09June2022 Market Close & Major Financial Headlines: Wall Street Dumps During The Last Half-Hour, Investors Spooked By Inflation Data, Initial Jobless Claims A Disaster, Down During Last Four Weeks, Tech Stocks Lead Equities Slide, Major Indexes Close At Session Lows

China Warns Central Asia To Steer Clear Of Geopolitical Conflicts

Central Asian countries should stay out of geopolitical conflicts, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has warned his counterparts from the region during a visit to Kazakhstan. Wang clearly had an audience beyond Central Asia in mind when he exhorted that the region should be on guard against attempts by forces outside the region to draw regional countries into major power conflicts and force them to take sides. But Central Asian governments might be forgiven for interpreting this browbeating as a patronizing attempt by their mighty

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/International/China-Warns-Central-Asia-To-Steer-Clear-Of-Geopolitical-Conflicts.html

The U.S. Solar Boom Is Back On Track

The solar energy industry in the U.S. has grown rapidly over the last decade, second only to wind power. But supply chain issues, made worse by the tariffs on solar panels manufactured in Southeast Asia, have been pushing costs up for the U.S. solar industry. This month, President Biden announced the waiving of certain tariffs on solar imports, sending stocks soaring, and potentially giving the sector a game-changing boost. U.S. solar energy production increased from 1.82 TWh in 2011 to a giant 163.7 TWh in 2021, with significantly more sectoral

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-US-Solar-Boom-Is-Back-On-Track.html

White House Ups Anti-Oil Company Rhetoric

The White House is doubling down on its rhetoric against oil and gas companies in the wake of higher gasoline price rhetoric that is likely to do precious little to inspire long term investments in an industry that is scrambling to meet demand but one that could garner support for a possible windfall tax on the heavily profitable industry. “It’s outrageous that oil and gas companies are able to take advantage and make four times the profits that they made when there wasn’t a war,” deputy director of the National Economic Council Bharat

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/White-House-Ups-Anti-Oil-Company-Rhetoric.html

Europe Announces First Interest Rate Hike In A Decade To Combat Inflation

The European Central Bank (ECB) today confirmed it will hike rates for the first time in over a decade in a sign that the era of loose policy and low inflation is coming to an end. President Christine Lagarde and co said the central bank will lift rates 25 basis points next month, which will mark the first increase in the eurozone since 2011. The central bank also hinted that it will move much faster if the inflation profile in the eurozone continues on its current upward trajectory.If the medium-term inflation outlook persists or deteriorates,

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Europe-Announces-First-Interest-Rate-Hike-In-A-Decade-To-Combat-Inflation.html

The World Is Scrambling For Lithium Supply

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions, the race is on around the world to find new sources of lithium. The prospect of running out of the rare element is a worst-case scenario for many countries. After all, it is a crucial component in the lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles. As EV demand rises off record gas costs, so too are lithium consumption and lithium prices. Africa Getting Much More Attention from Lithium Seekers Countries like China are currently focusing their lithium search in Africa,

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-World-Is-Scrambling-For-Lithium-Supply.html

Russia Claims It Won’t Cut Off Gas Supply To More EU Customers

Russia does not plan to stop natural gas supply to more customers in Europe, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday. Customers that have refused to pay for gas under the new rules Russia has imposed are already cut off, and no new halts in supply are planned, Peskov told reporters at a regular briefing, as carried by Russian news agency TASS. Russia has already stopped gas supply to Poland, Bulgaria, Finland, the Netherlands, and customers in Denmark and Germany that have refused to pay in rubles for gas. Russia wants the countries it

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Russia-Claims-It-Wont-Cut-Off-Gas-Supply-To-More-EU-Customers.html

Disney fires TV content chief Peter Rice in abrupt shake-up as board backs CEO Bob Chapek

Disney has abruptly fired Peter Rice, its most senior television content executive.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/09/disney-fires-tv-content-chief-peter-rice-source-says.html

Southwest Airlines is closing reservations centers as customer service agents go fully remote

The shift is effective Sept. 1, Southwest said, though the airline added that most reservations agents have been working remotely throughout the pandemic.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/09/southwest-airlines-customer-service-agents-to-work-fully-remote.html

Stitch Fix shares sink as company lays off 15% of its salaried positions

Stitch Fix is laying off 15% of salaried positions within its workforce, mostly in corporate roles and styling leadership positions.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/09/stitch-fix-is-laying-off-15percent-of-its-salaried-employees-internal-memo-says.html

GM and Lockheed are taking their lunar rover project to the commercial space market

