Global Auto Giants Find Their EV Haven In Small Canadian Town

Becancour, a quaint Canadian town nestled along the St. Lawrence River, is not the kind of place you’d typically associate with a high-tech revolution. With a population that barely surpasses 14,000, this town might just be at the epicenter of North America’s burgeoning electric vehicle (EV) supply chain. It’s easy to think of the EV transition in terms of swanky new cars and charging stations, but for anyone familiar with the intricacies of the energy world, it’s clear that the heart of the EV beast lies in its batteries. And…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Global-Auto-Giants-Find-Their-EV-Haven-In-Small-Canadian-Town.html

Rig Count Decline Accelerates Amid Rising U.S. Crude Oil Production

The total number of active drilling rigs in the United States fell by 12  this week, according to new data from Baker Hughes published Friday. The total rig count fell to 652 this week. So far this year, Baker Hughes has estimated a loss of 136 active drilling rigs. This week’s count is 54 fewer rigs than the rig count at the beginning of 2019 prior to the pandemic. The number of oil rigs fell by 5 this week to 520, down by 101 so far in 2023. The number of gas rigs fell by 6 to 117, a loss of 39 active gas rigs from the start of the…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Rig-Count-Decline-Accelerates-Amid-Rising-US-Crude-Oil-Production.html

Big Solar Slapped With Tariffs For Dodging China Duties

The United Commerce Department will finalize a decision on Friday to impose import duties on solar panel manufacturers who made their products in Southeast Asian nations in a bid to avoid tariffs on Chinese-made goods. The Commerce probe found that units of Chinese companies BYD, Trina Solar, Longi Green Energy and Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) were dodging U.S. tariffs on Chinese solar panels by finishing their products in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam before shipping them to the U.S. market. The…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Big-Solar-Slapped-With-Tariffs-For-Dodging-China-Duties.html

Bitcoin Crashes Amid A Wave Of Bearish News

Call it the Bloomberg jinx. One day after the billionaire failed presidential candidate and media mogul’s outlet published a report that “Bitcoin’s Extreme Volatility Vanishes Amid ‘Extreme Apathy and Exhaustion’,” bitcoin’s volatility has come back with a vengeance when what was already an ugly day – which saw bitcoin slump from above $29,000 on Wednesday evening to around $27,500 by Thursday afternoon – amid soaring nominal and real rates became a bloodbath when in the span of minutes, bitcoin tumbled another $2,000 to as low…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Finance/the-Economy/Bitcoin-Crashes-Amid-A-Wave-Of-Bearish-News.html

Adani Clears Air On Rumored $2.5 Billion Deal With Abu Dhabi’s TAQA

Adani Transmission, a subsidiary of Indian conglomerate Adani Group, has denied reports that Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. PJSC (TAQA) will invest $1.5-2.5 billion in Adani Group firms or in a single entity. The Economic Times had earlier reported that TAQA is evaluating a large exposure in the sprawling power businesses of billionaire Gautam Adani that span thermal generation to transmission, clean energy and green hydrogen, said people aware of the matter. “In this regard, we wish to clarify that the Company is not engaged in any discussion with…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Adani-Clears-Air-On-Rumored-25-Billion-Deal-With-Abu-Dhabis-TAQA.html

CNOOC Confirms Arctic LNG 2 Set For Launch This Year

Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project is on track to begin first production later this year, one of the minority shareholders, China’s CNOOC, said on Friday. “So far all the partners…have been financing the project as per normal. None is delaying in funding it. The project is thus proceeding as planned,” CNOOC’s chief financial officer Xie Weizhi told an earnings briefing in Hong Kong, as carried by Reuters.  Arctic LNG 2 is developed by Novatek, Russia’s largest independent natural gas producer, which holds…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/CNOOC-Confirms-Arctic-LNG-2-Set-For-Launch-This-Year.html

LNG Tanker Prices Soar Earlier Than Usual Ahead Of Winter

The pre-winter seasonal rally of LNG tanker charter prices has started earlier than in previous years amid expectations of high demand for the winter and uncertainties over a potential strike in Australia that could curtail 10% of global LNG supply. Spot LNG charter rates for the Pacific broke on Thursday the threshold of $100,000 per day for the first time since early January, Spark Commodities, a firm tracking price assessments from LNG shipbrokers, said. The Spark25 route to the Pacific was assessed at $105,000 per day on Thursday, Spark Commodities…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/LNG-Tanker-Prices-Soar-Earlier-Than-Usual-Ahead-Of-Winter.html

