Baltic
Dry Index. 1684 -37 Brent Crude 88.30
Spot Gold 2326 US 2 Year Yield 4.96 +0.07
The difficulty lies, not in the new ideas, but in escaping from the old ones.
John Maynard Keynes.
It is the last trading day of the month once again, and time for the stock casino professional money managers to dress up stocks and the stock indexes, for those all important money manager month-end bonuses.
With the AI bubble and the “magnificent seven” US technology stocks dominant, it’s like shooting fish in a barrel for Wall Street’s money manager sharks.
Shame about the main stream economy slowing and suffering rising inflation once again, but US and other central banksters long ago wrote off the main stream economy and those jerks foolish enough to still try making a living there.
Really, get with the 21st century,
borrow and invest in the AI debt fuelled stock bubbles, central bankster economy.
Why work for a living when you can live on Easy Street front running the
central bankster, debt fuelled gambling economy?
Asia markets mostly rise, tracking Wall Street
gains; China factory activity expands at a slower pace
UPDATED TUE, APR 30 2024 10:00 PM EDT
Asia-Pacific
markets largely rose on Tuesday, tracking Wall Street moves, with investors
awaiting China manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for April.
Japan’s top currency diplomat
Masato Kanda reportedly declined to comment on whether
the finance ministry had intervened to prop up yen after it fell to a record
low on Monday.
The currency weakened
to its lowest level against the U.S. dollar yesterday at
160.03, before strengthening sharply to trade around the 155 level.
The Wall Street Journal,
meanwhile, reported that Japan had intervened to support the yen by selling
U.S. dollars and buying yen.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed
1.4% as traders returned from a public holiday, while the broad-based Topix was
up nearly 2%.
Japan’s retail sales for March
rose at slower-than-expected pace in March, while unemployment came in slightly
above expectations.
Data from China showed manufacturing
activity expanded at a slower pace in April. The official purchasing managers’
index came in at 50.4 compared to 50.8 in March. The reading, however, beat
Reuters estimates of 50.3.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose
0.2%, while China’s CSI 300 dipped 0.12%.
South Korea’s Kospi was
0.59% higher, while the small-cap Kosdaq rose 0.17%. the country’s factory
output fell in March by the most in 15 months, down 3.2% compared to a 0.6%
gain expected by a Reuters poll of economists.
The Australian S&P/ASX 200 was
0.27% up.
Overnight in the U.S., all three
major indexes closed higher Monday, lifted by Tesla, while traders geared
up for a week dominated by corporate earnings and a Federal Reserve meeting.
Tesla jumped more than 15%,
providing upward momentum to the market after clearing a key hurdle for full
self-driving technology in China.
The S&P 500 rose
0.32%, while the Nasdaq Composite added
0.35%. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average added
0.38%.
Asia markets: China
manufacturing PMI, yen intervention (cnbc.com)
European markets head for lackluster open
ahead of euro zone inflation, GDP data
UPDATED TUE, APR 30 2024 12:42 AM EDT
European
markets are heading for a lackluster open Tuesday ahead of a busy day of
earnings and major data releases in the region.
Preliminary euro zone inflation
data for April and first-quarter gross domestic product figures for the single
currency area are due Tuesday, while earnings come from AF-KLM, Stellantis,
Capgemini, Mercedes, VW, Lufthansa, Santander, Caixabank, OMV, HSBC, Glencore
and Whitbread, among others.
Overnight, Asia-Pacific markets largely
rose on Tuesday, tracking Wall Street moves, with investors awaiting China
manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for April.
Meanwhile, U.S.
stock futures were little changed Monday night after a positive
start to the week, as investors brace for megacap earnings, the latest Federal
Reserve interest rate decision on Wednesday, and a jobs report.
The central bank is broadly
anticipated to keep interest rates steady, but traders will be looking to see
if Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s post-meeting comments are more hawkish after the
recent spate of hotter inflation reports.
