12Apr2022 Market Close & Major Financial Headlines: Wall Street Closed Sharply Down After Posting Opening Morning Highs, DOW Closed Down 88 Points, NASDAQ Down 0.3%, WTI Crude Higher At 100.69, USD Passed $100 And Climbing, Bitcoin Slips Further To 39400

Oil Prices Hold Gains Despite Major Crude Inventory Build

The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a surprise build this week for crude oil of 7.757 million barrels, compared to analyst predictions of a 1.367 million barrel build. U.S. crude inventories have shed some 72 million barrels since the start of 2021 and about 14 million barrels since the start of 2020. In the week prior, the API reported a build in crude oil inventories of 1.080 million barrels after analysts had predicted a draw of 1.558 million barrels. Oil prices were trading sharply up on Tuesday on a number of bullish catalysts

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Oil-Prices-Hold-Gains-Despite-Major-Crude-Inventory-Build.html

Saudi Arabia Looks To Position NEOM As A Hydrogen Leader

At the first-ever conference devoted exclusively to carbon-free hydrogen in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), participants looked in depth at the technical and financial complexities of getting major projects off the ground. They covered projects announced by various consortiums worldwide, all in early-stage development. An exception appeared in Saudi Arabias $5bn hydrogen-based ammonia plant, a project of the NEOM Energy & Water Company. Many conference participants and panelists saw NEOMs ambitious green hydrogen-to-ammonia

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Fuel-Cells/Saudi-Arabia-Looks-To-Position-NEOM-As-A-Hydrogen-Leader.html

Europes Gas Prices Jump As Ukraine Transit Demand Drops

After more than a week of consecutive declines, Europes benchmark natural gas prices rose on Tuesday amid lower orders for Russian gas supply transiting Ukraine. In morning trade in Amsterdam on Tuesday, the front-month gas futures price at the Dutch TTF hub, the benchmark gas price for Europe, was up by nearly 4 percent, while the front-month gas contract in the United Kingdom had risen by 3.5 percent, per Bloomberg data. Prices were up as orders for Russian gas transit via Ukraine on Tuesday had dropped to 68 percent of the capacity

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Europes-Gas-Prices-Jump-As-Ukraine-Transit-Demand-Drops.html

Oil Prices Rise As Chinese Demand Begins To Rebound

Oilprice Alert: Whether you are new to the oil and gas industry or an energy market veteran, you will regret not signing up for Global Energy Alert. Oilprice.com’spremium newsletterprovides everything from geopolitical analysis to trading analysis, and all forless than a cup of coffeeper week. Chart of the Week Diesel Cracks Have Never Been This Good – Confirming the unprecedented tightness in middle distillates across the globe, low-sulphur diesel continues to trade at a widely steep premium vs Dated Brent, currently at

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Oil-Prices-Rise-As-Chinese-Demand-Begins-To-Rebound.html

Russias Oil Production Slips Below 10 Million Bpd

For the first time since July 2020, Russias crude oil production has slipped below the 10 million bpd mark on Monday, two anonymous Reuters sources suggested. The decline in Russias crude oil production is largely the result of sanctioning and self-sanctioning from Russias usual oil clientele and the logistical issues created by those actions, including payment issues and lack of storage availability. So far in April, Russias average crude oil production for the first 11 days of April came in at 10.32 million bpda

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Russias-Oil-Production-Slips-Below-10-Million-Bpd.html

Greece To Boost Gas Exploration Efforts To Cut Russian Dependence

Greece plans to step up efforts to explore for natural gas in an attempt to reduce its 40-percent reliance on Russian gas, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Tuesday. “Accelerating the exploitation of the country’s national energy resources will allow us, if we are lucky and we have exploitable natural gas fields, to boost our energy independence, our energy security,” Mitsotakis said, as carried by Reuters. The prime minister met with oil and gas industry officials and representatives of the Greek commission on hydrocarbons

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Greece-To-Boost-Gas-Exploration-Efforts-To-Cut-Russian-Dependence.html

Walmart hires PayPal executive as its chief financial officer

The retailer’s longtime CFO Brett Biggs announced in November that he would step down.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/12/walmart-hires-paypal-executive-as-its-chief-financial-officer.html

Airfare surged 20% over pre-pandemic levels in March as inflation hit vacations

Consumers spent 28% more on U.S. domestic flights in March than they did in 2019.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/12/airfare-surged-20percent-over-pre-pandemic-levels-as-inflation-hit-vacations.html

Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Chipotle, PG&E, Marathon Oil and CarMax

These are the stocks posting the largest moves in midday trading.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/12/stocks-making-the-biggest-moves-midday-chipotle-pge-marathon-oil-and-carmax.html

