01Apr2022 Market Close & Major Financial Headlines: DOW Closed Up 140 Points, NASDAQ Up +0.3%, S&P 500 Closed Up +0.3%, WTI Settles Below 100 at $99.41, Bitcoin Fractionally Lower At 46400, Dogecoin Fractionally Higher At $0.1411

Biden’s SPR Release Sends Oil Prices Below $100

The unprecedented decision by Biden to release 180 million barrels of oil from the country’s strategic petroleum reserve over the next six months has sent oil prices below $100. While plenty of upside risks remain, oil prices are on course to see their largest weekly decline in two years.Oilprice Alert.The decision by Biden to release 180 million barrels of oil from the SPR demonstrates just how desperate the situation in oil markets has become.Make sure you sign up for Global Energy Alert to read this week’s analysis of what it all

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/Bidens-SPR-Release-Sends-Oil-Prices-Below-100.html

Largest Ever Petroleum Reserve Release Forces Oil Lower

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures are edging lower on Friday as traders await the outcome of a meeting of International Energy Agency (IEA) member nations set to discuss a release of emergency oil reserves alongside a huge planned release by the United States. The U.S. benchmark is on course for a 12%-13% weekly decline the sharpest in almost two years, after an earlier surge driven by the Ukraine conflict had seen prices rise by more than 30%. The limited price action suggests traders are still digesting the bearish news that

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Largest-Ever-Petroleum-Reserve-Release-Forces-Oil-Lower.html

The Energy Industry Is Under Fire

Energy Markets on War Footing ExxonMobils Montana refinery shut down some units on Saturday after a fire broke out. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The refinery can process a total of 60,000 bpd of crude sourced from Wyoming and Alberta, producing about 600 million gallons of gasoline and diesel annually, most of which makes its way to Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, South Dakota, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada. Rival refineries in the area include Phillips Billings refinery and Par Pacifics Wyoming refinery. Another

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-Energy-Industry-Is-Under-Fire.html

The Unstoppable Flow Of Russian Gas

1. US Shocks Market with Largest Ever SPR Release- US President Joe Biden announced the release of 180 million barrels of crude from the strategic petroleum reserve over the next six months, equivalent to 1 million b/d. – Most American SPR stocks are medium sour barrels held in salt caverns across Louisiana and Texas, so the release would be primarily interesting for sophisticated refiners. – This is six times larger than the previous outright SPR sale and will reduce the remaining strategic inventories to a mere 388 million barrels by the end

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-Unstoppable-Flow-Of-Russian-Gas.html

U.S. Oil Demand Has Been Vastly Overestimated

Weekly U.S. oil demand data by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has been significantly overestimated compared to the final monthly oil demand, oil data analytics firm OilX said on Friday. “US weekly data significantly overestimated total monthly oil demand, not just in other oils, but also for road fuels,” OilX said in a post on Twitter. The weekly demand estimates in March already showed that recent demand strength has been easing off, according to the analytics company. “This may turn out even weaker if recent errors vs monthlies continue

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/US-Oil-Demand-Has-Been-Vastly-Overestimated.html

How To Play The Prolonged Bull Run In Natural Gas

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine last month, a lot has been said and written in the U.S. about the impact of that and the subsequent sanctions on the price of oil. From a media perspective, that makes sense because Americans have an abiding interest in the price of gasoline. The sheer size of the country and its relative wealth mean that Americans drive a lot, and that wealth combined with relatively low fuel prices means that they often drive trucks and other vehicles that are far from fuel efficient. In that situation, gas at over $4 per

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/How-To-Play-The-Prolonged-Bull-Run-In-Natural-Gas.html

World Cup 2022: Dates, draw, schedule, kick-off times, final for Qatar tournament

From key dates to kick-off times, here’s all you need to know about this year’s tournament.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/01/world-cup-2022-dates-draw-schedule-kick-off-times-final-for-qatar-tournament.html

$100 million New Jersey deli owner Hometown International just announced a merger with a bioplastics firm

The New Jersey deli owned by Hometown International will not be operated by the merged company.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/01/new-jersey-deli-owner-hometown-international-to-do-makamer-merger.html

Biden’s top economic advisor says restarting the Keystone XL pipeline now won’t lower oil prices

