Summary Of the Markets Today:
- The Dow closed down 431 points or 1.26%,
- Nasdaq closed down 1.78%,
- S&P 500 closed down 1.38%,
- Gold $1847 up $1.40,
- WTI crude oil settled at $78 down $0.55,
- 10-year U.S. Treasury 3.867% up 0.06 points,
- USD $104.03 up $0.10,
- Bitcoin $24,472 – 24H Change up $355.46 – Session Low $24,067
*Stock data, cryptocurrency, and commodity prices at the market closing.
Click here to read our Economic Forecast for February 2023
Today’s Economic Releases:
The Philly Fed’s Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey shows manufacturing activity in the region continued to decline. The diffusion index for current activity fell from a reading of -8.9 last month to -24.3 this month. The new orders index remained negative, and the shipments index remained positive but low. The employment index declined but remained positive, and the price indexes continued to suggest overall increases but were in line with long-run averages. Most of the survey’s future indicators were positive but low, suggesting tempered expectations for growth over the next six months.
The Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand rose 6.0% for the 12 months that ended January 2023 – down from 6.5% last month. In January, a 1.2% rise in prices for final-demand goods led to an advance in the final demand index. Prices for final demand services also moved higher, increasing by 0.4%. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the PPI are at nearly the same level. This data shows inflation is not going away quickly.
Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in January 2023 were 27.3% below the January 2022 rate – up from -27.2% last month. Privately‐owned housing starts are 21.4% below the January 2022 rate – up from -22.5% last month. Privately‐owned housing completions are 12.8% above the January 2022 rate – up from the 5.0% last month. These improvements are considered modest, and unsure if this is the beginning of new trends.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data today issued itsQuarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit. The Report shows an increase in total household debt in the fourth quarter of 2022, increasing by $394 billion (2.4%) to $16.90 trillion. Balances now stand $2.75 trillion higher than at the end of 2019, before the pandemic recession. The report is based on data from the New York Fed’s nationally representative Consumer Credit Panel.
In the week ending February 11, 4-week moving average was 189,500, an increase of 500 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised down by 250 from 189,250 to 189,000.
A summary of headlines we are reading today:
- Electric Trucks Are Catching Up With Other EVs
- China Sanctions U.S. Defense Companies Over Taiwan Gun Sales
- Rising Metal And Mineral Prices Could Derail The Energy Transition
- Rising Metal And Mineral Prices Could Derail The Energy Transition
- Higher Gasoline Prices Drive U.S. Producer Price Index Higher
- Stocks close lower, Dow sheds 400 points after another hot inflation report raises rate hike fears: Live updates
- Bruce Willis’ ‘condition has progressed’ to frontotemporal dementia, his family says
- Hawkish FedSpeak Hammers Stocks; Bitcoin Bid After ‘Bad’ Data
Click on the “Read More” below to access these, other headlines, and the associated news summaries moving the markets today.
The Market in Perspective
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
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Electric Trucks Are Catching Up With Other EVsAs the U.S. puts increasing pressure on energy firms and car manufacturers to decrease their reliance on fossil fuels, the two industries are working together on the future of cleaner transportation. While electric vehicles (EVs) have become much more commonplace in recent years, progress on the electrification of bigger vehicles has been much slower. As automakers turn their attention to electric trucks, we can expect to see several new models released this year, with big plans for the coming years. According to the International Energy… Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Electric-Trucks-Are-Catching-Up-With-Other-EVs.html |
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Amazon’s Self-Driving Robotaxi Is Being Tested In CaliforniaAmazon’s autonomous vehicle venture Zoox announced on Monday that it’s now testing self-driving robotaxis on California public roads with passengers on board. The vehicles, which look like tiny buses, have no steering wheels or pedals, and have bidirectional driving capabilities with four-wheel steering, allowing it to change directions without reversing, CNBC reports. The on-road tests commenced after the California Department of Motor Vehicles gave them the green light last week – limiting testing to shuttling Zoox employees on a one-mile public… Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Amazons-Self-Driving-Robotaxi-Is-Being-Tested-In-California.html |
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Puerto Rico Has Big Plans For Renewables, But Can It Deliver?Puerto Rico’s electrical grid was already woefully under-invested in and poorly maintained when category 4 Hurricane Maria crashed into the island in September, 2017. The fallout from the storm was enormous, with thousands of casualties and immeasurable damage to the island’s infrastructure. The power grid was almost completely destroyed. The devastation triggered the longest and most sweeping blackout in all of United States history, and the majority of the approximately 3,000 people who died from the storm didn’t die from… Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Renewable-Energy/Puerto-Rico-Has-Big-Plans-For-Renewables-But-Can-It-Deliver.html |