Lululemon launches a trade-in and resell program as shoppers grapple with inflation

Customers will be able to trade in their previously worn Lululemon items in exchange for a gift card at any of the retailer’s U.S. stores.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/12/lululemon-trade-in-resell-program-to-launch-this-month.html

EV maker Lucid debuts its latest Tesla rival, a high-performance luxury sedan with a 446-mile range

U.S. deliveries of the new Grand Touring Performance model will begin in June.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/12/lucid-air-grand-touring-performance-debuts-with-1050-horsepower-446-mile-range.html

UK PM Johnson and Finance Minister Sunak fined for Covid lockdown breaches

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Finance Minister Rishi Sunak were fined by police on Tuesday for breaching Covid-19 lockdown rules, reigniting calls for the embattled ministers to resign.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/12/covid-lockdown-boris-jonson-and-rishi-sunak-to-be-fined.html

Panera Bread is testing automated coffee brewing with Miso Robotics

Panera Bread is piloting Miso Robotics’ new automated coffee brewing system as it doubles down on its drink subscription program.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/12/panera-bread-tests-automated-coffee-brewing-with-miso-robotics.html

Beyond Meat expands meatless chicken distribution to 8,000 new retail locations

Beyond Meat is expanding distribution of its meatless chicken tenders to 8,000 new grocery, pharmacy and big-box retail locations.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/12/beyond-meat-expands-meatless-chicken-distribution-to-8000-new-outlets.html

New omicron XE Covid variant first detected in the UK spreads to Japan as cases rise

Japan has reported its first case of omicron XE — a new Covid-19 variant first detected in the U.K. — just as British cases of the subvariant rise.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/12/new-omicron-xe-variant-detected-in-japan-as-uk-cases-rise-.html

Giant undersea cables set to give the UK and Germany their first direct energy link

The news marks the latest progression for a project that’s been in the works for some time.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/12/huge-undersea-cables-to-give-uk-germany-first-ever-energy-link.html

U.S. State Department orders all non-emergency government staff in Shanghai to leave as Covid surges

“Reconsider travel to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) due to arbitrary enforcement of local laws and COVID-19-related restrictions,” the State Department said.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/11/us-state-department-orders-all-non-emergency-government-staff-in-shanghai-to-leave-as-covid-surges.html

‘Forget FAANG’ and focus on value stocks in the current inflationary environment, Jim Cramer says

“For the moment, I do think we have to forget most of FAANG and focus on the money centers,” the “Mad Money” host said.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/11/forget-faang-and-focus-on-value-stocks-in-the-current-inflationary-environment-jim-cramer-says.html

FBI Memos Suggest Agency Had Moles In Media

FBI Memos Suggest Agency Had Moles In MediaAuthored by Ken Silva via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Investigator Roger Charles was combing through records of the FBI’s Oklahoma City bombing investigation more than a decade ago, when he discovered a memo suggesting that someone working at ABC News provided a tip to the bureau a day after the deadly April 19, 1995, domestic terrorist attack.

The FBI seal is attached to a podium at a news conference at FBI Headquarters in Washington on June 14, 2018. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)It appeared that a senior ABC News journalist had been

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/fbi-memos-suggest-agency-had-moles-media

WTI Holds Gains Above $100 Despite Huge Crude Build

WTI Holds Gains Above $100 Despite Huge Crude BuildOil prices rebounded today thanks to some lifting of China COVID restrictions, Putin’s rising rhetoric, and OPEC comments regarding an inability to cover production losses from Russia (which dropped below 10mm b/d for the first time since Jul 2020). WTI (and Brent) both rebounded back above $100.

“The crude correction appears to be over as China begins to lift some of their lockdowns,”said Ed Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda.

“The energy market has now mostly priced in the coordinated strategic petroleum release and probably was overly pessimistic on how far China would stick to their strict lockdown and isolation measures.”

The Energy Information Administration added more bullish sentiment by lowering its forecast for U.S. crude output growth in 2022 and 2023 as shale producers grapple with higher production and labor costs.

For now, signs of demand destruction remain top of mind for energy traders…

API

Crude +7.757mm (+300k exp) – biggest build since March 2021

Cushing +375k

Gasoline -5.053mm (-800k exp)

Distillates -4.961mm (-1.5mm exp)

After last week’s surprise crude build, expectations were for another small increase in stocks but instead API reported a huge 7.757mm crude build. This was balanced with major inventory draws in products…

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/wti-holds-gains-above-100-despite-huge-crude-build

Putin Breaks Silence, Says Russia Will Triumph In Ukraine

Putin Breaks Silence, Says Russia Will Triumph In UkraineBy Jack Phillips of The Epoch Times

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said that Russia would triumph in its conflict with Ukraine, delivering his first remarks in several days about the weekslong war.

