Written by Gary
Another Day, Another Short Squeeze; Small Caps & Crypto Jump (SPY +0.6%). Used Car Prices Are Skyrocketing.
The Market in Perspective
Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
Venezuelas Descent Into Anarchy Is Fueling Maduros DesperationVenezuelas Descent Into Anarchy Is Fueling Maduros DesperationDescription:Tags: After more than 15 years of U.S. sanctions which caused Venezuelas one mighty petroleum industry to collapse, the crisis-driven Latin American state now appears on the verge of failure. More than two decades of autocratic socialist rule, which started with Chavezs 1999 Bolivarian revolution, have gutted what was once South Americas most stable democracy and richest country. Venezuela is at the tail end of what is described | |
UAE Could Become First OPEC Producer To Pledge Net-Zero By 2050One of OPECs largest producers, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is considering the potential adoption of a net-zero by 2050 goal, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing sources with knowledge of the talks. If the Gulf oil producer joins major industrialized nations in the net-zero emissions commitments, it will become the first major petrostate to balance major emission-reduction goals with its important oil and gas industry. Around 30 percent of the countrys gross domestic product (GDP) is directly based on oil and gas output, according | |
Chevron Wont Cut Oil & Gas Business For RenewablesUnlike European supermajors, U.S. Chevron doesnt have any plans to reduce its oil and gas business to invest in solar or wind power, chief financial officer Pierre Breber said at a Reuters conference on Thursday. Shareholders have ramped up pressure on the worlds largest public companiesincluding Chevronto start preparing their business for profits in the energy transition. Most European oil and gas supermajors have pledged to become net-zero energy businesses by 2050 and to invest growing amounts of cash into renewable | |
Why Used Car Prices Are SkyrocketingIncreased demand, combined with low-interest rates and a major semiconductor shortage, has caused prices of both new and used cars to skyrocket to the point that you might end up paying a new car price for its used counterpart. The price change is particularly noticeable with used cars that have suddenly gone from depreciation to appreciation. The Associated Press (AP) reported that one two-year-old Toyota model with a $29,000 sticker price now goes for more than $33,000. Even dealers are willing to pay almost $1,000 more than | |
Oil And Gas Companies Set For Record Free Cash Flow This SummerWith oil trading above $70 per barrel while investment activity remains low, the worlds publicly traded exploration and production (E&P) companies are set to generate record-breaking free cash flows (FCF) in 2021, a Rystad Energy report projects. Their combined FCF is expected to surge to $348 billion this year, with the previous high being $311 billion back in 2008. Rystad Energy estimates that total gross revenue for all public upstream companies is expected to increase by almost $500 billion in 2021, or 55% compared to last year (excluding | |
Lego Finds Way To Make Bricks From Recycled Plastic BottlesLego has announced a breakthrough that will allow it to produce its legendary bricks from recycled plastic bottles instead of from oil-based plastic, Reuters reports, noting the company had been hard at work searching for an alternative to new plastic for some time. The Danish toymaker uses around 100,000 tons of oil-based plastics for its products every year, Reuters noted in its report, and has been looking for alternatives for a while now, engaging close to 150 engineers and scientists. The solution appears to be recycled plastic bottles for | |
Supply chain pressures are still a problem due to workforce shortages, manufacturing group saysSupply chain disruptions and inflated prices are not abating yet, National Association of Manufacturers CEO Jay Timmons told CNBC on Thursday. | |
Rite Aid shares plummet; CEO cites Covid uncertainty for drug store chain’s cautious outlookShares of Rite Aid sank roughly 14% on Thursday, as Wall Street digested mixed quarterly results and weaker earnings guidance. | |
Bipartisan infrastructure deal omits major climate change measuresThe narrow infrastructure deal leaves President Biden’s proposals on climate change to a separate bill that Democrats would try to pass using reconciliation. | |
Carnival booking volumes increase 45% in second quarter as cruise industry emerges from pandemicCarnival Corporation posted an adjusted loss of $2 billion and an increase in future bookings in its second-quarter results. | |
Vegas welcomes its newest casino as recovery from pandemic takes holdThe Las Vegas Strip is getting its first new-construction casino in more than a decade just as Covid-era restrictions end. | |
Ford loses chief technology officer to Amazon in industry battle over talentFord is losing its chief technology officer to Amazon, marking an ongoing talent battle between the automotive and technology industries. | |
‘F9’ is a ‘wild ride’ but far from the franchise’s best showing“F9” has raised the bar on ridiculous action sequences and “soap opera drama,” critics say. | |
Darden Restaurants CEO says speculation is driving up real estate pricesDarden Restaurants CEO Gene Lee said that speculation is driving up real estate prices. | |
China is actually ‘all in’ on crypto ” but only a brand it can control, Andreessen Horowitz partner says“China is actually all in on crypto. Make no mistake about that,” Andreessen Horowitz crypto co-lead Katie Haun told CNBC on Thursday. | |
Luminar’s shares pop after Volvo says it will use start-up’s lidar technology as standard equipment on new EVVolvo and is integrating start-up Luminar Technologies Iris lidar system as standard equipiment on the automaker’s upcoming electric flagship SUV. | |
Millions could be suffering from long Covid, British study suggestsA study in England looking at persistent Covid-19 symptoms suggests that around 2 million people in the country may have had the condition known as “long Covid.” | |
