China’s Solar Power Dominance Threatens Western Clean Energy Dreams

China is doubling down on solar power production, making the West’s chances of catching up even slimmer. China has been outspending the rest of the world in clean energy deployment for years now, out-investing other economic superpowers by a factor of four. Not only is the window closing for the United States and Europe to produce solar energy competitively in China, the West is increasingly dependent on imports of Chinese clean energy components and raw materials for their own renewable energy expansion strategies.  In 2023 China…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Chinas-Solar-Power-Dominance-Threatens-Western-Clean-Energy-Dreams.html

Biden Charges Forward With Historic Auto Emission Crackdown

Despite pretty much the entire country making it clear that EV mandates are hurting the industry (with major automakers like Ford and GM slashing investment), President Biden is forging forward with his “green agenda” even further. This go-round, Biden is “preparing to roll out the toughest-ever” emissions restrictions, according to Bloomberg.  The report says that the Environmental Protection Agency is poised to implement emissions limits that (Biden thinks) could significantly boost electric vehicle sales, requiring EVs to constitute about…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/The-Environment/Global-Warming/Biden-Charges-Forward-With-Historic-Auto-Emission-Crackdown.html

Europe Gas Prices To Fall Throughout 2024 Amid High Storage Levels

Gas prices in Europe could plunge as low as $6.70 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) this summer thanks to a mild winter and ample gas inventories, Wood Mackenzie has said in a new report.  The report states that gas markets kicked off the current year on a more bullish note as colder weather swept through Europe while industrial demand maintained its recovering trend, increasing 12% year-on-year in January and around 6% in February.  WoodMac has forecast that household gas demand in Europe will increase by 12 billion cu m…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Europe-Gas-Prices-To-Fall-Throughout-2024-Amid-High-Storage-Levels.html

What Does Putin’s Re-Election Mean for the World?

This we can say with high confidence: Vladimir Putin will be declared the victor of the now ongoing three-day election, ushering in another six years as Russia’s president. There’s less confidence in what comes next, but there are strong clues: more men for the Ukraine war, new taxes to fund the war, new personnel shuffling within the Kremlin, new threats for NATO, and new repression of dissent. The strongest clues came in Putin’s state-of-the-nation speech last month. Above all, says Tatyana Stanovaya, a veteran expert of Russian politics, was…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/International/What-Does-Putins-Re-Election-Mean-for-the-World.html

Is a Copper Crisis Coming? Prices Hit New Highs on Smelter Cuts

Via Metal Miner   By mid-March, copper prices hit their highest level since April 2023. Prices previously found a bottom in early February before strong upside momentum saw them topple previous peaks within their long-term sideways trend. While prices clocked a moderate1.74% month-over-month decline throughout February, they rose 4.12% during the first two weeks of March. Overall, the Copper Monthly Metals Index (MMI) remained sideways, with a modest 0.55% decline from February to March. Copper Ore Shortage Forces Smelter Cuts Long-awaited…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Metals/Commodities/Is-a-Copper-Crisis-Coming-Prices-Hit-New-Highs-on-Smelter-Cuts.html

U.S. Gasoline Prices Rise for Third Consecutive Week

With gasoline demand rising, U.S. gasoline prices increased last week for a third week in a row, up by 4.4 cents from a week ago to an average $3.44 per gallon, GasBuddy said on Monday. As of today, the national average is up 18.7 cents from a month ago and 1.6 cents per gallon higher than a year ago, according to GasBuddy, which has compiled price data from more than 12 million individual price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations.   Ongoing refinery maintenance and the switch to the more expensive summer-blend gasoline…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/US-Gasoline-Prices-Rise-for-Third-Consecutive-Week.html