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China Sanctions U.S. Defense Companies Over Taiwan Gun SalesChina has placed leading U.S. defense contractors Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) and Raytheon Technologies Corp. (NYSE: RTX) on its “unreliable entities list” over arms sales to Taiwan, effectively banning the duo from exporting or importing to China. China has also banned the companies from making any further investments in China; imposed fines that are double the contracted amounts of their arms sales to Taiwan, canceled residence permits for any staff in China, and also barred senior management from entering the country. The bans come… Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/China-Sanctions-US-Defense-Companies-Over-Taiwan-Gun-Sales.html |
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Rising Metal And Mineral Prices Could Derail The Energy TransitionMetals and minerals prices have soared over the last year, a trend that is likely to continue as the global demand for these resources continues to increase in line with the green transition. The price of lithium, cobalt, nickel, aluminum, and copper have all risen as renewable energy projects and battery manufacturing operations expand worldwide. While the scarcity of these resources is a major concern, many energy companies are also worried about the rising cost of metals and minerals as they plan for large-scale green energy operations. … Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Metals/Commodities/Rising-Metal-And-Mineral-Prices-Could-Derail-The-Energy-Transition.html |
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Tesla Model Y Sold Out Following Massive Price CutsElectrek’s Fred Lambert was correct one month ago when he said Tesla price cuts by up to 20% stoked “unprecedented demand” in the US. He’s now reporting Model Y vehicles have sold out entirely for the US, with no more production builds until April. On Jan. 13, Tesla announced Model Y base unit would be priced at $52,990, down from $65,990 – nearly a 20% difference—the reason: for customers to take advantage of the $7,500 US government tax credit. The result? Well, success, actually huge success. Here’s what Lambert said: Now sources… Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Tesla-Model-Y-Sold-Out-Following-Massive-Price-Cuts.html |
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Can MENA Capture A Share Of The Green Steel Market?As the global industrial sector seeks to shrink its carbon footprint, a number of MENA countries are investing in green steel production to capture market share and help meet emissions targets. Despite generating 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions, industry has been slow in adopting carbon-efficient manufacturing technologies. Steel is the manufacturing segment with the largest emissions, accounting for 7% of global emissions annually due in part to a reliance on coal to heat smelting furnaces. The world produced nearly 2bn tonnes… Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Metals/Commodities/Can-MENA-Capture-A-Share-Of-The-Green-Steel-Market.html |
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Civilian Casualties Mount As Russia Launches New Wave Of Attacks In UkraineRussia’s military launched missile and drone strikes across Ukraine overnight, triggering air alerts and the country’s air-defense system, Ukrainian officials reported early on February 16. One of the strikes killed a 79-year-old woman and injured at least seven other people, Ukrainian authorities later reported. Russian forces used a variety of missile types, firing 36 in a two-hour period, armed forces commander-in-chief General Valery Zaluzhniy said, adding Ukrainian air-defense batteries had shot down 16 of them. Writing on Telegram earlier,… Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Civilian-Casualties-Mount-As-Russia-Launches-New-Wave-Of-Attacks-In-Ukraine.html |
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Asia’s Share Of Global Electricity Consumption Is GrowingIn the year 2025, countries in Asia will use half of the electricity in the world. As Statista’s Katharina Buchholz reports, according to the International Energy Agency, Asia’s share of global electricity consumption has been rising quickly from just around a quarter in the year 2000. You will find more infographics at Statista China is the biggest factor in this transformation. While in 2000, it used just 10 percent of the world’s energy, that share is predicted to be up to 33 percent in 2025. While Chinese population growth has now reversed,… Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Asias-Share-Of-Global-Electricity-Consumption-Is-Growing.html |
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Notorious Drug Trafficking Hub Used For Russian Oil ShipmentsA Spanish city on the northern coast of Africa between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean, notorious for being a drug-trafficking hub, has become a major new hub of ship-to-ship transfers of Russian oil and illicit activities aimed at obscuring the origin of the crude, maritime consultancy Windward Ltd said in a report carried by Bloomberg. Waters around the Spanish city of Ceuta in North Africa have become the scene of an increasing number of ship-to-ship transfers since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The activity is clearly linked to… Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Notorious-Drug-Trafficking-Hub-Used-For-Russian-Oil-Shipments.html |
