Suez Canal Crisis: A New Catalyst for Global Inflation

The number of container ships transiting through the Red Sea towards the Suez Canal tumbled 90 per cent year-on-year through the first week of January, as attacks from Yemeni Houthi rebels continue to disrupt one of the world’s busiest trade routes. New figures from industry tracker Clarksons Research showed the collapse in traffic into the Gulf of Aden, which is used as an entry point for container ships travelling between the Suez Canal. Key shipping giants such as Maersk, MSC and Hapag-Lloyd have restricted traffic through the region…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Suez-Canal-Crisis-A-New-Catalyst-for-Global-Inflation.html

Blinken Condemns Iran For Aiding Houthi Red Sea Attacks

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has accused Iran of aiding Yemen’s Houthi attacks on merchant vessels in the Red Sea, telling reporters in Bahrain that Tehran was providing vital assistance. “These attacks have been aided and abetted by Iran with technology, equipment, intelligence, information, and they are having a real-life impact on people,” Reuters quoted Blinken as saying, during his fourth crisis tour of the Middle East since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.  On Tuesday, U.S. and UK forces in the Red Sea shot down…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Blinken-Condemns-Iran-For-Aiding-Houthi-Red-Sea-Attacks.html

Is Poland Obstructing the Nord Stream Sabotage Investigation?

At this point, one might be forgiven for thinking that the Nord Stream pipelines sabotage is already ancient history. After all, mainstream media and prime time TV news coverage has by and large ‘moved on’ as soon as it became clear that Russia had nothing to do with it. At this point, the consensus even among Moscow’s vehement enemies is that the September 26, 2022 series of blasts which disabled the Russia to Germany NS-1 and NS-2 natural gas pipelines had Ukrainian and/or Western involvement. While MSM sources have favored the theory that it…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Is-Poland-Obstructing-the-Nord-Stream-Sabotage-Investigation.html

Oil Drilling Is Booming in Russia Despite Western Sanctions

Drilling at Russia’s oil production wells likely beat a post-Soviet record in 2023, according to industry data Bloomberg has seen—evidence that the Western sanctions haven’t affected drilling rates much, especially at brownfields.   Russia is estimated to have drilled oil production wells with a total depth of 28,100 kilometers (17,460 miles) between January and November 2023—on course for a second consecutive year that would beat the post-Soviet record for drilling, per the data seen by Bloomberg.  …

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Oil-Drilling-Is-Booming-in-Russia-Despite-Western-Sanctions.html

Nickel Price Hits New Low As Market Struggles Continue

Via Metal Miner The nickel price remained within a strong downtrend throughout November, hitting its lowest point since April 2021. While prices appeared to stabilize during the first half of December, the nickel market has overwhelmingly proven itself the worst-performing base metal, with a roughly 45% year-to-date drop. Overall, the Stainless Monthly Metals Index (MMI) moved sideways, falling 1.55% from December to January. Stainless Market Closes 2023 on a Quiet Note For the stainless steel market, 2023 went out like…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Metals/Commodities/Nickel-Price-Hits-New-Low-As-Market-Struggles-Continue.html

India Pauses $600-Million Plan to Fill Up Its Strategic Crude Oil Reserve

India is halting a plan to spend as much as $600 million, or 50 billion Indian rupees, on topping up its strategic crude reserve amid volatile prices as the government looks to reduce the country’s fiscal deficit, sources with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg on Wednesday. India has also opted to stay away from purchases for its strategic petroleum reserve in view of the possibility of further declines in oil prices amid a bearish outlook on oil fundamentals in the early months of 2024.  India’s government has thus…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/India-Pauses-600-Million-Plan-to-Fill-Up-Its-Strategic-Crude-Oil-Reserve.html

