Rising Oil Prices Threaten Economic Stability

After dropping below $70 a barrel (bbl) in early summer, the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude has been steadily marching higher. Last week, the price breached $90/bbl for the first time in a year, and there are no signs that the rise is slowing. Further increases would negatively impact consumers, especially for gasoline and transportation costs. While the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes have helped curb inflation, factors like oil supply dynamics are outside their control. Rising oil prices put the Fed’s attempts to engineer…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Rising-Oil-Prices-Threaten-Economic-Stability.html

Top 10 Oil Titans Account For Over 70% of Global Production

In 2022 oil prices peaked at more than $100 per barrel, hitting an eight-year high, after a full year of turmoil in the energy markets in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Oil companies doubled their profits and the economies of the biggest oil producers in the world got a major boost. But which countries are responsible for most of the world’s oil supply? Using data from the Statistical Review of World Energy by the Energy Institute, Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao and Christina Kostandi visualized…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Top-10-Oil-Titans-Account-For-Over-70-of-Global-Production.html

U.S. To Lose 2.5M BPD In Refining Capacity This Maintenance Season

Fall refinery maintenance in the United States will see almost 2.5 million barrels per day of capacity taken offline, Bloomberg reports, with more capacity cuts possibly coming early next year.  In what Bloomberg describes as the “heaviest” maintenance season since before the COVID-19 pandemic, between September and December this year, the U.S. will lose nearly 2.5 million bpd of refining capacity, citing data from Energy Aspects LTD.  That 2.5 million bpd represents an 11% hike in offline capacity compared to the same period…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/US-To-Lose-25M-BPD-In-Refining-Capacity-This-Maintenance-Season.html

The Metals Behind Our Clean Energy Future

A very observant longtime friend of mine opined recently that the clean energy economy is really just a metals energy economy where metals provide the basis for energy production and transmission. The idea that this emerging economy is going to be light on resources compared to our current fossil-fuel based economy is a fantasy. And you don’t have to take his word for it. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has attempted to project the needs of this new economy. The IEA’s report entitled “The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions”…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Metals/Commodities/The-Metals-Behind-Our-Clean-Energy-Future.html

OPEC+ On Alert As World Bank Slashes China’s Growth Forecasts

OPEC+ continues to work to balance oil markets, cautiously eyeing China growth, the UAE Minister of Energy told a conference just two days ahead of the alliance’s October 4 ministerial panel meeting.  “Many dynamics are moving on and we hope that the growth in China picks up … because the whole world economy is dependent on China,” UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Al Mazrouei told the Adipec conference.  “My worry is not an undersupplied market in the short term. My worry is an undersupplied market in the longer and mid…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/OPEC-On-Alert-As-World-Bank-Slashes-Chinas-Growth-Forecasts.html

Rolls-Royce Beats Out Gates’ Terrapower In UK Nuclear Competition

Bill Gates’ nuclear reactor design company Terrapower has not been shortlisted for the next round of the government’s competition for scaled-down power plants. Industry vehicle GB Nuclear has selected six companies to advance to the latest stage, including rumoured front-runner Rolls-Royce which has already secured over £200m in government funding. ‘Satisfaction’ for Mick Jagger and Partner, Melanie Hamrick, After Couple Sells Home Outside Sarasota, Florida, for $3.25 MillionMansion Global | Sponsored The remaining…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Nuclear-Power/Rolls-Royce-Beats-Out-Gates-Terrapower-In-UK-Nuclear-Competition.html

Clash Over Electric Vehicle Battery Plants Stall UAW Negotiations

The CEOs of Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. blasted United Auto Workers boss Shawn Fain for expanding strikes on Friday – now in its third week. Fain said meaningful progress on a new four-year labor contract with Chrysler-parent Stellantis would allow the automaker to avoid additional strikes.  GM CEO Mary Barra was furious with Fain: “It’s clear that there is no real intent to get to an agreement.” Ford CEO Jim Farley said, “UAW is holding the deal hostage over battery plants.”  Farley warned UAW pay hike demands “have…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Clash-Over-Electric-Vehicle-Battery-Plants-Stall-UAW-Negotiations.html

Power Price Subsidies Spark Tensions In EU Market Reform Talks

The European Union member states are weighing the possibility to scrap a part of the electricity market reform due to disagreements over proposed fixed-price subsidies for power contracts, Reuters reported on Monday, quoting a draft compromise on the issue.   The EU is seeking to reform the way its electricity market works to avoid a repeat of last year’s energy crisis which hit households and industries with soaring power prices.         But a part of the reform concerning state…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Power-Price-Subsidies-Spark-Tensions-In-EU-Market-Reform-Talks.html

