Written by Gary
Jobless claims drop more than expected for a new pandemic low (SPY +0.1%). Tech names and bitcoin tried to shake off their recent weakness.
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. | |
 | The IEA May Have Given OPEC A Huge GiftAn immediate halt to oil exploration is one of the steps that need to be taken in order for the world to reach Paris Agreement climate change commitments. Thats what the International Energy Agency said in a first-of-its-kind roadmap to net zero. The roadmap features a lot of fascinating changes that our species would need to make to their way of life by 2050, and most of them are already popular enough with various forecasters: a massive increase in electric car sales is there and an equally massive shift to wind and solar power as sources |
| Asia Largely Dismisses IEAs Bombshell Anti-Oil ReportAsian energy leaders have dismissed the International Energy Agencys net-zero carbon report, saying there are many paths to reaching net-zero. The IEA shocked the energy world on Tuesday with its Net Zero by 2050 report that suggested the world wont need any additional oil and gas projects beyond what is already approved as of this year. According to the IEA, the path to net-zero is narrow, and oil, gas, and coal arent on that path. The report caused quite a stir, not the least of which came from several Asian countries |
| One Company To Watch As Electric Vehicle Stocks Get Ready To Fly This SummerThis winter was all about buying the EV rumor and selling the election news. That netted savvy investors some nice profits, but summer might have something even bigger in store for this sector. Having sold on the Biden inauguration news, theres lots of potential upside for EV companies now. Everything is lined up for EV companies–and lots of related industries–to do well in the coming months. Were looking at … A massive $2.5-trillion infrastructure plan that will create record new heights in employment. Bidens |
| Saudi Wealth Fund Dumps Oil Giant And Buys Videogame StocksSaudi Arabias sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has sold all the 51 million shares it held in Canadas oil producer Suncor Energy, regulatory filings showed this week, with those shares currently worth the equivalent of US$1.2 billion. According to a regulatory filing about the funds holdings to the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Saudi sovereign wealth fund no longer holds any shares in one of Canadas largest oil producers and key oil sands producer, Suncor. Instead, the Saudi fund, |
| Indias Refiners Prepare For Lifting Of U.S. Sanctions On Irans OilMajor Indian state-held refiners plan to cut back on spot crude purchases later this year, expecting that the U.S. sanctions on Irans oil could be lifted by the end of 2021. Indias refiners halted imports from Iran several months after the previous U.S. Administration slapped sanctions on the Islamic Republics oil industry and withdrew from the so-called nuclear deal in 2018. The Biden Administration has been indirectly talking to Iran for a few weeks in Vienna in rounds of talks with the remaining partners of the nuclear agreement, |
| WiFi Signals Could Power Small Electronics Without Any BatteriesResearchers have developed a technology that uses the radio frequency of WiFi signals to generate wireless green energy that could power small electronic devices without the need for a battery. If the research of the team from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Japans Tohoku University (TU) follows through the recent success in powering a light-emitting diode (LED) wirelessly to power small electronics, the need for batteries in small devices could diminish, easing the growing pressure on critical battery metals. |
| Why thefts of cars and pricey car parts have skyrocketedThefts of cars and catalytic converters ” an expensive part used to filter exhaust ” surged in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic. |
| Petco shares fall despite better-than-expected earnings and increased forecastPetco reported first-quarter earnings that beat expectations for earnings and revenue, and the company raised its forecast for the rest of the year. |
| 5 things to know before the stock market opens ThursdayU.S. stock futures pointed to a fourth straight negative session, as tech names and bitcoin tried to shake off their recent weakness. |
| IHOP to launch new restaurant, Flip’d by IHOP, after rethinking pilot during pandemicIHOP will launch its fast-casual spinoff, Flip’d by IHOP, in July, more than a year after initially planned. |
| Tesla could shed another $110 before it finds support, analyst warnsTesla has taken another tumble this week, and it could see more pain, warns one chart watcher. |
| Panera Bread’s new design transforms it into a neighborhood bakery in a bid to build loyaltyPanera Bread’s latest restaurant design looks to transform the soup and sandwich chain into a local neighborhood bakery, just with more technology. |
| Going remote in Italy: How to get out of the cities and into the countrysideTravelers love Venice and Rome, which leave other parts of Italy quiet and peaceful, even during the summer. |
| Singapore orders Facebook, Twitter to correct false claims on a ‘new’ Covid variantThe move from Singapore came after unsubstantiated comments from an Indian politician this week sparked a diplomatic incident between the two countries. |
| Victoria’s Secret parent L Brands posts larger-than-expected profit as retailer sells more full-price itemsL Brands said it isn’t providing a forecast for the rest of the year because it is preparing to spin off its Victoria’s Secret business. |
| McDonald’s board faces shareholder pushback over its handling of CEO ousterMcDonald’s board will likely face tough questions from shareholders on Thursday about how it handled the firing of former CEO Steve Easterbrook. |
| Fauci says Covid infections are decreasing in all 50 statesDr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to the White House, said Wednesday that Covid-19 infections are decreasing in every state in the U.S. |
| Despite Claims Drop, There Are Still Around 16 Million Americans Of Some Sort Of Government DoleDespite Claims Drop, There Are Still Around 16 Million Americans Of Some Sort Of Government Dole Despite the dismal payrolls print, initial jobless claims continue to slide back towards pre-COVID crisis levels, with a better than expected 444,000 Americans filing for first-time jobless benefits last week (despite 8.1 million job openings).
