22Mar2022 Market Close & Major Financial Headlines: Stocks Extend Historic Short-Squeeze Melt-Up As Recession & Rate-Cut Odds Rise, DOW Closes Up 254 Points, NASDAQ Up 2.0%, S&P 500 Ends Session Up 1.1%, WTI Settles AT 109, Gold At 1922

EU Set To Back Windfall Tax On Energy Firms

The European Union’s heads of government are likely to back later this week a proposal to consider levying a temporary windfall tax on some energy companies as oil and gas prices soar, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing a draft political statement it had seen. The EU leaders are holding meetings all week to decide how to intensify sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, as well as how to mitigate the impact of skyrocketing energy prices on EU households. “As proposed by the commission, temporary taxation of windfall profits can

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/EU-Set-To-Back-Windfall-Tax-On-Energy-Firms.html

90,000 Dams In America: Just 2,500 Produce Hydropower

There will not likely be any progress towards net-zero climate goals without hydropower, which could fast become a favorite investment themeeven more so amid a Russian war on Ukraine that has sent oil prices to record highs, with a supply shock looming. But back in the United States, the massive potential of hydropower has been stymied by environmental contradictions. For decades, environmentalists and dam builders in the United States have been locked in a bitter battle. Theres no denying the fact that Americas

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/90000-Dams-In-America-Just-2500-Produce-Hydropower.html

SEC Proposes Emissions Disclosure From Firms

The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed this week rule changes that would require listed companies to include climate-related disclosures, climate-related risks, and greenhouse gas emissions in their filings to the SEC. The required information about climate-related risks also would include disclosure of a registrants greenhouse gas emissions, which have become a commonly used metric to assess a registrants exposure to such risks, SEC said in a statement. Under the proposed rule, the companies listed in the United

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/SEC-Proposes-Emissions-Disclosure-From-Firms.html

Europe Divided Over New Oil And Coal Sanctions

Reader Update:Whether you are new to the oil and gas industry or an energy market veteran, you will regret not signing up forGlobal Energy Alert. Oilprice.com’s premium newsletter provides everything from geopolitical analysis to trading analysis, and all for less than a cup of coffee per week.Chart of the Week- Oil and gas producers in the Middle East are back in vogue as the prospect of a major Russian supply disruption puts the oil market on edge.- Germany has been courting Qatar for energy supplies, Japan has asked the UAE

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Europe-Divided-Over-New-Oil-And-Coal-Sanctions.html

Gas Flaring In Mexico Hits Record High

Gas flaring in Mexico reached all-time high levels in 2021, beating the previous record from a year earlier, despite pledges from Mexican authorities to reduce the flaring activity, which is a major source of greenhouse gas pollution, scientists found in new research shared with Reuters. Flaring peaked in early 2021 but remained high enough throughout the year to beat 2020, which was already a record high, Tamara Sparks, a researcher at the Earth Observation Group of the Colorado School of Mines, told Reuters exclusively. The Earth

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Gas-Flaring-In-Mexico-Hits-Record-High.html

Can Clean Energy Help Curb Inflation?

Inflation is at a 40-year high. More and more United States residents are struggling to make ends meet as the costs of basic goods, groceries, and gasoline skyrocket. On paper, the economy is doing great. Wages are up, the economy is growing at its fastest rate in almost 40 years, and the unemployment rate is currently under 4%, an incredible turnaround from bottoming out at nearly 15% at the height of the pandemic. According to the New York Times jobs report from this month, the unemployment rate for workers without a high school diploma

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Renewable-Energy/Can-Clean-Energy-Help-Curb-Inflation.html

Investing Club: Goldman Sachs cut its earnings estimates on Ford — here’s what we think

We’re keeping our 1 rating on Ford shares, despite Goldman Sachs cutting its EPS targets for 2022 and lowering its price target.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/22/investing-club-goldman-sachs-cut-its-earnings-estimates-on-ford-heres-what-we-think.html

Formula 1’s first race of the 2022 season was ESPN’s most-viewed since 1995

The Bahrain Grand Prix attracted an average of 1.3 million viewers in the U.S. and peaked at 1.5 million viewers around 12:30 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. ET.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/22/formula-1-2022-bahrain-grand-prix-was-espns-most-viewed-since-1995.html

Vikings owner Mark Wilf went to the Poland-Ukraine border to help refugees – here’s what he saw

Minnesota Vikings owner Mark Wilf recently returned from the Poland-Ukraine border, where he was helping relief efforts.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/22/ukraine-war-vikings-owner-mark-wilf-aided-refugees-at-poland-border.html

Inflation is spiking the cost of pet parenthood yet owners are still splurging on care

