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☆ U.S. crude stocks rise as production climbs to highest since April 2020
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Arathy Somasekhar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HOUSTON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil stocks rose last week to their highest level since June 2021, helped by higher production, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Crude inventories (USOILC=ECI) rose by 2.4 million barrels in the week ended Feb. 3 to 455.1 million barrels, close to the 2.5 million-barrel rise that analysts expected in a Reuters poll. U.S. oil production rose 100,000 barrels to touch 12.3 million, its highest since April 2020. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub (USOICC=ECI) rose by 1 million barrels in the last week while net U.S. crude imports (USOICI=ECI) rose by 367,000 barrels per day, the EIA said. U.S. gasoline stocks (USOILG=ECI) rose by 5 million barrels to 239.6 million barrels, the EIA said, far surpassing the 1.3 million barrel rise that analysts expected in a Reuters.

☆ Wall Street falls on rate hike worries
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Money market participants are now betting the U.S. central bank's benchmark rate to rise above 5% in May before peaking to 5.18% by July, levels that officials have backed vociferously. Of all the S&P 500 companies that have reported quarterly earnings, 69% of them have beaten expectations, according to Refinitiv. Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) rose 0.7% on upbeat earnings expectations for the year. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.86-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 2.05-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded eight new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 56 new highs and 18 new lows.

☆ Bed Bath & Beyond plunges after last-ditch effort to avoid bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 7 (Reuters) - Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (BBBY.O) fell more than 30% in premarket trading on Tuesday after the retailer's plans to raise about $1 billion through an offering failed to convince investors the company could avoid bankruptcy. "Unfortunately, we see a low probability that the company will be able to raise equity and view this as a 'last gasp' before filing for bankruptcy protection," Wedbush analyst Seth Basham said. Reuters reported late last month Bed Bath & Beyond was preparing to seek bankruptcy protection and had lined up liquidators to close additional stores unless a last-minute buyer emerged. Bed Bath & Beyond's shares closed more than 92% higher in the last session on interest from retail traders. A part of the meme stock phenomenon, Bed Bath & Beyond stock surged to as high as $30 in August when activist investor Ryan Cohen took a stake in the company and pushed for changes.

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☆ VIEW U.S. job growth accelerates in January, wage gains moderate
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, Feb 3 (Reuters) - U.S. job growth accelerated sharply in January amid a persistently resilient labor market, but a further moderation in wage gains should give the Federal Reserve some comfort in its fight against inflation. MARKET REACTION:STOCKS: U.S. stock index futures fell sharply after the strong jobs report BONDS: U.S. bond yields rose after the jobs data. If you can do that and keep the labor market strong that's the perfect soft landing the Fed's been looking for." "I'd say that market got ahead of itself betting that the March rate hike would be the last one. Was it seasonal factors or just the strength of the labor market."

Brent crude futures were down $2.6, or 3.5%, at $82.50 a barrel by 12:50 p.m. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) U.S. crude futures fell $2.67, or 3.4% to $76.20. U.S. crude oil and fuel inventories rose last week to their highest levels since June 2021, the Energy Information Administration said, as demand remained weak. "The market is reacting to the report that indicates there isn't demand for crude oil or fuels," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York. Elsewhere, Russia's Deputy Prime Minister said he expected oil demand to rise on the back of Chinese economic activity.

☆ Citigroup technicals indicate rally may extend even as Wall Street remains wary
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Mehnaz Yasmin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 1 (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc's shares (C.N) are approaching a potential bullish technical signal which indicates that this year's 14% rally could continue, even as some analysts remain critical of the bank's fundamentals. The technical signal, called a "golden cross", forms if the stock's 50-day moving average goes above its 200-day moving average. On Jan. 23, Citi shares touched their highest since August. The one-month moving average of puts-to-calls traded has dropped to 1.07-to-1, down from 2.6 puts traded for every call late last year, according to Trade Alert data, signaling less bearishness. "The bank is still very much in the build-up of expenses and early stages of reinvesting in their franchises."

