29 August 2022 Market Close & Major Financial Headlines: Wall Street’s Three Main Indexes Heading Lower Extending Decline After See-Sawing Across The Unchanged Line. Investors Concerned With Powell’s Inflation Rhetoric

U.S. Utilities Desperately Need To Spend More On Energy Infrastructure

Since the 1970s, energy has played a diminishing role in economic growth with the offshoring of industrial production sometimes cited as a reason, but increased energy efficiency is the more likely culprit for the decline in energy intensity. Hard to believe, nowadays, but we would argue that current circumstances will reinforce the trend, at least for fossil fuels. What rational player would want a repeat of 2022?) But that’s not the topic today. In 2000-2020, both worldwide and in the U.S., energy consumption grew more slowly

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/US-Utilities-Desperately-Need-To-Spend-More-On-Energy-Infrastructure.html

IEA: Russian Oil Output Still Exceeding Expectations

Six months into Russia’s war on Ukraine, Russia’s oil output has continued to exceed expectations although experts are warning that Moscow will find it increasingly difficult to uphold production as Western sanctions begin to bite. According to the latest report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), Russian oil exports fell by 115 kb/d in July to 7.4 mb/d, from about 8 mb/d at the start of the year. That decline is nowhere near the 2-3 million b/d slump predicted by some experts. The country’s crude and oil product flows to the

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/IEA-Russian-Oil-Output-Still-Exceeding-Expectations.html

Japan Is Eyeing A Historic Return To Nuclear Energy

An energy crisis of unprecedented proportions is unfolding across the world. In the United Kingdom, short energy supply and sky-high prices have set off an energy emergency deemed to be bigger than the pandemic. Across the European continent, the cost of the energy crisis threatens to dwarf the $279 billion dollars in rescue aid that European governments have allotted as an emergency measure. The Washington Post is reporting that over in China the energy crisis could reach a Himalayan scale and in

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Japan-Is-Eyeing-A-Historic-Return-To-Nuclear-Energy.html

Musk Goes Viral With Oil & Gas Tweet

The world’s richest man and Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) founder Elon Musk has acknowledged that the world still needs oil and gas amid the ongoing global energy transition. Realistically I think we need to use oil and gas in the short term because otherwise, civilization will crumble. One of the biggest challenges the world has ever faced is the transition to sustainable energy and to a sustainable economy, he said. That will take some decades to complete, Musk told reporters at a conference in Norway on Monday.

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Musk-Goes-Viral-With-Oil-Gas-Tweet.html

The Global Gas Crisis Is Spilling Into The United States

Both experts and everyday consumers remain at odds about the current state of the global natural gas market. The main point of contention is whether U.S. prices will drop significantly or rise further. With inflation hitting record highs this past year, nobody can blame consumers for being wary. Most experts agree that gas prices and demand will keep up their pace. The ongoing European energy crisis weighed into this heavily. EU countries continue to search for alternatives to Russian fuel. However, Europes energy problems will likely ripple

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/The-Global-Gas-Crisis-Is-Spilling-Into-The-United-States.html

Ford Hikes Price Of New Mach-E EV By $8,000

It was just days ago we wrote about how Ford was hiking the price of its F-150 EV by almost precisely the same amount offered as an EV subsidy in the Biden administration’s new “Inflation Reduction Act”. While some argued that the price hikes came days before President Biden signed the Act, and therefore weren’t definitive proof that Ford was just price gouging the government’s latest handouts, we think that argument has now officially been put to rest, with Ford now also increasing Mustang Mach-E EV prices between $3,000 and $8,100, depending

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Ford-Hikes-Price-Of-New-Mach-E-EV-By-8000.html

Trump-linked SPAC’s stock falls as shareholders weigh delaying merger with ex-president’s media firm

Digital World Acquisition Corp. is trying to extend the deadline to complete its merger with former Trump Media and Technology Group.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/29/trump-spac-digital-world-stock-falls-as-shareholders-consider-merger-delay.html

NASA postpones Artemis 1 rocket launch as engine problem leaves the timing of the next attempt uncertain

NASA postponed its Artemis 1 launch that was scheduled for Monday morning.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/29/nasa-postpones-artemis-1-rocket-launch-due-to-issues-during-countdown.html

Honda and LG Energy Solution to build $4.4 billion EV battery plant in U.S.

