REUTERS
"Indexes notch closing record highs as key earnings, Fed meet eyed"
Caroline Valetkevitch
July 26, 2021
Summary
* Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft results due this week
* Indexes: Dow up 0.2%, S&P 500 up 0.2%, Nasdaq up 0.03%
NEW YORK, July 26 (Reuters) - All three major U.S. stock indexes eked out record closing highs for a second straight session on Monday as investors were optimistic heading into a slew of earnings from heavyweight technology and internet names this week, while caution ahead of a Federal Reserve policy meeting kept the market in check.
More than one-third of the S&P 500 was set to report quarterly results this week, including Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com Inc and Google parent Alphabet Inc, the four largest U.S. companies by market value.
Apple rose 0.3%.
Shares of Tesla Inc, which reported quarterly results after the market close, were up about 1% in after-hours trading.
The stock ended the regular session up 2.2%.
The vast majority of second-quarter earnings have handily beaten analysts' expectations so far, bumping up the already huge projected growth for the second quarter, according to Refinitiv data.
"We continue to see positive surprises, and even with a lot of optimism and increased estimates going into earnings season, we're still seeing companies exceed those expectations," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel in New York, New York.
"As we get into the heart of (the earnings season) and we get industrials and more cyclical names, it will be interesting to see not only how much there is in terms of recovery but also is there any impact from some of these issues, meaning inflation, the spike in prices."
3M Co, up 0.6%, is due to report on Tuesday while Boeing Co, up 2%, is set to report on Wednesday.
A two-day meeting of the Fed starts on Tuesday, and all eyes may be on whether the central bank expresses any new concerns about high inflation when it concludes its gathering on Wednesday.
In June, the Fed indicated it may start raising rates two times in 2023, which was sooner than previously expected.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 82.76 points, or 0.24%, to 35,144.31, the S&P 500 gained 10.51 points, or 0.24%, to 4,422.3 and the Nasdaq Composite added 3.72 points, or 0.03%, to 14,840.71.
Continued optimism over second-quarter earnings has helped offset recent concerns over the market impact of the Delta variant of COVID-19.
U.S.-listed Chinese shares fell after Beijing last week announced new rules on private tutoring and online education firms, the latest in a series of crackdowns on the technology sector that have roiled financial markets.
E-commerce company Alibaba Group and search engine Baidu Inc , two of the largest Chinese stocks listed in the United States, were lower.
Alibaba fell 7.2% and Baidu dropped 6%.
Recent losses in Chinese stocks have been steeper than those recorded during the height of the Sino-U.S. trade war in 2018, mainly due to Beijing's targeting of large technology firms.
Among other decliners, weapons maker Lockheed Martin Corp fell 3.3% after a classified aeronautics development program caused the firm to miss profit estimates.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 9.77 billion shares, compared with the 9.82 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.30-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.28-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 47 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 77 new highs and 160 new lows.
Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch in New York; Additional reporting by Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Matthew Lewis
https://www.reuters.com/business/indexe ... 021-07-26/
THE DAILY NEWS
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
"U.S. Combat Role in Iraq to Conclude This Year, Biden Says"
Ken Thomas, Michael R. Gordon
26 JULY 2021
WASHINGTON—President Biden said that the U.S. combat mission in Iraq would conclude by the end of 2021, but the U.S. military would continue to work with Iraqi forces in their fight against the Islamic State militant group.
“We are not going to be, by the end of the year, in a combat mission,” Mr. Biden said Monday at the start of a White House meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
The president said U.S. military forces would “be available to continue to train, to assist, to help and to deal with ISIS.”
The announcement is intended to help Mr. Kadhimi blunt criticism from hard-line Shiite politicians at home, who have been demanding that the approximately 2,500-strong American force leave Iraq.
U.S. officials, however, say it won’t lead to a significant reduction in the number of American troops in the country nor fundamentally alter their mission.
The focus of the American deployment has long been on advising and training Iraqi troops, which mainly takes place within the confines of large bases.
The Iraqi military has been supported by American air power in carrying out their fight against cells of Islamic State militants and Iraqi officials have signaled they expect this to continue.
“We don’t need any more fighters because we have those,” Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told The Wall Street Journal last week.
“What do we need?"
"We need cooperation in the field of intelligence."
"We need help with training."
"We need troops to help us in the air.”
A U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraqi 2003 to remove Saddam Hussein from power, but then had to contend with Sunni insurgents and Iranian-backed militias.
The U.S. regained the initiative on the battlefield after President George W. Bush sent a surge of reinforcements to the country in 2007 and U.S. troops forged an alliance with Sunni tribes, and the level of violence gradually subsided.
However, talks between the Obama administration and then-Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on maintaining a modest, several-thousand-strong U.S. military presence to continue the training of Iraq’s forces faltered.
American troops left the country in 2011.
Following the departure of the American troops, the training and performance of Iraqi forces began to deteriorate and Washington’s ability to encourage the appointment of qualified and nonsectarian Iraqi commanders waned.
The Islamic State group seized Mosul in June 2014, and President Barack Obama sent U.S. forces back to Iraq to advise the Iraqi military.
A small number of American and European special-operations troops were also deployed to carry out raids in Iraq and Syria, and the U.S. and allied powers carried out punishing airstrikes against Islamic State militants.
With the collapse of the Islamic State caliphate in March 2019, the U.S. stopped accompanying Iraqi forces on the battlefield, concentrated on mentoring Iraqi forces and encouraged North Atlantic Treaty Organization nations to expand their training efforts in the country.
But the American presence has been a political target for Shia groups, including militias backed by Iran who have fired rockets and carried out drone attacks at Iraqi bases where American troops are located.
Mr. Biden has carried out two retaliatory attacks against militia facilities in Iraq and Syria.
Shiite hard-liners say that nothing short of the departure of all U.S. troops will satisfy their demands.
On Monday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that Mr. Biden would discuss “a change of mission” during the meeting and said the number of U.S. troops would be “driven by what is needed for the mission over time.”
Ms. Psaki said it was a natural next step that would allow the U.S. to coordinate with the Iraqi leadership in fighting ISIS and threats from Iranian proxies.
“This is a shift in mission, it is not a removal of our partnership or our presence or our close engagement with Iraqi leaders,” she said.
While the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq divides the Shiite community, Sunni and Kurdish politicians generally welcome their presence, a senior Iraqi national security official told American officials in closed door meetings last week, according to an Iraqi official who was present.
An April report by the Pentagon’s inspector general, which drew on classified information, estimated that 10,000 Islamic State fighters operate in Syria and Iraq.
“ISIS remains entrenched in rural areas throughout Iraq and retains freedom of movement,” the report noted, adding that the group has carried out suicide bombings in Baghdad.
