10 October 2022 Market Close & Major Financial Headlines: Wall Street Stocks Continue To Slip Downward

The Implications Of U.S. SPR Withdrawals

The Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) oil is sold competitively when the President of the United States of America finds, pursuant to the conditions set forth in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act(EPCA), that a sale is required.In the past, oil resources were withdrawn from the SPR to meet domestic oil requirements such as Emergency Drawdowns, Non-Emergency Sales, SPR Modernization Sales, and Mandated Sales. In March 2022, such orders were issued by the President of the United States, Joe Biden. President Biden

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-Implications-Of-US-SPR-Withdrawals.html

UK Energy Industry Body Upset Over Frackings Net-Zero Snub

UK’s onshore energy body has slammed Tory MP Chris Skidmore’s reported omission of fracking from its net zero review, raising concerns over the consistency of its approach to energy policy. UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG) criticized the decision as premeditated and wholly unjustified. Charles McAllister, director of policy, told City A.M.: It is impossible to conduct a fair review of the economic case for Net Zero without examining gas supply out to 2050, and it is therefore obvious that the development

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/UK-Energy-Industry-Body-Upset-Over-Frackings-Net-Zero-Snub.html

Prices At The Pump Are Ticking Higher After OPEC Decision

Gasoline prices in the United States have jumped over 3% since OPEC’s decision last week to cut output by 2 million barrels per day in November, reversing the trend that had seen prices lower at the pump for weeks. On Monday, the national average price for a gallon of gasoline in the United States was $3.919, up from $3.799 a week ago, and up from $3.724 a month ago, according to AAA. The hike in gas prices comes just weeks ahead of November midterms in the United States, where President Joe Biden is grappling with the effects

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Prices-At-The-Pump-Are-Ticking-Higher-After-OPEC-Decision.html

Experts: U.S. LNG Growth Could Slow Next Year

While American LNG is poised for long-term growth, next year could see a slowing of domestic natural gas demand due as infrastructure and expansion plans experience limitations, Natural Gas Intelligence reports, citing experts on the sidelines of a Gulf Coast energy forum. Central for Liquefied Natural Gas (CLNG) executive director Charlie Riedl told NGI that while LNG dynamics are expected to accelerate this decade, buoyed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, facility and pipeline expansion will be mission critical, with

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Gas-Prices/Experts-US-LNG-Growth-Could-Slow-Next-Year.html

Cash For Fracking: UK Households May Receive Payouts For Allowing Fracking

UK households could soon receive cash payouts for allowing fracking in their neighborhoods, media reported on Monday. The UK may have lifted its long-running ban on fracking last month, but its fracking industry still has one big hurdle that it must overcome: local opposition. Fracking has been criticized for its reported ties to earthquakes and other environmental damage, and has fallen out of favor. The practices sullied reputation has led to its ban in several countries, including France, Germany, Spain, and until recently, the UK.

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Cash-For-Fracking-UK-Households-May-Receive-Payouts-For-Allowing-Fracking.html

Frances Fuel Supply Problems Worsen As Refinery Strikes Continue

Frances fuel distribution continues to be disrupted by the ongoing strikes at refineries with no end in sight to the industrial action that has left more than 60% of French refining capacity offline. The current refinery outage in France is due to a strike of refinery workers over disputes over pay. More than half of Frances’s refinery capacity is currently offline due to the strikes. Traders of diesel and other products in Europe are concerned that the uncertain timing of the return of that capacity could further tighten

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Frances-Fuel-Supply-Problems-Worsen-As-Refinery-Strikes-Continue.html

Rivian shares slump after the company announced a big recall

Rivian Automotive said late Friday it is recalling more than12,000 vehicles – nearly every EV it has made to date.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/10/rivian-shares-after-the-company-announced-a-big-recall.html

GM and Ford shares fall after UBS downgrades on expectations for weakening demand

UBS expects the U.S. auto industry to be problematic following record profit amid low supplies and high demand during the coronavirus pandemic.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/10/gm-ford-shares-tumble-after-ubs-downgrades-citing-weakening-demand.html

Home Depot’s giant skeleton vs Lowe’s massive mummy: How retailers are trying to boost Halloween sales

