09Jul2021 Market Close: DOW Records Closing High +448 Points, Nasdaq +1.0%, WTI Crude Higher 74.63, US Dollar Down Fractionally 92.10, Short Week Ends On A Positive Note

Canadas Oil Sands Need $60 Billion To Achieve Net-Zero Emissions

Canada will need as much as US$60 billion (C$75 billion) to make its oil sands operations net-zero emission businesses by 2050, top executives at the biggest oil firms told Bloomberg, adding that the government would need to step up and likely fund up to two-thirds of that cost. Carbon capture and storage is set to make up half of the reductions in emissions, but it may need government support for two-thirds of the cost to implement such projects, as Norway has been doing, Mark Little, president and chief executive officer of Suncor Energy, told

Oil Prices Climb On Strong Fuel Demand

Oil prices rose on Friday morning, fueled by strong U.S. fuel consumption data, but held back by continued uncertainty about the OPEC+ deal.Friday, July 9th, 2021Seven straight weeks of inventory draws didnt go unnoticed, and according to the EIA, U.S. gasoline demand rose by 870,000 bpd last week as summer driving season heats up. U.S. gasoline consumption figures reached their highest level since 2019, and yesterdays crude inventory report helped oil prices back in the black.Vienna Stays Silent Amid OPEC+ Impasse. While the Joint

U.S. Rig Count Rises In Volatile Week For Oil

The number of oil and gas rigs in the United States is up 4 this week, according toBaker Hughes, with the total rig count at 479, up 221 from the same time last year. The U.S. oil rig count rose by 2 this week to 378. The number of gas rigs increased by 2 and now sits at 101. The number of miscellaneous rigs stayed the same. The EIAs estimate for oil production in the United States for the week ending July 2 was slightly higher than the previous week at an average of11.3 million barrelsper day, up 2 million bpd. The EIA

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,

Couples are ready to ‘go all out’ as wedding industry sees surge in business, says The Knot CEO

Weddings are on the comeback after the pandemic forced millions of nuptial cancellations, Timothy Chi, CEO of The Knot Worldwide, told CNBC on Friday.

Biogen stock falls after FDA calls for federal investigation into Alzheimer’s drug approval

Biogen shares fell Friday after the head of the FDA called for an investigation into the recent approval of the company’s Alzheimer’s drug, Aduhelm.

Billionaires fight over what is actual outer space as Branson gets set to launch before Bezos

Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos are set to launch themselves just weeks apart, but the exact boundary of space has become a point of contention.

‘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.

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

The CDC updated its public health guidance for schools Friday, saying fully vaccinated teachers and students don’t need to wear masks inside school buildings.

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.

Stocks Soar To All Time High As Bonds, Bullion And Bitcoin Bounce

Stocks Soar To All Time High As Bonds, Bullion And Bitcoin Bounce

Thursday’s mini rout, which started with one of the ugliest market opens in history in the form of the 4th lowest NYSE TICK print in history…

… as traders freaked out over fresh covid pandemic fears due to the soaring number of delta cases around the globe…

… was completely forgotten come Friday, when spoos rose to a new all time high…

Did A Korean Research Team Just Find The “Holy Grail” Of Water Desalinization

Did A Korean Research Team Just Find The “Holy Grail” Of Water Desalinization

Could the holy grail of turning salt water to drinkable water finally be upon us?

A new report from Interesting Engineering seems to suggest that could be the case – detailing a new nanofiber membrane, developed by Yunchul Woo and his team at the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, that appears to be “stable in the long term” for desalinization. And it can be done “in minutes”, the report says.

Membranes had been used in the past, but there is often a challenge in keeping them dry for long periods of time. When they become wet, their filtration characteristics become ineffective and large amounts of salt can pass through.Â

Woo’s team has created a membrane “made of nanofibres that have been fabricated into a three-dimensional hierarchical structure” by using a technology called “electrospinning”. This new membrane is said to be highly water repellant.Â

Water fr …

Housing Bubble #2: Ready To Pop?

Housing Bubble #2: Ready To Pop?

Submitted by Charles Hugh Smith from Of Two Minds

All debt-fueled speculative bubbles pop, even as cheerleaders claim otherwise.

The expansion of Housing Bubble #2 is clearly visible in these two charts of house valuations, courtesy of the St. Louis Federal Reserve database (FRED). The first is the Case-Shiller Index, which as you recall tracks the price of homes on an “apples to apples” basis, i.e. it tracks price movements for the same house over time.

Note that this is an index chart where the index is set at 100 as of January 2000. It is not a chart of median housing prices.

The second chart is also a housing price index chart courtesy of the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency. (Shoutout to the USFHFA, never came across your work before.)

The red line marks where house prices would be if they had tracked the Consumer Price Index (CPI), i.e. inflation as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. You’ll notice that the last time the Case-Shiller Index touched this baseline was 1998, almost a quarter-century ago. On the FHFA index, it hasn’t touched it since the mid-1970s, 45 years ago.

You’ll notice that housing would have to drop by 40% to touch the baseline. Yes, this is officially “impossible,” because the Fed has our back in every bubble and housing never goes down because the demand is forever rising.

Former Goldman Trader Gets $30.6 Million Mortgage From Citi To Buy Epstein’s Mansion

Former Goldman Trader Gets $30.6 Million Mortgage From Citi To Buy Epstein’s Mansion

While Wells Fargo is scrapping credit lines for ordinary middle-class Americans, the biggest banks in the US are still doling out mega-mortgages to their pals like it’s nothing.

Accoridng to Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs banker Michael Daffey just obtained a $30.6MM loan from Citigroup to buy one of the most infamous pieces of real estate in the US: the Manhattan townhouse formerly owned by Jeffrey Epstein. Daffey, who was recently named chairman of crypto investment bank Galaxy Digital (run by his old friend and former Goldman colleague Mike Novogratz), received the 30-year mega-mortgage back in May, two months after he bought the townhouse located at East 71st Street. He got the mortgage a few months after he purchased the townhouse for a deeply discounted $51MM (the property was marked down 40% from its original asking price of $88MM).

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.

Steve Keen, Tracy Alloway, And Joe Weisenthal

Written by John Lounsbury

Bloomberg editors Tracy Alloway and Joe Weisenthal released a podcast conversation with Steve Keen earlier today (08 July 2021). The topic was what happened during the COVID economic crisis and what lessons might be learned and need to be learned (but may not be).

: Three charged with insider trading in Long Island Iced Tea’s pivot to blockchain

When a beverage company attempted to dump the drinks business and join the blockchain bandwagon in 2017, the story became a comic symbol of crypto excess, sending the company’s stock soaring just months before cryptocurrency prices crashed early the next year.

: ‘They could be the next LeBron!’: Why the new-era media mogul Gary Vaynerchuk is bullish on NFTs, crypto and 13-year-olds

The 45-year-old CEO commonly known as ‘Gary Vee’ invested early in Facebook and Twitter and spoke with MarketWatch about NFTs ” and the wisdom of youth.

In One Chart: Get ready for peak earnings growth as second-quarter results kick off next week

Stock indexes pull back from record territory on Thursday as growth concerns come into focus, but equities still could get a boost next week from the kickoff of second-quarter earnings.