Written by Gary
U.S. Covid cases show signs of slowing, even as fatalities surge again (SPY -0.6%). Stocks slump on Kabul blast, Kaplan banter, & crappy data.
The Market in Perspective
Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
Its Only A Matter Of Time Before China Makes A Move On AfghanistanWhile the world looks on with growing concern at the political play unfolding in Afghanistan with the takeover of the Taliban, another sidebar to this developing story that is slowly creeping into public consciousness is the vast treasure-trove of minerals in that country, and how the Taliban government will exploit it. One estimate by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) given years ago had pegged the worth of Afghanistans untapped mineral resources at U.S. $1 trillion. Some Afghan officials have said the actual figure could be three times | |
Climate Group Sues Oil Firm Over Net-Zero Claims In A World FirstThe Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) filed on Thursday a lawsuit with the Federal Court of Australia, challenging claims of energy giant Santos that natural gas provides clean energy and questioning its net-zero targets, in a world-first court case to challenge the veracity of a companys net-zero emissions targets. Australia-based gas producer and developer Santos aims to reduce its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions to net zero by 2040. Santos has set an intermediate target to cut its Scope 1 and Scope 2 | |
Alaskas Oil Industry May Be On Its Last LegsLast week a judge halted the latest Alaskan oil project following a year of disappointment due to the Covid related drop in oil demand and the cancellation of project after project as the green transition takes hold. Its hard not to be concerned over the future of Alaskan oil. As locals say they need Alaskan oil for jobs and income, Biden and other forces seem insistent on curbing production in the oil-rich region. Just last week, a U.S. judge rejected approvals for a large oil project on Alaskas North Slope, already approved | |
Indias Demand For Petrochemicals Set To Surge Tenfold By 2050Indias petrochemicals demand is expected to jump ten times by 2050, the president of Indias Chemicals and Petrochemicals Manufacturers Association (CPMA) said at the CPMA – Argus Petrochemical Online Forum on Wednesday. According to CPMA president Kamal Nanavaty, Indias demand for petrochemical products will double every nine years at an annual growth rate of 8 percent. The countrys demand for petrochemicals has been growing faster than the economy in recent years, and will rise more than GDP this year, too, Nanavaty | |
Asset Manager: ESG Trend Raises Borrowing Costs For Oil FirmsThe environmental, social and governance trend, and investor concerns about company ESG performance have led to a spike in borrowing costs for oil companies as investors are increasingly pressured to cut exposure to fossil fuels, Aegon Asset Management says. Investors are steering clear of oil firms despite the currently solid credit fundamentals and attractive coupons, Eleanor Price, Senior Credit Analyst at Aegon Asset Management, said, as carried by Institutional Asset Manager. Investors are under pressure from clients to follow stricter ESG | |
Iron-Air Batteries Could Be The Breakthrough Energy Markets Are Waiting ForLast year, we made a financial projection for the price of electricity long term, with or without decarbonization (Electricity decarbonization is not that expensive, so lets get on with it, Society of Utility and Regulatory Financial Analysts, April 2020). We concluded that decarbonized electricity would cost more primarily because battery storage costs so much. Mind you, we werent talking about a big price jump that anyone would notice in the typical familys budget, for example, but nevertheless, a higher price | |
Ford to cut F-150 pickup truck production due to chip shortageFord is once again cutting production of its F-150 pickup truck and two other vehicles next week due to the ongoing global shortage of semiconductor chips. | |
Watch live: Pentagon gives an update on attack near Kabul airport that killed U.S. service membersThe attack comes as U.S. and coalition forces accelerate emergency evacuation efforts in Afghanistan, a mission that is slated to end in five days. | |
Fires in the Arctic, record sea levels: NOAA report details effects of climate change in 20202020 saw the highest concentration of greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere on record, along with unprecedented global sea levels and average global temperatures. | |
Deep discounters like Dollar Tree get hit, as they juggle supply chain costs and price-sensitive customersDollar General, Dollar Tree and other retailers are trying to swap out items and negotiate with vendors to keep prices low. | |
Shares of embattled EV start-up Lordstown Motors surge on appointment of ex-Icahn executive as CEOEmbattled electric vehicle start-up Lordstown Motors named Daniel Ninivaggi, a longtime auto veteran and former leader of Icahn Enterprises, as its new CEO. | |
Here’s how pharmacies set drug prices, and what consumers can do to save moneyAmericans are having a tough time paying for medications despite bipartisan efforts to drive down prescription drug prices. | |
U.S. Covid cases show signs of slowing, even as fatalities surge againThough cases have climbed to their highest level since January, the pace of the rise in new infections has substantially slowed over the last two weeks. | |
GM confidentially surveyed white-collar workers on Covid vaccination statusGM said it confidentiality asked its white-collar workers to disclose the information as a way to assess overall immunity levels and guide its safety protocols. | |
‘Better to have live employees than sick or dead ones’ ” manufacturing leader on vaccine mandatesReceiving a Covid vaccine is “the responsible thing to do,” Jay Timmons, CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, told CNBC on Thursday. | |
Abercrombie shares tumble as supply chain constraints, delayed back-to-school purchases hurt salesAbercrombie & Fitch shares tumbled Thursday after the apparel retailer reported quarterly sales that came up short of analysts’ expectations. | |
Japan suspends 1.6 million Moderna Covid vaccine doses over contamination concernsJapan suspended the use of more than 1.6 million doses of Moderna’s Covid vaccine Thursday after contaminated vials were found at multiple vaccination sites. | |
BMW to build new vehicle at South Carolina plantThe Spartanburg plant currently produces the BMW X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 as well as performance models of most of the vehicles. | |
