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☆ Here are Friday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Nvidia, First Republic, Whirlpool, Meta, FedEx & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here are Friday's biggest calls on Wall Street: JPMorgan upgrades Chubb to overweight from neutral JPMorgan said the insurance company is defensive. CFRA upgrade Whirlpool to buy from hold CFRA said in its upgrade of the stock that shares are attractive. Citi initiates Bumble as buy Citi said the dating app continues to take market share. Citi reiterates Nvidia as buy Citi said it's bullish on Nvidia's adoption of AI. Citi reiterates Meta as buy Citi said it likes Meta's improved operating leverage. "

China is on track to import 5.39 million tonnes of LNG in March, according to data compiled by commodity analysts Kpler. This would be up from February's 4.96 million tonnes and also above the 4.77 million from March last year. Spot LNG prices soared last year in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine as European buyers sought large volumes in an effort to replace Russian pipeline natural gas. Effectively, Asia's LNG market has two current drivers, with cheaper spot prices encouraging buying in China, India and other price-sensitive importers such as Bangladesh. The other driver is milder than usual temperatures, which has curbed LNG imports in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

☆ U.S. inflation isn't falling — it's just not rising as quickly as it was, strategist says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailU.S. inflation isn't falling — it's just not rising as quickly as it was, strategist saysKevin Heal of Argus Research says the U.S. Federal Reserve won't change its "mantra" of getting inflation back to 2%.

☆ Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls: Charles Schwab, Meta, Nike, Netflix, Truist, FedEx & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Here are Wednesday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Oppenheimer reiterates Netflix as outperform Oppenheimer said investors should buy the dip in Netflix shares. Bank of America upgrades W.R. Berkley to buy from neutral Bank of America said buy the dip in shares of the insurance company. "A recent sell-off in financial and insurers more specifically gives an opportunity to upgrade shares of WRB." Deutsche Bank reiterates Nike as buy Deutsche said it's staying bullish on shares of Nike heading into earnings next week. Bank of America reiterates FedEx as buy Bank of America said it's standing by its buy rating on FedEx heading into earnings on Thursday.

☆ Why stablecoin company Circle is set to be the big winner in crypto after the collapse of Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( April Joyner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The collapse of three crypto-friendly banks is a boon for stablecoin issuer Circle, investors said. Slivergate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, and Signature all imploded in the space of a week. Circle keeps its reserves at BNY Mellon, which helped its stablecoin USDC recover after SVB's fall. Circle, the company behind the stablecoin USDC, is set to come ahead in the aftermath of the collapses of Silvergate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, and Signature Bank, according to several investors and founders. One risk, however, is that recent bank failures prompt regulators to bar crypto companies, including Circle, from accessing the US banking system altogether.

☆ SVB is still looking for a buyer. Here is what we know so far.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The weekend came and went without a buyer for SVB Financial Group, the parent company of the failed Silicon Valley Bank. SVB Capital focuses on venture capital and credit investing and SVB Securities is its investment banking arm. Axios reported Monday morning that JPMorgan and PNC were in talks to acquire SVB Financial Group but not the failed commercial bank. SVB Securities, better known as SVB Leerink, the investment banking arm born out of SVB's 2018 acquisition of Leerink, is a very desirable business, he added. "SVB Leerink is a well-known name in the tech and healthcare space that will be attractive to someone," said Healy.

☆ Who will step up to buy SVB? The white knight might be a bank outside Wall Street.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

SVB Bank, which catered to startups and tech founders, imploded in three days after a run on the bank. SVB Financial is reportedly looking to find a buyer by Monday. The implosion of Silicon Valley Bank means a working weekend for some bankers. SVB Financial Group is on the hunt for a buyer after regulators closed its Silicon Valley Banking business, according to Bloomberg. Though SVB's bond losses are taking up the headlines, its parent company SVB Financial has two business segments that are enticing.

