We’re Back With the News! – Closing Bull April 1st, 2022
Quick Summary:
The Closing Bull has returned and with it, new updates on what’s going on with the latest news of the week. We’ll be discussing a recap of how the markets’ did this week, then jumping into job growth and unemployment rates, efforts to relax gas prices, Germany preps for a shut off of its natural gas supply, peace talks continue between Russia and Ukraine, Cathay Pacific reroutes its NYC-Hong Kong long-haul to avoid Russian airspace, and last but not least, an interesting fact to cap off the week.
Key News This Week:
Market recap
Job growth and declines in unemployment rates
Biden administration orders efforts to relax gas prices
Germany preps for the possibility of Russia shutting down its natural gas supply
Peace talks continue between Russia and Ukraine
Cathay Pacific reroutes its NYC-Hong Kong long-haul to avoid Russian airspace
Interesting fact
Read the Transcript
Hi and welcome to my financial markets’ re-cap for the week.
Happy April Fool’s Day to one and all.
I am back having taken a few weeks off from my weekly update.
So where are we at, where is the system this year so far? We got off to a great start in January, but February was a tough trading month with the invasion of Ukraine looming then starting.
We closed a really nice multi-day swing a couple of weeks ago and we just re-entered the market now.
It’s been a wild ride so far this year, however, we are not only well ahead of the market, but are actually in a profitable position for the year.
I am expecting good things in the months ahead, hopefully starting with a ceasefire in Ukraine.
So that was the system update, now what happened in the news this week?
This morning the Nonfarm payrolls came out for the month of March showing growth of 431,000 jobs in March, a bit below the 490,000 estimates and well under February’s upwardly revised 750,000.
The unemployment rate declined to 3.6% but was below expectations.
However, the big economic news this week in terms of the market was that the Biden administration is ordering the largest-ever release from the US oil stockpile in an effort to relax the soaring gasoline prices at the pump.
President Biden authorized tapping 1M barrels/day from the strategic petroleum reserve for six months (total: 180M barrels).
Now, keep in mind, the US consumes 20M barrels of oil every day. So, adding 1M barrels to the daily supply could lower crude prices somewhat, and that is what the Dems will be hoping for during a mid-term election year. But many analysts are skeptical as to its actual dent in global prices.
Speaking of energy, Germany has started to prep for the possibility that Russia will shut off its natural-gas supply. The Russians are demanding that “unfriendly countries” pay for gas in rubles, which the West has rejected. Apparently, the ruble has bounced back to where it was before the war began on Feb. 24 and all the Western sanctions that came with it. Anyway, the threat has been made, but the valves remain open for now.
Ukraine and Russia met again virtually today for peace talks. Following a round of face-to-face negotiations in Turkey, Russia said it would “dramatically reduce” its military activities in the region around Kyiv this week. Though the NATO alliance counties are very skeptical, any progress on a ceasefire in Ukraine is a bullish sign to investors, and more importantly a relief to the people of Ukraine. We hope for the best and a swift end to this horrific conflict.
As a side effect of the conflict, it was reported this week that Cathay Pacific is rerouting its NYC-Hong Kong long-haul to avoid Russian airspace. The new route would be the world’s longest commercial flight by distance. The ETA is 17 hours — so, just about enough time to watch “The Batman” movie. And you might want to upgrade for a little extra legroom on that flight, that is a long time on a plane!
Lastly, an interesting fact:
Before 2012, and long before the trend for more healthy vegan and vegetarian food outlets, Pizza Hut was one of the largest buyers of kale in the US — it used it to garnish the salad bar.
That’s it from me, It’s Friday, time to down tools, thanks for watching, and bye for now.