Blue Origin successfully launches New Shepard cargo mission with research for NASAJeff Bezos’ Blue Origin launched its New Shepard rocket for the fourth time this year but Thursday’s mission did not carry people inside the capsule. | |
Stocks Slump On Kabul Blast, Kaplan Banter, & Crappy DataStocks Slump On Kabul Blast, Kaplan Banter, & Crappy Data Initial and continuing claims unexpectedly rose, GDP missed expectations with consumption weaker than expected, multiple f**king bombs went off in Kabul killing and injuring 100s, and Fed Speakers Bullard, George, & Kaplan all came out hawkishly pitching a taper earlier than the market wants… *BULLARD: FINANCIAL STABILITY CONCERNS A GOOD REASON TO TAPER *BULLARD SAYS FED SHOULD `GET GOING’ ON TAPER, FINISH IN 1Q 2022 *KAPLAN: CONCERNED BY UNINTENDED IMPACT OF FED BOND BUYING *KAPLAN SAYS PREFERS TO CONDUCT TAPER IN PLUS OR MINUS 8 MONTHS Kaplan is most notable (Bullard has been hawkish for a while) as just last Friday, Kaplan said may delay taper due to Delta, but now he appears to have reversed that more dovish lean. But apart from that, dip-buyers still kept charging in during the day – terrible news is great news for markets right!? WTF is wrong with us. Stocks did get real into the last hour as The Pentagon laid out the grisly details of what had occurred. Small Caps were hardest hit all the majors ended the day down hard… | |
Peter Schiff Blasts Jerome Powell’s “Bad Economics”Peter Schiff Blasts Jerome Powell’s “Bad Economics” Via SchiffGold.com, During a Q&A with students and teachers, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell praised the bad economics that drove the government response to the coronavirus pandemic. In this clip from his podcast, Peter Schiff breaks down everything Powell got wrong. During the Zoom event, Powell went out of his way to praise Congress for passing the œCARES Act. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act was the first $2.2 trillion stimulus plan Congress passed in response to the pandemic back in March 2020. So, why does Powell admire this massive government spending plan? He said that Congress was able to replace the income Americans lost as they were out of work due to the pandemic. As Peter pointed out, the plan not only replaced lost income, they augmented it.
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Bank Of America’s Top Female Executive Announces RetirementBank Of America’s Top Female Executive Announces Retirement Just months after Citigroup’s Jane Fraser ascended to the CEO’s chair, becoming the first woman to ever run a Wall Street megabank, one of Fraser’s rivals in the pantheon of Wall Street’s most high-ranking women is leaving Bank of America for what we imagine will be an exceedingly comfortable retirement. BofA’s Anne Finucane, the bank’s vice chair and the architect of its post-crisis turnaround, plans to retire at the end of the year, along with another senior exec, Chief Operating Officer Thomas K. Montag. Their departures open the door for new leadership. Whether that will include more female executives remains to be seen, but Morgan Stanley’s recent shakeup of its top ranks featured four white men. Anne Finucane According to | |
‘The Mistake’ – Things Are Coming To A Head In Markets‘The Mistake’ – Things Are Coming To A Head In Markets Authored by Sven Henrich via NorthmanTrader.com, Things are coming to a head. Things are changing rapidly if you pay close attention. As you know I’ve been hammering on the Fed for overdoing it on the liquidity front causing a historic asset bubble while exacerbating wealth inequality and now having fueled inflation which is hurting the bottom 50% the most. None of this is healthy in my view but the constant stock market new high machine is masquerading it as healthy and positive. One key change: I’m no longer a lone voice in this assessment, increasingly the Fed and Powell are getting called out for committing a policy mistake and voices across the spectrum (including some on the Fed itself) are increasingly urging the Fed to stop QE. Why? Because broader consensus is emerging that the concerns I’ve been raising are indeed coming to fruition. Let me tie some pieces together here. Here’s Mohammed El-Erian calling out the Fed’s po … | |
NHS blood test tube shortage set to worsenNHS England admits supplies of the tubes will become “even more constrained over the coming weeks”. | |
Travel changes make little difference, says airport bossCharlie Cornish says the government should ‘overhaul’ its traffic light travel system. | |
BA in talks over short-haul Gatwick flightsThe airline confirmed it was talking with unions on plans to create a short-haul flight operation. | |
IPO candidates take a step back in unlisted market after flat listing and correctionDealers active in the space said a correction of 5-10 per cent in the unlisted shares does not dampen the sentiments, and the correction was much anticipated. | |
Market Movers: D-Street’s silent gainer and why BPCL is back in limelightThe move in the privatization candidate was spurred by a media report that Apollo Global and I Squared Capital have submitted bids to the government to buy a majority stake in the state-owned refiner. | |
Multifold jump in Q1 sales and profit fail to lift these 5 BSE500 stocksShares of NBCC (India) and NMDC fell 16-17 per cent since July 1 despite reporting a 2-3 times jump in year-on-year Q1 sales. Ircon International, Dixon Technologies (India) and Bajaj Auto also declined despite logging in strong year-on-year numbers for the June quarter. | |
Market Extra: Here’s how defense contractors and defense ETFs are trading after Pentagon says 12 U.S. service members were killed in Kabul airport attackU.S. equity markets end slightly lower Thursday after the Pentagon confirmed that 12 U.S. service members, and scores of others, were killed in two apparent suicide explosions and under fire from gunmen near Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, amid U.S.-led evacuations from the Taliban-controlled country. | |
: Biden to speak on Afghanistan as U.S. says 12 service members killed in Kabul blastsPresident Joe Biden is scheduled to speak on Afghanistan late Thursday as the U.S. said 12 service members were among those killed in an attack outside the Kabul airport. | |
: Americans spent a record $103.6 billion on pet products last year. How much is too much?Is it time to stop treating our pets like people, even on National Dog Day? |
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