Have British Commodity Companies Become Too Reliant On China?

Encouraged by successive governments, British companies have spent many years courting China, its resources, and its huge, increasingly affluent population.  British companies have paid a part in China’s unprecedented development, which has made the Middle Kingdom the world’s second-largest economy and raised hundreds of millions out of poverty. However, the hope that such development would anchor China in the Western world and foster values such as respect for the rule of law, human rights, and democracy has been shown to be fundamentally…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Metals/Commodities/Have-British-Commodity-Companies-Become-Too-Reliant-On-China.html

Neo-Nazis Charged With Plotting To Attack U.S. Energy Grid

Federal authorities have arrested and charged a neo-Nazi man and a woman from Maryland for plotting to attack Baltimore-area electrical substations. Brandon Clint Russell, 27, and Sarah Beth Clendaniel, 34, conspired to attack the substations and take out power to parts of the city in what prosecutors said was intended to be “furtherance of Russell’s racially or ethnically motivated extremist beliefs”. Maryland U.S. Attorney Erek Barron in a statement said, “This planned attack threatened lives and would have left thousands…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Neo-Nazis-Charged-With-Plotting-To-Attack-US-Energy-Grid.html

Copper Rally Stalls As Market Awaits Chinese Demand Recovery

Via AG Metal Miner   Copper prices reacted to short-term resistance and rallied at the beginning of the year. That said, copper prices need to break lows and form a lower high to change the overall trend. Currently, the trend is up, and prices are expected to continue rising. Technical support levels should act as a price floor, giving buyers opportunities at price dips.  Overall, the Copper Monthly Metals Index (MMI) rose 9.19% from January to February. Rally for Copper Prices Stalls Amid Weak Global Manufacturing Copper prices hit their…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Metals/Commodities/Copper-Rally-Stalls-As-Market-Awaits-Chinese-Demand-Recovery.html

Georgia Is Walking A Fine Line Between The West And Russia

The United States and European Union have pressed on the Georgian government not to allow the re-establishment of direct flights with Russia as ruling party officials in Tbilisi refuse to rule out the possibility. As Russian officials continued to float the prospect of reversing the ban they instituted nearly four years ago, the U.S. and EU issued similar statements to media outlets warning that servicing flights to Russia could violate Western sanctions against the Russian airline sector.  “Many Western countries, including the United…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/International/Georgia-Is-Walking-A-Fine-Line-Between-The-West-And-Russia.html

Russian Fiscal Budget Shows 35% Decline For January

Official figures from the Russian Finance Ministry on Monday show a 35% decline in fiscal budget revenues in January, compared to the same period last year, reporting a ~$24-billion budget deficit for January. The budget deficit reflects oil and gas revenue that has declined 46% year-on-year, according to The Associated Press. Sanctions and an expensive war in Ukraine have both been responsible for the drain. The budget breakdown comes just days after the Finance Ministry reported a 46% drop in oil and gas revenues in January, year-over-year, due…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Russian-Fiscal-Budget-Shows-35-Decline-For-January.html

The EU Is Falling Behind In EV And AI Developments

Let’s discuss why the EU lags on artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, cloud storage, phone technology, and nearly everything else… Eurointelligence comments, “Europe is Losing the AI Battle.” Having missed the first stage of the digital revolution, Europe is now in danger of missing the next big phase: that of artificial intelligence, a technology that is now experiencing explosive growth. The US is leading, followed by China, and this is pretty much it. The German government has commissioned a study on large European AI models,…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-EU-Is-Falling-Behind-In-EV-And-AI-Developments.html

India Predicts 500% Increase In Domestic Natural Gas Demand

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday projected that the country’s gas demand would rise 500% due to the rapid pace of development, while its share of global oil demand would more than double. While the Indian prime minister did not offer a specific time frame for this major boost in demand, he said that the country’s energy demand would be highest in the present decade. Modi’s statement, delivered during the opening ceremony of India Energy Week 2023, coincides with a recent OPEC report that expects India to be the largest…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/India-Predicts-500-Increase-In-Domestic-Natural-Gas-Demand.html

U.S. Gasoline Prices See First Weekly Fall Of The Year

The average price for a gallon of gasoline in the United States saw a weekly fall for the first time this year, GasBuddy said in a Monday note, to $3.44 per gallon on Sunday. The national average gasoline price fell 4.4 cents per gallon from a week ago, based on GasBuddy’s 11 million price reports spanning 150,000 gas stations across the nation. The average gasoline price is still up 17.5 cents from a month ago,  and 1.7 cents per gallon up from the same time last year. Diesel prices have also fallen, by 5.2 cents last week, reaching…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/US-Gasoline-Prices-See-First-Weekly-Fall-Of-The-Year.html