As retailers brace for a lackluster holiday season, many are planning to pump up sales early by dangling a wider assortment of Halloween merchandise.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/09/retailers-trot-out-12-foot-skeletons-to-boost-halloween-sales.html

Online holiday spending expected to be weak after months of early discounting

Months of discounting leading into the holiday shopping season could take the punch out of Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/10/online-holiday-spending-expected-to-be-weak-after-months-of-early-discounting.html

Vote to delay Trump Media merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp postponed for another three weeks

Digital World, the SPAC set to take Trump Media public, has previously warned that a failure to extend the deadline could force it to liquidate.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/10/trump-media-digital-world-merger-shareholders-vote-on-deadline-extension.html

Here’s why UBS’s downgrade of Ford is misguided — and late

With a dividend yield north of 5%, the Club is willing to be patient with Ford.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/10/heres-why-ubss-downgrade-of-ford-is-misguided-and-late-.html

Here’s how uber-rich pass wealth to heirs tax-free when markets are down

Wealthy people like Michael Bloomberg and Mark Zuckerberg have used grantor-retained annuity trusts. The trusts have better odds of success in down markets.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/10/heres-how-uber-rich-pass-wealth-tax-free-to-heirs-when-markets-are-down.html

IRS delays guidelines, waiving penalties for some inherited retirement accounts until 2023

If you inherited a retirement account in 2020 or 2021, the IRS is waiving penalties for some heirs who needed to start taking required minimum distributions.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/10/irs-delays-guidelines-for-some-inherited-retirement-accounts-until-2023.html

3 takeaways from our daily meeting: Portfolio diversification, waiting on inflation data, Ford downgrade

The Investing Club holds its “Morning Meeting” every weekday at 10:20 a.m. ET.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/10/takeaways-from-our-meeting-diversification-inflation-data-ford-.html

Second strike at Liverpool to add to European port congestion, slow product delivery

Dockworkers in Liverpool, a significant U.K. port and a port where the U.S. is the No. 1 trading partner, will start a seven-day strike on October 11.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/10/second-strike-at-liverpool-to-add-to-european-port-congestion.html

Christopher Columbus is the target in bestselling Native American author’s new comic, and Hollywood wants in on it

“Earthdivers,” a provocative new comic book from horror author Stephen Graham Jones, is being developed for television.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/10/stephen-graham-jones-comic-book-earthdivers-kill-columbus.html

Showtime chief’s departure signals Paramount is moving forward on its plan to merge streaming services

Paramount Global is considering ways to merge Showtime into Paramount+ as David Nevins departs the premium network, sources say.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/06/showtime-paramount-streaming-merger.html

New cars are finally back in stock — but Americans might not be able to afford them

The Federal Reserve aggressively increasing interest rates could slow a sales rebound for the U.S. automotive industry.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/07/new-cars-are-finally-back-in-stock-but-they-come-at-a-steep-price.html

Marvel Shills For Pfizer With COVID Vaccine Avengers PSA Comic Book

Authored by Steve Watson via Summit News,

Marvel has come under criticism for producing a paid for comic book to promote Pfizer’s mRNA COVID vaccines.

The comic features The Avengers characters, comparing them to “everyday heroes who fight to protect their community” by dutifully taking Pfizer vaccines and campaigning for others to do the same.

A LinkedIn post by Pfizer announced “Today, Pfizer and BioNTech announced our new collaboration with Marvel Comics.”

The post continues, “Together we created a custom comic book featuring the Avengers who fight to protect their community. We hope that people around the world enjoy reading the comic book… At Pfizer, we encourage people to come together to help protect themselves by staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccinations.”

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/marvel-shills-pfizer-covid-vaccine-avengers-psa-comic-book

ARK Invest Pens Open Letter To Fed, Warning Of Deflationary Bust

Well, well, well…it turns out we’re not entirely critical of everything that Cathie Wood and ARK Invest have ever done.

Despite the manager’s dismal performance over the last 12 months in her flagship “Innovation” fund, we were pleasantly surprised this morning when she released an open letter to the Fed that pointed out that Fed policy could be leading us down a road toward a deflationary bust.

“In this summary, we delineate first the upstream price deflation that is likely to turn into downstream deflation. Then, we focus on the two variables––employment and headline inflation––upon which the Fed seems to be making its decisions. In our view, both are lagging indicators,” the letter reads.

