09Jul2021 Midday Update: New Record High, SP 500 +1.0% At 1 ET, DOW +1.2%, Nasdaq +1.0%, WTI Crude Climbs Higher 74.26, Bitcoin 33500

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.

Angola Kicks Oil Privatization Into Overdrive

Angola is seeking buyers for state insurer ENSA as part of a privatization drive that also includes the partial sale of state oil major Sonangol. The aim of the government is to sell a majority stake in ENSA by the end of November and then the rest of its holding in the company in two to five years, Reuters reported, citing the companys board chairman. Angola has earmarked for sale as many as 195 state-owned assets, with the disposals to be completed by the end of next year. Sonangol, a crown jewel, will be privatized next year, along with

EIA Sees Brent Prices Averaging $69 This Year

Brent Crude spot prices are set to average $68.78 per barrel this year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its latest monthly outlook, significantly raising its oil price projections for both 2021 and 2022, expecting continued demand recovery. The latest Brent price forecast in EIAs Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) for July is more than $3 a barrel higher than the June forecast of $65.19. It should be noted, however, that the Administration completed its forecasts for the July STEO on July 1, that is, just before the

Nio Plans 4,000 Battery-Swapping Stations By 2025

Chinese electric car maker Nio plans to build 4,000 battery-swapping stations worldwide by 2025, Reuters has reported, citing the companys president Qin Lihong. Battery swapping is emerging as a quicker alternative to EV charging, which often still takes hours, making EVs less appealing to potential buyers. Yet swapping a battery could take about as little as it takes to fill a tank of gasoline, which may make this approach to charging even more popular in the future. Nio plans to start small, with 700 battery-swapping stations this year,

Tesla Berlin Gigafactory Faces Another Setback

After missing the July 1 opening date, Teslas first European Gigafactory outside Berlin faces more setbacks as the local environmental authority is investigating the EV manufacturer for tanks it had built on the construction site without authorization, local daily Der Tagesspiegel reported. The Environment Agency of the state of Brandenburg, where Berlin is located, inspected the site earlier this week after receiving a tip from environmental organizations Grne Liga (Green League) and Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union, NABU.

U.S., Colombian Hit Squad Assassinated Haitis President

Two U.S. citizens are among the 17 people detained in Haiti on suspicion of involvement in a hit squad of mercenaries that assassinated Haitian president Jovenel Moise earlier this week, officials in the country say. James Solages and Joseph Vincent, U.S. naturalized citizens from Haiti, were among those detained in connection with the brazen assassination of Haitis President Jovenel Moise on Wednesday, Haitis Elections Minister Mathias Pierre told CNN on Friday. Lon Charles, the chief of the National Police

UBS: Oil Demand To Return To Pre-Covid Levels By Q1 2022

Crude oil demand will rebound to pre-pandemic levels by the first quarter of 2022, according to Wayne Gordon, executive director of commodities and forex at UBS Global Wealth Management. Speaking to Bloomberg this week, Gordon said the outlook for oil was quite bright even though, he added, we could see more production soon once OPEC settled their internal differences. The analyst noted the latest drawdown in U.S. crude oiland fuelinventories reported yesterday, which signaled strengthening demand. Barring another flare-up in Covid-19

‘Black Widow’ nabs $13.2 million in previews, putting it on pace for pandemic-era box office record

“Black Widow” sold $13.2 million in preview tickets on Thursday, putting it on pace to set the bar higher for the pandemic-era box office.

CDC says fully vaccinated teachers and students don’t need to wear masks indoors in updated guidance

The CDC’s new guidance comes about two months after federal health officials permitted the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine for kids ages 12 to 15.

Employers offer stipends for babysitting and tutoring to sweeten child-care benefits and win over workers

Employers are offering and expanding child-care benefits in a bid to hold on to skilled workers and attract talent as Americans return to offices.

Ex-NYSE President Tom Farley’s SPAC to merge with Bullish to bring planned crypto exchange public

When the transaction closes, Tom Farley will serve as CEO of Bullish, which will become a publicly traded stock in the deal.

Americans are spending big money on backyard pools

Many Americans are moving to the suburbs, migrating to warmer states and increasingly looking to make their own yards better places to spend time in.

Transport giants plan to invest $593 million in European charging network for long-haul trucks

The tech is set to be installed near locations such as highways.

Here’s what you need to know about the lambda Covid variant

The lambda variant is becoming dominant in parts of South America, here’s what we know about it so far.

War, Covid and climate change fuel the world’s hunger crisis, killing 11 people every minute: Oxfam

A new Oxfam report found the number of people dying from famine-like conditions has grown six-fold in the past year alone.

Jim Cramer blames market sell-off on government failures to contain delta spread

“I put this sell-off squarely in the laps of politicians around the world, because we right now have a failure of global leadership,” the “Mad Money” host said.

Online thrift store Poshmark CEO sees fashion shift as consumers ‘purge’ closets

Sales of work and nightlife clothes are rising as fitness apparel like sweats declines as consumers emerge from lockdowns, Poshmark CEO Manish Chandra said.

GoodRx to assist gig workers in pharmaceutical drug discounting deal with DoorDash

“We’re focused on trying to serve not just American consumers, but organizations [and] employers” in getting affordable prescriptions, CEO Doug Hirsch said.

Live Nation’s U.S. concert business is now ‘fully open’ after Covid pause, CEO says

Live Nation Entertainment’s CEO says the company’s U.S. concert business is now “fully open” as it brings back its packed summer lineup.

