Baltic Dry Index. 1940 -26 Brent Crude 85.53
Spot Gold 2368 US 2 Year Yield 4.62 +0.02
How can anyone govern a nation that has two hundred and forty-six different kinds of cheese?
Charles de Gaulle.
In
the US stock casinos onward to infinity and beyond. But Europe’s stock casinos
fret over France and Germany.
Nikkei 225
hits fresh high as Japan stocks continue to rally; Aussie business confidence
climbs
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher on
Tuesday, after the S&P 500 and
the Nasdaq Composite closed at record highs overnight, with Japan’s Nikkei
hitting a fresh high.
Nikkei
225 rose
1.9%, while the broad-based Topix added 0.91%.
South Korea’s Kospi inched
up 0.16% as shares of heavyweight Samsung Electronics gained 0.34%, even as the
company’s largest union continued its three-day strike as it seeks better pay.
Hyundai on the other hand reached
a tentative wage agreement with its labor union, averting a strike.
Hyundai shares slid 3.53%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped
0.47%, while the CSI 300 shed 0.11%.
Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD
is set to invest $1 billion in Turkey to open a plant with an annual capacity
of 150,000 vehicles, Turkey’s
industry and technology minister Mehmet Fatih Kacir said on Monday.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added
0.79%, even as the country’s consumer sentiment for July dipped 1.1%
compared with a 1.7% increase in the previous month. Australia’s business confidence climbed 6 points to
+4, according to National Australia Bank.
“Business confidence rose
relatively sharply in the month and is now back into positive territory and at
its highest level since early 2023,” said NAB’s Head of Australian Economics,
Gareth Spence.
Investors are also looking forward
to the upcoming release of the U.S. consumer price index on Thursday for hints
on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision. Meanwhile, China’s inflation
data on Wednesday will provide insights on the state of the country’s economic
recovery.
Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 and
Nasdaq closed at record highs. Earnings from some major financial giants and
consumer companies are also on traders’ watchlists this week.
Asia-Pacific
markets: Australia consumer sentiment, business confidence (cnbc.com)
European
markets head for mixed open as France’s uncertain political outlook weighs on
sentiment
LONDON — European stocks are expected to open in
mixed territory Tuesday as investors in the region weigh up political
uncertainty in France after Sunday’s election result.
The U.K.’s FTSE index
is expected to open 5 points higher at 8,203, Germany’s DAX down
45 points at 18,443, France’s CAC 40 down
18 points at 7,620 and Italy’s FTSE MIB down
32 points at 34,145, according to data from IG.
European markets are digesting the
prospect of a prolonged period of political uncertainty in France as it
confronts a hung parliament following Sunday’s parliamentary election result.
The left-wing New
Popular Front won the largest number of seats in the final
round of voting, scuppering an expected surge for the far-right.
The alliance failed to secure an
absolute majority, however, meaning a coalition or technocratic government is
on the cards, making legislation and reforms harder to pass.
Overnight, Asia-Pacific
markets were mostly higher on Tuesday. U.S.
stock futures were little changed Monday night after the
S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed at fresh record highs Monday.
There are no major earnings or data
releases.
European
markets: stocks, news, data and earnings (cnbc.com)
Stock futures are
little changed after S&P 500, Nasdaq close at fresh records: Live updates
UPDATED TUE, JUL 9 2024 7:02 PM EDT
U.S. stock
futures were little changed Monday night after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq
Composite closed at fresh record highs.
Dow Jones Industrial Average
futures rose 39 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures
climbed 0.12% and 0.18%, respectively.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed
Monday’s trading session at all-time highs again, each rising slightly as
investors awaited key inflation data and earnings results due out later this
week. The broad market index closed up 0.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained
0.3%. Meanwhile, the Dow
Jones Industrial Average was the laggard, closing down 31
points, or 0.1%.
The S&P 500 continued its
advance as easing pricing pressures, and slowing growth, have investors
increasingly optimistic the Federal Reserve will soon start to ease up on
monetary policy. But others, who are concerned a correction is on the horizon,
are urging investors to broaden their exposure.
---- Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will
testify this week before Congress as part of his semiannual update on monetary
policy. Powell will speak first to the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday,
followed by an appearance Wednesday before the House Financial Services
Committee.
Key inflation data is due out
later this week with the June consumer price index on Thursday, as well as the
producer price index on Friday.
On the earnings front, PepsiCo and Delta Air Lines are
set to post results on Thursday. Bank earnings results from Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase are
due out Friday.
Stock market today: Live updates (cnbc.com)
In other news, a US stock correction warning
from Morgan Stanley. Fighting talk from President Biden Joe Biden. German exports miss.
Warning of a Third Quarter Stock Market Correction
July 8, 2024 at 11:57 PM GMT+1
The bigger they come, the harder they fall—and perhaps sooner rather than later. The stock market these days is looking pretty big, so it should come as no surprise that yet another wise voice has been lent to the choir singing the notes of correction.
Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson is warning that traders should brace for a significant pullback in the stock market as uncertainty swirls around the US presidential campaign, corporate earnings and Federal Reserve policy.
“I think the chance of a 10% correction is highly likely sometime between now and the election,” Wilson said in an interview with Bloomberg Television Monday. The third quarter is “going to be choppy.”
----Just in case they didn’t hear him the first few times, US President Joe Biden effectively yelled at his fellow Democrats on Monday to move on.
After more than a week of beltway talking heads analyzing whether he would step back, and a steady trickle of calls from his side of the aisle to do so, Biden had apparently had enough.
“I am firmly
committed to staying in this race, to running this race to the end, and to
beating Donald Trump,” he wrote in a two-page letter addressed to Democratic
lawmakers. “Any of these guys who don’t think I should run, run against me. Go
ahead. Run for president. Challenge me at the convention.”