Energy Costs in UK Still Double the Historic Average

reductions in the coming months. Figures today from energy analysis consultancy Cornwall Insights show that the average costs for 2024 will be £113 per MWh – a £16 drop from the previous forecast. This is largely due to Europe holding higher than expected natural gas reserves. However despite the price fall, forecasts remain substantially higher than the £50 per MWh historic averages, with Europe’s dependence on international Liquefied natural gas (LNG) following sanctions on imports from Russia, cited as a key reason.…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Energy-Costs-in-UK-Still-Double-the-Historic-Average.html

PJM: Electrification Will Raise Power Demand Peaks in the Long Term

Electrification of transport and homes, as well as consumer demand for all kinds of technology, are set to continuously raise electricity demand for summer and winter peaks in the United States, the biggest U.S. grid operator, PJM Interconnection, said in its long-term load forecast this week.         Estimated electricity demand is expected to grow by 1.7% per year for summer peaks, by 2% for winter peaks, and by 2.4% for net energy over a 10-year planning horizon starting in 2024, said PJM Interconnection,…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/PJM-Electrification-Will-Raise-Power-Demand-Peaks-in-the-Long-Term.html

South Korean Shipper Sparks Surge in Global Oil Tanker Rates

Last week, when looking at the latest global container shipping rates, we observed a surge in prices for all legacy Red Sea routes such as US and Europe to China, while simple trans-Atlantic or trans-Pacific routes remained subdued. However this surge pricing in container rates is also shifting over to tankers: as Bloomberg reports, the cost to ship crude oil from the US Gulf to China surged after a slew of vessel hires by a South Korean shipowner. A flurry of booking activity by Sinokor Merchant Marine in the past week rapidly tightened the availability…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/South-Korean-Shipper-Sparks-Surge-in-Global-Oil-Tanker-Rates.html

Saudi Arabia Wants To Be a Leader in All Kinds of Energy, Not Just Oil

Saudi Arabia is now focused on all kinds of energy and is taking climate change and the efforts to fight global warming seriously, according to the energy minister of the world’s largest crude oil exporter.  “We as a country, we are no longer called a leading oil-producing country … we would like to be called an energy producing country, all kinds of energy,” Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman said at a mining conference in Riyadh on Wednesday, as quoted by Reuters.  Fossil fuel production in Saudi…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Saudi-Arabia-Wants-To-Be-a-Leader-in-All-Kinds-of-Energy-Not-Just-Oil.html

New Study Claims UK North Sea Oil Isn’t Worth the Trouble or Expense

The United Kingdom’s North Sea Transition Authority gave the greenlight in September for the development of the Rosebank field by owners Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) and Ithaca Energy, with Prime Minister Riki Sunak’s government arguing that  projects such as these are necessary to bolster domestic oil and gas production, lower costs for consumers, and provide “energy security” as the country transitions to low-carbon energy. But the new North Sea licenses could be more trouble than they are worth, a fresh study has found. …

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/New-Study-Claims-UK-North-Sea-Oil-Isnt-Worth-the-Trouble-or-Expense.html

Oil Slides on Large Builds in Fuel Inventories

Crude oil prices moved lower today after the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimated a relatively moderate inventory build in crude all and also reported sizeable increases in fuels for the first week of 2024. In crude, the EIA reported an increase of 1.3 million barrels. At 432.4 million barrels, inventories are about 2% below the five-year average for this time of the year. The weekly change compared with a decline of 5.5 million barrels for the last week of 2023. A day before the EIA report was released, the American…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Oil-Slides-on-Large-Builds-in-Fuel-Inventories.html

Wind Power Outshines Natural Gas in UK’s Power Mix

Wind power generated as much as 41.2% of Britain’s electricity in December, its highest monthly share ever, thanks to milder and windy weather, data from the UK’s National Grid ESO showed.  In December, wind was the UK’s largest source of generation, accounting for 41.2% of electricity, followed by natural gas with a share of 25.8% of power generation—its lowest level since March 2020, when the system operator began publishing the monthly electricity statistics.    The UK ended 2023 with the greenest…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Wind-Power-Outshines-Natural-Gas-in-UKs-Power-Mix.html