More than 70% of dog owners are feeling the sting of inflation when spending on food and supplies. But many are still willing to splurge, a report shows.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/22/inflation-is-spiking-the-cost-of-pets-but-owners-are-still-splurging.html

BuzzFeed investors have pushed CEO Jonah Peretti to shut down entire newsroom, sources say

BuzzFeed’s news organization has about 100 employees and loses roughly $10 million a year, according to people familiar with the matter.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/22/buzzfeed-investors-have-pushed-ceo-jonah-peretti-to-shut-down-newsroom.html

Rocket builder Firefly aiming for second launch attempt in May, raises $75 million

Firefly aims to make its second attempt to reach orbit with its Alpha rocket as soon as May.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/22/rocket-builder-firefly-resuming-launch-operations-raises-75-million.html

The NFL will now let teams seek limited blockchain sponsorships, but cryptocurrency promotion remains banned

The NFL granted teams limited permission to seek blockchain sponsorships, although bans on cryptocurrency deals and fan tokens remain in place for now.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/22/nfl-lets-teams-blockchain-sponsorships-crypto-ban.html

Maverick Ventures’ Ambar Bhattacharyya on the future of health care

Venture capitalist Ambar Bhattacharyya on digital health investment trends and predictions for 2022.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/22/maverick-ventures-ambar-bhattacharyya-on-the-future-of-health-care.html

Nike sees signs of recovery in China, which could be a good omen for other retailers

Glimmers of hope for Nike in China could be good news for other retailers with big business in the region.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/22/nike-recovers-in-china-potential-good-omen-for-retailers.html

Britain’s Royal Mint to build plant that will extract gold from electronic waste

Electronic waste has become a topic of much debate and discussion in recent years.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/22/the-royal-mint-to-build-plant-that-will-extract-gold-from-e-waste.html

5 things to know before the stock market opens Tuesday

U.S. stock futures bounced Tuesday after the Dow began the week by breaking a five-session winning streak.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/22/5-things-to-know-before-the-stock-market-opens-tuesday-march-22.html

Pfizer to supply 4 million Covid antiviral treatments to poorer nations through UNICEF

Pfizer expects to start supplying the antiviral pills, Paxlovid, to UNICEF beginning next month and will continue to do so through the end of the year.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/22/pfizer-to-supply-4-million-covid-antiviral-treatments-to-poorer-nations-through-unicef.html

China crash is ‘unprecedented’ given Boeing 737’s stellar safety record, says aviation analyst

“We don’t see anything like what we have seen in China over the last 24 hours,” Alex Macheras, an independent aviation analyst, told CNBC.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/22/-china-plane-crash-unprecedented-given-good-safety-record-analyst.html

Autocracy’s Fatal Weakness

Autocracy’s Fatal WeaknessAuthored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,

This desire for compliance and consensus dooms the autocracy to failure and collapse because dissent is the essence of evolutionary churn and adaptation..

The various flavors of autocracy (theocracy, kleptocracy, dictatorship, etc.) look remarkably successful at first blush but they all share a fatal flaw. To understand the flaw we must start with the dominant dynamic of all organisms, natural selection.

Things change. Those organisms which adapt quickly and successfully survive, those that don’t perish. Things change for many reasons and over different timespans. Drought slowly but surely makes regions unlivable for all the but hardiest creatures. A meteor strike can ruin an entire species’ prospects.

I try not to get too philosophical here, but bear with me because this is an important point: selection isn’t teleological, meaning that selection isn’t working toward a goal or end-point, it is entirely contingent, solely responsive to the environment that exists today. There is no “plan” guiding what’s selected to what we imagine is “better;” what’s selected is whatever offers an advantage given the selective pressures of the moment. If water is scarce, mutations that enable the organism to get by on less water have selective advantages.

DNA, RNA, epigenetics and human cultures generate random mutations (i.e. a variety of experiments), and those that offer a beneficial response to a selective pressure are selected and …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/autocracys-fatal-weakness

Stocks Extend Historic Short-Squeeze Melt-Up As Recession & Rate-Cut Odds Rise

Stocks Extend Historic Short-Squeeze Melt-Up As Recession & Rate-Cut Odds RiseAnother quiet macro day (and everyone shrugging off The Fed’s Bullard & Daly’s hawkish comments) gave the algos the opportunity to run some more stops, pushing the S&P, Dow, and Nasdaq above key technical levels. S&P broke back above its 200DMA today and the rest of the majors held above their 50DMAs…

Nasdaq was the day’s big winner, and decoupled from the other majors around the EU close. This was the 5th day of gains in the last 6 days…

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/stocks-extend-historic-short-squeeze-melt-recession-rate-cut-odds-rise

White House Says It’s “Not Seen” China Give Weapons To Russia Since Xi-Biden Call

White House Says It’s “Not Seen” China Give Weapons To Russia Since Xi-Biden CallIn a highly convenient narrative for the Biden administration which seems somewhat dubious given the vagueness of the initial allegations against Beijing, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Tuesday that after Biden’s phone call to President Xi Jinping on Friday, the US has observed no further weapons transfers to Russia.