Brooklyn Nets owners will use character, not credit scores, for $2.5 million loan program that helps Black businessesNBA owners Joe and Clara Wu Tsai will use money from the $50 million Social Justice Fund that was established in 2020. | |
Another Day, Another Short Squeeze; Small Caps & Crypto JumpAnother Day, Another Short Squeeze; Small Caps & Crypto Jump Shorts were squeezed for the 4th straight day… Source: Bloomberg Helping Small Caps to outperform on the day. Nasdaq lagged along with the S&P but all ended green… The S&P, Nasdaq Composite, and Nasdaq 100 all closed at a record high. Bank stocks outperformed the market today (despite the curve being flatter) ahead of tonight’s stress-test data… | |
Water Shortages: Why Some Californians Are Running Out And Others Aren’tWater Shortages: Why Some Californians Are Running Out And Others Aren’t By Rachel Becker of CalMatters, In Los Angeles, people have been hearing about the dangers of drought for decades. But in this land of infinity pools and backyard putting greens ” better suited for rattlesnakes and scrub ” water never seems to run out. Yet little Redwood Valley in Mendocino County, which gets a bountiful 38 inches of rain in an average year and sits near the headwaters of the Russian River, has been devastated by this year’s drought. Each resident has been told to use no more than 55 gallons per day ” enough to fill a bathtub and flush a toilet six times. And in San Jose, where less than half of its usual rain has fallen this year, people have been asked to cut water use by 15% ” a target that could become mandatory if locals fail to comply. | |
Prime Brokers Face DOJ Collusion Probe Into Archegos CollapsePrime Brokers Face DOJ Collusion Probe Into Archegos Collapse More details about the DoJ investigation into the collapse of Archegos are starting to emerge. Instead of going after Archegos and its founder, ex-billionaire “Tiger cub” Bill Hwang, it looks like the investigation is focusing on the prime brokers that extended his fund the margin it used to magnify the size of his bets on a handful of media and tech stocks, including ViacomCBS. According to Bloomberg, the DoJ’s antitrust division is handling at least part of the criminal investigation into the collapse. Specifically, it appears they’re interested in the banks’ discussions about potentially working together to unwind pieces of the Archegos portfolio in an orderly fashion that wouldn’t spook markets. Ironically, the brokers’ hasty attempt to work together to prevent losses seems to have had the opposite effec … | |
JP Morgan Warns US Employees It May Require Them To Get VaccinatedJP Morgan Warns US Employees It May Require Them To Get Vaccinated Morgan Stanley surprised many on Wall Street – including its employees, clients and rivals – when the FT reported earlier this week that the company planned to require all employees and clients to be fully vaccinated before they can enter any of the firm’s New York offices. Despite the controversy that surrounded the decision, it looks like some of Morgan Stanley’s biggest rivals are weighing whether to impose similarly strict vaccination requirements (now that the federal government is giving employers the “green light” to “incentivize” workers to get the vaccine). JPM, America’s largest bank by assets, has ordered workers to fill out a questionnaire on their vaccination status by the end of this month, according to a memo from CEO Jamie Dimon and other members of the operating committee that … | |
Covid: Balearics and Malta added to UK’s green travel listMinisters are intending to drop quarantine for fully-jabbed arrivals from amber list countries this summer. | |
U-turn over Premium Bond prizes paid by chequeNS&I scraps plans that would have seen an end to prizes being posted to winners. | |
Poundland says tenth of products are not a poundOne in ten Poundland products no longer a pound, the discount retailer says. | |
9 big lessons for investors from the Covid pandemicThe fact that the portfolio holds high quality companies will provide investors the confidence that the stock would recover quickly when the trajectory of the economy changes. | |
Ambani to follow in Musk, Adani footsteps, enter green energy businessReliance will invest Rs 60,000 crore in building four gigafactories at Jamnagar Gigacomplex. An overall investment of Rs 75,000 crore in new green energy business will be made over the next three years. RIL said it will establish and enable at least 100 GW of solar energy by 2030. | |
Dolly Khanna buys stake in Deepak SpinnersShares of the textile company, however, ended 10.5 per cent lower at Rs 168.25. | |
Documentary Of The Week: Steady-State Economy – UPDATEDWritten by John Lounsbury What happens if an economy runs out of “running room”? If the growth of an economy can no longer be sustained bcause of resource limitations, what options are there? These are questions considered this week in a short lecture by Prof. Dan O’Neill from the University of Leeds. Clearly one undesirable option is economic and societal collapse. But that is not the only possibility. | |
: Amazon has spent billions to get within a 1-hour delivery distance of many U.S. customers, but Walmart and Target are still winning that raceWalmart and Target are among the retailers that have turned their brick-and-mortar locations into assets after e-commerce threatened to make stores a liability. | |
Capitol Report: ‘We have a deal,’ Biden says after meeting with senators on bipartisan infrastructure planPresident Joe Biden on Thursday announces a bipartisan deal on infrastructure spending, after he hosts an Oval Office meeting with senators who had crafted a framework for an agreement. | |
Earnings Watch: BlackBerry’s meme buzz goes silent as company is set to report earningsThings have gone eerily quiet around the stock that puts the B in BANG, with the former smartphone maker set to report Q1 results after Thursday’s closing bell. |
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