24 Oct 2023 Market Close & Major Financial Headlines: Wall Street Opened Fractionally Higher, Tested Unchanged Line, Finally Closing Moderately Higher

Summary Of the Markets Today:

  • The Dow closed up 205 points or 0.62%,
  • Nasdaq closed up 0.93%,
  • S&P 500 closed up 0.73%, (Low 4,227)
  • Gold $1,983 down $4.50,
  • WTI crude oil settled at $84 down $1.72,
  • 10-year U.S. Treasury 4.819% down 0.019 points,
  • USD Index $106.23 up $0.700,
  • Bitcoin $33,794 up $2,389,

*Stock data, cryptocurrency, and commodity prices at the market closing.


Click here to read our Economic Forecast for October 2023


Today’s Economic Releases Compiled by Steven Hansen, Publisher:

The Richmond Fed manufacturing activity changed little in October 2023 with the composite manufacturing index edging down from 5 in September to 3 in October. Of its three component indexes, shipments edged up from 7 to 9, new orders fell from 3 to −4, and employment remained at 7. Overall, the Regional Fed surveys have been in negative territory for well over one year – and little indication yet this trend will change.

The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach – which handles 40% of the USA container traffic – significantly improved in September 2023. Imports increased 17% year-over-year whilst exports increased 16% year-over-year. This was the first year-over-year gain for imports in over one year. This may be a good Christmas for retailers this year based on imports.

 

Here is a summary of headlines we are reading today:

  • Freight Broker Bankruptcies Loom As Debt Woes Persist
  • Lithium Cermanic Battery Could Reduce Reliance On Critical Materials
  • United States Oil ETF Is Once Again World’s Largest Oil Fund
  • Toyota’s Solid-State Battery Boasts 745 Miles On A 10 Minute Charge
  • Halliburton Q3 Earnings Rise Amid Strong Drilling Demand
  • Jamie Dimon rips central banks for being ‘100% dead wrong’ on economic forecasts
  • Bitcoin just broke above a key resistance level. Here’s what chart analysts say happens next
  • Is The 6% Fee For Selling A House About To Get Trashed?
  • Car workers’ strike costing GM $200m a week

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.

Freight Broker Bankruptcies Loom As Debt Woes Persist

On Wednesday, FreightWaves reported that Convoy was winding down operations. Earlier in the morning, I had started writing an article about liquidity issues that some freight brokerages are having or will have. Then the news broke that one of the most iconic freight brokers to come out of the venture era of freight tech funding would fail on the same morning.  Convoy was a victim of a violent commoditized industry that is facing one of its deepest recessions in decades and a sudden change in investor appetite from risk to unit economics. While…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Finance/the-Economy/Freight-Broker-Bankruptcies-Loom-As-Debt-Woes-Persist.html

IAEA: Nuclear Energy Vital For Global Green Goals

The Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) kicks off today. Attendees include top officials, policymakers, and experts across the energy sector. The aim of SIEW is to promote reliable and sustainable energy production while promoting competition in markets. Bloomberg reporter Stephen Stapczynski is at SIEW in Singapore. He posted a video on X of Mikhail Chudakov, deputy director general at the International Atomic Energy Agency, addressing an audience about the desperate need for more nuclear power reactors worldwide or the risk of not achieving…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Nuclear-Power/IAEA-Nuclear-Energy-Vital-For-Global-Green-Goals.html

EU Envoy Looks To Defuse Balkan Crisis

The European Union Special Envoy Miroslav Lajcak has urged Serbia and Kosovo to return to dialogue on normalizing ties to avoid a repeat of last month’s violence in northern Kosovo. Tensions between Belgrade and Pristina have spiked since September 24, when some 30 armed Serbs stormed the village of Banjska in Kosovo’s predominantly ethnic Serb north and barricaded themselves in a Serbian Orthodox monastery. Police recaptured the monastery after a shootout in which three attackers and a Kosovar police officer were killed. “The attacks in Banjska…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/EU-Envoy-Looks-To-Defuse-Balkan-Crisis.html