OPEC’s Oil Production Grows For A Second Month Despite Saudi Cut

OPEC’s crude oil production rose by 120,000 barrels per day (bpd) in September from August – the second monthly increase in a row – as higher output in Iran and Nigeria offset the Saudi cuts, the monthly Reuters survey showed on Monday.   All OPEC members produced 27.73 million bpd in September, as Nigeria and Iran boosted production the most, according to the survey based on vessel-tracking data, consultants, and sources at OPEC and oil firms.  Nigeria, which has been lagging behind its quota in the OPEC+…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/OPECs-Oil-Production-Grows-For-A-Second-Month-Despite-Saudi-Cut.html

Bulgarian Energy Workers Escalate Protest Over Green Transition

Protesters in Bulgaria blocked roads in three districts for a third day on October 1 in protest of government plans to shut down coal-burning power plants as part of a transition away from fossil fuels and toward green energy sources. Bulgarian miners and other energy-sector workers who are taking part in the protest declined an invitation from Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov to meet on October 1 with the Council of Ministers in Sofia, union leader Dimitar Manolov said. Manolov said late on September 30 the protestors’ refusal was categorical, and…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Bulgarian-Energy-Workers-Escalate-Protest-Over-Green-Transition.html

South Africa Allows TotalEnergies To Drill For Offshore Oil And Gas

South Africa has dismissed an appeal against TotalEnergies’ offshore drilling plans, allowing the French supermajor to explore for oil and gas in a block off its southwest coast, Reuters reported on Monday, citing a ruling by the environment minister Barbara Creecy. TotalEnergies has been looking to explore for oil and natural gas in Block 5/6/7, located offshore the southwest coast of South Africa, between Cape Town and Cape Agulhas. TotalEnergies is proposing to drill up to five offshore wells on the block. In April, South Africa’s…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/South-Africa-Allows-TotalEnergies-To-Drill-For-Offshore-Oil-And-Gas.html

The World Bank Cuts China’s Growth Forecast For 2024

The World Bank has cut its economic growth forecast for China for 2024, citing continued difficulties in the domestic market including the property crisis and a fading rebound from the re-opening this year. Slower Chinese gross domestic product (GDP) growth could hit commodity demand and prices since China is the world’s largest commodity consumer and the biggest importer of crude oil. In its latest East Asia and Pacific October 2023 Economic Update on Sunday, the World Bank kept its Chinese growth estimate for 2023 at 5.1% compared to the…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-World-Bank-Cuts-Chinas-Growth-Forecast-For-2024.html

China’s Power Sector Investments Set To Top $13.9 Trillion By 2060

Investments in the Chinese power sector are set to top $13.9 trillion (100 trillion Chinese yuan) by 2060, Xinhua news agency reported on Monday, quoting the State Grid Corporation of China. China has pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060 and to see a peak in its carbon emissions by the end of this decade. “The development of a new power system will promote the expansion of the scale of both the power industry and the power market,” the Chinese news agency quoted a book published by the State Grid Corporation of China last week.…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Chinas-Power-Sector-Investments-Set-To-Top-139-Trillion-By-2060.html

Pakistan’s First-Ever Private-Sector Shipment Of Russian Crude Oil

Private Pakistani refiner Cnergyico has recently imported the first Russian crude cargo in the private sector in the South Asian country, a company spokesman has told Reuters. Pakistan has so far imported Russian crude on a government-to-government basis in a trial run of imports with cargoes that arrived in June. Cnergyico’s import of a cargo of the Russian Urals grade is the first purchase of Russian oil from the private Pakistani sector. The private refiner, which operates Pakistan’s largest refinery with 156,000 barrels per day…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Pakistans-First-Ever-Private-Sector-Shipment-Of-Russian-Crude-Oil.html

India’s Oil Imports From Russia Surged 80% In September

Imports of Russian crude oil to India last month posted a substantial increase of 80% on the year, after a dip over the summer. Citing data from Vortexa, Indian media reported the subcontinent had taken in an average of 1.56 million barrels daily of Urals crude in September, up from 865,000 bpd a year ago. Compared with August, the September import rate was 8% higher. According to Kpler data, total crude oil imports into India from Russia in September stood at 1.8 million barrels daily, which compared with 977,000 barrels daily a year ago. “Indian…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Indias-Oil-Imports-From-Russia-Surged-80-In-September.html

The inside story of Dave Clark’s tumultuous last days at Flexport: Standoffs, politics, and spin

Flexport founder Ryan Petersen claimed in public that Dave Clark’s tenure as CEO featured too much spending, but internal documents tell a different story

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/02/the-inside-story-of-dave-clarks-tumultuous-last-days-at-flexport.html

Dow slides to begin October even as Congress staves off government shutdown: Live updates

Legislators passed an 11th-hour deal to keep the government funded.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/01/stock-market-today-live-updates.html

