India’s Steel Sector Urges Tariff Adjustments To Combat Flood of Imports

Via Metal Miner   In July, India became a net importer of steel for the fourth time in the last year. And therein lies a tale of tariffs, changes in steel prices, and supply and demand. However, before discussing those issues, it’s important to revisit the facts. A recent report by India’s Steel Ministry revealed the country became a net importer of steel for the first time in the ongoing fiscal year and the fourth time in a calendar year. Throughout this month, the country imported 587,000 tons of steel, while exports amounted…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Metals/Commodities/Indias-Steel-Sector-Urges-Tariff-Adjustments-To-Combat-Flood-of-Imports.html

WTI Sheds Over 1.6% As Demand Trumps Everything Else

Oil prices shed over 1% on Monday despite rising tensions in the Red Sea and on the front lines of the Israel-Hamas conflict, with OPEC+ extending voluntary production cuts and demand sentiment taking a beating from an unusually mild winter.  At 2:28 p.m. ET on Monday, Brent crude was trading up 1.05% at $82.67, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was trading up 1.66% at $78.64.  On Sunday, OPEC+ agreed to extend its 2.2-million-barrel/day voluntary production cuts for another quarter, with this outcome already having been priced…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/WTI-Sheds-Over-16-As-Demand-Trumps-Everything-Else.html

Kyrgyzstan Eyes Uranium Mining Restart and New Nuclear Power Plant

Kyrgyzstan’s decision to ban uranium mining in 2019 was a hard-won victory for civil society and an acknowledgement of the tortured environmental legacy of industry during the Soviet era. But Kyrgyz officials are now calling for the ban to be lifted, as populist President Sadyr Japarov continues his pursuit of state-led production in the extractive industries that he first championed more than a decade ago as an opposition politician. And while the head of state eyes a new cash cow, other officials are speaking excitedly about a development…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Nuclear-Power/Kyrgyzstan-Eyes-Uranium-Mining-Restart-and-New-Nuclear-Power-Plant.html

Exxon, Petronas Set to Extend Exploration Offshore Suriname

Exxon and Malaysia’s state-run Petronas will extend exploration for a gas discovery off the coast of Suriname, the country’s national oil company, Staatsolie, said on Monday.  Eyeing a repeat of the huge oil and gas success in the same basin offshore Guyana, explorers in Suriname are also reportedly considering a floating LNG project.  Exploration in Suriname has not been as successful, so far, as Guyana. Exxon and Petronas made a gas discovery in 2020 in Block 52 that was considered commercially unattractive, while discoveries…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Exxon-Petronas-Set-to-Extend-Exploration-Offshore-Suriname.html

UK Windfarm Fined for Breaching Energy Market Rules

A windfarm on the land owned by a disgraced former City financier and conservative party donor has been slapped with a fine for overcharging customers. Energy watchdog Ofgem today said that it has served the electricity generator at Dorenell Windfarm in Scotland with a £5.53m fine for “a breach of energy market rules.” The body said that the prices set by Dorenell Windfarm Limited (DWL) “did not properly reflect the financial benefits” of reducing its output related to avoided payments that otherwise would have been…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Wind-Power/UK-Windfarm-Fined-for-Breaching-Energy-Market-Rules.html

UK Set to Extend Oil & Gas Windfall Tax This Week

The UK windfall tax on energy firm profits is expected to be extended by another year to 2029 this week during the annual budget speech later this week, Reuters reported Monday, citing unnamed industry sources who had been privately briefed on the matter.  The report comes shortly after crisis talks organized by oil and gas producers in the UK in late February, where they discussed the potential “hammer blow” impact on production, dividends and industry jobs.  On Wednesday, British Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt is expected…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/UK-Set-to-Extend-Oil-Gas-Windfall-Tax-This-Week.html

Startups and Big Oil Use Fracking Tech To Unlock Geothermal Energy

Big Oil is using its deep pockets and expertise in well geology to back and partner with energy startups that are looking to unlock renewable energy from beneath the earth’s surface. Geothermal energy, which has been around for decades, has received new momentum with the net-zero targets of many economies, including the United States.   Some of the biggest oil and gas firms, including Chevron, BP, and Devon Energy, are investing directly in geothermal projects and startups. And some of the newly created geothermal companies are using…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Geothermal-Energy/Startups-and-Big-Oil-Use-Fracking-Tech-To-Unlock-Geothermal-Energy.html