American Gasoline Finds New Market in Australia

Lower American gasoline demand, higher fuel production after refiners returned from autumn maintenance, and cheaper prices due to a supply glut and transit issues at the Panama Canal prompted some rare shipments of U.S. gasoline cargoes to places such as Mozambique and Australia, Reuters reports, citing ship-tracking data.   The tanker STI Madison, which was chartered by TotalEnergies’ Atlantic Trading & Marketing, loaded 700,000 barrels of gasoline from Marathon Petroleum’s refinery in Garyville, Louisiana, in the…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/American-Gasoline-Finds-New-Market-in-Australia.html

India Boosts Saudi Crude Oil Imports Following Price Cuts

Large Indian state-owned refiners are looking to book additional term crude supplies from Saudi Arabia for February after the world’s top crude exporter slashed its official selling prices to Asia to the lowest to benchmarks in more than two years, sources at the Indian companies have told Reuters. India is also seeking additional term crude deliveries from West African producers Angola and Nigeria, as its imports of Russian crude oil fell in December to an 11-month low, according to Reuters’ sources.    State refiners…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/India-Boosts-Saudi-Crude-Oil-Imports-Following-Price-Cuts.html

Dow closes more than 150 points higher Wednesday ahead of key inflation readings: Live updates

Stocks traded higher Wednesday, with investors awaiting the release of fresh U.S. inflation data and earnings.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/09/stock-market-today-live-updates.html

Amazon cuts hundreds of jobs in Prime Video and MGM Studios: Read the memo to employees

Mike Hopkins, who oversees those units, sent a note to staffers informing them of the job cuts.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/10/amazon-layoffs-hundreds-of-jobs-cut-in-prime-video-and-mgm-studios.html

RFK Jr.’s presidential campaign questioned by FEC over payments to daughter-in-law

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s long shot campaign for president is facing questions from the FEC about payments made to a member of his family.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/10/rfk-jr-presidential-campaign-fec-payments-to-daughter-in-law-.html

Trump refuses conditions for fraud trial closing argument, won’t be allowed to speak

Donald Trump is accused of a massive business fraud in a New York civil fraud trial. Closing arguments are set for days before the Iowa caucuses.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/10/trump-not-allowed-make-new-york-fraud-trial-closing-argument.html

Avoid these possible earnings blowups as reporting season begins, Wolfe Research says

There are some names this upcoming earnings season investors may want to steer clear from, according to Wolfe Research.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/10/avoid-these-possible-earnings-blow-ups-as-reporting-season-begins-wolfe-research-says.html

Ether crosses $2,400 as investors consider its spot ETF potential: 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, Ric Edelman, founder of the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals, discusses what to expect for crypto markets long term if spot bitcoin ETFs get approved.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2024/01/10/ether-crosses-2400-investors-consider-spot-etf-potential-cnbc-crypto-world.html

OpenAI debuts GPT Store, new business tier after leadership fracas

OpenAI on Wednesday debuted both the GPT Store and ChatGPT Team.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/10/openai-debuts-gpt-store-new-business-tier-after-leadership-fracas.html

SAP to pay more than $230 million to settle bribery charges, U.S. authorities say

SAP will pay more than $220 million to settle investigations into worldwide “recidivist” foreign bribery practices, U.S. authorities announced Wednesday.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/10/sap-to-pay-more-than-220-million-to-settle-bribery-charges-doj-sec.html

Global shipping rates set to jump as carriers avoid the Red Sea amid Houthi attacks

Vessels aren’t able to come back to Asia in time, and ocean carriers are canceling sailings on short notice, Honour Lane Shipping told clients.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/10/global-shipping-rates-set-to-surge-as-carriers-avoid-red-sea.html

Days from government shutdown, Speaker Johnson may need short-term spending bill he previously opposed

House Speaker Mike Johnson said he is planning to call former President Donald Trump to “talk him through the details” of the budget negotiations.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/10/jan-19-deadline-may-force-speaker-johnson-into-continuing-resolution.html

