Baltic Dry Index. 1864 -05 Brent Crude 81.08
Spot Gold 2375 US 2 Year Yield 4.37 -0.03
The money has to go to the federal government because the federal government will spend that money better than the private sector will spend it.
Hillary Clinton.
In the sky high, hopium filled, divorced from economic reality, stock casinos, as in the government subsidised EV market, suddenly there are no more greater fool buyers. A harsh economic reality has caught up with the magnificent seven and US, European and China’s economies tumbling into recession.
US and European consumers are spent out, deeply in increasingly unserviceable debt and are cutting back in a desperate attempt to head off disaster.
Later today, US GDP data and tomorrow the Fed’s preferred PCE inflation measure. Look away from the normalising US yield curve now.
“How did you go bankrupt?"
Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.”
Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises
Japan’s Nikkei drops 3% as Asia-Pacific markets
slide, tracking Wall Street sell-off
PUBLISHED
WED, JUL 24 2024 7:59 PM EDT
Japan’s Nikkei 225 extended its six-day losing streak to plunge 3%, leading losses among Asian indexes as the region saw a broad sell-off after Wall Street tumbled overnight.
Nikkei heavyweight SoftBank Group nosedived 7%, while Renesas Electronics led losses in the index, down more than 14%. The broader Topix fell 2.24%.
The yen also marked a
fourth-straight day of strengthening against the U.S. dollar, hitting an
11-week low of 152.28 against the greenback.
Reuters reported that the Bank of Japan is expected to discuss a rate hike at its monetary policy meeting next week on July 30 and 31, as well as detailing a plan to halve its bond buying.
Separately, a Japanese government panel agreed to increase the average minimum hourly wage in the country to 1,054 yen ($6.90), or 5%, NHK reported.
Higher wages offer the Bank of Japan more room to consider a rate increase, as it banks on a “virtuous cycle” of rising prices and wages.
Investors also assessed South Korea’s advance second-quarter GDP numbers, which came in slightly below expectations.
South Korea’s GDP grew 2.3% year on year, lower than the 2.5% expected by economists polled by Reuters. On a quarter on quarter basis, the country’s economy shrank 0.2%, compared to a 0.1% rise expected in the Reuters poll and a reversal from the 1.3% growth seen in the first quarter.
South Korea’s Kospi lost 1.8%, while the Kosdaq was down 2.32%. The index was dragged by heavyweight SK Hynix, which also fell 6%.
This comes as the company reported an all-time high quarterly revenue of 16.42 trillion won ($11.85 billion) for its second quarter, marking a gain of 125% from a year ago.
Operating profit came in at 5.47 trillion won, its highest in six years. Net profit stood at 4.12 billion won. Both metrics reversed from loss positions in the same period last year.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index slipped 1.65%, while the mainland Chinese CSI 300 was down 0.98%.
China’s central bank cut the medium term facility lending rate to 2.3% from 2.5%, its latest move to stimulate the economy after lowering its loan prime rates on Monday.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was 0.94% lower.
Taiwan’s market will be closed for a second day, as the island braces for Typhoon Gaemi.
Over in the U.S., the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite saw their worst days since 2022.
The broad market index lost 2.31%, closing at 5,427.13, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq slid 3.64% to end at 17,342.41. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 504.22 points, or 1.25%, closing at 39,853.87.
Tech names sold off, including Nvidia and Meta Platforms, which lost 6.8% and 5.6% respectively. Shares of Alphabet — Google’s parent company — fell 5% for their biggest one-day drop since Jan. 31.
Meanwhile, Tesla shares declined 12.3% —
their worst day since 2020 — on weaker-than-expected results and a 7%
year-over-year drop in auto revenue.
Asia stock markets: South Korea GDP, Wall Street sell-off (cnbc.com)
S&P 500, Nasdaq tumble for worst day since
2022 as Tesla, Alphabet slide after quarterly results: Live updates
UPDATED WED, JUL 24 2024 4:32 PM EDT
Stocks sold off Wednesday, weighed down by underwhelming reports from two megacap tech companies, leading the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite to post their worst session since 2022.
The broad market index lost 2.31%, closing at 5,427.13, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq slid 3.64% to end at 17,342.41. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 504.22 points, or 1.25%, closing at 39,853.87.
Shares of Google parent company Alphabet fell 5% for their biggest one-day drop since Jan. 31, when they dropped 7.5%. Although Alphabet reported a top- and bottom-line beat, YouTube advertising revenue came in below the consensus estimate. Meanwhile, Tesla shares declined 12.3% — their worst day since 2020 — on weaker-than-expected results and a 7% year-over-year drop in auto revenue.
