30Dec2021 Market Close & Major Financial Headlines: Stocks Skid, Bonds Bid, Musk Mulls Imminent Recession, JetBlue cuts hundreds of January flights

Putin: Nord Stream 2 Is Loaded With Gas And Ready To Deliver

On Wednesday Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to Germany is fully ready and prepared to start pumping gas exports, amid a continued hold-up in regulatory approval on the German side. Hailing the completion of the $11 billion natural gas pipeline which the US had long worked to block, Putin told a government meeting which was attended by Gazprom head Alexei Miller, “Id like to congratulate Gazprom and your partners in Nord Stream 2 on the completion of work and the creation of this additional large

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Putin-Nord-Stream-2-Is-Loaded-With-Gas-And-Ready-To-Deliver.html

Is SpaceX Blocking Out Rivals In The Satellite Race?

Elon Musk has urged that there is room for tens of billions of satellites in Earths orbit, amid concerns that SpaceX is hoarding space for its own. The European Space Agency suggested that Musk was blocking out smaller rivals in space. It is not the first time the billionaire has drawn criticism from the agency, as Musk was earlier this month accused of being able to make his own rules regarding the final frontier. However, Musk told the Financial Times: A couple of thousand satellites is nothing. Its

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Is-SpaceX-Blocking-Out-Rivals-In-The-Satellite-Race.html

China Mandates State Companies To Reduce Energy Consumption

Chinese authorities have asked that state companies reduce their energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions by 2025 compared to 2020 levels as part of Chinas plan to have its CO2 emissions peak before the end of this decade. State-controlled firms in China must slash their energy consumption per 10,000 yuan ($1,570) of output value by 2025 to 15 percent below the levels seen in 2020, Reuters quoted the State Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) as saying in a statement on Thursday. Carbon dioxide emissions at state-held

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/China-Mandates-State-Companies-To-Reduce-Energy-Consumption.html

Beijing Slashes Import Quotas For Independent Refiners By 11%

Chinese authorities have granted 11 percent lower crude import quotas to independent refiners in the worlds top oil importer in the first batch of quota allowances for 2022. The government, intent on reforming the independent refining sector and cracking down on tax evasion and illicit practices at the teapots, is now allowing its independent refiners to import 109 million tons of crude oil in the first batch for 2022. This is down by 11 percent compared to the first batch of quotas granted for 2021, officials from some of the 42 private

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Beijing-Slashes-Import-Quotas-For-Independent-Refiners-By-11.html

Daniel Yergin: U.S. Oil Production May Increase By 900,000 Bpd Next Year

Crude oil production in the United States could increase by close to 1 million bpd next year, according to IHS Markits Daniel Yergin. Speaking to CNBC this week, Yergin said that The U.S. is back. For the last year, year and a half, its been OPEC+ running the show, but U.S. production is coming back already, and its going to come back more in 2022. U.S. producers slashed their output dramatically during the pandemic, from a record-high 13 million bpd in early 2020, to 11 million bpd in December 2020. Currently,

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Daniel-Yergin-US-Oil-Production-May-Increase-By-900000-Bpd-Next-Year.html

Indian State Oil Giant To Significantly Expand Oil Exploration

Indian state firm Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) plans to raise fourfold its exploration and production acreage by 2025, Indias petroleum minister said on Thursday, as the worlds third-biggest oil importer looks to reduce its large dependence on crude imports. ONGCs strategy for the future includes boosting the E&P acreage from the current 127,000 square kilometers to 500,000 square kilometers by 2025, Indian Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted on Thursday after visiting the companys

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Indian-State-Oil-Giant-To-Significantly-Expand-Oil-Exploration.html

Powerball’s top prize jumps to $500 million for the first drawing of 2022. This year, winners landed jackpots totaling $2 billion

Powerball’s last drawing of 2021 was Wednesday night, capping a year that had six winning jackpots worth an aggregate $2 billion.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/30/powerball-top-prize-is-483-million-this-year-2-billion-was-won.html

U.S. CDC says people should ‘avoid cruise travel, regardless of vaccination status’

The CDC is currently investigating or observing dozens of cruise ships that have had Covid outbreaks.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/30/us-cdc-says-people-should-avoid-cruise-travel-regardless-of-vaccination-status.html

Here’s what the exec who boosted ESPN and launched NFL RedZone sees next in sports TV

Former ESPN and NFL executive Steve Bornstein discusses the future of sports television in an end of the year interview with CNBC’s Jabari Young.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/30/exec-who-grew-espn-and-launched-nfl-redzone-chats-future-of-sports-tv.html

