Baltic Dry Index. 1778 -02 Brent Crude 89.39
Spot Gold 1828 US 2 Year Yield 5.05 -0.10
In central banking as in diplomacy, style, conservative
tailoring, and an easy association with the affluent count greatly and results
far much less.
John Kenneth Galbraith
In the stock casinos, a brief pause as bond yields eased slightly.
Now comes the guessing game of just how big were the losses. Which US banks are now being propped up by the Fed. Officially via their Bank Term Funding Program, unofficially ???
Who went bust, if anyone, but is hiding it?
Asia-Pacific
stocks rise after U.S. Treasury yields pull back from 16-year highs
UPDATED WED, OCT 4 2023 9:34 PM EDT
Asia-Pacific markets rise after U.S. Treasury
yields eased from 16-year highs following much weaker-than-expected jobs data.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 traded
0.53% higher, and the Topix is up 0.67%.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.78%,
while the Kosdaq added 1.41%, after the country’s consumer price index for
September came in 3.7% higher compared to a year ago, and
higher than Reuters’ forecast of a 3.4% rise.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 traded
0.19% higher.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is
trading above the flatline in its first hour of trade, while the Hang Seng Tech
Index is up.
China’s markets remain closed for
the weeklong holiday.
Overnight in the U.S., all three
major indexes closed in the green. The Dow Jones Industrial Average broke
a three-day losing streak to close 0.39% higher at 33,129.55. The S&P 500 added
0.81% and closed at 4,263.75. Similarly, the Nasdaq Composite gained
1.35% to close at 13,236.01.
Asia-Pacific
shares, U.S. Treasury yields, Korea CPI (cnbc.com)
European markets head for higher open after U.S.
Treasury yields retreat
UPDATED THU, OCT 5 2023 12:21 AM
EDT
European stocks are heading for a higher open
Thursday after U.S. Treasury yields pulled back yesterday following
weaker-than-expected jobs data.
The rate on the 10-year Treasury
note slipped from highs last seen in 2007 after payroll processing firm ADP said
that private
job growth totaled 89,000 for September, well below the 160,000
estimate from Dow Jones, and it seemed to assure investors that the labor
market is easing.
Asia-Pacific
markets rose overnight after the pullback in Treasury yields.
European
markets live updates: stocks, news, data and earnings (cnbc.com)
Stock futures tick lower on Wednesday night
after Dow snaps 3-day string of losses: Live updates
UPDATED WED, OCT 4 2023 7:33 PM EDT
U.S. stock futures slipped on Wednesday evening
as investors looked ahead to key jobs data.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones
Industrial Average slid
57 points, or 0.2%. S&P 500 futures
dropped 0.1%, while Nasdaq 100 futures also
lost 0.1%.
Shares of Clorox slid
nearly 3% after the bell, following guidance from the company for its fiscal
first quarter that was much lower than consensus. The consumer goods company is
calling for an adjusted loss ranging from 40 cents to zero cents per share.
Analysts polled by FactSet called for $1.29 per share in earnings.
In Wednesday’s regular trading,
stocks ended the session higher. The S&P 500 added
0.81%, while the Dow rose
0.39% and snapped a three-day losing streak. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was
the outperformer of the three major averages, jumping 1.35%.
“I’ve been cautious all year.
Obviously, we’re getting a little reprieve today, but I think it’s just that:
It’s a brief reprieve,” said Liz Young, SoFi’s head of investment strategy, on
CNBC’s “Closing Bell.”
Stocks were aided by a retreat in
Treasury yields. The rate on the 10-year Treasury note slipped from highs last
seen in 2007 after payroll processing firm ADP said that private
job growth totaled 89,000 for September. That number came in
well below the 160,000 estimate from Dow Jones, and it seemed to assure
investors that the labor market is loosening.
Yields remain a focus for
investors this week, especially as the bond market is sending warning signals.
The spread between the 2-year and
10-year Treasury yields ended Wednesday at about 31 basis points. The 2- and
10-year yield curve has been inverted since March 2022 – meaning short-term
Treasury rates are higher than long-term rates. However, the spread between the
two has begun to tighten or steepen, which some say is a sign of an oncoming
recession.
“One of the things that we’ll be
thinking about for the rest of the week is the re-steepening of the yield
curve,” Young added.
Key jobs data that could move the
market is on deck. Weekly jobless claims are due Thursday morning, while the main
event for the market — September’s nonfarm payrolls — will be out Friday.
Stock market today: Live updates (cnbc.com)
In commodities news, with a developing
Pacific El Nino weather event likely to impact southern hemisphere crops especially
wheat, China hedges its source of supply. Hmm, the Great Grain Robbery 2.0?