Wood points out that most commodity prices – leading indicators – have peaked and are now falling on a year over year basis.

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/ark-invest-pens-open-letter-fed-warning-deflationary-bust

Five Examples Of Bitcoin’s Real-World Utility

Authored by Trent Dudenhoffer via BitcoinMagazine.com,

Bitcoin has real-world use cases right now that are major improvements on the dollar and other fiat currencies, even during a bear market…

Believe it or not, bitcoin is money.

This may be a hard sell to many of us in the Western world, specifically here in the United States. I get it; the dollar is the reserve currency of the world. Yes, there is inflation, but it’s not that bad, despite today’s inflation being the highest it’s been in more than 40 years.

I don’t know about you, but the ever-decreasing value of my dollars is one of the reasons I learned about bitcoin in the first place. Whoever said we needed to have inflation? John Maynard Keynes did, by the way, and it’s the  …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/crypto/five-examples-bitcoins-real-world-utility

Russian Strike Hits German Consulate In Ukraine’s Capital: “Unacceptable Escalation”

A German Foreign Ministry spokesman has confirmed that the building which houses a German consulate in Kyiv was hit by Russian missiles in Monday’s large-scale wave of attacks on multiple cities.

The statement noted, however, that the consulate has not been processing visas or been in operation as a result of the war, since February:

The tower which houses the visa section was “apparently damaged,” Christian Wagner told a news conference in Berlin. However, the visa section was no longer operational, so there were no employees present during the attack, he added.

Building housing the German consular office.

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/russian-strike-hits-german-consulate-ukraines-capital-unacceptable-escalation

Kwasi Kwarteng: Investors wary as economic plan brought forward

Borrowing costs for the government rose, even after the chancellor’s update was brought forward.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63129555?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Bank of England boosts plan to calm market turmoil

The Bank of England will increase the daily limit on its emergency bond-buying programme during its final week.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63198341?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Ben Bernanke, former US Federal Reserve chief, wins Nobel Prize

Ben Bernanke, who led the Fed through the financial crisis, is one of a trio to scoop the award.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63204688?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Another romance with Fed pivot breaks investors’ hearts

In the past, such a “pivot whipsaw” would normally have been due to some off-the-cuff dovish comment by Fed Chair Jerome Powell that suggested a replay of his big U-turn in the middle of the market volatility of the fourth quarter of 2018 — that is, the notion that the long-standing Fed “put” was back in the money.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/another-romance-with-fed-pivot-breaks-investors-hearts/articleshow/94768211.cms

Tech View: Buying at lower levels cheering Nifty bulls. What investors should do on Tuesday

The overall structure shows that the index is likely to witness consolidation in the range of 17,000-17,500 in the coming sessions. Indicators such as RSI and MACD are indicating neutral views as of now in the daily chart.Options data suggests a broader trading range between 16,800 to 17,700 zones while an immediate trading range is between 17,000 to 17,500 zones, said Chandan Taparia of Motilal Oswal.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/tech-view-buying-at-lower-levels-cheering-nifty-bulls-what-investors-should-do-on-tuesday/articleshow/94764734.cms

Energy operations’ underperformance to mar RIL’s Q2 show, says Morgan Stanley

Shutdown of refineries, windfall taxes on fuel exports, and lower product cracks are likely to pull down the conglomerate’s earnings sequentially in Q2, the global investment bank said.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/earnings/energy-operations-underperformance-to-mar-rils-q2-show-says-morgan-stanley/articleshow/94758390.cms

Bernanke says Fed shouldn’t use interest rates to ‘fine-tune’ financial stability risks

Former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke said Monday he didn’t think the Fed should use interest-rate policy to ‘fine-tune’ financial stability risks.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-7135-C4DE85DAD2A1%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

Nobel Prize in economics centers on banks and financial crises — why it’s work that’s useful today

The work of Bernanke, Diamond and Dybvig led to a clear understanding of consequences and a stronger motivation to act.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-7135-C5260A76E09D%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

Futures Movers: Oil prices finish lower after weak economic data from China

Oil futures finish lower on Monday as China data raise worries about demand from the world’s largest crude importer, pressuring prices after a sharp climb last week on the back of an OPEC+ decision to reduce production.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-7135-3CBE519E3685%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1