The bull market’s biggest hopes for 2022 are in the portfolios of wealthy young investors

Younger investors from the millennial generation have benefitted from a long bull market and huge stock returns in 2021. But a lower-return world may coming.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/30/bull-markets-biggest-hopes-for-2022-rest-with-millennial-millionaires.html

Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Biogen, JetBlue, Didi and others

These are the stocks posting the largest moves before the bell.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/30/stocks-making-the-biggest-moves-premarket-biogen-jetblue-didi-and-others.html

Walmart drew one in four dollars spent on click and collect — with room to grow in 2022

Sales in click and collect are expected to jump by 21% to an estimated $101 billion in 2022, according to the market research firm.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/30/walmart-drew-one-in-four-dollars-on-click-and-collect-market-researcher.html

JetBlue cuts hundreds of January flights due to omicron surge as travel disruptions rise

JetBlue is trimming its schedule ahead of the further spread of omicron.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/30/jetblue-cuts-flights-through-mid-january-expecting-more-omicron-covid-sick-calls.html

China’s bookstores are booming — and their looks can matter more than their books

Social media plays such an important role for Chinese consumer businesses that for a crop of new bookstores, visual appeal tends to be a priority.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/30/china-bookstore-boom-fueled-by-visual-appeal-social-media-traffic.html

WHO says omicron has not spread widely among the vulnerable yet, still too early to determine severity

WHO officials said it is still not clear how omicron will affect people who are older, have underlying conditions and are not vaccinated.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/29/covid-who-says-omicron-has-not-spread-widely-among-vulnerable-severity-unclear.html

Fauci predicts omicron Covid wave will peak in U.S. by end of January

“It’s tough to say,” said Fauci, President Joe Biden’s top medical aide, when asked on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” when the omicron-fueled surge will start to recede.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/29/fauci-predicts-omicron-covid-wave-will-peak-in-us-by-end-of-january-.html

Millennials lead shift away from organized religion as pandemic tests Americans’ faith

It’s not uncommon for people to seek God during times of hardship. However, the opposite appears to have happened during the coronavirus pandemic.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/29/millennials-lead-shift-away-from-organized-religion-as-pandemic-tests-faith.html

Fauci warns against large New Year’s Eve parties as Covid cases hit pandemic high

Fauci said small gatherings with family and close friends are low risk if everyone at the gathering is vaccinated and boosted.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/29/fauci-warns-against-large-new-years-eve-parties-as-covid-cases-hit-pandemic-high.html

WHO warns new Covid variants could emerge that are fully resistant to vaccines as pandemic drags on

Reactionary political movements fostered vaccine inequity and “created the ideal conditions for the emergence of new variants,” WHO’s leader said.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/29/who-warns-vaccine-resistant-covid-variants-could-emerge-amid-pandemic.html

Stocks Skid, Bonds Bid As Musk Mulls Imminent Recession

Stocks Skid, Bonds Bid As Musk Mulls Imminent RecessionElon Musk predicts a recession by 2023:

“Predicting macroeconomics is challenging, to say the least. My gut feel is maybe around spring or summer 2022, but not later than 2023”

The market also predicts some kind of policy reversion, but more like 3-5 years out…

Source: Bloomberg

Some late-day selling after Musk’s comments ruined the party as The Dow ended its win-streak and the S&P failed to close at a 71st record high for the year. Small Caps desperately tried to hold on to gains…

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/stocks-bonds-bid-musk-mulls-imminent-recession

COVID ‘Blood On His Hands’: Biden ‘Kills’ More Americans Than Trump

COVID ‘Blood On His Hands’: Biden ‘Kills’ More Americans Than Trump”We are in the midst of a crisis with the coronavirus. We need to lead the way with science – not Donald Trump’s record of hysteria, xenophobia, and fear-mongering. He is the worst possible person to lead our country through a global health emergency,” Biden said in February 2020.

President Biden may not recall what he said during a 2020 campaign debate last fall, but Americans should:

“Anyone who is responsible for that many deaths should not remain as President of the United States of America.”

At the time the U.S. had recorded 220,000 Covid deaths.

“If the president had done his job, had done his job from the beginning, all the people would still be alive,” Mr. Biden said last fall.

