How Azerbaijan Is Helping Europe Pivot Away From Russian Gas

On April 13, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev paid an official visit to Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. While there, Aliyev met with his counterparts, the members of the Bosnian tripartite presidency, Željka Cvijanovi?, Denis Beirovi? and Željko Komši? (Azertac, April 13). Despite the shortness of the visit—Aliyev departed on the same day—it was considered quite successful as Azerbaijan gained “one more strategic partner in Europe” (Trend.az, April 13), with the leaders of the two countries signing a joint declaration…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/How-Azerbaijan-Is-Helping-Europe-Pivot-Away-From-Russian-Gas.html

More Banking Trouble Pushes Oil Prices Down Another 2%

West Texas Intermediate futures for June delivery closed out at $77.07 per barrel on NYMEX—the lowest front-month finish in nearly a month. WTI sank $1.69 per barrel, or just over 2%, on Tuesday afternoon as recession fears reinforced doubts about what that means for crude oil demand. The Brent front-month contract was also down by more than 2% (-$1.96 per barrel), ending the trading day at $80.77 per barrel. Prices had been trading up earlier in the week after a poor showing last week, but sank as yet another bank—First Republic—created…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/More-Banking-Trouble-Pushes-Oil-Prices-Down-Another-2.html

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Novak To Discuss Energy Cooperation With Iran

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak and the country’s Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina are set to visit Iran next month, Iran’s Deputy Oil Minister Ahmad Asadzadeh said, according to the Information Agency of the Islamic Republic, in a move that could result in a powerful collaboration that could shift global energy markets. Novak is set to attend the 27th International Exhibition of Oil, Gas, and Petrochemicals in Iran that is scheduled for mid-May, and is scheduled to sign cooperation documents at that time as well.…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Russian-Deputy-Prime-Minister-Novak-To-Discuss-Energy-Cooperation-With-Iran.html

European Union Pushes Into North African Solar Markets

Electrifying Africa is going to be one of the biggest challenges (and opportunities) of the clean energy era. In order to build a carbon-free economy, Africa has to “leapfrog” over what is normally the next phase of development in a nation’s economic journey. At present, 600 million people across the African continent still lack access to energy. But instead of looking to cheap and abundant fossil fuel sources to kickstart economic development as other nations have historically done, African leaders are facing the necessary and…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/European-Union-Pushes-Into-North-African-Solar-Markets.html

Nigeria Completes Gas Pipeline Without Chinese Funds

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has used around $1.1 billion of its own funds so far and has completed work on 70% of a large natural gas pipeline in Nigeria even after a Chinese loan for the project failed to materialize. Nigeria’s federal government announced in July 2020 that the Bank of China and Sinosure had agreed to finance part of the costs for constructing the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline to the economic hub in the north, Kano. In the summer of 2021, reports started swirling that Chinese lenders were…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Nigeria-Completes-Gas-Pipeline-Without-Chinese-Funds.html

Turkmenistan Is Facing A Water Crisis

Turkmenistan is starting to think harder about water, and not before time.  On April 22, the Foreign Ministry hosted a conference under the title of “Management of Water Resources Amid Climate Change Conditions.” The ministry’s account of the event offered a sparse summary about what was said. Namely, that regional transboundary water cooperation is essential to ensuring stability and prosperity, and that climate change is forcing the world to focus more urgently on how it uses water. At first glance, these pronouncements…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/The-Environment/Global-Warming/Turkmenistan-Is-Facing-A-Water-Crisis.html

Credit Suisse Reports Alarming Magnitude Of Losses And Outflows

Credit Suisse reported Monday that clients had withdrawn 61.2 billion francs ($69 billion) in the first quarter and that outflows were continuing, highlighting the challenge faced by UBS in rescuing its rival in March. In the last financial statement as an independent company, Credit Suisse reported a loss of 1.3 billion Swiss francs ($1.46 billion) for the first three months of the year. It said “significant net asset outflows” were seen in March.  Most asset outflows originated from its wealth management unit and occurred in all regions.…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Credit-Suisse-Reports-Alarming-Magnitude-Of-Losses-And-Outflows.html

U.S. Banks Face Pressure To Cut Fossil Fuel Funding

Citigroup, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo shareholders are voting on Tuesday on non-binding resolutions proposed by environmental groups and ESG investors to wind down or phase out financing for fossil fuels.  At last year’s shareholders’ meetings of some of the biggest American banks, similar resolutions won no more than 13% of shareholder support, Reuters notes.  Early this year, As You Sow, Harrington Investments, The Sierra Club Foundation (SCF), and Trillium Asset Management filed two shareholder proposals…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/US-Banks-Face-Pressure-To-Cut-Fossil-Fuel-Funding.html