China's large
purchase of US wheat is rare, but not unprecedented
By Karen Braun
October
4, 20239:02 AM GMT+1
NAPERVILLE, Illinois, Oct 3 (Reuters) -
Signs of life for the sluggish U.S. wheat market arrived on Tuesday with
confirmation that China had purchased an unusually large volume of U.S. wheat
for the first time in over two years.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) reported a deal for 220,000 metric tons of U.S. soft red winter wheat
for shipment to China in 2023-24, the U.S. marketing year that began June 1.
That was the first daily sale of U.S. wheat to any destination since November.
Daily sales are announced when a single
U.S. grain or oilseed booking exceeds 100,000 tons, which happens more commonly
for U.S. corn and soybeans since those exports are much larger annually than
wheat and the destinations are less diverse.
Large U.S. wheat purchases by China
have been rare. The last daily U.S. wheat sale to China was in July 2021, also
soft red winter wheat, and twin sales of hard red spring and hard red winter
wheat were confirmed in July 2020.
Only seven daily sales of U.S. wheat to
any destination were confirmed between 2021 and 2022, indicative of how high
global wheat prices and falling U.S. supplies have squeezed the United States’
export share. USDA sees that share falling to an all-time low of 9% in 2023-24.
Despite shrinking U.S. wheat exports,
China has recently played a heavier role in that trade, accounting for 7% of
U.S. wheat shipments in 2022-23 as the No. 4 destination. Three-fourths of that
was white wheat, commonly used to make Asian-style noodles.
Australia’s proximity and recent bumper
crops have crowned it China’s top wheat supplier, accounting for more than 40%
of imports, though the unfavorable El Nino pattern this year may curb the
Australian harvest.
China’s recent U.S. wheat purchase was
not a one-off, as it secured up to 600,000 tons of French wheat three weeks
ago. China has been a top-three global wheat importer in the last few years,
but those imports account for a very small fraction of annual Chinese wheat consumption.
Beijing’s price support system
generally keeps grain prices in China above global ones, sometimes favoring
imports over domestic supplies. A decline in world wheat prices would amplify
this effect.
Weakness in U.S. wheat prices has
recently made U.S. wheat competitive on-and-off against rival exporters, though
abundant supplies in top exporter Russia have kept pressure on the global
market.
Ukraine has exported more wheat than
originally expected following the conflict with Russia, but its September grain
shipments were 51% lower than last September, reflecting logistical limitations
at Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.
China's large purchase of US wheat is rare, but not unprecedented | Reuters
Global Inflation/Stagflation/Recession
Watch.
Given
our Magic Money Tree central banksters and our spendthrift politicians,
inflation now needs an entire section of its own.
Treasury
yields retreat from 16-year highs after weaker-than-expected ADP jobs report
Treasury yields inched down from multiyear highs on Wednesday after new jobs
data showed tentative signs of a weakening labor market.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dropped
nearly 7 basis points to 4.735% on the back of the data release. Earlier,
yields rose as high as 4.884% after crossing the 4.8% mark on Tuesday — levels
last seen in 2007.
Payroll processing firm ADP said job
growth totaled just 89,000 in September, sharply below the
160,000 estimate from economists polled by Dow Jones.
The 30-year
Treasury bond yield slid 7 basis points to 4.867%, after briefly trading
above 5% earlier in the session, also at levels last seen in 2007. The 2-year
Treasury note yield was last down 9 basis points at 5.054%. Yields and
prices have an inverse relationship, so that when prices rise, yields fall.
The latest data provides some
sign that a historically tight labor market could be loosening, raising hope
that the Federal Reserve may soon stop raising interest rates. The central bank
began hiking rates in March 2022 in an effort to control inflation, and it
recently signaled its intention to keep borrowing costs higher for longer.
“The recent slump in bonds is
incongruous with the totality of economic data, and this ADP release could
mark the start of a downside labor inflection point,” Adam Crisafulli of Vital
Knowledge said in a note. “Treasuries are likely to see a notable relief rally
and the attendant drop in yields should help stocks.”
The ADP report came two days
ahead of Friday’s official jobs report, but the two sets of data often differ.
Economists estimate non-farm payrolls increased by 170,000 in September, down
from a 187,000 increase in August, according to Dow Jones.
In the latest ADP report, job
gains came almost exclusively from services, which contributed 81,000 to the
total. The firm said annual wage growth slowed to 5.9%, the 12th consecutive
monthly decline.
Treasury
yields retreat from 16-year highs after weaker-than-expected ADP jobs report
(cnbc.com)
Covid-19 Corner
This section will continue until it becomes unneeded.