Lithium Cermanic Battery Could Reduce Reliance On Critical Materials

A team led by Jennifer L. M. Rupp at MIT, Cambridge, USA, and TU Munich, Germany, has now developed such a new synthetic process to make lithium ceramic rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. The team has their research results published in the journal Angewandte Chemie.  A lithium ceramic could act as a solid electrolyte in a more powerful and cost-efficient generation of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. The challenge is to find a production method that works without sintering at high temperatures. The team has now introduced a sinter-free…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Lithium-Cermanic-Battery-Could-Reduce-Reliance-On-Critical-Materials.html

Central Asian Leaders At Odds Over Controversial Canal Project

Officials in Uzbekistan have said a government delegation will travel to Afghanistan in the coming months to conduct negotiations over an ambitious canal project that is sparking deep concern over water security in the region. Tashkent-based outlet Gazeta.uz on October 19 cited Ulugbek Kosimov, the governor of the southern Surkhandaryo region, which borders Afghanistan, as saying the talks could take place before the end of the year. This announcement comes on the heel of news that the Taliban-run government in Kabul is poised to start work on…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/International/Central-Asian-Leaders-At-Odds-Over-Controversial-Canal-Project.html

Will ETF Progress Help Boost Bitcoin’s Appeal As A Safe Haven Asset?

Bitcoin’s price continued to rise on Tuesday, heading higher on optimism about progress in the listing of a spot bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF) in the US. The digital asset was up as much as 13 percent on Tuesday afternoon, trading at around $34,450 — its highest point since May last year. The typically volatile asset briefly pushed above $35,000 (£28,600) this morning, buoyed by news that a federal appeals court had set in stone a victory for Grayscale Investments in its ETF bid — following a raft of objections by the…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Finance/the-Markets/Will-ETF-Progress-Help-Boost-Bitcoins-Appeal-As-A-Safe-Haven-Asset.html

United States Oil ETF Is Once Again World’s Largest Oil Fund

Thanks to steady inflows in recent weeks, United States Oil ETF (NYSEARCA: USO) is once again the biggest oil exchange-traded fund in the world in terms of total assets, topping WisdomTree Brent Crude Oil fund for the first time since the beginning of this year. As of Monday, October 23, United States Oil ETF had total net assets of $1.876 billion, compared to $1.8 billion in assets under the management of the WisdomTree Brent Crude Oil fund, BRNT. According to Bloomberg data, this is the first time since January this year that the assets of USO…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/United-States-Oil-ETF-Is-Once-Again-Worlds-Largest-Oil-Fund.html

Nigeria Looks To Curb Exports Of Raw Minerals

Nigeria’s government plans to introduce new rules to add value and export income to its mining industry by curbing exports of raw minerals and encouraging mining companies to process the raw materials into higher-value products in Nigeria. The African OPEC member, which has been struggling to raise its crude oil production in recent years, is looking to boost its export revenues from natural resources by exporting higher-value processed products, not just the raw materials. “You can’t take our minerals away without adding value…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Nigeria-Looks-To-Curb-Exports-Of-Raw-Minerals.html

Geopolitical Risk Keeps Oil Prices Afloat As Bearish Pressure Builds

Oil prices are under an increasing amount of downward pressure, but geopolitical risk and continued production cuts from OPEC+ have helped to halt a significant drop.Chart of the Week- US oil major Chevron has counteracted Exxon’s acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources by purchasing Hess Corp. in an all-stock deal, paying $171 per share for the US upstream firm.- The fact that both Exxon and Chevron went for crude-focused oil producers with little exposure to renewable energy highlights the difference between US companies and their European…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Geopolitical-Risk-Keeps-Oil-Prices-Afloat-As-Bearish-Pressure-Builds.html

Azerbaijan And Turkey Launch Joint Military Exercises Near Armenia Border

Azerbaijan said on October 23 that it had begun joint military exercises with its ally Turkey near the border with Armenia as foreign ministers from the three countries are meeting their Iranian and Russian counterparts in Tehran to discuss a number of issues, including the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that up to 3,000 military personnel were participating in the exercises, named for the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. The exercises are being held in Baku; in Azerbaijani…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Azerbaijan-And-Turkey-Launch-Joint-Military-Exercises-Near-Armenia-Border.html

