22July2022 Market Close & Major Financial Headlines: Wall Street Closed Lower. Weak Business Surveys Darken Outlook.

Nigeria Unable To Benefit From High Oil Prices

Nigeria’s debt has exceeded its revenue in the first four months of the year despite high oil prices, Nigeria’s Budget Office has revealed on its website. Oil-rich Nigeria, unlike other crude oil producers, has found it impossible to reap the benefits of today’s high oil prices, with oil revenues coming in 61% below target during the period. That’s despite crude oil trading at highs not seen in years. Nigeria’s crude oil production was relatively steady at 1.376 million bpd in the first quarter of this year compared

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Nigeria-Unable-To-Benefit-From-High-Oil-Prices.html

Clashes Break Out In Tripoli As Libya Resumes Oil Exports

Clashes broke out in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, overnight, between militia forces just days after a deal that saw the country relaunch oil production and exports after a months-long force majeure. At least nine people had been confirmed dead and 25 injured, according to various local media reports, by Friday morning, with civilians caught in the crossfire between two militia groups, the Special Deterrence Force (SDF/Rada) and the Tripoli Revolutionary Brigades (TRB). While the ultimate motive behind the clashes remains unclear at the time

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Clashes-Break-Out-In-Tripoli-As-Libya-Resumes-Oil-Exports.html

U.S. Oil Rig Count Unchanged As WTI Slumps Below $100

The number of total active drilling rigs in the United States rose by 2 this week, according to new data from Baker Hughes published on Friday. The total rig count rose to 758 this week267 rigs higher than the rig count this time in 2021. Oil rigs in the United States were unchanged this week at 599. Gas rigs rose by 2, to 155. Miscellaneous rigs stayed the same at 4. The rig count in the Permian Basin fell by 1 to 349 this week. Rigs in the Eagle Ford increased by 1 to 70. Oil and gas rigs in the Permian are 107 above where they were this

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/US-Oil-Rig-Count-Unchanged-As-WTI-Slumps-Below-100.html

Pierre Andurand Sees Oil Demand Surprising To The Upside

Global oil demand is more likely to surprise to the upside even in a very weak economy, popular hedge fund manager Pierre Andurand said in a Twitter thread on Friday. Due to COVID-related lockdowns, demand has been way below trend over the last few years, the hedge fund manager said. Average annual oil demand growth from 2000 to 2010, and 2010 to 2019 was quite steady at around 1.2 million bpd to 1.3 million bpd, and in line with population growth over time, Andurand noted. Taking 2019 as a base, and estimating demand growth at 1.2 million

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Pierre-Andurand-Sees-Oil-Demand-Surprising-To-The-Upside.html

Switzerland Releases Emergency Oil Reserves

Switzerland will release oil from its emergency reserves as it lowers the obligatory levels of petroleum stocks by 6.5% due to low water levels on the Rhine River and chaos in railway transportation, the government said on Friday. A spokesperson for the government confirmed to Reuters that the decision to reduce the mandatory stock level by 6.5% between July 25 and the beginning of September would include the release of reserves. Heat waves and droughts in many parts of Europe have drained the water levels at the biggest navigational rivers, including

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Switzerland-Releases-Emergency-Oil-Reserves.html

World’s Top Oilfield Service Provider Raises Earnings Outlook

Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB) reported on Friday higher-than-expected profit for the second quarter as drilling activity rebounded in all markets, prompting the world’s largest oilfield service provider to raise its 2022 revenue and earnings outlook as the multiyear upcycle continues to gain momentum. Schlumberger booked earnings per share (EPS), excluding charges and credits, of $0.50 for the second quarter, up by 47% sequentially and 67% year on year. This past quarters EPS were higher than the $0.40 EPS

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Worlds-Top-Oilfield-Service-Provider-Raises-Earnings-Outlook.html

Volkswagen CEO Diess to depart; Porsche boss Blume will lead the German auto giant

Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess will leave the company at the end of August. Oliver Blume, currently Porsche’s CEO, will replace him.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/22/volkswagen-ceo-diess-to-depart-porsche-boss-blume-will-lead-the-german-auto-giant.html

Verizon shares fall after company cuts full-year forecast

Verizon shares fell nearly 5% after the company released its second-quarter earnings report.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/22/verizon-shares-fall-after-company-cuts-full-year-forecast.html

Airlines were too ambitious chasing the travel rebound. Now they’re scaling back

Airlines are rethinking their growth plans as they face mounting flight disruptions.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/21/airlines-temper-flying-ambitions-after-chaotic-travel-rebound.html

