Written by Gary
Futures are down (relatively) hard at today’s open, with Small Caps leading the charge to the downside (SPY -1.2%). The biggest premarket movers: AutoNation, Cal-Maine Foods, Tractor Supply.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
 | European markets are mixed. The DAX is higher by 0.06%, while the CAC 40 is leading the FTSE 100 lower. They are down 0.43% and 0.07% respectively. |
What Is Moving the Markets
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
 | The Oil Industry Is Borrowing Again, But This Time Its DifferentTwo years ago, Wall Street banks were on their way out of a long-term relationship with the oil industry. Now, with oil prices over $70 for the first time in three years, big bond buyers are snapping up oil bonds once again. Only there is a condition this time. The Wall Street Journals Joe Wallace and Collin Eaton wrote this week that Wall Street was buying bonds from non-investment-grade U.S. energy companies, which took advantage of record low interest rates to raise some $34 billion in fresh debt in the first half of the year. Thats |
| One Man Just Sent The $30 Trillion ESG Revolution Into OverdriveWith billions of dollars being invested into ESG funds last year, 2020 has been called a tipping point year for this mega-trend in global markets. And many are predicting that the ESG boom will continue this summer as investors all over the world may be looking to transform their portfolios by making huge bets on clean energy. But perhaps the biggest driver for these new industries is President Joe Bidens $2.5 trillion energy transition plan, which looks set to boost everything from electric vehicles, charging infrastructure, |
| The Next Major Wildcard For OilOil prices have been reeling ever since OPEC+ talks collapsed due to major disagreements by its members. Major cracks appeared in the ministerial meeting with the United Arab Emirates continuing to block an agreement because it wants to increase its oil production before demand falls as per WSJ. The market fears that the UAE might “want out of OPEC so it can pump 4M bbl/day and make hay while the sun shines,” Phil Flynn, market analyst at Price Futures Group, has told MarketWatch. But, somehow, the oil price outlook keeps getting worse. Fresh |
| Chinas Opaque Oil Data Leaves Markets In The DarkChina saw its first-half crude imports drop year over year for the first time in a first half in eight years, sparking concerns in the market that purchases from the worlds largest oil importer may not be too supportive for oil in the coming months. At the same time, Chinese fuel exports have been rising this past half-year due to record refinery run rates amid a glut of refined oil products. In recent months, Chinese refiners have been processing more crude than the apparent availability, calculated as the sum of imports and |
| Coal-Based Bitcoin Mining Jumps In Kazakhstan Amid Chinas BanBitcoin mining continues to rely predominantly on electricity generated from fossil fuels despite the heightened attention to the climate toll of crypto mining. Kazakhstan, where fossil fuels make up nearly all the energy mix, has seen its global share of Bitcoin mining surge in recent months, just ahead of a Chinese crackdown on the mining of the worlds most popular cryptocurrency. The Chinese authorities crackdown on crypto mining saw more than 90 percent of Chinas Bitcoin mining capacity shut down as of last month. The Chinese |
| 2021 Has Been A Stellar Year For Energy InvestorsThe rocky times of 2020 are well behind the energy sector at this point. Last year there were many premature obituaries written for the energy sector, but it has certainly shown plenty of life in 2021. The energy sector has soared from the last quarter of 2020. After performing as the top S&P 500 sector for two straight quarters, the energy sector slipped to third place in the recently-completed second quarter. But that was still good enough to keep energy in first place for the first half of 2021. The Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) tracks |
| Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: AutoNation, Cal-Maine Foods, Tractor Supply and moreThese are the stocks posting the largest moves before the bell. |
| 5 things to know before the stock market opens MondayStocks that benefit from a steady Covid economic reopening led the premarket losses Monday. |
| ‘It’s a gamble’: England’s ‘big bang’ easing of Covid rules could go either way, experts noteCriticism is mounting on Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his government for the decision to go ahead with the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions in England. |
| Panera adapts its catering business for the remote and hybrid workforcePanera Bread wants to be the new corporate cafeteria ” even if employees are still working remotely or only popping into the office a few days every week. |
| England takes leap into the unknown, lifting Covid rules as cases surgeEngland is taking a step into the unknown on Monday, lifting nearly all remaining restrictions on public life at a time when coronavirus infections are high. |
| Leisure travel is bouncing back in parts of Asia but risks remain, says hotelierWith tourist hotspots like Phuket and Koh Samui open to international tourists quarantine-free, the darkest days for the hotel and tourism industry may soon be over. |
| The 149th Open: Collin Morikawa holds off Jordan Spieth to win by two shots on Open debutCollin Morikawa created major history at Royal St George’s as he celebrated his Open debut with a magnificent two-shot victory over Jordan Spieth. |
| Kamala Harris heads to Walter Reed for routine checkup, White House saysThe appointment is unrelated to the vice president’s meeting last week with Texas Democratic lawmakers who have since tested positive for Covid-19. |
| Chipotle, Target use TikTok to find the workers they need in tight job marketChipotle and Target are among the companies teaming up with TikTok Resumes, a pilot program that lets job candidates submit video resumes. |
| In Peloton post-pandemic competition with gyms, it’s fitness app Strava that can winFitness tracking app Strava saw big growth during Covid as people worked out at home instead the gym. Its founders, former Harvard rowers, plan to keep winning. |
| The biggest job wage boom post-pandemic is blue collar, but will it last for workers?Wages for blue-collar and manual labor jobs were booming before Covid and the tight labor market as the economy reopens brings more gains, but for how long? |
| Nottingham Trent University withdraws offer from student over racist Snapchat aimed at England playersA university has withdrawn an offer to a student following racist abuse towards England players after the Euro 2020 final. |
| Photos show disastrous flooding in western EuropeThe death roll rose above 150 on Saturday, according to media reports, with that figure expected to rise as the flood waters recede. |
| Ackman Says He “Respects” SEC’s Decision To Kill His SPAC’s Deal With Universal MusicAckman Says He “Respects” SEC’s Decision To Kill His SPAC’s Deal With Universal Music Update (0835ET): In an interview with CNBC Monday morning, Bill Ackman told the hosts of Squawk Box that the SEC had raised “deal killer” concerns. As a fiduciary for the Tontine, Ackman said he did his best until the SEC stopped the deal. Any Tontine shareholders who are “upset” by the firm’s decision to walk away should complain to the SEC, Ackman said.
