25May2021 Market Close: Consumer Confidence Fell Short Of Expectation And May Have Put A Damper On Market Gains

Written by Gary

All major exchanges lost some ground today with the Dow down 0.24%, NASDAQ down 0.17, and SandP down 0.28. Gold closed over 1900. Bitcoin up at $37,515. WTI closed marginally down at $65.82

The Market in Perspective

Here are the headlines moving the markets.
	Iran Has 69 Million Barrels Of Oil Ready For When U.S. Sanctions End Iran may have some 69 million barrels of oil in floating storage waiting on tankers to travel to buyers when U.S. sanctions on its crude oil exports are removed, estimates from E.A. Gibson Shipbrokers cited by Bloomberg showed on Tuesday. Citigroup also has a similar estimate on Irans floating storage. In a note on Monday, the bank said Iran could have around 65 million barrels of oil stored at sea, plus another 54 million barrels in storage onshore. The United States and Iran have been holding indirect talks in Vienna since last
	Biden Administration Looks To Build Two Wind Farms Off California’s Coast The Biden Administration is looking to further its green agenda with two wind farms off the California coast. The wind farms would generate as much power as 1.6 million households would consume. The projects would go a long way to fulfilling President Bidens wind power goals, which include doubling the amount of offshore wind production by the end of this decade. The first proposed wind farm, near Californias Morro Bay, will support 3GW of offshore wind and will take up an area totaling 399 square miles. The second proposed site,
	Oil Prices Rebound As Demand Optimism Returns The IEA made headlines last week when it suggested that there should be no new oil and gas investments after 2021… If that were to happen – with a supply crunch already looming – the oil traders at OPC Markets would have a great time.Chart of the Week- Natural gas-fired power generation averaged 3,394 GWh per day in the first four months of 2021, down nearly 7% from the same period in 2020.- The decline is mostly the result of higher natural gas prices and increased competition from renewables. The decline is the first
	Biden Slams U.S. Miners With Critical Metals Decision The Biden Administration plans to source the key metals for electric vehicles from allies outside America and focus on processing those materials in the United States, officials told Reuters in what could be a blow to U.S. miners and a move to appease environmentalists. The U.S. Administration is keen to progress electrification and significantly increased use of EVs as part of its plans to curb emissions and fight climate change. However, in doing so, the Biden Administration is more likely to focus on job creation in the processing of the raw
	A Storm Is Brewing In Asian LNG Markets Few countries have profited from Chinas rise as Australia has over the past decades. The insatiable appetite for raw materials such as iron ore, coal, and natural gas, has fueled the economy since the early 1990s. Recently, political tensions between China and Australia have led to a vicious circle of deteriorating economic and political relations. The most recent development being Beijings willingness to reduce LNG imports from Australia. The two countries, enjoy a high level of economic complementarity, on paper at least. The booming
	Indias Refiners, Oil Operators Prepare For Cyclone Yaas The largest refiners in India, as well as offshore oil producers and port operators, are preparing for Cyclone Yaas, which has formed in the Bay of Bengal and is expected to make landfall very close to a port in eastern India early on Wednesday. According to the India Meteorological Department, Cyclone Yaas will intensify further into a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm during the next 12 hours and make landfall very close to Chandbali-Dhamra port by the early morning of Wednesday. Heavy rainfall and storm surge warnings with tidal waves
	Travel stocks pick up steam this week. How two traders would get exposure to the group Shares of cruise liners and airlines are on the rise in May’s final trading week, and two market analysts are forecasting more gains.
	FAA downgrades Mexico air safety rating, prohibiting new flights from country’s airlines The FAA downgraded Mexico’s air safety rating, prohibiting new flights from the country’s airlines
	Houses in the U.S. cost 13.2% more in March 2021 than at the same time last year. Here’s why houses are so expensive in the U.S. right now With city dwellers moving to the suburbs and families looking for more space, U.S. home prices have surged.
	More than 130 million Americans are fully vaccinated as average daily Covid cases dip below 25,000 The seven-day average of daily Covid cases in the U.S. is below 25,000 for the first time since June 19, data compiled by Johns Hopkins University shows.
	Phil Mickelson’s PGA Championship win attracted 6.5 million viewers, the most-watched final round in three years Golfer Phil Mickelson, 50, became the oldest player to win a major championship after he captured the 103rd PGA Championship.
	Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Shake Shack, Lordstown Motors, Coinbase and more These are the stocks posting the largest moves in midday trading on Tuesday.
	Fauci says U.S. can still end HIV epidemic by 2030 despite Covid pandemic Dr. Anthony Fauci told a House committee Tuesday that the nation has not gone “backward” in the fight against HIV despite the Covid pandemic.
	Axiom Space lines up second private flight to the ISS, led by record-holding astronaut Peggy Whitson Axiom Space on Tuesday announced that retired NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and auto racer John Shoffner will lead the company’s second private spaceflight.
	Amazon Prime Day is coming up. Here’s how to snag the best deals Amazon has moved its two-day shopping event to June this year. Here’s how to make the most of the big sale.
	After George Floyd was killed, retailers pledged to put Black-owned brands on shelves. Here’s how it’s going Black-owned goods on the shelves of national retailers such as Walmart and Nordstrom has become one of the most visible signs of change in the corporate world.
	Half of U.S. adults are now fully vaccinated against Covid President Joe Biden set the goal of getting 70% of adults to receive at least their first dose of a Covid vaccine by the Fourth of July.