The companies plan to produce moon-roving vehicles for commercial space missions and services powered by the automaker’s electric vehicle battery technology.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/09/gm-lockheed-take-lunar-rover-project-to-commercial-space-market.html

Travel industry calls on White House to end Covid-19 testing requirement for travelers from overseas

Travel and hospitality executives say the Covid testing rule for travelers to the U.S. is hurting the country’s tourism industry.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/09/travel-industry-calls-on-white-house-to-end-covid-19-testing-requirement-for-overseas-visitors.html

‘Jurassic World’ vs ‘Top Gun’: Two blockbusters are squaring off at the box office for the first time in a while

Universal’s “Jurassic World: Dominion” enters domestic theaters Friday, and it will snag the majority of premium format screens from “Top Gun: Maverick.”

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/09/jurassic-world-dominion-box-office-dinosaurs-face-off-against-tom-cruise.html

Here’s why Vitamin Shoppe’s owner wants to buy Kohl’s – and what could happen next

As Franchise Group inches closer to acquiring Kohl’s, experts point to the holding company’s recent acquisitions for a better sense of what could happen next.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/09/why-franchise-group-wants-to-buy-kohls-what-could-happen-next.html

Nio reports wider first-quarter loss as Covid shutdowns in China hamper deliveries

Covid shutdowns hampered Nio’s production in the first five months of 2022.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/09/nio-q1-2022-earnings-reveal-wider-loss.html

PGA Tour suspends 17 golfers, including Phil Mickelson, for playing in Saudi-backed LIV event

The PGA Tour has suspended 17 golfers, including Phil Mickelson, who are competing in the Saudi-backed LIV Golf event near London.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/09/pga-suspends-phil-mickelson-others-for-involvement-in-saudi-backed-liv-event.html

Fanatics strikes deal with colleges, student-athletes to launch Topps trading cards

Fanatics will begin offering trading cards featuring participating college athletes beginning in the fall.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/09/fanatics-strikes-deal-with-colleges-student-athletes-to-launch-topps-cards-.html

Dungeons & Dragons maker Hasbro wins board battle against activist investor Alta Fox

Hasbro has fended off a challenge from an activist investor that wanted to shake up its board and spin-off the company’s Wizards of the Coast division.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/08/dungeons-dragons-maker-hasbro-wins-board-battle-against-activist-investor.html

Mortgage demand falls to the lowest level in 22 years amid rising rates and slowing home sales

Mortgage demand continues to fall as interest rates rise further and affordability in the housing market weakens.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/08/mortgage-demand-falls-to-the-lowest-level-in-22-years.html

Spirit Airlines postpones shareholder vote on Frontier deal days after JetBlue sweetens competing offer

Spirit Airlines is postponing its shareholder meeting, previously scheduled for Friday, until June 30, to continue talks over competing offers from Frontier and JetBlue.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/08/spirit-airlines-postpones-shareholder-meeting-until-june-30-for-more-deal-talks-with-frontier-jetblue.html

Stocks Slump, Dollar Jumps Ahead Of CPI ‘Event Risk’

Stocks Slump, Dollar Jumps Ahead Of CPI ‘Event Risk’Weakness in stocks today – after an ugly claims print, ECB hawkishness-ish, and anxiety ahead of tomorrow’s ‘event risk maximizing’ CPI print. Nasdaq was down over 2.5% and the S&P close behind, down over 2%. Stocks closed on their lows…

…took the US majors into the red for the week led by the S&P and Nasdaq…

Does anyone else get the sense that this directional thrust ahead of tomorrow is just …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/stocks-slump-dollar-jumps-ahead-cpi-event-risk

Watch: Protester Threatens Biden’s Motorcade, Immediately Regrets It…

Watch: Protester Threatens Biden’s Motorcade, Immediately Regrets It…”An abortion ban will not stop abortions – only safe ones,” a Biden protester shouted after approaching and almost blocking the motorcade of the pro-choice president in Los Angeles, as he was en route to the Summit of the Americas.

Video captured the “women’s rights” protester positioning herself dangerously in the middle of what was at the time a shutdown street in the center of L.A. on Wednesday just as the presidential motorcade was passing. At one point the high-security convoy even had to briefly slow as she almost stood in front of approaching vehicles with a bullhorn in hand.