The struggle against Islamic State isn’t entirely military, the report noted.
It found that the slow pace of economic reform and reconstruction by the Iraqi government helped Islamic State’s effort to recruit more fighters.
Parliamentary elections are scheduled in Iraq in October, adding to the sensitivity of the issue of American troops.
Write to Ken Thomas at ken.thomas@wsj.com and Michael R. Gordon at michael.gordon@wsj.com
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/u- ... d=msedgntp
"U.S. Combat Role in Iraq to Conclude This Year, Biden Says"
Ken Thomas, Michael R. Gordon
26 JULY 2021
WASHINGTON—President Biden said that the U.S. combat mission in Iraq would conclude by the end of 2021, but the U.S. military would continue to work with Iraqi forces in their fight against the Islamic State militant group.
“We are not going to be, by the end of the year, in a combat mission,” Mr. Biden said Monday at the start of a White House meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
The president said U.S. military forces would “be available to continue to train, to assist, to help and to deal with ISIS.”
The announcement is intended to help Mr. Kadhimi blunt criticism from hard-line Shiite politicians at home, who have been demanding that the approximately 2,500-strong American force leave Iraq.
U.S. officials, however, say it won’t lead to a significant reduction in the number of American troops in the country nor fundamentally alter their mission.
The focus of the American deployment has long been on advising and training Iraqi troops, which mainly takes place within the confines of large bases.
The Iraqi military has been supported by American air power in carrying out their fight against cells of Islamic State militants and Iraqi officials have signaled they expect this to continue.
“We don’t need any more fighters because we have those,” Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told The Wall Street Journal last week.
“What do we need?"
"We need cooperation in the field of intelligence."
"We need help with training."
"We need troops to help us in the air.”
A U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraqi 2003 to remove Saddam Hussein from power, but then had to contend with Sunni insurgents and Iranian-backed militias.
The U.S. regained the initiative on the battlefield after President George W. Bush sent a surge of reinforcements to the country in 2007 and U.S. troops forged an alliance with Sunni tribes, and the level of violence gradually subsided.
However, talks between the Obama administration and then-Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on maintaining a modest, several-thousand-strong U.S. military presence to continue the training of Iraq’s forces faltered.
American troops left the country in 2011.
Following the departure of the American troops, the training and performance of Iraqi forces began to deteriorate and Washington’s ability to encourage the appointment of qualified and nonsectarian Iraqi commanders waned.
The Islamic State group seized Mosul in June 2014, and President Barack Obama sent U.S. forces back to Iraq to advise the Iraqi military.
A small number of American and European special-operations troops were also deployed to carry out raids in Iraq and Syria, and the U.S. and allied powers carried out punishing airstrikes against Islamic State militants.
With the collapse of the Islamic State caliphate in March 2019, the U.S. stopped accompanying Iraqi forces on the battlefield, concentrated on mentoring Iraqi forces and encouraged North Atlantic Treaty Organization nations to expand their training efforts in the country.
But the American presence has been a political target for Shia groups, including militias backed by Iran who have fired rockets and carried out drone attacks at Iraqi bases where American troops are located.
Mr. Biden has carried out two retaliatory attacks against militia facilities in Iraq and Syria.
Shiite hard-liners say that nothing short of the departure of all U.S. troops will satisfy their demands.
On Monday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that Mr. Biden would discuss “a change of mission” during the meeting and said the number of U.S. troops would be “driven by what is needed for the mission over time.”
Ms. Psaki said it was a natural next step that would allow the U.S. to coordinate with the Iraqi leadership in fighting ISIS and threats from Iranian proxies.
“This is a shift in mission, it is not a removal of our partnership or our presence or our close engagement with Iraqi leaders,” she said.
While the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq divides the Shiite community, Sunni and Kurdish politicians generally welcome their presence, a senior Iraqi national security official told American officials in closed door meetings last week, according to an Iraqi official who was present.
An April report by the Pentagon’s inspector general, which drew on classified information, estimated that 10,000 Islamic State fighters operate in Syria and Iraq.
“ISIS remains entrenched in rural areas throughout Iraq and retains freedom of movement,” the report noted, adding that the group has carried out suicide bombings in Baghdad.
The struggle against Islamic State isn’t entirely military, the report noted.
It found that the slow pace of economic reform and reconstruction by the Iraqi government helped Islamic State’s effort to recruit more fighters.
Parliamentary elections are scheduled in Iraq in October, adding to the sensitivity of the issue of American troops.
Write to Ken Thomas at ken.thomas@wsj.com and Michael R. Gordon at michael.gordon@wsj.com
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/u- ... d=msedgntp
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
"Lightfoot says she would 'absolutely' exclude white journalists from interviews again"
Jake Dima
26 JULY 2021
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she would "absolutely" grant interviews only to journalists of color again after she drew waves of backlash earlier in the year when she announced the policy.
"I would absolutely do it again."
"I’m unapologetic about it because it spurred a very important conversation, a conversation that needed to happen, that should have happened a long time ago," the Democrat said on a segment of the New York Times's podcast Sway, released on Monday.
"Here is the bottom line for me: To state the obvious, I’m a black woman mayor," she said.
"I’m the mayor of the third-largest city in the country."
"Obviously, I have a platform, and it’s important to me to advocate on things that I believe are important."
"Going back to why I ran — to disrupt the status quo."
"The media is critically important to our democracy."
"… The media is in a time of incredible upheaval and disruption, but our City Hall press corps looks like it’s 1950 or 1970."
In May, Lightfoot said the one-on-one interviews that mark the two-year anniversary of her inauguration would not be offered to white reporters.
At the time, she said the initiative would foster diversity and inclusion to push back against the "overwhelming whiteness and maleness of Chicago media outlets."
"By now, you may have heard the news that on the occasion of the two-year anniversary of my inauguration as Mayor of this great City, I will be exclusively providing one-on-one interviews with journalists of color," she said in a letter obtained by the Washington Examiner.
"As a person of color, I have throughout my adult life done everything that I can to fight for diversity and inclusion in every institution that I have been a part of and being Mayor makes me uniquely situated to shine a spotlight on this most important issue."
"I have been struck since my first day on the campaign trail back in 2018 by the overwhelming whiteness and maleness of Chicago media outlets, editorial boards, the political press corps, and yes, the City Hall press corps specifically," she continued.
When Lightfoot was pressed on the subject and reminded of criticism from those who suggested politicians don't get to choose their coverage, she remained defiant and said the move was meant to resist "systemic racism."
"No, it’s not about me choosing who covers me, right?"
"I gave exclusive interviews," the mayor said.
"And we do get to choose who we talk to in exclusives."
"I gave exclusive interviews with journalists of color, right?"
"One 24-hour period and it was like people’s heads exploded."