Toyota’s Solid-State Battery Boasts 745 Miles On A 10 Minute Charge

Toyota thinks it has solved two of the main hurdles with mass electric vehicle adoption: battery range and charging time. Toyota’s new electric vehicle battery will offer a 745-mile range and only take 10 minutes to charge in what could be a breakthrough in electric vehicle adoption.  Toyota announced this week that it is close to manufacturing a new solid-state battery that could double the range of most electric vehicles—at 745 miles. The batteries could reach the market by 2027 or 2028, helping to catapult electric vehicles…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Toyotas-Solid-State-Battery-Boasts-745-Miles-On-A-10-Minute-Charge.html

Chinese Oil Giant CNOOC Lifts Capex To Record High

China’s state-held oil and gas giant CNOOC Ltd raised its capital expenditure budget for this year to a record high to support growth in its reserves and production, the company said in its quarterly report on Tuesday. CNOOC raised its net oil and gas production in the third quarter and in the nine months of 2023, thanks to growing domestic output and production increases at projects offshore Guyana and Brazil, where CNOOC is a minority shareholder. CNOOC’s revenues for the third quarter rose by 5.5% year-on-year, but the net income…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Chinese-Oil-Giant-CNOOC-Lifts-Capex-To-Record-High.html

Most Canadians Oppose Federal Plan To Write Down Trans Mountain Debt

Most Canadians oppose the federal government writing down billions of dollars from the debt of Trans Mountain Corporation, the company building the expansion of the oil pipeline from Alberta to the West Coast in British Columbia, a new poll has shown. A total of 68% of respondents in the survey by Nanos Research, cited by Reuters, are opposed or ‘somewhat opposed’ to Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government potentially writing down up to $14.6 billion (C$20 billion) of the debt the corporation has incurred so far.   Moreover,…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Most-Canadians-Oppose-Federal-Plan-To-Write-Down-Trans-Mountain-Debt.html

Halliburton Q3 Earnings Rise Amid Strong Drilling Demand

Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL) booked higher net income for the third quarter compared to both the second quarter of 2023 and the third quarter of last year amid strong international demand for drilling services. The oilfield services provider, one of the world’s top three such companies and the leader in U.S. fracking, reported on Tuesday a net income of $716 million, or $0.79 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2023. This compares to a net income of $610 million for the second quarter of 2023, and to a net income of $544 million…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Halliburton-Q3-Earnings-Rise-Amid-Strong-Drilling-Demand.html

Energy Efficiency Measures Could Help Global Industry Save $437 Billion

Doubling energy efficiency measures could help global industry save around $437 billion by the end of the decade, the Energy Efficiency Movement said in a new report. The modeling in the report commissioned by the Energy Efficiency Movement to Development Economics, an independent economic impact assessment provider, incorporated the best available data and included input from experts at leading industrial players including ABB, Alfa Laval, and Microsoft. The International Energy Agency (IEA) also provided expert advice. In the report, the Energy…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Energy-Efficiency-Measures-Could-Help-Global-Industry-Save-437-Billion.html

Jamie Dimon rips central banks for being ‘100% dead wrong’ on economic forecasts

“Prepare for possibilities and probabilities, not calling one course of action, since I’ve never seen anyone call it,” Dimon said in Saudi Arabia.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/24/jamie-dimon-rips-central-banks-for-being-100percent-dead-wrong-on-economic-forecasts.html

Microsoft set to report earnings after the bell

While ChatGPT has inspired companies to draw on Microsoft’s cloud services for generative artificial intelligence, clients have been cutting cloud costs.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/24/microsoft-msft-q1-earnings-report-2024.html

Alphabet to report third-quarter earnings after the bell

Alphabet has been continuing to look for ways to cut costs while also stepping up investments in artificial intelligence.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/24/alphabet-googl-earnings-q3-2023.html

Verizon stock soars to its best day in almost 15 years

Verizon’s stock is soaring Tuesday, putting it on track for its best day in 15 years.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/24/verizon-stock-soars-toward-its-best-day-in-almost-15-years.html

