M. Holland will be exhibiting at MD&M West in Anaheim, California, from April 12-14. MD&M West is the largest medtech conference in the U.S. If you’re attending, please stop by Booth #4111 to meet our Healthcare experts!
In case you missed it, watch M. Holland’s Plastics Reflections webinar about the current and future state of the North American plastics industry. Click here to access the recording.
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Market Expertise: M. Holland offers a host of resources to clients, prospects and suppliers across nine strategic markets.
Supply
Oil prices fell about 1% Tuesday on growing worries of demand slowdowns caused by rising COVID-19 cases.
In mid-morning trading today, WTI futures were down 0.2% at $101.80/bbl, Brent was off 0.2% at $106.40/bbl, and U.S. natural gas was up 4.3% at $6.29/MMBtu.
The American Petroleum Institute estimates U.S. crude inventories unexpectedly rose by 1.08 million barrels last week.
Chevron reported a profit of $15.6 billion in 2021, its highest since 2014 and a reversal from a loss of $5.5 billion in 2020. The firm plans to increase output by at least 3% yearly through 2025.
More oil news related to the war in Europe:
The EU’s proposed ban on Russian coal, which will require approval from all 27 member states, marks the first time the bloc has agreed to suspend imports of one of Russia’s main energy supplies.
Daily Russian oil and gas condensate production is down 4% from March to early April, according to the Interfax news agency.
Russia says it will earn $9.6 billion more in revenue from energy sales this month due to high oil prices.
Exxon Mobil could write down up to $4 billion in the wake of its exit from the Sakhalin-1 oil development in Russia’s Far East, which supplies 3% of the firm’s overall production.
Spanish energy firm Repsol is partnering with Denmark’s Orsted to build up to 3 GW of offshore wind power in Spain by the end of the decade.
India’s top refiner signed on to a joint effort that could eventually produce 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen by the end of the decade.
Wall Street lending for oil and gas development is rising as the U.S. looks to boost output, reversing a trend that recently saw more investment given to clean-energy projects and uses.
Prices for emissions credits in California’s cap-and-trade program are rising sharply as demand grows:
Mediterranean Shipping Co. is expanding its orders for new LNG dual-fueled container ships to 28 vessels.
A strike by tens of thousands of central and southern California grocery workers was averted after contract deals were reached with several major supermarkets.
Chipotle will begin using RFID technology at its Chicago distribution center and 200 restaurants to track inventory and respond to food safety concerns more accurately.
Canadian miner Kinross Gold agreed to sell its giant Arctic Russian mine to a unit of Fortiana Holdings for $680 million, the first public sale of an asset a large Western company is exiting in Russia.
Indian wheat exports will hit a record this fiscal year as a rally in global prices gives the world’s second biggest producer an opportunity to gain market share.
Russian cyberattacks on Ukrainian critical infrastructure are picking up in pace.
Domestic Markets
The U.S. reported 29,521 new COVID-19 infections and 477 virus fatalities Tuesday.
The U.S. will invest $20 million next year to develop best practices for treating long-term COVID, a condition estimated to affect nearly 7% of all U.S. adults.
The Federal Reserve will begin rapidly reducing its balance sheet this May for the first time since 2017, officials said yesterday, a further tightening in monetary policy on top of rising interest rates.
Deutsche Bank forecasts the U.S. will fall into a recession next year as the Federal Reserve raises interest rates more aggressively to combat inflation, making it among the first major banks to predict recession. Some officials at the Federal Reserve have significantly more optimism.
At $89.19 billion, the U.S. trade deficit narrowed by a modest 0.1% in February while remaining close to the previous month’s record, as fallout from rising commodity prices continued.
U.S. services activity picked up in March, with the Institute for Supply Management’s index rising to 58.3 for the month, up from a one-year low of 56.5 in February.
Some 22.4 million fewer immigrants than normal entered the U.S. during the pandemic, adding even more pressure to the tightest labor market in decades.
The White House will likely extend through August a pause on roughly $1.6 billion in student loan repayments, a measure first imposed at the start of the pandemic.
Fast food chains and airlines are among several new types of companies testing subscription programs to lock in consistent revenue streams.
JetBlue Airways offered to buy ultralow-cost rival Spirit Airlines for $3.6 billion, a deal that would create one of the largest airlines in America.
Amazon is positioning itself as a major competitor to SpaceX’s satellite broadband ambitions, with the e-commerce giant yesterday investing billions of dollars in launch slots for its technology over the next five years.
Canada may be facing a new wave of COVID-19, prompting Ontario, which experienced a 38% increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations yesterday compared with the prior week, to deploy fourth vaccine doses for some residents.
Countries across the globe should provide $15 billion in grants this year and $10 billion a year thereafter to manage long-term COVID-19 risks, the International Monetary Fund says.
More news related to the war in Europe:
The U.S. will announce a new package of sanctions against Russia today that will include a ban on all new investment in the nation as well as more penalties against its largest financial institutions and state-owned enterprises. The EU and members of the G7 are also proposing sweeping new sanctions, while Britain will advocate for NATO nations to ban Russian ships from their ports and set a timeline for phasing out oil and gas imports.
The probability of Russia defaulting on its debt within the next five years is almost 90%, economists say. An index of the nation’s services economy dropped from 52.1 in February to just 38.1 in March, indicating severe contraction.
Canada’s exports rose 2.8% in February to a record-high, driven mostly by energy products. The nation’s Central Bank will likely impose a half-percentage-point interest-rate hike when it meets next week.