AI Infiltrates Oil Industry To Speed Up Drilling, Cut Costs

Many tech analysts have accused the oil industry of being too slow to adopt new technology. Yet the industry is itself the source of much technological progress in its narrow, specialized field. Over the past ten years, however, oil and gas have started to open up for digital technology and automation. In fact, the energy industry has very much embraced all things digital and AI. And now, these technologies are helping it produce more oil and gas for less money. Bloomberg recently reported how the oil industry was using artificial intelligence…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/AI-Infiltrates-Oil-Industry-To-Speed-Up-Drilling-Cut-Costs.html

CNOOC Makes Another Major Oil Discovery Offshore China

CNOOC Limited has made a major oilfield discovery in the Bohai Sea offshore China, with more than 100 million tons of oil equivalent of in-place volume proved, the Chinese state-held oil and gas giant said on Monday, days after announcing a sizeable discovery in the South China Sea.    The Bohai Sea discovery, dubbed Qinhuangdao 27-3 Oilfield, is located in the north-central waters of the Bohai Sea, at an average water depth of approximately 25 meters (82 ft). The oil is medium to heavy, according to the Chinese oil giant. The…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/CNOOC-Makes-Another-Major-Oil-Discovery-Offshore-China.html

Norway Launches Its First Offshore Wind Auction

Norway launched early on Monday local time its debut offshore wind auction, targeting up to 1.5 gigawatts (GW) of power capacity in the North Sea south of its coasts. “I hope for a good auction with several strong players who want to develop offshore wind at Soerlige Nordsjoe II,” Astrid Bergmål, State Secretary in the Norwegian Energy Ministry, told Reuters ahead of the auction start on Monday.    Norway, whose first area up for grabs for offshore wind development, Soerlige Nordsjoe II, is close to Denmark,…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Wind-Power/Norway-Launches-Its-First-Offshore-Wind-Auction.html

Nations Divided Over Fees on Shipping Industry Emissions

Nearly 50 countries, including the EU, Canada, and Pacific island nations most affected by climate change, are proposing a fee on carbon emissions in the shipping industry, while others are opposed to such charges, according to documents from ongoing talks reviewed by Reuters. The United Nations agency, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), is holding this month’s meetings to discuss ways of cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships, including talks on economic GHG pricing mechanisms and technical fuel standards. In 2022,…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Nations-Divided-Over-Fees-on-Shipping-Industry-Emissions.html

New Technology Is Fueling America’s Oil Boom

In mid-December, I wrote here that the U.S. had set a new annual oil production record:   “The U.S. set a new annual oil production record on December 15, based on data from the Energy Information Administration. Although the official monthly numbers from the EIA won’t be released for a couple of months, we can calculate that a new record has been set based on the following analysis.” I could project that new record based on the weekly production numbers from the EIA, but I noted that official confirmation wouldn’t…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/New-Technology-Is-Fueling-Americas-Oil-Boom.html

China Poised to Import Record-High Crude Oil Volumes From Russia

China is expected to import record-high oil volumes from Russia in March as the world’s top crude importer is mopping up cargoes shunned by India, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing tanker-tracking data from Kpler.   China is expected to welcome this month as much as 1.7 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude from Russia as refiners are on track to import record-high volumes of the Russian grade Sokol, from which India has been shying away recently.   Chinese imports of Sokol are expected to hit a record high of 379,000…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/China-Poised-to-Import-Record-High-Crude-Oil-Volumes-From-Russia.html

Germany Signs LNG Supply Deal With ADNOC

Germany’s state-controlled firm Securing Energy for Europe (Sefe) has signed a deal with ADNOC, under which Abu Dhabi’s national oil company will supply LNG to Germany for 15 years beginning in 2028. ADNOC signed the 15-year Heads of Agreement with Sefe for the delivery of 1 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG), the UAE’s state energy firm said on Monday. LNG deliveries will be made from ADNOC’s Ruwais LNG project, which is currently under development in Al Ruwais Industrial City,…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Germany-Signs-LNG-Supply-Deal-with-the-UAE.html

