18Apr2022 Market Close & Major Financial Headlines: DOW Closed Down 40 Points, NASDAQ Closed Down 0.1%, The S&P 500 Closed Flat, Down 0.02%. Gold Rises To 1977, Bitcoin Rises Fractionally to 40800, WTI Crude Settles Higher At 107.32

Trees: An Overlooked Source of Renewable Power

One of the more controversial renewable energy resources is woody biomass, such as trees. It shouldnt be, because biomass can be a highly sustainable resource if it is properly managed. I lived in Hawaii for five years, where I worked for a company that managed forests (among other things). I was sometimes asked to give talks at the local high school about energy and sustainability. During one talk, a student said I heard you were going to cut down all the trees. At that moment, I realized that her view of forestry was much

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Trees-An-Overlooked-Source-of-Renewable-Power.html

German Industry Fears Immediate Russian Gas Ban

As Europe continues to consider a ban on Russian energy exports, German business and unions are joining forces in opposition, warning that an immediate Russian natural gas ban would have a severe negative impact on industry and jobs. Germany boasts the largest economy in the 27-nation European Union and resisted a ban on Russian energy imports, opting instead for a strategy that would seek to gradually phase out Russian oil by year-end 2022 and Russian gas imports within two years. A rapid gas embargo would lead to loss of production,

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/German-Industry-Fears-Immediate-Russian-Gas-Ban.html

The Fed Is Walking A Tightrope Between Recovery And Recession

Of late, all talk related to the US economy seems focused on inflation. And while the Fed has continually issued statements regarding interest rates, the organization seems split on how to proceed. Moreover, concerns are rising that too much intervention too soon could actually push the economy into a recession next year. In the meantime, its worth exploring whether these recession fears have any real merit. Whats that I hear? A recession? Its hard to wrap ones head around. After all, the economy is booming.

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-Fed-Is-Walking-A-Tightrope-Between-Recovery-And-Recession.html

EIA: Number Of DUCs Falls To Lowest On Record

The number of Drilled but Uncompleted Wells sank to its lowest level ever recorded, according to the Energy Informations latest Drilling Productivity Report published on Monday. The number of Drilled but Uncompleted Wellsalso known as DUCsfell to 4,273 in March 2022, according to the latest figures. This is down from 42% since the beginning of 2021. The falling DUC count is due to more fracking than drillingdepleting their DUC inventories rather than drilling new wells is typically more cost effective. As shareholders

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/EIA-Number-Of-DUCs-Falls-To-Lowest-On-Record.html

EIA: U.S. Shale Production To See Sizeable Increase In May

U.S. Shale production in the seven most prolific shale basins is set to increase 132,000 bpd in May to 8.649 million bpd, according to the Energy Information Administrations latest Drilling Productivity Report published on Monday. It would be the largest monthly production increase since March 2020, according to EIA data. The largest increase is expected to come from the Permian basin, increasing just 82,000 bpd from an estimated 5.055 million bpd in April 2022 to 5.137 million bpd next month. The EIA has forecast that the second largest

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/EIA-US-Shale-Production-To-See-Sizeable-Increase-In-May.html

The Small Latin American Nation That Could Benefit From Russias Oil Ban

For over a decade the deeply impoverished and mountainous South American nation of Ecuador has battled to revive its flagging oil industry. Washingtons decision to ban Russian energy imports in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine has sparked speculation that Ecuador, which has oil reserves of over 8 billion barrels, can fill the supply gap. Since 2021, U.S. refiners have been looking at whether Ecuador can supply the heavy crude oil that many of their facilities are configured to process. According to Bloomberg, U.S. refiners Valero and

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/The-Small-Latin-American-Nation-That-Could-Benefit-From-Russias-Oil-Ban.html

Billionaire Peltz draws GOP megadonors to $5,000-a-plate fundraiser for Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin

Several top executives privately said they hoped the conservative West Virginia Democrat would switch parties and run against Biden in 2024, CNBC has learned.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/18/nelson-peltz-hosted-joe-manchin-for-fundraiser-featuring-republican-megadonors.html

Leaving Covid safety to personal choice will ‘come back to bite us,’ ex-Obama health official says

“My biggest issue with the it’s-your-call kind of theme that’s out there [is] we don’t do this in any other area of illness,” Dr. Kavita Patel told CNBC.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/18/leaving-covid-safety-to-personal-choice-will-come-back-to-bite-us-ex-obama-health-official-says.html

