22Jun2021 Midday Update: The Biggest Midday Movers: Peloton, GameStop, MicroVision, DOW Up 16 Points, Nasdaq Up 0.5% At 1 ET, Bitcoin Rises To 32200 After Forming A Death-cross

Written by Gary

Bitcoin soars back above $32K as dip-buyers erase day’s losses (SPY +0.4%). Pokemon Go maker Niantic slammed for pushing players to go back outside

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.
	$3 Billion Caribbean Refinery To Close Its Doors For Good The Limetree Bay refinery on the island of St. Croix will be shut down forever due to “extreme financial constraints.” “This was an extremely difficult decision for us,” chief executive Jeff Rinker said in a statement, as carried by The Associated Press. “Unfortunately, this is our only option.” The investors in the facility had poured some $3 billion into their plan to revive the 210,000-bpd refinery. The decision follows an order from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued last month to shut down the refinery because of “multiple improperly
	The Middle East Is Doubling Down On Its ESG Ambitions As industries around the world increasingly turn towards environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies to support their recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, focus is sharpening on sustainable construction in the Middle East. Perhaps more so than most sectors, construction could significantly benefit from a shift towards more sustainable practices. A UN report released in December estimated that, including operational emissions, the construction industry accounted for 38% of the worlds energy-related carbon emissions. The issue is
	Exxon Plans Additional Job Cuts Exxon has plans to reduce its office employee count in the United States by between 5 and 10 percent over the next three to five years, Bloomberg has reported, citing unnamed source familiar with the matter. According to them, the culling will be based on the companys performance evaluation system that should identify the weakest links in the workforce. According to a spokesperson, however, who commented on the report to Bloomberg, the plan is unrelated to Exxons job cut plans and is part of regular annual performance reviews. The
	Is OPEC+ Ready To Open The Taps? OPEC+ is mulling over a further relaxation in its oil production cut agreement beginning August, Reuters has reported, citing unnamed sources in the know. The discussions are ongoing, the Reuters sources said, focusing on how much oil the cartel will bring back. OPEC+ started relaxing its unprecedented production cuts of 7.7 million bpd at the beginning of this year, gradually adding 2.1 million bpd to the global supply between May and July in response to a faster than expected demand recovery. “It is highly possible to increase gradually from
	Texas Power Companies Take Over Smart Thermostats To Save Electricity Have a smart thermostat at home? Better keep an eye on it – especially if you live in Texas. That’s because some residents of the Lone Star state have been claiming that someone has been turning up the temperatures at their homes, remotely, at the same time the state is undergoing an energy shortage. And while the Electric Reliability Council of Texas has asked Texans to turn up the temperatures at their homes to help deal with the shortage, some residents are claiming it’s being done for them. Deer Park resident Brandon English told
	Oil Prices Hit Multi-Year High Following Iranian Elections Crude oil prices clambered upward on Monday afternoon as the market feared that Iran nuclear talks may be stalled after hardliner Ebrahim Raisi won the Iranian presidential election. A weaker dollar lent further support to climbing oil prices. Over the last thirty days, WTI has risen roughly $7.50 per barrel, from just over $66. Brent crude, on the other hand, has risen roughly $6.50 from the $68.30 a month ago. The last time WTI spot prices were this high was back in October of 2018. Bank of Americas newest pricing outlook suggests
	Chaos has arrived in the NCAA and athletes will need to learn their fair market value following Supreme Court ruling Supreme Court decision on NCAA antitrust and incoming name, image and likeness, student-athletes will need to quickly determine their fair market value.
	Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Peloton, GameStop, MicroVision and more These are the stocks posting the largest moves in midday trading.
	Krispy Kreme looks to raise as much as $640 million through IPO Krispy Kreme is looking to raise between $560 million to $640 million through an initial public offering this year.
	‘It’s out of control.’ Airlines, flight attendants want stiffer penalties for unruly passengers Lawmakers and flight crews have become alarmed about a spike in disruptive and sometimes violent passengers on planes.
	Music venues and theaters are still waiting on government’s small businesses aid The Small Business Administration’s Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program got off to a glitchy start, and applicants say there continue to be problems.
	Biden administration plans to say it will likely fall short of its Fourth of July vaccination goal Roughly 65% of American adults have received one shot or more as of Monday, according to the CDC, on pace to land at about 67% on the Fourth of July.
	First day of Amazon Prime Day draws most online spending so far in 2021, Adobe says The first day of Amazon’s 48-hour Prime Day event is expected to have driven the most online sales in a 24-hour period so far this year, according to new data.
	McDonald’s will launch its loyalty program nationwide in July McDonald’s first-ever U.S. loyalty program will launch nationwide on July 8.