Other major tech stocks fell in sympathy with Alphabet and Tesla. Nvidia and Meta Platforms respectively lost 6.8% and 5.6%, while Microsoft slid 3.6%.
Those reports mark investors’ first look at how megacap companies fared during the second quarter. Reports from these names are of special interest to Wall Street as this small cohort is responsible for the bulk of this year’s gains.
Wednesday’s sell-off was caused by a perfect storm of an overbought market, high bar for earnings and a seasonally weak period for equities. That is why this pullback has not come as a total surprise to investors, according to Ross Mayfield, investment strategist at Baird.
“We would view this sell-off as ultimately quite viable, because it’s against the backdrop of a bull market. And a healthy correction inside of a bull market is something that we view as a place of opportunity, rather than a place to get defensive or to try to shield your money from this volatility,” Mayfield added in an interview with CNBC.
The small-cap Russell 2000 was down 2.1% on the day. For the month, however, the small-cap benchmark is up 7.2% as investors recently began rotating out of large-cap tech names into beaten-down smaller ones. In July, the Dow has gained 1.9%, while the S&P 500 has slipped 0.6% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq has fallen 2.2%.
----- Adding to investor concerns Wednesday morning was weaker-than-expected U.S. manufacturing data.
The U.S. PMI flash manufacturing output index fell to 49.5 in July, unexpectedly slipping into contraction territory as new orders, production and inventories declined. Economists had forecast a reading of 51.5, according to Dow Jones.
A Wednesday report also showed new home
sales came in lighter
than economists had expected for the month of June.
Stock market news for July 24, 2024 (cnbc.com)
Nasdaq, S&P 500 end with worst one-day
percentage declines since 2022
By Vivien Lou Chen July 24, 2024
U.S. stocks finished sharply lower on
Wednesday, led by a 3.6% drop in the Nasdaq Composite, after disappointing
earnings from megacap technology companies triggered a flight to safety by
investors.
- The
Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down by 504.22 points, or 1.3%, at
39,853.87, based on preliminary data. It closed lower for the fourth time
in the past five sessions.
- The
S&P 500 closed down by 128.61 points, or 2.3%, at 5,427.13. It had its
worst day on a percentage basis since Dec. 15, 2022.
- The Nasdaq Composite ended down by 654.94 points, or 3.6%, at 17,342.41. On a percentage basis, the index had its worst day since Oct. 7, 2022.
Wednesday's market moves were "very much a continuation of the rotational activity we were seeing last week, but it hasn’t turned into an outright derisking yet," said Michael Reinking, a senior market strategist for the New York Stock Exchange.
Nonetheless, "as volatility increases
and fast trends begin to break, that does trigger a systematic reduction of
risk and we could enter into that feedback loop," Reinking wrote in a
note.
Europe’s Extended Factory Slump Puts a Chill on
Rebound Hopes
In this Article
By Brendan Murray July 24, 2024 at 12:00 PM GMT+1
Anyone betting that Europe’s industrial engine was poised for a second-half rebound received a rude awakening Wednesday.
“The latest developments have proved to be something of a cold shower for those expectations,” ING economist Carsten Brzeski wrote in a research note. “Not the relieving kind on a hot summer’s day, but rather an ice cold shower in the winter when the central heating is broken.”
Brzeski was referring to monthly purchasing managers’ reports that showed, among other down arrows, a deeper contraction in Germany’s factory sector, which has been in retrenchment mode for two years.
France’s manufacturing PMI surprised on the downside, too, failing to reach expansion territory for an 18th straight month.
According to David Powell of Bloomberg Economics, Germany is worse off than France, with “declines in both manufacturing and services, suggesting the country is having to cope with a depressed industrial sector and the anticipated recovery in services from a boost in real incomes appears to be delayed.”
France’s economy “may be receiving a boost from the Olympics and is moving beyond the hiccup caused by the French parliamentary elections and the volatility in the government bond market,” Powell wrote in a research note on the Bloomberg Terminal.
In the euro area more broadly, the manufacturing PMI reading fell to the lowest level of the year.
In a worrying sign for inflation-fighting central
bankers, input prices increased at a faster pace across the economy, according
to the PMI data, and output prices fell only fractionally.
Supply Chain Latest: Europe’s Factory Slump - Bloomberg
You know, I'm going to start thanking the woman who cleans the restroom in the building I work in. I'm going to start thinking of her as a human being.
Hillary Clinton.