"I had journalists saying, ‘Does the mayor think I’m racist?’"
"No, it’s not about individuals."
"It’s about systemic racism."
Journalists in May railed against Lightfoot's move.
"I am a Latino reporter [at the Chicago Tribune] whose interview request was granted for today," reporter Gregory Pratt tweeted.
"However, I asked the mayor’s office to lift its condition on others and when they said no, we respectfully canceled."
"Politicians don’t get to choose who covers them."
Similarly, NBC 5 political reporter Mary Ann Ahern told the Washington Examiner, "I expressed my outrage."
"Nothing has changed."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/light ... d=msedgntp
"Lightfoot says she would 'absolutely' exclude white journalists from interviews again"
Jake Dima
26 JULY 2021
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she would "absolutely" grant interviews only to journalists of color again after she drew waves of backlash earlier in the year when she announced the policy.
"I would absolutely do it again."
"I’m unapologetic about it because it spurred a very important conversation, a conversation that needed to happen, that should have happened a long time ago," the Democrat said on a segment of the New York Times's podcast Sway, released on Monday.
"Here is the bottom line for me: To state the obvious, I’m a black woman mayor," she said.
"I’m the mayor of the third-largest city in the country."
"Obviously, I have a platform, and it’s important to me to advocate on things that I believe are important."
"Going back to why I ran — to disrupt the status quo."
"The media is critically important to our democracy."
"… The media is in a time of incredible upheaval and disruption, but our City Hall press corps looks like it’s 1950 or 1970."
In May, Lightfoot said the one-on-one interviews that mark the two-year anniversary of her inauguration would not be offered to white reporters.
At the time, she said the initiative would foster diversity and inclusion to push back against the "overwhelming whiteness and maleness of Chicago media outlets."
"By now, you may have heard the news that on the occasion of the two-year anniversary of my inauguration as Mayor of this great City, I will be exclusively providing one-on-one interviews with journalists of color," she said in a letter obtained by the Washington Examiner.
"As a person of color, I have throughout my adult life done everything that I can to fight for diversity and inclusion in every institution that I have been a part of and being Mayor makes me uniquely situated to shine a spotlight on this most important issue."
"I have been struck since my first day on the campaign trail back in 2018 by the overwhelming whiteness and maleness of Chicago media outlets, editorial boards, the political press corps, and yes, the City Hall press corps specifically," she continued.
When Lightfoot was pressed on the subject and reminded of criticism from those who suggested politicians don't get to choose their coverage, she remained defiant and said the move was meant to resist "systemic racism."
"No, it’s not about me choosing who covers me, right?"
"I gave exclusive interviews," the mayor said.
"And we do get to choose who we talk to in exclusives."
"I gave exclusive interviews with journalists of color, right?"
"One 24-hour period and it was like people’s heads exploded."
"I had journalists saying, ‘Does the mayor think I’m racist?’"
"No, it’s not about individuals."
"It’s about systemic racism."
Journalists in May railed against Lightfoot's move.
"I am a Latino reporter [at the Chicago Tribune] whose interview request was granted for today," reporter Gregory Pratt tweeted.
"However, I asked the mayor’s office to lift its condition on others and when they said no, we respectfully canceled."
"Politicians don’t get to choose who covers them."
Similarly, NBC 5 political reporter Mary Ann Ahern told the Washington Examiner, "I expressed my outrage."
"Nothing has changed."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/light ... d=msedgntp
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
THE GUARDIAN
"House begins Capitol attack inquiry as Republicans set to boycott proceedings"
27 JULY 2021
The much-anticipated House investigation into the January attack on the US Capitol begins on Tuesday, with Republicans set to boycott proceedings in an attempt to undermine any findings.
A special committee established by the Democratic House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, will convene to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deadly insurrection in Washington DC, when hundreds of Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to interrupt the certification of Joe Biden as president.
The committee, which will feature just two Republicans after the GOP leadership refused to participate, will hear this week from police officers who battled rioters during the attack.
The investigation into the 6 January attack has become a fiercely partisan issue in Washington.
The House voted in May for an independent investigation that would have been evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, but the Senate blocked the move.
That left Pelosi to create a select committee to conduct the investigation.
Kevin McCarthy, the Republican House minority leader, picked five Republicans to sit on the committee, but Pelosi rejected Jim Jordan and Jim Banks’ nominations, prompting McCarthy to withdraw all five nominees.
Both Jordan and Banks are staunch Trump allies who deny his role in the attack and objected to the certification of Biden’s win.
Liz Cheney, a Republican congresswoman from Wyoming, had already been named to the panel by Pelosi, and on Sunday Pelosi went around McCarthy again to appoint Representative Adam Kinzinger, who like Cheney is a critic of Trump, to the committee.
Pelosi said Kinzinger “and other Republicans have expressed an interest to serve on the select committee."
"And I wanted to appoint three of them that Leader McCarthy suggested."
"But he withdrew their names."
"The two that I would not appoint are people who would jeopardise the integrity of the investigation, and there’s no way I would tolerate their antics as we seek the truth.”
Kinzinger and Cheney were among the 10 House Republicans who voted for Trump’s second impeachment, and the pair were the only Republicans who voted to form the special committee.
Both have cited Trump’s false claims of election fraud as a factor in the insurrection.
“For months, lies and conspiracy theories have been spread, threatening our self-governance,” Kinzinger said on Sunday.
“For months, I have said that the American people deserve transparency and truth on how and why thousands showed up to attack our democracy."
"I will work diligently to ensure we get to the truth and hold those responsible for the attack fully accountable.”
Democrat Bennie Thompson will chair the committee, which on Tuesday will hear from four police officers who were on duty on 6 January.
They are expected to testify about their experiences that day, including the physical and verbal abuse they were subjected to as hundreds of people swarmed the Capitol.
“We have to get it right,” Thompson said on Monday.
He said if the committee could find ways to prevent anything like it from happening again, “then I would have made what I think is the most valuable contribution to this great democracy”.
Last week a Florida man became the first person to be sentenced to prison for his role in the January attack.
More than 570 people have been charged with taking part in the riot, during and after which seven people died.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... d=msedgntp
"House begins Capitol attack inquiry as Republicans set to boycott proceedings"
27 JULY 2021
The much-anticipated House investigation into the January attack on the US Capitol begins on Tuesday, with Republicans set to boycott proceedings in an attempt to undermine any findings.
A special committee established by the Democratic House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, will convene to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deadly insurrection in Washington DC, when hundreds of Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to interrupt the certification of Joe Biden as president.
The committee, which will feature just two Republicans after the GOP leadership refused to participate, will hear this week from police officers who battled rioters during the attack.
The investigation into the 6 January attack has become a fiercely partisan issue in Washington.
