Written by Gary
Bitcoin edges back from $40,000 as volatility lingers (SPY +0.2%). CVS, Walgreens shares fall on report that Amazon may open brick-and-mortar pharmacies.
The Market in Perspective
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
 | S&P Report: Gulf Producers To Slash Deficits As Oil Prices RiseThe Arab Gulf oil producers are expected to slash their combined government deficits to some $80 billion this year from $143 billion last year, thanks to higher oil prices, reopening economies, and fiscal consolidation, S&P Global Ratings said in a report on Wednesday. The total government deficits of the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)are expected to drop to 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year, compared to deficits |
| Asia Braces For Expensive LNG This SummerEconomic recovery and a rebound in liquefied natural gas demand in the worlds largest LNG importing region, Asia, are set to keep spot regional LNG prices around current levels of $10 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) for most of the summer, which could be the highest price for this time of the year in seven years. Despite concerns about stalled short-term spot demand in India and Japan due to the COVID resurgence, Asias imports are holding up strong in May, according to vessel-tracking and port data from Refinitiv, cited |
| Iran Bans Crypto Mining During Hot Summer MonthsIran is banning electricity-sapping cryptocurrency mining until the end of September as it grapples with power blackouts amid electricity scarcity. Even before the peak summer electricity demand season, Iran has been suffering from power outages as consumption soars, while power generation has declined. A few weeks ago, Iran banned the use of air conditioning at Tehrans state agencies as the country looks to save electricity consumption and prioritize electricity supply to homes and hospitals. Tehran Power Distribution Company has said that |
| Belarus Sanctions Might Be The Real DealMultitudinous protests and years of international condemnations notwithstanding, the regime of Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus might soon see its final days, all brought about by an innocuous Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius. Regardless of what one thinks about the persona of Roman Protasevich, the jailed opposition journalist, the fact that the Belorussian President personally ordered the hijacking and military interception of a civilian flight that did not breach any rules whatsoever has brought European political circles almost to the boiling |
| UK Snubs IEA Suggestion To Stop Oil ExplorationThe UK has no plans to stop new oil exploration, Reuters has reported, citing the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Thats despite the recent IEA roadmap to net zero, in which the authority said all new oil exploration must cease now if the world is to become net zero by 2050. We are working hard to drive down demand for fossil fuels, however there will continue to be ongoing demand for oil and gas, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy told Reuters. We will not be cancelling |
| Nissan May Build Huge Battery Plant In The UKCar giant Nissan is said to be in advanced negotiations with the UK government to build a huge electric car battery plant as part of an official push to make Britain the companys largest electric vehicles (EVs) production hub outside Japan. The Yokohama-based automaker would not confirmaFinancial Timesstoryabout plans for a gigafactory, but pointed to its Sunderland plants crucial role in producing EVs. We will continue to electrify our line-up as part of our global journey towards carbon neutrality. |
| It’s not a vaccine passport, but more people travel ‘CLEAR’ post-pandemicA biometric security start-up created to speed travelers through growing airport lines in the post-9/11 era now sees a major post-Covid opportunity. |
| Republicans call for Fauci’s termination over shifting position on Wuhan lab fundingRepublican lawmakers are calling for Dr. Fauci to be fired over a perceived shift in position on Wuhan lab funding. |
| Engine No. 1 wins at least 2 Exxon board seats as activist pushes for climate strategy changeAn activist firm that’s been targeting Exxon for months won at least two board seats at the company’s annual shareholder meeting. |
| Stocks making the biggest moves midday: GameStop, AMC, CVS, Ford & moreThese are the stocks posting the largest moves in midday trading. |
| Lockheed Martin and GM partner to develop new moon buggy for NASA astronauts and cargoLockheed Martin and General Motors are partnering to develop a new lunar vehicle for NASA’s upcoming astronaut missions to the moon. |
| CVS, Walgreens shares fall on report that Amazon may open brick-and-mortar pharmaciesThe report said the online retail giant may open stand-alone retail pharmacies or add them to Whole Foods grocery stores. |
| European energy giants team up to develop large-scale offshore wind project in North SeaEquinor, RWE and Hydro REIN will work together on submitting proposal to authorities in Norway. |
| CDC director urges caution over Memorial Day weekend for those not vaccinated as U.S. Covid cases, deaths fallCDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky urged caution over the upcoming Memorial Day holiday for those not vaccinated against Covid-19. |
| Watch live: CDC director testifies before House lawmakers on agency’s budgetCDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky is testifying before Congress Wednesday on the agency’s annual budget. |
| Cathie Wood’s space exploration ETF sells its last few shares of Virgin GalacticArk Invest’s space exploration ETF sold its last remaining shares of Virgin Galactic. |
| Marilyn Manson wanted on arrest warrant in New Hampshire for alleged 2019 assaultThe Gilford Police Department said Marilyn Manson is wanted in connection to a misdemeanor assault that allegedly took place in 2019. |
| Ford ups EV investments, targets 40% electric car sales by 2030 under latest turnaround planFord announced the plans less than two hours ahead of its first investor day under CEO Jim Farley. |
| Dick’s Sporting Goods earnings crush estimates as kids head back to team sports, retailer raises forecastDick’s Sporting Goods cited a boost from more kids returning to team sports for its sales and earnings beat during the fiscal first quarter. |
| Small Caps Surge Amid Massive Short-Squeeze, Dollar Dead-Cat-BouncesSmall Caps Surge Amid Massive Short-Squeeze, Dollar Dead-Cat-Bounces Spot the odd one out!
