Central Asia’s Delicate Dance Around Russian Sanctions

Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are walking a geopolitical tightrope when it comes to international sanctions against Russia, striving to please both the Kremlin and the West. Kazakhstan seems to be managing the balancing act better than Kyrgyzstan. In recent months, Kazakh and Kyrgyz leaders have engaged in rhetorical calisthenics aimed at remaining in the good graces of all parties involved in the war in Ukraine. During a late autumn visit to Germany, for example, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev repeated earlier denials that Kazakhstan has facilitated…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/International/Central-Asias-Delicate-Dance-Around-Russian-Sanctions.html

Germany Boasts Record Renewable Capacity Additions in 2023

Germany installed a record-high power capacity from solar and wind in 2023, but only solar additions met government targets, while wind power installations fell short of goals. Booming residential demand resulted in the installation of over a million new solar power systems with a combined capacity of 14 GW in 2023, an 85% surge year-over-year, according to data from solar power association BSW cited by Reuters. The new solar capacity is on track to meet the government’s 2030 goals. Wind power also saw an increase in wind power tenders,…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Germany-Boasts-Record-Renewable-Capacity-Additions-in-2023.html

OPEC+ To Hold JMMC Meeting Next Month

OPEC+ will hold a Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee meeting sometime in early February, three sources said on Tuesday, according to media. OPEC+ typically holds JMMC meetings every other month, although volatile market conditions and member unrest have sometimes prompted the group to schedule meetings outside the every-other-month schedule. OPEC+ members collectively decided to voluntarily cut 2.2 million bpd from the group’s production this quarter, although much of that was production cuts that were already in effect, including Saudi…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/OPEC-To-Hold-JMMC-Meeting-Next-Month.html

Diverse EU Energy Needs Complicate Complete Shift Away From Russian Gas

In the fall of 2022, the Kremlin was forecasting a very bleak winter ahead for citizens of the European Union. After cutting natural gas supplies to Europe — in retaliation for Western sanctions on Russia for the February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine — Moscow and pro-Kremlin media were almost gleefully predicting that Europe, without the benevolence of Russian gas supplies, would become a wasteland of dark, iced-over cities. Europeans would be lucky if they didn’t freeze to death in their beds. But while energy prices spiked, the EU didn’t…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/Diverse-EU-Energy-Needs-Complicate-Complete-Shift-Away-From-Russian-Gas.html

Russia’s Pipeline Gas Exports to Europe Plunge by 56% in 2023

Gazprom’s pipeline natural gas exports to Europe slumped by 55.6% in  2023, after Russia cut off supplies to several EU countries and Nord Stream was blown up in the Baltic Sea at the end of 2022. Russia’s daily gas volumes via pipeline to Europe plummeted to 77.6 million cubic meters in 2023 from 174.8 million cubic meters in 2022, according to estimates by Reuters based on data from European gas transmission group Entsog and Gazprom’s daily reports on transit via Ukraine. Gazprom has stopped publishing data on…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Russias-Pipeline-Gas-Exports-to-Europe-Plunge-by-56-in-2023.html

The Rise of Tesla: Model 3 and Y Dominate Global EV Sales

In the last five years, Tesla stock has exploded upwards more than 800%. From a company that was perpetually on the verge of bankruptcy, Tesla has emerged as the EV manufacturer to beat in the automotive market. A huge part of the success comes from Tesla’s sales which jumped 30x in the same time period. Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu and Bhabna Banerkjee take a look at the numbers, as well as the sales share between the different Tesla models from 2016-2023 using data from CleanTechnica, an archive for news and data around clean technology.…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-Rise-of-Tesla-Model-3-and-Y-Dominate-Global-EV-Sales.html

Aramco Close To Awarding $5 Billion Deals for World’s Biggest Offshore Oilfield

Saudi Aramco is expected to finalize soon the selection of contractors to build part of the onshore infrastructure in the expansion of Saudi Arabian field Safaniya, the world’s biggest offshore oilfield.    The Saudi state oil giant is expected to complete the selection process of the preferred bidders for two large onshore engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracts at Safaniya, worth a total of up to $5 billion, ChemAnalyst reports, citing sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Indian engineering group…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Aramco-Close-To-Awarding-5-Billion-Deals-for-Worlds-Biggest-Offshore-Oilfield.html

U.S. Gasoline Prices Begin Falling Again

The last week of the year may have seen gasoline prices rise for U.S. drivers, but the new year has kicked off another price slide, GasBuddy said on Tuesday morning. U.S. average gasoline prices have retreated to $3.06 per gallon on Monday, according to GasBuddy data. This is a 1.6-cent decline from a week ago today. GasBuddy data is based on 12 million individual price reports from more than 150,000 gas stations across the United States. The average price for a gallon of gasoline in the United States is now down 12.6 cents per gallon compared…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/US-Gasoline-Prices-Begin-Falling-Again.html