Bullish Sentiment Is Fading In Oil Markets

Bullish sentiment is fading slightly in oil markets despite the production cuts from OPEC+ and global inventories being tapped.Friday, August 18, 2023While backwardation in oil markets has reached the widest level since April and inventories are declining globally, the upside for crude oil prices is no longer as evident as it was a couple of weeks ago. The Federal Reserve minutes, showing Fed members divided over the need for further rate hikes, cooled down expectations of a soft landing, and China’s ongoing macroeconomic woes resurfaced…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Bullish-Sentiment-Is-Fading-In-Oil-Markets.html

China’s Oil Giant CNOOC Sees Profits Drop 11% On Lower Prices

CNOOC Ltd, China’s state-held oil and gas giant, has reported a decline of 11.3% year over year in its net profit for the first half of 2023, as lower oil prices weighed on profitability. CNOOC posted $8.7 billion (63.8 billion Chinese yuan) in net income between January and June, down from the same period last year as lower commodity prices weighed on realized prices at all major companies during the second quarter of 2023 and the first half of 2023. The lower oil prices more than offset an 8.9% increase in CNOOC’s net oil and gas…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Chinas-Oil-Giant-CNOOC-Sees-Profits-Drop-11-On-Lower-Prices.html

An Irresistible Pre-Earnings Trade

In some ways, buying a falling stock in front of earnings isn’t a smart thing to do. There is always the chance that there are people out there who know more than you do and that the drop is the result of that knowledge. Furthermore, it could be argued that when sentiment around a stock is extremely negative, even what looks like a generally good earnings report will be picked apart for weaknesses to justify more selling. However, for those of us with a more contrarian trading style, a big decline in the price of a stock in the runup to earnings…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Solar-Energy/An-Irresistible-Pre-Earnings-Trade.html

Traders Remain Cautious Amid Oil Price Volatility

After facing declines for three straight sessions, October West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices rebounded on Thursday. However, despite the greenback weakening and China’s central bank pushing for economic recovery, the market is still poised to finish lower for the week. Key indicators reveal oil’s volatile trajectory this week, impacted by multiple global factors. OPEC+ and the Global Supply The OPEC+ alliance, consisting of oil magnates like Saudi Arabia and Russia, remains influential in determining the supply landscape. Despite OPEC+…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Traders-Remain-Cautious-Amid-Oil-Price-Volatility.html

China’s Economic Woes Hurt Diesel Demand

1. China’s Diesel Renaissance Is Not Happening- Analytics firms have been cutting their Chinese diesel demand outlooks for 2023, with Rystad and the IEA cutting 100,000 b/d and 150,000 b/d from earlier forecasts, respectively, as China’s weak construction sector and weakening manufacturing activity weigh on diesel. – Diesel is a key product for Chinese refiners, making up 4.3 million b/d of total products output or 28.2% of total throughput, however it seems post-opening China can’t grow its demand for diesel. – Whilst Chinese…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Chinas-Economic-Woes-Hurt-Diesel-Demand.html

The Threat Of A Jihadist Resurgence In West Africa

Politics, Geopolitics, & Conflict Jihadist groups are resurging in West Africa as the coup in Niger creates instability on borders and gives Islamist radicals in the Sahel a reason to feel emboldened. Not only is the coup in Niger a potential catalyst for a regional war, but it is also a fast-track to the return in full force of radical Islamist groups (the Islamic State, or IS, and al-Qaida affiliate Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin) operating in the region. Jihadists ambushed and killed 17 soldiers on Wednesday near the border with…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-Threat-Of-A-Jihadist-Resurgence-In-West-Africa.html

Libya Has A Major Militia Problem

It was only a (short) matter of time before Libya’s oil was once again in a very precarious position as various factions in rival governments attempt to jockey for position. Militia warfare in Tripoli (the seat of the Government of National Accord, GNA) broke out on Monday, killing an estimated 50 people as of Wednesday and wounding scores of others, before dying down.  The trigger in this case was the arrest of a militia commander affiliated with the Libyan defense ministry and allied with the Libyan interim prime minister of the GNA,…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Libya-Has-A-Major-Militia-Problem.html

Sour Crude Market Tightens Further As Kuwait’s Exports Dip

The market for sour crude in Asia is tightening as Kuwait is ramping up a large new refinery and cutting exports to divert supply to its new facility, adding to the ongoing cuts from major Middle Eastern producers in the OPEC+ group to further restrict heavy and medium sour crude supply. Kuwait is currently in the process of ramping up its huge new 615,000-barrels-per-day refinery Al-Zour and has reduced crude supply to the global market this year, analysts from energy consultancies Energy Aspects, Rystad Energy, FGE, and S&P Global Commodity…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Sour-Crude-Market-Tightens-Further-As-Kuwaits-Exports-Dip.html

Nasdaq falls a fourth day in a row, notches longest weekly losing streak since December: Live updates