Here’s what Cadillac’s new $300,000 electric sedan will look like

The Celestiq marks a pivot for Cadillac into hand-built vehicles, which are typically reserved for high-end sports cars and uber-luxury models.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/22/heres-what-cadillacs-new-300000-electric-sedan-will-look-like.html

Convenience store chain 7-Eleven cuts 880 corporate jobs as part of restructuring

Convenience store chain 7-Eleven has cut 880 jobs in the United States, CNBC has learned.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/21/7-eleven-cuts-880-jobs-as-part-of-restructuring.html

Domino’s earnings miss expectations as pizza chain struggles with driver shortage, higher costs

The ongoing shortage of delivery drivers hurt the chain’s sales again this quarter.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/21/dominos-pizza-dpz-q2-2022-earnings-.html

More advisors turn to alternative investments to further diversify their clients in volatile market

After battling downturns in the stock and bond markets, more advisors are turning to alternative investments, according to a recent survey.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/22/more-advisors-turn-to-alternative-investments-to-further-diversify-clients.html

3 takeaways from the Investing Club’s ‘Morning Meeting’ on Friday

We look ahead to our busiest week for earnings, including reports from Apple, Meta, Amazon and Google.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/22/3-takeaways-from-the-investing-clubs-morning-meeting-on-friday.html

Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Snap, American Express, Verizon, Seagate, and more

These are the stocks posting the largest moves in midday trading.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/22/stocks-making-the-biggest-moves-midday-snap-american-express-verizon-seagate-and-more-.html

The 8 best options for small business funding

Access to funding is key to small business survival. There are many options from banks to online lenders and the SBA. Here is how to make the decision.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/22/the-8-best-options-to-get-small-business-funding.html

Ford reassures investors it has the battery supplies it needs for ambitious EV goals

Ford will begin offering lower-cost LFP batteries in its Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/21/ford-says-it-has-battery-supplies-needed-for-ambitious-ev-goals.html

NFL legend Drew Brees used to joke about training for pickleball. Now he co-owns a pro pickleball team

Drew Brees has joined the ownership group of an Austin, Texas, professional pickleball team.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/21/drew-brees-is-now-a-co-owner-of-a-professional-pickleball-team.html

Volkswagen-backed Northvolt to develop wood-based batteries for EVs

Sweden-headquartered Northvolt recently said its first gigafactory had started commercial deliveries to European customers.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/22/volkswagen-backed-northvolt-to-develop-wood-based-batteries-for-evs-.html

Volkswagen CEO Forced Out After Clashes With Union Bosses

Volkswagen CEO Forced Out After Clashes With Union BossesVolkswagen CEO Herbert Diess – who took over at the end of the company’s “diselgate” scandal, before steering the German carmaker into a massive multibillion-euro foray into electric vehicles – is stepping down and will leave the company within weeks after being forced out by union bosses, the Financial Times reports.

Diess had made it his mission to catch up with Tesla and become the world’s largest electric car producer by the middle of the decade. He oversaw the launch of VW’s first all-electric cars and committed to spend €52bn on developing battery-powered models, while imposing big cost cuts. -FT

Replacing the 63-year-old will be Porsche boss and former VW manager, Oliver Blume, who will take over on September 1st.

Diess ran into trouble after crossing V …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/volkswagen-ceo-forced-out-after-clashes-union-bosses

Israeli Jets Strike Damascus On Heels Of Putin’s Tehran Summit

Israeli fighter jets launched a major attack on and near the Syrian capital of Damascus just after midnight Friday, killing three solders and wounding seven, which activated the Syrian military’s anti-air defenses.

While such brazen Israeli assaults on Syria have occurred almost weekly over the last months and even years, many have noticed the timing comes just after Russia’s Vladimir Putin was in Iran where he met with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts.

#Israel strikes targeted #Damascus

-16 #Syrian & “#Iranian” killed & injured in military airport & Saida Zainab
– 17 Israeli attacks since in 2022
– July 2 targeted W/Syria >Lebanon border

– SYR Air Defenses engaging missile strikes over Damascuspic.twitter.com/LVh8lUnqel

— Ibrahim Hamidi ابراهيم حميدي (@ibrahimhamidi) July 22, 2022

“Heavy explosions were heard over both the Syrian capital and northern Israel, according to local reports,”

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/israeli-jets-strike-damascus-heels-putins-tehran-summit

“It All Adds Up To One Word: Pain”: Traders Forced To Chase Gamma Higher As Stocks Refuse To Drop Despite Dire News And Data

As we end the week, the question – according to JPMorgan’s trading desk – is whether the bear market current rally has ended and what that means for stocks moving forward.