☆ Oil prices settle lower on stronger supply outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

OPEC+ has recently hinted it could impose deeper output cuts to spur a recovery in crude prices. Oil prices settled lower on Friday, making their weekly finish flat to lower, as indications of strong Russian oil supply offset better-than-expected U.S. economic growth data, strong middle distillate refining margins and hopes of a rapid recovery in Chinese demand. U.S. crude fell $1.33, or 1.6 %, to settle at $79.68, 2% lower on the week. "If Russian supply remains strong heading into next month, oil is probably going to continue to trend lower," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York. He added that profit taking ahead of the weekend may also have driven prices lower.

☆ Battered BuzzFeed shares rally after report of multi-million dollar Meta deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 26 (Reuters) - Shares of BuzzFeed Inc (BZFD.O) jumped over 50% in early trading after a report said Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) was paying the digital media firm millions of dollars to bring more creators to Facebook, Instagram. About 30 million shares changed hands by 9:50 a.m. The $132 million company has seen its shares tank over 90% to just under $1 since going public via a reverse merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in December 2021. SPACs typically sell shares for $10 each, put the cash in a trust account and then search for a company to buy. Its third-quarter net loss had widened to $27 million from $3.6 million a year ago.

☆ Instant view: U.S. GDP grows in fourth quarter; weekly jobless claims fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Gross domestic product increased at a 2.9% annualized rate last quarter, the Commerce Department said in its advance fourth-quarter GDP growth estimate on Thursday. The swing in inventories was the wildcard and that added 1.46 percentage points to GDP growth. "If you look at the GDP data it does seem like we left 2022 with a little bit more momentum than people had thought and with consumption we're also in a pretty good spot. “We have a GDP number that is well above trend, and the previous quarter’s number was well above trend. That suggests higher rates were starting to take a bigger toll, and sets the stage for weaker growth in the first quarter of this year."

☆ Genesis Demise Marks End of Era for Crypto’s Pseudo-Banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Alexander Osipovich | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The late-night bankruptcy filing of Genesis Global Capital LLC last week marked the end of an era for crypto lenders that tried to bring the centuries-old business model of banking to the digital-currency space. Many of the biggest names in crypto lending have failed in the past half-year, highlighting the shaky foundations, risky practices and lack of regulation in the sector. Now, millions of depositors who parked savings with such lenders are in limbo as they hope to get back some portion of their money in slow-moving bankruptcy proceedings.

☆ Crypto firm Nexo Capital agrees to pay $45 mln to settle U.S. SEC, state charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Chris Prentice | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW YORK, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Nexo Capital Inc has agreed to pay $45 million in penalties to settle charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and state regulators that the crypto firm failed to register its crypto asset lending product, the SEC said on Thursday. Nexo has agreed to pay a $22.5 million penalty to the SEC and another $22.5 million in fines to state regulators in relation to its Earn Interest Product to U.S. investors, the SEC said in a statement. Nexo began to offer its lending product around June 2020, allowing U.S. investors to give their crypto assets to the company in exchange for a promise of interest, the SEC said. The company ceased offering the product to new investors after the SEC announced similar charges against another company in February 2022. Last week, the SEC sued Genesis Global Capital LLC and Gemini Trust Company LLC for their lending product.

☆ Oil prices rally to highest close since Dec. 1 on China optimism
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Smoke rises from a Saudi Aramco oil facility in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah, on March 26, 2022. Oil prices settled 1% higher on Thursday, extending a recent rally built around rising Chinese demand, while the market wrote off a second straight week of large builds in U.S. crude inventories. Oil prices were down by more than a dollar per barrel earlier in Thursday's session, as traders booked profits and U.S. data showed the economy losing momentum. Both oil benchmarks hit their highest level in more than a month on Tuesday. "All roads seem to lead back to the same input - rising Chinese demand," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York.

A reading from the Commerce Department showed retail sales fell 1.1% in December, compared with expectations of a 0.8% drop. Another report showed U.S. producer prices rose less than expected year-on-year in December, adding to evidence of a moderation in inflation. Earnings from big U.S. banks were a mixed bag, with many stockpiling rainy-day funds preparing for a looming recession. Shares of other major carriers including American Airlines Group Inc (AAL.O), Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL.N) and Southwest Airlines Co (LUV.N) rose between 1.6% and 2.2%. IBM Corp (IBM.N) slipped 1.5% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the company's shares to "equal weight" from "overweight", citing slowing revenue growth.