The House voted in May for an independent investigation that would have been evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, but the Senate blocked the move.
That left Pelosi to create a select committee to conduct the investigation.
Kevin McCarthy, the Republican House minority leader, picked five Republicans to sit on the committee, but Pelosi rejected Jim Jordan and Jim Banks’ nominations, prompting McCarthy to withdraw all five nominees.
Both Jordan and Banks are staunch Trump allies who deny his role in the attack and objected to the certification of Biden’s win.
Liz Cheney, a Republican congresswoman from Wyoming, had already been named to the panel by Pelosi, and on Sunday Pelosi went around McCarthy again to appoint Representative Adam Kinzinger, who like Cheney is a critic of Trump, to the committee.
Pelosi said Kinzinger “and other Republicans have expressed an interest to serve on the select committee."
"And I wanted to appoint three of them that Leader McCarthy suggested."
"But he withdrew their names."
"The two that I would not appoint are people who would jeopardise the integrity of the investigation, and there’s no way I would tolerate their antics as we seek the truth.”
Kinzinger and Cheney were among the 10 House Republicans who voted for Trump’s second impeachment, and the pair were the only Republicans who voted to form the special committee.
Both have cited Trump’s false claims of election fraud as a factor in the insurrection.
“For months, lies and conspiracy theories have been spread, threatening our self-governance,” Kinzinger said on Sunday.
“For months, I have said that the American people deserve transparency and truth on how and why thousands showed up to attack our democracy."
"I will work diligently to ensure we get to the truth and hold those responsible for the attack fully accountable.”
Democrat Bennie Thompson will chair the committee, which on Tuesday will hear from four police officers who were on duty on 6 January.
They are expected to testify about their experiences that day, including the physical and verbal abuse they were subjected to as hundreds of people swarmed the Capitol.
“We have to get it right,” Thompson said on Monday.
He said if the committee could find ways to prevent anything like it from happening again, “then I would have made what I think is the most valuable contribution to this great democracy”.
Last week a Florida man became the first person to be sentenced to prison for his role in the January attack.
More than 570 people have been charged with taking part in the riot, during and after which seven people died.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... d=msedgntp
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
RIGZONE
"Oil Prices Drop With Delta Variant Threatening Demand"
by Bloomberg | Jill R. Shah
Tuesday, July 27, 2021
(Bloomberg) -- Oil slipped as a surge in global Covid-19 cases raised concerns about demand holding up in the near term.
Futures in New York fell 0.4% on Tuesday.
A rise in cases of the highly contagious delta variant has prompted new restrictions across the world, especially in countries with lower vaccination rates.
U.S. health officials will advise fully vaccinated individuals to wear masks in public indoor settings in places with high transmission, in guidance to be released later Tuesday.
“It’s more of a hit to sentiment at this point,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC.
“The petroleum complex is much more sensitive to the Covid-19 developments, particularly when they are going negative.”
U.S. benchmark crude futures are poised for the second monthly drop since October with the delta variant interrupting a rebound in demand.
Though global inventories are expected to tighten through the end of the year, new movement restrictions have dampened fuel consumption in some countries.
The positive test rate in Indonesia is the worst in Asia, while Thailand and Vietnam have introduced curfews to curb the spread of the virus.
Prices
West Texas Intermediate for September delivery fell 26 cents to settle at $71.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent for September settlement dropped 2 cents to end the session at $74.48 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange.
While the International Monetary Fund sees global economic growth rebounding by the most in four decades this year, unequal access to vaccines will widen the economic recovery gap between advanced and developing economies, the fund said in an updated World Economic Outlook released Tuesday.
“There are serious concerns about whether or not the global economies will hit a hiccup as a result of additional Covid variants,” said Gary Cunningham, director of market research at Tradition Energy.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., analysts surveyed by Bloomberg estimate a crude stockpile decline of 2.5 million barrels last week.
The industry-funded American Petroleum Institute will release inventory data later Tuesday, while the U.S. government will release its weekly tally on Wednesday.
--With assistance from Grant Smith and Elizabeth Low.
https://www.rigzone.com/news/wire/oil_p ... 5-article/
"Oil Prices Drop With Delta Variant Threatening Demand"
by Bloomberg | Jill R. Shah
Tuesday, July 27, 2021
(Bloomberg) -- Oil slipped as a surge in global Covid-19 cases raised concerns about demand holding up in the near term.
Futures in New York fell 0.4% on Tuesday.
A rise in cases of the highly contagious delta variant has prompted new restrictions across the world, especially in countries with lower vaccination rates.
U.S. health officials will advise fully vaccinated individuals to wear masks in public indoor settings in places with high transmission, in guidance to be released later Tuesday.
“It’s more of a hit to sentiment at this point,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC.
“The petroleum complex is much more sensitive to the Covid-19 developments, particularly when they are going negative.”
U.S. benchmark crude futures are poised for the second monthly drop since October with the delta variant interrupting a rebound in demand.
Though global inventories are expected to tighten through the end of the year, new movement restrictions have dampened fuel consumption in some countries.
The positive test rate in Indonesia is the worst in Asia, while Thailand and Vietnam have introduced curfews to curb the spread of the virus.
Prices
West Texas Intermediate for September delivery fell 26 cents to settle at $71.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent for September settlement dropped 2 cents to end the session at $74.48 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange.
While the International Monetary Fund sees global economic growth rebounding by the most in four decades this year, unequal access to vaccines will widen the economic recovery gap between advanced and developing economies, the fund said in an updated World Economic Outlook released Tuesday.
“There are serious concerns about whether or not the global economies will hit a hiccup as a result of additional Covid variants,” said Gary Cunningham, director of market research at Tradition Energy.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., analysts surveyed by Bloomberg estimate a crude stockpile decline of 2.5 million barrels last week.
The industry-funded American Petroleum Institute will release inventory data later Tuesday, while the U.S. government will release its weekly tally on Wednesday.
--With assistance from Grant Smith and Elizabeth Low.
https://www.rigzone.com/news/wire/oil_p ... 5-article/
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
Investing.com
"Crude Inventory Fell 4.7 Million Barrels Last Week: API"
Jul 27, 2021
Investing.com -- Crude inventories fell 4.7 million barrels last week, more than the expected draw of 3.4 million barrels, according to data released Tuesday by the American Petroleum Institute.
The price of U.S. crude benchmark Crude Oil WTI Futures edged up 0.08%, to $71.97, while the price of international standard Brent Oil Futures crude rose 0.1% to $73.78 in late afternoon trading.
The API report said gasoline inventory fell by 6.226 million barrels and distillate stocks fell 1.882 million barrels.
