Headlines:
Ukraine Sparks Market Mayhem As Traders See Fed Panic Ahead, Price-In Rate-Cuts Next Year.
How Valentine’s Day Became A Lucrative Holiday.
Wall Street’s Biggest Bear Warns Stocks Are About To Be Hammered By A “Polar Vortex” Of Collapsing Growth.
Semiconductor Sales Top Half A Trillion Dollars or The First Time And Will Keep Growing.
A new inflation reading shows the small business tipping point has been reached as business owners say they need to raise prices. Also, they don’t expect inflation to decline, a signal that higher prices have overtaken Main Street.
Share prices fall sharply across Europe as Ukraine’s invasion fears rattle investors, but losses are lower in the U.S. amid hopes of a deal with Russia. Unfortunately, there is more bad news for Europe’s consumers and policymakers everywhere you look. Russia’s ongoing threats of an invasion of Ukraine have only served to compound insult upon Europe’s self-inflicted energy-related injuries.
The U.S. closes its embassy in Kyiv, citing the ‘dramatic acceleration’ of Russian troops.
Mark Hulbert: Gold isn’t likely to be a safe haven for your money if Russia invades Ukraine! Gold is rallying (1873) now, but prices typically decline in the wake of geopolitical crises. WTI has also settled higher at 94.88, sending gas pump prices higher.
Has anyone mentioned the “I” word today? FYI – “it” is going higher – much higher!
As usual, we have included below the headlines and news summaries moving the markets today.
The Market in Perspective
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
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Europes Winter Of Discontent Isnt Over YetThe devastating consequences stemming from 20 years of counterproductive government policies related to energy are coming home to roost across the European continent this winter. Everywhere you look, there is more bad news for Europes consumers and policymakers. Russias ongoing threats of an invasion of Ukraine have only served to compound insult upon Europes self-inflicted energy-related injuries. Here are some examples of the bad news that piled up on Europe in just the past few days: On February 9, Rystad Energy issued a Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Europes-Winter-Of-Discontent-Isnt-Over-Yet.html |
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U.S. Exports LNG At A Record PaceThe U.S. is exporting liquefied natural gas at a record pace these days, as gas prices and geopolitical tensions in Europe rise amid the energy crisis and the Russia-Ukraine standoff. LNG tankers were loading or being docked at each of the seven LNG export facilities in the United States on Saturday, leading to a record 13.3 billion cubic feet of natural gas flows to U.S. LNG export terminals, Bloomberg reports. This is the first time that all seven LNG export terminals have seen tankers loading or docked for loading gas at the same time, according Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/US-Exports-LNG-At-A-Record-Pace.html |
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Bumper Profits Are Sparking A Backlash Against Big OilInternational oil companies – many of which are reinventing themselves as energy firms in order to remain relevant during a global energy transition – now face growing pressure from climate campaigners and politicians to pay for their multi-year-high profits and cash flows with more taxes. The rallying oil and gas prices in 2021 helped Big Oil to post the biggest earnings and cash flows in at least seven years. But environmentalists and opposition politicians in the UK – home to BP and Shell and a key operations base for TotalEnergies – want Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Bumper-Profits-Are-Sparking-A-Backlash-Against-Big-Oil.html |
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Did Environmentalists Just Undermine Big Oils Carbon Capture Efforts?When it comes to debates around global warming, the communication breakdown often occurs between two essential camps: the idealists and the pragmatists. Yes, we all know that in order to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, greenhouse gas emissions need to be slashed down to nothing, effective immediately. However, its also apparent that phasing out fossil fuels overnight is not only impossible, it would also be completely devastating to the global economy. Like it or not, global industry runs on fossil fuels, and phasing them out Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Did-Environmentalists-Just-Undermine-Big-Oils-Carbon-Capture-Efforts.html |
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IEA Calls On OPEC+ To Boost Production To TargetsOPEC+ producers need to pump more oil to close the widening gap between nameplate production quotas and actual output, the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Fatih Birol, said on Monday. The laggards in the OPEC+ oil output targets should look to produce more to balance the tight market, Birol said at the Egypt Petroleum Show in Cairo today, as quoted by Reuters. If OPEC+ continues to fail in delivering its oil production targets amid rising demand and inventories at multi-year lows, oil prices will remain under upward Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/IEA-Calls-On-OPEC-To-Boost-Production-To-Targets.html |
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Exxon Struggles To Make A Large Discovery In Oil-Rich BrazilU.S. supermajor ExxonMobil has not yet struck the big oil discovery offshore Brazil, although it has spent years and billions of U.S. dollars on securing drilling rights in one of the most prolific offshore basins, Reuters reported on Monday, citing sources with knowledge of recent well drilling results. In 2021, Exxon drilled two wells in the Opal and Tita blocks. According to Brazilian oil industry regulator ANP, Exxon found traces of oil and gas in the Tita block, Bnamericas reported in November. Exxon paid the equivalent of $560 million to Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Exxon-Struggles-To-Make-A-Large-Discovery-In-Oil-Rich-Brazil.html |