	United shares jump after airline says domestic leisure fares topped 2019 levels United says domestic leisure fares are above 2019 levels, a trend that it expects to continue this summer.
	Ron Paul: How Texas Killed COVID Ron Paul: How Texas Killed COVID Authored by Ron Paul via The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity, In March, Governor Greg Abbott announced that Texas would open for business 100 percent without a statewide mask mandate.
	The SPAC Bubble Is Bursting: “Dozens” Of Companies Canceling Mergers As PIPE Investors Evaporate The SPAC Bubble Is Bursting: “Dozens” Of Companies Canceling Mergers As PIPE Investors Evaporate SPACs have officially fallen out of favor. The SPAC bubble burst started with fallen angel Nikola Motors and has since continued, with short sellers and market skeptics unveiling the less than savory elements to numerous names brought public through the merger-style transaction that allows companies to go public quicker, and with less red tape, than the traditional IPO process. Chamath Palihapitiya, once heralded as the “king of SPACs” is now more likely to be seen as the face of a SPAC bubble that looks as though it is in the process of popping. As a result of the bubble bursting, banks are starting to “pass” on funding SPAC transactions. One recent example wasÂ Simplifi Holdings, which, when it attempted to go public last month valued at nearly $2 billion, found that bankers, mutual funds and hedge funds were balking at financing the transaction, according to Reuters. And this is just one of the “dozens” of companies that have canceled or reconsidered due to the changing climate for SPACs. This has been reflected in theÂ Defiance Next Gen SPAC Derived ETF, which is down 28.1% over the last 3 months.Â
	Meme Meltup: Traders Stumped As Gamestop, AMC Soar On Massive Volume Meme Meltup: Traders Stumped As Gamestop, AMC Soar On Massive Volume Don’t look now but the meme stocks are back. Having crept higher in recent days, both Gamestop and AMC, the two most popular meme stocks which shook the hedge fund industry in February when several prominent hedge funds suffered massive losses on their shorts, have exploded higher today, with GME up as much as 18%… … and AMC close behind, up 14%. The move may be a ramp in sympathy because while GM …
	Awkward Exchange: Netanyahu Trashes US Nuclear Talks With Iran In Front Of Blinken Awkward Exchange: Netanyahu Trashes US Nuclear Talks With Iran In Front Of Blinken Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s Mideast trip where he first metÂ with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Tuesday was supposed to focus on maintaining the Israel-Gaza truce and finding a lasting solution toward preventing a future flair up of violence. However, an emboldened Netanyahu bluntly shared his thoughts on the impending restoration of the Iran nuclear deal while standing next to Blinken during the press conference that followed their meeting. As expected Netanyahu urged the US to stay away from the deal, forcing Blinken to quickly contradict the Israeli leader, leading to an awkward exchange among the close allies. It took a mere 90 seconds for Netanyahu to run through a few vague commitments related to the Gaza ceasefire before he turned to trashing the JCPOA nuclear deal as leaving the Jewish state open to possible annihilation by Iranian nukes… “I can tell you that I hope that the United States will not go back to the old JCPOA because we believe that that deal paves the way for Iran to have an arsenal of nuclear weapons with international legitimacy,” Netanyahu asserted. “We also reiterated that whatever happens, Israel will always reserve the right to defend itself against a regime committed to our destruction
	US business groups team up to oppose tax rise proposals A coalition of 28 business groups has been formed in response to tax proposals by the Biden administration.
	Liberty Steel nationalisation is unlikely, says Kwasi Kwarteng The business secretary says taking control of the steel company is the least likely option.
	Airbnb boss: ‘Cornwall is now more popular than London’ CEO Airbnb Brian Chesky says people’s travel habits have fundamentally changed due to the pandemic.
	Fed, OCC, FDIC in ‘sprint’ on regulation for crypto, Quarles says “We along with the OCC and the FDIC are engaged right now in what we are calling a sprint in seeking to pull together views on exactly that” including discussions of a common regulatory framework, capital treatment and operational treatment, Quarles said.
	BPCL Q4 preview: Company may report net profit of Rs 1,857 cr aided by inventory gains, demand recovery The company’s bottomline will be helped by a weak base in the year-ago quarter due to the imposition of national lockdown in March 2020.
	Up 14% in 2 days! Clarity on Concor’s privatisation plan may support rally in near term Concor currently uses 26 terminals. A dispute had cropped up last year after the railways demanded LLF of Rs 1,300 crore annually, which was around 2.5 times higher than Concor’s estimate.
	May 2021 Conference Board Consumer Confidence Little Changed Written by Steven Hansen The latest Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index’s headline number was little changed in May. The Index now stands at 117.2 (1985=100), down marginally from 117.5 in April. A quote from the Conference Board: “… consumers’ short-term optimism retreated, prompted by expectations of decelerating growth and softening labor market conditions in the months ahead”.
	May 2021 Richmond Fed Manufacturing Survey Marginally Improves Of the three regional Federal Reserve manufacturing surveys released to date, all are in expansion.
	: German property giants announce $22 billion merger to tackle housing crisis Europe’s largest residential property group Vonovia has agreed to buy rival Deutsche Wohnen for ‚¬18 billion, in a deal that will reshape Germany’s real-estate sector.
	: AstraZeneca’s $39 billion takeover of U.S.-based Alexion Pharmaceuticals examined by U.K. regulator The deal has already been approved by the U.S. and Canadian authorities.
	In One Chart: One year after George Floyd’s murder, fewer Americans say they support Black Lives Matter In addition, more people now say they oppose the group than did in June 2020.