Written by Gary
Soaring lumber prices add nearly $36,000 to the price of a new home (SPY +0.5%). Biggest premarket movers: Estee Lauder, Meredith Corp., DraftKings.
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. |
What Is Moving the Markets
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
 | Africas Most Interesting Untapped Oil PlayWhen writing the article on this years Top Oil Wildcats, one of the hottest candidates had to be dropped out of the list. Not because the prospect turned out to be sub-commercial, far from it, it remains one of Africas most interesting untapped plays, potentially opening up a new country with no previous exposure to the world of energy. As Senegal and Mauritania started to break their way onto the energy maps of Western Africa, Guinea Bissau has remained a relative outlier. At the same time it needs to be pointed out that lack of |
| How Canada Could Repurpose Oil Wells For Its Renewable RevolutionIn Alberta, Canada, there are thousands of orphan oil wells being left to fall into disrepair, which could be repurposed for alternative energy uses to open up substantial economic opportunities for the province, according to new research. Abandoned oil wells have plagued the industry for years, with environmentalists calling for expensive and labour-intensive decommissioning projects to ensure that these old wells do not pose a risk to the environment or local community. However, new research from Energy Futures Lab and the Canada West Foundation |
| Argentinas Shale Output Set To Normalize After Roadblocks Are LiftedHealthcare workers who had blocked for three weeks Argentinas vast Vaca Muerta shale play in a strike to demand higher pay lifted the blockades this week and moved to block other parts of the province. Healthcare workers in Argentina began to strike earlier this month in an effort to get the government to acknowledge and reward their work during the COVID-19 epidemic. The protesters blocked Argentinas largest shale play, Vaca Muerta, in the Neuquen province on April 7, disrupting operations. Some 20 days later, they said they had |
| How Will Biden Pay For His $6 Trillion Economic Overhaul?In his first address to Congress on Wednesday, President Joe Biden unveiled his ambitious and expensive economic stimulus plan in what is essentially the third blockbuster domestic funding proposal. Biden has already hit the road to sell his jobs, infrastructure and policing initiatives that add up to about $6 trillion and reflect a desire to restore the federal government to its old role during the New Deal and Great Society. Biden, however, faces an uphill climb trying to sell his plans–both from Republican and a cross-section of Democratic |
| South American Oil Feels The Full Force Of The Latest COVID WaveDespite lengthy lockdowns and closed borders across South America, the continent is one of the worst affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Three countries, Brazil, Argentina and Colombia rank among the top 12 nations for cases while Brazil and Colombia are in the top 12 countries globally by deaths. A third devastating viral wave is spreading across South America, triggering further lockdowns and restrictions on movement aimed at slowing the viruss spread as the health systems of many countries struggle to cope and are pushed to breaking point. |
| EIA: Jet Fuel Demand Is On The MendU.S jet fuel demand is rising along with an increase in domestic air travel, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said this week. Global and U.S. jet fuel demand is slowly recovering from the collapse in April last year. The number of commercial flights has more than doubled since April 2020 and even tripled on some days in major domestic markets such as the United States. The recovery of aviation fuel demand is expected to be the slowest among all fuels, and a return to pre-pandemic levels is unlikely at least until 2023, analysts say. |
| Demand is outpacing supply of new vehicles – why that’s bad for shoppers but good for investorsFor consumers, the shortage of new vehicles has meant higher prices and fewer choices. But for automakers and dealers, it has meant bigger profits. |
| 5 things to know before the stock market opens MondayDow futures jumped 200 points on the first trading day of May after Wall Street turned in solid monthly gains for April. |
| India accounts for 1 in 3 new Covid cases being recorded. Here is its second wave in 5 chartsNearly 7 million cases were reported for April, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. |
| UNICEF chief urges the world to help India ‘now’ as Covid cases soarAsked if she had a message for global leaders today, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said: “Well, help us now.” |
| Manchester United vs Liverpool postponed after anti-Glazer fan protests at Old TraffordManchester United’s Premier League game against Liverpool at Old Trafford has been postponed following protests against the Glazer family. |
| Audiences for award shows are in steep decline. This chart shows how far viewership has fallenAre people becoming bored with big award ceremonies or are they just watching them differently? |
| How to get Target, Whole Foods to buy your million-dollar idea, from entrepreneurs who won dealsA diverse set of entrepreneurs who succeeded in getting products into retail chains provide lessons they learned about negotiating with corporate giants. |
| U.S. to discuss wider Covid vaccine licensing as India calls to waive patent protectionsWhite House Chief of Staff said that the Biden administration will have more to say on the matter in the coming days. |
| Boat maker Brunswick seeing big demand as buyers become more diverse, CEO saysBrunswick is struggling to keep up with demand for boats as pandemic trends carry over into the new year, CEO David Foulkes told CNBC’s Jim Cramer. |
| Disney fans celebrate the reopening of Disneyland with custom Mickey ears and masksIn preparation for Disneyland’s reopening, parkgoers have stocked up on Mickey ears and Disney-themed masks to show off their fandom while visiting the park. |
| Indonesian ride-hailing giant Gojek wants to make every vehicle on its app electric by 2030Gojek has plans to make every car and motorcycle on its platform an electric vehicle (EV) by 2030 in an ambitious three-pronged sustainability strategy. |
| Covid cases fall sharply in U.S., Gottlieb calls vaccination campaign ‘monumental achievement’Scott Gottlieb said that a drop in new Covid-19 cases was likely to continue, predicting a “relatively quiet summer when it comes to coronavirus spread.” |
| Take a look inside Astra’s rocket factory, as the company prepares to go publicAstra wants to simplify the launch business, with the soon-to-be-public company on a quest to cut manufacturing costs. |
| Soaring Lumber Prices Add Nearly $36,000 To The Price Of A New Home: NAHBSoaring Lumber Prices Add Nearly $36,000 To The Price Of A New Home: NAHB Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times, Skyrocketing lumber prices that have tripled over the past 12 months have driven the price of an average new single-family home to rise by $35,872, according to new analysis by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), with the price spike threatening to hobble the momentum of the U.S. housing market, one of the bright stars of the recovery from the pandemic recession.
