13 SEPT 2024 Market Close & Major Financial Headlines: Wall Street Market’s Opened Fractionally Higher, Trended Upward, Closing Moderately Higher

Next-Gen Nuclear Power: Oracle’s Solution for Energy-Hungry AI

Oracle chairman Larry Ellison announced this week that AI’s growing electricity demand is pushing Oracle to consider next-gen nuclear power. During an earnings call, Ellison said the company is designing a data center that will need over a gigawatt of electricity, which would be supplied by three small nuclear reactors, according to CNBC.  Ellison revealed that Oracle’s planned data center would be powered by small modular nuclear reactors, which already have building permits. He didn’t disclose the location but highlighted the growing energy…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Nuclear-Power/Next-Gen-Nuclear-Power-Oracles-Solution-for-Energy-Hungry-AI.html

U.S. Oil and Gas Rig Count Jumps

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States rose substantially this week, bucking the recent downward trend, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday. The total rig count rose by 8 to 590 this week, compared to 641 rigs this same time last year. The number of oil rigs rose by 5 this week after staying the same in the three weeks prior. Oil rigs now stand at 488—down by 27 compared to this time last year. The number of gas rigs rose by 3 this week to 97, a loss of 24 active gas rigs from…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/US-Oil-and-Gas-Rig-Count-Jumps.html

Ecopetrol and Petrobras Must Halt Drilling Gas Well

Ecopetrol and Petrobras must cease drilling an offshore natural gas well, A Colombian judge ordered on Friday. The ruling came after Indigenous blowback regarding consent. The complaint, made by Indigenous members in the Taganga community, argues that the community’s consent wasn’t requested before drilling commenced. The well, known as the Uchuva-2 well, is operated by state-run oil company Petrobras, which has a 44.4% stake. Ecopetrol holds 55.6%, Colombia’s economy is growing increasingly reliant on natural gas imports as its…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Ecopetrol-and-Petrobras-Must-Halt-Drilling-Gas-Well.html

Oil Prices Lifted by Ongoing Supply Disruptions

Crude prices recovered on Friday, breaking the four-week losing streak in oil, with WTI rising to $70 per barrel. Friday, September 13, 2024 Hurricane Francine helped oil prices edge higher after bearish sentiment overtook the market, taking off some 700,000 b/d of oil supply from the market, even if for several days. A large amount of Libyan production remains shut-in after UN-brokered talks have collapsed, meaning supply disruptions now total 1.5 million b/d already. However, with China pessimism hitting its apex in the entire post-pandemic period,…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Oil-Prices-Lifted-by-Ongoing-Supply-Disruptions.html

Dutch City The Hague Is World’s First Banning Oil and Air Travel Ads

The Hague has just become the first city in the world to ban oil ads and ads for large energy-consuming industries including air travel and cruise ships.  The Hague, whose city council on Friday adopted the proposal to ban these ads from January 1, 2025, is the Netherlands’ administrative center, where the Parliament, the Supreme Court, and several major international courts are based.    The city is the world’s first to adopt such a ban, after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres earlier this year called on governments…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Dutch-City-The-Hague-Is-Worlds-First-Banning-Oil-and-Air-Travel-Ads.html

Macquarie Sees “Heavy Surplus” for Oil in 2025, Cuts Oil Price Forecast

Weaker-than-expected demand is set to tip the oil market into a surplus over the next five quarters, Macquarie said in a Friday note as it lowered its Brent and WTI oil forecasts for the rest of the year. “As we enter shoulder and turnaround season, the ‘last hurrah’ for oil in the form of Q3 tightness is quickly fading as our balances contemplate heavy oversupply across the next five quarters,” according to the Macquarie note cited by BOEreport.com.   The bank revised down its forecast for Brent Crude price by $2 per…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/Macquarie-Sees-Heavy-Surplus-for-Oil-in-2025-Cuts-Oil-Price-Forecast.html

