Kyrgyzstan’s $4.7 Billion Central Asian Railway Faces Major Funding Setback

During recent visits to the United States and Germany, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov encouraged investors to participate in the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan (CKU) railway project — a crucial component of Xi Jinping’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative. Kyrgyzstan’s treasury is not bursting with money and Bishkek is in great need of cash to build its part of the monumental railway project — expected to cost a few billion dollars — that could bring big profits to its coffers. But despite assurances given by Kyrgyz authorities on the imminent start…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/International/Kyrgyzstans-47-Billion-Central-Asian-Railway-Faces-Major-Funding-Setback.html

UK Manufacturing Faces Worst Downturn Since 2008

The UK’s manufacturing sector is engulfed in the deepest downturn since the 2008 financial crisis as market uncertainty depresses activity, a closely watched survey suggests. According to the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) the UK manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) recorded 44.8 in October, with the 50 mark separating growth from contraction. Although this was an improvement on last month’s figure of 44.3, it was revised down from last week’s initial October estimate of 45.2. This meant production…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/UK-Manufacturing-Faces-Worst-Downturn-Since-2008.html

Armenia Faces Russia’s Economic Might As Tensions Rise

Armenia’s relations with its strategic partner Russia are getting worse and worse and its leaders seem to desire a shift in geopolitical orientation towards the West.  But a look at Russia’s powerful levers over the country makes that kind of thinking seem delusional.  And Moscow has begun dropping hints of how much economic pain it can inflict on Armenians.  Armenian officials offer assurances that all is fine on the economic front, but economists and businesspeople are increasingly worried about possible consequences of the political…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/International/Armenia-Faces-Russias-Economic-Might-As-Tensions-Rise.html

Putin Faces Election Challenge As Fuel Subsidies Backfire

Subsidizing fuel is creating a budgetary crisis in Russia amid its ongoing war in Ukraine and soaring inflation, with the state budget now expected to take a multi-billion-dollar hit, according to Reuters calculations.  In September, Moscow moved to slash by 50% a subsidy for oil refiners, which Reuters calculates will have to be offset by some $4.3 billion in subsidies to other industries, plus a one-off tax that equates to over $3.7 billion.  When Russia moved to cut its damper subsidy for refiners just over a month ago, the knock-off…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Putin-Faces-Election-Challenge-As-Fuel-Subsidies-Backfire.html

Europe’s Renewables Landscape Transforms With Rooftop Solar Adoption

Europe’s solar installation levels are exceeding expectations, with the amount installed in October 2023 already matching the total installed in all of last year. Rystad Energy modeling forecasts new solar capacity additions will grow 30% this year versus 2022, surpassing 58 gigawatts direct current (GWDC) of new panels by the end of the year. This year, rooftop solar installations have taken the lead, accounting for 70% of all newly installed solar in Europe. This underscores the continent’s commitment to clean energy and the adaptability of solar…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Solar-Energy/Europes-Renewables-Landscape-Transforms-With-Rooftop-Solar-Adoption.html

India Swaps Russian Crude For Saudi Oil As Discount Dwindles

India’s October imports of Russian crude oil were down 4% compared to the previous month, with increased imports from Saudi Arabia. According to IBC, citing Vortexa cargo data, India imported 1.55 million barrels per day of Russian crude in October, compared to 1.62 million bpd in September. The drop in October reflects a dwindling discount for Russian crude, which is frequently selling above the G7-imposed price cap of $60 per barrel, despite buying restrictions. The fall in India’s Russian crude imports for October was balanced out…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/India-Swaps-Russian-Crude-For-Saudi-Oil-As-Discount-Dwindles.html

Researchers Unveil Catalyst To Convert CO2 Into Methane

Rice University materials scientists developed copper-based catalysts to help speed up the rate of carbon dioxide-to-methane conversion. Technologies for removing carbon from the atmosphere keep improving, but solutions for what to do with the carbon once it’s captured are harder to come by. The lab of Rice University materials scientist Pulickel Ajayan and collaborators developed a way to wrest the carbon from carbon dioxide and affix it to hydrogen atoms, forming methane – a valuable fuel and industrial feedstock. According to the…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Researchers-Unveil-Catalyst-To-Convert-CO2-Into-Methane.html

EU, US, UAE Pressure Other Govts To Join Deal To Triple Renewable Energy

The United States, the European Union, and the United Arab Emirates are looking to drum up new recruits in the form of other governments to sign onto a global deal that seeks to triple renewable energy investment, according to new documents seen by Reuters. The COP28 climate summit hosts are working with other governments to sign onto a pledge in the runup to the UN climate negotiations later this month in Dubai that would agree to triple renewable energy yet this decade. A launch event could take place at the beginning of the summit, a US State…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/EU-US-UAE-Pressure-Other-Govts-To-Join-Deal-To-Triple-Renewable-Energy.html

What’s Hezbollah’s Next Step?

The ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas is currently viewed by oil and gas markets as a contained regional issue. However, concerns persist regarding the potential for escalation, particularly if other parties like Hezbollah in Lebanon or Iran become directly involved. Recent missile and drone attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen, believed to be backed by Iran, have placed regional armed forces on high alert. Simultaneously, Iranian-supported militias in Iraq and Syria have been targeting American forces, adding to the…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Whats-Hezbollahs-Next-Step.html

U.S. Gasoline Refining Profits Tumble As Demand Weakens

The U.S. gasoline crack spread – a leading refining profitability indicator – slumped in October to the lowest level in nearly three years amid seasonally weaker American gasoline demand and the switch to the cheaper winter-grade gasoline, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. In October, the crack spread, or the difference between the price of a wholesale petroleum product and the crude oil price, averaged 16 cents per gallon, the lowest monthly average since December 2020. The crack spread between New York Harbor…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/US-Gasoline-Refining-Profits-Tumble-As-Demand-Weakens.html

Oil Unchanged After Minor Inventory Build

Crude oil prices remained largely unchanged today after the Energy Information Administration reported an inventory build of a modest 800,000 barrels for the week to October 27. A day earlier, the American Petroleum Institute had estimated an inventory increase of 1.35 million barrels for the period, also reporting declines in gasoline and distillate stocks. The EIA’s latest weekly estimate compares with a crude oil inventory build of 1.4 million barrels for the third week of October. In fuels, meanwhile, the EIA reported mixed changes in…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Oil-Unchanged-After-Minor-Inventory-Build.html

Russia And China Look To Speed Up Development Of New Natural Gas Route

Russia’s gas giant Gazprom is working with China to further raise Russian pipeline deliveries to the Chinese market and is discussing speeding up the start of supply via the Far Eastern route, Xie Jun, vice president at China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), said at a gas forum in Russia on Wednesday. “Our company and PJSC Gazprom are striving to build a closer energy partnership, and are systematically accelerating implementation of the gas supply project along the Far Eastern route,” Xie Jun said, as quoted by Russian…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Russia-And-China-Look-To-Speed-Up-Development-Of-New-Natural-Gas-Route.html

Gold Nears $2,000 Amid Global Tensions

Via Metal Miner   For decades, gold has remained the best-performing asset class, providing double-digit returns for investors. True to form, gold demand this quarter remains above the long-term average as precious metal prices continue to move in response to global events. According to the World Gold Council (WGC), gold buying by central banks also continues at a scorching pace. And while jewelry demand declined a wee bit due to high prices, it was a mixed bag on the investment front.  According to Council data, demand for the yellow…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Metals/Gold/Gold-Nears-2000-Amid-Global-Tensions.html

BP Executive Describes The U.S. Offshore Wind Industry As “Fundamentally Broken”

The U.S. offshore wind industry is “fundamentally broken” and needs a reset, a clean energy executive at supermajor BP said at the FT Energy Transition summit on Wednesday.    But the regulatory and permitting environment for the industry can be fixed, Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath, head of Gas and Low Carbon Energy at BP, said on the conference, as carried by Reuters. Currently, the U.S. regulatory environment is challenging for developers due to a lack of mechanisms to adjust for inflation, permitting issues, and a lag between…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/BP-Executive-Describes-The-US-Offshore-Wind-Industry-As-Fundamentally-Broken.html

Shares Of The World’s Top Offshore Wind Firm Drop 20% On Scrapped U.S. Projects

Ørsted is ceasing the development of two offshore wind projects in the United States due to supply chain delays and higher interest rates, the world’s biggest offshore wind developer said on Wednesday, which sent its shares plummeting by nearly 20% in Copenhagen. Orsted warned in August that it could face up to $2.3 billion (16 billion Danish crowns) of impairments on its U.S. project portfolio due to supply chain delays, higher interest rates, and the possible inability to qualify for additional tax credits beyond 30%. Now Ørsted…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Shares-Of-The-Worlds-Top-Offshore-Wind-Firm-Drop-20-On-Scrapped-US-Projects.html

Fed holds rates steady, upgrades assessment of economic growth

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday again held benchmark interest rates steady amid a backdrop of a growing economy and labor market.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/01/fed-meeting-november-2023-.html

Stocks rally to start November after Fed decision, Dow gains more than 200 points: Live updates

The Federal Reserve left rates unchanged in November.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/31/stock-market-today-live-updates.html