☆ How SVB employees are coping after being ordered to leave the office, from polishing their resumes to hitting the bar: 'We're pretty much in the dark'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Emmalyse Brownstein | Rebecca Ungarino | Carter Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

It read: "Operations of the SVB Securities broker dealer are distinct from the receivership of SVB Financial." The SVB Securities employee called the whirlwind leading up to SVB's meltdown as "scary, scary stuff." Kevin Heal, senior analyst at Argus Research, said he sees both SVB Securities and SVB Private being sold. SVB bought the healthcare investment bank Leerink Partners in 2018, renaming it SVB Leerink and then SVB Securities. PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty ImagesHeal thinks the investment banking operations could be purchased by a smaller investment banking firm that doesn't have tech or healthcare prowess, like US Bancorp or PNC.

☆ Stocks making the biggest premarket moves: CrowdStrike, Occidental Petroleum, Tesla and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Jesse Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Here are the stocks making notable moves in premarket trading on Wednesday, March 8. CrowdStrike — Shares of the cybersecurity firm climbed more than 6% in premarket trading after a stronger-than-expected report for the fourth quarter. Occidental Petroleum — The energy stock climbed nearly 3% in premarket trading after a new regulatory filing showed Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway added to its already large stake in the company over the past trading sessions. Tesla — Shares of the automaker fell less than 1% in premarket trading after Tesla was downgraded to hold from buy at Berenberg. Maxeon Solar Technologies — Shares of the Singapore-based solar panel company jumped nearly 15% in premarket trading after the company's fourth-quarter report.

☆ Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Tesla, Carvana, Ulta, Meta, Alphabet & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here are Wednesday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Canaccord initiates Bowlero as buy Canaccord said the bowling company has a "unique growth and profitability story." Bank of America reiterates Meta as buy Bank of America said Meta is well positioned for "revenue acceleration." Deutsche Bank reiterates Ulta as buy Deutsche called Ulta "resilient." Bank of America reiterates On Semiconductor as a top pick Bank of America said the semiconductor company is a top autos pick that has the "right execution." Needham reiterates Alphabet as buy Needham said investors shouldn't be concerned about any legislative risks for Alphabet.

☆ Here are Tuesday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Amazon, Arista, Costco, Joby, Netflix & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here are Tuesday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Northcoast upgrades Costco to buy from hold Northcoast said it sees more upside for the wholesale retailer. " Goldman Sachs initiates Arista Networks and Juniper as buy Goldman initiated several networking equipment stocks, noting they are attractively valued. Deutsche Bank downgrades Joby to sell from hold Deutsche said it sees too many risks for the aviation company. Morgan Stanley reiterates Walmart as overweight Morgan Stanley said its standing by shares of Walmart as the retail giant continues to sign up new members for its Walmart+. Loop reiterates Netflix as hold Loop said its survey checks show that password sharing charging is increasing revenue for Netflix.

☆ Here are Tuesday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Tesla, Dick's, Costco, Snowflake, Meta, Dish & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here are Tuesday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Mizuho reiterates Tesla as buy Mizuho said it's standing by its buy rating heading into the company's analyst day on March 1. Barclays reiterates Apple as equal weight Barclays said low growth in the App Store is the "new norm" for Apple. Morgan Stand reiterates Dick's as overweight Morgan Stanley said it's standing by its overweight rating heading into Dick's earnings on March 7. Bank of America downgrades Dish to underperform from buy Bank of America said it sees inflationary pressure for the satellite TV company. Deutsche Bank reiterates Salesforce as buy Deutsche Bank said it's standing by shares of Salesforce heading into earnings on Wednesday.

NEW DELHI, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Signs of stronger import demand from India have arrested the decline in price of the thermal coal grades most commonly sought by the world's second-biggest importer of the fuel used to generate electricity. India has about 17 gigawatts of generation that relies on coal imports and the directive, which comes into effect on March 16, means power plants will have time to import coal ahead of the expected surge in consumption. Even without this boost to imports, India's coal arrivals are heading higher, with data from commodity analysts Kpler pointing to a rise in thermal coal imports to 10.19 million tonnes in February, up from 9.71 million tonnes in January and the most since November. Thermal coal imports by China, Japan, IndiaAUSTRALIAN IMPORTSIt is also possible that India will seek to boost imports from Australia, especially of the 5,500 kcal/kg grade that it has been buying. This ban was lifted last month and there are already some signs that Chinese utilities are resuming imports of Australian coal, although mainly coking coal used to make steel.