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Is A New Wave Of Lawsuits Against Oil Company Directors Looming?The suing of energy firms for greenwashing or climate action failure by environmental organizations is nothing new. But ClientEarth entered new territory last week by taking legal action against the 11 directors of Shell, rather than the company itself. This has led to speculation over whether a new wave of climate litigation aimed at company directors might be on its way. So, is ClientEarth’s lawsuit legitimate or is it all hot air? ClientEarth has a token shareholding in Shell and is suing the firm under the U.K. Companies Act,… Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Is-A-New-Wave-Of-Lawsuits-Against-Oil-Company-Directors-Looming.html |
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Higher Gasoline Prices Drive U.S. Producer Price Index HigherThe Producer Price Index for final demand in the United States rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in January, more than expected by analysts, with higher gasoline prices accounting for nearly one-third of the rise in the index for final demand goods. The Producer Price Index for final demand increased by 0.7% in January, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Thursday, in yet another closely-followed inflation measure. The increase was higher than the 0.4% rise expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones. “Nearly… Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Higher-Gasoline-Prices-Drive-US-Producer-Price-Index-Higher.html |
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Falling U.S. Natural Gas Prices Help Lower InflationFalling U.S. benchmark natural gas prices are easing some of the inflationary pressure in America as natural gas makes up around 25% of household energy needs, the AP notes. The benchmark U.S. natural gas prices have slumped to the lowest in years in recent weeks due to a mild start to January, consistently high supply, and an outage at the Freeport LNG export facility, which has raised the volume of gas available for domestic use since the fire at the plant in June last year. The Henry Hub gas prices have slumped to around… Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Falling-US-Natural-Gas-Prices-Help-Lower-Inflation.html |
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India’s Fuel Demand Sees Major February ReboundIndia’s fuel demand rebounded strongly in the first half of February, recovering from a drop in January, with sales of diesel and gasoline jumping by double digits so far this month. Sales of diesel, the most used fuel in India, jumped by almost 25% year over year between February 1 and 15, according to preliminary industry data cited by PTI on Thursday. Diesel sales so far in February were also up by 16.7% compared to the first two weeks of February in 2021 and 7% higher than in the same period of 2020, just before the Covid lockdowns. Compared… Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Indias-Fuel-Demand-Sees-Major-February-Rebound.html |
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Shell: European Demand Is Set To Dominate LNG Trade In The Long TermThe significantly higher demand for liquefied natural gas in Europe is set to intensify competition with Asia in the short term and to dominate LNG trade in the longer term, Shell said in its annual LNG outlook on Thursday. European countries, including the UK, saw their LNG imports jump by 60% last year, to 121 million tons, Shell, the world’s largest LNG trader, said as it issued a bullish outlook on the fuel through 2040. Global LNG trade hit 396 million tons last year, an increase of 16 million tons compared to 2021. The surge in Europe’s… Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Shell-European-Demand-Is-Set-To-Dominate-LNG-Trade-In-The-Long-Term.html |
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Stocks close lower, Dow sheds 400 points after another hot inflation report raises rate hike fears: Live updates“Both inflation readings this week point to the stickiness of inflation and that the fight isn’t over,” said one strategist. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/15/stock-market-today-live-updates.html |
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Microsoft’s Bing A.I. is producing creepy conversations with usersArtificial intelligence experts warned that large language models have issues including “hallucination,” which means that the software can make stuff up. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/16/microsofts-bing-ai-is-leading-to-creepy-experiences-for-users.html |
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YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki says she’s stepping downYouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said Thursday that she’s stepping down. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/16/youtube-ceo-susan-wojcicki-says-shes-stepping-down.html |
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Tesla recalls 362,758 vehicles, says Full Self-Driving Beta software may cause crashesThe Tesla recall notice was posted on the on the website of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Thursday. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/16/tesla-recalls-362758-vehicles-says-full-self-driving-beta-software-may-cause-crashes.html |