“I can’t make predictions going forward. What I can tell you is we have not seen since those meetings or since the President’s conversation with Xi, the provision of military equipment by China to Russia, but of course, this is something we are monitoring closely,” Sullivan told reporters in a briefing.

Via ABC NewsIt begs the question: did the administration actually and de …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/white-house-says-its-not-seen-china-give-weapons-russia-xi-biden-call

“A Deal Is A Deal”: SEC Argues In Court To Not Let Elon Musk Out Of His 2018 ‘Twitter Sitter’ Consent Decree

“A Deal Is A Deal”: SEC Argues In Court To Not Let Elon Musk Out Of His 2018 ‘Twitter Sitter’ Consent DecreeThe SEC is once again punching back at Elon Musk in court, telling a federal judge this week that Musk should not be allowed out of an agreement with the regulator that his Twitter account be monitored.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has said Musk has not met the “high burden” necessary to throw out the 2018 consent decree he is under, according to Reuters.

Musk found compliance “less convenient than he had hoped,” the SEC argued, adding that “when it comes to civil settlements, a deal is a deal, absent far more compelling circumstances than are here presented.”

The SEC also argued against Musk’s bid to quash a subpoena concerning the Twitter poll he ran before selling 10% of his Tesla stock last year.

Recall, earlier this month Musk had asked a federal judge to throw out his settlement with the SEC. Musk’s lawyers argued that the settlement, which famously required Musk to run his Tweets past a “Twitter sitter” as a consequence of faking an $80 billion buyout for Tesla, “has become unworkable”.

And in a sign that the SEC is currently a fly in Musk’s ointment, his lawyers said that the regulator was using the settlement to make “round after round of demands for voluminous, costly document productions, with no signs of abatement.”

Additionally, Musk called into question the SEC’s original clai …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/deal-deal-sec-argues-court-not-let-elon-musk-out-his-2018-twitter-sitter-consent-decree

P&O Ferries defends job cuts as some to get £100,000

Ferry operator shares details of redundancy packages which include 40 seafarers getting £100,000 each.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60840467?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Alisher Usmanov: Oligarch says he ditched mansions before sanctions

Alisher Usmanov put luxury homes into trusts, raising questions about whether sanctions will work.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60825983?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Petrol prices stabilise after weeks at record highs

Average petrol prices fall slightly from record high of £1.67 per litre, the RAC says.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60832115?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Vodafone Idea promoters urge govt to expedite equity conversion

The cash-strapped telco says it is critical for raising funds from external investors.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/vodafone-idea-promoters-urge-govt-to-expedite-equity-conversion/articleshow/90380398.cms

IHCL to launch QIP worth Rs 2,000 crore

In October last year, the company had announced plans to raise upto Rs 2000 crore by way of a way of a rights issue and another Rs 2000 crore through QIP subject to receipt of regulatory approvals.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/ihcl-to-launch-qip-worth-rs-2000-crore/articleshow/90381525.cms

Cryptoverse: Remember when bitcoin was ‘anonymous’?

Some major crypto exchanges do not list privacy coins due to their potential for illicit activity, for example. Daily trading volumes for Monero have mostly been under $250 million this month while altcoin Ripple sees more than $1.5 billion changing hands each day.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/cryptocurrency/cryptoverse-remember-when-bitcoin-was-anonymous/articleshow/90371689.cms

Market Snapshot: U.S. stocks close higher, with Dow up 250 points, as investors weigh hawkish remarks from Powell, Bullard

U.S. stocks ended higher Tuesday, shaking off Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and an increasingly hawkish Federal Reserve.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C05575-04D4-B545-7AEA-83DBCA0E492E%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

Market Extra: Why the stock market isn’t ‘getting smoked’ even as Federal Reserve signals it’s ready to supersize interest rate hikes

Equity investors aren’t sweating Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s decision to unleash his inner hawk. Here’s why.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C05575-04D4-B545-7AF0-5C1ADD307E81%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

Bond Report: 10-year Treasury yield climbs to highest level since May 2019, a day after Powell’s hawkish interest rate remarks

Treasury yields continue to rise Tuesday, a day after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said policy makers could deliver benchmark interest rate hikes bigger than 25 basis points if needed to rein in inflation.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C05575-04D4-B545-7AE8-3291FB8C2E24%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1