The major averages ended the week in the negative.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/17/stock-market-today-live-updates.html

The iPhone 15 could get one of the biggest upgrades in years: A new charging port

The iPhone 15, expected to launch in September, could have a feature that no iPhone has ever had — a generic charging port.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/18/iphone-15-usb-c-charging-would-be-biggest-upgrade-in-years.html

Elon Musk says users on X, formerly Twitter, will lose ability to block unwanted followers, eliminating key safety feature

Elon Musk said on Friday that users of the site formerly known as Twitter will no longer be able to block unwanted followers from responding to their posts.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/18/elon-musk-says-x-users-will-be-losing-the-ability-to-block-content-.html

Bitcoin fell through a key level and is giving a bearish signal. Here’s what chart analysts say happens next

Bitcoin tumbled to finish the week after many weeks of stillness in the market. Chart analysts give their outlook for the cryptocurrency.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/18/bitcoin-is-giving-a-bearish-signal-heres-what-chart-analysts-say-happens-next.html

3 trends are dividing restaurant companies into winners and losers

While most restaurant companies crushed earnings expectations, a number of them fell short of Wall Street’s estimates for their quarterly revenue.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/18/mcdonalds-chipotle-among-restaurant-earnings-winners-and-losers.html

Disney goes on offense in DeSantis board’s lawsuit, seeks damages for breach of contract

DeSantis recently told CNBC that he has “moved on” from the feud with Disney, which stemmed from a clash over the bill dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by critics.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/18/disney-seeks-damages-from-desantis-board-for-contract-breach.html

‘Barbie’ faces DC’s ‘Blue Beetle’ in a late summer box office showdown

Warner Bros. Discovery’s “Blue Beetle” arrives in cinemas this weekend and is expected to tally between $22 million and $32 million domestically.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/18/barbie-vs-blue-beetle-box-office-showdown.html

What Wall Street needs to know about UAW talks, a potential strike and what it could all cost

Contracts between the Detroit automakers and United Auto Workers union expire at 11:59 p.m. ET on Sept. 14.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/18/what-uaw-negotiations-could-cost-gm-ford-and-stellantis.html

Automakers are finally embracing lidar sensors. A few startups look like market-share winners

After years of talk — and a SPAC boom in the sensor sector — automakers have finally started incorporating lidar units into their vehicles.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/18/innoviz-luminar-ouster-likely-winners-lidar-shakeout.html

China’s property giant Evergrande files for bankruptcy protection in Manhattan court

The world’s most indebted property developer defaulted in 2021 and announced an offshore debt restructuring program in March.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/18/china-property-developer-evergrande-files-for-bankruptcy-protection-in-us.html

How Modelo dethroned Bud Light to become the top-selling U.S. beer

How Modelo overtook Bud Light’s spot as America’s bestselling beer

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/18/how-modelo-dethroned-bud-light-to-become-the-top-selling-us-beer.html

Outback Steakhouse owner’s stock rises after activist Starboard Value buys stake

Starboard Value now owns 9.9% of Bloomin’ Brands’ shares, according to a regulatory filing.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/18/outback-steakhouse-owners-stock-rises.html

Earnings this week show shoppers will spend money for value, favoring two retail stocks

A busy week of retail earnings revealed that American consumers are spending with value top of mind.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/18/retail-earnings-show-shoppers-will-spend-money-for-value-favoring-tjx-costco.html

Canada’s Fourth Largest Emergency Evacuation Underway As Wildfires Spread

Residents in Yellowknife, the capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories — home to about 20,000, were forced to flee their homes as a wildfire is within ten miles of the city’s northern edge. Another emergency order was posted for the 150,000 people that live in Kelowna, the largest city in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley.

BBC News reported Yellowknife’s emergency evacuation is the fourth largest in Canada’s history:

Some 20,000 people are currently making their way out of Yellowknife, fleeing a wildfire that is 16km (10 miles) away from city limits. Hundreds others have already made their way out earlier this week from towns in the South Slave region of the Northwest Territories.

Once the wildfire evacuation is complete, it could become the fourth largest in Canada’s history, according to official public safety data.

The largest evacuation to date was in Fort McMurray, Alberta – a city that is now taking in some evacuees from the Northwest Territories – after its 90,000 residents were forced to flee from a wildfire in 2016.

Last night, in support of the Government of the Northwest Territories, an @RCAF_ARC CC-130J Hercules aircraft evacuated 79 long term-care residents from #Yellowknife to

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/weather/four-largest-emergency-evacuation-underway-canada-wildfires-spread

ChatGPT ‘Politically Biased Toward Left’ In The US & Beyond: New Research Finds

Authored by Helen Partz via CoinTelegraph.com,

Even after facing evidence that ChatGPT has a political bias, the chatbot continued to insist that it and OpenAI were unbiased…

ChatGPT, a major large language model (LLM)-based chatbot, allegedly lacks objectivity when it comes to political issues, according to a new study.