The plant will be built and operated by a joint venture between the companies, which is expected to be established this year.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/29/honda-lg-energy-solution-to-build-4point4-billion-battery-plant-in-us.html

Panera Bread tests artificial intelligence technology in drive-thru lanes

Two Panera Bread locations in upstate New York are testing artificial intelligence technology that takes drive-thru orders.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/29/panera-bread-tests-artificial-intelligence-technology-in-drive-thru-lanes.html

Cash is king for EV makers as soaring battery prices drive up vehicle production costs

Rising costs and new federal regulations are adding new cost pressures to what was already an expensive process.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/28/ev-makers-face-cash-squeeze-amid-soaring-battery-production-costs.html

Greenland ice loss will raise sea levels by nearly one foot by 2100, study shows

Greenland’s ice sheet loss is inevitable even if the world immediately stops emitting greenhouse gases, researchers said.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/29/greenland-ice-loss-will-raise-sea-levels-by-nearly-one-foot-study.html

Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Netflix, Pinduoduo, Catalent, Bristol-Myers and more

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

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/29/stocks-making-biggest-midday-moves-netflix-bristol-myers-and-more.html

Listen to these 4 ‘Game of Thrones’ podcasts if you’re watching HBO’s ‘House of the Dragon’

There’s no shortage of supplemental ‘Game of Thrones’ content to consume. These four podcasts are worth your time.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/29/house-of-the-dragon-podcasts-to-listen-to.html

3 takeaways from the Investing Club’s ‘Morning Meeting’ on Monday

Jim Cramer explains why the CNBC Investing Club is putting cash to work during Monday’s market declines — and discloses the one stock he’s looking to sell.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/29/3-takeaways-from-the-investing-clubs-morning-meeting-on-monday.html

Here’s what’s at stake for NASA’s Artemis 1 mission to the moon

The uncrewed Artemis I launch marks the debut of the most powerful rocket ever assembled and kicks off NASA’s long-awaited return to the moon’s surface.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/27/nasas-artemis-1-mission-what-you-should-know-about-sls-orion.html

People returning to offices are still buying breakfast even as they cut back on other things

Consumers are cutting back on restaurant spending, but breakfast sales appear to be holding steady.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/27/breakfast-sales-hold-steady-as-people-heading-back-to-offices-cut-back-elsewhere.html

Chipotle restaurant in Michigan votes to unionize, in a first for the chain

A Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant in Lansing, Michigan, became the chain’s first location to vote to unionize.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/25/chipotle-restaurant-in-michigan-votes-to-unionize-in-a-first-for-the-chain.html

Op-ed: September is historically the worst month of the year for stocks, but recent strength suggests the market could buck the trend

It’s reasonable to expect a better-than-usual September, typically the worst month for stocks. Much of the annual de-risking took place earlier in the year.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/29/usually-the-worst-month-for-stocks-this-september-could-buck-trends.html

Tropics Flare-Up Could Derail Impending August Record Of No-Named Storms

The Atlantic Basin has had a very quiet hurricane season so far. It’s been so uneventful that a quarter-century-long record of no named storms for August could be seen for the first time since 1997 and the third time since 1961. Though, the tropics are heating up this week with three systems that could spoil the potential record.

Last week, we told readers dry air, Saharan dust, and wind shear were some of the reasons why tropical activity remained depressed. Any systems in the tropics coming off the African coast this season were quickly disorganized by the wind shear that prevented further development.

If there are no named tropical storms through the end of this month (or after Wednesday), it would only be the third time since 1961.

However, the potential record could be derailed by new tropical activity that has sprung up in the Atlantic Basin.

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/weather/emerging-tropical-activity-could-derail-august-development-record

Michigan Secretary Of State Loses Round In Fight Over Dead People On Voter Rolls

Authored by Steven Kovac via The Epoch Times,

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has failed to convince a judge to dismiss a case that could force the state to remove 25,975 deceased people from its voter rolls.

Benson moved for dismissal of a case brought against her in November 2021 by the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) for her failure to clean up the state’s voter registration rolls—in an alleged violation of Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.

On Aug. 25, Benson’s motion to dismiss the case was denied by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan. The court also denied the motions to intervene filed by the Detroit/Downriver Chapter of the A. Philip Ra …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/michigan-secretary-state-loses-round-fight-over-dead-people-voter-rolls

A Benefit Of Soaring Inflation: Americans Are Starting To Eat Less

While the Dallas Fed is traditionally a C, or at best a B-grade economic indicator, it is best known for having some of the most entertaining and insightful critiques of the Biden regime, such as the following:

“We’ll all be lucky to have a job with two more years of this disaster.”