Trump tax accountant takes witness stand at $250 million New York fraud trial

New York Attorney General Letitia James accuses Donald Trump, the Trump Organization and others in engaging in business fraud for years.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/02/trump-fraud-trial-to-kick-off-in-new-york-court.html

Congress, DC wonders if Biden and McCarthy cut secret Ukraine funding deal

A stopgap bill to fund the federal government until November avoided a shutdown but also lacked aid to Ukraine that President Joe Biden wants.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/02/congress-wonders-if-biden-mccarthy-struck-ukraine-fund-deal.html

Morgan Stanley says investors are overlooking a $4 trillion opportunity in AI. These are the top stocks to play it

These stocks look poised to benefit from a multitrillion-dollar opportunity emerging in artificial intelligence.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/02/morgan-stanleys-top-stocks-to-play-a-4-trillion-opportunity-in-ai.html

The benchmark for small cap stocks — the Russell 2000 — turned negative for the year

The index fell into the red for the year, in stark comparison to the large-cap focused S&P 500.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/02/the-benchmark-for-small-cap-stocks-the-russell-2000-turned-negative-for-the-year.html

Sen. Bob Menendez bribery trial set for May 2024

Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and his wife are charged in federal court with accepting bribes of cash, gold, a car, and more to help three businessmen.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/02/sen-bob-menendez-bribery-trial-set-for-may-2024.html

Drugmakers opt in to Medicare drug price negotiations – here’s what happens next

The lengthy negotiation process with Medicare won’t end until August 2024, with reduced prices going into effect in January 2026.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/02/drugmakers-agree-to-medicare-price-negotiations-whats-next.html

Oddity Tech expects revenue growth up to 31%, according to preliminary third-quarter results

Il Makiage and Spoiled Child parent company Oddity Tech started trading on the Nasdaq in July and has seen shares fall by about 50%.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/02/oddity-tech-expects-q3-2023-sales-to-grow-up-to-31percent.html

Bill Ackman says the economy is starting to slow and the Fed is likely done hiking

Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman on Monday sounded alarms on the economy, which he believes has begun to decelerate on the back of aggressive rate hikes.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/02/bill-ackman-says-the-economy-is-starting-to-slow-and-the-fed-is-likely-done-hiking.html

FTX customers who lost a fortune on the bankrupt exchange are doubling down on crypto

FTX’s multibillion-dollar cryptocurrency blowup hasn’t shaken some of its customers’ faith in the industry.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/02/ftx-customers-who-lost-fortune-are-doubling-down-on-crypto-.html

Fast-food drive-thru lanes speed up as fewer drivers wait in line

The average total time spent in a drive-thru lane shrank 29 seconds this year, according to Intouch Insight.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/02/fast-food-drive-thru-lanes-speed-up-as-fewer-drivers-wait-in-line.html

These are JPMorgan’s top stocks for October

JPMorgan shares its top stocks list for October, including three new additions. One stock has rallied more than 155% this year but still has 25% upside.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/02/these-are-jpmorgans-top-stocks-for-october-2023.html

Bonds, Bullion, & Black Gold Battered As Hawkish FedSpeak & Inflation Fears Lift The Dollar

Rate-change expectations shifted hawkishly today, after drifting dovishly for the last week, on the heels of the Manufacturing PMI’s report which showed the rate of inflation quickened to the sharpest pace in five months and FedSpeak which confirmed Powell’s “higher for longer” messaging.

Source: Bloomberg

In the US, S&P Global noted

“Less encouraging was the news on the inflation outlook, as producers’ costs rose at the fastest rate for five months, largely on the back of higher oil prices. These increased costs are already feeding through to higher prices to customers, which will inevitably result in some renewed upward pressure on inflation.”

Globally, JPMorgan warned that there were further signs of price pressures building in September.

Input costs and output charges both rose for the second consecutive months, with rates of inflation accelerating for both measures.< …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/bonds-bullion-black-gold-battered-hawkish-fedspeak-inflation-fears-lift-dollar

Small Business Bankruptcies Surge In 2023, Five Reasons Why

Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

Small business bankruptcies are at a much higher pace than any year since the Covid pandemic…

Small business bankruptcies from the American Bankruptcy Institute via the Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal reports There’s No Soft Landing for These Businesses

Nearly 1,500 small businesses filed for Subchapter V bankruptcy this year through Sept. 28, nearly as many as in all of 2022, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute.

Bankruptcy petitions are just one sign of financial stress. Small-business loan delinquencies and defaults have edged upward since June 2022 and are now above prepandemic averages, according to Equifax.

An index tracking small-busine …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/small-business-bankruptcies-surge-2023-five-reasons-why

Lindsay Graham Suggests If Conservatives Want Border Security They Will Have To Support Funding For Ukraine

The root narrative around the next government funding bill is slowly taking shape and it is uglier than many people suspected – Neo-cons within the GOP are determined to oppose the majority of Americans and will continue funding the war in Ukraine, and they are planning on using the border security issue as leverage.