Libyan Oil Production Plummets as Political Crisis Persists

Crude oil exports from Libya have further fallen in the past week as UN-mediated talks between the rival governments haven’t resulted yet in a definitive agreement on the leadership of the country’s central bank, the sole guardian of Libyan oil revenues.   Over the past week, Libya’s crude oil exports have averaged about 314,000 barrels per day (bpd), down from 468,000 bpd of crude shipped in the first five days of September, according to tanker tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.  The latest crisis in Libya erupted…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Libyan-Oil-Production-Plummets-as-Political-Crisis-Persists.html

UK High Court Revokes Permit for First Coal Mine in 30 Years

London’s High Court on Friday quashed a planning permission for the UK’s first new coal mine in three decades, ruling that the permit was unlawful as it hadn’t considered the emissions from burning the fuel.  Earlier this year, climate campaigners, including Friends of the Earth, challenged the approval of the coal mining project. The UK’s previous Conservative government approved in December 2022 the Woodhouse Colliery project in Whitehaven, northwest England, developed by West Cumbria Mining.  …

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/UK-High-Court-Revokes-Permit-for-First-Coal-Mine-in-30-Years.html

My Number One Pick to Prepare for a Bounce in Crude

I have, for a few weeks now, been saying that I expected crude to move lower based on questions about demand, particularly from the US and China, the world’s two largest oil consumers. That has been the case, and despite a bounce after breaking below $70, there could still be a little more room to the downside on that trade. However, oil will turn at some point, so I have been taking some of my profit from the short trades and looking around for oil related stocks to buy. However, because I am still not convinced that a real recovery in crude…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/My-Number-One-Pick-to-Prepare-for-a-Bounce-in-Crude.html

Washington Reacts To Russia’s Kursk Counteroffensive

Several developments have taken place this week on the Ukraine-Russia war front that threatens to cross a rather significant “red line” in what has been a rather slow and steady crossing of red lines since Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine in March 2022.  The wider development is that the Biden Administration appears to be gearing up to remove restrictions on what weapons Ukraine can use in attacks on Russian territory. Specifically, the administration may allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles to target Russia–a move…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Washington-Reacts-To-Russias-Kursk-Counteroffensive.html

An End To a Four-Week Losing Streak for Oil?

Crude Oil Prices Recap: Key Drivers of Last Week’s Market Movements This week, crude oil prices experienced notable volatility, with a mix of supply-side disruptions and ongoing demand concerns shaping the market. While temporary supply constraints provided some upward pressure, weak global demand, particularly from China, weighed heavily on price momentum. Hurricane Francine’s Impact on U.S. Oil Supply Hurricane Francine was a significant catalyst driving oil prices higher midweek. The storm, which hit the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, led to the shutdown…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/An-End-To-a-Four-Week-Losing-Streak-for-Oil.html

Does OPEC Still Hold Sway Over U.S. Oil Markets?

Earlier this year, OPEC and its partners announced that it would begin to ease production cuts for members in the fall. However, with oil prices in steep decline, the group just announced a pause in these plans. This decision eased concerns about potential oversupply as the fall season approaches, and helped reverse the decline in oil prices. OPEC+, which includes non-OPEC members such as Russia, had originally planned to boost output by 180,000 barrels per day in October. This was part of a larger strategy to reintroduce 2.2 million barrels of…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Does-OPEC-Still-Hold-Sway-Over-US-Oil-Markets.html

How Significant is Pakistan’s Oil Discovery?