Fed’s Daly Warns Delta Variant Could Be Central Bank’s Next Excuse To Delay Rate Hikes

Fed’s Daly Warns Delta Variant Could Be Central Bank’s Next Excuse To Delay Rate Hikes

The other day, a team of analysts at Goldman Sachs (perhaps inadvertently) illustrated the issue with the Delta variant. While scientists argue that it’s been associated with an upswing in new infections, the number of hospitalizations and deaths has remained stagnant.

Yet this hasn’t prevented scientists and public health authorities like Dr. Anthony Fauci urging people to get vaccinated as quickly as possible to prevent another resurgence of Delta-inspired COVID. Overnight, authorities contradicted Pfizer by saying there’s no need for a booster vaccine to protect against variants (Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said last night it would seek authorization for a booster shot).

Hong Kong Parking Space Sells For $1.53 Million

Hong Kong Parking Space Sells For $1.53 Million

By Julia Ye of the Epoch Times

In Hong Kong, every inch of land is as expensive as gold. Parking spaces can sell for as much as you would pay for a luxury home. Recently, a Mount Nicholson parking space sold for $1.53 million “the same cost of a 2-bedroom flat in Taikoo Shing (a private residential development in Hong Kong).

In May, Hong Kong’s Mount Nicholson luxury properties began selling car parking spaces at strata residences (condo and townhouse developments), by offering to the highest bidder at a minimum price of about $1.13 million. Each household can be allocated an average of one to two parking spaces, with a maximum of three spaces. Records show that a total of 22 transactions have been registered so far, with buyers including celebrities and tycoons from China and Hong Kong.

Mount Nicholson has one …

CDC Releases New Mask Guidance For K-12 Schools, Says Vaccinations Should Be Tracked

CDC Releases New Mask Guidance For K-12 Schools, Says Vaccinations Should Be Tracked

After telling the public that there’s no reason yet to believe they will need COVID “booster shots”, the CDC released more updated guidance on Friday morning. This time, the updated guidance focused on precautions that K-12 public schools should take during the upcoming 2021-2022 school year.

Most importantly, the guidance included a directive that schools should remain open regardless – even in the event of an outbreak – regardless of whether all COVID-prevention strategies can be implemented.

The new federal guidelines aren’t mandatory, but they’re supposed to give public school administrators a framework to help navigate the complexities of teaching during the COVID era.

The updated guidance, which can be read in full here, advised that in-person education is a “priority”. Importantly, schools will be asked to keep track of which students and staff have been “fully vaccinated”.

First, the most important thing sch …

Fed Finds Inflation Is “More Lasting But Likely Still Temporary”

Fed Finds Inflation Is “More Lasting But Likely Still Temporary”

The Fed has published its latest semi-annual monetary policy report ahead of Jerome Powell’s testimony to Congress next week, which is full of 75 pages of warnings and cautions about the economy – which nobody will read – and instead everyone will hone in on the report’s “inflation” section summary. It is here, buried deep in the summary paragraph that we find one of the biggest oxymorons to come out of the Fed yet:

Inflation: Consumer price inflation, as measured by the 12-month change in the PCE price index, moved up from 1.2 percent at the end of last year to 3.9 percent in May. The 12-month measure of inflation that excludes food and energy items (so-called core inflation) was 3.4 percent in May, up from 1.4 percent at the end of last year. Some of the strength in recent 12-month inflation readings reflects the comparison of current prices with prices that sank at the onset of the pandemic as households curtailed spending “a transitory result of œbase effects.

And the punchline:

More lasting but likely still temporary upward pressure on inflation has come from prices for goods experiencing supply chain bottlenecks, such as motor vehicles and appliances. In addition, prices for some services, such as airfares and lodging, have moved up sharply in recent months toward more normal levels as demand has recovered. Both survey-based and market-based measures of longer-term inflation expectations have risen since the end of last year, largely …

Calls grow for extra bank holiday if England win

Firms are also being asked to be flexible by allowing staff to start work later on Monday if possible.

Holiday firms launch legal action over travel lists

Group including Ryanair and BA wants more government transparency over Covid travel rules.

Mothers lose fight against two-child benefit limit

They had argued the policy breached their human rights, but the Supreme Court dismissed their case.

Govt, LIC to sell full stakes in IDBI Bank, open offer may be triggered

The mandate received from Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs is to off-load upto 100 per cent stake of government and LIC along with transfer of management control, the department said.

Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme IV: Issue price fixed at Rs 4,807/gm; subscription opens Monday

The government, in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), also provides a discount of Rs 50 per gram to those investors applying online and the payment against the application is made through digital mode.

Sugar stocks hit upper circuit limits. Here is what’s driving this surge

Domestic brokerage firm ICICI Securities in a report reiterated the positive stance on the sugar sector and said a re-rating is imminent. It is important to note that sugar stocks have run up 2-4 times in four months, the report said.

: Levi Strauss gets a boost from changing waistlines during the pandemic

Levi reported a 156% revenue increase year-over-year for the second quarter.

: Houston is winning the competition to establish tech hubs in Texas

Houston’s resurgence is part of a Texas tech wave, the crown jewel of which could be the gleaming new corporate headquarters of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.

NerdWallet: What to know if your Wells Fargo personal line of credit is canceled

Wells Fargo customers are being notified that their personal line of credit accounts will close. Here’s how to protect your credit score and find another loan.