Venture Global Buys Nine Vessels to Transport LNG

Venture Global LNG is buying nine ships to transport liquefied natural gas as it seeks to boost global sales of the super-chilled fuel, the U.S. LNG provider said on Sunday.   The nine vessels will also be LNG-powered and primarily fueled by Venture Global’s liquefied natural gas, the company said. The new fleet of LNG vessels is currently under construction in South Korea and will be delivered starting later this year. Six vessels will have a cargo capacity of 174,000 cubic meters and three a cargo capacity of 200,000 cubic meters.…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Venture-Global-Buys-Nine-Vessels-to-Transport-LNG.html

China Launches $4 Billion Power Transmission and Storage Project

China has started the construction of a $3.9-billion electricity transmission and storage project aimed at enhancing the resilience of its grid, which has come to rely heavily on wind and solar generation capacity. According to a Bloomberg report, the project involves building a transmission line of over 1,000 km, or 664 miles, across three provinces and its connection to a pumped hydro storage site. The transmission line will carry electricity produced from wind and solar installations backed up by coal. China installed a record-high solar…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/China-Launches-4-Billion-Power-Transmission-and-Storage-Project.html

Stocks close higher as tech rebounds, S&P snaps three-day losing streak: Live updates

Stocks rose as Wall Street awaited a key AI conference and looked ahead to monetary policy guidance from the Federal Reserve later this week.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/17/stock-futures-are-little-changed-as-investors-await-fresh-fed-guidance-live-updates.html

Saudi Aramco CEO says energy transition is failing, world should abandon ‘fantasy’ of phasing out oil

The CEO said alternative energy sources have been unable to displace hydrocarbons at scale, despite the world investing more than $9.5 trillion.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/18/saudi-aramco-ceo-says-energy-transition-is-failing-give-up-fantasy-of-phasing-out-oil.html

Audi reveals new all-electric Q6 e-tron SUV, its first next-generation EV

Ordering for the Q6 e-tron quattro will open this month in Europe, starting at 74,400 euros, or about $81,000.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/18/audi-reveals-all-electric-q6-e-tron-suv.html

What are the chances Nvidia can continue its parabolic gain? Let’s look at stock market history

A look at past stocks to gain 200% in a single year and their performance in the next year.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/18/what-are-the-chances-nvidia-can-continue-its-parabolic-gain-lets-look-at-stock-market-history.html

Battleground stocks: Wall Street is most divided on these names

Analysts are becoming increasingly divided on names such as Tesla and IBM — names that have caused buzz but have begun to falter amid this year’s market rally.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/18/battleground-stocks-wall-street-is-most-divided-on-these-names.html

Bitcoin slips further below $68,000, adding to weekend losses: 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, Jason Urban, global head of trading at Galaxy Digital, explains what’s driving bitcoin’s price further below $70,000 after reaching new all-time highs over the past couple of weeks.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2024/03/18/bitcoin-slips-further-below-68000-adding-weekend-losses-cnbc-crypto-world.html

Elon Musk suggests his prescription ketamine use is good for investors

“From an investor standpoint, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO said, “if there is something I’m taking, I should keep taking it.”

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/18/elon-musk-suggests-his-prescription-ketamine-use-is-good-for-investors.html

Tesla shares gain after Model Y price hike in U.S., Europe

Shares of Tesla popped after the EV automaker announced price increases for its Model Y across some European countries and the United States.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/18/tesla-shares-gain-after-model-y-price-hike-in-us-europe-.html

YouTuber MrBeast teams up with Amazon’s MGM Studios for ‘biggest reality competition series ever’

Jimmy Donaldson, also known as MrBeast on the internet, on Monday announced a new reality competition show in collaboration with Amazon MGM Studios.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/18/youtuber-mrbeast-teams-up-with-amazons-mgm-studios-for-new-series.html

Homebuilder sentiment turns positive for the first time since July

Homebuilders are seeing better demand despite stubbornly high interest rates.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/18/homebuilder-sentiment-turns-positive-for-the-first-time-since-july.html