European
markets live updates: euro zone inflation, GDP and earnings (cnbc.com)
China's slow April
factory, services activity dents economic momentum
By Ellen Zhang and Ryan Woo
April 30, 20244 :57 AM GMT+1
BEIJING, April 30 (Reuters)
- China's manufacturing and services activity both expanded at a slower pace in
April, official surveys showed on Tuesday, suggesting some loss of momentum for
the world's second-biggest economy at the start of the second quarter.
The cooling activity from sizable gains made in March highlights
erratic demand growth and underlines the challenges facing policymakers even
though a solid first quarter GDP outturn has reduced some
of the urgency to ramp up stimulus measures.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)
manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) dropped to 50.4 in April from
50.8 in March, above the 50-mark separating growth from contraction and just
ahead of a median forecast of 50.3 in a Reuters poll.
New export orders grew at a much slower rate, while
employment continued to shrink, the NBS data showed.
The services sub-index under the NBS
non-manufacturing survey grew at the slowest pace since January, coming in at
50.3 in April compared with 52.4 in March.
"Indicators of business activity in the catering, capital market services and property industries were in contraction," the NBS said in a statement.
Another private Caixin factory survey, also
released on Tuesday, showed manufacturing activity grew more quickly as new
export orders rose.
Analysts say the divergence between the Caixin PMI and the
official PMI highlights differences in their geographic and sector coverage.
"Both of the manufacturing and services PMI
indexes are near the line of 50, reflecting that the current momentum of
economic expansion is mild," said Zhou Maohua, a macroeconomic researcher
at China Everbright Bank.
Investors expect Chinese authorities to launch more
stimulus to support the economy and are waiting for clues from the monthly
Politburo meeting, which is expected to focus on economic affairs.
With the U.S. Federal
Reserve and other developed economies in no hurry to cut interest rates, China
may face a longer period of tepid external demand. Adding to the challenges,
Beijing continues to contend with trade barriers as the U.S. accuses China of
exporting its industrial overcapacity.
Officials this year underscored the need for economic
development based on innovation in advanced sectors.
However, analysts said the country's immediate problem centres
around a prolonged property downturn and ballooning local government debt,
which have dented household and investor confidence in a blow to the economic
outlook.
Several rounds of support measures aimed at turning around the
fortunes of the real estate sector have failed to spur a substantial recovery,
which is a major reason why China observers remain sceptical about a near-term
full-blown economic revival.
More
China's slow April factory, services activity dents economic momentum | Reuters
Finally, more EV disaster at Hertz. Approx. 4 minutes.
Hertz
EV Rental DISASTER just gets WORSE and WORSE! | MGUY Australia
Hertz EV Rental DISASTER just gets WORSE
and WORSE! | MGUY Australia (youtube.com)
China crash involving
Huawei-backed Aito electric vehicle kills three
By Reuters April 29,
2024 6:42 AM GMT+1
BEIJING, April 29 (Reuters) - Three people, including a two-year-old
boy, died after a Huawei-backed Aito M7 SUV burst into flames following a
collision with a truck on a highway in the Chinese city of Yuncheng in the
northern province of Shanxi, state media said.
Aito Automobile, a new energy vehicle brand launched in 2022, is
investigating the accident along with traffic police, the company said on its
WeChat and Weibo social media accounts on Sunday.
Aito said data from the vehicle showed it was operating at a speed of
115 kph (71 mph) at the time of Friday's accident, adding that the airbag
opened normally and readings from the battery pack were normal.
The company said it was co-operating with traffic police to provide all
necessary data to reconstruct the cause of the accident, and support the
families involved.
Video on social media showed bystanders trying to break the window and
door of the SUV as it was lodged under the truck with the front of the vehicle
engulfed in flames.
The Aito M7, made by Seres Group (601127.SS), opens new tab in partnership with Huawei, with
Huawei providing technology for the vehicle and help with marketing.
Huawei
has said several times it is a components provider rather than a manufacturer
of cars.
China crash involving Huawei-backed Aito electric vehicle kills three | 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.
