23Jun2021 Market Close: Fed's Kaplan Sparks Late-Day Dump On Rate-Hike, DOW Closes Down 71 Points, Nasdaq Set New Record Close Up 0.1%, WTI Settles Lower 73.24, Bitcoin Slips To 33100

Written by Gary

John Mcafee found dead in prison cell after U.S. extradition approved (SPY -0.1%). May 2021 Headline New Home Sales Slow Again.

The Market in Perspective

Here are the headlines moving the markets.
	Solar Has An Unlikely New Enemy Wind and solar generation capacity topped new capacity additions in 2020 despite the pandemic, prompting praise from energy authorities and environmentalists, as well as urges for picking up the pace so wind and solarespecially solarcould become the dominant source of energy for the world sooner than 2030. The narrative of the cheap solar panel is so common, few question it at all, especially when it features data about the declining cost curve of panels. According to this narrative, solar farm electricity is already cheaper than
	Can Russia Become A Major Player In Helium Markets? This month, Gazpromlaunchedthe first of six lines of the Amur Gas Processing Plant (GPP). By 2025, when the plant reaches its design capacity, it will not only become the largest Russian site for natural gas processing (42 billion cubic meters per year) but will also increase Russia’s share in the global helium market. Apart from ethane, liquefied petroleum gases and pentane-hexane fraction, the bordering China Amur GPP will be capable of producing up to 60 million cubic meters of helium annually. To make it clear, in 2020 Russia produced
	BP Launches Oil Project In U.S. Gulf Of Mexico BP has started up an oil project in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, its fourth of five major projects globally this year, which will generate cash flow to fund low-carbon energy developments at the supermajor. BP announced on Wednesday that it had safely started up the Manuel project, which includes a new subsea production system for two new wells tied into the Na Kika platform 140 miles off the coast of New Orleans. BP and Shell each hold a 50-percent working interest in the Manuel development. The wells at the Manuel project are expected to boost
	Analysts At Odds Over Where Commodity Prices Will Head From Here Some commodities have taken a beating over the last week after the Federal Reserve signaled for interest-rate increases, a rising dollar, and China’s efforts to slow inflation. The question readers should ask is what happens next? Well, either Ark’s Cathie Wood, who has predicted a ‘serious correction’ in commodities and a return to deflation will be correct, or Ivan Glasenberg, the CEO of commodities trading giant Glencore, who told Bloomberg Tuesday on the second day of the Qatar Economic Forum 2021 that the overall rally in commodities will
	South Sudan Aims For Foreign Investment In First-Ever Oil Licensing Round South Sudan has just launched its inaugural oil licensing round, hoping to attract interest from a diverse group of foreign investors. South Sudan broke from Sudan in 2011, taking with it around 350,000 bpd in oil production. But then civil war in South Sudan broke out in 2013 that further complicated oil production. In 2018, the warring factions in South Sudan signed the so-calledKhartoum Declaration of Agreement, in which the parties to the South Sudan conflict declared a permanent ceasefire, and the governments of Sudan and South Sudan
	The Unintended Consequences Of Punishing Big Oil The day of reckoning for Big Oil, when events at boardrooms and courtrooms issued last month the starkest warning to oil majors license to operate yet, was hailed as a huge victory for climate activists. But the climate celebration may be a bit premature. Rebel shareholder votes at Exxon and Chevron and a court ruling against Shell delivered a blow to Big Oil in a single day, and environmentalists are ecstatic. But for all the glee that oil majors got what they deserved, climate activists
	NFL hires Goldman Sachs to explore alternate revenue streams for NFL Media, may sell stakes The NFL said Wednesday it’s exploring strategic options, including selling stakes, for its NFL Media properties, including NFL Network and NFL RedZone.
	Falling avocado shipments could hurt Chipotle’s margins, analyst says Chipotle Mexican Grill’s margins could take a hit from the predicted decline in avocado shipments next quarter, according to Truist analyst Jake Bartlett.