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict- North Korea used its state news agency to send a message that it is enriching uranium for nuclear weapons. The news agency published a photograph of Kim Jong Un inside what is purportedly a uranium enrichment facility attached to the Nuclear Weapons Institute. The agency quoted Kim as saying that the facility was “dynamically producing nuclear materials”, and would now seek to “exponentially increase the nuclear weapons for self-defense”.- Nothing has changed in terms of the contested…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/Asia/How-Significant-is-Pakistans-Oil-Discovery.html

Australia Unveils $50 Billion Plan to Lead Global Green Hydrogen Market

Australia looks to develop domestic green hydrogen industry and export clean hydrogen in a bid to become a global hydrogen leader, the government of one of the world’s top LNG exporters said on Friday.  The Australian government today published its new National Hydrogen Strategy, which identifies objectives and actions to take and underpin delivery of Australia’s hydrogen industry at scale.  The key to the government’s plan is funding through an estimated US$5.4 billion (AUS$8 billion) allocation made in this year’s…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Australia-Unveils-50-Billion-Plan-to-Lead-Global-Green-Hydrogen-Market.html

Russian Oil Refining Capacity Plummets 14.5%

Reuters calculations showed on Friday that the share of Russia’s refining capacity that is offline this month has jumped from August to 14.5% of all processing capacity amid Ukrainian drone attacks and planned and unplanned technical outages.  According to estimates based on data from industry sources compiled by Reuters, the Russian oil refining capacity that’s now offline jumped by 34% in September.  As more of Russia’s refining capacity is now offline, this could lead to higher crude oil exports as Russia doesn’t…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Russian-Oil-Refining-Capacity-Plummets-145.html

Boeing warns strike will ‘jeopardize’ recovery, hurt aircraft production

Brian West said the financial impact of the strike will depend on how long it lasts, but it will affect the company’s production of its best-selling planes.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/13/boeing-cfo-labor-strike-recovery-aircraft-production.html

Harris’ rise in polls sparks wave of wealth transfers to kids

Currently, individuals can send up to $13.61 million (and up to $27.22 million for couples) to beneficiaries without owing estate or gift taxes.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/13/harris-rise-in-polls-sparks-wave-of-wealth-transfers-to-kids-.html

S&P 500 and Nasdaq rally Friday to cap best week in 2024: Live updates

The major averages are on pace for weekly gains as traders aim to overcome a sluggish September.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/12/stock-market-today-live-updates.html

Shein and Temu prices are set to get a lot higher as Biden takes aim at retailers linked to China

Critics say Shein and Temu are able to offer low prices because they evade import duties under the de minimis exemption — a loophole that could soon be closed.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/13/shein-and-temu-prices-poised-to-rise-after-biden-de-minimis-proposal.html

A big Fed meeting looms in the week ahead as economic concerns percolate

The central bank is widely anticipated to make its first interest rate cut after embarking on its hiking campaign in March 2022.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/13/a-big-fed-meeting-looms-in-the-week-ahead-as-economic-concerns-percolate.html

DJT shares soar as Trump says ‘I’m not selling’ stake

Donald Trump, the majority owner of Trump Media stock, is eligible to sell his DJT shares later this month.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/13/trump-media-djt-not-selling-stock-pops.html

Oracle’s Larry Ellison briefly tops Jeff Bezos to become world’s second-richest person

Oracle is on pace for its best week since 2021, and the rally lifted founder Larry Ellison’s net worth past Jeff Bezos for a brief period on Friday.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/13/larry-ellison-briefly-passes-jeff-bezos-as-worlds-second-richest-man.html

Tesla Semi fire in California took 50,000 gallons of water to extinguish

The National Transportation Safety Board said on Friday that a Tesla Semi crash last month closed down an artery of Interstate 80 for 15 hours.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/13/tesla-semi-fire-needed-50000-gallons-of-water-to-extinguish.html

Bitcoin nears $60,000 as consumer sentiment hits four-month high: 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, Adam Sullivan, CEO of Core Scientific, discusses the company’s embrace of AI compute and what the 2024 election could mean for crypto.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2024/09/13/bitcoin-nears-60000-as-consumer-sentiment-hits-four-month-high-cnbc-crypto-world.html

Tiger Global plans to join OpenAI’s funding round at more than $150 billion valuation

Tiger Global is planning to join OpenAI’s buzzy new funding round that would value the AI startup at more than $150 billion.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/13/tiger-global-plans-to-join-openais-latest-funding-round-which-would-value-it-at-more-than-150-billion.html