A stunning video captured a Secret Service officer tackling her out of the way before slamming her to the ground…

⁦@FOXLA⁩: Secret Service TAKEDOWN of protestor during ⁦@POTUS⁩ motorcade ⁦@SecretService⁩ ⁦@LAPDHQ⁩ ⁦@JoeBiden⁩ pic.twitter.com/9ezMaJi0VL

— Hailey Winslow (@HaileyBWinslow) June 9, 2022

The clip of the officer’s aggressive take-down maneu …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/watch-protester-threatens-bidens-motorcade-immediately-regrets-it

Navarro: An Illegitimate Court Gets Ready To Convene

Op-Ed authored by Peter Navarro via RealClear Politics,

As the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack prepares to stage a show trial of Donald Trump on Capitol Hill this week, I have filed a lawsuit challenging the Select Committee’s gross violations of the Constitution’s separation of powers.

Yes, congressional committees do have the power to investigate. Yet, they can only do so in pursuit of a “legislative function,” e.g., to enact new rules, regulations, or policies.

What settled law explicitly rules out is the pursuit of a “judicial function” in which a congressional committee seeks to act as judge, jury, and executioner. That clearly violates the separation of powers – punishment is reserved exclusively for the judicial branch.

In this case, Nancy Pelosi’s Democrat-controlled House passed H. Res. 503 on May 21, 2021 to establish the committee; and the …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/navarro-illegitimate-court-gets-ready-convene

For The First Time Ever, The National Average Gas Price Is $5

For The First Time Ever, The National Average Gas Price Is $5GasBuddy reports the national average for gasoline at the pump has hit $5 per gallon, setting a new record in the U.S., as fuel inflation shows no signs of abating amid severe bottlenecks in refining and robust demand as peak driving season is underway.

“BREAKING: According to GasBuddy, the national average has reached $5 per gallon,” Petroleum analysis expert at GasBuddy, Patrick De Haan tweeted Thursday morning.

BREAKING: According to GasBuddy, the national average has reached $5 per gallon.

— Patrick De Haan ⛽️📊 (@GasBuddyGuy) June 9, 2022

And we all know who to blame for it…

Bear in min …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/first-time-ever-national-average-gas-price-5

Wizz Air boss sparks backlash over fatigue request

Airline chief Jozsef Varadi called on staff to work when tired to stop flight cancellations.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61741139?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Petrol prices: Calls for more help as cost to fill a tank hits £100

Fuel prices continue to hit new records, increasing the pressure on household budgets.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61743734?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Train drivers to join other rail workers on strike

Aslef union members will walkout over pay after RMT announced 40,000 members would strike.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61743927?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Tech View: Nifty forms bullish engulfing candle, index all set to leap towards 16,800

The daily momentum indicator has been in bullish mode, whereas the hourly momentum indicator developed a positive divergence and started a new cycle on the upside. This suggests that the Nifty50 is set for a leap towards the junction of the swing high and the daily upper Bollinger Band, which is near 16,800,” said Ratnaparkhi.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/tech-view-nifty-forms-bullish-engulfing-candle-index-all-set-to-leap-towards-16800/articleshow/92106217.cms

Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund picks up another anti-ESG stock

In the portfolio of 22 stocks, ITC is the largest holding with 8.9 percent. Other major investments include Bajaj Holdings & Investment, HDFC, ICICI Bank, Hero Moto, HCL Tech, Axis Bank and Power Grid Corporation of India. The latest entrant in the portfolio, Coal India, however, forms just 0.16 percent of the portfolio.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/parag-parikh-flexi-cap-fund-picks-up-another-anti-esg-stock/articleshow/92107764.cms

The giant awakens! ITC has been on roll this year and could see up to 30% further upside

Shares of FMCG major hit a 52-week high of Rs 282.35 apiece in May and have risen 23 percent so far this year. The recent rally in the share prices has been accompanied by an increase in exposure by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) on the counter after four quarters of selling. Market experts are now overweight on the stock and believe it is in a bull trend and will continue to outperform.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/the-giant-awakens-itc-has-been-on-roll-this-year-but-could-see-up-to-30-further-upside/articleshow/92100822.cms

Distributed Ledger: Ethereum close to its major upgrade, but why has it fallen more than bitcoin?

A weekly look at the most important moves and news in crypto and what’s on the horizon in digital assets.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C05575-04D4-B545-7E58-78BA71076EE5%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

ETF Wrap: Here’s the ‘defensive twist’ BlackRock recommends for ETF investors in a slowing economy

BlackRock recommends for ETF investors in a slowing economy

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C05575-04D4-B545-7E4F-4B066C05BA83%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

The Human Cost: ‘You only live once, man. I think it’s time to really embrace what we have’: Americans get ready for a summer of red-hot inflation

This year, the higher cost of living collides with the widely-shared urge to soak up the summer.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C05575-04D4-B545-7DE1-3E7D3958A7CE%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1