprovesCrude 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 |
| As more retailers turn to tech, Macy’s store employees score victory in challenging self-checkout in mobile appThe labor dispute spotlights the tension between technology and workers in the retail industry, especially as the pandemic drives more digital adoption. |
| Rutgers, Duke and Vanderbilt all have ties to the $100 million NJ deli companyHometown International has a market capitalization of $100 million despite owning just a New Jersey deli. Vanderbilt, Duke and Rutgers have ties to the company. |
| Biden says he’ll protect businesses from certain tax hikes. It’s not clear howBiden’s latest tax plan says it will shield some businesses from higher taxes if they’re passed along to heirs. Experts want more details. |
| BioNTech expects Covid vaccine data on kids ages 5 to 11 as early as end of summerYoung children could get vaccinated by the end of the year, BioNTech co-founder and chief medical officer Dr. Ozlem Tureci told CNBC. |
| Covid vaccinations are slowing in the U.S. as supply outstrips demand. How states are targeting who’s leftMeeting existing vaccine demand is no longer the main challenge, and states are employing strategies to addressing access and hesitancy barriers. |
| A major chlorine shortage is set to spoil summertime fun in the swimming poolThe worst chlorine shortage the country has ever seen is set to rock this summer’s pool season. |
| Trevor Lawrence reaches multiyear deal with Fanatics over memorabilia rightsThe e-commerce giant reached the deal after Trevor Lawrence was selected first in the 2021 NFL Draft. |
| Burger King parent’s earnings beat estimates as systemwide sales top 2019 levelsRestaurant Brands International reported quarterly earnings that topped Wall Street’s expectations as its systemwide sales surpassed 2019 levels. |
| India reports record Covid cases again ” with over 386,000 new infectionsAt least 3,498 people died over a 24-hour period, but recent reports have suggested that India’s death toll is being underreported. |
| Here’s a complete list of destinations opening to vaccinated travelersMore places are easing travel restrictions for vaccinated travelers, with some set to require inoculations from all travelers by the summer. |
| Private jet charter company VistaJet targets carbon neutrality by 2025Private jet charter company VistaJet has outlined plans to reach carbon neutrality by 2025 in an effort to get sustainability in the aviation industry to take off. |
| Wind energy could generate 3.3 million jobs within five years, industry body claimsÂSeveral countries want to make wind energy a crucial tool in their pivot away from fossil fuels. |
| The European Super League plan collapsed. But it might not be dead foreverNow known as the “dirty dozen,” 12 powerful European soccer clubs tried to form their own enclosed league. |
| Tesla Just Paid Back $614 Million In Loans It Received For Its Shanghai GigafactoryTesla Just Paid Back $614 Million In Loans It Received For Its Shanghai Gigafactory As the ongoing soap opera between China and Tesla continues – with the Chinese government looking as though it may be less-than-amused with boy wonder “visionary in chief” Elon Musk of late – it appears that Tesla may also be working to separate its ties from the Chinese government. The company has paid back $614 million in loans that it took out for the Shanghai Gigafactory, according to Tesmanian, citing the company’s recently filed 10-Q. Tesla’s 10-Q stated:
The company also noted that it no longer had access to $758 from a fixed asset facility as a result:
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| Lawyer For Ashli Babbitt’s Family Says They Will Seek $10 Million From US Capitol Police In LawsuitLawyer For Ashli Babbitt’s Family Says They Will Seek $10 Million From US Capitol Police In Lawsuit Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), The family of Ashli Babbitt, the only person shot during the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol, plans to sue the police department and the officer who fired the gun for at least $10 million, their attorney said. Terry Robert, the family’s attorney told Zenger News’ David Martosko in a … |