Bitcoin just broke above a key resistance level. Here’s what chart analysts say happens next

After oscillating between $25,000 and $30,000 for most of the year, bitcoin shot up to $35,000 on Monday.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/24/bitcoin-just-broke-above-a-key-resistance-level-heres-what-chart-analysts-say-happens-next.html

House speaker nominee Tom Emmer is no friend of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Tom Emmer, the latest GOP nominee for House speaker, is an opponent of the Chamber of Commerce, which could be a hurdle for the lobbying group.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/24/speaker-vote-tom-emmer-critical-of-chamber-of-commerce.html

Nikola stock surges 9% after disgraced founder Trevor Milton ordered to repay $165 million

Nikola disclosed on Tuesday that an arbitration panel has awarded it $165 million in damages from its disgraced founder and former CEO, Trevor Milton.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/24/nikola-nkla-trevor-milton-damages.html

Off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot warned ‘I am not okay’ before alleged attempt to disable plane engines

The Alaska Airlines pilot was charged with interfering with flight crews, which can carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/24/alaska-airlines-pilot-hit-with-federal-charge-in-alleged-attempts-to-shut-down-plane-engines-grab-emergency-exit-handle.html

Michael Cohen testifies Trump ordered him to falsely inflate asset values

Michael Cohen’s congressional testimony about Donald Trump’s business practices spurred New York Attorney General Letitia James to open her probe.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/24/trump-fraud-trial-michael-cohen-testimony.html

Qualcomm’s getting in on the AI craze with new chips for phones and PCs

The benchmark is a sign that AI is becoming a new battleground for smartphone features and sales.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/24/qualcomm-snapdragon-x-elite-and-series-8-gen-3-announced.html

Apple announces Oct. 30 event, new Macs expected

New Mac laptops are expected, according to analyst reports. Apple’s tagline on the invites is “scary fast.”

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/24/apple-announces-oct-30-event-new-macs-expected.html

You can scrub your personal information from Google searches. Here’s how to do it

There’s a new feature in Google Search that allows you to remove your phone, email and address from the search page.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/24/how-to-scrub-personal-information-from-google-search.html

Israel-Hamas war live updates: White House calls Iran complicit in conflict; Biden says aid isn’t getting to Gaza fast enough

Hamas released two elderly hostages late Monday, bringing the total to four.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/24/israel-hamas-war-updates-and-latest-news-on-gaza-conflict.html

Tucker Carlson Inks First Ad Deal With Conservative-Friendly PublicSq

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, the highest rated in history, has officially signed his first advertising deal with conservative-friendly shopping app PublicSquare.

The deal, first teased in July, is for at least $1 million according to the app’s CEO, Michael Siefert. Carlson’s company is named Last Country.

PublicSq. is the first of likely several other advertisers moving to partner with Carlson at a pivotal time in national politics, as the 2024 presidential election is just over a year away. The PublicSq. ads are set to air on Carlson’s show, which runs on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, starting in November and through the final months of next year’s campaign, according to Seifert. –

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/tucker-carlson-inks-first-ad-deal-conservative-friendly-publicsq

Is The 6% Fee For Selling A House About To Get Trashed?

Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

An antitrust lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors (NAR) is underway. I expect the NAR to lose.

Antitrust Lawsuit Against the NARThe case, filed in Missouri is Burnett et al v. National Association of Realtors et al

This class action involves allegations that Defendant National Association of Realtors have anticompetitive rules that require home sellers to pay commission to the home buyer’s broker.  Plaintiffs also allege that Defendants Home Services of America, Inc.; BHH Affiliates, LLC; HSF Affiliates, LLC; Keller Williams Realty, Inc.; Realogy Holdings Corp.; and RE/MAX, LLC enforce those rules through anticompetitive practices.

Plaintiffs challenge rules in both the Nationa …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/6-fee-selling-house-about-get-trashed

“This Is 1776 Part Two For The Whole World” – Vivek & Alex Jones Warn Of The Coming Globalist Technocracy

In a deep dive with one of the most controversial figures of modern media, GOP Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks with Alex Jones on ‘The TRUTH Podcast’ revealing unsettling insights into modern censorship, geopolitics, and American exceptionalism.