	Walmart’s former e-commerce chief Marc Lore says brands like Warby Parker can’t be replicated by big-box retailers Walmart’s former e-commerce chief Marc Lore sees a hot market for direct-to-consumer retailers such as Warby Parker and Allbirds.
	Embattled EV start-up Lordstown touts ‘real employees at a real plant’ as it seeks capital infusion Executives with EV start-up Lordstown Motors this week are hoping to convince Wall Street investors and analysts that they can be a “real” automaker.
	Cramer says ‘tone deaf’ billionaires should support tax reforms or get walloped by DC “Elizabeth Warren is going to win this if the billionaires try to fight it too much,” CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Wednesday.
	‘F9’ expected to kick off the summer blockbuster season with highest pandemic opening “F9” arrives in theaters June 25 and could have the highest opening of any film released during the pandemic.
	Bosses should mandate Covid vaccinations for workers, national staffing firm CEO says Fully vaccinated employees should embrace a return to the office rather than run away from it, LaSalle Network CEO Tom Gimbel told CNBC on Wednesday.
	Philadelphia 76ers ‘bullish’ on All-Star Ben Simmons, but his NBA market value is down The Sixers All-Star guard will make roughly $145 million over the next four seasons and will be the topic of trade rumors this NBA offseason.
	CDC safety group says there’s a likely link between rare heart inflammation in young people after Covid shot “This is still a rare event,” Dr. Tom Shimabukuro said at the meeting. For both vaccines combined, there were 12.6 heart inflammation cases per million doses.
	Watch live: CDC panel holds meeting on possible heart inflammation link to Covid shots A key CDC advisory panel is holding a meeting Wednesday to discuss rare, but higher-than-expected, reports of heart inflammation in young people.
	Fauci says delta accounts for 20% of new cases and will be dominant Covid variant in U.S. in weeks Fauci said the variant has a doubling time of about two weeks and currently accounts for 20% newly diagnosed infections in the U.S.
	Total e-commerce sales during Amazon Prime Day surpass $11 billion, Adobe says Total online retail sales in the United States during Prime Day were 6.1%Â higher than transactions generated by the 2020 event, according to Adobe Analytics.
	Southwest Airlines CEO Kelly stepping down in 2022, will be replaced by company veteran Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly will step down in 2022 and will be replaced by company veteran Robert Jordan.
	Fed’s Kaplan Sparks Late-Day Dump On Rate-Hike, Taper Talk Fed’s Kaplan Sparks Late-Day Dump On Rate-Hike, Taper Talk Ugly PMIs (Services recovery collapsed), and even uglier housing data suggest all is not well under the surface of the “excellent” recovery and that “hope”-filled gap between ‘soft’ and hard data is set to slump again… Source: Bloomberg But markets just shrugged it off as the echoes of Powell’s dovish promises bounced around their frontal cortexes. While Small Caps did their manic thing; The Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq all trod water all day in a very narrow range… UNTIL this happened… The U.S. economy will likely meet the Federal Reserve’s threshold for tapering its asset purchases sooner than people think, said Dallas Fed PresidentÂ Robert Kaplan, who has penciled in an interest-rate increase next year. œAs we …
	John McAfee Found Dead In Prison Cell After US Extradition Approved John McAfee Found Dead In Prison Cell After US Extradition Approved Update (1530ET): Just after Spain’s National Court approved a request for his extradition back to the US, where he faced the prospect of dying in a jail cell, Spanish newspaper El Pais reported Wednesday evening that John McAfee committed suicide in his cell, dying at the age of 75. He was being held in a prison in Barcelona. So far, initial evidence of his death, which occurred Wednesday afternoon, local time, points to suicide. He was initially arrested by Spanish authorities on Oct. 3, 2020 at the El Prat airport, just as he was about to take a plane to Turkey. He was arrested at the behest of the US, where he is wanted for evading millions of dollars in taxes. Spanish judge JosÃ de la Mata reportedly ordered his arrest. In the last tweet sent from an account tied to McAfee, the cybersecurity software pioneer warned that “all power corrupts.” In recent weeks, his tweet …