While homebuilder sentiment remains optimistic, as indicated by the NAHB Housing Market index, headwinds due to rising building costs have pulled the index down fr … |
| This Is The Strongest Earnings Season On Record… And The Market Is Hammering Both Beats And MissesThis Is The Strongest Earnings Season On Record… And The Market Is Hammering Both Beats And Misses Three weeks ago, just before the start of Q1 earnings season we said “Q1 Earnings Will Be Stellar, But Are Fully Priced-In” noting that “the past quarter is already fully priced in – and expected to be spectacular – which is why actual earnings may only disappoint.” We were right. As of this weekend, 303 S&P500 companies have reported first quarter results (75% of total market cap). 69% of companies reporting have beat street wide earnings estimates by >1SD (significantly higher than 46% historical avg) whereas only 6% have missed estimates by >1SD (significantly lower than historical avg of 14%). In short a spectacular earnings season not only in absolute terms, but also relative to expectations. Here is Goldman’s John Flood describing just how spectacular:Â
That’s the good news. The bad news, as we also predicted, is that “beats are NOT being rewarded and the few misses we have seen are being severely punished” as Goldman puts it. Indeed, this is the second consecutive quarter in which earnings beats are being punished by a market which has been priced to beyond perfection. Here is JPMorgan with the dismal quantification: we are now more than halfway through earnings seaso … |
| Verizon Strikes Deal To Dump Remnants Of AOL & Yahoo To Apollo For $5 BillionVerizon Strikes Deal To Dump Remnants Of AOL & Yahoo To Apollo For $5 Billion Last week, the first whispers emerged that Verizon was in talks with Apollo to dump its media division, which includes the remnants of Yahoo and AOL, for a pricetag of roughly $5 billion – a tiny fraction of the $300 billion combined valuation for AOL and Yahoo during their prime 20 years ago, as Bloomberg’s Tara Lachapelle pointed out in a tweet.
After reports piled up over the weekend, Bloomberg and others have has confirmed Monday that a deal had been struck. Reports put the pricetag at $5 billion, then high end of the $4 billion to $5 billion range reported over the weekend.
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| Futures Jump On First Day Of May In Quiet SessionFutures Jump On First Day Of May In Quiet Session S&P and Nasdaq futures and European bourses were volatile but ultimately rose on Monday to kick off a new month in a quiet session which saw several major markets closed, following a week of record earnings beat which however resulted in big stock drops with investors also keeping an eye on India covid cases and economic data to gauge the pace of recovery. Trading was subdued with several including Japan, China, and the U.K. closed for public holidays. S&P 500 futures added 0.6%, Dow e-minis were up 216 points, or 0.64%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 40.25 points, or 0.30%. Europe’s Stoxx 600 Index gained 0.4%. The yen weakened, while gold advanced.
With more than 60% of companies already having reported mostly stellar results so far, profits are now expected to have risen 46% in the first quarter, compared with forecasts of 24% growth at the start of April, which however has failed to propel stocks to new highs. Monday’s mood reversed from last Friday’s surprise selloff as the biggest NASDAQ companies reported blowout earnings only to be punished by th … |
| Covid: Some foreign travel opening on 17 May – JohnsonMore details will come soon about foreign holidays but we have to be cautious, Boris Johnson says. |
| Millions offered half-price broadband from BTLow-income customers will be offered more than 50% off a fiber broadband package from June. |
| Rental market unusually uncertain, Nationwide saysThe building society’s buy-to-let arm says housing preferences shifted during the pandemic. |
| Buffett says Greg Abel is his likely successor at BerkshireSuccession decisions had been a closely guarded secret at the conglomerate, even while the firm assured investors that it had a detailed plan in place. |
| Kotak Bank Q4 takeaways: Asset quality improves; subsidiaries shineThe private sector lender reported a slight improvement in asset quality as gross non-performing assets ratio stood at 3.25 percent for the quarter compared to 3.27 percent in the December quarter on a proforma basis. |
| 7 stock ideas to make money in a volatile marketEven as more companies come out with Q4 numbers that beat Street estimates, rising Covid-19 infections raise questions on their future performance. Here are a few stocks that analysts believe can help traders make good money tapping the volatility in the next few weeks: |
| : How ‘Fortnite’ maker Epic Games will try to prove Apple is operating App Store as an illegal monopolyEpic Games Inc., the maker of “Fortnite,” has drawn a clear battle line as it prepares for a monumental court battle against Apple Inc.: It claims the iPhone maker abuses its control of the App Store for anticompetitive purposes. |
| : Apple will fight Epic antitrust suit by claiming ‘a carefully planned plot against Apple and Google’In defending itself against potentially the most consequential antitrust action in more than 20 years, Apple Inc. will attempt to paint opponent Epic Games Inc. as a company that grew into a videogame titan on the back of its App Store and is now picking on Apple while making money on multiple platforms. |
| Market Snapshot: Stock market peak? The ‘easy money’ has been made, but room for more gains, strategists sayThe œeasy money stage of the U.S. stock market rally is likely over, but there’s still room for gains as economic growth steams ahead in 2021, bullish investors say. |
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