“Any action on Keystone wouldn’t actually increase supply, and it would transmit oil years in the future,” NEC Director Brian Deese told CNBC on Friday.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/01/approving-keystone-pipeline-will-not-lower-oil-prices-says-nec-director-brian-deese.html

Why Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could spark a NATO defense spending spree

NATO countries across Europe have done an about-face on defense spending in the immediate wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/01/why-russias-invasion-of-ukraine-could-spark-a-nato-spending-spree.html

CDC will end sweeping order used to expel migrants at U.S. borders during Covid pandemic

The CDC said the order, known as Title 42, will end on May 23 to give the Department of Homeland Security time to ramp up a vaccination program at the border.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/01/cdc-will-end-title-42-used-to-expel-migrants-during-covid.html

Soaring markets helped the richest 1% gain $6.5 trillion in wealth last year, according to the Fed

The wealth of the top 1% increased by $6.5 trillion last year, mainly driven by soaring stock prices and financial markets, according to the Federal Reserve.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/01/richest-one-percent-gained-trillions-in-wealth-2021.html

General Motors’ U.S. sales slumped in the first quarter, trailing rival Toyota’s

GM’s U.S. sales were down again on tight inventories, allowing Toyota to eke out a sales victory.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/01/general-motors-gm-q1-2022-us-sales.html

Biden’s plan to bring down gas prices could take weeks. Here’s how to get relief now

The White House has a plan to help cut gas prices, but it could be weeks before we’re back below $4 a gallon. Here’s how to save money in the meantime.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/01/bidens-plan-to-lower-gas-prices-could-take-weeks-how-to-pay-less-now.html

Spider-Man spin-off ‘Morbius’ with Jared Leto is ‘lazy,’ ‘not good’ and ‘totally skippable,’ critics say

“Morbius,” which debuts Friday, has garnered poor reviews across the board and recently held at 16% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/01/morbius-reviews-spider-man-spin-off-is-bad.html

Restaurants are getting creative with menus to counter soaring food costs

As food and labor costs rise, restaurants are getting strategic with their menus to avoid reprinting new ones every week.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/01/restaurants-are-getting-creative-with-menus-to-counter-soaring-food-costs.html

‘Under the counter diplomacy’: Why sanctioned oligarch Roman Abramovich is brokering peace in Ukraine

Despite facing wide-reaching sanctions, analysts suggest Abramovich could provide a “bridge” in ongoing Russia-Ukraine peace talks.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/01/why-sanctioned-oligarch-roman-abramovich-is-at-russia-ukraine-peace-talks.html

Biden State Department Will Begin Issuing ‘X Gender’ Passports Next Month

Biden State Department Will Begin Issuing ‘X Gender’ Passports Next MonthPretty soon, the concept of gender on American passports will become all but obsolete. Because starting next month, American citizens will be able to apply for “X gender” passports, according to the State Department.

Starting April 11, “US citizens will be able to select an X as their gender marker on their US passport application, and the option will become available for other forms of documentation next year,” according to a statement from Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

In other words, Americans applying for passports won’t be required to identify as male or female in their passport applications, a change that Blinken says will benefit non-binary and intersex Americans, along with other “gender non-conforming” people.

As Insider pointed out, the US isn’t the first country to make such a change: Canada, Australia, Argentina, the Netherlands, and New Zealand already offer ‘X gender’ passports.

Blinken said the decision was made after “thoughtful consideration” of “research” and “public feedback”.

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/biden-state-department-will-begin-issuing-x-gender-passports-next-month

Escobar: Meet The New, Resource-Based Global Reserve Currency

Escobar: Meet The New, Resource-Based Global Reserve CurrencyAuthored by Pepe Escobar,

A new reality is being formed:

the unipolar world is irrevocably becoming a thing of the past,

a multipolar one is taking shape.

It was something to behold. Dmitri Medvedev, former Russian President, unrepentant Atlanticist, current deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, decided to go totally unplugged in an outburst matching the combat star turn of Mr. Khinzal that delivered palpable shock and awe all across NATOstan.

Medvedev said “hellish” Western sanctions not only have failed to cripple Russia, but are instead “returning to the West like a boomerang.” Confidence in reserve currencies is “fading like the morning mist”, and ditching the US dollar and the euro is not unrealistic anymore: “The era of regional currencies is coming.”