The government's own report on fuel stocks is due out Wednesday morning at 10:00 AM ET (1400 GMT).
https://www.investing.com/news/commodit ... pi-2569831
"Crude Inventory Fell 4.7 Million Barrels Last Week: API"
Jul 27, 2021
Investing.com -- Crude inventories fell 4.7 million barrels last week, more than the expected draw of 3.4 million barrels, according to data released Tuesday by the American Petroleum Institute.
The price of U.S. crude benchmark Crude Oil WTI Futures edged up 0.08%, to $71.97, while the price of international standard Brent Oil Futures crude rose 0.1% to $73.78 in late afternoon trading.
The API report said gasoline inventory fell by 6.226 million barrels and distillate stocks fell 1.882 million barrels.
The government's own report on fuel stocks is due out Wednesday morning at 10:00 AM ET (1400 GMT).
https://www.investing.com/news/commodit ... pi-2569831
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
CNBC
"Treasury yields fall with Fed policy meeting underway"
Hannah Miao @HANNAHMIAO_ Vicky McKeever @VMCKEEVERCNBC
PUBLISHED TUE, JUL 27 2021
U.S. Treasury yields fell Tuesday with the Federal Reserve two-day policy meeting underway.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 4 basis points to 1.236% by 4:15 p.m. ET.
The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond dipped 3.7 basis points to 1.888%.
Yields move inversely to prices and 1 basis point equals 0.01 percentage points.
The Federal Open Market Committee two-day meeting begins Tuesday.
A statement will then be released after meeting concludes on Wednesday, followed by Chairman Jerome Powell’s news conference.
Investors are awaiting insight into where the central bank stands on monetary policy.
“I don’t think we’re going to get any big surprises from [the Fed meeting]."
"Perhaps it allows some of the uncertainty to drift away a little bit."
"Maybe you’ll see yields go up a basis point or two, but I’m not so sure we’ll see any big moves,” Victoria Fernandez, Crossmark Global Investments’ chief market strategist, said.
Mobeen Tahir, associate director of research at WisdomTree, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Tuesday that his firm believed the “narrative from central banks is evolving but not evolving fast enough.”
Tahir said this has three major implications: firstly, that inflation could be higher for longer.
The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday warned inflationary pressures could prove to be more persistent, pushing central banks to take pre-emptive action.
Secondly, he said “volatility could be triggered by changes in monetary policy, as markets are waiting and reacting to every single announcement that the Federal Reserve makes.”
Thirdly, Tahir said that if the Fed were forced to “slam the brakes” on accommodative on monetary policy to control inflation, that could result in a “taper tantrum.”
The so-called taper tantrum occurred in 2013 after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke hinted at the tapering of asset purchases, prompting a spike in bonds yields.
Data also provided by Reuters
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/27/us-bond ... eting.html
"Treasury yields fall with Fed policy meeting underway"
Hannah Miao @HANNAHMIAO_ Vicky McKeever @VMCKEEVERCNBC
PUBLISHED TUE, JUL 27 2021
U.S. Treasury yields fell Tuesday with the Federal Reserve two-day policy meeting underway.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 4 basis points to 1.236% by 4:15 p.m. ET.
The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond dipped 3.7 basis points to 1.888%.
Yields move inversely to prices and 1 basis point equals 0.01 percentage points.
The Federal Open Market Committee two-day meeting begins Tuesday.
A statement will then be released after meeting concludes on Wednesday, followed by Chairman Jerome Powell’s news conference.
Investors are awaiting insight into where the central bank stands on monetary policy.
“I don’t think we’re going to get any big surprises from [the Fed meeting]."
"Perhaps it allows some of the uncertainty to drift away a little bit."
"Maybe you’ll see yields go up a basis point or two, but I’m not so sure we’ll see any big moves,” Victoria Fernandez, Crossmark Global Investments’ chief market strategist, said.
Mobeen Tahir, associate director of research at WisdomTree, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Tuesday that his firm believed the “narrative from central banks is evolving but not evolving fast enough.”
Tahir said this has three major implications: firstly, that inflation could be higher for longer.
The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday warned inflationary pressures could prove to be more persistent, pushing central banks to take pre-emptive action.
Secondly, he said “volatility could be triggered by changes in monetary policy, as markets are waiting and reacting to every single announcement that the Federal Reserve makes.”
Thirdly, Tahir said that if the Fed were forced to “slam the brakes” on accommodative on monetary policy to control inflation, that could result in a “taper tantrum.”
The so-called taper tantrum occurred in 2013 after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke hinted at the tapering of asset purchases, prompting a spike in bonds yields.
Data also provided by Reuters
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/27/us-bond ... eting.html
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
CNBC
"IMF warns that inflation could prove to be persistent and central banks may need to act"
Silvia Amaro @SILVIA_AMARO
PUBLISHED TUE, JUL 27 2021
KEY POINTS
* Higher prices increase the chances that central banks will start to curb their ultra-accommodative monetary policies, such as a tapering of market-friendly stimulus like asset purchases.
* The IMF had already pointed out that if the U.S. were to provide more fiscal support then this could increase inflationary pressures even further and lead to a hike in interest rates earlier-than-expected.
* The IMF on Tuesday kept its global growth forecast at 6% for 2021, but it revised its expectations for 2022.
The International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday that there’s a risk inflation will prove to be more than just transitory, pushing central banks to take pre-emptive action.
The issue is currently dividing the investment community, which has been busy contemplating whether a recent surge in consumer prices is here to stay.
In the U.S., the consumer price index came in at 5.4% in June — the fastest pace in almost 13 years.
In the U.K., the inflation rate reached 2.5% in June — the highest level since August 2018 and above the Bank of England’s target of 2%.
For the most part, the Washington-based institution sees these price pressures as transitory.
“Inflation is expected to return to its pre-pandemic ranges in most countries in 2022,” the Fund said in its latest World Economic Outlook update released Tuesday.
However, it warned that “uncertainty remains high.”
“There is however a risk that transitory pressures could become more persistent and central banks may need to take preemptive action,” the IMF said.
Higher prices increase the chances that central banks will start to curb their ultra-accommodative monetary policies, such as a tapering of market-friendly stimulus like asset purchases.
More persistent supply disruptions and sharply rising housing prices are some of the factors that could lead to persistently high inflation.
Speaking earlier this month, U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the jobs market was “still a ways off” from where the central bank would like to see it before it reduces stimulus.
He added that inflation would “likely remain elevated in coming months before moderating.”
The IMF had already pointed out earlier this month that if the U.S. were to provide more fiscal support then this could increase inflationary pressures even further and lead to a hike in interest rates earlier-than-expected.
IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath said in a blogpost Tuesday that “more persistent supply disruptions and sharply rising housing prices are some of the factors that could lead to persistently high inflation.”
