Baltic Dry Index. 1643 +08 Brent Crude 72.16
Spot
Gold 3022 U S 2 Year Yield 3.94 -0.01
US
Federal Debt. 36.626 trillion.
"Liquidate labor, liquidate stocks, liquidate farmers,
liquidate real estate… it will purge the rottenness out of the system. High
costs of living and high living will come down. People will work harder, live a
more moral life. Values will be adjusted, and enterprising people will pick up
from less competent people."
Andrew Mellon.
US stocks stabilised
on Friday, well sort of, thanks mostly to a strange late trading day rally.
In Europe, the
closure of Europe’s busiest airport for a day depressed stocks, although even
without the bad travel news there wasn’t much good news elsewhere.
According to news
reports, which may or may not be reliable, supposedly some 200,000 passengers
and 1,300 flights were affected. No estimates yet on the cost to airlines and
the UK and EU economies.
Next week, the approach
of month-end, end of quarter and another week closer to Trump tariff
disruption. Who would be a stocks or commodities gambler in such uncertain
conditions.
S&P
500 ekes out a gain Friday, snaps four-week losing run: Live updates
Updated
Fri, Mar 21 2025 4:28 PM EDT
The S&P
500 inched higher on Friday, ending four consecutive weeks of declines
that were brought on by trade policy turmoil, recession fears and a rollover in
megacap tech shares.
The S&P 500 added 0.08%, rising into positive
territory as the trading session drew to a close. The broad market index ended
the day at 5,667.56. The Nasdaq
Composite gained 0.52% and settled at 17,784.05, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced
32.03 points, or 0.08%, to close at 41,985.35.
The broad-market S&P 500 posted a 0.5% weekly
advance, averting a fifth straight week of losses. The Nasdaq rose 0.2% week to
date, and the Dow posted a 1.2% gain.
Friday was a “quadruple witching” day, which is when
stock options, index futures, index options and single-stock futures expire.
Goldman estimated that more
than $4.7 trillion of notional options exposure would expire.
The session was volatile with major averages coming
off their lows after President Donald
Trump said there would be some
“flexibility” with tariffs. However, he maintained that the tariffs
implemented at the April 2 deadline will be reciprocal, saying all countries
that have tariffs on U.S. goods will be charged.
Trump’s tariff deadline is looming over the market,
according to Michael Green, chief strategist at Simplify Asset
Management.
“Companies are increasingly citing confusion and
uncertainty around their planning and capital spending and hiring decisions —
and when they pause, it means that they’re slowing down,” he said. “There’s an
element of that playing out in the markets.”
Two economic bellwethers slid on Friday. FedEx was down 6.5% after it
cut its earnings outlook, citing “weakness and uncertainty in the U.S.
industrial economy.” Nike shares
were off by more than 5% after the shoe and apparel giant said
sales this quarter would miss analysts’ expectations because of
tariffs and falling consumer confidence.
The S&P 500 briefly fell into correction
territory at one point during its sell-off since late February, and it now sits
nearly 8% from its record high, short of the 10% correction level. The
benchmark has made some attempts to rally this month without much
follow-through, including on Wednesday when it snapped back by 1% after the
Federal Reserve said it would still likely cut rates two times this year.
Stock
market news for March 21, 2025
European
markets close lower after Heathrow Airport closure; British Airways-owner IAG
down 1.9%
Updated
Fri, Mar 21 2025 1:05 PM EDT
European markets closed lower on Friday, led by
declines in the travel sector which was down 1.6% after the closure of Heathrow
airport.
The pan-European Stoxx 600, French CAC 40 and the
U.K.’s FTSE 100 all
closed around 0.6% lower, while the the German DAX shed 0.5%.
The travel and leisure sector lost about 1.6% after
London’s Heathrow Airport closed
on Friday following a fire at a nearby electrical substation. British
Airways-owner International
Airlines Group was trading around 1.9% lower.
Basic resources — including stocks such as ArcelorMittal and wood pulp
processor Stora Enso —
were down about 2.3%.
European investors digested monetary policy updates
that came from multiple central banks in the region, as well as the U.S.
Federal Reserve, this week.
The Bank of Russia held its key rates at 21% on
Friday, citing high inflationary pressures. On Thursday, the Swiss National
Bank trimmed
interest rates by 25 basis points, while the Bank of England held
rates steady in the U.K. and Sweden’s Riksbank also opted not to alter
interest rates.
“Since [our] previous meeting, global trade policy
uncertainty has intensified, and the United States has made a range of tariff
announcements, to which some governments have responded,” the Bank of England
said on Thursday. “Other geopolitical uncertainties have also increased and
indicators of financial market volatility have risen globally.”
It came after the Fed also kept
its key interest rate steady on Wednesday. Although the central bank
said it still sees two rate cuts happening this year, officials cut their 2025
economic growth forecast for the U.S. and noted that uncertainty had increased,
with tariffs poised to add inflationary pressure.
Europe
markets: Live updates, stocks, economic news
In other news.
