Reads
- Eurozone Economy Into Recession
- One of Europe’s Poorest Nations Weighs Tax Revamp to Exit Crisis
- Russia, Oman Sign Agreement to Avoid Double Taxation
- Bank of Canada Lifts Rates to 22-Year High, Ending Four-Month Pause
- Treasury’s $1 Trillion Debt Deluge Threatens Market Calm
- Bonds Everywhere Suffer as Rate-Hike Fears Swamp Traders
- A $1 Trillion Borrowing Binge Looms After Debt Limit Standoff
- Binance Money Trail Reveals $70 Billion Flowing Through Silvergate, Signature
- Vessel Buildup Grows at West Coast Ports as Maritime Supply Chain Begins to Break, Echoing Covid Chaos
- Soaring EV Sales Could Still Leave World Short on Emissions Goal
- America’s Long, Tortured Journey to Build EV Batteries
- U.S. Struggles to Turn Steel Imports ‘Green’ With Tariffs
- New A.I. Chatbot Tutors Could Upend Student Learning
- GameStop Shares Fall as It Terminates CEO and Ryan Cohen Becomes Executive Chairman
- Google Ramps Up Return-to-Office Push by Using In-Person Attendance as Part of Employee Performance Reviews
- Does CNN’s Turmoil Mean There’s No Room on Cable for Independent News?
- Billionaires’ Row Was Built for the World’s Wealthiest. Has It Lived Up to Its Name?
- The Great Billionaire Takeover of European Soccer
- All About the Deep-Pocketed Saudi Wealth Fund That Rocked Golf
- How the PGA Tour and LIV Golf Fought Each Other Into a Merger
Todays Open Interest Change
PREMIUM
Prepper
North is blanketing the eastern United States with harmful air, as high winds take the plumes over the border. At the current pace, government officials have said that Canada is on track to experience the worst wildfire season in its recorded history, with 9.4M acres already burned (or around 15x the 10-year average). Critical infrastructure like telecommunication and high voltage power lines are on watch, while authorities have warned that everyone, especially vulnerable people, should stay inside as much as possible.
Atlantic Seaboard: Wildfires out in Canada's western provinces usually impact oil and gas production, but the blazes in the East have forced mining firms like Wallbridge (OTCQX:WLBMF), Osisko (OTCPK:OBNNF) and Patriot Battery Metals (OTCQX:PMETF) to suspend operations. It's also derailing activity down the U.S. East Coast, in areas such as New York, which recorded the worst air quality of any city in the world on Wednesday. The polluted haze even halted flights at LaGuardia, postponed MLB games and Broadway shows, altered school schedules, and prompted companies like Google (GOOG, GOOGL) to issue work-from-home orders.
"We have already deployed over 600 U.S. firefighters and personnel, as well as equipment like water bombers to help Canada battle the fires," Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a briefing. "We encourage everyone in the impacted areas to listen to their state and local officials. Check in on your neighbors, check in on your friends and your family. Take precautions, especially if you have health conditions."
Outlook: The situation may put a spotlight on climate investing, though others say the bigger problem has to do with forest management. "In 2022, global investment in energy-transition products and services, such as renewable energy, electric vehicles, energy efficiency, and hydrogen, reached a record $1.1T, a 31% increase from the prior year," AllianceBernstein wrote in SA article Homing In On Quality In Climate Investing Strategies. With regards to the current wildfire situation, smoke and unhealthy air quality are expected to be present in the Northeast through the weekend - until wind patterns shift or the weather changes. (3 comments)
It's not so easy to shift back to easy monetary policy, or to at least put things on pause. The Bank of Canada unexpectedly raised its key policy rate by 25 basis points to 4.75% on Wednesday, after holding it steady for two straight meetings, as underlying inflation remained "stubbornly high." Amid signals that rate hiking cycles likely are not ready to end, gold futures sank to their lowest levels since March, with U.S. Treasury yields settling at their highest point of the month. Investors are also watching the Treasury's next move to refill its account, with a series of auctions set for today, which has been said could lead to a "potent liquidity squeeze." (11 comments)
More bank difficulties could lie ahead, according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who cautioned that lenders may feel pressure from the weakening commercial real estate market. "Demand for office space since we've seen such a big change in attitudes toward remote work has changed and especially in an environment of higher interest rates," she declared. However, Yellen believes banks should be able to handle the pressure despite near-term pain, adding that stress tests show they have enough capital to weather any commercial property fallout. Earlier, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) Vice Chairman Charlie Munger sounded the alarm on the sector, given banks' vast portfolios of "bad" commercial property loans. (7 comments)
Citadel CEO Ken Griffin believes generative AI will be transformative one day, but the hype around the technology's near-term implications is overblown. Echoing the opinion is billionaire investor Stan Druckenmiller, who plans to own Nvidia (NVDA) for years given its AI outlook. "I do believe, unlike crypto, AI is real. It could be as transformative as the internet," he told the Bloomberg Invest conference. Goldman Sachs also estimates that widespread AI adoption will boost companies' productivity by 1.5 percentage points over the next 10 years. (78 comments)
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan -0.9%. Hong Kong +0.3%. China +0.5%. India -0.5%.
In Europe, at midday, London flat. Paris +0.4%. Frankfurt +0.3%.
Futures at 7:00, Dow -0.03%. S&P +0.1%. Nasdaq +0.1%. Crude +0.7% to $73.07. Gold +0.2% to $1961.80. Bitcoin -0.5% to $26,450.
Ten-year Treasury Yield +3 bps to 3.81%.
Today's Economic Calendar
8:30 Initial Jobless Claims
10:00 Wholesale Inventories (Preliminary)
10:30 EIA Natural Gas Inventory
4:30 PM Fed Balance Sheet
Companies reporting earnings today »
What else is happening...
CNN chief Chris Licht ousted after growing discord at news network.
Shares of Icahn Enterprises (IEP) soar, gain most in more than a month.
Restaurant stocks could get jolted by Supreme Court's student loan ruling.
GameStop (GME) stock slides after firing CEO, naming Ryan Cohen as chairman.
Coinbase (COIN) willing to take its fight with SEC to the Supreme Court, counsel says.
Affirm Holdings (AFRM) surges after Amazon (AMZN) Pay adds Adaptive Checkout.
Microsoft (MSFT) plans to offer OpenAI GPT models to U.S. federal agencies.
Google (GOOG), Salesforce (CRM) move to lure remote staff back to office.
Spirit Aero (SPR) jumps amid speculation regarding activist involvement.
Shares of Tesla (TSLA) hit yearly high in strong day for EV stocks.