“You can’t ignore the economic fundamentals leading to a likely recession, and the administration [in Washington] is either stubborn or as paralyzed as a deer in headlights”

“Government overspending and transfer programs have inflated the money supply while resulting in unchecked corruption and waste. We will be paying that bill for generations, and what a colossal  waste of resources and missed opportunity.”

“Everything we buy and sell comes and goes by truck if we can get a truck at any price. Inflation will continue until the country is self-sufficient in oil and gas. The current political policy may not change until 2024. Therefore, inflation will be our consistent  companion for a while, then stagflation!”

“We see the environment for the oil industry becoming even worse than the previous months. Biden is promoting a  very caustic attitude toward the oil industry, which doesn’t help the country  in any way.”

We bring it up because today we got the latest monthly update from the Dallas Fed Manufacturing Activity survey, which came in largely as expected at -12.9 (exp -12.7) and well above last month’s catastrophic …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/benefit-soaring-inflation-americans-are-starting-eat-less

Peter Schiff: Student Loan Forgiveness Is Pure Inflation

Via SchiffGold.com,

Last week, President Joe Biden announced a student loan forgiveness scheme. Peter Schiff appeared on NewsMax Real America with Dan Ball to talk about the cost of forgiving student debt and the growing recession.

Peter said that despite all of the claims to the contrary, this is just going to add to the inflation problem.

Biden claims that forgiving $300 billion in student debt won’t impact inflation. How is that going to work? Peter said it won’t. In fact, this is pure inflation.

All the money that students are not going to repay to the government, the government is just going to print. The Federal Reserve is going to print that money because this is like a giant tax cut for certain Americans because the government is not going to get the money that it was going to receive from the repayment of those loans.”

So, where will the government get the money? There are no spending cuts. The end result has to be more inflation.

Peter also pointed out the moral hazard inherent in this scheme. Moral hazard means a lack of incentive to guard …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/peter-schiff-student-loan-forgiveness-pure-inflation

US shares fall on threat of interest rate rises

Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell warned of further interest rate rises to calm inflation.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62712191?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Energy bills could break firms, warns ex-chancellor

Alistair Darling says the new prime minister must quickly take “bold action” to help with soaring costs.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62712188?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Store closures at lowest level for seven years

Betting shops and banks are in decline but the restaurant sector is growing, new data suggests.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62632353?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Tech View: Nifty falls below 20-day SMA, signals weakness

For the day, the index closed at 17,312.90, down 246 points or 1.4 percent.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/tech-view-nifty-falls-below-20-day-sma-signals-weakness/articleshow/93858677.cms

Adar Poonawalla effect! Multibagger midcap stock rallies over 700% in 2 years

Domestic brokerage JM Financial, which initiated coverage on the stock with a Buy rating, values the stock at 4x Sep’24e P/BV to arrive at a target price of Rs 400. This signals an upside potential of up to 32 percent.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/adar-poonawalla-effect-multibagger-midcap-stock-rallies-over-700-in-2-years/articleshow/93852789.cms

Chart Check: Breakdown from consolidation range puts this pharma stock on slippery slope

The pharma major fell more than 5 per cent in a week which triggered the breakdown from a 50-point range where Rs 700 acted as a stiff resistance while levels of Rs 658-660 and above acted as strong support. The stock closed at Rs 652 on 26 August 2022.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/chart-check-breakdown-from-consolidation-range-puts-this-pharma-stock-on-slippery-slope/articleshow/93847821.cms

Market Snapshot: Dow, S&P 500 edge lower as investors digest Fed’s vows not to waver in inflation fight

Major U.S. stock indexes edge lower, but trim earlier losses Monday, after booking the worst market rout in months.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-7118-10A9FDA9501C%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

The Ratings Game: Dow stock dives after KeyBanc says ‘petrochemical recession is upon us’

Shares of Dow Inc. dropped Monday, after KeyBanc Capital analyst Aleksey Yefremov turned bearish on the chemicals and specialty materials company, citing concerns that the “meaningful” exposure to commodities and Europe skews the risk-versus-reward profile to the downside.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-7118-5F0E86019147%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

The Margin: Starbucks brings the Pumpkin Spice Latte back on Tuesday — plus an Apple Crisp Oatmilk Macchiato

The coffee giant’s fall menu hits just ahead of Labor Day weekend, on Aug. 30. Pumpkin spice has also taken over Dunkin and Krispy Kreme’s menus this month

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-7118-58307669C11A%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1