While the Banks painted a picture of strength in the Consumer and Corporate sectors, bears will point to (lack of) hiring (and outright firing) in Tech and headlines from companies such as AT&T that consumers are behind on payments on their phone bills! Recall AT&T’s management said “we’re seeing an increase in bad debt to slightly higher than pre-pandemic levels, as well as extended cash collection cycles. However, it’s important to note that customers are making their accounts today consistent with historical patterns and previous economic cycles.”

Here, JPM flow trader Andrew Tyler notes that his conclusion is that the economy is clearly slowing but it is not falling off a cliff, and “while recession risk (within 12 months) is elevated it may take a bit more time to eat through Consumer (~$2T remains in excess cash relative to 2019 level) and Corporate cash piles (SPX had record high cash levels coming into 2022 with near record interest coverage ratios).” Here, we find it amusing how everything still keeps harping about this “excess cash savings” (which have been spent long ago) some two years after the fact, yet nobody talks about the “excess savings” in the form of stock market investments and which are $10 trillion lower in the past 6 months. Or is the psychology of cash savings somehow different from those of short-term speculative market holdings.

Goldman trader Rich Privorots …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/it-all-adds-one-word-pain-traders-forced-chase-gamma-higher-stocks-refuse-drop-despite-dire

Xi Sends Biden “Message Of Sympathy” After Catching COVID

Chinese President Xi Jinping has reached out to President Joe Biden, sending him best wishes for a “speedy recovery” on Friday after the White House announced the 79-year old US president has Covid-19 with “very mild symptoms”.

Chinese state media is widely reporting that President Xi sent Biden a personal “message of sympathy” – which comes as the two leaders are preparing to speak by phone for the first time since March.

ReutersBiden had announced Wednesday, “I think I’ll be talking to President Xi within the next 10 days.”

Biden, who is “fully vaccinated and twice boosted” is still said to be working in isolation at the White House residence, and some reports say the expected phone call with Xi could come as early as next week.

But it appears a brief call has come early in the wake of the Covid diagnosis:

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/xi-sends-biden-message-sympathy-after-catching-covid

Rail strikes to go ahead next Wednesday

The RMT union says walkouts across the network will happen after talks failed to find a breakthrough.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-62272544?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

British Airways staff call off Heathrow strike after 8% pay rise deal

Hundreds of staff at Heathrow were set to strike over the busy summer holiday period.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62267324?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Food banks warn they are struggling to keep up with demand

Research by Radio 4’s Money Box into 203 food banks found many are receiving fewer food donations.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62228972?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Powell seen slowing Fed hikes after 75 basis points next week

They expect the Federal Open Market Committee to lift rates by a half percentage point in September, then shift to quarter-point hikes at the remaining two meetings of the year. That would lift the upper range of the central bank’s policy target to 3.5% by the end of 2022, the highest level since early 2008.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/powell-seen-slowing-fed-hikes-after-75-basis-points-next-week/articleshow/93059701.cms

ICICI Bank Q1 preview: Profit may jump 40%, NIM may expand QoQ

Brokerage Sharekhan expects ICICI bank to report a 39.80 percent YoY rise in net profit at Rs 6,810 crore compared with Rs 4,871 crore in the same quarter last year. NII was seen rising 20 percent YoY to Rs 13,119 crore from Rs 10,936 crore in the same quarter last year.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/earnings/icici-bank-q1-preview-profit-may-jump-40-nim-may-expand-qoq/articleshow/93052023.cms

Value stocks vs growth stocks: Which theme to bet on?

Arun Malhotra of CapGrow Capital Advisors says valuations have become reasonable as both time and price correction has happened. Stocks like HDFC and Kotak Mahindra Bank in the financial sector are back to price levels that existed before Covid, while the profits have risen by more than 40 per cent.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/value-stocks-vs-growth-stocks-which-theme-to-bet-on/articleshow/93043304.cms

Top Ten: Weekend reads: Prepare for a big week — a crucial Federal Reserve decision, tech-company earnings and a GDP report

Also, what we’ve learned from this week’s earnings, how to pull off your retirement plans and that video game where you play as a cat.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C05575-04D4-B545-7FFF-EE51345C1FD2%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

Earnings Outlook: Avoid GE stock ahead of earnings as Wall Street’s expectations haven’t fallen far enough, analyst says

Expectations for General Electric Co.’s second-quarter profit and sales have been reduced significantly in recent months, but there are still those on Wall Street who believe they haven’t come down enough for the industrial conglomerate to break its streak of revenue misses.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-7100-25E629A649BB%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

Crypto: FTX, Alameda Ventures propose deal, which may allow Voyager customers to have some money back, sooner

Voyager customers may choose to open an account with FTX and receive some cash balance equal to part of their claims with the bankrupt crypto broker.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-7100-53E24D7C1688%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1