Bloomberg
Evening Briefing: Warning of a Third Quarter Stock Market Correction -
Bloomberg
German
exports fall more than forecast in May
July 8, 2024
(Reuters) -German exports fell more
than expected in May, due to weak demand from China, the U.S and European
countries, data from the federal statistics office showed on Monday.
Exports fell by 3.6% in May compared
with the previous month, compared with the 1.9% decrease forecast by analysts
in a Reuters poll.
The foreign trade balance showed a
surplus of 24.9 billion euros ($26.94 billion) in May, following 22.2 billion
euros in April and 16.8 billion euros in May of the previous year.
Exports to EU countries dropped by
2.5% in May on the month and exports to countries outside the EU declined by
4.9%, the statistics office reported.
German exports fall more than forecast in May (msn.com)
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.
You may be sure that the Americans will commit all the stupidities they can think of, plus some that are beyond imagination.
Charles de Gaulle.
Inflation data, Powell speaks, and big banks report earnings: What to know this week
July 7, 2024
A reading on inflation and
the start of second quarter earnings reports will greet investors after a
holiday-shortened week that saw stocks close near record highs.
With job growth slowing,
investors will be closely watching the release of June's Consumer Price Index
(CPI) on Thursday as the case builds that the Federal Reserve could be set to
cut interest rates in September. Semiannual testimony from Federal Reserve
Chair Jerome Powell before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday and the
House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday will also be a key focus for
investors.
On the
corporate side, Friday morning will see some of America's largest financial
institutions, including JPMorgan (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), and Citi (C), kick off second quarter earnings season. Results from
PepsiCo (PEP) and Delta Air Lines (DAL) will also be in focus earlier in the
week.
---- On Friday, the
June jobs report showed the US economy added
more jobs than expected last month. But economists found several signs of a
slowing labor market in the details of the report.
The unemployment rate rose to
4.1%, its highest level since November 2021. Meanwhile, job gains for April and
May were revised lower by 111,000, showing the labor market's robust gains over
the past several months weren't as solid as initially thought.
Several economists believe this print
will lead the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates in September.
"The June jobs report showed
more signs of cooling in the labor market, with job growth including revisions
weaker than expected, the unemployment rate rising and earnings growth
slowing," Oxford Economics lead US economist Nancy Vanden Houten wrote in
a note to clients.
"Federal Reserve officials have
become increasingly focused on the downside risks to the labor market and the
June data bolster our forecast for the Fed to cut rates in September and at
every other meeting thereafter."
Renaissance Macro's head of economics
Neil Dutta wrote in a note to clients on Friday that the report should
"firm up expectations of a September rate cut."
"Economic conditions are cooling
and that makes the trade-offs different for the Fed," Dutta added,
"Powell should use July to set up a September cut."
More
Inflation data, Powell speaks, and big banks report
earnings: What to know this week (msn.com)
Covid-19 Corner
This section will continue until it becomes unneeded.
Second gentleman Doug Emhoff tests COVID-19 positive
July 8, 2024
(UPI) -- Second
gentleman Doug Emhoff has again tested positive for COVID-19, his director of
communications said.
Emhoff, who is fully
vaccinated against the virus, was tested Saturday after experiencing mild
symptoms, Liza Acevedo said Sunday in a
statement on X.
Acevedo said Emhoff is
currently asymptomatic and was working remotely from home.
Vice President Kamala Harris
was also tested for COVID-19 "out of an abundance of caution," and
her results returned negative, Acevedo said. Harris is also fully vaccinated.
Emhoff previously contracted the
virus in March 2022.
The second
gentleman was at the White House on Thursday for Independence Day celebrations.
UPI photographed him standing near President Joe Biden on the Truman Balcony as
they took in celebratory fireworks with their wives.
It was unclear early Monday
if Biden had been tested for COVID-19 following Emhoff's diagnosis.
Second gentleman Doug Emhoff tests COVID-19 positive
(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.
New hybrid perovskite solar cell boasts long life and
high efficiency
Michael Irving July 07, 2024
In the world of solar cell technology,
perovskite materials are poised to take on the current reigning champion
silicon, but their stability is holding them back. Now, scientists in China
have developed a new type of hybrid perovskite that boasts a very good
efficiency over a long life.
Silicon has been the go-to material for solar
cells for decades, but the tech is beginning to bump up against its theoretical
efficiency cap of just under 30%. Perovskite has emerged in the last 15 years or so as a promising
challenger, with its efficiency rapidly approaching that of silicon, while also
being cheaper, lighter and more flexible.
But as with everything,
there’s a catch: perovskite is vulnerable under exposure to the elements, and
tends to break down quickly. That’s of course not ideal for products designed
to sit outside in direct Sun every day, so finding ways to stabilize
the material is important.
Scientists from Zhejiang
University in China have now developed a sturdy new type of perovskite solar
cell. The new design uses a structure they call a high entropy hybrid
perovskite (HEHP), which essentially combines ordered inorganic layers and
disordered organic layers, which boosts its resistance to water and heat
stress. In tests, the cells maintained 98% of their efficiency after 1,000
hours of light exposure, and is calculated to follow that same trajectory for
more than 5,000 hours. That initial efficiency reached 25.7%, which is
respectable for many solar cell types.
The team says this particular
perovskite material should be applicable to a variety of different cell
architectures. Along with other protective
coatings and additives in the works, giving them a longer life could
really take the brakes off perovskite solar cells.
The research was published in
the journal Nature
Photonics.
New hybrid perovskite solar cell boasts long life and
high efficiency (newatlas.com)
Next, the
world global debt clock. Nations debts to GDP compared.
World Debt
Clocks (usdebtclock.org)
Belgium is a country invented by the British to annoy the French.
Charles de Gaulle.
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