Florida judge overturns CDC mask mandate for planes and public transit

The court’s ruling comes less than a week after the CDC extended the mandate for 15 days, amid a rise in Covid infections nationwide due to the more contagious omicron BA.2 subvariant.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/18/florida-judge-overturns-cdc-mask-mandate-for-public-transit-planes.html

Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Twitter, Bank of America, Charles Schwab and more

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

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/18/stocks-making-the-biggest-moves-midday-twitter-bank-of-america-charles-schwab-and-more.html

NBA’s Golden State Warriors step into movies, music and events with a new entertainment division

The Warriors’ new division will produce documentaries on former NBA players and will release a single featuring K-pop star BamBam.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/18/golden-state-warriors-launch-entertainment-division-will-feature-bambam.html

Natural gas surges to highest level since 2008 as Russia’s war upends energy markets

Natural gas prices jumped on Monday, building on five straight weeks of gains.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/18/natural-gas-surges-to-highest-level-since-2008-as-russias-war-upends-energy-markets.html

Ex-NFL star Marshawn Lynch, Macklemore join ownership group of NHL’s Seattle Kraken

The team is controlled by majority owner David Bonderman who paid a $650 million expansion fee to join the league.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/18/marshawn-lynch-macklemore-join-seattle-kraken-ownership-group-in-nhl-.html

Inside Rivian’s EV plant and CEO RJ Scaringe’s strategy for growth, lower-priced EVs and competing with Tesla

CNBC visited Rivian’s massive assembly plant in Illinois and talked with CEO R.J. Scaringe about production, parts shortages and competition.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/18/rivian-ceo-on-growth-amazon-vans-spac-bubble-and-lower-priced-evs.html

American Airlines’ new CEO vows reliability as massive peak travel season kicks off

Airlines have struggled with a surge in demand that materialized faster than they expected.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/17/american-airlines-new-ceo-robert-isom-vows-reliability-as-peak-travel-season-kicks-off.html

China’s Covid policy locks down a city three times the size of New York

China’s latest wave of Covid restrictions have forced millions of people to stay home and undergo mass virus testing in the metropolis of Shanghai.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/17/shanghai-by-the-numbers-chinas-covid-lockdowns.html

How Russia’s war is cutting global auto production

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shuttered Ukrainian factories, imperiled raw material supplies and forced auto industry watchers to revise their forecasts.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/16/how-russias-war-is-cutting-global-auto-production.html

WHO is tracking omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants as they spread through Africa and Europe

The two subvariants of the highly contagious Covid-19 strain have been detected in Botswana, South Africa, Germany and Denmark, among other countries, WHO said.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/15/who-tracks-omicron-bapoint4-and-bapoint5-subvariants-as-they-spread-through-africa-and-europe.html

Top Democratic Senator Favors Sending US Troops To Ukraine

Top Democratic Senator Favors Sending US Troops To UkraineAuthored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) signaled that he wants the US to send troops into Ukraine to fight Russia in an interview on Sunday. When pressed about the issue, Coons said Russian President Vladimir Putin “will only stop when we stop him.”

Coons was asked on CBS News’s Face the Nation about comments he made last week in an address to the University of Michigan. In the speech, Coons said the Biden administration and Congress should “come to a common position about when we are willing to go the next step and to send not just arms but troops to the aid in defense of Ukraine … If the answer is never, then we are inviting another level of escalation in brutality by Putin.”

Sen. Chris Coons, the Biden conduit who holds his former seat in Delaware, has actively begun floating the deployment of US troops to Ukraine: “Putin will only stop when we” — the US — “stop him,” Coons warns pic.twitter.com/ABydvBPuO0

— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) April 17, 2022

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/top-democratic-senator-favors-sending-us-troops-ukraine

Twitter Board Under More Pressure As Apollo Reportedly Backs Musk Bid

Twitter Board Under More Pressure As Apollo Reportedly Backs Musk BidFollowing reports over the weekend that Thoma Bravo and several other investors had shown an interest in a bid for Twitter after Elon Musk announced his hopes to take it private, WSJ reported Monday that PE giant Apollo has also held discussion about potentially backing a bid for the company.

It’s not clear whether the firm is leaning toward backing Elon Musk’s tender offer, or perhaps another bid for the social media company. WSJ said Apollo’s involvement could entail equity or debt.