She also warned that “inflation is expected to remain elevated into 2022 in some emerging market and developing economies, related in part to continued food price pressures and currency depreciations.”
Global recovery is ‘not assured’
The IMF on Tuesday kept its global growth forecast at 6% for 2021, but it revised its expectations for 2022.
Instead of a gross domestic product rate of 4.4%, as predicted in April; the Fund now sees a growth rate of 4.9% next year.
“The 0.5 percentage point upgrade for 2022 derives largely from the forecast upgrade for advanced economies, particularly the United States, reflecting the anticipated legislation of additional fiscal support in the second half of 2021 and improved health metrics more broadly across the group,” the IMF said.
However, the outlook is dependent on the coronavirus vaccination campaigns.
According to Our World in Data, 13.81% of the global population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and 13.46% are partially inoculated.
This shows the stark difference between advanced and developing economies.
In the U.K. and Canada, more than 54% of all citizens are fully vaccinated.
In South Africa, that number drops to 3.9% and in Egypt to 1.57%.
“Vaccine access has emerged as the principal fault line along which the global recovery splits into two blocs: those that can look forward to further normalization of activity later this year (almost all advanced economies) and those that will still face resurgent infections and rising COVID death tolls,” the Fund said.
“The recovery, however, is not assured even in countries where infections are currently very low so long as the virus circulates elsewhere,” the IMF warned.
Data also provided by Reuters
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/27/imf-war ... stent.html
"IMF warns that inflation could prove to be persistent and central banks may need to act"
Silvia Amaro @SILVIA_AMARO
PUBLISHED TUE, JUL 27 2021
KEY POINTS
* Higher prices increase the chances that central banks will start to curb their ultra-accommodative monetary policies, such as a tapering of market-friendly stimulus like asset purchases.
* The IMF had already pointed out that if the U.S. were to provide more fiscal support then this could increase inflationary pressures even further and lead to a hike in interest rates earlier-than-expected.
* The IMF on Tuesday kept its global growth forecast at 6% for 2021, but it revised its expectations for 2022.
The International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday that there’s a risk inflation will prove to be more than just transitory, pushing central banks to take pre-emptive action.
The issue is currently dividing the investment community, which has been busy contemplating whether a recent surge in consumer prices is here to stay.
In the U.S., the consumer price index came in at 5.4% in June — the fastest pace in almost 13 years.
In the U.K., the inflation rate reached 2.5% in June — the highest level since August 2018 and above the Bank of England’s target of 2%.
For the most part, the Washington-based institution sees these price pressures as transitory.
“Inflation is expected to return to its pre-pandemic ranges in most countries in 2022,” the Fund said in its latest World Economic Outlook update released Tuesday.
However, it warned that “uncertainty remains high.”
“There is however a risk that transitory pressures could become more persistent and central banks may need to take preemptive action,” the IMF said.
Higher prices increase the chances that central banks will start to curb their ultra-accommodative monetary policies, such as a tapering of market-friendly stimulus like asset purchases.
More persistent supply disruptions and sharply rising housing prices are some of the factors that could lead to persistently high inflation.
Speaking earlier this month, U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the jobs market was “still a ways off” from where the central bank would like to see it before it reduces stimulus.
He added that inflation would “likely remain elevated in coming months before moderating.”
The IMF had already pointed out earlier this month that if the U.S. were to provide more fiscal support then this could increase inflationary pressures even further and lead to a hike in interest rates earlier-than-expected.
IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath said in a blogpost Tuesday that “more persistent supply disruptions and sharply rising housing prices are some of the factors that could lead to persistently high inflation.”
She also warned that “inflation is expected to remain elevated into 2022 in some emerging market and developing economies, related in part to continued food price pressures and currency depreciations.”
Global recovery is ‘not assured’
The IMF on Tuesday kept its global growth forecast at 6% for 2021, but it revised its expectations for 2022.
Instead of a gross domestic product rate of 4.4%, as predicted in April; the Fund now sees a growth rate of 4.9% next year.
“The 0.5 percentage point upgrade for 2022 derives largely from the forecast upgrade for advanced economies, particularly the United States, reflecting the anticipated legislation of additional fiscal support in the second half of 2021 and improved health metrics more broadly across the group,” the IMF said.
However, the outlook is dependent on the coronavirus vaccination campaigns.
According to Our World in Data, 13.81% of the global population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and 13.46% are partially inoculated.
This shows the stark difference between advanced and developing economies.
In the U.K. and Canada, more than 54% of all citizens are fully vaccinated.
In South Africa, that number drops to 3.9% and in Egypt to 1.57%.
“Vaccine access has emerged as the principal fault line along which the global recovery splits into two blocs: those that can look forward to further normalization of activity later this year (almost all advanced economies) and those that will still face resurgent infections and rising COVID death tolls,” the Fund said.
“The recovery, however, is not assured even in countries where infections are currently very low so long as the virus circulates elsewhere,” the IMF warned.
Data also provided by Reuters
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/27/imf-war ... stent.html
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
REUTERS
"Police recount mayhem and 'attempted coup' in U.S. Capitol riot"
By Richard Cowan, Sarah N. Lynch
JULY 27, 2021
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four police officers on Tuesday told lawmakers they were beaten, taunted with racial insults, heard threats including “kill him with his own gun” and thought they might die as they struggled to defend the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 against a mob of then-President Donald Trump’s supporters.
Often tearful, sometimes profane, the officers called the rioters “terrorists” engaged in an “attempted coup” during a 3-1/2 hour congressional hearing in which they also criticized Republican lawmakers who have sought to downplay the attack.
“I feel like I went to hell and back to protect the people in this room,” said District of Columbia police officer Michael Fanone, referring to lawmakers.
“The indifference shown to my colleagues is disgraceful,” Fanone added, slamming his hand onto the witness table.
It was a dramatic first hearing for a Democratic-led House of Representatives committee formed despite opposition by Trump’s fellow Republicans to investigate the worst violence at the Capitol since the British invasion in the War of 1812.
Some Democrats have suggested Trump, who made an incendiary speech to supporters before the riot repeating false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him through widespread voting fraud, be called to testify.
The officers recounted how rioters fought on Trump’s behalf, seeking to prevent Congress from formally certifying now-President Joe Biden’s election victory.
“He himself helped create this monstrosity,” Capitol Police Officer Aquilino Gonell said of Trump as he described rioters wielding weapons including police shields, batons, sledgehammers, flag poles, Taser devices, chemical irritants, metal pipes, rocks, broken table legs and metal guard rails.
The officers urged lawmakers to determine whether Trump or others helped instigate the riot.
“There was an attack carried out on Jan. 6, and a hit man sent them."