Eni Starts Work On Congo LNG Plant To Supply Gas To Europe

Italian energy major Eni on Tuesday launched the construction works for the first natural gas liquefaction project in the Republic of the Congo, which is expected to supply LNG to Europe.  The President of the Republic of the Congo, Denis Sassou Nguesso, and Eni’s CEO Claudio Descalzi today laid the foundation stone of Congo LNG. The project is designed to exploit the huge gas resources of Marine XII, with which it would meet the country’s power generation needs and export LNG, supplying new volumes of gas to international…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Eni-Starts-Work-On-Congo-LNG-Plant-To-Supply-Gas-To-Europe.html

Halliburton Earnings Beat Estimates In Tight Oilfield Services Market

Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) on Tuesday reported first-quarter earnings beating analyst expectations amid strong demand for oilfield services and tight service capacity. Halliburton, the leading fracking services provider among the industry’s top three firms, followed Baker Hughes and SLB (formerly Schlumberger) in reporting earnings above consensus forecasts for the first quarter of this year despite a decline in oil and gas prices.   Halliburton’s net income for the first quarter rose to $651 million, or $0.72 per diluted share, up…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Halliburton-Earnings-Beat-Estimates-In-Tight-Oilfield-Services-Market.html

Iran Oil Workers Join Labor Protest

Workers from several industries in Iran, including the oil sector, continue to strike in protest of inadequate wage increases and deteriorating living conditions amid spiraling inflation and a widening gap between household income and expenses. Strikes have been ongoing in several cities for months, with workers from petrochemical, mining, and steel industries demonstrating as well. In the oil industry, workers have called for a 79 percent wage increase for contract workers in both industrial and nonindustrial factories, almost three times the…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Iran-Oil-Workers-Join-Labor-Protest.html

China’s Golden Week Demand Boost Gives Oil Bulls Hope

In this week’s newsletter, we will take a quick look at some of the critical figures and data in the energy markets this week.               We will then look at some of the key market movers early this week before providing you with the latest analysis of the top news events taking place in the global energy complex over the past few days. We hope you enjoy. Chart of the Week The Era of Golden Oil Profits Is Over, For Now – After oil companies’ net income peaked…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Chinas-Golden-Week-Demand-Boost-Gives-Oil-Bulls-Hope.html

Germany’s Energy Transition Fund Is $13 Billion Short

Germany’s fund for climate action and energy security is some $13.2 billion (12 billion euros) short on resources from funds to be allocated by 2026, sources with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg on Tuesday.  Last year, the federal government of Germany moved to create a $195.5 billion (177.5 billion euros) fund to support climate action, energy security, and help households and businesses with energy costs between 2023 and 2026. Industry decarbonization, the implementation of a hydrogen strategy, funding for buildings…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Germanys-Energy-Transition-Fund-Is-13-Billion-Short.html

U.S. Net Debt To Exceed 110% By 2028 As Decarbonization Costs Mount

While the latest IMF forecasts were mostly lost in the din surrounding the start of earnings season, besides the now standard cuts to global growth forecasts, there was one standout item.  As the National Bank of Canada points out, the IMF’s projections forecast U.S. net debt to rise from 95% of GDP in 2023 to 110% by 2028, which actually is a conservative estimate when comparing a similar, if even more concerning longer-term forecast from the Congressional Budget Office, which effectively projects hyperinflation. But while the fate of US…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/US-Net-Debt-To-Exceed-110-By-2028-As-Decarbonization-Costs-Mount.html

EU Boosts Energy Infrastructure Security After Nord Stream Sabotage

The European Union has stepped up security measures and protection of its critical energy infrastructure following the sabotage on the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines last autumn, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the North Sea Summit late on Monday. “We know that our critical infrastructures are under threat,” von der Leyen said.   The EU has improved preparedness and coordinated responses at EU level to protect critical energy infrastructure, the EC president added. The EU is currently working on a…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/EU-Boosts-Energy-Infrastructure-Security-After-Nord-Stream-Sabotage.html

First Republic falls nearly 50% to a record low after reporting a massive deposit drop

The decline comes after the bank’s first-quarter earnings report, which showed that First Republic’s deposits shrank by 40.8% during the quarter.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/25/first-republic-falls-more-than-40percent-to-record-low-after-reporting-massive-deposit-drop.html

Stocks close lower Tuesday as investors’ bank fears return, Dow sheds more than 300 points: Live updates

Investors weighed earnings from consumer-facing brands while looking to tech giants Alphabet and Microsoft after the bell.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/24/stock-market-today-live-updates.html

Alphabet earnings are out — here are the numbers

Google reported earnings after the bell. Here are the results.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/25/alphabet-googl-q1-earnings-report-2023.html