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Western drought fueled by climate change is the worst in 1,200 years, scientists sayResearchers estimated that 42% of the drought’s severity can be attributed to human-caused climate change. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/14/western-drought-fueled-by-climate-change-is-the-worst-in-1200-years.html |
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Electric vehicles dominated Super Bowl ads, but are still only 9% of passenger car salesSix of seven Super Bowl car ads featured EVs, Cars.com reported. Simultaneously, only 9% of passenger vehicle sales globally are EVs, Canalys said. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/14/evs-dominated-super-bowl-ads-but-only-9percent-of-passenger-car-sales.html |
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Moderna, Pfizer stocks fall as Covid omicron wave subsides in U.S.Moderna plunged more than 12%, the biggest decline in the S&P 500 as of midafternoon Monday. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/14/moderna-pfizer-stocks-fall-as-omicron-covid-wave-subsides-in-us-.html |
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Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Weber, Rivian, Tyson and moreThese are the stocks posting the largest moves in midday trading. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/14/stocks-making-the-biggest-moves-midday-weber-rivian-tyson-and-more.html |
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Russia crisis begins disrupting Ukraine air travel as insurers drop some aircraft coverageUkraine International Airlines says it moved five Boeing 737s to Spain after insurers refused to cover flights in Ukrainian airspace. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/14/ukrainian-airline-moves-some-jets-to-spain-after-insurance-bans-coverage-amid-russia-crisis.html |
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Pfizer director Dr. Scott Gottlieb: Shots for kids under 5 delayed due to low Covid cases in trial“One case in one direction or another can tip the perception of the vaccine’s overall effectiveness,” said the Pfizer board member and former FDA chief. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/14/pfizer-director-dr-scott-gottlieb-shots-for-kids-under-5-delayed-due-to-low-covid-cases-in-trial.html |
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Billionaire astronaut Jared Isaacman buys more private SpaceX flights, including one on StarshipIsaacman, the founder of payments company Shift4, purchased as many as three more flights from Elon Musk’s SpaceX for what is known as the Polaris Program. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/14/jared-isaacman-buys-private-spacex-flights-for-polaris-program.html |
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NFL sponsors Nike, Pepsi dominate nontraditional media exposure during Super BowlCompanies that had their logo appear during the 2022 Super Bowl generated $170 million of media value, software company Hive told CNBC. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/14/nfl-sponsors-nike-pepsi-dominate-2022-super-bowl-exposure.html |
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Chevrolet reboots, updates ‘The Sopranos’ intro for surprise Super Bowl adThe ad, called “New Generation,” aired during the first quarter of the game without the General Motors brand releasing any previews or teasers ahead of time. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/13/chevrolet-reboots-updates-the-sopranos-intro-for-super-bowl-ad.html |
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EV start-up Polestar takes shots at Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Volkswagen in Super Bowl adPolestar, which is expected to go public this year, used its first-ever Super Bowl ad to indirectly take shots at its competitors, including Tesla and Volkswagen. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/13/ev-start-up-polestar-takes-shots-at-teslas-elon-musk-in-super-bowl-ad.html |
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A new inflation reading shows the small business tipping point has been reachedMore small business owners say they need to raise prices and don’t expect inflation to decline, a signal that higher prices have overtaken Main Street. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/14/inflation-economic-shock-complete-as-main-street-tipping-point-reached.html |
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Coal mines transformed society. Now, their flooded remains could heat the homes of the futureMost mines in the U.K. have fallen silent, but their centuries-old story isn’t necessarily over. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/14/flooded-disused-coal-mines-could-change-how-our-homes-are-heated.html |
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5 things to know before the stock market opens MondayU.S. stock futures wiped out sharp earlier losses and turned briefly positive to start the new week. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/14/5-things-to-know-before-the-stock-market-opens-monday-february-14.html |
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Ukraine Sparks Market Mayhem As Traders See Fed Panic Ahead, Price-In Rate-Cuts Next YearUkraine Sparks Market Mayhem As Traders See Fed Panic Ahead, Price-In Rate-Cuts Next YearClown market exposed once again… Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy spooked markets with what turned out to be a sarcastic comment about the rest of the world predicting a date for a Russian attack, which he said should be a day of unity instead.