"I want you to get to the bottom of that,” Capitol police officer Harry Dunn testified.
Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson and Republican panel member Liz Cheney warned against “whitewashing” a riot in which more than 535 people now face criminal charges, even as Trump allies portray the panel as politically motivated.
Cheney, stripped of her House Republican leadership post after denouncing Trump’s election falsehoods, asked: “Will we be so blinded by partisanship that we will throw away the miracle of America?”
The committee, expected to explore questions about how the riot was organized and financed as well as law enforcement’s lack of preparedness, heard the most detailed public account to date of what police encountered.
More than a hundred officers were injured by hundreds of rioters.
Fanone said he was pulled into the crowd, beaten, shocked repeatedly with a Taser, robbed of his badge and knocked unconscious, suffering a heart attack.
Fanone said he heard a rioter say “kill him with his own gun.”
“I yelled out that I have kids,” Fanone said, appealing to his assailants’ humanity.
Dunn, who is Black, said rioters repeatedly called him a racial slur.
Dunn said he challenged their claims that no one had voted for Biden by telling them that he had done so.
‘MEDIEVAL BATTLEFIELD’
Gonell, an Iraq war veteran and naturalized U.S. citizen born in the Dominican Republic, likened the violence to “a medieval battlefield” and recalled rioters labeling him a traitor who should be executed.
Gonell said he thought to himself, “This is how I’m going to die.”
Washington officer Daniel Hodges called the rioters “terrorists,” citing the term’s legal definition.
He said they told him: “You will die on your knees!”
Hodges said many rioters appeared to be white nationalists.
While Black and Hispanic colleagues faced racial slurs, Hodges, who is white, said rioters tried to recruit him, asking, “Are you my brother?”
The rioters sent lawmakers and then-Vice President Mike Pence scrambling for safety.
Four people died on Jan. 6: one rioter shot by police and three others who experienced medical emergencies.
A policeman who was attacked by rioters died the following day.
Two others later committed suicide.
“Some people are trying to deny what happened, to whitewash it, to turn the insurrectionists into martyrs,” Thompson said.
“And all of it for a vile, vile lie.”
Democrats created the panel after Republicans blocked formation of an independent bipartisan investigatory commission.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy acted to prevent fellow Republicans from joining the committee after Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected two of his choices amid concerns they would undermine its integrity.
Two Republicans picked by Pelosi are serving.
Republican Jim Jordan, one of the two Pelosi blocked, called the hearing a “partisan January 6th charade.”
The Senate meanwhile inched closer to approving around $900 million in emergency aid to bolster Capitol police funding and establish a “quick-reaction force” to respond to any future attacks, among other things.
During the hearing, Democrat Stephanie Murphy asked Hodges what he was fighting for as he confronted the rioters.
“Democracy,” Hodges replied.
Reporting by Richard Cowan and Sarah N. Lynch; Additional reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Andy Sullivan and Will Dunham
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa- ... SKBN2EX12Z
"Police recount mayhem and 'attempted coup' in U.S. Capitol riot"
By Richard Cowan, Sarah N. Lynch
JULY 27, 2021
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four police officers on Tuesday told lawmakers they were beaten, taunted with racial insults, heard threats including “kill him with his own gun” and thought they might die as they struggled to defend the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 against a mob of then-President Donald Trump’s supporters.
Often tearful, sometimes profane, the officers called the rioters “terrorists” engaged in an “attempted coup” during a 3-1/2 hour congressional hearing in which they also criticized Republican lawmakers who have sought to downplay the attack.
“I feel like I went to hell and back to protect the people in this room,” said District of Columbia police officer Michael Fanone, referring to lawmakers.
“The indifference shown to my colleagues is disgraceful,” Fanone added, slamming his hand onto the witness table.
It was a dramatic first hearing for a Democratic-led House of Representatives committee formed despite opposition by Trump’s fellow Republicans to investigate the worst violence at the Capitol since the British invasion in the War of 1812.
Some Democrats have suggested Trump, who made an incendiary speech to supporters before the riot repeating false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him through widespread voting fraud, be called to testify.
The officers recounted how rioters fought on Trump’s behalf, seeking to prevent Congress from formally certifying now-President Joe Biden’s election victory.
“He himself helped create this monstrosity,” Capitol Police Officer Aquilino Gonell said of Trump as he described rioters wielding weapons including police shields, batons, sledgehammers, flag poles, Taser devices, chemical irritants, metal pipes, rocks, broken table legs and metal guard rails.
The officers urged lawmakers to determine whether Trump or others helped instigate the riot.
“There was an attack carried out on Jan. 6, and a hit man sent them."
"I want you to get to the bottom of that,” Capitol police officer Harry Dunn testified.
Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson and Republican panel member Liz Cheney warned against “whitewashing” a riot in which more than 535 people now face criminal charges, even as Trump allies portray the panel as politically motivated.
Cheney, stripped of her House Republican leadership post after denouncing Trump’s election falsehoods, asked: “Will we be so blinded by partisanship that we will throw away the miracle of America?”
The committee, expected to explore questions about how the riot was organized and financed as well as law enforcement’s lack of preparedness, heard the most detailed public account to date of what police encountered.
More than a hundred officers were injured by hundreds of rioters.
Fanone said he was pulled into the crowd, beaten, shocked repeatedly with a Taser, robbed of his badge and knocked unconscious, suffering a heart attack.
Fanone said he heard a rioter say “kill him with his own gun.”
“I yelled out that I have kids,” Fanone said, appealing to his assailants’ humanity.
Dunn, who is Black, said rioters repeatedly called him a racial slur.
Dunn said he challenged their claims that no one had voted for Biden by telling them that he had done so.
‘MEDIEVAL BATTLEFIELD’
Gonell, an Iraq war veteran and naturalized U.S. citizen born in the Dominican Republic, likened the violence to “a medieval battlefield” and recalled rioters labeling him a traitor who should be executed.
Gonell said he thought to himself, “This is how I’m going to die.”
Washington officer Daniel Hodges called the rioters “terrorists,” citing the term’s legal definition.
He said they told him: “You will die on your knees!”
Hodges said many rioters appeared to be white nationalists.
While Black and Hispanic colleagues faced racial slurs, Hodges, who is white, said rioters tried to recruit him, asking, “Are you my brother?”
The rioters sent lawmakers and then-Vice President Mike Pence scrambling for safety.
Four people died on Jan. 6: one rioter shot by police and three others who experienced medical emergencies.
A policeman who was attacked by rioters died the following day.
Two others later committed suicide.
“Some people are trying to deny what happened, to whitewash it, to turn the insurrectionists into martyrs,” Thompson said.
“And all of it for a vile, vile lie.”
