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Grow 800 heads of lettuce a week in this box

Stony Brook University students are using a mobile hydroponic farm to grow leafy greens for their school cafeteria.

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  • Sweden's Ericsson core profit beats forecast, patent fight casts shadow

    STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Sweden's Ericsson on Wednesday reported first-quarter core earnings above market estimates as strong 5G equipment sales offset a loss of royalty income due to a patent fight with Samsung Electronics. The coronavirus crisis has fast-tracked 5G adoption as governments prioritise digital growth, boosting telecom equipment makers such as Ericsson and Finland's Nokia. Quarterly adjusted operating earnings rose to 5.3 billion Swedish crowns ($627.9 million) from 4.6 billion crowns a year ago, beating the mean forecast of 5.0 billion crowns, according to Refinitiv estimates.

  • Oil prices drop as India's COVID-19 surge dents demand outlook

    Oil prices fell for a second day on Wednesday, weighed down by concerns that surging COVID-19 cases in India will drive down fuel demand in the world's third-biggest oil importer. Brent crude futures for June declined 29 cents, or 0.4%, to $66.28 a barrel at 0645 GMT, after dropping 48 cents on Tuesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for June fell 34 cents, or 0.5%, to $62.33 a barrel.

  • Oil drops as coronavirus cases surge in Asia

    Oil fell by $1 on Tuesday, pulling back from one-month highs, on fears that India, the world's third-biggest oil importer, may impose restrictions as coronavirus infections and deaths soar in that country. Oil prices have risen steadily this year on expectations of a recovery in demand but while the United States and China are rebounding, numerous other countries are not. "Given India's position as a major crude oil importer in the world, new restrictions would be very bad for the energy complex," said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho.

  • Lockheed Martin raises outlook, beats earnings estimates

    U.S. weapons maker Lockheed Martin Corp increased its outlook for 2021 sales and profit as it reported better-than-expected quarterly profits on Tuesday, helped by higher sales and profits at its unit which makes ships and helicopters. Though the maker of the F-35 fighter jet increased the midpoint of its full-year revenue outlook slightly to $68 billion, the estimate is below Wall Street's average estimate of $68.17 billion. One big potential dampener for defense companies' profits was removed earlier this month when U.S. President Joe Biden's proposed a flat defense budget for 2022 despite calls from progressive Democrats to reduce Pentagon spending.

  • Singapore prosecution files more charges over nickel trading scandal

    Singapore prosecutors on Tuesday filed five additional charges against businessman Ng Yu Zhi in relation to a scheme that allegedly raised at least S$1 billion ($746 million) from investors to fund bogus nickel trades. The alleged fraud, which would be one of the city-state's biggest, follows a string of scandals involving Singapore trading firms that have shaken investor and banker confidence in the sector over the last year when some commodities, including nickel, have rallied strongly. The new charges of cheating against Ng were read out in Singapore's State Court.

  • Dogecoin cryptocurrency slumps after hashtag-fueled surge to record high

    Meme-based cryptocurrency Dogecoin fell on Tuesday after hitting an all-time high in a wild session that saw supporters of the token once considered a parody use hashtags to fuel a rally until it lost steam. Dogecoin ultimately fell 15.4% to US$0.33, but during the session when it hit a record peak, its market capitalization soared to more than $50 billion. Dogecoin fans used the hashtags #DogeDay and #DogeDay420 to post memes, messages and videos on Twitter, Reddit and TikTok, referring to the informal April 20 holiday to celebrate cannabis which is marked by smoke-ins and street parties.

  • Gold gains as softer U.S. dollar, yields lift appeal

    Gold prices rose on Wednesday, hovering near a seven-week high hit earlier this week, as a softer dollar and a retreat in U.S. Treasury yields lifted demand for the safe-haven metal. Spot gold was up 0.5% to $1,786.80 per ounce at 0657 GMT, after hitting $1,789.77 on Monday, its highest since Feb. 25. "The U.S. dollar had edged lower this morning, supporting prices, with gold's upward momentum from overnight continuing in Asia," OANDA senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley said.