Dubbed “The Most Censored Man In The World”, Jones’ revelations shed light on the startling decline of free speech and the challenges it presents to the core principles upon which the United States was founded.

“When they censor you and deplatform you they can then steal your identity and misrepresent what you’ve said.”

Jones highlights this as a chilling indictment of the state of modern discourse where narratives can be manipulated by simply silencing dissenting voices, warning Vivek in his usual husky tones that:

“I’m not as big as Trump I’m probably like 5% of the power he’s got a …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/1776-part-two-whole-world-vivek-alex-jones-warn-coming-globalist-technocracy

Peter Schiff: Jerome Powell Isn’t Qualified To Be In Any Economic Club

Via SchiffGold.com,

Last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell delivered a speech at the Economic Club of New York luncheon. In his podcast, Peter Schiff broke down some of the Fed chair’s comments and concluded that Powell is not qualified to be a member of any economic club.

Peter opened the discussion by saying Powell is not the person to bring in if you want accurate answers about the economy.

He doesn’t know what’s going on. And if he does, he’s not going to be honest. He’s going to lie. He probably doesn’t know. He’s clueless. And he lies on top of that.”

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/peter-schiff-jerome-powell-isnt-qualified-be-any-economic-club

Cap on bankers’ bonuses to be scrapped

The plan is part of a post-Brexit shake-up of City rules, but unions call it “obscene”.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67206997?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Instagram sued over harm to young people’s mental health

Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, is facing legal action from dozens of US states.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67207829?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Car workers’ strike costing GM $200m a week

General Motors details the hit it is taking from the strike, while the UAW union expands its action.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67207828?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Cello World sets Rs 617-648 price band for its Rs 1,900 crore-IPO

The OFS comprises the sale of equity shares by Pankaj Ghisulal Rathod, Gaurav Pradeep Rathod, Pradeep Ghisulal Rathod, Sangeeta Pradeep Rathod, Babita Pankaj Rathod and Ruchi Gaurav Rathod.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/ipos/fpos/consumerware-player-cello-world-sets-ipo-price-band-at-rs-617-648-per-share/articleshow/104674665.cms

Breakout Stocks: How to trade BSE, IPCA Labs, and CreditAccess Grameen on Wednesday

Stocks that hit fresh 52-week or record highs, included names like CreditAccess Grameen, which was up over 7%, IPCA Laboratories, which closed with gains of more than 6%, and BSE Ltd, which also rose more than 6% to hit a fresh all-time high on Monday.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/breakout-stocks-how-to-trade-bse-ipca-labs-and-creditaccess-grameen-on-wednesday/articleshow/104671273.cms

ETMarkets Smart Talk: Banks, defence, real estate, cement top sectors to benefit from economic expansion: Dr. Poonam Tandon

“SIP flows continue to be strong despite global headwinds as the domestic economy is showing resilience. We are also seeing more NFOs being launched, especially in multi-cap, small-cap, and thematic space to plug in any gap in the product offerings. An investor should consider various factors for selecting a fund such as fund manager experience, performance history, expense ratio, type of scheme, assets under management and investment objective.”

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/expert-view/etmarkets-smart-talk-banks-defence-real-estate-cement-top-sectors-to-benefit-from-economic-expansion-dr-poonam-tandon/articleshow/104651587.cms

Market Snapshot: U.S. stocks trade higher with Microsoft and Alphabet earnings ahead

U.S. stocks were trading higher Tuesday afternoon helped by stronger than expected results from several blue chip companies with earnings reports from Alphabet and Microsoft due after the close.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-7286-8A794AE31353%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

Peter Morici: Fiction writers demanding money from AI chatbots are lost in fantasy

Giving the writers what they want would stifle competition, writes Peter Morici.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-7286-8F22383DBAF2%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

Brett Arends’s ROI: New rules mean required withdrawals from retirement accounts have become even more complex

Have an IRA or 401(k)? Here’s what you need to know about required minimum distributions.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-7286-C90773E9B6D5%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

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