IRS: This ‘rule of thumb’ shows who needs to make a third-quarter estimated tax payment by Monday

The third-quarter estimated tax deadline for 2024 is Monday, Sept. 16. Here’s a “rule of thumb” for taxpayers who may need to pay, according to the IRS.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/13/irs-third-quarter-estimated-taxes.html

Mortgage rates are dropping, but homes aren’t expected to get cheaper—here’s why

Lower mortgage rates are bringing back buyers, which would likely drive up home prices, real estate experts say.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/13/mortgage-rates-are-dropping-but-homes-arent-expected-to-get-cheaper.html

Boar’s Head indefinitely closes Virginia plant tied to deadly listeria outbreak, discontinues liverwurst

The company called the outbreak a “dark moment” in its history and apologized for the contamination of its liverwurst product, linked to the deaths of nine people.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/13/boars-head-closes-virginia-plant-tied-to-listeria-outbreak.html

“No Juice In Market”: Run-Away OJ Prices Squeeze Soft-Drink Firms

Frozen concentrated orange juice futures on the Intercontinental Exchange in New York recently soared to $5/lb, a staggering 433% jump from the Covid lows of around $1/lb. This parabolic move in OJ prices has been mostly driven by sliding yields across the US and Brazil, now squeezing cash-strapped consumers.

Let’s begin with the US. Hurricanes Ian and Nicole, freezing conditions, and citrus greening disease have decimated citrus groves across Florida in the last several years. Some of the latest industry figures show that US orange production is set to reach its lowest level in more than a century.

Shipments from Brazil, the world’s top producer, soared to a record in 2023 to offset sliding production in the US. Demand for Brazilian juice has been strong, while global supplies remain tight.

Now, Brazil has been hit by a devastating drought and widespread crop disease that is severely impacting yields across citrus groves.

Harry Campbell, analyst at Expana, told the Financial Times that soft-drink companies use the futures market to hedge against soaring prices. He said these firms have been battered by out-of-control prices – calling the situation unfolding “extremely dire.” He said, “They’re just like ‘we don’t even know what to do.'”

Rabobank analyst Andrés Padilla warned that Brazil has slipped into the “worst drought in 50 years” and “there’s really been very, very little rain a …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/no-juice-market-run-away-oj-prices-spark-perfect-storm-soft-drink-firms

Why On Earth Would Soft Hiring ‘Tee Up Fed Rate-Cuts’?

Authored by John Tamny via RealClearMarkets.com,

Oaktree Capital co-founder Howard Marks has long made the essential point (referenced here regularly) that the seeds of bad times are planted during the good, and good times during the bad. Marks came to mind while reading a front page Wall Street Journal story in response to Friday’s employment report. It read along the lines of “Soft Hiring Will Tee Up Fed Rate Cuts.”

Not explained was how the Fed could walk over the message of the markets, and if so, why it would. Marks’s pithy analysis of how the world works looms large here.

It describes what’s perhaps taking place.

Employers and investors broadly or intuitively know what Marks describes as being true, and aware of it, they’re careful about overdoing it. By not planting an excess of bad seeds (think lousy hires, excessively optimist …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/why-earth-would-soft-hiring-tee-fed-rate-cuts

North Korea Issues Photos Of Uranium Enrichment Facility For First Time

Earlier we reported that Kim Jong Un gave a speech marking the 76th founding anniversary of North Korea’s founding to kick off the week. He said that a nuclear overhaul is needed to defend the country from “hostile” forces and that North Korea faces “a grave threat” as a result of the “reckless expansion” the United States-led military bloc in the region.

North Korea will “redouble its measures and efforts to make all the armed forces of the state, including the nuclear force, fully ready for combat,” he stated. On Friday he has backed his words by for the first time releasing images of the country’s main uranium enrichment facility.