☆ Pyrex maker settles over false 'Made in USA' claims
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 18 (Reuters) - The maker of Pyrex kitchenware agreed to pay a fine and change its marketing practices to settle U.S. claims that it falsely advertised its popular glass measuring cups as "Made in USA" while importing some of them from China. Instant Brands LLC did not admit or deny wrongdoing in Wednesday's settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, which approved it by a 4-0 vote. Despite the shift, Instant Brands marketed the Chinese-made cups as "Made in USA" and as "American as Apple Pie" though the cups were marked "Made in China," the FTC said. Instant Brands did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In 2021, the FTC adopted a "Made in USA Labeling Rule" to protect businesses and consumers from what it called "rampant" fraud by marketers over their products' origins.

☆ Crossover Hedge Funds Lost Big in 2022. They’re Still Launching in 2023.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Juliet Chung | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Hedge funds investing in fast-growing public and private companies lost tens of billions of clients’ money last year. That isn’t stopping more “crossover” funds from launching. Mala Gaonkar, 53 years old, a former co-investment chief of Lone Pine Capital LLC, launched her New York-based crossover fund, SurgoCap Partners, on Jan. 3 with $1.8 billion, people familiar with her firm said. Ms. Gaonkar’s launch was widely anticipated given her experience and marks the largest-ever startup from a female hedge-fund manager. Lone Pine, which Ms. Gaonkar left roughly a year ago, lost 36% in 2022 in its flagship hedge fund.

☆ SEC Sues Crypto Firms Genesis and Gemini Over Lending Product
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Dave Michaels | Vicky Ge Huang | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Under Gemini Earn, customers of crypto exchange Gemini lent their crypto assets to crypto lender Genesis in exchange for interest payments as high as 8%. WASHINGTON—The Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday sued Genesis Global Capital LLC and Gemini Trust Company LLC over a $900 million crypto-lending program that allegedly violated investor-protection laws. The SEC filed its civil lawsuit in Manhattan federal court alleging that Genesis should have registered the product, which would have required providing clients with detailed financial disclosures. The companies began marketing the program to individual investors in February 2021 and raised billions of dollars’ worth of crypto assets from hundreds of thousands of investors, the SEC said.

Genesis, a part of Digital Currency Group, entered into a deal with Gemini in December 2020 to offer Gemini customers the chance to loan their crypto assets to Genesis in exchange for earning interest, the SEC said. Beginning in February 2021, they raised billions of dollars' worth of crypto assets from investors, the SEC said. The firms violated securities laws through the offer and sale of crypto assets through their Gemini Earn product, the SEC said. In November 2022, Genesis told investors they could not withdraw their crypto assets as volatility in the crypto markets prompted a liquidity crunch. Gemini and other Genesis creditors have been agitating for a solution to avoid a situation similar to FTX's rapid descent into bankruptcy.

☆ US securities regulator charges Genesis, Gemini with unregistered offerings
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Beginning in February 2021, they raised billions of dollars’ worth of crypto assets from investors, the SEC said. The firms violated securities laws through the offer and sale of crypto assets through their Gemini Earn product, the SEC said. In November 2022, Genesis told investors they could not withdraw their crypto assets as volatility in the crypto markets prompted a liquidity crunch. At the time, Genesis had about $900 million in assets from 340,000 Gemini Earn investors. Gemini and other Genesis creditors have been agitating for a solution to avoid a situation similar to FTX’s rapid descent into bankruptcy.

☆ List of FTX Backers Expands to Include Kraft Group, Other Family Offices
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Andrew Scurria | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

FTX raised equity capital before its collapse from Robert Kraft‘s Kraft Group and entertainment giant Endeavor Group Holdings Inc., among other newly-identified backers who now face the loss of their investments in the once-highflying exchange. The crypto firm’s chapter 11 administrators disclosed a new roster of its financial backers that listed affiliates of Kraft Group and entertainment giant Endeavor as holding common and preferred stock. FTX also disclosed that it raised capital from affiliates of investment offices including Daniel Och‘s Willoughby Capital LLC and Blue Pool Capital, a Hong-Kong office backed by Alibaba Group co-founder Joseph Tsai, according to the shareholder list, filed in bankruptcy court on Tuesday.