  • Putin’s Answer to U.S. Sanctions Is More Economic Isolation

    (Bloomberg) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely to respond to the latest round of U.S. sanctions threats as he has to past ones: by speeding his drive to make Russia’s economy more self-sufficient.In the seven years since Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Putin’s government and central bank have stripped back the country’s exposure to dollars, shifted assets out of the U.S. and sold a smaller share of its debt to foreigners.“The Americans are saying: be careful or we could do more, but Russia is just going to continue down the path toward economic autarky,” said Elina Ribakova, deputy chief economist at the Institute of International Finance in Washington.The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden is keeping the threat of sanctions hanging over Russia even after a sweeping round of penalties imposed last week. On Sunday, the U.S. warned of “consequences” if jailed opposition activist Alexey Navalny dies in prison.These four charts show how Putin has responded to past rounds of sanctions by increasing Russia’s economic isolation.The share of gold in Russia’s $581 billion international reserves jumped above dollars for the first time on record last year following a multi-year drive to reduce exposure to U.S. assets. The precious metal made up 24% of the central bank’s stockpile as of the end of September 2020, the latest date for which the breakdown is available. The share of dollar assets was 22%, down from more than 40% in 2018.That trend also shows up in the share of Russia’s international reserves held in the U.S., which plummeted to just under 7% by the end of September, down from about 30% before the Crimea annexation. Most of the shift happened in the second quarter of 2018 just after sanctions on aluminum giant United Co. Rusal revealed how vulnerable Russia was to sanctions.What Our Economists Say...Russia’s resilience to successive waves of sanctions provides a false sense of security. With the U.S. running out of options, the next round could be more disruptive, and the measures already in place are holding back trade and investment.-- Scott Johnson, Bloomberg EconomicsOf course, there’s only so much that Russia can do without cutting itself off entirely from the global economy. But officials in Washington are also restrained by the fact that if they go too far (as they did with the Rusal sanctions that were later revoked), they risk sending tremors through global markets.Acting on a pledge by Putin to “de-dollarize” trade, Russia has been slowly cutting back on use of the greenback in its exports with the European Union, China and India. The euro has almost overtaken the dollar in Russia’s trade with the EU and has already surpassed it in exports to China. About two-thirds of Russia’s exports to India, meanwhile, are paid for in rubles.How Virus-Panicked Markets Showed Dollar’s Still King: QuickTakeLast week’s penalties included a ban on purchases of bonds on the primary market, so the next big targets could be secondary-market debt and Russian banks’ access to the financial messaging system used for most international money transfers. Russia is already looking for alternatives to the system, known as SWIFT, to make itself less vulnerable, though attempts so far haven’t led to much.One reason the Finance Ministry wasn’t too concerned about the latest sanctions measure on government debt is that Russia has mostly been selling to local banks at its weekly auctions anyway. Borrowing was ramped up during the pandemic even though foreign demand was weak, which increased the overall size of the market and pushed down the share of foreigners.U.S. banks can still buy new debt on the secondary market after the penalties come into force in mid-June. Russia is “well positioned” for a near term market disruption because it has a high cash buffer and demand from local banks is “robust,” Fitch Ratings said in a research note published late on Friday.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

  • Covid-19 vaccines aren’t making any money for Johnson & Johnson

    For many Americans, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) these days is most closely associated with the pharmaceutical company’s Covid-19 vaccine, which has been recently suspended in the US as authorities investigate its risk of causing a rare blood clot syndrome. Out of over $22 billion in sales, Covid-19 vaccines accounted for $100 million—or just above 2%, the company announced today.

  • Tech Leads Stock Retreat; Dollar Falls: Markets Wrap

    (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks retreated from an all-time high as investors awaited the heart of the earnings season and more economic data later in the week. The dollar fell.Technology shares dragged down the S&P 500, which posted its biggest drop in almost four weeks. Tesla Inc. contributed the most to the decline as one of its electric cars that “no one” appeared to be driving crashed and killed two passengers. Small caps underperformed, with more than three-quarters of the stocks in the Russell 2000 closing lower. Copper prices surged to a seven-week high on prospects for strong demand and a pickup in inflation as economies rebound.In the U.S., the economic calendar is light this week until Thursday, with reports on unemployment claims and home sales among those scheduled for release. Robust economic data helped push stocks to another record last week despite concerns surrounding the spread of Covid-19 variants. Traders will look for further confirmation of the private sector’s recovery from the pandemic as the earnings season gathers pace. United Airlines Holdings Inc. and International Business Machines Corp. are among those with reports after the closing bell on Monday.“With a deluge of earnings activity this week from across industries, we may be in a bit of a holding pattern until investors digest any beats or misses on that front,” said Chris Larkin, managing director of trading and investing product at E*Trade Financial. “Bottom line is that short-term volatility is typical when we’re knocking around market highs as traders look to uncover value.”For Matt Maley, chief market strategist for Miller Tabak + Co., the sharp drop in Bitcoin over the weekend is having an impact on trading as well.“Whenever a headline-grabbing asset sees a big decline at a time when the broad market stands at an expensive level, it usually has a negative impact on the stock market, even if it’s only short-lived,” he wrote.Here are some key events to watch this week:Apple’s first product unveiling of the year on Tuesday.Reserve Bank of Australia releases minutes of its policy meeting on Tuesday.EIA crude oil inventory report on Wednesday.European Central Bank rate decision and President Christine Lagarde briefing on Thursday.U.S. releases new home sales data.These are some of the main moves in markets:StocksThe S&P 500 fell 0.5% as of 4:03 p.m. New York timeThe Nasdaq 100 fell 1%The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%The Russell 2000 Index fell 1.4%The MSCI World index fell 0.3%CurrenciesThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.4%The euro rose 0.5% to 1.2037The British pound rose 1.1% to 1.3986The Japanese yen rose 0.6% to 108.17 per dollarBondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced 2.1 basis points to 1.601%Germany’s 10-year yield advanced 2.8 basis points to 0.235%Britain’s 10-year yield declined 0.9 basis points to 0.755%CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.5% to $63 a barrelGold futures fell 0.5% to $1,771/oz(An earlier story misstated the copper price move in the second paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