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.
UK
growth set to continue as manufacturing PMI climbs to two year high
WEDNESDAY
24 JULY 2024 9:44 AM | Updated: WEDNESDAY 24
JULY 2024 10:16 AM
The
economy’s strong
performance so
far in 2024 looks set to continue thanks to the continued recovery of the
manufacturing sector, a closely watched survey suggests.
S&P’s
‘flash’ purchasing managers’s index (PMI) came in at 52.7, up from 52.3 last
month and slightly higher than the 52.6 expected by economists.
The
survey, which measures economic activity in the private sector, is closely
watched for signals about the performance of the economy. Anything above 50
indicates that the economy is growing.
The
improvement compared to last month was led by the manufacturing sector, which
climbed to a two-year high of 51.8. This was up from 50.9 last month. Output in
manufacturing increased due to stronger order book volumes, the
survey noted.
The
services sector also saw a slight pick up in activity, rising to 52.4 from last
month’s figure of 52.1. However, activity in the sector remained relatively
subdued compared to peaks earlier in the year.
Manufacturing
and services firms both saw sales accelerate in July. Companies commented on
improving market confidence, particularly in the wake of the election.
The
upturn encouraged firms across both sectors to increase their staffing numbers
at the quickest pace for just over a year.
Having
fallen to a six-month low in June, business confidence rebounded sharply in
July, coming in only slightly below February’s two-year high. Political
stability, the prospect of interest rate cuts, and an improving picture on the
demand side were all cited by firms.
More
UK growth to
continue as manufacturing climbs to two year high (cityam.com)
Why
a majority of Americans think the economy is already in a recession
July 23, 2024
While Wall Street cheers the country's economic momentum, outlooks among most Americans appear more gloomy, an Affirm survey reported.
The payments company found that three in five Americans think the US is currently in a recession. Respondents indicated that the downturn has lasted 15 months so far. On average, March 2023 was the cited starting point.
But,
according to the traditional definition, no recession has materialized. US GDP
would need to fall for two successive quarters for this to happen.
But in a lesson that keeps repeating this year, formal data is not always the best depiction of the on-the-ground sentiment.
Why are views so misaligned?
Inflation and rising living costs were top of the list reasons for why consumer sentiment is low, Affirm found. Seven out of 10 Americans see today's inflation rate as a burden on their financial futures, limiting their ability to save and plan ahead.
Respondents also cited hearing money complaints in their social circles, a cutback in spending among friends, and difficulty in paying off credit card debt.
"With
confidence in the U.S. economy at a low point, consumers are urgently seeking
ways to feel in control of their finances," Vishal Kapoor, Affirm's SVP of
Product, said in a press release.
Similar conclusions have been drawn from other surveys released this year. A Northwestern Mutual report previously found that 51% of Americans see inflation as the biggest risk to their financial security, while a Primerica survey reported that 74% of middle-class households planned to cut back spending.
For its part, Wall Street has remained optimistic about the economy's trajectory, given that inflation has progressively come down from its pandemic highs.
For many, the fact that inflation currently stands around 3% backs the notion that the Federal Reserve will soon cut interest rates, easing pressure on the economy.
Amid these outlooks, Bank of America found that 68% of investors expect the world to achieve a soft landing. That's when inflation comes down without sparking a recession.
But for consumers, inflation remains high enough to dent budgets. Although spending kept up enough to stall an official recession, Americans have gradually pulled back their buying.
According
to the Affirm survey, affected respondents are finding ways to cope. Methods
include adopting new budgeting habits and making more strategic spending
decisions. For instance, over half are open to "buy now, pay later"
payment options.
Why a majority of Americans think the economy is already in a recession (msn.com)
Don't let anybody tell you it's corporations and businesses that create jobs.
Hillary Clinton.
Covid-19 Corner
This section will continue until it becomes unneeded.
Death certificate analysis pushes European COVID toll 18% to 27% higher
than official records
July 19, 2024 Mary Van Beusekom, MS
The
proportion of COVID-19 deaths in central Europe in 2020 and 2021 would have
been up to 18% to 27% higher if death certificates listing the virus as a
contributing condition had coded it as the cause of death, estimates a
new study published in PLOS
One.
University
of Warsaw-led researchers examined 187,300 death certificates from Austria,
Bavaria (Germany), Czechia (Czech Republic), Lithuania, and Poland mentioning
COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021. They performed a two-step analysis of cause-of-death
association indicators (CDAIs) and contributing CDAIs to estimate the
statistical strength of associations between COVID-19 and other conditions.