Twitter shares moved even higher in after-hours trading after surging during Monday’s session on news of Apollo’s interest, as the PE juggernaut’s involvement now virtually guarantees that a deal will take place, since the Board of Directors can’t say no to everyone (since the further the company’s stock climbs, the more support there would be for an argument that opposing a deal would be a breach of the board’s fiduciary duty).

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/twitter-board-under-more-pressure-apollo-reportedly-backs-musk-bid

A Couple Of Thoughts On Big Numbers

A Couple Of Thoughts On Big NumbersAuthored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,

Let’s ask “cui bono” of the $33 trillion in added debt and the $9 trillion added to GDP: to whose benefit?

I’ve been thinking about how hard it is to get our heads around big numbers. Technical analyst Sven Henrich (@NorthmanTrader) recently provided one method to grasp the immense wealth of Elon Musk: How to become as wealthy as Elon Musk? Easy. Get paid $1 Million every single day. For 750 years in a row and you’re there.

How can we get a handle on the $33 trillion we’ve added in total debt since 2010? We can start by noting that’s a 60% increase in debt in about a decade, while the population of the U.S. rose by 7%.

Are we 60% better off than we were 12 years ago? How do we measure “better off”? GDP went up by 60% as well, but are we 60% more efficient or 60% more productive? Has the purchas …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/couple-thoughts-big-numbers

Commodities Soar As Bonds, Stocks, & Bitcoin Rollercoaster Wildly

Commodities Soar As Bonds, Stocks, & Bitcoin Rollercoaster WildlyThe big headlines today – with Europe still closed for Easter – was the surges in commodity markets…

WTI topped $109 – erases Biden SPR plan benefits…

US NatGas surged above $8 for the first time since 2008

That’s equivalent to $136 per barrel oil…

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/commodities-soar-bonds-stocks-bitcoin-rollercoaster-wildly

Emirates will keep flying to Russia unless its owner stops it

It is one of a few airlines still operating in Russia after most pulled out over the war in Ukraine.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61140802?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Apple staff make bid for first union at a US store

Employees must get signatures from 30% of staff at New York’s Grand Central Station for a union election.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61145127?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Alex Jones’ Infowars files for bankruptcy after defamation suits

It will complicate efforts to make him pay damages in lawsuits over Sandy Hook conspiracy theories.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61142905?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Bombay High Court refuses interim stay on DRHP issuance of LIC’s IPO

The division bench of Justice Gautam Patel and Justice MJ Jamdar, however, clarified that any public issue that LIC proceeds with will be subject to the court’s final ruling. The court will hear the matter further on June 21.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/ipos/fpos/bombay-high-court-refuses-interim-stay-on-drhp-issuance-of-lics-ipo/articleshow/90918809.cms

What a Holcim exit would mean for ACC, Ambuja investors & cement sector

Holcim in 2021 announced ‘Strategy 2025’ where it articulated its target to expand Solutions & Products to 30 per cent of group net sales from 8 per cent in 2020 and 15 per cent in 2021. It is also aiming to grow aggregates and ready-mix business by 2025, but the cement division.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/what-a-holcim-exit-would-mean-for-acc-ambuja-investors-cement-sector/articleshow/90909252.cms

As SBI hikes loan rates, shift in interest rate cycle gathers steam

According to SBI’s website, the overnight, one-month, three-month, and six-month MCLR rates have all been raised by 10 basis points to 6.75 per cent, 6.75 per cent, 6.75 per cent, and 7.05 per cent, respectively.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/as-indias-largest-bank-hikes-loan-rates-shift-in-interest-rate-cycle-gathers-steam/articleshow/90913589.cms

The Wall Street Journal: Deezer, the French Spotify rival, aims to go public through SPAC at $1.3 billion valuation

Founded in 2007, Deezer is merging with Paris-listed. The firm is a so-called blank-check company backed by France’s Pinault family

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C05575-04D4-B545-7C15-D852C34FA442%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

: Netgear stock drops more than 10% amid sales slump, China COVID lockdowns

Netgear Inc. shares dropped more than 10% in the extended session Monday after the network equipment and router company cut its outlook citing a drop in consumer sales and supply-chain problems from COVID lockdowns in China.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C05575-04D4-B545-7C11-6BAC1015182B%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

Earnings Results: Stock of trucking company J.B. Hunt rises after Q1 earnings beat

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc.’s sales rose more than 30% in the first quarter, including a 77% revenue jump for the transportation and logistics company’s trucking division.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C05575-04D4-B545-7C14-C001F0A6F069%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1