	Tide partners with NASA to create detergent for astronauts and help save water on Earth Tide to Go is going to outer space. Tide detergent is partnering with NASA to keep astronauts’ spacesuits clean, even if they travel to Mars.
	Chipotle tweaks its loyalty program to offer more redemption options Since Chipotle Rewards debuted two years ago, it has added 22.9 million consumers to its ranks.
	Peloton sees the office as a new way to grow subscribers as people head back to their desks Peloton is launching a corporate wellness program as it aims to reach new users and grow its membership base.
	Target unveils sustainability goals, pledging to keep its products out of landfills, create net-zero emissions by 2040 Target said it is responding to growing consumer demand for more sustainable products and practices from companies.
	Covid boosters in the fall? As calls grow for third shots, here’s what you need to know Coronavirus vaccine booster shots will likely be needed in the fall, according to experts. Here’s what we know so far.
	Biden Admin Offers To Meet North Korea “Anytime, Anywhere” For Nuclear Talks Biden Admin Offers To Meet North Korea “Anytime, Anywhere” For Nuclear Talks Amid renewed speculation over Kim Jong Un’s health and especially the growing food crisis in his country, the US special envoy for North Korea on Monday made a rare diplomatic overture for the first time under the Biden administration, saying he hoped leaders in Pyongyang would be willing to meet for talks “anytime, anywhere”.Â “We continue to hope that the DPRK will respond positively to our outreach and our offer to meet anywhere, anytime, without preconditions,” US Special EnvoyÂ Sung KimÂ said of nuclear talks which collapsed or at least were put on indefinite “pause” by the last year of the Trump administration.Â “We will also urge all UNÂ member states, especially UNÂ Security Council members, to do the same, to address the threat posed …
	NYC Voters Head To Polls To Pick New Mayor As An Emotional Eric Adams Favored To Win NYC Voters Head To Polls To Pick New Mayor As An Emotional Eric Adams Favored To Win Residents of New York City are heading to the polls today to elect their next mayor – and in what should come as no surprise amid a crime wave not seen since the 1980s, former NYPD captain and president of the Brooklyn Borough, Eric Adams, is the clear frontrunner. Adams is notably smoking former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang in the polls – despite Yang’s endorsement by the police Captains Endowment Association. Polls opened at 6 a.m. and will remain open until 9 p.m.
	Kamala Harris Trains Activists To Pressure People Into Getting Vaccinated Kamala Harris Trains Activists To Pressure People Into Getting Vaccinated Authored by Emily Miller via Emily Posts (emphasis ours) That person knocking at your door will tell you President Biden sent him to tell you the COVID vaccine is safe and effective. The person at the door may be the same Democratic operative who drove you to vote last year. Now he will tell you that Vice President Kamala Harris said it’s your patriotic duty to get vaccinated. The feds sending people door-to-door to pressure the unvaccinated is a massive invasion of privacy and heavy-handed tactics that is a door step too far. Harris at the Greenville event from @VP Twitter Biden tasked Harris to do the œWe Can Do This National Vaccination Tour to attempt to reach millions of Americans to œencourage vaccinations, and energize and mobilize grassroots vaccine education and outreach efforts. The real reason for all this is th …
	Bitcoin Soars Back Above $32k As Dip-Buyers Erase Day’s Losses Bitcoin Soars Back Above $32k As Dip-Buyers Erase Day’s Losses Update (1200ET): Well that de-escalated quickly. Having dropped into the red for the year (briefly), a wave of crypto dip-buyers have sent Bitcoin back above $32k and into the green for the day… Â Â * Update (1030ET): Bitcoin has continued its slide and is now in the red for 2021. Ethereum is stil up over 130% YTD. Source: Bloomberg In addition, the so-called Bitcoin Proxy stocks are all suffe …
	Bitcoin tumbles below $30,000 on China crypto-crackdown The cryptocurrency slides to its lowest value for five months after China tells banks to stop supporting transactions.
	Bumble closes to give ‘burnt-out’ staff a week’s break A senior employee wrote on Twitter that the extra holiday was to deal with “collective burnout”.
	Google investigated over ‘dominance’ in ad market The investigation will look into all aspects of Google’s involvement in the digital-advertising market.
	Once an admirer, Naseem Taleb now says Bitcoin is worth zero The noted author said that Bitcoin can neither be a short-term or long-term store of value, cannot operate as a reliable hedge against inflation.
	Hunt for deep value stocks to beat market in next 2-3 years: Raamdeo Agrawal “I don’t think we can invest based on whether they (central banks) want to stop bond buying or double it up,” says Raamdeo Agrawal
	Energy stocks back in vogue amid rising crude prices The Nifty Oil & Gas index has delivered 28% return since the beginning of 2021 thereby outperforming the benchmark Nifty 50 by 15%.
	: This hedge fund invested in GameStop ” it’s now closing after suffering losses: reports White Square Capital is thought to be one of the first hedge funds to close following sharp meme-stock price movements.
	: As crypto crash wipes out $1.3 trillion, here’s what some pros advise about buying bitcoin, dogecoin, other assets What’s an investor to do as crypto enters a new stage in 2021? Free fall ?
	The Margin: Pokemon Go maker Niantic slammed for pushing players to go back outside Some pandemic stay-at-home bonuses are being removed, to many users’ dismay