"Excess
deaths reported to causes other than COVID-19 may have been due to unrecognised
coronavirus disease, the interruptions in care in the overwhelmed health care
facilities, or socioeconomic effects of the pandemic and lockdowns," the
authors noted. "Death certificates provide exhaustive medical information,
allowing us to assess the extent of unrecognised COVID-19 deaths."
A total of 15,700 death
certificates listed COVID-19 as a contributing condition, and three of four
recorded a statistically significant COVID-19 complication or pre-existing
condition as the cause.
"In
Austria, Bavaria, Czechia, and Lithuania the scale of COVID-19 mortality would
have been up to 18–27% higher had COVID-19 been coded as the underlying cause
of death," the researchers wrote. "Unrecognised coronavirus deaths
were equivalent to the entire surplus of excess mortality beyond registered
COVID-19 deaths in Austria and the Czech Republic, and its large proportion
(25–31%) in Lithuania and Bavaria."
The
undercount may be attributable to a lack of COVID-19 testing, atypical disease course,
misclassification, or deaths from other causes such as cardiovascular disease
and cancers that may have risen as strained healthcare systems prioritized
COVID-19 patients or fallen owing to the reduction of risk factors such as air
pollution, traffic, or other infectious diseases.
"Finally,
mortality may have increased due to harmful behaviours typical of the
socioeconomic instability experienced by some groups during the pandemics,
lockdowns and economic slowdown, such as abuse of noxious substances, suicides
and accidents," the researchers wrote.
More
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.
Researchers
make groundbreaking discovery about graphene
July
24, 2024
Researchers
from the Khalifa University of Science and Technology’s Research &
Innovation Centre for Graphene and 2D Materials (RIC2D) and the Research
Innovation Centre on CO2 and Hydrogen (RICH) have collaborated with others from
the University of Manchester to create a new device using graphene to transform
next-generation technologies in hydrogen fuel cells, computing, and catalysis.
The
research shows that the properties of a graphene sheet can be fine-tuned with
the help of electric fields to independently host proton and electron currents,
thus setting the stage for a device that serves both computer memory and logic
functions.
Researchers
have published their paper titled ‘Control of Proton Transport and
Hydrogenation in Double-Gated Graphene’, in Nature, the multidisciplinary
science journal.
Dr.
Ahmed Al Durra, Senior Vice-President, Research and Development, Khalifa
University, said: “Khalifa University is delighted to lead and collaborate
across disciplines on this groundbreaking discovery about graphene. Featured in
Nature, this research breakthrough highlights the significant advancements in
the material’s applications. We strongly believe that our work on the
computational aspects of this research will contribute to the development of
future graphene-based technologies. The research endeavours of both RICH and
RIC2D centres and leading international universities is a true testament to the
strength of collaboration.”
Dr.
Marcelo Lozada-Hidalgo, Senior Lecturer and Royal Society University Research
Fellow at the University of Manchester, scientist, lead of the contribution,
said: “We hope that this understanding of the connection between electronic and
ion transport properties in electrode-electrolyte interfaces in 2D materials
will inspire various communities, including physics, catalysis, and interfacial
science… It has been a pleasure to collaborate with RIC2D and the Khalifa
University team and we are looking forward for many more collaborations between
both institutions.”
---- By using a technique known as double gating, where graphene is
sandwiched between non-aqueous electrolytes and connected to gate electrodes on
each side to induce electrons to flow through the sheet, researchers enabled
independent control of proton transport and proton chemisorption (also known as
hydrogenation). By precisely tuning the voltages on the electrodes, the authors
were able to enhance the perpendicular flow of protons through graphene.
Another combination of voltages induced hydrogenation of the crystal lattice
and the associated transition to an insulating state, which compromises
graphene’s superior electrical conductivity by disrupting the flow of electrons
through the sheet.
Dr.
Vega said: “Such control between both the proton transport and the two
conductive states (insulator and conductor) are so robust and reproducible that
can be exploited to build a device that performs both memory and logic
functions in a computer, a milestone achievement because it combines the
functionalities of two devices into one and eliminates the need for other
circuits to link them. The discovery can also have implications in
proton-conducting membranes for hydrogen, catalysis and isotope separation.”
Researchers make
groundbreaking discovery about graphene - GulfToday
Next, the
world global debt clock. Nations debts to GDP compared.
World Debt
Clocks (usdebtclock.org)
We must
stop thinking of the individual and start thinking about what is best for
society.
Hideous Hillary
Clinton.
No comments:
Post a Comment