☆ How Wall Street firms lift the velvet rope on funding deals for buzzy startups like Stripe for their wealthiest clients
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Goldman Sachs has invited wealth management clients to invest in fintech unicorn Stripe, as reported by Bloomberg. The message was a rare peek into how the richest bank clients can access investments normally off-limits to individual investors. Insider redacted the wealth management vice president's name and email address to protect their privacy. Citi and JPMorgan, for instance, both have teams dedicated to direct private investments for private bank clients. Private wealth is a real power alley for us, and those continue to be good sources of funding," said Salisbury at a conference in September.

Benchmark Australian thermal coal at Newcastle Port closed last week at $195.13 a tonne, down from the $249.25 the week prior to the attack on Ukraine. But these fears were never fully realised, largely because Russian commodities were re-routed to new buyers and some consuming nations cut consumption of commodities such as natural gas. There are ongoing consequences of the initial spike in commodity prices, with retail fuel and electricity costs in many countries still well above pre-invasion levels. Such a situation maintains China's access to cheap Russian commodities, increases Moscow's dependence on Beijing, while keeping Western countries focused on the war and its costs to their economies and political unity. It's also worth noting that in the months after the invasion much commentary was devoted to how Russia was benefiting from the higher commodity prices and how the Western sanctions on Moscow's exports were failing.

The gains are being driven by restocking by steel mills in China, which buys about 70% of global seaborne iron ore and produces half of the world's steel. It's worth noting that stockpiles remain well below the same week last year, when they were at 160.95 million tonnes. Australia's iron ore exports are likely to drop in February, with Kpler estimating shipments of 57.7 million tonnes, while Refinitiv is forecasting 58.74 million. While Australia and Brazil dominate the global seaborne iron ore trade, it's worth noting that other exporters aren't adding much to the overall supply story. The supply shortage and expectations of increasing Chinese demand are likely to provide a solid base for further gains in spot iron ore prices.

REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File PhotoHOUSTON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Russia's decision to cut crude oil production by 500,000 barrels per day reflects its inability to sell all of its oil, Ben Harris, a U.S. Treasury Department Assistant Secretary, said on Thursday. Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak last week said it would voluntarily cut production beginning next month following the start of Western price caps on Russian oil and oil products on Feb. 5. Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have pushed for lowering the crude oil cap. There have been no American companies involved in trading Russian oil above the price cap, he said. Phillips 66's (PSX.N) Chief Executive Mark Lashier said the company's base assumption is that Russia's crude and oil products will find their way into the marketplace.

☆ BofA says these global stocks can weather a choppy market — and are 'inexpensive'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

As sentiment turns a little bearish, BofA screened for cheaper global stocks that proved resilient during the financial crisis of 2008. Europe has been one of the brightest spots in the global stock market this year, with Wall Street calling the region a better bet than the U.S. right now . BofA screen BofA screened for European stocks that met the following criteria: Inexpensive compared with the past 15 years' average 12-month forward price to earnings ratio. According to FactSet, analysts covering the stock gave it average potential upside of around 23%, and 62% rated it a buy. According to FactSet, analysts covering the stock gave it average potential upside of around 26%, and 78% rated it a buy.

Commodities from iron ore to crude oil to copper rallied after Beijing's surprise abandonment of the zero-COVID policy late last year, but have since eased back. While there are other factors driving commodity prices, it's also the case that the positive market sentiment created by expectations of a rebound in the world's second-largest economy ran ahead of actual commodity demand. China's imports of major commodities have yet to show any major spike higher, even as they remain at relatively robust levels. The irony is that just as commodity prices are losing some steam, China's economic momentum appears to be gathering pace. Overall, there is little doubt that China's re-opening will be positive for the country's commodity demand.