In a recent interview with CBS Face The Nation, Lindsay Graham suggested that any new government funding bill would require many billions more in Ukraine military aid well beyond the $24 billion already slated, and that if conservatives want funding for border security, they will have to submit to an ongoing proxy war in Ukraine.  In other words, the plan is to hold conservatives and America hostage using the immigration crisis.

Let’s not forget that Graham has had a longstanding interest in using Ukraine as a powerkeg to start a war with Russia.  Listen to his rhetoric in a speech given to Ukrainian soldiers in 2016, and it’s easy to understand why Russia would attack to secure the Donbas:

Peddling propaganda that would have worked during the Iraq War but not so much today, Graham asserts a number of falsehoods.  First, border security does not have to be tied to Ukraine funding, that is a construct created by House speaker Kevin McCarthy and his backroom negotiations with Demo …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/lindsay-graham-suggests-if-conservatives-want-border-security-they-will-have-support

Turley: Four Biden Impeachment Articles & What The House Will Need To Prove

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

With the commencement of the impeachment inquiry into the conduct of President Joe Biden, three House committees will now pursue key linkages between the president and the massive influence peddling operation run by his son Hunter and brother James.

The impeachment inquiry should allow the House to finally acquire long-sought records of Hunter, James, and Joe Biden, as well as to pursue witnesses involved in their dealings.

I testified this week at the first hearing of the impeachment inquiry on the constitutional standards and practices in moving forward in the investigation. In my view, there is ample justification for an impeachment inquiry. If these allegations are established, they would clearly constitute impeachabl …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/turley-four-biden-impeachment-articles-what-house-will-need-prove

John Lewis boss Dame Sharon White to step down after five years

Dame Sharon White will leave at the end of her term, making her the shortest-serving chair in the retailer’s history.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66981035?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Water firms want bill rises to cut leaks and spills

Companies in England and Wales want to charge up to £84 a year more in 2025, rising to £156 extra by 2030.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66979271?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Abercrombie & Fitch ex-CEO accused of exploiting men for sex

An organised network recruited men for sex with Abercrombie & Fitch’s then-CEO – BBC investigation.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-66889779?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Vedanta dollar bonds slip after plan to split up India business

All four junk-rated notes were indicated lower on Monday, Bloomberg-compiled data showed. The August 2024 bond posted the biggest drop, down 0.6 cents on the dollar to 62.6 cents at 1:45 p.m. in Hong Kong, its biggest decline in more than three weeks. Of the four bonds, three were trading below the 80 cents-on-the-dollar mark typically considered distressed.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/bonds/vedanta-dollar-bonds-slip-after-plan-to-split-up-india-business/articleshow/104108724.cms

Breakout Stocks: How are Eris Lifesciences, Aurobindo Pharma and NTPC looking on charts for Tuesday’s trade?

The Indian market rebounded after a previous drop, with the S&P BSE Sensex rising over 300 points and the Nifty50 closing above 19600 levels. Metal, healthcare, public sector, and oil & gas stocks saw buying activity, while IT stocks experienced selling. Eris Lifesciences, Aurobindo Pharma, and NTPC were highlighted as stocks to watch. Eris Lifesciences broke out of its consolidation zone, Aurobindo Pharma showed momentum with a breakout above the 5 and 10-day average, and NTPC demonstrated consistent upward movement with support at moving averages.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/breakout-stocks-how-are-eris-lifesciences-aurobindo-pharma-and-ntpc-looking-on-charts-for-tuesdays-trade/articleshow/104089407.cms

Citi expects Brent to plunge to low $70s next year

Chief executive officers of Shell Plc, TotalEnergies SE and Occidental Petroleum Corp., among others, will later Monday discuss plans for the energy transition. UAE Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei and OPEC Secretary-General Haitham al-Ghais are also scheduled to speak.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/commodities/news/citi-expects-brent-to-plunge-to-low-70s-next-year/articleshow/104102858.cms

Market Extra: Why stock-market investors aren’t finding comfort in averted government shutdown

The U.S. government’s move to avert a weekend shutdown removes near-term uncertainty in financial markets, enabling Treasury yields to keep climbing.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-7272-E728BED763AD%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

Court strikes down federal rule that sharply increased prescription costs for many patients

Drugmakers’ copay assistance is at issue in patient-advocacy groups’ lawsuit.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-7273-569BE513388F%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

The Human Cost: $24 billion in pandemic-era funding for child-care programs just expired. Will it impact your family?

More than 70,000 child-care programs could eventually close now that pandemic-era federal funding has expired.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-7272-62BE640533F2%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1