The Fed will only cut rates when it's panicking over
a recession and a market crash, Black Swan investor says
April 28, 2024
Rate cuts by the Federal Reserve may not be the boon investors are hoping for. That's because the Fed is only likely to ease monetary policy when the economy is slammed with a recession and the market is flailing, according to famous "Black Swan" investor Mark Spitznagel.
In a recent interview with Reuters, the Universa Investments CIO cast a stark warning about
stocks and the economy.
According
to the CME FedWatch tool, investors
are expecting one to two cuts to come in 2024, which are expected to be bullish
for stocks.
But the only way the Fed will
cut rates is if central bankers see a significant weakening in the economy —
meaning the US could see a downturn and a market plunge before interest rates
come down, Spitznagel warned.
"Be careful what you
wish for," Spitznagel told Reuters. "People
think it's a good thing the Federal Reserve is dovish, and they're going to cut
interest rates … but they're going to cut interest rates when it's clear the
economy is turning into a recession, and they will be cutting interest rates in
a panicked fashion when this market is crashing."
Most economists think the US is likely to avoid a recession this year, according to a survey conducted by the National Association
of Business Economics. But high rates still threaten to spark a downturn by
tightening financial conditions for businesses and households. The potential
for an economic correction is especially stark when considering the huge amount
of debt taken out over the last decade, when interest rates were ultra-low,
Spitznagel said.
"This economy is built
on low interest rates," he said. "There are lag effects when you
reset interest rates like we had."
Spitznagel's hedge fund is
known for its ultra-bearish takes on the market, counting "The Black
Swan" author Nassim Taleb among
its advisors. Both commentators have cast stark warnings for stocks and the
economy over the past year, with Spitznagel in particular warning of one of
the largest debt bubbles in history, which could spark the worst stock market collapse since 1929.
Universa's investment
strategy is poised to gain on seemingly unpredictable Black Swan events.
Famously, the fund pulled a 4,144% return on
its investments during the pandemic stock crash.
Most forecasters on Wall
Street share a cautiously optimistic view of both stocks and the economy for
the rest of this year, assuming that inflation continues to trend lower while
the economy continues to grow. 38%
of investors said they were bullish on stocks over the next six months, according to the AAII's latest
Investor Sentiment Survey.
Covid-19 Corner
This section will continue until it becomes unneeded.
AstraZeneca admits for first time in court documents its Covid vaccine can cause rare side effect
April 28, 2024
AstraZeneca
has admitted for the first time in court documents that its Covid vaccine can
cause a rare side effect, in an apparent about-turn that could pave the way for
a multi-million pound legal payout.
The
pharmaceutical giant is being sued in a class action over claims that its
vaccine, developed with the University of Oxford, caused death and serious
injury in dozens of cases.
Lawyers
argue the vaccine produced a side effect which has had a devastating effect on
a small number of families.
The first case was lodged last year by Jamie Scott, a father of two, who was left with a
permanent brain injury after developing a blood clot and a bleed on the brain
that has prevented him from working after he received the vaccine in April
2021. The hospital called his wife three times to tell her that her husband was
going to die.
AstraZeneca is contesting the claims but has accepted,
in a legal document submitted to the High Court in February, that its Covid
vaccine “can, in very rare cases, cause TTS”.
TTS –
which stands for Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome – causes people to
have blood clots and a low blood platelet count.
Fifty-one
cases have been lodged in the High Court, with victims and grieving relatives
seeking damages estimated to be worth up to £100 million.
AstraZeneca’s admission – made in a legal defence to Mr Scott’s High
Court claim – follows intense legal wrangling. It could lead to payouts if the
drug firm accepts that the vaccine was the cause of serious illness and death
in specific legal cases. The Government has pledged to underwrite AstraZeneca’s
legal bills.
In a letter of
response sent in May 2023, AstraZeneca told lawyers for Mr Scott that “we do
not accept that TTS is caused by the vaccine at a generic level”.