Source: Bloomberg While that is the lowest since the pandemic began, it is still double the pre-COVID norms. New Jersey, Washington, and Oklahoma saw the biggest jumps in claims while Georgia, Kentucky and Texas saw the biggest improvements. |
| Morning Wood: Cathie’s ARK Adds Coinbase, Tesla, Says Portfolios Will “More Than Triple” In Five YearsMorning Wood: Cathie’s ARK Adds Coinbase, Tesla, Says Portfolios Will “More Than Triple” In Five Years It seems like with every day that goes by, Cathie Wood figures out a way to double down on her strategies even further. We’ve been noting each time that Wood does something to push the envelope – including selling liquid big tech names to rotate into speculative names, claiming she “loved the setup” when the NASDAQ corrected off highs recently, amending the prospectuses to her ETFs to allow more concentrated positions and buying more Tesla as it fell earlier this week. And, heading into the back end of the week, the beat goes on. On Wednesday of this week, Wood added more Tesla and Coinbase in the face of bitcoin’s spectacular crash and continued volatility and questions about both logistics hell and fading sales for Tesla in China.Â
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| Watch: Rand Paul “Glad” Fauci Is “Finally Accepting Science”Watch: Rand Paul “Glad” Fauci Is “Finally Accepting Science” Authored by Steve Watson via Summit News, Senator Rand Paul says he’s glad White House medical advisor Anthony Fauci is dropping the mask theater, and is finally accepting science.
Paul has repeatedly clashed with Fauci, with the latter at first denying that masks are just for optics, and then admitting that is exactly the case this week. Appearing on Newsmax TV, Paul said œI’m just glad that Dr. Fauci has now chosen to accept vaccine science ” basic vaccine science says you can’t get it after you’ve been vaccinated; that’s why we get vaccinated. |
| Futures Rebound From Overnight Slide As Cryptos JumpFutures Rebound From Overnight Slide As Cryptos Jump While a far cry from yesterday’s morning rout, global stocks struggled for traction on Thursday after a jittery session on Wall Street where cryptocurrencies crashed and a hint of tapering talk from the U.S. Federal Reserve drove selling in the bond market and lifted the safe-haven dollar. S&P futures dropped overnight for the 4th straight session after minutes from Fed’s meeting last month showed some officials were open to a debate at œupcoming meetings on scaling back bond purchases if the U.S. economy continued to progress rapidly, while the ongoing rout in cryptos has not helped sentiment, and just like cryptos futures rebounded from their worst levels (yes, we once again live in a bizarro cojoined world where moves in cryptos move the broader market).
At 7:30 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 100 points, or 0.32%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 8.25 points, or 0.20%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 7 points, or 0.06%. Treasuries were flat, the dollar and oil dropped. |
| Better rail services promised in huge shake-upTransport Secretary says there is no “hidden agenda” to raise fares but there could be no guarantees. |
| Rail reform: What does the shake-up mean for you?Seven key points on how the planned revamp of the UK’s rail network affects passengers and fares. |
| Amber list travel is legal, says EasyJet bossGovernment guidance on travel to amber list countries is “very confusing”, says Johan Lundgren. |
| After rallying 6 times in 3 years, this API maker just got first ‘sell’ ratingThe stock, which got listed at Rs 288 on June 27, 2018, hit a record high of Rs 1,859 on Wednesday, rising a solid 550 per cent, or 6.45 times, in less than three years. Six brokerages that cover the stock, all still have ‘buy’ ratings. |
| Motilal Oswal Real Estate raises Rs 650 crore for fifth property fundThe fund plans to deploy the capital in mid-income and affordable residential projects across top seven cities of India while selectively investing in commercial projects. |
| What turbocharged this week’s crazy cryptocurrency meltdown?Bitcoin dropped as much as 31% Wednesday to near $30,000, and Ether was 44% down at less than $2,000 at one stage. While both have recouped some of the losses, those crashes spread plenty of pain across crypto assets. |
| Earnings Results: Ralph Lauren swings to a profit and reinstates dividendRalph Lauren earnings and revenue blow past expectations in latest quarter. |
| London Markets: George Soros and Citadel among the winners as Trainline shares plungeShares of ticket seller Trainline fell as much as 33% on Thursday, after the U.K. outlined a railroad infrastructure plan that would include operating a rival ticketing app. |
| : World’s first COVID-19 ‘booster trial’ will give third vaccine dose to U.K. volunteersThousands of volunteers will be given a third dose of COVID-19 vaccines as part of a clinical trial to examine whether a œbooster shot can protect against COVID-19 and new coronavirus disease variants. |
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