01 September 2022 Market Close & Major Financial Headlines: Wall Street Continues To Show Weakness, Investors Not Impressed With The Fed’s Response To Inflation, Dow And SP500 Eked Out A Green Close In Last Half Hour

Summary Of the Markets Today:

• The Dow closed up 146 points or 0.46%,
• Nasdaq closed down 0.26%,
• S&P 500 up 0.30%,
• WTI crude oil settled at $86 down 9.44% for the week,
• USD $109.62 up 0.86%,
• Gold $1707 down 1.14%,
• Bitcoin $19,857 up 1.01% – Session Low 19,614,
• 10-year U.S. Treasury 3.257 up 0.127%

Today’s Economic Releases:

Small business owners continue to hire, but 49% (seasonally adjusted) of owners reported job openings they could not fill in the current period. According to NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg:

The labor market continues to be a significant challenge for small business owners. Owners are managing several economic headwinds and continue to make business adjustments to mitigate lost sales opportunities due to staffing shortages. Almost half of owners are raising compensation to attract workers for their open positions.

U.S.-based employers announced 20,485 cuts in August, a 21% decrease from the 25,810 cuts announced one month prior. It is 30% higher than the 15,723 cuts announced in the same month last year. August marks the fourth time this year that cuts were higher in 2022 than in the corresponding month a year earlier. Andrew Challenger, Senior Vice President of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. stated:

Employment data continue to point to a strong labor market. Job openings are high, layoffs are low, and workers seem to have slowed their resignations. If a recession is imminent, it’s not yet reflected in the labor data.

Nonfarm business sector labor productivity decreased 4.1% in the second quarter of 2022 as output decreased 1.4 percent and hours worked increased 2.7 percent. From the same quarter a year ago, nonfarm business sector labor productivity decreased 2.4%. This is the largest decline in the series, which begins in the first quarter of 1948.

In the week ending August 27, the 4-week moving average for initial unemployment claims was 241,500, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week’s revised average. The unemployment claims recent rise seems to have abated.

Construction spending during July 2022 was 0.4 % below the revised June estimate. The July figure is 8.5% above  July 2021. During the first seven months of this year, construction spending was 10.8% above the same period in 2021.