  • India does not see logic in U.S. putting it on currency watchlist

    India does not see any logic in the United States putting it on a monitoring list of currency manipulators, a trade ministry official said on Tuesday. "I don't understand any economic logic," Anup Wadhawan, India's commerce secretary told reporters. The Reserve Bank of India is following a policy that allows currency movements based on market forces, he said.

  • Private Equity Firm AIP Buys Up Debt on Gupta’s Aluminum Plants

    (Bloomberg) -- American Industrial Partners has bought most of the senior debt of two of Sanjeev Gupta’s European aluminum assets, putting it in position to take them over, people familiar with the matter said.The New York-based private equity firm in recent days bought debt linked to Gupta’s Dunkirk smelter in France as well as refinancing the senior debt of the Duffel rolling mill in Belgium, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the deals weren’t public.Gupta has been searching for new financing as the industrialist scrambles to save his metals empire after the collapse of its biggest lender, Greensill Capital, last month. AIP’s move to buy out other creditors at par could signal its intention to purchase the aluminum assets -- either directly from Gupta or after an insolvency process.Gupta’s GFG Alliance, a loose group of metals and commodity trading companies, warned in February it would face insolvency without Greensill’s funding, according to court documents. Its aluminum assets are grouped under the name Alvance.“GFG Alliance can confirm Alvance Aluminium Duffel is enjoying the benefits of recent strong aluminum markets and its excellent relationships with customers. We have now completed the refinancing of its external debt facilities, with a large international lender, which will position the business for continued growth,” a spokesperson for GFG said, without elaborating.The GFG spokesperson declined to comment on Dunkirk and potential talks to sell the plants. Representatives for AIP didn’t immediately reply to calls and emails seeking comment.AIP’s move caps a frenetic period of trading in debt linked to the Dunkirk plant, Europe’s largest aluminum smelter, which Gupta bought from Rio Tinto Group in 2018.Several lenders including BNP Paribas SA, Morgan Stanley, Natixis SA, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. and ICBC Standard Bank Plc have sold or sought to sell their portions of the loan in recent weeks, Bloomberg has reported. The loans were then bought at a discount by distressed debt investors including Davidson Kempner Capital Management and Triton Partners, before AIP came in to buy them out at par, the people said.Still, Trafigura Group has not only retained its portion of the Dunkirk loan but also added to it in recent days, several of the people said, potentially indicating that the trading house could play a role in a future deal for the smelter. Rival trader Glencore Plc has also expressed interest in the smelter, according to separate people familiar with the matter.Trafigura and Glencore declined to comment.At the same time, a senior loan of around 50 million euros ($60 million) to the Duffel plant from Tor Investment Management has also been repaid, two of the people said.Gupta’s aluminum assets could have an enterprise value of just over $1 billion, including $637 million in debt, according to a GFG presentation seen by Bloomberg News. The assets’ earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization totaled $103 million last year, the presentation showed.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

  • Market Wrap: Bitcoin Flat at $56.7K, Ether Rises and It Wasn’t Dogeday’s Afternoon

    Bitcoin price takes a pit stop with ether and dogecoin stealing the spotlight.

  • Gold Price Futures (GC) Technical Analysis – Strengthens Over $1788.50, Weakens Under $1767.60

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  • Exclusive: Fed will limit any overshoot of inflation target, Powell says

    The U.S. economy is going to temporarily see "a little higher" inflation this year as the recovery strengthens and supply constraints push up prices in some sectors, but the Federal Reserve is committed to limiting any overshoot, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in an April 8 letter to Senator Rick Scott. "We do not seek inflation that substantially exceeds 2 percent, nor do we seek inflation above 2 percent for a prolonged period," Powell said in a five-page response to a March 24 letter in which the Florida Republican raised concerns about rising inflation and the U.S. central bank's bond-buying program. Those modifiers - "substantially" exceeding 2% inflation or above that level for a "prolonged" period - help to more sharply define the upper bounds of the Fed's comfort zone as prices rise.