Trump can’t secure $454 million appeal bond in New York fraud case, his lawyers say

Donald Trump is challenging a New York business fraud judgment and defamation verdicts in favor of E. Jean Carroll as he campaigns against President Joe Biden.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/18/trump-cant-secure-454-million-appeal-bond-in-new-york-fraud-case-his-lawyers-say.html

Elon Musk says Trump ‘came by’ while he was eating breakfast, did not ask for money

Trump did not ask for a donation to his campaign, Musk said.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/18/elon-musk-says-trump-came-by-a-breakfast-did-not-ask-for-money.html

Border-funding battle snags budget talks in Congress with shutdown days away

Congress has until Friday at midnight to pass six spending bills and avert a government shutdown.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/18/shutdown-border-funding-battle-snags-congress-budget-talks.html

“We’re One Event Away From A 1970s-Style Stagflation Explosion…”

Excerpted from ‘The Turning Point’ report via Larry MacDonald’s TheBearTrapsReport.com,

We hear the comparisons more and more; they are growing louder by the week.

“The years 2023-2024 look a lot like 1973-1974.”

The history books remind us,1973’s oil embargo shook the global energy market. It also reset geopolitics, reordered the global economy, and a multipolar world saw energy weaponized. After kissing 6% in 1970, in Q1 of 1973, inflation as measured by CPI danced just below 4%, much like today, central bankers were doing the Michael Jackson moonwalk in celebratory form. Then, in bloodcurdling fashion in late 1974, CPI breached 12%.

“Don’t be silly, 1973 was a far different set up,” we are told.

When it comes to demand on a global stage, 2024 is 2x 1973.

Above all, the U.S. is the largest producer of oil in 2024, not as was the case in 1973, when she was the world’s largest petroleum importer.

At the time, oil was 50% of world energy consumption vs. 1/3 today.

There is just one overwhelming difference today.

In the last 8 weeks, we have seen drone technology knock out

a) parts of Russia’s second largest airport,

b) at least three of Putin’s prize oil refineries,

and c) countless ships in the Suez Canal.

Weaponizing oil in a multipolar world is exponentially more uncertain with James Cameron calling t …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/were-one-event-away-1970s-style-stagflation-explosion

Sens. Scott, Rubio Call For Plan To Handle Influx Of Haitian Migrants

Florida Republican Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio have called on the Biden administration to produce a plan to deal with a potential influx of Haitian migrants into the United States as political and social unrest intensifies in the Caribbean country.

Residents flee their homes to escape clashes between armed gangs in the Carrefour-Feuilles district of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Aug. 15, 2023. (The Canadian Press/AP-Odelyn Joseph)

In a Friday letter to Biden, the senators suggested that the administration’s current open-border policy could lead to mass migration from Haiti into the United States, and have a “direct negative impact on American families.”

“Floridians and the rest of the American public will not tolerate your administration again opening the floodgates for countless, unvetted foreign nationals to stream into our country, putting our national security at grave risk and creating untold public sa …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/sens-scott-rubio-call-plan-handle-influx-haitian-migrants

Trump Says Putting Forward $464 Million Bond “Impossible” In NY Appeal

Authored by Catherine Yang via The Epoch Times,

Attorneys for former President Donald Trump urged a New York appeals court again on March 18 to remove or lower the $464 million bond President Trump must pay in less than a week as he tries to appeal a more than $350 million judgment from a civil fraud case.

“Enforcing an impossible bond requirement as a condition of appeal would inflict manifest irreparable injury on Defendants, and ‘defeat or impair [this Court’s] appellate jurisdiction,’” they argued.

The New York Attorney General’s office, which brought the civil fraud lawsuit, argued the appeals court had no authority to do so, while the defense pointed to other cases where it was found appropriate. The bond President Trump would have to put up would include backdated interest at 9 percent, adding another $100 million to the court ordered fine, which defense attorneys say has been improperly classified as disgorgement of ill-gotten gains.