| Dallas Fed President Spooks Stocks: “We’ve Got Real Excesses In The Housing Market”, Rate Hike Needed In 2022Dallas Fed President Spooks Stocks: “We’ve Got Real Excesses In The Housing Market”, Rate Hike Needed In 2022 On Wednesday, Fed chair Jerome Powell raised some eyebrows – and launched some sell programs – when in the middle of a lengthy tirade about how there is no inflation, soaring prices notwithstanding, he admitted that some assets were “frothy”, yet paradoxically without acknowledging the Fed’s explicit (and dedicated) role in creating and nurturing said market froth. Or, as Rabo’s Michael Every put it, “the most surprising thing was Powell daring to use the word œfroth to describe the stock market he himself is boiling.” Fast forward just two days later, when moments ago Dallas Fed’s non-voting president (and former Goldman partner), Robert Kaplan, doubled down on the “bad Fed cop” angle and says “we’re now observing excesses and imbalances in markets.” Explaining that he is “very attentive to that and that’s why I do think at the earliest opportunity, I think will be appropriate for us to start talking about adjusting those purchases , Kaplan said that “we’ve got real excesses in the housing market which is why he had not changed his view that rates should start to rise in 2022, and that the Fed should start talking about tapering of bond buying soon; most ominously – and an indication of just how much confusion there is at the Fed right now – he said that he expects to see a surge in prices of more than 2.5-2.75% in the coming months. According to Kaplan, getting less-educated workers back to the workforce and in jobs is a challenge during the recovery. The former Goldman employee … |
| Biden Bets The Farm… To “Change The World”Biden Bets The Farm… To “Change The World” Authored by Pat Buchanan, Joe Biden may not be a radical socialist, but he is doing the best imitation of one this writer has lately seen.
After enacting a COVID-19 relief package of $1.9 trillion in March without a single Republican vote in Congress, Biden proposed a jobs and infrastructure program of $2.2 trillion. He has now added an œAmerican Families Plan of another $1.8 trillion. In his speech to the joint session of Congress, Biden laid out its contents. The Washington Times relates:
While Biden’s $6 trillion in total spending … |
| Eurozone suffers double-dip recession as pandemic impact continuesActivity 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 victimsNegotiations between banks to create a permanent, central pot of money to refund scam victims have collapsed. |
| UK housing market ‘on the boil’ as prices riseUK house prices rose by 7.1% compared with a year ago, the Nationwide says, amid high demand from buyers. |
| Twitter tumbles after digital ad sales disappointTwitter said sales will be $980 million to $1.08 billion in the period ending in June. Analysts, on average, projected $1.05 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. |
| Tata Power mulling $473 million renewable energy unit IPOThe power company has abandoned earlier plans to seek a partner to invest in its green assets via an investment trust, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. |
| Selloff shows market to remain shackled by Covid fears for nowThat the selloff came when one of the biggest India bulls, Jefferies’ Christopher Wood, raised India’s weightage in his portfolio is a tell-tale sign that investors are still unable to break the shackle imposed on their optimism by Covid-19. |
| March 2021 Real Income And Expenditures Significantly ImproveWritten by Steven Hansen The data continues to be affected by the pandemic and the stimulus payments. Expenditures improved month-over-month (and is in expansion year-over-year) whilst income also improved month-over-month and is in expansion year-over-year.
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| : Roku yanks YouTube TV app from channel store amid Google contract clashRoku Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google failed to reach a renewal agreement over the distribution of YouTube TV, meaning that the online-cable service will no longer be available in Roku’s channel store. |
| Key Words: ‘This is not going to end well’: Billionaire Leon Cooperman says stock market will be lower a year from nowBillionaire investor Leon Cooperman says he’s a œfully invested bear with œan eye on the exit. |
| Economic Report: U.S. inflation picks up in March, with core prices rising 0.4%, headline rate up 2.3% for yearU.S. inflation picked in March with core PCE inflation rising 0.4%, according to Labor Department data released Friday. |
Melody Black, from Minnesota, visits a memorial setup near the Capitol Building for Ashli Babbitt in Washington, on Jan. 7, 2021. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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