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This little-known AI fintech stock could more than double after ‘proving its mettle’ in economic uncertainty, Canaccord Genuity saysThe analyst noted that a “material” part of loan originations through the AI fintech come from specific partners, a sign of both resilience and growth. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/16/a-little-known-ai-fintech-stock-could-more-than-double-canaccord-says.html |
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Biden says three recently downed aerial objects were not linked to Chinese spy programThe remarks put to rest mounting pressure from Congress to tell the public about what these three balloons were, and whether they posed an ongoing threat. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/16/china-spy-balloons-biden-addresses-nation-on-shootdowns-of-aerial-phenomena.html |
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Senators pressure CFIUS to wrap up TikTok probe with strict restrictions, potentially even separating it from its Chinese parent companyThe letter is a signal of heightened pressure on the panel as TikTok has so far been able to continue its operations in the U.S. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/16/senators-urge-cfius-to-wrap-up-tiktok-probe-with-strict-restrictions.html |
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Georgia grand jury recommends perjury indictments in Trump election meddling probeThe Georgia grand jury found no widespread fraud in Georgia’s 2020 presidential election, in which President Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/16/trump-grand-jury-recommends-perjury-indictments-finds-no-fraud-in-georgia-2020-election.html |
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Ukraine war live updates: Russian strikes hit critical infrastructure in western city of Lviv; UN to vote on new peace resolutionLviv is considered one of the relatively safer parts of Ukraine, at the opposite end of the country from the eastern front. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/16/russia-ukraine-live-updates.html |
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Paramount+ plans price increases as it hits 56 million subscribersParamount Global reported 9.9 million in streaming subscriber additions. The company plans price increases this year. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/16/paramount-plans-streaming-price-increases.html |
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Sen. John Fetterman checks into the hospital for clinical depression treatment, his office saysFetterman, who beat Trump-backed Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz in the midterms, suffered a stroke last year and was recently hospitalized after feeling lightheaded. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/16/sen-john-fetterman-checks-into-hospital-for-clinical-depression-treatment-his-office-says.html |
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Bruce Willis’ ‘condition has progressed’ to frontotemporal dementia, his family saysWillis’ family had announced in March 2022 that the actor would be “stepping away” from his career after being diagnosed with aphasia. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/16/bruce-willis-condition-has-progressed-to-frontotemporal-dementia-his-family-says.html |
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Hawkish FedSpeak Hammers Stocks; Bitcoin Bid After ‘Bad’ DataIs stagflation rearing its ugly head again – hotter than expected PPI today mixed with disappointingly weak housing data and a collapse in Philly Fed while jobless number remain around one-year highs. Inflation swaps have turned notably higher in recent days (after weeks of disinflationary declines) while Industrial data has serially disappointed…
Source: Bloomberg Cleveland Fed’s Mester (a well known hawk) dropped the hammer on the market after a slew of macro data this morning, saying that she saw a compelling case to hike by 50bps at the last meeting…
After Mester had clubbed stocks lower, shorts were squeezed and stocks ramped higher… Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/bitcoin-bullion-bid-stocks-skid-after-stagflation-signals-hawkish-fedspeak |
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Ted Cruz Snaps At Clapper Over Hunter Biden BackpedalSen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) didn’t let former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper get away with an attempt to distance himself from his role in the 2020 suppression of the NY Post’s Hunter Biden laptop bombshell.
As House GOP investigators begin to probe 51 US intelligence veterans who signed a letter published in Politico suggesting that the Hunter Biden laptop story looked like Russian disinformation, Clapper told the Washington Post that Politico had ‘distorted’ the letter. “There was message distortion,” said Clapper, adding “All we were doing was raising a yellow flag that this could be Russian disinformation. Politico deliberately distorted what we said. It was clear in paragraph five.” Cruz isn’t buying i … Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/ted-cruz-snaps-clapper-over-hunter-laptop-backpedal |
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Watch: CDC Director Suggests It Will Never Change Child-Masking PolicyAuthored by Steve Watson via Summit News, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky suggested during congressional testimony Tuesday that the organization will never change its policy on masking for children, despite multiple studies showing that the face coverings do nothing to stop the spread of COVID.