[1/2] The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, U.S., November 22, 2019. U.S. natural gas tumbled about 18% in the first week of January, the biggest slide on record to start a year, according to Refinitiv Eikon data. The 12% drop in distillate futures , was the biggest dive to start a year since 1991. In natural gas, U.S. futures fell further on Friday, dropping 5% to $3.52 per million British thermal units during the session, its lowest since July 2021. This week, it forecast U.S. natural gas prices would drop to $4.00-$4.20 per million British thermal units in the second quarter through third quarter.

On the benchmark S&P 500 index, rate-sensitive real estate stocks (.SPLRCR) led the losses with a 2.2% drop, while financials (.SPSY) slipped 1%. The ADP National Employment report showed a much greater-than-expected rise in private employment in December, while another report showed weekly jobless claims fell last week. The reports came a day after data showed a moderate fall in U.S. job openings, in growing evidence that the labor market remains tight. A strong labor market has been a concern for markets pummeled by rising borrowing costs as it gives the Federal Reserve a reason to raise rates for longer than expected this year. The more comprehensive nonfarm payrolls report is due on Friday, which would provide further clues on labor demand and the rate hike trajectory.

Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) advanced over 0.6% each as U.S. 10-year Treasury yields slipped to 3.83% from 3.86% on Tuesday . Among the major S&P 500 sectors, technology (.SPLRCT) and consumer discretionary (.SPLRCD) gained nearly 0.5% and 1% respectively, while healthcare shares (.SPXHC) also were a major boost to the benchmark index. Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) rose 5.3%, after hitting its lowest level in more than two years in the previous session over demand worries in China. Energy stocks (.SPNY) bucked the trend as oil prices slipped on concerns about a surge in COVID-19 cases in top oil importer China. The benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX) is down 19% year-to-date and set for its biggest annual loss since the financial crisis of 2008.

ETMeta up on J.P. Morgan rating upgradeDigital World Acquisition down on CFO exitFutures down: Dow 1.16%, S&P 1.05%, Nasdaq 0.60%Dec 16 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main stock indexes were set to extend losses on Friday as fears of a looming recession, sparked by the Federal Reserve's relentless battle against inflation, hammered sentiment. The Bank of England and the European Central Bank were the latest ones to indicate an extended rate-hike cycle on Thursday. The simultaneous expiration of stock options, stock index futures and index options contracts later in the day, known as triple witching, could cause volatility through the trading session. ET, Dow e-minis were down 384 points, or 1.16%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 41.25 points, or 1.05%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 68.5 points, or 0.6%. Reporting by Shubham Batra, Ankika Biswas and Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ For bear stock pickers, 2023 is full of rich pickings
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Nell Mackenzie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/2] Carson Block, Chief Investment Officer, Muddy Waters Capital LLC., speaks at the Sohn Investment Conference in New York City, U.S. May 4, 2016. Hedge fund Muddy Waters on Wednesday said it was shorting Vivion Investments, suspecting the real estate investment firm's portfolios were overvalued. Since the 2007-2008 global financial crisis, companies have pushed aggressive accounting to its limits, said Muddy Waters CEO Carson Block. People are milking the system," he said, adding that he expects even more aggressive accounting and fraud in 2023. Tighter monetary conditions and less readily available debt means investors will likely scrutinise company cash generation in 2023, Earl said.

☆ Exclusive: Hestia seeks to take control of Pitney Bowes board, oust CEO
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Svea Herbst-Bayliss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Hestia, which scored big gains on a bet on GameStop (GME.N), plans to nominate more than five candidates for election to the nine-person board of Pitney Bowes early next year. Marc Lautenbach has been CEO of Pitney Bowes for a decade and Michael Roth, the chair, has served on the board since 1995. A representative for Pitney Bowes was not immediately available for comment. read moreWolf suggested that the Pitney Bowes board consider selling the company's Global Ecommerce segment if its results did not improve, Reuters reported. Hestia believes Pitney Bowes should focus on cash-generating segments such as Presort Services, its mail aggregation business, and SendTech Solutions, its postal-meter business.

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