Microsoft set to report quarterly earnings after the bell

Microsoft’s results are likely to be weighed down by the continuing slump in the PC market, but the company stands to benefit from its partnership with OpenAI.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/25/microsoft-msft-q3-earnings-report-2023.html

How to trade Apple’s March quarter results based on history

Using data going back 10 years, Morgan Stanley found how well the stock performs against the S&P 500 based on different outcomes from the March quarter report.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/25/how-to-trade-apples-march-quarter-results-based-on-history.html

Chipotle Mexican Grill is about to report earnings. Here’s what to expect

Chipotle hasn’t provided an outlook for 2023 same-store sales growth, noting the possibility of a recession.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/25/chipotle-mexican-grill-cmg-earnings-q1-2023-.html

U.S. regulators warn they already have the power to go after A.I. bias — and they’re ready to use it

Four federal U.S. agencies issued a warning on Tuesday that they already have the authority to tackle harms caused by AI bias.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/25/us-regulators-warn-they-already-have-the-power-to-go-after-ai-bias.html

ChatGPT users can now turn off their chat history, OpenAI announces

OpenAI announces new controls that allow ChatGPT users to turn off chat history

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/25/chatgpt-users-can-now-turn-off-their-chat-history-openai-announces.html

Ukraine war live updates: Two killed, 10 wounded in Russian attack on museum; Russian diplomats expelled by Sweden, Moldova

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces struck a museum in Kupyansk in the east of the country, killing two people and wounding 10 others.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/25/ukraine-war-live-updates-latest-news-on-russia-and-the-war-in-ukraine.html

Biden vows to ‘finish the job’ on the economy in first speech since launching 2024 campaign

Biden launched his reelection campaign with a video Tuesday morning, four years to the day after he announced he was running for president in the 2020 cycle.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/25/joe-biden-2024-reelection-president-to-speak-on-economy.html

Warner Bros. Discovery previews a stacked film slate, centered around this summer’s ‘Barbie’

CEO David Zaslav told attendees at CinemaCon that the studio will release 16 films in 2023 and hopes to do more than 20 releases annually going forward.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/25/cinemacon-2023-warner-bros-teases-barbie-dune-part-two.html

Japanese ispace moon landing attempt falls short at ‘very end,’ CEO says

Japanese company ispace aimed to be the first private enterprise to land on the moon, but lost communication and is investigating the attempt’s result.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/25/ispace-moon-landing-watch-live.html

Cruise robotaxis now run all day in San Francisco, with public access after 10 p.m.

GM-owned Cruise’s announcement is one more step towards broader commercial deployment of an autonomous alternative to ride-hailing services like Uber or Lyft

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/25/cruise-robotaxis-now-run-24-7-in-san-francisco-public-access-at-night.html

Shaky Start To US-Brokered Sudan Truce, Hundreds Of Thousands Flee Across Borders

“They feel it will become a war zone. But many simply don’t have the means to leave Khartoum,” Al Jazeera’s Khartoum-based war correspondent Mohamed el-Tayeb observed Tuesday of ongoing efforts to evacuate foreigners, but which has still left no escape options for local Sudanese.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is meanwhile preparing for hundreds of thousands of people to spill over borders into neighboring countries in the coming days and weeks, with a UNHCR briefing indicating that 270,000 people will likely go into South Sudan and Chad.

Jordanians flown from Sudan arrive in Amman, via AP.More refugees are also expected to flood into Eritrea, Ethiopia, Egypt, Libya, and Central African Republic, after fighting has raged between the nation’s two top gener …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/shaky-start-us-brokered-truce-sudan-hundreds-thousands-fleeing

A Tidal Wave Of Money Leaving Banks Will Kill Profits And Lending

Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

Let’s tune into a mass exodus of deposits at banks for money market mutual funds and what it means…

Spread between bank deposit rates and money market funds from Tweet below.

Jim Bianco has a 21-Tweet Thread on what’s going on with bank deposits. I chimed in on a couple of the Tweets. Here are some of the most important ideas.

7/21

Why are big banks losing more deposits than small banks?

This graphic showing “too-big-too-fail” banks offering no yield has lost its appeal in a world of 120 million active mobile banking apps that can easily access money market funds averaging 4.70% and 5% T-Bills.

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/tidal-wave-money-leaving-banks-will-kill-profits-and-lending

Inflated Big Tech Values Spell Trouble For S&P

By Jeran Wittenstein and Ryan Vlastelica, Bloomberg Markets live reporters and analysts

The stock market faces a major test this week when the big technology companies that have powered the S&P 500 Index’s rally this year are expected to report dismal quarterly earnings.