GM Partners With Netflix To Promote Electric Vehicles

If you had “Netflix partnering with GM” on your unlikely corporate tie-up Bingo card for 2023, you can now cross that square off. That’s because last week it was announced that the streaming giant would be partnering with General Motors to get more of the Detroit automaker’s electric vehicles in movies and television shows that are featured on Netflix.  Netflix said it will increase the presence of electric vehicles in its original programming “where relevant”, Yahoo Finance reported this week.  Netflix Chief Marketing Officer Marian…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/GM-Partners-With-Netflix-To-Promote-Electric-Vehicles.html

A Water Crisis Is Looming Over Western United States

The most recent poster child for the failure to understand resource limits is the town of Rio Verde Foothills, an unincorporated part of Maricopa County in Arizona adjacent to Scottsdale. The town’s residents were blindsided recently when the City of Scottsdale ceased allowing water trucks to fill up from the city’s water system to service the hundreds of homes in Rio Verde that lack water wells and use water tanks. The residents still have access to water, but at a price that now averages triple what they were paying, about $660 a month for…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/The-Environment/Global-Warming/A-Water-Crisis-Is-Looming-Over-Western-United-States.html

Russian Fuel Oil Flows To Asia As EU Ban Takes Effect

Russia had diverted most of its fuel oil and vacuum gasoil (VGO) exports to Asia and the Middle East even before the EU embargo on Russian petroleum products came into effect on February 5, according to data from traders and Refinitiv cited by Reuters. Last month, the European Union took less than 5% of Russia’s fuel oil and VGO, with Greece, Latvia, and Italy importing small volumes of those products, according to the data. Traders believe that these volumes could easily be redirected to other destinations, mostly in Asia.   India has…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Russian-Fuel-Oil-Flows-To-Asia-As-EU-Ban-Takes-Effect.html

Why The White House Is Wrong About Oil Major Share Buybacks

In late January Chevron announced the fourth quarter and full year 2022 results. Chevron earned a record $36.5 billion profit in 2022, more than doubling 2021 earnings. In addition, Chevron increased its quarterly dividend by 6% and announced a $75 billion stock buyback: “The Board also authorized the repurchase of the company’s shares of common stock in an aggregate amount of $75 billion. The $75 billion authorization takes effect on April 1, 2023, and does not have a fixed expiration date. It replaces the Board’s previous…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Why-The-White-House-Is-Wrong-About-Oil-Major-Share-Buybacks.html

Chevron Looks To Seal Gas Exploration Deal In Algeria

U.S. supermajor Chevron has increased efforts to reach an energy exploration agreement with Algeria and is assessing the North African country’s estimated huge shale gas resources, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, quoting sources with knowledge of the plans. Other energy majors, including Eni and TotalEnergies, see Algeria and North Africa as sources to replace Russian natural gas deliveries to Europe after Russia slashed supply to the West after it invaded Ukraine. Chevron has sent representatives to Algiers to explore opportunities,…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Chevron-Looks-To-Seal-Gas-Exploration-Deal-In-Algeria.html

Saudi Arabia Surprises Markets By Increasing Oil Prices To Asia

On Monday, Saudi Arabia raised the official selling price of its flagship crude going to Asia in March. The hike, which was the first in six months, was due to expectations of a rebound in Chinese demand. Saudi oil giant Aramco lifted the price of its flagship Arab Light grade to Asia for March loadings by $0.20 per barrel to a premium of $2.00 a barrel over the Dubai/Oman average, despite the fact that oil prices have fallen so far this year. That’s the first increase in the official selling prices (OSPs) for Asia since September, likely…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Saudi-Arabia-Surprises-Markets-By-Increasing-Oil-Prices-To-Asia.html

Operations Halted At Ceyhan Oil Terminal After Huge Earthquake

The Ceyhan oil terminal in southern Turkey has halted operations after the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria early on Monday, Tribeca Shipping Agency said, as carried by Reuters. A powerful earthquake of 7.8 magnitude on the Richter scale hit Turkey and Syria in the early hours of Monday local time, killing hundreds of people and injuring thousands more. Early estimates point to at least 600 people killed in the quake, whose epicenter was in the Pazarcik district of Kahramanmaras province in Turkey.    The Ceyhan oil terminal…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Operations-Halted-At-Ceyhan-Oil-Terminal-After-Huge-Earthquake.html