The Market in Perspective

Here are the headlines moving the markets.
	The Energy Crisis Is Putting Europes Solidarity To The Test A post in the Financial Times this week reported on comments made by Shells chief executive Ben van Beurden. In the article, Ben van Beurden focused mainly on the criticality of Europe’s energy crisis. That this is going to be somehow easy, or over, I think is a fantasy that we should put aside, Van Beurden stated. The Shell chief executive also warned that Europe might need to ration access to energy for several years, as the crisis confronting the region will likely last more than one winter. No doubt, this will test Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-Energy-Crisis-Is-Putting-Europes-Solidarity-To-The-Test.html
	Aramco Set To Take Stake In Renault’s Future Thermal Engine Business Saudi Arabia’s oil and gas giant Saudi Aramco could take a stake in French automaker Renault’s (OTCPK: RNSDF) future thermal engine business after it separates it from its electric vehicle division. According to a Reuters report on Tuesday, China’s Geely Automobile Holdings and an oil group are in talks over taking stakes in Renault’s fossil-fuel engine business. The report notes that Japanese carmaker Nissan (OTCPK: NSANY), does not plan to take a stake in the combustion engine business. Renault is in the process Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Aramco-Set-To-Take-Stake-In-Renaults-Future-Thermal-Engine-Business.html
	Germany Is Finally Rethinking Its Position On Nuclear Power It sure looks as though momentum is all of a sudden getting behind nuclear power, with even NPR coming out and writing yesterday that “resistance to nuclear power is on the decline worldwide and environmentalists helped lead the push.” Now, with energy prices going parabolic in his country, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck is once again pushing nuclear power plants that were set to be shut down to stay on the grid for longer, Bloomberg reported yesterday. The ministry is looking at a potential draft law to facilitate the extension, Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Nuclear-Power/Germany-Is-Finally-Rethinking-Its-Position-On-Nuclear-Power.html
	Turkey Hikes Gas And Power Prices By Up To 50% Turkey is raising significantly the prices of natural gas and electricity for all users, by up to 50% for industrial customers, due to the war in Ukraine and the global surge in energy prices. The countrys energy regulator EPDK raised electricity prices for households by 20%, power prices for public and services sectors by 30%, and those for industry by 50%, Reuters reported on Thursday. Furthermore, state energy company BOTAS raised natural gas prices for households by 20.4%, by 47.6% for small- to medium-scale industrial customers, Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Turkey-Hikes-Gas-And-Power-Prices-By-Up-To-50.html
	Nuclear Power Could Cut Global Emissions By Half In the previous article Renewable Energy Grew At A Blistering Pace In 2021, I highlighted the inability of renewable energy to keep up with overall energy demand: But here is the challenge the world faces. Against the backdrop of the 5.1 exajoule global increase in renewable energy consumption, global energy demand increased by 31.3 exajoules in 2021 over six times as much. The renewable energy growth rate has been far greater than that of any other energy category, but renewables are still a relatively small portion of our Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Nuclear-Power/Nuclear-Power-Could-Cut-Global-Emissions-By-Half.html
	Oil Prices Fall More Than 3% As G7 Discusses Price Cap For Russian Crude Oil is down over 3.2% on Thursday, while a pending G7 deal to cap Russian oil prices being discussed Friday could reverse that trend with Moscow now stating that it will retaliate by refusing to sell oil. Russia has finally come out and openly declared that price caps on its oil would be costly to energy markets. In a Thursday statement carried on Kommersant.ru, Russia said it would not supply oil to countries that decide to impose a price cap on its oil. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak has termed the idea of the G7 Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/Oil-Prices-Fall-More-Than-3-As-G7-Discusses-Price-Cap-For-Russian-Crude.html
	GM’s Cruise recalls and updates self-driving software in cars following crash GM’s autonomous vehicle unit Cruise recalled and updated software in 80 self-driving cars after a June crash in San Francisco that resulted in minor injuries. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/01/gms-cruise-recalls-and-updates-self-driving-software-following-crash.html
	Gatorade adds caffeine to its lineup with energy drink Fast Twitch A bottle of Fast Twitch contains nearly as much caffeine as two 12-ounce cans of Red Bull. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/01/gatorade-adds-caffeine-to-its-lineup-with-energy-drink-fast-twitch.html
	Former NASA administrator joins board of spacecraft propulsion startup Phase Four Former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine joined the board of directors of spacecraft propulsion startup Phase Four, the company told CNBC. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/01/former-nasa-administrator-jim-bridenstine-joins-phase-four-board.html
	Chinese EV stocks tank after Li Auto and Xpeng report plunge in August deliveries; Nio ekes out growth Nio reported a 6% rise in electric vehicle deliveries in August versus July, while rivals Xpeng and Li Auto saw a fall. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/01/nio-august-deliveries-grow-while-xpeng-li-auto-fall.html
	Pet owners pampering animals when it comes to food, despite inflationary pressures Pet owners are still pampering their animals with premium foods and care, even as they limit spending on other items like leashes. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/01/pet-owners-pampering-animals-when-it-comes-to-food-despite-inflationary-pressures.html
	National Cinema Day: Here’s how to get your $3 movie tickets at AMC, Regal and other theaters across the U.S. More than 3,000 U.S. theaters will be participating in National Cinema Day, the first-of-its-kind event on Saturday, Sept. 3. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/01/national-cinema-day-how-to-score-3-dollar-movie-tickets-this-weekend.html