But in the
legal document submitted to the High Court in February, AstraZeneca said: “It
is admitted that the AZ vaccine can, in very rare cases, cause TTS. The causal
mechanism is not known.
More
Covid caused a ‘massive spike’ in yacht
sales — now some of those boats are back on the market
Some pandemic-era yacht owners are headed back for
dry land.
The pandemic
spurred a “massive spike” in yacht sales, said Richard Allen, chief operating
officer of the Hong Kong-based yachting company Simpson Marine.
“We’ve seen a lot of those people, that had
their boats for two years, sort of now wanting to travel,” he told CNBC. “In
the last probably few months, talking with other people in the industry, we’ve
seen an increase in brokerage activity of … boats being sold.”
That was expected,
said Paolo Casani, CEO of the Monaco-based yachting company Camper &
Nicholsons.
“We sold, as an
industry worldwide, more than the double the yachts [in 2021] than 2019,” he
told CNBC. When this happens, “they go to the market starting from a couple of
years later.”
Prices in the pre-owned market
Enthusiasm for
yachting remains high, even if sales have fallen since 2021, said Casani.
“The industry is
going back to 2019,” he said. “And we have to distinguish between brokerage and
new builds, because the demand for new builds is still quite high.”
With more yachts hitting the brokerage market,
prices are down, albeit slightly, from pandemic-era highs, he said.
“Prices are still quite high,” he said. “There is
still a gap between the demand and the offer ... but we do believe that there
will be still a reduction in the course of 2024.”
More
A
rise in pre-owned yachts for sale: Some Covid purchasers are selling (cnbc.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.
Beyond Graphene: A New
World of 2D Materials Is Opening Up
By
Materials that are incredibly thin, only a few atoms thick, exhibit
unique properties that make them appealing for energy storage, catalysis, and
water purification. Researchers at Linköping University, Sweden, have now
developed a method that enables the synthesis of hundreds of new 2D materials.
Their study has been published in the journal Science.
Since the discovery of graphene, the field of
research in extremely thin materials, so-called 2D materials, has increased
exponentially. The reason is that 2D materials have a large surface area in
relation to their volume or weight. This gives rise to a range of physical
phenomena and distinctive properties, such as good conductivity, high strength
or heat resistance, making 2D materials of interest both within fundamental
research and applications.
“In a film that’s only a millimeter thin, there can be
millions of layers of the material. Between the layers, there can be a lot of
chemical reactions and thanks to this, 2D materials can be used for energy
storage or for generating fuels, for example,” says Johanna Rosén, professor in
Materials physics at Linköping University.
The MXenes Family and New Theoretical Models
The
largest family of 2D materials is called MXenes. MXenes are created from a
three-dimensional parent material called a MAX phase. It consists of three
different elements: M is a transition metal, A is an (A-group) element, and X
is carbon or nitrogen. By removing the A element with acids (exfoliation), a
two-dimensional material is created. Until now, MXenes has been the only
material family created in this way.
The
Linköping researchers have introduced a theoretical method for predicting other
three-dimensional materials that may be suitable for conversion into 2D
materials. They have also proved that the theoretical model is consistent with
reality.
To succeed, the researchers used a three-step process. In the first
step, they developed a theoretical model to predict which parent materials
would be suitable. Using large-scale calculations at the National Supercomputer
Centre, the researchers were able to identify 119 promising 3D materials from a
database and a selection consisting of 66,643 materials.
The next step was to try to create the material in the lab.
More
Beyond Graphene: A New World of 2D Materials Is
Opening Up (scitechdaily.com)
Finally,
our latest new section, the world global debt clock. Nations debts to GDP
compared.
World Debt
Clocks (usdebtclock.org)
The function of entrepreneurs is to reform or revolutionize the pattern of production by exploiting an invention or, more generally, an untried technological possibility for producing a new commodity or producing an old one in a new way, by opening up a new source of supply of materials or a new outlet for products, by reorganizing an industry and so on.
Joseph A. Schumpeter.
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