Google announces Bard A.I. in response to ChatGPT

Google Bard comes as the company tries to compete with the popularity of ChatGPT.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/06/google-announces-bard-ai-in-response-to-chatgpt.html

Stocks close lower Monday as higher rates rattle investors

U.S. stocks were lower Monday as investors awaited more earnings and an important speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/05/stock-futures-slide-to-start-week-with-more-earnings-and-a-powell-speech-ahead.html

Crypto exchange Binance will suspend U.S. dollar transfers

Binance said it would suspend U.S. dollar withdrawals and deposits beginning Feb. 8.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/06/binance-will-suspend-us-dollar-transfers.html

More than 3,000 dead as two massive earthquakes rock Turkey and Syria

Residents joined rescuers to search for survivors in freezing conditions, with the death toll expected to rise after the initial 7.8-magnitude quake, which was centered near Gaziantep.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/06/more-than-3000-dead-as-two-massive-earthquakes-rock-turkey-and-syria.html

Why all the big bank equity analysts think the market is going to drop

After a stellar start to 2023, many big bank analysts are skeptical that this rally can continue. They are urging investors to prepare for another leg lower.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/06/wall-street-bank-equity-analysts-expect-the-market-to-fall.html

Failing to raise U.S. debt ceiling would lead to ‘economic and financial catastrophe,’ Yellen says

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warns that defaulting on the debt ceiling will lead to financial catastrophe.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/06/failing-to-raise-us-debt-ceiling-would-lead-to-economic-and-financial-catastrophe-yellen-says.html

Amazon scales back cargo flying as demand cools, contractor says

Air Transport Services Group said Amazon will be flying less in response to slowing consumer demand and a worsening economic outlook.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/06/amazon-dials-back-air-cargo-service-as-demand-cools-contractor-says-.html

FTX asks politicians to return donations, and Binance will suspend USD transfers: 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, Crypto World explores the crypto job market and whether companies are still hiring during the industry’s downturn.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2023/02/06/ftx-politicians-return-donations-binanc-usd-transfers-crypto-world.html

Ukraine war live updates: Kyiv says it must use every day to ramp up defenses at the front, ahead of Russian offensive

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the area of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine continues to be a hot spot in the war.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/06/ukraine-war-live-updates-latest-news-on-russia-and-the-war-in-ukraine.html

Neo-Nazi and woman charged with conspiring to attack Maryland power grid

Brandon Clint Russell, an admitted neo-Nazi, is currently on probation for a prior conviction of possessing an unregistered destructive device.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/06/neo-nazi-charged-in-planned-attack-on-maryland-power-grid.html

More than half of all ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ tickets have been for 3D showings

James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” has outperformed at the box office when it comes to 3D showings and premium format ticket sales.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/06/avatar-the-way-of-water-3d-tickets.html

Bitcoin struggles around $23,000 level as new-year rally loses steam

Bitcoin dropped below $23,000 Sunday, bringing the cryptocurrency’s monthly gain to less than 1%.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/06/bitcoin-struggles-around-23000-level-as-new-year-rally-loses-steam.html

Biden to deliver State of the Union address amid high inflation and divided Congress that threaten to derail economy

Key indicators such as unemployment and GDP show robust growth, but inflation is still high and the Fed hiked interest rates eight times in the last year.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/06/state-of-the-union-inflation-divided-government-threaten-to-derail-bidens-economy.html

Central Bank Digital Currencies Would Bring Hyperinflation

Authored by Daniel Lacalle,

There are many excuses often used to explain inflation. However, the fact is that there is no such thing as “cost-push inflation” or “commodity inflation.” Inflation is not an increase in prices, it is the destruction of the purchasing power of the currency.

Cost-push inflation is more units of currency going to relatively scarce real assets. The same can be said about all others, from commodities to demand and my favorite, “supply chain disruption”. More units of currency go to the same goods and services.

The monster inflation we have endured these years first arrived through asset inflation and then through consumer prices. Now, governments and statistical bodies are tweaking the calculation of CPI to disguise the loss of purchasing power of the currency and central banks had to hike rates after the disaster created in 2020 when the massive increase in money supply went to finance bloated government spending and created the mess we live today.

Central banks know that inflation is a monetary phenomenon and that is why they are hiking rates and tightening as fast as governments allow them. However, central banks have lost a significant amount of already low credibility by first ignoring the inflation risk and later using the base effect and transitory excuse, only to react late and slowly.