So, what happened when Joe-Biden-The-Science-Guy stepped in? Things went just a little bit turbo…

So as the year draws to an end, what are the scores of the doors…

< …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/covid-blood-his-hands-biden-kills-more-americans-trump

Vanderbilt University Professor Argues That We All Need To Eat Bugs

Vanderbilt University Professor Argues That We All Need To Eat BugsAuthored by Steve Watson via Summit News,

A professor at Vanderbilt University has argued that food authorities in the U.S. and beyond need to follow the example of the European Union and make BUGS, including maggots and worms, a staple of people’s diets.

In a piece published by Bloomberg, professor Amanda Little argues that everyone in the world needs to start dining on insects.

Little writes that the EU “approval confers a kind of …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/vanderbilt-university-professor-argues-we-all-need-eat-bugs

Nancy Pelosi Buys Millions In Call Options In Google, Micron, Roblox, Salesforce And Disney

Nancy Pelosi Buys Millions In Call Options In Google, Micron, Roblox, Salesforce And DisneyDespite a populist grassroots movement seeking to ban Congress members from trading stocks, one which has attracted bipartisan political support, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi – arguably one of the most prolific Congressional traders – said two weeks ago that lawmakers should be allowed to make trades while serving.

“We’re a free market economy,” Pelosi told reporters during a news conference. “They should be able to participate in that.”

Pelosi’s statement came days after progressive New Yorker, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, reiterated her support for banning lawmakers from the practice. Ocasio-Cortez and other members of Congress argue that lawmakers have access to information the public is not privy to and the ability to write and pass policy, they should abstain from buying and selling individual stock and other assets. She and other lawmakers support members of Congress investing in index funds.

“I choose not to hold any so I can remain impartial about policy making,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Instagram.

Pelosi’s statement also came in the wake of a series of scandals involving federal lawmakers, Fed and government officials making suspect trades throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

Currently, Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.), is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for trades he made in the early days of the pandemic (Burr has said all of his trades were based on news reports, not non-public information), and other lawmakers were investigated by the Department of Justice for their trades.

It’s not limited to Congress: I …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/nancy-pelosi-buys-millions-call-options-google-micron-roblox-salesforce-and-disney

Santander: Bank hands out £130m in Christmas blunder

The error meant around 75,000 people woke up on Christmas morning to a surprise payment from Santander.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59826345?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Average house price hits record high of £255,000

Typical prices leap almost £24,000 since January, making the strongest year since 2006, Nationwide says.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59826341?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Tesla to recall 475,000 cars in the US

The number of cars being recalled is nearly equivalent to the firm’s global deliveries last year.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-59818800?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Tech View: Back-to-back Dojis suggest Nifty50 preparing for decisive move

Mazhar Mohammad of Chartviewindia.in said the indecisive formations at the upper boundary of a downsloping channel are an indication that Nifty50 is preparing itself for a decisive move in either of the directions.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/tech-view-back-to-back-dojis-suggest-nifty50-preparing-for-decisive-move/articleshow/88595116.cms

Gold, silver lose sheen in 2021. Will they glitter next year?

Rising inflation could ignite gold’s safe-haven appeal for wealth preservation, after a long phase of consolidation. There is also huge pent-up wedding-related demand for gold in the domestic market. Central banks are also accumulating the precious metal, Sachdeva says, and their gold reserves have reached a 31-year high in 2021.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/commodities/news/gold-silver-lose-sheen-in-2021-will-they-glitter-next-year/articleshow/88586630.cms

Forget Bitcoin and Ether, No. 3 cryptocurrency is the real outperformer

​Among the three largest digital tokens by market value, Binance Coin, or BNB, significantly outperformed its two larger rivals Bitcoin and Ether.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/cryptocurrency/forget-bitcoin-and-ether-no-3-cryptocurrency-is-the-real-outperformer/articleshow/88582823.cms

Bond Report: 10-year Treasury yield slides by most in more than a week but holds above 1.50%

U.S. Treasury yields retreated across the board Thursday, marking the largest daily drop in about a week, as investors parsed data to cap the final days of 2021 amid signs that the impact of the omicron variant on the economy is muted.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C05575-04D4-B545-7826-A0E17419C670%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

Market Extra: Is the U.S. stock market closed on Friday for New Year’s Eve? No. It isn’t even closed on Monday. Here’s why!

Blame it on an obscure rule. For the first time in a decade, there will be no U.S. stock-market closure in observance of New Year’s Day.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C05575-04D4-B545-7829-52029C693750%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

Futures Movers: U.S. oil ends near $77, adding to 5-week climb

U.S. oil futures settled higher Thursday as fading concerns about the impact on the economy from the omicron variant of the coronavirus and signs of falling inventories helped to support year-end buying.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C05575-04D4-B545-7826-A59964AB54A9%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1