Small Caps exploded at the cash open (just as they did yesterday) and kept going (unlike yesterday) as Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq trod water. Did Small Caps run the stops and lose momentum?
All thanks to a huge short-squeeze – the second biggest daily jump in “most shorted” stocks this year… |
| US Troops Will Be Out Of Afghanistan By July: Pentagon OfficialsUS Troops Will Be Out Of Afghanistan By July: Pentagon Officials Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com, According to a report from The New York Times, US troops are expected to be out of Afghanistan by early to mid-July, well before the September 11th deadline set by President Biden. Unnamed US officials told the Times that Washington’s allies are also expected to be out by July, although Germany is apparently struggling to keep up the pace. US Central Command on Tuesday said the Afghanistan withdrawal process was about 16 to 25 percent complete. The US recently handed over |
| “Change Is Coming” – Engine No. 1 Wins Two Exxon Board Seats “Change Is Coming” – Engine No. 1 Wins Two Exxon Board Seats  Activist firm Engine No. 1 has won at least two seats on the board of Exxon Mobile Corp. following a multi-month battle over the oil giant’s board of directors to change the company’s path towards one centered around achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner, according to WSJ.
Engine No. 1, an upstart hedge fund, owns a tiny 0.02% stake in Exxon, has gone on a blitz against the company since December to shift away from fossil fuels to a zero-carbon world. The fund was founded by veteran hedge fund investor Chris James. Charlie Penner, one of Engine No. 1’s leaders, told investors at Wednesday’s annual shareholder meeting that Exxon management is “determined to fight off the future for as long as possible,” but added: “change is coming.” According to Reuters, BlackRock, the wo … |
| Suddenly The Market No Longer Sees Jackson Hole As Taper D-DaySuddenly The Market No Longer Sees Jackson Hole As Taper D-Day Just a few weeks ago, the market was rife with speculation that amid galloping inflation, the Fed would almost certainly breach the topic of the infamous taper during its June 16 FOMC meeting, and if not then, then no later than the September 22 meeting, which takes place just after the late-August Jackson Hole central banker outing in which most of the Fed’s “radical” ideas in the past decade have been introduced. Not any more. As Bloomberg’s Stephen Spratt points out, 3-month 10-year implied swaption vol – a closely-watched metric of how much TSY prices may move over the period – has been steadily declining, and hit the lowest levels since early March, amid a non-stop barrage of central bankers repeating in the past 48 hours that inflation will be transitory. Among these were Fed vice chair Richard Clarida who downplayed the effects of higher price pressures, voicing faith in the central bank’s ability to engineer a œsoft landing if prices continue to escalate beyond what is expected. He was joined on Wednesday by Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau talked down stimulus adjustments anytime soon, while European Central Bank Executive Board member Fabio Panetta who said he sees no signs of sustained inflation that would allow for a reduction in bond purchases. The three-month swaption in the U.S. implies a breakeven range of around 30 bps, suggesting benchmark 10-year yields may trade between 1.25% and 1.85%, versus about 1.56% currently. The same gauge for Europe has a range of 17 basis points either side of the current 10-year swap rate at 0.14%. |
| Uber recognises union for first time in landmark dealTrade union GMB will be able to negotiate for drivers’ rights after it was recognised by the ride-hailing giant. |
| ‘I’ve been ghosted by my insurer’Thousands of small businesses are still waiting for Covid-related insurance payouts. |
| Nissan ‘in talks to build huge UK battery factory’The Japanese car giant is reportedly in advanced talks to build a gigafactory in Sunderland. |
| Bitcoin edges back from $40,000 as volatility lingersBitcoin jumped as much as 6.5% to $40,904, before easing back to around $38,797 at 11:45 a.m. Eastern time. Smaller coins, which tend to rise and fall with the largest cryptocurrency, also gained, with ether climbing more than 7.5% to above $2,915 earlier in the day. |
| Happy 125th Birthday, Dow Jones! It’s been a great journey this farIn the index’s 125-year history, it has survived two ghastly World Wars, two damaging pandemics, 23 US presidencies and countless recessions and remained the icon of capitalism alongwith the city of New York, where it is homed. |
| Trade setup: Rollover-centric activities to dominate Nifty; may witness profit taking at higher levelsWhile the highest Put OI stands at 15,200, maximum Call OI concentration was seen at 15,500 levels. This defines 15,200-15,300 as a broad range for the Nifty for expiry day. |
| Buy This, Not That: Consumer Reports’ No.1-rated mattress is now on sale for just $1,399 for a queen sizeDeal of the Day: How to save $300 or more on the top-rated mattresses right now. |
| : U.S. steps up calls for an independent inquiry into COVID-19 originChina has opposed further investigation of what happened at the Wuhan lab. |
| : Activist wins Exxon board seats in major shareholder pushback on oil giant’s climate strategyExxonMobil has given way, at least in part, to a group of investors in one of the biggest boardroom fights over climate change to date. |
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