India’s Imports of Russian Crude Oil Fall amid Tighter U.S. Sanctions

The tougher enforcement of the G7 sanctions and related payment issues have been holding up Indian purchases of some cargoes of Russian crude oil, with tankers previously headed to India now turning back eastwards, tanker-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg showed on Tuesday. At the end of last year, the United States took a tougher stance on the sanctions against Russia and sanctioned several vessels for violating the G7 price cap of $60 per barrel, above which cargoes cannot use Western insurance and financing. Some of those…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Indias-Imports-of-Russian-Crude-Oil-Fall-amid-Tighter-US-Sanctions.html

Record Declines in Grain Prices May Ease Global Food Crisis

Despite the El Nino-related weather disturbances affecting key agricultural areas globally and the disruptions in the Black Sea stemming from the war in Ukraine, there is encouraging data suggesting further easing in food inflation in the new year. This development comes amid the soaring risks of food riots in emerging markets, as the weakening of EM currencies against the dollar has made staple foods increasingly more expensive for poorer populations worldwide.  Bloomberg data shows corn and wheat prices have recorded their largest annual…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Finance/the-Economy/Record-Declines-in-Grain-Prices-May-Ease-Global-Food-Crisis.html

China Issues Huge Batch Of Crude Oil Import Quotas

China has allocated a massive batch of crude oil import quotas to refiners, raising the allowances from early last year by around 60% and allocating full-year quotas to some, according to consultancies and traders. The early allocation of a large volume of import allowances would help refiners better plan their crude purchases in 2024, the experts told media on Tuesday.    For 2024, China released a total of 179.01 million metric tons of crude import quotas, compared to a quota of 111.82 million tons issued in the first batch of quotas…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/China-Issues-Huge-Batch-Of-Crude-Oil-Import-Quotas.html

Oil Erases Gains Despite Flurry of Bullish News

Crude erased gains in the morning of the first trading session of 2024 despite mostly bullish news. China Might Become the Swing Factor for Oil Sentiment  – The Chinese economy has been sending mixed signals to the oil markets as Caixin manufacturing PMI indicated a strong recovery in industrial sentiment with the index rising to 50.8 in December, the strongest since August.- The problem with that is that Beijing’s official data paint the exact opposite, dropping to the weakest level since June at 49.0, suggesting SMEs are feeling better…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Oil-Erases-Gains-Despite-Flurry-of-Bullish-News.html

Ukraine’s Strategic Gas Storage Capacity Eases Europe’s Winter Worries

European companies have been relying more on Ukrainian storage to hold natural gas and withdraw it from there once winter heating demand rose.   Firms based in Europe have been withdrawing larger volumes of gas from Ukraine in recent weeks, per data from Argus Media reported by the Financial Times on Tuesday.       Larger volumes of natural gas stored in Ukraine have helped European natural gas storage levels to keep between 85% and 90% so far this winter, analysts say.   “Ukraine…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Ukraines-Strategic-Gas-Storage-Capacity-Eases-Europes-Winter-Worries.html

EU Tightens Restrictions on Russian Oil and Gas Exports

The U.S. and its key allies on the West and the East continue to tighten the noose around Russian exports of oil and gas and with them, the ability to finance its ongoing invasion of Ukraine and to support Iranian attempts to widen the rolling Israel-Hamas War. Several new agreements were made at both the G7 group of countries (comprising Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S.) and European Union (E.U.) levels in December that significantly build on various sanctions deployed on Russian oil and gas following the conflict…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/EU-Tightens-Restrictions-on-Russian-Oil-and-Gas-Exports.html

China Reinstates Coal Tariffs, Impacting Global Suppliers

China has reinstated tariffs on coal imports from the start of this year in what could be a blow to Russian exporters. The levies, Bloomberg notes in a report, were removed in May 2022 to avoid a supply crunch amid a surge in coal demand. Russia, as one of the biggest suppliers of the commodity benefited from the tariff-free regime thanks to China’s appetite for coal. Following the tariff removal, Russian grew to become China’s number-two coal supplier with the two countries planning annual imports to reach 100 million tons, which may…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Coal/China-Reinstates-Coal-Tariffs-Impacting-Global-Suppliers.html

S&P 500 closes lower to begin 2024, Nasdaq notches worst day since October: Live updates

The S&P 500 started the new year in the negative after finishing 2023 with a bang.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/01/stock-market-today-live-updates.html

Apple shares fall 4% after Barclays downgrade

Barclays analysts think that weak iPhone 15 sales may be a harbinger of weak hardware and iPhone 16 sales in the year ahead.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/02/apple-stock-slips-more-than-2percent-after-barclays-downgrade.html