Computer and information science researchers from the United Kingdom and Brazil claim to have found “robust evidence” that ChatGPT presents a significant political bias toward the left side of the political spectrum. The analysts — Fabio Motoki, Valdemar Pinho Neto and Victor Rodrigues — provided their insights in a study published by the journal Public Choice on Aug. 17.

The researchers argued that texts generated by L …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/chatgpt-politically-biased-toward-left-us-beyond-new-research-finds

Visualizing The Rise & Fall Of WeWork

Despite its recommitment to core business fundamentals in the last few years, WeWork’s management – which saw a shakeup in May 2023 when CEO Sandeep Mathrani departed – is setting off a signal flare about the company’s future.

“Our losses and negative cash flows from operating activities raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.”

– WEWORK, SEC FILING, AUGUST 8TH, 2023.

But how did the once-poster child of Silicon Valley end up seeing its valuation collapse more than 99% from its peak?

Pulling together data from various sources, Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao charts the rise and fall of WeWork since 2011.

Things went just a little bit more turbo for the office-space-provider as it plunged as much as 18% this morning after announcing a 1-for-40 reverse stock split to regain compliance with listing requirements.

“The reverse …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/visualizing-rise-fall-wework

LNG Tanker Prices Soar Earlier Than Usual Ahead Of Winter

Authored by Charles Kennedy via OilPrice.com,

The pre-winter seasonal rally of LNG tanker charter prices has started earlier than in previous years amid expectations of high demand for the winter and uncertainties over a potential strike in Australia that could curtail 10% of global LNG supply.

Spot LNG charter rates for the Pacific broke on Thursday the threshold of $100,000 per day for the first time since early January, Spark Commodities, a firm tracking price assessments from LNG shipbrokers, said.

The Spark25 route to the Pacific was assessed at $105,000 per day on Thursday, Spark Commodities said.

The seasonal pre-winter rally of spot LNG tanker rates comes a month earlier than it did in 2022 when the rates in the Pacific region only bro …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/lng-tanker-prices-soar-earlier-usual-ahead-winter

Train strikes: Aslef drivers announce new date

Drivers will walk out on 1 September and refuse to work overtime on 2 September, the union says.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66544391?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Twitter, now X, to remove blocking feature

Elon Musk says the feature “makes no sense”, but users are concerned about protection from abuse.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66550959?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Energy bills predicted to drop in October

Ofgem is poised to announce a small cut in its price cap next week, a consultancy firm forecasts.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66542340?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Jio Financial stock could see $290 million outflow from passive funds: Nuvama

Currently, Jio Financial is part of key indices of the BSE and National Stock Exchange, including the Sensex and Nifty 50, at a constant price of Rs 261.8 a share

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/jio-financial-stock-could-see-290-million-outflow-from-passive-funds-nuvama/articleshow/102838034.cms

SoftBank buys Vision Fund’s stake in Arm at valuation of $64 billion

SoftBank is now expected to sell fewer Arm shares in the initial public offering (IPO) and would likely be retaining a stake of as much as 90% in the company, according to the sources, adding that Arm’s capital raising from the IPO would be less than the range of $8 billion to $10 billion it was earlier planning

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/softbank-buys-vision-funds-stake-in-arm-at-valuation-of-64-billion/articleshow/102841342.cms

Ace investor Ashish Kacholia sells part stake in SJS Enterprises for Rs 12 crore

The company manufactures a wide range of aesthetics products catering to two-wheelers, passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, consumer durables/appliances, medical devices, farm equipment and sanitary ware industries

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/ace-investor-ashish-kacholia-sells-part-stake-in-sjs-enterprises-for-rs-12-crore/articleshow/102840736.cms

Futures Movers: Oil prices post first weekly loss since June

Oil futures snapped a run of seven straight weekly gains as worries about Chinese demand, rising bond yields and a stronger dollar take a toll.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-724D-95E657232DD0%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

Crypto: Bitcoin’s tumble: Here’s what may have sparked selloff — and why it may spell trouble for other assets

Bitcoin fell below its 200-day moving average on Friday, as investors remain worried that global interest rates will stay high for longer while economy may slow down.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-724E-387A5946C26F%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

The Margin: ‘Magnificent Seven’ stocks are losing some of their shine, but their bonds are doing fine

Meta, Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia shares are all in correction territory, but investors are still buying their bonds.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-724E-20B093D90C03%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1