Because of its importance and to expose UK politicians absolute contempt of the voters, I will leave this link up all week.
The Great British Parliament Scandal. MPs gross contempt of the voters over excess deaths. Approx.14 minutes.
Excess
deaths debate in parliament
Excess
deaths debate in parliament - YouTube
Singapore COVID-19 infections surge in 17-23 Sept,
more than double the previous week
October 3, 2023
SINGAPORE
— Singapore witnessed a notable surge in COVID-19 infections during the week of
17 to 23 September, with a total of 14,843 confirmed cases.
This
was more
than double the 6,401 cases reported the previous week. Over the past
10 weeks - between 9 July and 16 September - weekly infection counts fluctuated
between 3,485 and 7,045 cases.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a statement on its
website that it is closely monitoring the situation. However, it believes that
there is no immediate cause for alarm, as the current infection numbers is
"low compared to previous waves".
As
Singapore no longer mandates reporting COVID-19 cases, the numbers primarily
reflect individuals who sought medical care.
MOH also
stated on its website that the average daily new COVID-19 hospitalisations and
average daily new ICU cases have also remained low in recent weeks.
Earlier this
year, a peak of 28,410 infections in a week at the end of March led to a slight
increase in hospitalisations and ICU admissions.
During that
period, 159 people were hospitalised, which slightly exceeded the 139
hospitalisations from the previous week, and seven required admission to
intensive care, up from six the previous week.
April and May
also witnessed the highest number of COVID-19 deaths this year, with 54 and 53
deaths respectively.
Based on the
latest COVID-19 death figures on MOH website, 10 individuals, all aged at least
60 years old, succumbed to COVID-19 in August.
MOH attributed
the recent increase in cases to various factors, including waning population
immunity, rise of other emerging variants, and increased travel and community
interactions, resulting in virus transmission.
More
Singapore COVID-19 infections surge in 17-23 Sept,
more than double the previous week (msn.com)
Technology
Update.
With events happening fast in the
development of solar power and graphene, among other things, I’ve added this
section. Updates as they get reported.
A graphene addition for enhancing
the critical current density of Bi-2223 superconductors
OCTOBER 3, 2023
Superconductors are materials that offer zero
electric resistance to the flow of current on being cooled down below a certain
critical temperature. Typically, superconductors have a very low critical
temperature, close to absolute zero. However, a class of superconductors, known
as high-temperature superconductors (HTS) have a critical temperature above 77
Kelvin, the boiling point of liquid nitrogen. They have been extensively used
for the development of superconducting devices in many industries.
Bismuth
strontium calcium copper oxide, often referred to as BSCCO, is a class of HTS
which has been widely studied and used in engineering, medical equipment,
mining, and transport systems.
One of
its members, (Bi1.6Pb0.4)Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 or
Bi-2223, possesses the highest superconducting critical
temperature, and has garnered
significant attention for potential applications. However, limitations such as
weak critical current density and weak magnetic flux pinning and a complex
synthesis route have hindered the development and progress of Bi-2223
superconductors.
To
address these shortcomings, a group of researchers, led by Professor Muralidhar
Miryala from Materials for Energy and Environmental Laboratory of
Superconducting Materials at Shibaura Institute of Technology and Professor
Awang Kechik Mohd Mustafa from the Department of Physics of the Faculty of
Science at Universiti Putra Malaysia, have investigated the effects of graphene
nanoparticle addition on the phase formation and superconducting properties of
Bi-2223.
"In
this study, we report the effects on the critical temperature, critical current
density, and structural and morphological properties of Bi-2223, when graphene
nanoparticles are integrated into them using a novel co-precipitation
method," explains Prof. Miryala.
This
study was published
in Nanomaterials. It
is co-authored by Abdullah Siti Nabilah, Nursyahirah Kamarudin Aliah, Soo Kien
Chen, Kean Pah Lim, Abdul Karim Muhammad Khalis, and Shaari Abdul Halim from
Universiti Putra Malaysia, Abidin Talib Zainal from Jeonbuk National
University, Baqiah Hussein from Dezhou University, and Hashim Azhan and Ermiza
Suhaimi Nurbaisyatul from Universiti Teknologi MARA Pahang.
Since
graphene possesses excellent electrical, mechanical, and chemical properties,
and both graphene and Bi-2223 are grown as sheet-like microstructures, graphene
nanoparticles are quite appealing as additives.
More
A graphene addition for enhancing the critical current
density of Bi-2223 superconductors (phys.org)
In any
great organization it is far, far safer to be wrong with the majority than to
be right alone.
John Kenneth Galbraith.
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