Hunter Biden crashes House hearing on resolution to hold him in contempt

Hunter Biden, accompanied by his attorneys, appeared shortly after the House Oversight Committee convened to consider the contempt resolution.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/10/hunter-biden-shows-up-to-hearing-on-contempt-resolution.html

The spot bitcoin ETF: Here’s what happens when it starts trading

With a spot bitcoin ETF now looking very real, attention is turning to the details.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/10/the-spot-bitcoin-etf-heres-what-happens-when-it-starts-trading.html

Truck engine maker Cummins agrees to record-setting $1.65 billion emissions settlement

Cummins agreed to settle a lawsuit and pay a record-setting fine of about $1.65 billion for installing defeat devices on hundreds of thousands of engines.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/10/truck-engine-maker-cummins-agrees-to-record-setting-1point65-billion-emissions-settlement.html

Boeing CEO Admits “Mistake” After 737 Max Door Blowout Incident

Boeing Co. Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun admitted the planemaker made a “mistake” after a door plug on Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 separated from the plane 16,000 feet over Portland last week, Bloomberg reports.

“We’re going to approach this — No. 1 — acknowledging our mistake,” Calhoun told employees at an all-hands meeting at the 737 Max factory in Renton, Washington. “We’re going to approach it with 100% and complete transparency every step of the way.”

Hours after the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 incident on Friday evening, the Federal Aviation Administration grounded 171 737-9 Max aircraft for inspections. Loosebolts were found on a handful of the planes operated by Alaska Air and United Airlines.

“When I got that picture [of the Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9], all I could think about — I didn’t know what happened [to] whoever was supposed to be in the seat next to that hole in the airplane,” Calhoun told staff, adding, “I’ve got kids, I’ve got grandkids and so do you. This stuff matters. Every detail matters.”

Luckily, no one on Flight 1282 was sitting at 26A, the seat next to the door that blew out. This could’ve been an even more giant shitstorm for Boeing as the incident has reminded everyone about the two Max crashes several years ago that killed more than 300 people.

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/boeing-ceo-admits-mistake-after-737-max-door-blowout-portland

Texas GOP Moves To Support Gold

Via SchiffGold.com,

This March, Republican primary voters in Texas won’t just be choosing which candidates to represent their party in November – they will also be voting on a series of ballot propositions that while not legally binding offer a way for voters to guide their leaders.

Here’s why what is happening in Texas matters and what it says about the future of gold.

Among the ballot propositions is one for the Texas government to have the Texas State Comptroller’s office start a program to “administer access to gold and silver through the Texas Bullion Depository for use as legal tender.” Texas already …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/texas-gop-moves-support-gold

NYC High School Forced Into Remote Teaching As Migrants Move In For A Night…Or More

Students at a Brooklyn High School were forced into remote learning mode on Wednesday as their school was suddenly turned into a “temporary” shelter for migrants whose tents were deemed unsafe amid stormy weather.

An unspecified number migrants will sleep on the floor of James Madison High School’s gym. They’re among nearly 2,000 who were evacuated on Tuesday from a tent complex at Floyd Bennett Field, a former municipal airport in southeast Brooklyn that’s now a federally-managed recreation area.

BREAKING: School buses are dropping off illegal migrants at Madison High School in Brooklyn.

The school is closing tomorrow & all 2k students will be doing class virtually to accommodate the illegals.pic.twitter.com/SwMwkWnDbG

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) January 9, 2024

As harsh weather hits the region, authorities say they were concerned about two perils: flooding and wind. Gusts of up to 70mph were anticipated, alongside heavy rain. In a dark comic twist, conditions at the site are more dangerous thanks to federal regulations: Since the old airfield is an historic site, tent stakes are prohibited.

“We want to make sure that people are safe,” New York City mayor Eric Adams

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/nyc-high-school-forced-remote-teaching-migrants-move-nightor-more

First 10Y Auction Of 2024 Prices To Tepid Demand, 4th Tail In A Row

One day after a stellar 3Y auction launched the coupon Treasury issuance for 2024, moments ago we got the sale of the first benchmark piece of paper for the new year, when some $37BN in a 9-Year 10-Month reopening were sold to the public in a generally strong auction.