Profits for information technology companies in the benchmark are projected to fall 15% in the first quarter, which would be the biggest contraction year-over-year since 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence. The largest tech-related companies have been the biggest contributors to the S&P 500’s 7% advance this year, by virtue of their size and outperformance. Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., and Nvidia Corp. alone account for nearly half of the index’s gains, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“The valuation premium for US mega-cap stocks could remain problematic for S&P 500 performance, as these long-duration equities appear glaringly mispriced with interest rates at current levels,” Bloomberg Intelligence strategists Gina Martin Adams and Michael Casper wrote in a research note on April 18.

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/inflated-big-tech-values-spell-trouble-sp

OAN Founder Says He’d Pay Tucker Carlson $25 Million To Join Network

San Diego-based One America News CEO and founder Robert Herring Sr. has an offer for Tucker Carlson: $25 million to join the network.

“Maybe Fox News’ loss could be @OANN’s gain,  Founder and CEO @RobHerring would like to extend an invitation to Carlson to meet for negotiation,” the network tweeted on Monday, hours after we learned that Lachlan Murcoch had fired the #1 cable news host from Fox News.

It is still unknown what his next move will be. Many speculate that Carlson will join another right-wing network or he will create his own show.

One America News founder and CEO Robert Herring would like to extend an invitation to Carlson to meet for negotiation to become a part of the OAN team. -OAN

Tucker Carlson Leaves Fox Nation
Maybe Fox News’ loss could …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/oan-founder-says-hed-pay-tucker-carlson-25-million-join-network

Bank of England economist says people need to accept they are poorer

Huw Pill, chief economist for the Bank of England, says asking for pay rises contributes to inflation.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65308769?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Anger as fans say Coronation Concert ballot ‘misleading’

Fans who applied to attend thought they had won, only to find out the tickets had already gone.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65387085?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Barbie with Down’s syndrome on sale after ‘real women’ criticism

Mattel says it wants children to see themselves in Barbie and also play with dolls who do not look like them.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65388131?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Top 5 ELSS funds of last year delivered over 25% return in 3 years

ETMarkets used ET Mutual Screeners to analyze the top five equity-linked savings plans (ELSS) over the past year and found that all five have produced good CAGR returns of over 25% over the past three years. Tax-saving mutual funds, which invest at least 80% of assets in equities, are essentially ELSS that offer tax benefits to investors under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The lock-in period instills a good habit among investors to aim for long-term investing.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/top-5-elss-funds-of-last-year-delivered-over-25-return-in-3-years/top-bets/articleshow/99766751.cms

Zerodha’s Nithin Kamath on the hard lessons for startups this funding winter

Startups rushing to raise more funds at higher valuations risk a difficult situation amid the current liquidity crunch as it narrows equity upside, said Zerodha CEO and co-founder Nithin Kamath. Liquidation preferences, which allow investors to recover their investment before anyone else in a business, need to be fine-tuned to match underlying fundamentals to succeed, he added. Kamath pointed out the discrepancy between uneven valuations and the market’s fundamentals, which may prompt founders and leaders at late-stage startups to exit, potentially putting their firms’ survival at risk. Kamath’s comments come as fundraising for Indian startups falls to its lowest in four years.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/zerodhas-nithin-kamath-on-the-hard-lessons-for-startups-this-funding-winter/articleshow/99763281.cms

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

The Nifty needs to hold above 17,717 zones to witness an upward move towards 17,850 and 17,950 zones, according to Chandan Taparia of Motilal Oswal. On the downside, support is placed at 17,620 and 17,550 marks. Volatility has sunk to hover at its lower band, with options data suggesting a shift in the trading range between 17,500 to 18,000 zones. The PCR Ratio for Nifty settled at 1.01, indicating a mildly bullish trend. However, immediate support is around 17,650-17,600 levels, warned Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/tech-view-nifty-forms-doji-candle-what-should-traders-do-on-wednesday/articleshow/99763865.cms

Market Extra: What’s next for stock market as small-cap index suffers its first ‘death cross’ since January 2022

The Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks has produced a bearish “death cross” chart pattern for the first time in over a year, flashing a widely followed technical sell signal as small-caps are struggling with tightening financial conditions in the wake of bank failures and potential economic slowdown.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-71E0-0EC977B7AAAB%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

Key Words: Social Security can be saved by investing it in the stock market, says Sen. Bill Cassidy

His ‘big idea’ would invest money in the stock market over 75 years to make Social Security solvent.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-71DF-9ED60B922125%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

Movers & Shakers: First Republic stock tanks, UPS shares weaken, Spotify shares advance, and more stocks on the move

These stocks were making some of the most notable moves Tuesday amid a wave of earnings reports.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-71DF-300623C59737%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1