Treasury details plans to step up size of bond sales to manage growing debt load and higher rates

The Treasury Department announced plans to accelerate the size of its auctions as it looks to handle its heavy debt load and with financing costs rising.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/01/treasury-details-plans-to-step-up-size-of-bond-sales-to-manage-growing-debt-load-and-higher-rates.html

IRS announces 2024 retirement account contribution limits: $23,000 for 401(k) plans, $7,000 for IRAs

The IRS has increased the 401(k) plan contribution limits for 2024, allowing employees to defer up to $23,000 into workplace plans, up from $22,500 in 2023.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/01/irs-401k-ira-contribution-limits-for-2024.html

Here are Wall Street’s favorite stocks into November — all expected to rise more than 20%

CNBC Pro screened for stocks that are holding up well, have a consensus rating of buy and are estimated to have at least 20% upside.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/01/here-are-wall-streets-favorite-stocks-into-november-all-expected-to-rise-more-than-20percent.html

DoubleLine’s Gundlach says interest rates are going to fall as recession arrives early 2024

“I do think rates are going to fall as we move into a recession in the first part of next year,” Gundlach said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” Wednesday.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/01/gundlach-says-rates-are-going-to-fall-as-recession-lands-in-early-2024.html

Sam Bankman-Fried built crypto empire on ‘pyramid of deceit,’ prosecutors say in closing

Closing arguments kicked off on Wednesday in Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal fraud trial, with prosecutors walking the jury through four weeks of evidence

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/01/sbf-crypto-empire-built-on-pyramid-of-deceit-prosecutors-argue.html

Donald Trump Jr. begins testifying at $250 million New York fraud trial

Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, former President Donald Trump and Ivanka Trump are all set to testify in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ fraud trial.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/01/trump-fraud-trial-donald-trump-jr-to-testify.html

Apple expected to post fourth consecutive quarterly sales decline Thursday

Analysts haven’t missed Apple’s lack of growth this year and want to see the company thriving again.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/01/apple-q4-2023-earnings-preview-fourth-consecutive-sales-decline-expected.html

Israel-Hamas war live updates: Evacuations begin in Gaza; White House says no plans to put troops on the ground

Until now, the Rafah crossing has primarily facilitated deliveries of humanitarian aid to resource-deprived Gaza, where fighting continues.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/01/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-latest-news-on-gaza-conflict.html

Why dealers say EV sales have slowed

EV inventories have been piling up at dealerships in 2023, and are selling far more slowly than their gasoline counterparts.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/01/why-dealers-say-ev-sales-have-slowed.html

The Federal Reserve leaves rates unchanged. Here’s what that means for your wallet

The Federal Reserve said it would leave rates unchanged in November. For consumers, however, it won’t get any less expensive to borrow.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/01/the-federal-reserve-leaves-rates-unchanged-how-it-impacts-your-money.html

Spirit Halloween lives on, even when the holiday ends and stores close

Spirit Halloween locations may close after Halloween, but the business remains hard at work year-round.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/01/spirit-halloween-lives-on-when-holiday-ends.html

Why Target Date Funds Fail Investors: A $3 Trillion Delusion

Authored by Michael Lebowitz via RealInvestmentAdvice.com,

Morningstar estimates that as of 2022, there is nearly $3 trillion invested in target date mutual funds. Per Morningstar: Target date strategies remain the investment vehicle of choice for retirement savers.

Whether retirement savers in target date funds know it or not, and we presume most don’t, they are mindlessly investing their wealth. The allocations between stocks and bonds in these funds are not based on risk or reward but solely on the calendar. Managing target date funds requires zero investment expertise, yet mutual fund and ETF managers rake in hundreds of millions of dollars a year in management fees.

The volatile market environment helps us appreciate why target date funds are foolish.

What Are Target Date Funds?

• Barrons estimates that approximately 42% of all retirement plan dollars are in target date funds.
• Per Investopedia, more than 75% of investors have some money in target date funds.
• The Department of Labor claims that 70% of employers use target date funds as their default investment.

Target Funds are passive mutual funds run by simple algorithms. To be frank, the word algorithm makes their investment process seem more complicate …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/why-target-date-funds-fail-investors-3-trillion-delusion

Joe Biden Snagged Another $40K In ‘Laundered’ Chinese Money From Brother’s CEFC Payment: Comer

Remember when Democrats insisted that Trump was compromised by Russia because of some alleged loan he had in the early 90’s according to ‘several sources with knowledge’ (who never materialized)?

The same Democrats – and the same media, are of course dead silent over what’s now grown to $240,000 in laundered Chinese that ended up in Joe Biden’s pocket via his brother. We know, we know – huge shock.