Democrats created the panel after Republicans blocked formation of an independent bipartisan investigatory commission.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy acted to prevent fellow Republicans from joining the committee after Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected two of his choices amid concerns they would undermine its integrity.
Two Republicans picked by Pelosi are serving.
Republican Jim Jordan, one of the two Pelosi blocked, called the hearing a “partisan January 6th charade.”
The Senate meanwhile inched closer to approving around $900 million in emergency aid to bolster Capitol police funding and establish a “quick-reaction force” to respond to any future attacks, among other things.
During the hearing, Democrat Stephanie Murphy asked Hodges what he was fighting for as he confronted the rioters.
“Democracy,” Hodges replied.
Reporting by Richard Cowan and Sarah N. Lynch; Additional reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Andy Sullivan and Will Dunham
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa- ... SKBN2EX12Z
Re: THE DAILY NEWS
REUTERS
"TREASURIES-U.S. yields sink on growth fears; focus on Fed policy update"
By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
JULY 27, 2021
* U.S. 5-year note auction was decent
* Fed seen holding monetary policy steady
* U.S. reverse repo volume surges to $927 bln
* U.S. 10-year TIPS yields hit record low for 2nd day
NEW YORK, July 27 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury yields tumbled on Tuesday as risk appetite languished amid lingering concerns about high inflation and the fast-spreading Delta coronavirus variant that could thwart global economic growth.
Investors were also cautious as the Federal Reserve's two-day monetary policy meeting began on Tuesday.
The U.S. central bank is likely to stand pat on monetary policy but could discuss plans for tapering asset purchases during its Jackson Hole, Wyoming, gathering in August, analysts said.
"One thing about predicting Fed moves is to separate what you think they will do versus what you think they should do," said Scott Skyrm, executive vice president in fixed income and repo at Curvature Securities in New York.
"If we are just looking at 'should,' I believe it's time for the Fed to end QE (quantitative easing) purchases."
"Reverse repo volume is now over $900 billion a day."
"The liquidity the Fed is providing through QE is just recirculating back to the Fed via RRP," he added, creating distortions in the Treasury market.
The Fed's reverse repo window, launched in 2013, is used to mop up extra cash in the repo market and create a strict floor under its policy rate, or the effective fed funds rate, currently in a target range of 0%-0.25%.
The reverse repo volume soared to $927 billion on Tuesday, the second largest usage on record.
Volume has surged this month after the Fed in June raised the rate it pays on reverse repos to 0.05% from 0% as part of technical adjustments to keep the fed funds rate from falling too low.
Tuesday's U.S. 5-year note sale, meanwhile, showed decent results overall, but not as strong as initially expected, especially with the Treasuries rally going into the auction.
The high yield was 0.710%, slightly below the when-issued or expected rate of 0.711% at the bid deadline.
The bid-to-cover ratio, a measure of demand, was 2.36, the same as last month, but below what analysts said was the 2.40 average.
The yield on 10-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) plunged to a record low of -1.147% for a second straight session as investors bought TIPS on concerns about the prospect of steeper consumer prices going forward.
The yield was last at -1.117%.
"With the increased uncertainty from China and the Delta variant, the markets are taking a breather from last week's reversal on rates and equity prices," said Ellis Phifer, managing director of fixed income at Raymond James in Memphis, Tennessee.
"Maybe it's the pause that refreshes."
U.S. 10-year yields were on an uptrend for most of last week.
In late afternoon trading, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield slid to 1.239% from 1.276% late on Monday.
U.S. 30-year yields dropped to 1.891% from Monday's 1.925%.
Post-auction, U.S. 5-year note yields were down at 0.695%, from Monday's 0.713%.
The U.S. 5-year note has come to reflect market views on Fed monetary policy.
(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Jonathan Oatis, Dan Grebler and Richard Chang)
https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-bon ... SL1N2P323T
"TREASURIES-U.S. yields sink on growth fears; focus on Fed policy update"
By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
JULY 27, 2021
* U.S. 5-year note auction was decent
* Fed seen holding monetary policy steady
* U.S. reverse repo volume surges to $927 bln
* U.S. 10-year TIPS yields hit record low for 2nd day
NEW YORK, July 27 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury yields tumbled on Tuesday as risk appetite languished amid lingering concerns about high inflation and the fast-spreading Delta coronavirus variant that could thwart global economic growth.
Investors were also cautious as the Federal Reserve's two-day monetary policy meeting began on Tuesday.
The U.S. central bank is likely to stand pat on monetary policy but could discuss plans for tapering asset purchases during its Jackson Hole, Wyoming, gathering in August, analysts said.
"One thing about predicting Fed moves is to separate what you think they will do versus what you think they should do," said Scott Skyrm, executive vice president in fixed income and repo at Curvature Securities in New York.
"If we are just looking at 'should,' I believe it's time for the Fed to end QE (quantitative easing) purchases."
"Reverse repo volume is now over $900 billion a day."
"The liquidity the Fed is providing through QE is just recirculating back to the Fed via RRP," he added, creating distortions in the Treasury market.
The Fed's reverse repo window, launched in 2013, is used to mop up extra cash in the repo market and create a strict floor under its policy rate, or the effective fed funds rate, currently in a target range of 0%-0.25%.
The reverse repo volume soared to $927 billion on Tuesday, the second largest usage on record.
Volume has surged this month after the Fed in June raised the rate it pays on reverse repos to 0.05% from 0% as part of technical adjustments to keep the fed funds rate from falling too low.
Tuesday's U.S. 5-year note sale, meanwhile, showed decent results overall, but not as strong as initially expected, especially with the Treasuries rally going into the auction.
The high yield was 0.710%, slightly below the when-issued or expected rate of 0.711% at the bid deadline.
The bid-to-cover ratio, a measure of demand, was 2.36, the same as last month, but below what analysts said was the 2.40 average.
The yield on 10-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) plunged to a record low of -1.147% for a second straight session as investors bought TIPS on concerns about the prospect of steeper consumer prices going forward.
The yield was last at -1.117%.
"With the increased uncertainty from China and the Delta variant, the markets are taking a breather from last week's reversal on rates and equity prices," said Ellis Phifer, managing director of fixed income at Raymond James in Memphis, Tennessee.
"Maybe it's the pause that refreshes."
U.S. 10-year yields were on an uptrend for most of last week.
In late afternoon trading, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield slid to 1.239% from 1.276% late on Monday.
U.S. 30-year yields dropped to 1.891% from Monday's 1.925%.
Post-auction, U.S. 5-year note yields were down at 0.695%, from Monday's 0.713%.
The U.S. 5-year note has come to reflect market views on Fed monetary policy.
(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Jonathan Oatis, Dan Grebler and Richard Chang)
https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-bon ... SL1N2P323T