Tesla reported 485,000 deliveries for the fourth quarter, bringing 2023 total to 1.8 million

The EV company previously offered guidance that it would notch at least 1.8 million deliveries for the full year in 2023.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/02/tesla-tsla-q4-2023-vehicle-delivery-and-production-numbers.html

Rivian stock falls 10% on declining fourth-quarter EV deliveries

Rivian said it delivered 13,972 vehicles from October through December, down 10.2% from the third quarter of 2023 but in line with Wall Street’s expectations.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/02/rivian-q4-ev-deliveries.html

This income-paying asset could be poised to rise in 2024 as interest rates cool

Real estate investment trusts could enjoy a tailwind from falling interest rates.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/02/this-income-paying-asset-could-be-poised-to-rise-in-2024-as-interest-rates-cool.html

Bitcoin soars to kick off 2024, topping $45,000 for first time since April 2022: CNBC Crypto World

CNBC Crypto World features the latest news and daily trading updates from the digital currency markets and provides viewers with a look at what’s ahead with high-profile interviews, explainers, and unique stories from the ever-changing crypto industry. On today’s show, Fred Thiel, the CEO of Marathon Digital Holdings, discusses what to expect from the bitcoin network in 2024 with key events approaching, including the expected decision on spot bitcoin ETFs in the United States.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2024/01/02/bitcoin-soars-kick-off-2024-topping-45000-first-time-since-april-2022-cnbc-crypto-world.html

Harvard University President Claudine Gay resigns amid plagiarism claims

Harvard President Claudine Gay has been under fire for weeks over claims of plagiarism and for her handling of the controversy over the war on Gaza by Israel.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/02/harvard-university-president-claudine-gay-resigning-her-post-reports-say.html

Moderna stock pops after Oppenheimer says Covid shot maker could launch more products over next two years

The upgrade follows a dismal 2023 for Moderna, whose only commercially available product is its Covid shot.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/02/moderna-stock-jumps-after-oppenheimer-upgrade-on-pipeline-potential.html

Maersk halts Red Sea shipping until further notice after Houthi militant attack

The decision by the Danish shipping giant extends a 48-hour pause implemented in the immediate aftermath of the attack.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/02/maersk-halts-red-sea-shipping-until-further-notice-after-houthi-militant-attack.html

Oil prices fall as traders monitor rising tensions in Red Sea

Oil prices were volatile Tuesday after Iran dispatched a warship to the Red Sea, as the situation remains tense in the critical waterway for global shipments.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/02/oil-prices-rise-as-iranian-warship-enters-red-sea-.html

The 2024 box office is a franchise frenzy — at a time when audiences are feeling IP fatigue

The 2024 box office is packed with sequels, prequels and spinoffs, but audiences weren’t keen on franchise features in 2023.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/02/2024-box-office-preview.html

BYD beats Tesla for a second straight year after producing more than 3 million cars in 2023

In 2023, Tesla produced 1.84 million vehicles, fewer than BYD’s 3 million.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/02/byd-produced-more-than-3-million-cars-in-2023-set-to-beat-tesla.html

This long-time underperforming group can be a ‘catch up’ trade in 2024, Carter Worth says

Gold mining stocks underperformed the broader stock market and the price of gold in 2023.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/02/this-long-time-underperforming-group-can-be-a-catch-up-trade-in-2024-carter-worth-says.html

Destroying Democracy To Save It: Maine Shows The Danger Of Zealots In Our Legal System

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

Below is my column in the Hill on the Maine decision and how it is illustrative of Justice Louis Brandeis’ warning of the danger of zealots. Shenna Bellows has long embraced extreme political and historical viewpoints, including denouncing the electoral college as a “relic of white supremacy.”  Challengers knew that they “had her at hello” in seeking to disqualify former president Donald Trump.

The coming week will likely show how the Supreme Court will address the issue.

Here is the column:

“You had me at hello.” That line from the movie “Jerry Maguire” came to mind this week after yet another Democratic secretary of state moved to prevent citizens from voting for former president Donald Trump.

Maine’s Shenna Bellows issued a “decision” that declared Trump an “insurrectionist” and ineligible to be president. She joined an ignoble list of Democratic officials in states such as Colorado who claim to safeguard democracy by denying its exercise to millions of Americans.

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/destroying-democracy-save-it-maine-shows-danger-zealots-our-legal-system

The VA’s Role In Illegal Immigrant Health Care Has Veterans Groups And Legislators Up In Arms

Authored by Mark Gilman via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) predicts the agency’s case backlog will peak at 400,000 in 2024. So, a report from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which said VA resources have been used to process claims for medical care of illegal immigrants since 2020, is causing backlash from several legislators and veterans’ agencies.