London’s
Heathrow Airport resumes flights after major fire nearby shuts down travel
Published
Thu, Mar 20 2025 11:37 PM EDT
London’s Heathrow Airport closed Friday after a fire
at a nearby electrical substation caused a power outage, disrupting travel for
tens of thousands of passengers planning to fly in or out of Europe’s busiest
airport.
The first flight since the closure departed late
Friday local time, and Heathrow posted
on X that it hopes to run a “full operation” on Saturday.
More than 800 flights were canceled in and out of
the airport on Friday, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware, as of the
most recent update, upending travel at the major hub and connecting airport.
Airlines warned travelers that disruptions could
continue into the weekend, and Heathrow posted that travelers shouldn’t go to
the airport unless advised to do so by their airline.
London’s Metropolitan Police said that while there
was “no indication of foul play,” the counterterrorism division would now lead
the investigation into the fire.
“Given the location of the substation and the impact
this incident has had on critical national infrastructure, the Met’s Counter
Terrorism Command is now leading enquiries,” the force said in a post
on X.
“This is due to the specialist resources and
capabilities within that command that can assist in progressing this
investigation at pace to minimise disruption and identify the cause,” it said.
“Heathrow is experiencing a significant power outage
across the airport. ... Whilst fire crews are responding to the incident, we do
not have clarity on when power may be reliably restored,” a Heathrow
spokesperson said earlier Friday.
Canceled
and diverted flights
More than 120 flights were already in the air when
the closure was announced and were diverted or returned to their
originating airports, according to Flightradar24. Nearly three-quarters of the
flights scheduled to depart from Heathrow, or 500 flights, and half of the
arrivals destined for the airport, 300 flights, were also scrubbed.
Airlines around the world due to operate flights
into and out of Heathrow told
passengers to stay home.
The fire and airport closure left thousands of
travelers stranded. British
Airways was the most affected airline, with over half of its Friday
schedule canceled.
The airline said it would offer “flexible options”
for rebooking to passengers set to travel to or from Heathrow on Friday through
the weekend, in an online post.
“Our teams are currently working hard to review our
long-haul schedule as well as the implications for our schedule tomorrow and
beyond,” it said in a statement.
As the fire appears to be outside of the airlines’
control, they may not be required to cover compensation, according to a note
issued by Citi on Friday.
More
Heathrow
Airport closes Friday after fire causes power outage
Tesla owners
are trading in their EVs at record levels, Edmunds says
Published
Thu, Mar 20 2025 7:38 PM EDT Updated Fri, Mar 21 2025 8:09 AM EDT
As Elon
Musk wraps up his second month in the White House, Tesla owners are trading in
their electric vehicles at record levels, according to an analysis by national
car shopping site Edmunds.
The data from Edmunds published on Thursday said
that March represented “the highest ever share” it had seen for Tesla trade-ins
toward new or used cars from dealerships selling other brands.
Since heading to Washington, D.C., in January as a
central figure in the second Trump administration, Musk, who is CEO of Tesla,
has been slashing the
federal workforce and government spending, and has gained access to sensitive
government computer systems and data, though his efforts have been repeatedly
challenged in court.
Before assuming leadership of the so-called
Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, Musk spent around $290 million
last year to help propel President
Donald Trump back to the White House.
While investors snapped up Tesla shares after
Trump’s victory in November, they’ve been rushing
for the exits of late, pushing the stock’s price down by 42% this year.
Waves of protests have targeted Tesla facilities in the U.S. and beyond. Other
criminal acts of vandalism and arson have targeted Tesla stores,
vehicles and charging stations across the U.S.
In addition, Tesla is facing increased competition
from EV makers. In January, S&P Global Mobility found Tesla sales declined
about 11% year over year in the U.S., while Ford, Chevrolet and Volkswagen
bolstered their sales of EVs, picking up market share.
“Shifts in Tesla consumer sentiment could create an
opportunity for legacy automakers and EV startups to gain ground,” Jessica
Caldwell, head of insights at Edmunds, wrote in an email. “As Tesla brand
loyalty and interest wavers, those offering competitive pricing, new
technology, or simply less controversy could capture defecting Tesla owners and
first-time EV buyers.”
The Tesla brand, more than that of any other
automaker, is tightly tied to its CEO. In August 2024, Edmunds surveys found
that just 2% of car shoppers in the U.S. were unfamiliar with Musk.
Edmunds also said that shopping for new models of
Tesla vehicles on its platform dropped to its lowest level last month since
October 2022 after peaking as late as November.
Even before Musk began heading up DOGE,
Tesla’s brand
was suffering. Its brand value fell by 26%, or about $15 billion, in 2024,
a second straight annual decline, according to research and consulting firm
Brand Finance.
Many car shoppers trade in their Tesla EVs for a
newer model Tesla. Edmunds data didn’t account for those transactions.
Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for
comment.
Tesla owners are trading in their EVs at record levels, Edmunds says
Global
Inflation/Stagflation/Recession Watch.
Given our Magic Money
Tree central banksters and our spendthrift politicians, inflation/recession now needs an entire
section of its own.