Earlier in the day, St.Louis Fed’s Jim Bullard was on CNBC for what many expected to be a mea culpa walkback of his hawkish comments. Instead he doubled down on the need for accelerating, front-loading rate-hikes and QT and warned “The Fed’s credibility is on the line.” That sent the odds of a 50bps hike in March jumping higher… Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/ukraine-sparks-market-mayhem-traders-see-fed-panic-ahead-price-rate-cuts-next-year |
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How Valentine’s Day Became A Lucrative HolidayHow Valentine’s Day Became A Lucrative HolidayVia ArmstrongEconomics.com, Some believe Valentine’s Day originated as a way to offset the Pagan holiday of Lupercalia, which History described as “a bloody, violent and sexually charged celebration awash with animal sacrifice, random matchmaking and coupling in the hopes of warding off evil spirits and infertility.” Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine’s Day during the 5th century. The Catholic Church recognizes three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all who suffered horrific deaths in the name of religion. During the Middle Ages, people began to believe that bird mating season began on February 14. English poet Geoffrey Chaucer was the first to record St. Valentine’s Day as a day of romance in 1375 when he penned the poem “Parliament of Foules,” writing, “For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne’s [sic] day / Whan every foul cometh there [sic] to choose his mate.” Hence the phrase “love birds.” In modern days, Valentine’s Day is an opportunity for businesses to use the rhetoric of pathos to convince people to spend money to express love. The National Retail Federation (NRF) expects Americans to s … Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/how-valentines-day-became-lucrative-holiday |
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Wall Street’s Biggest Bear Warns Stocks Are About To Be Hammered By A “Polar Vortex” Of Collapsing GrowthWall Street’s Biggest Bear Warns Stocks Are About To Be Hammered By A “Polar Vortex” Of Collapsing GrowthWhile Goldman’s permabullish chief equity strategist David Kostin is only just now catching down to where other prominent Wall Street bears have been for weeks and on Friday finally capitulated, cutting his year-end S&P target (which he hiked just three months ago) from 5,100 to 4,900 while warning that in a recession the broad index could plunge as low as 3,600…
… Morgan Stanley’s chief equity strategist Michael Wilson – whom we dubbed last year as Wall Street’s biggest bear and who has long been pounding the table on his 4,400 year-end S&P target – has the luxury of being miles ahead of his competition (which only now is goalseeking crude rationalizations to cut formerly euphoric price targets without actually looking ahead at what is coming), and in his latest Weekly Warm Up note (available to pro subs in the … Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/wall-streets-biggest-bear-warns-stocks-are-about-be-hammered-polar-vortext-collapsing |
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US Still “Watching Very Carefully” For Russian False Flag: SullivanUS Still “Watching Very Carefully” For Russian False Flag: SullivanAuthored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com, The Biden administration continues to suggest that Russia might carry out a “false flag” operation against separatists in eastern Ukraine to justify an invasion. Russia has repeatedly rejected the accusation, and the US has offered no evidence, but that hasn’t stopped Biden officials from making the claim. In an interview with CBS, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the US is “watching very carefully” for a false flag.
Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-still-watching-very-carefully-russian-false-flag-sullivan |
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New powers proposed to end unsafe cladding scandalDevelopers who refuse to pay to remove dangerous cladding will be punished, the government says. Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60380468?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA |
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Stock markets fall as Ukraine invasion fears rattle investorsShare prices fall across Europe, but losses are lower in the US amid hopes of a deal with Russia. Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60374581?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA |
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Petrol and diesel prices reach new record highThe price of fuel at the pump has risen with petrol at 148.02p a litre and diesel at 151.57p. Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60375568?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA |
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Trade setup: 17K level on Nifty poses resistance; avoid entering major tradesTuesday is likely to see the levels of 16,900 and 17,000 acting as potential resistance points. Supports exist at 16,750 and 16,680 levels Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/trade-setup-17k-level-on-nifty-poses-resistance-avoid-entering-major-trades/articleshow/89572359.cms |
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Tech View: Nifty50 bears in driving seat; any recovery will be vulnerable to selloff, say analystsAt an intraday low of 16,809 levels erased all the gains registered between January 25 and February 2 Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/tech-view-nifty50-bears-in-driving-seat-any-recovery-will-be-vulnerable-to-selloff-say-analysts/articleshow/89568666.cms |
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Vedant Fashions to list on exchanges on WednesdayBased on the upper end of the IPO price band of Rs 866 a share, the company’s market cap stands at around Rs 21,000 crore. Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/vedant-fashions-to-list-on-exchanges-on-wednesday/articleshow/89570016.cms |
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Earnings Results: Arista Networks stock rallies up to 10% as earnings, outlook top Street viewArista Networks Inc. rallied in the extended session Monday after the cloud-software company’s quarterly results and outlook topped Wall Street estimates. Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C05575-04D4-B545-793B-CDE2D7604104%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1 |
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: Semiconductor sales top half a trillion dollars for the first time, and are expected to keep growingChips sales hit record highs in 2021 amid a continuing global semiconductor shortage, according to a trade group, prompting one Wall Street analyst to hike his already healthy growth estimates for 2022. Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C05575-04D4-B545-793B-F4CF647C4571%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1 |
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Mark Hulbert: Why gold isn’t likely to be a safe haven for your money if Russia invades UkraineGold is rallying now but prices typically decline in the wake of geopolitical crises. Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C05575-04D4-B545-793C-4C659C04421D%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1 |
Via AP/dpa”We also are watching very carefully for the possibility that there is a pretext or a false flag operation to kick off the Russian action in which R …