The auction priced at a high yield of 4.024%, which was a sharp drop from December’s 4.2960 and was the lowest yield since the 3.999% August auction. More notably, the high yield tailed the When Issued 4.019 by 0.5bps. This was the 4th consecutive tailing 10Y auction, and the 11th non-stop through auction in a row (September was on the screws). More remarkably, there have been only 3 stop-through 10Y auction in the past 27 months!

The bid to cover was better, rising to 2.56 from 2.53, and the highest since Feb 2023 (the 6-auction average was 2.49).

The internals were average, with Indirects awarded 66.1%, up from 63.8% but below the recent average of 66.7%. And with Directs taking down 18.7%, also in line with the recent average of 18.8%, Dealers were left holdin …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/first-10y-auction-2024-prices-tepid-demand-4th-tail-row

Calls grow for Fujitsu to pay for Post Office injustice

Ex-Post Office branch manager Sally Stringer is demanding Fujitsu pay towards compensation

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67921298?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

HS2 to Birmingham may cost £65bn, railway boss says

Sir Jonathan Thompson says inflation has added up to £10bn to cost of London to Birmingham stretch.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67932247?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Craft beer giant Brewdog abandons real living wage for employees

The Ellon-based craft beer giant says the decision was “necessary” despite a £321m profit last year.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-67932569?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

How an election-packed 2024 could swing India, US & other world markets

Markets face a “ballot box bombshell”, financial services group Morningstar says, adding: “prior experience of this kind of event risk shows big changes can cause sell-offs”.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/how-an-election-packed-2024-could-swing-world-markets/articleshow/106696848.cms

HSBC picks banking, consumption, IT as top investment themes for 2024

The premium valuation of Indian equities at 20X forward earnings is well supported by its high RoE of 16% — well above the 10.7% Asian regional average ROE — the HSBC release said quoting its CIO.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/hsbc-picks-banking-consumption-it-as-top-investment-themes-for-2024/articleshow/106703148.cms

Tech View: Nifty forms Bullish Piercing candle ahead of Thursday expiry. What traders should do

“We are of the view that, 20-day SMA or 21,500/71,250 could act as a sacrosanct support level for the traders. Above the same, the pullback formation is likely to continue. Above which chances of hitting 21,720-21,760/71,900-72,100 would turn bright. However, below 20 day SMA or 21,500/71,250 the selling pressure is likely to accelerate. Below which, the market could slip till 21,400-21,355/71,000-70,800,” said Shrikant Chouhan of Kotak Securities.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/tech-view-nifty-forms-bullish-piercing-candle-ahead-of-thursday-expiry-what-traders-should-do/articleshow/106701127.cms

Nvidia’s stock could rise above $600 — despite signs it’s already overbought

Nvidia’s stock chart shows that, after the stock’s continued surge into record territory, it is now technically the most overbought it has been in six months — but that doesn’t mean the rally is over.

Read more at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/nvidias-stock-could-rise-above-600-despite-signs-its-already-overbought-b93eab33?mod=mw_rss_topstories

AMC’s stock on pace for another record-low close and set to extend losing streak to two days

The movie-theater chain and original meme stock is down 1.9% and is trading around $4.95, which would be an all-time low

Read more at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/amcs-stock-on-pace-for-another-record-low-close-and-set-to-extend-losing-streak-to-two-days-20cc72ef?mod=mw_rss_topstories

Treasury yields end steady as traders position ahead of December’s CPI inflation report

Treasury yields finished little changed on Wednesday following a decent 10-year government auction and ahead of the December consumer-price index report on Thursday.

Read more at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/treasury-yields-nudge-lower-as-traders-position-ahead-of-inflation-data-80ce8c0b?mod=mw_rss_topstories