Low Refining Capacity and Sanctions Responsible for Russia’s Oil Output Cuts

Russia’s announcement that it would focus on cuts to oil production instead of exports in its voluntary supply reduction within OPEC+ in the second quarter could be the result of lower refining capacity in Q2 and stricter enforcement of the sanctions on its crude exports, analysts have told Reuters. At the end of last year, Russia said it would deepen the export cut to 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the first quarter of 2024 – with May and June 2023 being the reference export levels for the cut. The cut this quarter…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Low-Refining-Capacity-and-Sanctions-Responsible-for-Russias-Oil-Output-Cuts.html

Middle East Green Hydrogen Gains Momentum

More than 350 industry professionals gathered in Dubai last week to give hydrogen a reality check. It became apparent during two days of discussions that, as a future fuel for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), hydrogen will not be easy to establish. The flurry of project announcements over the past few years has slowed and few have reached financing. “As we’ve heard, there’s a lull,” said one speaker at World Hydrogen MENA.  A sense of hard work ahead seemed to prevail. Yet there was general agreement that the…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Fuel-Cells/Middle-East-Green-Hydrogen-Gains-Momentum.html

India Expects $5 Billion Investment in Natural Gas Pipelines in North

India expects companies to invest nearly $5 billion in a network of natural gas pipelines in its northern and northeastern states and federal territories, including Kashmir, India’s Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, said on Monday.   Companies are expected to invest $4.95 billion (410 billion Indian rupees) in the construction of a network of pipelines in northern India as the country looks to boost the residential and industrial use of natural gas in the coming decades, Puri said at an event, as quoted…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/India-Expects-5-Billion-Investment-in-Natural-Gas-Pipelines-in-North.html

Geoengineering: 3 Novel Ways To Artificially Alter The Climate

Global temperatures are currently increasing at a faster clip than at any time in the last 2 million years. This has fueled record-breaking heat waves, wildfires and droughts, and has also intensified weather patterns.  Scientists have repeatedly declared that the best way to slow climate change is by cutting back greenhouse emissions by switching to low-carbon energy sources like solar and wind; however, a growing number of countries are exploring geoengineering, the large-scale modification of Earth’s climate, as a faster…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Geoengineering-3-Novel-Ways-To-Artificially-Alter-The-Climate.html

The EU Wants Fossil Fuel Firms to Contribute to Climate Fund

Oil and gas companies could be a source of additional funding for a UN climate financing to help developing economies cope with the consequences of climate change, according to a draft EU document seen by Reuters. After failing so far to establish a clear-cut framework of how much wealthy developed nations should contribute to a fund to help developing economies, the next COP summit in Azerbaijan at the end of this year is seen as the deadline for reaching some kind of a deal.    The COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan,…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/The-EU-Wants-Fossil-Fuel-Firms-to-Contribute-to-Climate-Fund.html

Analysts Forecast “Lower for Longer” Prices in LNG Market

The beginning of the Russian-Ukraine war in early 2022 led to a significant tightening in global liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies as Europe replaced lost Russian LNG with supplies from the US. Currently, LNG markets are stabilizing and, according to one commodity desk, could enter an oversupply period in 2025. In a note to clients, a team of analysts led by Ehsan Khoman, who is in charge of the commodities research desk at MUFG Bank, said the global LNG market is on the verge of transitioning from tight to oversupplied:  When factoring…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/Analysts-Forecast-Lower-for-Longer-Prices-in-LNG-Market.html

Energy Commissioner: EU Can’t Close Border to Solar Panel Imports

Despite the struggles of the EU solar manufacturing industry faced with cheap Chinese panels, the bloc cannot close its borders to cheap solar imports, according to European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson.   “There are different proposals how we can support our industry, but clearly we cannot close our borders because we need solar panels,” Simson said on Monday, ahead of a meeting of the EU energy ministers, who are set to discuss possible support to EU solar manufacturing companies.   “We have…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Energy-Commissioner-EU-Cant-Close-Border-to-Solar-Panel-Imports.html

U.S. Northeast Gasoline Reserve Could Be Sold Off

The U.S. could sell off its 1-million-barrel Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve in the fiscal year of 2024, a funding bill up for discussion at U.S. Congress says. Under the draft text of the bill, “the Secretary of Energy shall draw down and sell one million barrels of refined petroleum product from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve during fiscal year 2024.”   “Upon the completion of such sale, the Secretary shall carry out the closure of the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve,” says the bill. Furthermore, one of the provisions…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/US-Northeast-Gasoline-Reserve-Could-Be-Sold-Off.html

Bitcoin tops $67,000 as it nears 2021 all-time high

The price of bitcoin surged to start the week, edging even closer to its all-time high after the rally took a breather over the weekend.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/04/crypto-market-today.html

Some NYCB deposits may be a flight risk after Moody’s downgrades ratings again

Moody’s slashed one of New York Community Bank’s key ratings for the second time in a month.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/04/some-nycb-deposits-may-be-at-risk-after-another-moodys-downgrade.html