The Newcastle Index only covers a relatively small portion of the seaborne thermal coal market, reflecting higher energy cargoes bought mainly by utilities in Japan and South Korea. A mild winter and strong domestic output have limited China's appetite for imported thermal coal, putting downward pressure on prices, especially for Indonesian grades. Europe's imports of seaborne thermal coal are also dropping, with Kpler estimating February arrivals of 6.61 million tonnes, down from 8.16 million in January and 8.75 million in December. Asia, Europe LNG imports vs spot priceLNG DIPSSimilar to thermal coal, a drop in demand from China and from Europe is freeing up spot LNG cargoes and contributing to lower prices. This may mean that spot LNG and thermal coal prices may remain at levels that appear elevated compared with the average of the last decade, especially as new supply will only arrive in significant volumes for LNG around 2025.

☆ Russia proposes caps on oil export discounts -draft law
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies NK Rosneft' PAO FollowMOSCOW, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Russia's State Duma introduced a bill late on Saturday setting discounts for Russian oil exports, according to the lower house of parliament's website. Under the draft proposal, the discount on dated Brent oil will be limited to $34 per barrel in April, declining to $31 in May, $28 in June and $25 in July. The government has been debating how to calculate Russia's taxable oil price following the European Union's import ban and the resulting lack of a reliable price-setting mechanism. Russia currently uses Urals price assessments in Europe's Rotterdam and Augusta ports, provided by commodity price reporting agency Argus, to determine its mineral extraction tax, additional income tax, oil export duty and reverse excise on oil. Russia said on Friday it will cut oil production by 500,000 barrels per day, or around 5% of output, in March, following the West's imposition of price caps on Russian oil and oil products.

Coking coal prices, along with those for iron ore, have rallied on the back of this optimism, with both steel raw materials recording strong gains this year. The answer is that for coking coal there appears to be both rising demand and some supply disruptions at work. Japan, the second-biggest buyer of seaborne coking coal, imported 5.01 million tonnes in January, up from December's 3.98 million and roughly level with last January's 5.08 million. Outside of Asia, Europe's imports of coking coal rose to 3.81 million tonnes in January from December's 3.55 million, according to Kpler. The overall picture from coking coal imports is that there has been a move higher in recent months, which does provide some fundamental backing to the rally in prices.

While the Chinese ban has been lifted, it's unlikely that buyers will flock back to Australian thermal coal, given the availability of cheaper, and similar quality, coal from Russia. The weakness in prices wasn't limited to Australian thermal coal, with Indonesian grades also dropping. Indonesia is the world's largest exporter of thermal coal, while Australia ranks second and Russia third. Russian thermal coal from Vostochny port, which is largely being bought by China after Japan curbed imports following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has also been weakening. Prices for Indonesia, Russia and Australia thermal coalVOLUMES SLIPThe softer prices for thermal coal are occurring as demand for seaborne cargoes appears to be weakening among Asia's top two importing nations.

☆ Here are Friday's biggest analyst calls: Intel, Apple, Amazon, McDonald's, Tesla, Sunrun, Meta & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Citi reiterates Apple as buy Citi says it's sticking with its buy rating heading into earnings next week. We maintain our Buy rating." Citi reiterates Intel as neutral Citi says it's standing by its neutral rating on the stock, but that Intel's earnings report on Thursday was "bad news." Wells Fargo reiterates Amazon as overweight Wells says it's standing by its buy rating heading into Amazon earnings on February 2. Argus reiterates Tesla as buy Argus says it's sticking with its buy rating after the company's earnings report earlier this week.

☆ Steelmaking Is Trying to Make Itself Greener and Researchers May Have Found a Way
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Yusuf Khan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

Steelmaking is one of the most carbon-intensive industries in the world, but researchers may have found a way to make it greener. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ Pro Sustainable Business A weekly look at environmental, social and governance issues and strategies for corporate decision makers. The system essentially creates a closed loop where the carbon split using the perovskite is put back into the system. “After five years, this system would save the U.K. steel industry £1.28 billion [equivalent to $1.57 billion], while reducing UK-wide emissions by 2.9%,” Ms. Kildahl said. For example, H2 Green Steel in Sweden is looking to cut carbon emissions by using hydrogen as a fuel source.

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