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/trump-says-putting-forward-464-million-bond-impossible-ny-appeal

Watch Live: Nvidia CEO’s Keynote Speech, The “Week’s Most Important Event”

As we wrote in our weekly preview note earlier, while this week is chock-full of central bank announcements, including a historic rate hike by the BOJ which will also be ending its YCC and purchases of ETFs, all eyes are on Nvidia which has two key events this week, the first of which may be even more market-moving than the central bank announcements. We are talking about NVIDIA hosting the world’s largest and most important conference centered around AI, its GTC (Graphics Technology Conference), where CEO Jensen Huang will talk about the next innovations in the segment and unveil the next generation of GPUs powering the latest cloud and data center markets.

For those unfamiliar, NVIDIA is hosting its latest episode of GTC today at 4pm (right at the market close) and what makes 2024’s GTC special is the fact that the company has seen huge successes from the AI segment when it comes to its financial performance. Starting with its Volta V100 GPU family up to the latest Ampere A100 and Hopper H100 chips, the company is the official king of AI.

But at the same time, the market is heating up with competition hitting back on both the hardware and software sides. Keeping that in mind, this GTC, NVIDIA is not only going to respond to its competi …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/weeks-most-important-event-nvidia-ceo-jensen-huangs-speech-4pm-et-it-sell-news-trigger

Tata shutting down ovens over stability concerns

Steel unions say they have known of concerns about the condition of the coke ovens for some time.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-68600179

Fraud trial of British tech tycoon begins in US

Autonomy founder Mike Lynch is accused of fraudulently inflating the value of his software firm.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68599243

New mortgage deals being pulled within days

Homeowners and buyers have more choice than at any time for 16 years but little time to make up their minds.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68574065

These 10 stocks have maximum number of ‘sell’ calls from analysts

These 10 stocks have the maximum number of sell calls from analysts, according to Trendlyne data.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/these-10-stocks-have-maximum-number-of-sell-calls-from-analysts/slideshow/108594353.cms

Portfolios need to have mid and smallcaps to capture the breadth of India opportunity: Radhika Gupta

Radhika Gupta advises investors to balance mid and smallcap holdings with multi-cap funds, anticipating a shift in flows. Emphasizing liquidity monitoring and diversified portfolios, she advocates for long-term growth and improved investor experience in the industry.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/expert-view/portfolios-need-to-have-mid-and-smallcaps-to-capture-the-breadth-of-india-opportunity-radhika-gupta/articleshow/108585591.cms

Tech View: Nifty forms small positive candle. What traders should do on Tuesday

The short-term trend of Nifty remains positive with range-bound action. A decisive break below the support of 21,900-21,850 is likely to drag the index down to 21,500 levels in a quick period.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/tech-view-nifty-forms-small-positive-candle-what-traders-should-do-on-tuesday/articleshow/108591780.cms

These older tech companies are playing catch-up in genAI

Apple’s move to license Google’s Gemini for some new AI features on its iOS operating system underscores the urgency of partnering with a generative-AI leader on the fast-moving technology.

Read more at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/these-older-tech-companies-are-playing-catch-up-in-genai-adfb2835?mod=mw_rss_topstories

Odds of a June rate cut by Fed slip below 50%, according to this gauge

In the run-up to Wednesday’s policy update by the Federal Reserve, traders in overnight index swaps gravitated toward a less-than-50% likelihood that policy makers will deliver their first interest-rate cut in June.

Read more at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/odds-of-a-june-rate-cut-by-fed-slip-below-50-according-to-this-gauge-be6cb280?mod=mw_rss_topstories

Here’s the reality about the mutual funds and ETFs that beat the stock market in 2023

One good year doesn’t make a trend.

Read more at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-the-reality-about-the-mutual-funds-and-etfs-that-beat-the-stock-market-in-2023-6f3913c9?mod=mw_rss_topstories