  • AB Foods cheered by Primark's record reopening after profit slump

    LONDON (Reuters) -Associated British Foods reported a halving in first half profit after COVID-19 lockdowns shuttered its Primark fashion stores but said it saw record sales when they reopened. The group, which also owns sugar, grocery, agriculture and ingredients businesses, said on Tuesday its adjusted profit before tax fell to 319 million pounds ($446 million) in the 24 weeks to Feb. 27 from 636 million a year earlier. Group revenue fell 17% to 6.3 billion pounds driven by the loss of retail sales as most of Primark's stores were closed for more than half the period.

  • Investors turn to growth stocks' results after strong earnings start

    On the heels of blockbuster earnings from major U.S. banks, investors are focused on whether an upcoming batch of earnings from major technology-related companies can sustain the season's early momentum. Estimated year-over-year first-quarter earnings growth for S&P 500 companies rose to 31% from 25% in the past week, based on Refinitiv data, driven by last week's stronger-than-expected results from Wells Fargo & Co, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and other banks. Tuesday brings results from stay-at-home winner Netflix Inc, which is part of the FAANG group of high-profile tech-related names.

  • Crude Oil Price Forecast – Crude Oil Markets Have Rough ride

    Crude oil markets have had a rough ride during the trading session on Tuesday, as we have initially rally, only to turn around and break apart.

  • Stock market news live updates: Stocks post back-to-back days of declines; Dow drops 257 points, or 0.7%

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  • Iron Ore Giants Challenged in Race to Meet China Demand

    (Bloomberg) -- The world’s top two iron ore miners struggled to keep up with strong Chinese demand in the first quarter of 2021, hit by operational challenges and weather disruptions, in a positive sign for prices that are already at decade highs.Brazil’s Vale SA churned out less ore than expected last quarter after lower productivity at one mine and a ship loader fire, with its recovery from an early-2019 tailings dam disaster proving a little slower than expected. Rio Tinto Group’s shipments were disrupted by wetter-than-average weather at its Pilbara operations in Western Australia.Benchmark iron ore surged Monday over $180 a ton -- the highest since May 2011 -- following news that China’s crude steel production jumped 19% last month from a year earlier to near a record. The nation’s output of the alloy is booming at the same time as a pollution crackdown has lifted prices and benefited profit margins at mills.“With the market relatively tight at the moment, it will certainly see any failure to meet current guidelines as relatively positive for the price,” said Daniel Hynes, senior commodities strategist at ANZ Banking Group Ltd. Vale and Rio both maintained their forecasts for full-year production, though a slower-than-expected recovery at Vale could see the market reset its expectations, he said.Rio cautioned that its guidance for annual output of up to 340 million tons was subject to logistical risks associated with bringing 90 million tons of replacement mine capacity on stream. It also said that Tropical Cyclone Seroja had impacted its Pilbara mine and port operations in April.It was a “mediocre quarter” for Rio, Tyler Broda, mining analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said in a note. Quarterly production was 6% less than the bank’s estimate, he said. “Not all that much is going in the right direction from a bottom-up basis for Rio Tinto as they continue to tackle the various challenges at their operations and projects, but main commodities iron ore and aluminum are both benefiting from the China decarbonisation theme.”Iron ore futures in Singapore rose as much as 3.7% to $182.80 a ton before trading at $182.75 by 2:48 p.m. local time. Prices in Dalian gained as much as 4.7%, while hot-rolled coil and rebar both rose in Shanghai. Rio Tinto’s shares settled 0.5% lower in Sydney.Steel prices in China finished the quarter at decade highs as construction activity and demand in the first quarter exceeded both 2020 and 2019, Rio said. Strong demand and margins -- at their highest since 2018 -- have lifted demand for higher quality iron ore products and the nation’s renewed focus on reducing steelmaking emissions will likely restrain exports in 2021, supporting margins globally, the company said.The short-term outlook for iron ore prices remained strong, ANZ’s Hynes said, with Chinese steel mills content to accept current high prices for their main feedstock while their margins were so strong. However, he added the cost of ore was now well above fair value, with the risk of a pullback later in the year if Beijing’s plans to curb steel production to control greenhouse gas emissions start to impact on demand.“If we saw a 1% fall in Chinese steel production that would potentially wipe out about 15-20 million tons of iron ore,” said Hynes(Closes shares in 7th paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.