Walls close in for Rachel Reeves as borrowing
shoots up
Friday 21 March 2025 7:59
am
Chancellor Rachel
Reeves’s headroom is shrinking as government borrowing in February
exceeded the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) prediction, new data
showed.
Reeves has insisted that
financial prudence is key to the government’s economic agenda.
But the latest data
released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggests she has
less headroom than expected.
The shortfall between
income and spending was £10.7bn in February.
It exceeded a previous
OBR forecast of £6.5bn.
In the financial year to
February, the deficit was £132.2bn, some £14.7bn higher than at the same last
year.
The provisional rate of
net government debt to GDP at the end of February was estimated at 95.5 per
cent.
The figures will be a
headache for Reeves ahead of the Spring Statement next week.
The Chancellor is set to
lay out radical adjustments to public spending in order for the government to meet its
new military expenditure commitments.
Tax hikes have been ruled
out by the government.
Darren Jones, Chief
Secretary to the Treasury, hinted that the government would target the inactive
workforce in the Statement next week.
“We must go further and
faster to create an agile and productive state that works for people,” Jones
said.
“That’s why we’re
refocusing the public sector on our missions and, for the first time in 17
years, going through every penny of taxpayer money line by line, to make sure
it is helping us secure Britain’s future through the Plan for Change. “
KPMG economist Dennis
Tatarkov said the data “raised the risk” of the Chancellor missing
targets.
“There may not be much
room for the Chancellor to defer major tax and spending decisions to the Autumn
Budget.
“Borrowing in February
was some £4.2bn more than the OBR’s October prediction, and more bad news came
in the revisions to past data, with January’s surplus revised down by £2.1bn.
“This means overall
borrowing for 2024/25 is now expected to reach £148.7bn, far more than the OBR
expected at the Budget.”
Walls close in for Rachel Reeves as borrowing shoots
up
Japan core inflation rose 3% in February,
bolstering expectations of interest rate hikes
Published Thu, Mar 20 2025 7:33 PM EDT Updated Thu,
Mar 20 2025 8:20 PM EDT
Japan’s core inflation
beat expectations and came in at 3% in February, government data showed on Friday, bolstering the case
for further
interest rate hikes.
The core inflation figure
— which excludes prices of fresh food — was higher than expectations of 2.9%,
according to economists polled by Reuters, but lower than January’s figure of
3.2%.
Headline inflation rose
3.7% year on year in February, easing from a
two-year high of 4% seen last month. It means the headline inflation
rate has remained above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target for 35 straight months.
The so called “core-core”
inflation rate, which strips out prices of both fresh food and energy and is
closely monitored by the BOJ, climbed to 2.6% from 2.5% in the month before.
The data comes shortly
after the central bank held
interest rates steady at 0.5% on Wednesday.
In its statement, the BOJ said that “underlying CPI
inflation is expected to increase gradually” and be “generally consistent” with
its target of 2%.
The BOJ said core
inflation is likely to increase over its 2025 fiscal year, due to high rice
prices and the easing of government measures to push down inflation.
Exchange rate
developments are also more likely to affect prices, the BOJ added, saying
“there remain high uncertainties surrounding Japan’s economic activity and
prices, including the evolving situation regarding trade and other policies in
each jurisdiction.”
---- When the BOJ raised rates to 0.5% in January,
the central bank said in its summary of opinions that Japan’s economic activity and
prices have been developing “generally in line with the Bank’s outlook,”
adding: “If economic activity and prices remain on track, it will be necessary
for the Bank to continue to raise the policy interest rate accordingly.”
More
Japan
core inflation rose 3% in Feb, bolstering rate hike expectations
Technology
Update.
With events happening
fast in the development of solar power and graphene, I’ve added this section.
This
weekend, something different. The dangerous EV aftermath of the LA fires. A
problem that will only grow over the next few decades. Approx. 19 minutes.
AFTER
THE LA FIRE: Toxic Battery Cleanup
AFTER THE LA FIRE: Toxic Battery Cleanup - YouTube
Next, the
world global debt clock. Nations debts to GDP compared.
World Debt Clocks (usdebtclock.org)
This
weekend’s music diversion. Vivaldi again but not our usual everyday Vivaldi. Approx.
12 minutes.
Antonio
Lucio VİVALDİ: Concerto Grosso à 10 Stromenti İn D Major RV.562
Antonio Lucio
VİVALDİ: Concerto Grosso à 10 Stromenti İn D Major RV.562
This
weekend’s chess diversion. Approx 14
minutes.
Magnus Faces His Old Master! || Agdestein
vs Carlsen || Norwegian Team Championship (2025)
Magnus Faces His Old Master! || Agdestein
vs Carlsen || Norwegian Team Championship (2025) - YouTube
This
weekend’s maths history diversion. Pi to the sixth digit. Approx. 26 minutes.
The
Mystery of 355/113 and Pi
"Never have the world's moneys been so long cut off from
their metallic roots."
Murray M. Rothbard
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