On Wednesday, the House Oversight Committee revealed that President Biden received $40,000 in Chinese funds which were “laundered” through his brother, James Biden, in a “complicated financial transaction” marked as a ‘loan,’ which took place just weeks after Hunter Biden threatened the Chinese with his father’s wrath in a July 30, 2017 text message to a CEFC China Energy empl …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/joe-biden-snagged-another-40k-laundered-chinese-money-brothers-cefc-payment-comer

The Party’s Over: Atlanta Fed Slashes Q4 GDP Estimate From 2.3% To 1.2%

Remember when we mocked the BEA’s recent report that Q3 GDP had hit a scorching 4.9% (well above estimates) on the back of such laughably “growth” factors as surging inventories and government consumption…

… and said prepare for Bidenomics to collapse in Q4?

Well it just did, and not once but twice.

First, it was the ISM Chair Tim Fiore who earlier today said that “the past relationship between the Manufacturing PMI and the overall economy indicates that the October reading (46.7 percent) corresponds to a change of minus-0.7 percent in real gross domestic product (GDP) on an annualized basis.”  Translation: the econo …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/partys-over-atlanta-fed-slashes-q4-gdp-estimate-23-12

Watch Live: Fed Chair Powell Tries Not To Break Anything

No change in policy rates… as expected; and a barely-changed statement, mean all eyes will be on Fed Chair Powell for the nuance leaning hawkish or dovish.

With money markets and many Fed officials believing that the Fed is done with rate-hikes, Powell will not want to rock the boat of the central bank “proceeding carefully” to let cumulative tightening continue to work through as inflation trends lower and the labor market rebalances.

His recent comments at The Economic Club of New York suggested ‘satisfaction’ with current policy settings… with the ubiquitous caveat that they are ‘data dependent’.

Powell will be treading very carefully as, given the addition of the term “financial conditions” means anything less than the right amount of hawkishness will prompt the kind of reflexive gains in bonds and stocks that will reverse the tightening of financial conditions that he has been quietly comfortably allowing.

< …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/watchlive-fed-chair-powell-tries-not-break-anything

US Federal Reserve holds interest rates at 22-year high

The world’s biggest economy keeps borrowing costs higher in a bid to control price rises.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67290817?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

FTX: Prosecutors accuse Crypto King Sam Bankman-Fried of ‘deceit’

Sam Bankman-Fried is facing charges of fraud and money laundering, which he denies.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67289430?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Rishi Sunak: AI firms cannot ‘mark their own homework’

Governments must act to protect citizens from potential AI risks, prime minister tells the BBC.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-67285315?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Musk & Tesla see combined $100 bn wealth erosion since Twitter takeover

Elon Musk’s net worth and Tesla’s market cap have seen a combined loss of about $100 billion since he took over Twitter in October-end last year. This is in addition to X’s (formerly Twitter) valuation markdown to $19 billion. Musk spent $44 billion on Twitter a year ago to allow more free speech and turn it into an ‘everything app’. (Source: NYT News Service, finitiv, Bloomberg, TOI)

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/musk-tesla-see-combined-100-bn-wealth-erosion-since-twitter-takeover/deep-cuts/slideshow/104893548.cms

7 consumer discretionary stks hit 52-week high on Wednesday

​During Wednesday’s trading session, the benchmark index Sensex dropped around 284 points, ending the day at 63,591. Despite this decline, 7 stocks from the BSE Consumer Discretionary index reached their highest prices in the last 52 weeks. The 52-week high holds significant importance for traders and investors as it serves as a crucial technical indicator for assessing a stock’s present value and anticipating potential price fluctuations. This figure represents the highest price at which a stock has traded over the past year.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/7-consumer-discretionary-stocks-hit-52-week-high-rally-up-to-25-in-a-month/stoke-ideas/slideshow/104893898.cms

Tata Steel to issue 7.58 crore shares to Tata Steel Long Products shareholders under merger plan

Shareholders of Tata Steel Long Products will get 67 shares of Tata Steel for every 10 shares held by them in the former.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/tata-steel-to-issue-7-58-crore-shares-to-tata-steel-long-products-shareholders-under-merger-plan/articleshow/104894601.cms

Bond Report: 2-year Treasury yield slips below 5% after Fed delivers another pause in interest rate hikes

Yields on U.S. government debt remain lower after Federal Reserve officials took no action on interest rates.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-728D-F87AB98A8E70%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

The Tell: Wall Street analysts are souring on stocks. That could mean the S&P 500 is poised for a 15% rally.

Wall Street analysts are souring on U.S. stocks. Historically, that has meant that the market is likely to climb during the coming months, with gains sometimes breaking into double-digit percentage territory.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-728E-C40BDFD475E3%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1