	‘1619 Project’ Founder Launches Crusade Against UNC After Being Denied Tenure ‘1619 Project’ Founder Launches Crusade Against UNC After Being Denied Tenure One of America’s most controversial journalists, 1619 Project co-founder Nikole Hannah-Jones, has just been denied tenure by the University of North Carolina, where she has been teaching at the school’s journalism program (known for the large number of alumni journalists working for Bloomberg, WSJ, Reuters, the AP and the NYT). Hannah-Jones is now threatening to sue the school after her tenure application was denied. Hannah-Jones, a correspondent for the NYT Magazine, had agreed to teach at the university’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media as the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism. However, after word of her hiring got out, one of the school’s biggest donors spoke out against her hiring, arguing that the 1619 project unfairly demonized white people, according to a report in (of all places) the NYT. Nikole Hannah-Jones In a letter accusing the school of political interference, Hannah- …
	U.S. Air Force Base Says Drag Queen Show Was “Essential For Morale” U.S. Air Force Base Says Drag Queen Show Was “Essential For Morale” Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Summit News, A U.S. Air Force base responded to controversy about a drag queen show hosted by the base by saying the performance was œessential to the morale, cohesion, and readiness of the military. Yes, really. Nellis AFB staged its first ever drag queen show on June 17th called ‘Drag-u-Nellis’ ” which it said was important in teaching military personnel the œsignificance of Drag in the LGBT+ Community. After some veterans raised concerns about why such an event was being hosted, Nellis hit back with a statement defending the show. So @NellisAFB is having a base-sanctioned drag Queen show; isn’t that awesome? Maybe some of our military œjournalists …
	Investor Warren Buffett gives away $4.1bn more to charity The 90-year-old billionaire investor has pledged to give away all of his Berkshire Hathaway shares.
	US tycoon McAfee found dead in Spanish prison The anti-virus creator is found dead in a Spanish prison cell after a court allows his extradition on tax evasion charges.
	Travel industry protests against Covid restrictions Airline and travel firms want more help from the government amid tight rules on international travel.
	5G phone, JioBook, Aramco news & what else to watch out for at RIL AGM The AGM would take place in the backdrop of an 11 per cent rise in the shares of Reliance Industries in the last one month against Sensex’s 4 per cent rise, reflecting building Street expectations.
	Fannie, Freddie plunge as US Supreme Court deals blow to investors The justices rejected claims that the Federal Housing Finance Agency exceeded its authority under federal law.
	Indian banking and financial sector at an inflection point Almost all sub-sectors within the banking and financial services industry have barely scratched the surface in terms of reach.
	May 2021 Trucking Data Was Mixed Written by Steven Hansen Headline data for the CASS Freight Index show that freight volumes show grew month-over-month – and the year-over-year growth is 35.3 % (compared to the recession one year ago). In the opposite corner, the American Trucking Association (ATA) index declined but is in expansion now year-over-year.
	May 2021 Headline New Home Sales Slow Again Written by John Lounsbury and Steven Hansen The headlines say new home sales growth slowed month-over-month. New homes for sale rose to a 5.1 months supply at the current sales rate.
	In One Chart: The clearest evidence that Wall Street has no clue where Treasury yields are headed If you predicted that yields for U.S. government debt would be lower in late June than they were a few months ago, even as the Fed acknowledges that inflation may bust out higher and for longer than had originally been anticipated, you would be oh-so wrong.
	The New York Post: Security-software entrepreneur McAfee reportedly found dead in Barcelona jail cell Spanish court had agreed to extradite John McAfee to the U.S.
	Market Snapshot: U.S. stocks head for 3rd day of gains as Nasdaq Composite aims for 16th record close U.S. stock benchmarks edge higher for a third straight day Wednesday, with the Nasdaq Composite within striking distance of a 16th record close in 2021, as investors focus on inflation and the Federal Reserve’s promise to go slow in scaling back its support.