MARKET MOVERS
- Oil breaches $120 a barrel as China re-opens. Climbing Brent prices came after Beijing relaxed pandemic restrictions on Sunday, declaring a recent outbreak under control. China is the world’s biggest importer of oil, and the market has been concerned about demand hits to the commodity. With refinery capacity coming back online after maintenance, the demand for crude oil from refineries, the ultimate buyers of crude, is likely to rise. Read more here.
- Lumber prices slump with rising interest rates. Prices shed more than 50% since March when the Fed began raising borrowing costs to slow inflation. Lumber buyers have slowed orders and wood is piling up at mills, which are slashing prices. Higher rates, along with the limited supply of houses for sale and big asking prices, are beginning to take their toll.
- Companies start to lean more on cost savings amid persistent inflation. Snarls are squeezing companies in global supply chains, higher commodity prices, and a tight labor market. According to a survey by Gartner, twenty percent of CFOs and their deputies, including vice presidents of finance, are planning to cut costs during the next three months through July in response to inflation.
- Robots pick up more work at busy factories. Orders for workplace robots in the U.S. increased by a record 40% during the first quarter compared with the same period in 2021. Robot orders, worth $1.6 billion, climbed 22% in 2021, following years of stagnant or declining order volumes, the group said. Rising wages and worker shortages, compounded by Covid-19-related absenteeism, are changing some manufacturers’ attitudes about robotics. Read more here.
WHAT TO WATCH
- Looming price hikes on food set to hit this fall. There is a dramatic cost increase that farmers are now experiencing. This is because farmers pay their costs upfront and only recoup them at the point of sale, months later. With the severity of these cost increases, consumers could feel the effects much sooner, particularly if the weather becomes a factor. Read more here.
- Companies rush to cash in on EPA rules for capturing methane emissions. New Environmental Protection Agency rules promise to give a significant boost to what is becoming known as the methane mitigation industry. The pending rules, which require oil-and-gas companies to cut leaks of methane gas, could lift the bottom line of companies that produce the equipment needed for compliance. The EPA rules are expected to be finalized within the next year.
- Elon Musk says SpaceX accepting dogecoin ‘soon’. The private space exploration firm would begin accepting it as payment for merchandise. Musk did not specify exactly when SpaceX will start accepting Dogecoin as payment. For now, items in the company’s online store are still listed in dollars. When asked if SpaceX would allow customers to pay for “Starlink” satellite internet subscriptions with dogecoin, Musk responded, “Maybe one day.” Read more here.
- Russia offers to ease Ukraine's grain blockade. Russia will let grain ship, Putin hinted, in exchange for the West dropping war-related economic sanctions. Moscow is “willing to make a significant contribution to overcoming the food crisis on the condition that the West’s politically motivated restrictions are lifted,” he told Italian prime minister Mario Draghi.
- If anything is going to survive regulation it is BTC. The vast majority of the tokens out there will be deemed as securities. After the LUNA blow-up, stables will be regulated and DeFi in general. If a project did any fundraising and has a staking/yield-bearing mechanism, it will be considered a security. This is especially true if the project is located in the US. Projects that are outside of the US are safe from the SEC. Read more here.
- Home demand will be stifled in 12-18 months, says Divvy Homes CEO Adena Hefets. She thinks there will be an equilibrium point in 12-18 months. Interest rates are increasing which is starting to stifle some demand. At the same time, there are new home builds that are coming online. At some point, there will be enough inventory coming, that there's going to be enough supply and a decrease enough in demand that it will impact home prices. Source(18:10)