This has happened in a world where the excess in money supply growth has a number of back-stops and limits that …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/crypto/central-bank-digital-currencies-would-bring-hyperinflation

Neo-Nazi Couple Arrested For Alleged Plot To ‘Completely Destroy’ Baltimore

A neo-Nazi couple was arrested and charged with conspiracy to damage power substations encircling Baltimore City that would “completely destroy” the metro area, according to Department of Justice (DoJ) court documents.

On Monday, DoJ prosecutors announced Florida resident Brandon Clint Russell, an alleged leader of the neo-Nazi terror group Atomwaffen Divison, and Catonsville resident Sarah Beth Clendaniel conspired to destroy power substations with gunfire.

Left: Brandon Clint Russell; Right: Sarah Beth Clendaniel”It would probably permanently completely lay this city to waste if we could do that successfully,” Clendaniel allegedly said last month, according to the criminal complaint.

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/neo-nazi-couple-arrested-alleged-plot-completely-destroy-baltimore

Cars Increasingly Ready For Autonomous Driving

The share of newly registered passenger cars worldwide produced without provisions for assisted driving systems has become smaller and smaller in recent years.

As Statista’s Katharina Buchholz reports, according to Statista Mobility Market Insights, “regular” cars made up a minority of only 14.4 percent of newly registered cars around the globe in 2020.

The transition to autonomous-ready cars has been a quick one: In 2015, cars without assistance systems were still in the majority at 51.4 percent of all newly registered ones.

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/cars-increasingly-ready-autonomous-driving

Congress Is Set To Expose What May Be The Largest Censorship System In US History

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

Below is my column in the Hill on the first hearings this week to be held by the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. It could be one of the most consequential investigations for free speech in decades if it pulls back the curtain on government censorship programs. After the historic release of the Twitter Files by Elon Musk, questions remain on any similar coordination with other social media companies with federal agencies like the FBI to target views considered “disinformation” or “misinformation.”

…

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/congress-set-expose-what-may-be-largest-censorship-system-us-history

Nissan warns costs must fall to make new electric cars in UK

A senior boss at the car company says the UK faces challenges to be competitive with other countries.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64533672?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

How the nurses’ strike on Tuesday 7 February will affect you

What you need to know about strikes by nurses by the BBC’s Zoe Conway.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64536288?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Prepayment meters: Magistrates told to stop allowing forced installations

Magistrates have been told to stop authorizing warrants for energy firms to forcibly install prepayment meters.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64542229?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Thyrocare CEO speaks on margin contraction; says not in talks to sell stake at present

“I have been guiding in all our investor calls that margin will be in that 30% ballpark. As I said in the last quarter, given that we have a lot of dollar exposure on our raw materials, we saw some price hikes from our vendors but we were able to pass them through into the market to maintain the price at the margin.”

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/expert-view/thyrocare-ceo-speaks-on-margin-contraction-says-not-in-talks-to-sell-stake-at-present/articleshow/97641834.cms

Learn with ETMarkets: All about leverage & position sizing in options trading

Both margin and leverage look very similar to each other but there is a slight difference between the two. Leverage can be expressed in terms of ratio. In the above example, we got margin benefit and were asked to pay only Rs 5,000 for the underlying value of Rs 20,000 so in this case our leverage becomes 4:1.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/learn-with-etmarkets-all-about-leverage-position-sizing-in-options-trading/articleshow/97638611.cms

Morgan Stanley on RIL: Recovery in energy biz key to raising investor confidence

Morgan Stanley believes that improvement in the energy business is key to raising investor confidence in the conglomerate’s earnings. Over the past 6 months, volatility in energy markets, investments in 5G telecom services, absence of tariff hikes, and higher global rates have driven a 6% cut in consensus estimates for RIL, reversing the trend of upgrades seen in the first half of 2022.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/morgan-stanley-on-ril-recovery-in-energy-biz-key-to-raising-investor-confidence/articleshow/97641311.cms

Ultra-processed foods such as soda, microwaveable food, and salty snacks are linked to an array of cancers, according to a study of 197,000 people

In order to prolong their shelf life, highly processed food often contains additives such as flavor enhancers, sweeteners, and industrial chemicals.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-7190-8B30EDB392FC%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

Outside the Box: The stock market is wishing and hoping the Fed will pivot — but the pain won’t end until investors panic

Wishful thinking is hardly a replacement for the market’s magical thinking, writes Satyajit Das.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-7190-89A368CDE8DC%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

Michael Brush: These 2 global energy stocks look cheap now because of their ‘ESG discount’ — but maybe not for long

‘Inverse ESG’ is a contrarian and potentially lucrative investment tactic.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-718F-9545997A85B9%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1