	‘No one wants to be the state taxing student loan forgiveness.’ Here’s where borrowers may see a bill While student loan forgiveness is federally tax-free, borrowers may owe levies at the state level. Here’s where you may see a bill. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/01/these-states-may-tax-federal-student-loan-forgiveness.html
	Flood losses covered by insurance are jumping drastically and only a small fraction of what’s damaged by floods is insured A new report from insurance giant Swiss Re finds the flood losses coved by insurance are jumping drastically and only a fraction of what’s damaged is insured. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/01/swiss-re-flood-losses-covered-by-insurance-are-rising-drastically.html
	Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Nvidia, Okta, Five Below, Bed Bath & Beyond and more These are the stocks posting the largest moves in midday trading. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/01/stocks-making-the-biggest-moves-midday-nvidia-okta-five-below-bed-bath-beyond-and-more.html
	We’re making a small buy in a newer stock, the latest step in bulking out our position We’re making one buy Thursday afternoon, putting more of our large cash position to work into a market that is oversold. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/01/investing-club-were-making-a-small-buy-in-a-newer-stock-the-latest-step-in-bulking-out-our-position.html
	Car shopping over Labor Day weekend? Here’s what to expect for both new and used car prices While the average price paid for a new car — above $46,000 — continues trending higher, used car prices are showing signs of softening. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/01/car-shopping-over-labor-day-weekend-heres-what-you-can-expect.html
	U.S. health officials brace for another fall Covid surge, but with fewer deaths Health officials say the U.S. is in a much stronger position due to new boosters, antiviral treatments, therapeutics and immunity from previous infections. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/01/us-health-officials-brace-for-another-fall-covid-surge-but-with-fewer-deaths.html
	Walmart-owned Sam’s Club raises annual membership fee for the first time in nine years Sam’s Club has grown during the pandemic and benefited from fuel discounts during inflation. Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/31/walmart-sams-club-raises-membership-fee-for-first-time-in-9-years.html
	Train strikes: Rail workers to stage two days of fresh walkouts, RMT union says RMT union members will walk out on 15 and 17 September, in a long-running dispute over pay and jobs. Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62757431?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA
	Sizewell C: Boris Johnson says ‘go nuclear, go large’ Boris Johnson pledges £700m for the project in Suffolk, adding a decision is likely within weeks. Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62750610?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA
	OnlyFans creators made nearly $4bn last year The platform, which is known for hosting adult content, saw a spike in users during the pandemic. Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62754943?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA
	Tech view: A Nifty50 fall below 17,350 can give bears the upper hand ​Gaurav Ratnaparkhi, Head of Technical Research at Sharekhan, said the index oscillated around the key hourly moving averages and the 20-DMA. “Ultimately, it formed an Inside Bar pattern on the daily chart. The overall structure shows that the index is in short-term consolidation since the last couple of weeks and that is likely to continue going ahead,” he said. Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/tech-view-a-nifty50-fall-below-17350-can-give-bears-the-upper-hand/articleshow/93930529.cms
	Sterlite Power announces bonus share issue; IPO expected by year-end The Vedanta Group arm’s bottom line was dented as expenses more than doubled in the said period.However, it clocked a 150 per cent rise in the revenue from operations to Rs 5,197.48 crore in FY22 from Rs 2,092.39 crore in the previous fiscal year. Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/ipos/fpos/sterlite-power-announces-bonus-share-issue-ipo-expected-by-year-end/articleshow/93927220.cms
	Chart Check: After delivering 60% returns in a year, this PSU stock could hit fresh 52-week high in 6 months The PSU bank rose from Rs 121.50 recorded on 30 August 2021 to Rs 194 as on 30 August 2022 which translates into an upside of over 60 per cent in a year. Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/chart-check-after-delivering-60-returns-in-a-year-this-psu-stock-could-hit-fresh-52-week-high-in-6-months/articleshow/93920537.cms
	The Wall Street Journal: Secret Service official who figures in Jan. 6 investigation of Trump retires Secret Service official Tony Ornato announced his retirement on Monday, two months after a former White House aide testified that he had told her then-President Donald Trump lashed out in anger when agents refused to drive him to the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot by his supporters. Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-7118-C280C92CEA4E%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1
	: AMD launching what it claims is ‘fastest processer in the world for gaming’ in September At a time of cratering PC sales, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. late Monday launched its new generation of gaming cards and motherboards for fall availability — but the boast of having the fastest gaming card in the world might attract some attention and sales. Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-7118-8751AF039781%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1
	The Margin: Of course Serena Williams’ U.S. Open sneakers have 400 diamonds on them The tennis and fashion icon is hitting her presumed farewell tournament tour in style, with a custom Nike outfit inspired by figure skating dresses. Get the details here Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-7118-BF4E195EF49D%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1