During a hearing in the House on the government’s response to the pandemic, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers asked Walensky if the CDC is going to consider revising its guidance on masking in schools (which is still happening in many areas of the country) in the wake of perhaps the most extensive study yet confirming that masks are not effective. The study< … Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/watch-cdc-director-suggests-it-will-never-change-child-masking-policy |
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East Palestine “Residents May Already Be Undergoing DNA Mutations,” Class Action Lawsuit AllegesNorfolk Southern Railway CEO Alan Shaw published a letter Thursday that read, “We will not walk away, East Palestine.” But already, officials from Norfolk Southern ditched a meeting last night with worried East Palestine, Ohio, residents who were only searching for answers after a freight train with 150 cars (20 of which were carrying hazardous materials) derailed in the small town, resulting in a chemical disaster.
Norfolk Southern is not off to a great start. There are increasing reports that residents are experiencing short-term health impacts after the derailment and controlled burn of toxic chemical vinyl chloride. Residents as far away as Pittsburgh are wondering about potential health impacts, according to local media, Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/east-palestine-residents-may-already-be-undergoing-dna-mutations-class-action-lawsuit |
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Rail workers to stage more strikes in pay disputeThe RMT union announces a series of new strikes in March and April. Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64661647?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA |
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Postal workers vote to strike againRoyal Mail staff have voted to continue strike action over pay, jobs, and conditions. Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64661648?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA |
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Tesla recalls 363,000 cars over self-driving softwareUS safety officials say the system allows cars to act “unsafe” around intersections. Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64665913?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA |
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3 Adani group companies among 10 stocks that saw the highest FII selling in Q3Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) share by value in companies listed on NSE went up to 20.18% as on December 2022 from 19.98% as on September 2022, according to data sourced from Prime Database. In value terms, FII holding stood at Rs 55.70 lakh crore, an increase of 4.98% over the last quarter. In the December quarter, FII holding went down in 692 companies listed on NSE. Here are the companies that saw the highest selling by FIIs in value terms: Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/3-adani-group-companies-among-10-stocks-that-saw-highest-fii-selling-in-q3/data-tracking/articleshow/97971742.cms |
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Voda Idea’s loss widens to Rs 7,990 crore in Q3. Should you buy, sell or hold the stock?However, the telecom operator continued to lose subscribers. Its subscriber base as of December 31 was 228.6 million, compared with 234.4 million a quarter ago. The total number of data subscribers for the company was steady at 135.3 million at the end of the December quarter Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/voda-ideas-loss-widens-to-rs-7990-crore-in-q3-should-you-buy-sell-or-hold-the-stock/articleshow/97969681.cms |
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Motherson Wiring shares can rally up to 22%: NomuraNomura says that wiring harness (WH) content in vehicles experienced a significant increase, from approximately 2.5% previously to about 4.5% at present. This rise has driven an impressive 10% revenue compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the past decade, despite only a 2% CAGR in OE car sales volume Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/motherson-wiring-shares-can-rally-up-to-22-nomura/articleshow/97973470.cms |
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The Human Cost: Would you spend $30,000 on a wedding? This couple got married at a gas station for $986 — and loved every minute.Take some advice from a couple who got married at a gas station in Spokane, Wash., and another who eloped to Savannah, Ga. Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-719B-4DBC02030AF1%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1 |
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Living With Climate Change: What happens if Antarctica’s Florida-sized ‘Doomsday’ glacier melts faster? 5 things to knowThe ‘Doomsday’ glacier, officially known as Thwaites Glacier, could push up sea levels by several feet if it detaches. Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-719B-9BD49762F3BA%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1 |
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5 things to know about Nikki Haley, the Republican candidate challenging Trump in 2024Nikki Haley announced that she is running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 against Trump. Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-7199-0A69FE27BCFE%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1 |
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