Stock rally stalls as week begins, Nasdaq falls from record despite Nvidia gain: Live updates

The S&P 500 was little changed, while the Nasdaq slipped.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/03/stock-market-today-live-updates.html

Supreme Court rules states can’t remove Trump from presidential election ballot

The Colorado Supreme Court barred Donald Trump from the Republican primary ballot, saying he incited insurrection to challenge the election of Joe Biden.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/04/supreme-court-rules-in-trump-colorado-ballot-case.html

Money market funds saw record inflows even as stocks continued their climb to fresh highs

Money market funds, which have yields still above 5%, saw total assets hit $6.06 trillion for the week ended Feb. 28, said the Investment Company Institute.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/04/money-market-funds-saw-record-inflows-even-as-stocks-continued-their-climb-to-fresh-highs.html

Ford sales jump 10.5% in February, led by gains in hybrids and EVs

Ford Motor’s U.S. sales jumped 10.5% last month compared to February 2023, led by increases in its hybrid and all-electric vehicles sales.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/04/ford-february-sales-hybrids-evs.html

JetBlue, Spirit end $3.8 billion merger agreement after losing antitrust suit

JetBlue and Spirit Airlines had appealed a federal judge’s decision to block their merger earlier in January.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/04/jetblue-spirit-airlines-merger-called-off.html

Bitcoin inches closer to all-time high as cryptocurrency tests $67,000: 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, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce discusses what needs to change for regulating crypto in the U.S. from ETHDenver.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2024/03/04/bitcoin-inches-closer-all-time-high-cryptocurrency-tests-67000-cnbc-crypto-world.html

Apple announces new MacBook Air laptops with its latest M3 chip

Apple on Monday announced new versions of its 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air laptops with its latest M3 chip.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/04/apple-announces-new-macbook-airs-with-its-latest-m3-chip.html

Apple hit with more than $1.95 billion EU antitrust fine over music streaming

The European Commission alleges Apple has abused its dominant position in the market for the distribution of music streaming apps.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/04/apple-hit-with-more-than-1point95-billion-eu-antitrust-fine-over-music-streaming.html

Tour this $24 million mansion in Delray Beach, Florida, where home prices have doubled

The mansion is located in Stone Creek Ranch, a gated community that’s home to billionaire hedge fund manager Steven Cohen and NFL star Khalil Mack.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/04/tour-24-million-mansion-in-delray-beach-florida.html

Zuckerberg, Rihanna and Bill Gates were among guests at lavish bash for son of Asia’s richest man

Tech executives including Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates attended a lavish three-day pre-wedding celebration for the son of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/04/anant-ambanis-pre-wedding-rihanna-gates-and-zuckerberg-at-lavish-bash.html

SpaceX-backed startup says preorders for its $300,000 futuristic flying car have reached 2,850

Alef Aeronautics said preorders for its two-seater flying car, the Alef Model A, hit a fresh record, taking its total order value to date to over $850 million.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/04/flying-car-firm-alef-hits-2850-preorders-worth-over-850-million.html

Powell To Face Pressure On Rates From Democrats, Bank Rules From Republicans

Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

Fed Chair Jerome Powell meets with Congress this week. He will face pressure on two different fronts.

Image courtesy of Mortgage News Daily, annotations by Mish

Pressure on Two FrontsBloomberg reports Powell to Face Pressure on Rates From Democrats, Bank Rules From Republicans

The Fed chair heads to Capitol Hill on Wednesday and Thursday for his semiannual testimony before Congress, two years after the central bank began its aggressive battle against surging inflation. With the economy powering along and inflation inching toward the Fed’s sweet spot, …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/powell-face-pressure-rates-democrats-bank-rules-republicans

FAA Finds Non-Compliance Issues In Boeing’s 737 Max Manufacturing Program

The Federal Aviation Administration’s six-week audit of the clowns running Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems has revealed “multiple instances where the companies allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements.”

The non-compliance issues were found in the Boeing 737 Max program’s manufacturing process control, parts handling and storage, and product control, the FAA said, adding these details have been released to the public as an investigation is ongoing following the near-catastrophic accident when a door plug ripped off an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 plane earlier this year.

The audit is one of the immediate oversight actions the FAA took after a left mid-cabin door plug blew out of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on January 5 while in flight. At a meeting at FAA Headquarters in Washington, DC, last week, Administrator Mike Whitaker informed Boeing’s CEO and other senior leaders that the company must address the audit’s findings as part of its comprehensive corrective action plan to fix systemic quality-control issues. The plan must also address the findings from the expert review panel report that examined Boeing’s safety culture. The FAA has given Boeing 90 days to outline its action plan. -FAA

While Boeing is held accountable for quality control issues that led to the 737 Max 9 plug door mishap, the FAA has halted production expansion of the Max jet.

