Written by Gary
U.S. Treasury yields fall despite higher inflation (SPY +0.5%). EU and U.S. to call for a deeper probe into Covid origins.
The Market in Perspective
Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
Cambodias Only Oil-Producing Company Is About To Go BustJust a few months after pumping its first-ever oil, Cambodia’s just-launched oil production faces an uncertain fate after the government’s partner in the operations filed for liquidation amid inability to service debts and underwhelming production rates. Singapore-based KrisEnergy Ltd, which was developing the Khmer basin in the Gulf of Thailand, also known as Block A, said last week it was “unable to pay its debts based on actual and/or contingent liabilities and will proceed to liquidation.” One reason for the decision was the significantly lower | |
China’s Solar Industry Begs Producers To Please Not Hoard Raw MaterialsThe China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA) is calling on local solar power developers not to exacerbate the surging costs of raw materials by stockpiling polysilicon and other materials for manufacturing solar components. Companies in the solar power industry, not only in China but all around the world, have been flagging soaring costs for raw materials since the start of this year. The rise in costs, after years of decline, threatens to delay solar installations worldwide. At present, some photovoltaic companies have drastically | |
Three Futuristic Travel Technologies That Almost Became RealityThere are few things quite as fascinating as learning what people in the past dreamed about the future. A series of paintings made by Jean-Marc Ct and other French artists in 1899, 1900, 1901, and 1910 shows artist depictions of what life might look like in the year 2000, or the equivalent of what modern-day artists think life might look like 100 years from today. According to the Public Domain Review, the first series of images were printed and enclosed in cigarette and cigar boxes around the time of the 1900 World Exhibition in | |
EU To Create Social Fund To Help Households Through Energy TransitionThe European Commission plans to create a so-called climate action social fund if it moves to introduce carbon pricing on road transportation fuels and buildings, in order to protect the most vulnerable households against rising fuel and heating bills, Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal, said. We must protect vulnerable households against potential price increases for heating and transport fuels, especially in regions where clean options arent readily available, Timmermans said | |
Can Oil Sands Be Banned?The boardroom wars around ExxonMobil, a district court in the Hague ruling Shell should speed up its emissions cutting above and beyond its own objectives, the International Energy Agency suggesting oil and gas exploration should come to a halt right now if we are to reach UNFCCC goals, all this seems to create a sense of agitation when everything is subject to revision and everything needs to be redefined to reflect the realities of 2021. In this context, the oil sands of Athabasca (and presumably a slew of other similar projects, including but | |
Oil Prices Drop After U.S. Lifts Sanctions On Some Iranian OfficialsOil prices dropped around noon on Thursday, after the United States removed some Iranian oil officials from its list of designated persons subject to sanctions. As of 12:48 p.m. EDT on Thursday, WTI Crude was down 0.44 percent at $69.65 and Brent Crude was trading down 0.46 percent at $71.88. The U.S. Department of the Treasury said on Thursday it is removing several Iranian officials from its list of designated persons, including three directors of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). Before the selling with the news of Iranian officials out | |
Top FDA advisor says kids need to be vaccinated against CovidChildren need to be vaccinated against Covid-19, Dr. Paul Offit, a top advisor to the FDA on children’s vaccines, told the agency Thursday. | |
Here’s why cryptocurrency crashes on the weekendsCryptocurrency crashes often happen on weekends. The volatility draws scrutiny from regulators weighing the future of digital currency. | |
Biogen’s new Alzheimer’s drug could cost Medicare billions of dollars a year, report findsBiogen’s new Alzheimer’s drug, Aduhelm, could cost Medicare billions of dollars a year, according to an analysis by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation. | |
SpaceX’s Starlink wants to provide internet to airplanes in the near future, VP saysSpaceX is “in talks with several” airlines to use its Starlink satellite internet network to provide travelers with inflight Wi-Fi. | |
‘In the Heights’ is a must-see summer blockbuster that celebrates love, life and community, critics say“In the Heights” arrives in theaters and on HBO Max on Thursday. Here’s what critics are saying about the musical adaptation. | |
CDC says heart inflammation cases were higher than expected in 16- to 24-year-olds after second Covid vaccine shot, but still rareThe number of cases of a heart inflammation condition in 16- to 24-year-olds was higher than expected after they received their second dose, the CDC said. | |
Second UAW president sentenced to 28 months in prison in union corruption probeHe is one of 15 people to have been charged, including three Fiat Chrysler executives and his predecessor, who was sentenced last month to 21 months in prison. | |
Millennial millionaires have a large share of their wealth in crypto, CNBC survey saysNearly half of millennial millionaires have at least 25% of their wealth in cryptocurrencies, according to the CNBC Millionaire Survey. | |
Back-to-school spending likely to top pre-pandemic levels as parents and kids seek a fresh startBack-to-school sales in the U.S. are expected to grow 5.5% year over year, according to a forecast by Mastercard SpendingPulse. | |
EU and U.S. to call for a deeper probe into Covid originsThe EU and the U.S. will call for more progress on an investigation into the origins of Covid-19, according to a draft EU document. | |