After all, he added, “no matter if they want it or not, they’ …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/escobar-meet-new-resource-based-global-reserve-currency

Banks Battered & Trannies Trounced Amid Yield Curve & Commodity Carnage

Banks Battered & Trannies Trounced Amid Yield Curve & Commodity CarnageAfter a big start to the week, Weds, Thurs, and Fri all saw significant selling pressure across month-, quarter-end with The Dow and S&P the laggards, with only a last-minute panic bid taking Nasdaq and Small Caps green and dragging Dow and S&P up to unch briefly….

Transports had the worst week since Jan 2021…

Source: Bloomberg

Why did stocks sink this week? Who knows. But one …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/banks-battered-trannies-trounced-amid-yield-curve-commodity-carnage

EU Warns China Not to Interfere With Russia Sanctions In Summit, Urges Xi To Condemn Invasion

EU Warns China Not to Interfere With Russia Sanctions In Summit, Urges Xi To Condemn InvasionUpdate(1600ET): In a Friday virtual summit, European leaders urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to press Moscow to abandon the invasion of Ukraine, and to end China’s tacit support to Russia. According to The Washington Post’s commentary on the meeting, the Chinese side seemed less interested in the summit focusing on the war from the start.

“We called on China to end the war in Ukraine,” European Council President Charles Michel said in a post-meeting statement to the press. “China cannot turn a blind eye to Russia’s violation of international law.” The official EU statement said, “As major global powers, the EU and China must work together on stopping Russia’s war in Ukraine as soon as possible. We have a common responsibility to maintain peace and stability, and a safe and sustainable world.”

A statement published by the Chinese side, however, barely mentioned Russia and instead focused on stressing that China and Europe should cooperate on efforts to “stabilize” the world. Xi Jinping called the Ukraine conflict “deeply regrettable” – but again stopped short of condemning the Russian invasion.

The most important section regarding China in the EU official statement following the Xi summit warned against Beijing helping Russia circumvent Western sanctions. Here’s the key text, with

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/talks-resume-mayor-cites-huge-battles-near-capital-france-says-no-change-russias-aims

Warning of fresh energy bill shock in October as prices rise again

A typical annual energy bill could be as high as £2,600 by October, warns consultancy Cornwall Insight.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60959357?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Who allowed the energy price cap to rise so much? And other questions

As a new price cap takes effect, causing energy bills to soar, we answer your questions.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60954102?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Amazon workers win battle to form first US union

The Amazon Labor Union won a contest to establish the first unionised Amazon warehouse in the US.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60944677?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Atul Suri on how to volatility-proof your equity portfolio in this market

“We have a big overweight position in specialty chemicals; we continue to hold it. We have increased our exposure to IT and a new sector, theme or trend that we have added in this fall is capital markets. And that is how we are planning to navigate the year ahead.”

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/expert-view/atul-suri-on-how-to-volatility-proof-portfolio-trends-for-new-financial-year/articleshow/90588636.cms

Market movers: Tata Power spikes 3% after CGPL merger

CGPL is claimed to be one of India’s most energy efficient thermal plants and uses supercritical technology to generate power.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/market-movers-tata-power-spikes-3-after-cgpl-merger-hal-posts-record-revenue/articleshow/90593990.cms

Tech View: Nifty50 bulls in driver’s seat; further upside likely

On the weekly time frame, Nifty50 has closed above its 20-period moving average and that the MACD has started to curl up.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/tech-view-nifty50-bulls-in-drivers-seat-further-upside-likely/articleshow/90592797.cms

Key Words: Restarting Keystone XL construction ‘wouldn’t actually increase supply’ of oil: top Biden adviser

The Biden administration isn’t rethinking its decision to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline in response to rising oil prices, says the White House’s top economic advisor.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C05575-04D4-B545-7B7D-630B2300F150%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

The Wall Street Journal: Biden press secretary Jen Psaki plans to leave White House for MSNBC

White House press secretary Jen Psaki plans to leave the administration this spring and is in exclusive talks to join MSNBC, where she is expected to host a show for the streaming service operated by network parent NBCUniversal, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C05575-04D4-B545-7B7E-2EE08F35CD9E%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

: Here’s how prices for bitcoin, ethereum moved in March

A recent rally for bitcoin and ether come after several down months for the digital assets.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C05575-04D4-B545-7B75-7B7555970BE0%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1