He added that Vivendi had asked him if his hedge fund could take the Tontine’s place as an investor in UMG, to which Ackman agreed after the SEC scrapped the deal with the Pershing Square Tontine. Ackman defended UMG as a fast-growing business with juicy profit margins, comparing its steady profits with the cash-burning modus operandi of streaming services like Netflix.
Commenting on his firm’s record, Ackman said “we have had some very high profile failures, but you can count them on one and a half hands…but our batting average has been over 95%.”
Afterwards, Andrew Sorkin brought up Ackman’s infamous “hell is coming” comment in a question about … |
| Here’s The Line In The Sand For The S&P 500 TodayHere’s The Line In The Sand For The S&P 500 Today Futures are down (relatively) hard ahead of today’s open with Small Caps leading the charge to the downside…
Notably, SpotGamma points out that we start the session in a negative gamma position. The official gamma flip points are coming in at 4335 but we suggest using 4300 as the key œrisk off level. This is due to fairly large open interest at that strike, which also makes it first resistance this morning. Key levels today are 4300, 4335 (gamma flip) to the upside, with 4240 downside support. We certainly see the setup for weakness today… and another call to The PPT imminent… |
| Is UK’s “Freedom Day” All Mouth & No Trousers?Is UK’s “Freedom Day” All Mouth & No Trousers? Via Off-Guardian.org, It’s finally here! The BIG Event! That’s right, œFreedom Day is upon us. After 17 months of a 3-week lockdown, the UK is re-opening for business.
Nobody in the press seems very excited about that. The Guardian reports on the œeconomic chaos and the mathematical models predicting disaster. The Financial Times calls it œsurrender day . Reuters go with œanxiety day . CNN call it a |
| Robinhood Targets $35 Billion Valuation In Upcoming IPORobinhood Targets $35 Billion Valuation In Upcoming IPO As it moves closer to its IPO planned for later this summer, Robinhood said in an amendment to its S-1 (the document initially declaring its intention to sell shares on the New York Stock Exchange) that it plans to raise more than $2 billion and offer 55MM shares at a price between $38 and $42. Should its shares debut at the top of that range, Robinhood (which will trade under the ticker HOOD) would be worth $35 billion.
The announcement of the price range marks the start of Robinhood’s road show to market its IPO to potential investors. The firm will start meeting with investors this week. To be sure, as investors learned during the WeWork debacle, the company’s valuation could still change depending on fluctuations in investor demand. Thanks to the boom in day trading seen during the pandemic, Robinhood has seen its monthly active users more than double over the past year, with 17.7MM as of the first quarter, up from 8.6MM in the same period. The firm was valued at $30 billion during a funding round earlier this year. Investors have rushed to buy s … |
| Post Office Horizon scandal: More subpostmasters clearedThe Court of Appeal clears 12 more former subpostmasters who were wrongly convicted. |
| Iceland and Greene King shut sites amid ‘pingdemic’The firms have had to shut shops and pubs due to staff shortages caused by people self-isolating. |
| Fears of workers on the face masks frontlineIt is no longer a legal requirement to wear a face-covering in England, but some employees are nervous. |
| Indian regulators probing Adani group companies for non-compliance of rulesIt was not immediately clear when the investigation was launched. The minister, Pankaj Chaudhary, did not name which companies were involved. |
| Two of India’s top fund managers betting on Vodafone Idea’s revivalPrashant Jain of HDFC AMC and Mahesh Patil of Aditya Birla MF, who are among top five fund managers in the country by assets, have put in big bets on Vodafone Idea’s survival. A couple of more prominent fund managers have also added the stock to their portfolios. |
| HDFC Life Q1 results: PAT slumps 33% YoY to Rs 302 crore as claims soar due to Covid 2.0The life insurer said that its claims soared three-to-four times during the June quarter as against the peak claims volumes in the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. |
| Earnings Watch: What does a mature streaming service look like? Netflix is about to show usNetflix Inc. proved to the world that streaming video could be a big business. Now it will show the world what that business looks like when it hits maturity. |
| Earnings Outlook: Can ‘The Witcher’ and other hot series lead Netflix to a second-half surge?Few tech companies prospered more than Netflix over the first 12 months of the pandemic, but as the lockdown continued and content dried up, rivals gained ground. The question now is whether Netflix can reassert its dominance with a strong content slate. |
| Outside the Box: ESG funds are lagging the S&P 500 ” why that’s good news if you own themESG is subject to the same fundamental market forces that affect all other mainstream, long-term holdings. |
Earnings Summary for Today
leading Stock Positions
Current Commodity Prices
Commodities are powered by Investing.com
Current Currency Crosses
The Forex Quotes are powered by Investing.com.
To contact me with questions, comments or constructive criticism is always encouraged and appreciated:
