Written by Gary
The U.S. has reported fewer than 30,000 new infections for five straight days (SPY +1.0%). Why thefts of cars and pricey car parts have skyrocketed and $14 trillion worth of oil and gas assets at risk.
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. | |
| Qatar Cuts LNG Prices And Expands Into Asian Spot MarketQatar is cutting prices for its gas and expanding into the Asian spot market as it seeks to maintain its number-one position in exports of liquefied natural gas. According to unnamed sources cited by Bloomberg, the country has shifted its priority from prices to market share, hence the price undercutting and the push ahead with a production capacity expansion worth $29 billion. The goal is to increase LNG exports by 50 percent. With this strategy, Qatar threatens the commercial viability of new LNG production capacity projects in the rest of the |
| Oil Prices Fall As Iran Claims Sanctions Will Be LiftedOil prices dropped again early on Thursday after Irans president said that the world powers had accepted during the latest round of talks that sanctions against Iran would be lifted. As of 10:39 a.m. EDT on Thursday, WTI Crude was trading down 0.95 percent at $62.76. Brent Crude prices had declined by 1.07 percent to trade below $66 a barrelat $65.96. Just two days ago, Brent Crude briefly touched $70 early on Tuesday but failed to hold on to that handle later during the day as reports of a breakthrough in the indirect talks about |
| Asias Physical Oil Market Strengthens In Sign Of Rising DemandChina and Japan have recently intensified purchases of crude oil on the spot market, driving spot premiums for some grades to their highest in several months and signaling that Asias physical demand for crude is rising despite the crisis in India, where fuel consumption is slumping. The premiums for cargoes of some of Asias favorite grades such as ESPO of Russia and Al-Shaheen of Qatar have jumped in recent days to their highest in months, traders told Bloomberg on Wednesday. Rising premiums, as well as deepening backwardation of |
| U.S. Waives Nord Stream 2 SanctionsIn a somewhat surprising turn of events, Washington said it would waive sanctions about to be imposed on Germany-registered Nord Stream 2 AG, the operator of the Nord Stream-2 pipeline project. The sanctions were suggested by a report sent to Congress by the State Department, which said in it that Nord Stream AG and its head, Matthias Warnig, engaged in a sanctionable activity, Reuters reported. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, however, said it was in the national interest to waive these sanctions. Other sanctions the last two administrations |
| Energy Transition Threatens $14 Trillion In Oil And Gas AssetsThe energy transition is putting as much as $14 trillion worth of oil and gas assets at risk, Wood Mackenzie said today, as quoted by Reuters, in the latest doomsday scenario for the energy industry. Over the short term, the future looks good for oil and gas, according to the consultancy. Demand for oil and gas will rebound to pre-pandemic levels and even exceed them, reaching 160 million barrels of oil equivalent daily. What’s more, oil and gas companies are getting still leaner and meaner, and will this year be able to generate as much cash flow |
| 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 |
| Oatly shares soar 24% in company’s public market debut on NasdaqOatly priced its U.S. initial public offering at $17 per share, raising $1.4 billion. |
| U.S. reports fewer than 30,000 cases for five straight days, with the nation averaging 1.8 million daily vaccinationsThe U.S. has reported fewer than 30,000 new infections for five straight days, bringing the seven-day average of daily new infections to about 30,300. |
| Europe is welcoming vaccinated tourists this summer: Here’s what you need to knowUltimately, each member state will decide when to reopen its borders and to whom. |
| Ford announces joint venture with SK Innovation to manufacture EV battery cells in U.S.Production of the battery cells as well as supporting modules is expected to start by mid-decade, the companies said. |
| Dubai launches region’s ‘first industrial scale’ green hydrogen plantThose behind the development hope it will help to catalyze the region’s renewable energy sector. |
| Ford already has 20,000 reservations for new electric F-150 Lightning pickupThe automaker unveiled the vehicle during an elaborate presentation at the company’s world headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. |
| 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 swings to a profit and boosts forecast, citing customer growth, but shares fallPetco reported first-quarter earnings that beat expectations for earnings and revenue, and the company raised its forecast for the rest of the year. |
| Kohl’s shares tumble despite the retailer’s strong sales beat and hiked outlookCEO Michelle Gass said momentum built throughout the quarter, especially in Kohl’s stores. |
| 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. |
| Bitcoin Tumbles After Treasury Calls For Reporting Large Crypto Transfers To IRSBitcoin Tumbles After Treasury Calls For Reporting Large Crypto Transfers To IRS Just a month after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s complete fearmongering lie about Crypto being used largely for illicit finance (which has been overwhelmingly proven false, especially relative to dollars)… Percentage of Illicit Activity Using Bitcoin (2012-2020)
The Treasury has just announced a new set of rules about reporting crypto transfers because, they claim…
If you think the timing is coincidental with yesterday’s plunge, we have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.
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| “Slow Night In Reykjavik”: Blinken Gets Chummy With Lavrov In ‘Good Vibes’ Meeting, MSM Yawns“Slow Night In Reykjavik”: Blinken Gets Chummy With Lavrov In ‘Good Vibes’ Meeting, MSM Yawns Things were polite and even at times chummy during the first high-level talks between the United States and Russia on the sidelines of the Arctic Council meeting in Iceland where Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken mutually expressed a desire for better and more stable relations. International reports were unanimous in framing it as a good vibes atmosphere where in the two played nice at a moment the US waived sanctions on the Nord Stream-2 pipeline. Blinken initially rolled out with the required and routine “tough” talk, telling reporters after the face-to-face meeting: “If Russia acts aggressively against us, our partners, our allies, we will respond…And President Biden has demonstrated that in both word and deed.” But the US top diplomat added: “We seek a predictable, stable relationship with Russia. We think that’s good for our people, good for the Russian people and indeed good for the world.” |
| Why Stratospheric Container Rates Could Rocket Even HigherWhy Stratospheric Container Rates Could Rocket Even Higher By Greg Miller of Freight Waves, Spot ocean container rates are up triple digits year on year, ergo they must be near their peak. They’re so high they don’t have much more room to run. So goes a common belief in the container market, despite the fact that this premise has already been proven wrong, and that container rates could theoretically have a lot more room to run if the upper limit is defined the same way it is in non-containerized shipping.
One leading freight-forwarder executive told American Shipper in August 2020 after the initial spike, œI do not think there is room for growth beyond $4,000 [per forty-foot equivalent unit or FEU]. Nine months later, many all-in trans-Pacific rates including premium charges are m … |
| ‘Gamma Tilt’ Suggests More Downside In Stocks As “Bigly” Op-Ex Looms‘Gamma Tilt’ Suggests More Downside In Stocks As “Bigly” Op-Ex Looms Nomura’s Charlie McElligott summarized things heading into the weekend perfectly for traders: “Op-Ex tomorow matters ‘bigly’ for Equities.” Critically, he explains, there remains likelihood of continued œchase-y moves in both directions on dealer delta hedging due to the magnitude of the positioning out there: Latest estimates show 31% of $Gamma set to drop-off in SPX / SPY consolidated options after Friday, but far more notably with 50% in QQQ and 55% in IWM ready to roll-off post Op-Ex. SPX largest $Gamma strike is 4100 ($4.1B), and from there it’s the 4050 strike ($3.0B) to the downside and 4200 ($2.8B) and 4150 ($2.5B) to the upside. Currently versus spot, we see SPX œshort gamma (4175 flip), LONG delta (4096 flip) ; QQQ œshort gamma ($326.25 flip), short delta ($329.77 flip) ; and IWM, œshort gamma ($224.22 flip), short delta (224.66 flip) . Again, the most extreme reads are in legacy œduration-sensitives macro-regime of œsecular growth Nasdaq / QQQ, where (negative) $Gamma of -$884mm is 0.7%ile since 2013, and where (negative) $Delta is -$18.7B / 2.0%ile since ’13. Nasdaq remains the most extremely positioned… |
| 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?How will a government promise to simplify the UK’s “complicated” rail network impact passengers and fares. |
| Oatly IPO values Oprah-backed firm at $10bnThe Swedish-based alternative milk brand has been backed by other celebrities such as Jay-Z. |
| Gautam Adani beats China’s Zong Shanshan to become Asia’s second richest manAdani’s wealth rose by $625 million today to $66.5 billion, as per data available on the Bloomberg Billionaires’ Index. |
| Trade setup: Nifty key resistance seen at 14,955 and 15,030 levels; avoid aggressive purchasesNot only did the Nifty fail its earlier attempt to break out of the falling channel, but the index also slipped inside the falling channel again. |
| HPCL Q4 results: Net profit jumps to Rs 3,018 cr on big inventory gainsœEnhanced profitability was a result of robust operational performance, improvement in refinery margins helped by inventory gains and favorable exchange rate variations, said HPCL Chairman M K Surana. |
| IPO Report: Oatly IPO: 5 things to know about the plant-based dairy companyOatly is preparing for the next generation of diners who bring with them “a new set of values and expectations” |
| The Conversation: Age for a colonoscopy drops to 45 amid rise in colon cancer cases among younger adultsAdults ages 45-49 will become eligible for insurance that fully covers screening. |
| Key Words: What is a minimony? Ariane Grande’s micro wedding gives engaged couples the luxury of thinking smallCouples say ‘I do’ to Zoom weddings and smaller ceremonies, cutting the cost — and stress — of wedding planning |
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