KCNA via Reuters

The photos showed Kim touring the site while calling for more centrifuges to be developed, which can in turn churn out highly enriched uranium. The facili …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/north-korea-issues-photos-uranium-enrichment-facility-first-time

OpenAI Says Latest o1 Model On “New Level”, Can “Think Before It Answers”

Authored by Brayden Lindrea via CoinTelegraph.com,

OpenAI has released several new artificial intelligence models under a revised naming scheme — starting with its latest OpenAI o1 model it says can “think before it answers.”

“For complex reasoning tasks, this is a significant advancement and represents a new level of AI capability,” OpenAI said in a Sept. 12 blog post.

“Given this, we are resetting the counter back to one and naming this series OpenAI o1.”

The new models can take their time to think and use “chain-of-thought” reasoning to solve complex tasks — particularly in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and coding-related tasks, OpenAI said.

Source: < …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/openai-says-latest-o1-model-new-level-can-think-it-answers

Titanic shipyard may run out of cash within weeks

Trade unions are calling for help to save hundreds of jobs at the historic shipbuilder Harland and & Wolff.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce383d414p0o

New US shipping rules target China’s Shein and Temu

Shein and Temu have been able to ship packages under $800 to the US without facing tariffs.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c36n6g164l6o

UK accounting giant PwC faces six-month China ban

The firm is being penalised for its role in the failure of property giant Evergrande.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cje2ejnwwx9o

Northern Arc Capital mobilises Rs 229 cr from anchor investors ahead of IPO

According to a circular uploaded on BSE’s website, the company has allotted 87.02 lakh equity shares to 15 funds at Rs 263 apiece, which is also the upper end of the price band. This aggregates the transaction size to Rs 229 crore.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/ipos/fpos/northern-arc-capital-mobilises-rs-229-cr-from-anchor-investors-ahead-of-ipo/articleshow/113331515.cms

Tech View: Nifty forms red candle on daily chart. What traders should do on Monday

Despite starting on a positive note, the Nifty ended the week with a slight dip. Siddhartha Khemka from Motilal Oswal Financial Services pointed out that besides oil & gas, FMCG, and healthcare, most sectors closed lower, contributing to the market’s loss on Friday.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/tech-view-nifty-forms-red-candle-on-daily-chart-what-traders-should-do-on-monday/articleshow/113326715.cms

GQG Partners increases stake in Patanjali Foods by 1.24% for Rs 835 crore

Billionaire Rajiv Jain-backed GQG Partners on Friday hiked its stake in Patanjali Foods by acquiring a 1.24 per cent holding from promoter group entity Patanjali Ayurved Ltd for about Rs 835 crore through an open market transaction.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/gqg-partners-increases-stake-in-patanjali-foods-by-1-24-for-rs-835-crore/articleshow/113329679.cms

2-year Treasury yield ends at lowest since September 2022 as traders weigh chance of big Fed rate cut

U.S. government debt rallied on Friday, pushing the policy-sensitive 2-year Treasury yields to its lowest closing level in years, as traders considered the possibility of a 50-basis-point interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve next week.

Read more at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/treasury-yields-slip-as-traders-boost-bets-on-50-basis-point-fed-rate-cut-ff917cf2?mod=mw_rss_topstories

NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore doesn’t feel let down by Boeing over Starliner snafu

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams traveled to space in Boeing’s troubled Starliner capsule but will return to Earth in a SpaceX spacecraft.

Read more at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/nasa-astronaut-butch-wilmore-doesnt-feel-let-down-by-boeing-over-starliner-snafu-e9df4595?mod=mw_rss_topstories

Trump social-media stock ‘DJT’ soars as former president says he won’t sell when lockup period ends

Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. jumped Friday after Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said he didn’t plan to sell his stake in the company when a lockup period ends later this month.

Read more at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-social-media-stock-djt-soars-as-former-president-says-he-wont-sell-when-lockup-period-ends-99bce0ee?mod=mw_rss_topstories