Watch live: FDA advisory panel meets to discuss Covid vaccines in infants and childrenA key Food and Drug Administration panel is holding a meeting Thursday to discuss the use of Covid-19 vaccines in children. | |
Moderna asks FDA to clear Covid vaccine for adolescents 12 to 17If approved, it would likely dramatically expand the number of Covid vaccine shots available to middle and high school students ahead of the next school year. | |
After a dramatic seven-year renovation, an $87 million mansion hits the market in Bel-AirThe Bel-Air mansion’s makeover was nearly a total teardown, its owner said. Only one wall from the old house is still standing. | |
Bonds & Bullion Bid As Meme-Stocks Are Monkey-Hammer’dBonds & Bullion Bid As Meme-Stocks Are Monkey-Hammer’d Today’s big upside inflation surprise piles on the stagflationary evidence as production expectations remain too optimistic… Source: Bloomberg The flip-flopping continues with Small Caps down today and Big-Tech up. The Dow ended unch and S&P modestly higher to a new record close… The ratio remains rangebound… | |
Melvin Capital Among Hedge Funds Losing $6 Billion On Latest Meme SqueezeMelvin Capital Among Hedge Funds Losing $6 Billion On Latest Meme Squeeze “Fool me once, shame on… shame on you. Fool me… you can’t get fooled again,” were the infamous words of former President Bush and we suspect that Steve Cohen protà gà Gabe Plotkin is reflecting on those stoic words as he looks back at his fund’s performance in May. Plotkin’s Melvin Capital – infamously blown-up by a retail rampage during January’s WSB Raid on heavily-shorted stocks – was joined by another fund, Light Street Capital, run by Glen Kacher (a Tiger Cub) in suffering significant losses as the sense of deja vu all over again in markets sent the most-heavily-shorted ‘Meme stocks’ soaring to even higher highs once again in May. As The FT reports, hedge fund losses just from betting against five popular meme stocks – GameStop, Bed Bath & Beyond, AMC, BlackBerry and Clover Health – total about $6bn since the start of May, according to the data firm Ortex Analytics. It appears the bailout of Melvin … | |
‘Tentative Infrastructure Deal’ Reached By Tiny Group Of Senators Led By Romney‘Tentative Infrastructure Deal’ Reached By Tiny Group Of Senators Led By Romney After talks between President Joe Biden and Sen. Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV) broke down earlier this week, a bipartisan group of 10 senators led by Mitt Romney (R-UT) say they’ve reached a tentative deal on the the size of an infrastructure deal, as well as how they’d pay for it. The deal would spend a fraction of the $4.1 trillion called for by President Biden, and would not require an increase in taxes, according to The Hill, which suggests it may be a “tough sell within the broader Senate Democratic caucus.” That said, members of the bipartisan group warned on Thursday that they still need to run it past the Senate GOP conference and the White House to see if there’s a broader buy-in. | |
Household Net Worth Hits Record $137 Trillion, Up $25.6 Trillion Since COVIDHousehold Net Worth Hits Record $137 Trillion, Up $25.6 Trillion Since COVID Another quarter, another record high in (mostly 0.01%er) household net worth. The Fed’s latest Flow of Funds report released at noon today showed the latest snapshot of the US “household” sector as of March 31 2021, which confirmed that one year after the biggest drop in household net worth on record when $8 trillion was wiped out in Q1, 2020, in the 1st quarter of 2021, the net worth of US households soared by $5 trillion, or 3.8%, to a record $136.9 trillion. This means that over the past 12 months, US household net worth has increased by: Q2 2020: $8.27TN Q3 2020: $4.23TN Q4 2020: $8.06TN Q1 2021: $5TN … a grand total of $25.6 trillion. And since the bulk of this wealth goes to a fraction of the wealthiest 1%, it means that the covid pandemic has been the biggest wealth transfer in history making America’s richest even r … | |
Starbucks faces drinks ingredients shortage in USThe company says there are œtemporary supply shortages affecting coffee shops in multiple US states. | |
Morrisons boss suffers huge revolt over £1.7m bonusMore than 70% of the supermarket’s shareholders reject plans to award David Potts a pay package worth up to £4.2m. | |
Goldman bankers ordered to report vaccine status before office returnIn a memo seen by the BBC, the investment bank said it understood the choice to be vaccinated was “personal”. | |
A $43 billion jump in Adani’s fortune is fraught with many risksThe analysis underscores the vulnerability of the rapid wealth surge Adani has seen in 2021, beating the gains for Warren Buffett and his compatriot Mukesh Ambani. | |
Are you averse to booking losses in stocks? It’s best time to remove the weedsA typical retail investor portfolio is likely to have many low-grade stocks and even penny stocks. Bull market presents opportunities to get out of the low-grade stocks and to invest the proceeds in quality stocks. | |
Smallcap investor Anil Goel having his day in the sun after 330% sugar rushHis biggest holding Dhampur Sugar, where he has kept his stake constant since the June quarter of 2020, has climbed 21 per cent in the past one month, 71 per cent in the last three months and 174 per cent in the last one year. | |
The Wall Street Journal: U.S. suspends J&J COVID-19 vaccine shipments as states face surplus of expiring dosesThe U.S. government has halted new shipments of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine, according to state and federal health officials, one of several steps federal agencies are taking that could help clear a backlog of unused doses before they expire. | |
: Investors tell G-7 that money will flow to nations that take the lead on climate changeA group of 79 corporate executives and investors with $41 trillion under their watch issued separate calls on Thursday for major world leaders to accelerate action on climate change. | |
FA Center: Why China’s new 3-child policy won’t ease headwinds on Chinese stocks anytime soonPopulation trends do impact stocks, but many decades in the future. |
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