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/faa-finds-non-compliance-issues-boeings-737-max-manufacturing-program

Good Story Versus Bad Valuations

Authored by Will Denyer via Evergreen Gavekal blog,

In the run-up to Nvidia’s earnings release late Wednesday, there was a palpable concern in the market that the AI boom’s flagship would disappoint lofty expectations; what is now Wall Street’s most heavily traded stock traded -2% down during the afternoon session. And then Nvidia did it again, exceeding expectations in terms of revenue, earnings and forward guidance. The stock promptly jumped 9% in after-hours trading, which helped to lift Nasdaq futures by 1.5%. And the bullish sentiment spread to Asia Thursday morning, where after a 34-year wait Japan’s Nikkei 225 finally edged above its December 1989 record high.

With the terminals a sea of green, the obvious question for investors is the one Louis raised a couple of weeks ago—will markets in general, and US growth stocks in particular, continue to Party Like It’s 1999? Or are we heading for a 2000-style crunch?

Put differently, will a good story be overcome by bad valuations?

In the late 1990s, the story was that the internet was going to generate exceptional earnings growth for companies in tech, media, and telecoms. The TMT bubble inflated until by early 2000 the prospective earnings yield on US growth stocks was pitiful, both in absolute terms and when compared to the real yields in US fixed income (whether bon …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/good-story-versus-bad-valuations

House Dems Implode Over Supreme Court Decision; Raskin Crafting Legislation To Bar Trump From Ballot

Update (1400ET): Not satisfied to let the Supreme Court-enforced Democratic process play out, House Democrats are now preparing legislation to try and keep Trump off the ballot.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) (we think? Not sure… Maybe not.)”Congress will have to try and act,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, in a comment to creepy deep state mouthpiece Axios (which swears the border is extra-secure!).

Raskin, a former member of the

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/supreme-court-rules-trump-remain-presidential-ballots

UK economy is on the right track, claims Sunak

The government is preparing for the Budget which may include tax cuts but also a squeeze on spending.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68470149

Apple fined €1.8bn for breaking streaming rules

It comes after Spotify complained about a block on telling users about cheaper alternatives to app store.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-68467752

When is the Budget and what will it mean for my money?

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is reportedly mulling higher duty on business travel to pay for tax cuts.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68359756

Tech View: Nifty forms Doji candle on charts. What traders should do on Tuesday

Nifty ended 27 points higher above the 22,400 level on Monday to form an indecisive Doji candle on the daily charts.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/tech-view-nifty-forms-doji-candle-on-charts-what-traders-should-do-on-tuesday/articleshow/108208967.cms

Virat Kohli-backed Go Digit among three IPOs approved by Sebi

Digit’s IPO has hit multiple hurdles over compliance issues, which delayed approval for the public offer. Sebi had returned the draft offer document twice as the regulator raised concerns over share issuance.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/ipos/fpos/virat-kohli-backed-go-digit-among-three-ipos-approved-by-sebi/articleshow/108212199.cms

Hot Stocks: Brokerages view on HDFC Bank, Apollo Hospitals, M&M and Tata Steel

Brokerage house CLSA maintained an underperform tag on JSPL but raised the target price to Rs 840 from Rs 820 earlier, while it downgraded Tata Steel to sell from outperform and slashed the target price to Rs 135 from Rs 145.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/hot-stocks-brokerages-view-on-hdfc-bank-apollo-hospitals-mm-and-tata-steel/articleshow/108195308.cms

Dow Jones ends lower as investors await Powell testimony

U.S. stocks ended lower on Monday, pausing a rally after the S&P 500 logged its 16th winning week out of the last 18 and investors awaited a busy week that features congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and all-important jobs data.

Read more at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/s-p-500-futures-pause-after-another-record-setting-session-f86fa140?mod=mw_rss_topstories

Norfolk Southern slams activist calling for CEO’s firing following train derailment

Norfolk Southern Corp. has slammed the activist investor calling for the firing of the railroad operator’s CEO after a derailment Saturday in eastern Pennsylvania involving three of the company’s trains.

Read more at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/norfolk-southern-slams-activist-calling-for-ceos-firing-following-train-derailment-8e710bc2?mod=mw_rss_topstories

AMD’s stock continues its march higher as AI cheers build

AMD projects it will generate upwards of $3.5 billion in revenue this year from data-center GPUs. Barclays is feeling even more upbeat.

Read more at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/amds-stock-continues-its-march-higher-as-ai-cheers-build-a4328779?mod=mw_rss_topstories