U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs building in Washington on July 6, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)The DHS report gives a detailed view of how U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations are working with the VA to contract with the Department of V …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/vas-role-illegal-immigrant-health-care-has-veterans-groups-and-legislators-arms

2023: The Fed Declares Victory; 2024: The Year Of Hubris And Nemesis

Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via Substack,

Are the crowds ready for the curtain of Fed omnipotence to be pulled aside? What will push markets ever higher if the Fed’s alchemy fails?

For 15 long years, the Federal Reserve has conjured an economy and financial system without crisis or lengthy recession (setting aside that spot of bother triggered by the pandemic shutdown as a “bolt from the blue”), all with god-like mastery of the financial dials of bond yields, interest rates, vast purchases of mortgages, the subsidizing of the banking sector and the enlivening floods of liquidity that have elevated markets to extraordinary heights.

It is thus understandable that Fed Chair Powell declared victory in December 2023, having engineered the tricky maneuver known as “the soft landing” without crushing employment, spending, credit or markets.

We can easily imagine a triumpha …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/2023-fed-declares-victory-2024-year-hubris-and-nemesis

New Jersey Mayor Boots Bussed Migrants Over ‘Major Security Risk’ While Biden Busted Giving Chinese Illegals Huge Break

Edison, New Jersey’s Democrat Mayor Sam Joshi (D) says he turned a bus full of illegal migrants around because there was no way for local police to know “if any of those 40 individuals were carrying weapons,” adding that “they couldn’t be identified.”

Edison Mayor Sam Joshi.

According to Joshi, this poses “a major security risk. It’s a health risk. And we’re just not going to tolerate that.”

Joshi instead plans to send migrants back to the border as opposed to burdening other mayors, Breitbart reports.

WABC New Jersey Reporter Toni Yates stated, “The town of Edison, however, has its own answer: A charter bus to sen …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/new-jersey-mayor-boots-bussed-migrants-over-major-security-risk-while-biden-busted-giving

China’s BYD overtakes Tesla’s electric car sales in last quarter of 2023

Electric-only deliveries from Chinese company BYD outpaced Elon Musk’s Tesla for the first time.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67860232?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

CTS cyber-attack: Disruption to home sales now over

Services from CTS have been restored, but homebuyers who were affected can complain to an ombudsman.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67864734?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Motorway electric car charge point target missed, says RAC

The RAC motoring organisation says the government has missed its target for installing charging points.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67858961?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Tech View: Nifty candle hints at bearishness in near term. What traders should do on Wednesday

​Nifty on Tuesday ended 76 points lower to form a reasonable negative candle on the daily chart with a minor lower shadow, which technical analysts say indicates a reversal in the short-term.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/tech-view-nifty-candle-hints-at-bearishness-in-near-term-what-traders-should-do-on-wednesday/articleshow/106487611.cms

Jyoti CNC Automation to launch Rs 1,000 crore-IPO on January 9. Check details

The company had filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the market regulator in September 2023. The IPO is completely a fresh issue worth Rs 1,000 crore. The price band for the public offer will be announced soon. The share allotment for the IPO will be finalised on January 12 and the listing date is fixed as January 16.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/ipos/fpos/jyoti-cnc-automation-to-launch-rs-1000-crore-ipo-on-january-9-check-details/articleshow/106493034.cms

Nithin Kamath on Zerodha tech glitches: Impossible to never have incidents

In 2023 alone, Zerodha admitted to at least eight technical glitches with issues varying from those relating to login on the Kite app, display of orders and positions as well as order placements. To minimize the impact of any potential issues, he said they have made significant architectural changes over the years.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/nithin-kamath-on-zerodha-tech-glitches-impossible-to-never-have-incidents/articleshow/106482518.cms

Dow flat, Nasdaq ends lower to start 2024, with jobs report ahead this week

U.S. stocks ended mostly lower Tuesday as investors take profits — and a step back — after a 2023 rally that left the S&P 500 index just shy of a fresh record.

Read more at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/s-p-500-futures-show-year-to-start-on-a-muted-note-as-bond-yields-tick-higher-3799ecb1?mod=mw_rss_topstories

Treasury yields end with biggest one-day jump in almost a month

Yields on 1- through 30-year Treasurys finished higher on Tuesday, just days after the Secured Overnight Financing Rate reached a record high.

Read more at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/treasury-yields-move-higher-as-traders-eye-raft-of-u-s-jobs-data-in-coming-days-3f2a0ac5?mod=mw_rss_topstories

How December Fed minutes could shake up investors’ rate-cut expectations

Market participants are aggressively penciling in rate cuts for 2024. Here’s what they’ll be watching in the Fed minutes.

Read more at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-december-fed-minutes-could-shake-up-investors-rate-cut-expectations-7b8a2757?mod=mw_rss_topstories