“That Blitzkrieg on which our foes were counting on did not work,” Putin claimed of the West’s crippling sanctions imposed after Putin’s Feb. 24 order to invade the country, according to state-run media outlet TASS. Putin made those comments alongside Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, an ally, at Vostochny cosmodrome in the Amur region.

Russia’s economy is on track to contract by more than 10 percent in 2022, the biggest fall in gross domestic product since the years following the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, former finance minister Alexei Kudrin said on Tuesday, reported Reuters. Russia is facing soaring inflation and capital flight while grappling with a possible debt default following the sanctions.

Putin, who had been ubiquitous on Russian television in the early days of the war, had largely retreated from public view since Russia’s withdrawal from northern Ukraine this month.

The Russian leader, despite setbacks, claimed that the operation in Ukraine is going according to plan, saying that a collision with Ukraine was inevitable due to nationalist factions operating within the country.

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/military/putin-breaks-silence-says-russia-will-triumph-ukraine

Bonds, Bullion, & Black Gold Soar As CPI & Brainard Pump’n’Dump Stocks

Bonds, Bullion, & Black Gold Soar As CPI & Brainard Pump’n’Dump StocksBonds and stocks rallied hard out of the gate after core inflation printed lower than expected (even as the headline print soared).

As Goldman explains:  “today’s CPI release is a reminder that there still exists a non-zero probability that all of the inflation we have seen the past year is indeed transitory – the product of pandemic imbalances that constrained supply chains, kept people out of the work force, and fed an unusual consumer demand for stuff.”

But, it wasn’t long before FedSpeak spoiled the party (for stocks) however as Lael Brainard’s comments that there’s plenty of room to trim job openings here (via Fed tightening) and reiterated The Fed’s commitment to fighting inflation no matter what, sent long-end bond yields higher and stocks lower around 1215ET (and the dollar higher).

Brainard really stole the jam out of the equity market’s donut today with Nasdaq surging up 2% after CPI (from -0.5% overnight) to down almost 1% by the close as the rest of the majors dumped on The Fed saying nothing new after the CPI Pump. Small Caps managed to hold very modest gains

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/bonds-bullion-black-gold-soar-cpi-brainard-pumpndump-stocks

Trade setup: Nifty to stay vulnerable to profit-taking bouts as long as it is above 17,600

The market is likely to stay cautious as the world markets will continue to function and the Indian markets would be closed. The Bank Nifty relatively outperformed the Nifty, but this may not continue for long.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/trade-setup-nifty-to-stay-vulnerable-to-profit-taking-bouts-as-long-as-it-is-above-17600/articleshow/90804080.cms

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana crash up to 30% in a week. Is there more pain coming?

Largest tokens such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have dropped about 5 per cent in the last 24 hours, extending their weekly slide to 15 per cent each. Altcoins among the 15 largest crypto tokens such as Solana, Terra, Avalanche, Polkadot and XRP have tumbled up to 9 per cent in the last 24 hours, registering a weekly fall of up to 30 per cent.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/cryptocurrency/top-crypto-tokens-crash-up-to-30-in-a-week-is-there-more-pain-coming/articleshow/90797592.cms

Market Movers: Poor JLR sales put Tata Motors among top Nifty laggards

A 35 per cent year-on-year decline in JLR global wholesales to 89,148 units soured investor mood. Late last week, JLR had said that it continues to face chip shortages, which are expected to continue through the next fiscal.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/market-movers-poor-jlr-sales-put-tata-motors-among-top-nifty-laggards/articleshow/90801865.cms

The Moneyist: ‘They said we need to give them money’: My husband’s family wants him to pay for a new car — and they call ME a gold digger! How do we stand up to them?

‘If his family needed money, they would scream, cry and yell at him until he gave in.’

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C05575-04D4-B545-7BDA-4F7BDD3B2DB5%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

Financial Crime: Couple bilked investors out of $5 million after claiming they invented software to rival Microsoft that one employee called a ‘heap of junk’

Michael and Betsy Feinberg took $5 million from investors over 15 years by repeatedly claiming to be on the verge of a breakthrough.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C05575-04D4-B545-7BD1-C67654324A52%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

The Margin: Gilbert Gottfried, comic, ‘Aladdin’ star and voice of the Aflac duck, dies at 67

Fellow comedians and fans mourn the loss of the funnyman with the ‘legendary voice.’

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C05575-04D4-B545-7BE5-B7DB8985D67F%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1