The headlines that the global financial media paid attention to last night and this morning mainly include:
1. Wall Street braces for inflation, and battered U.S. stocks may still not be bargains
2. G7 leaders to pledge to ban Russian oil imports
3. Wheat prices soar, Africa turns to cheaper alternatives
4. After the IPO lock-up period expires, Ford is expected to sell some Rivian shares
5. Bill Gates says there is good reason to believe world economic growth is slowing
6. Vitol thinks Russian oil deals will become more difficult
Wall Street braces for inflation data, battered U.S. stocks may still not be bargains
This year’s rout in U.S. stocks has drawn more attention to stock valuations as investors seriously assess whether recently “discounted” stocks are worth buying in the face of a hawkish Federal Reserve and widespread geopolitical uncertainty.
The S&P 500 has lost 13.5% so far this year, and its valuation is at its lowest level in two years, with the index’s forward price-to-earnings ratio rising to 17.9 from 21.7 at the end of 2021.
While recent valuation discounts may improve the stock’s appeal to some bargain hunters, other investors believe the stock may still not be cheap enough.
U.S. inflation data for April will be released on Wednesday.
“Stocks are approaching fair valuations … but not quite there,” the industry sources said. “If you take into account bond yields, inflation, GDP and the broader economy, they’re not quite there yet.”
G7 leaders to pledge to ban Russian oil imports
The draft joint statement showed that G7 leaders would pledge to ban imports of Russian oil as a further response to Russia.
They will announce their commitments after a video meeting on Sunday. Statement content is subject to change.
Several G7 members have pledged to diversify their sources of supply, with Germany, the EU’s largest economy, backing a proposal to ban imports of Russian oil by January.
Leaders will “commit to eliminating our dependence on Russian energy in stages, including phasing out or banning imports of Russian oil,” the draft said. “We will ensure that we do so in a timely and orderly manner, and provide the world with access to time for alternative supply”.
Wheat prices soar, Africa turns to cheaper alternatives
Global wheat prices are so high that African consumers are starting to drop the grain from their diets.
Food producers in Kenya, Egypt, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Cameroon say they are adding cheaper alternatives to bread, pastries and pasta. Local rice, tapioca and sorghum are replacing wheat, which has surged about 40 percent this year as the Russia-Ukraine conflict squeezed exports from Ukraine, one of the top shippers.
These domestic crops are less exposed to trade disruptions and global inflation, providing some protection from food prices that are still near record levels.
Kenya imports about 44 percent of its wheat from the Black Sea region, and soaring prices pushed inflation to 6.5 percent in April. Unga Group Plc, the Nairobi-based maker of Exe branded wheat flour and Jogoo corn flour, is shifting sales to its Amana rice and bean product line.
Ford expected to sell some Rivian stake after IPO lock-up period expires
With the electric car maker’s post-IPO lock-up period set to expire on Sunday, a flood of $Rivian Automotive (RIVN.US) $ stock could flood the market.
Ford is one of the companies that will sell some of its stake, according to Seeking Alpha. Ford plans to sell 8 million of its 102 million shares.
Rivian’s stock has been falling since its successful initial public offering last November.
Rivian went public on Nov. 10 at $78 a share. Shares even soared to $179 a few days later. Shares recently closed at $28.79, down 84% from the high.
Ford reported a net loss of $3.1 billion in the first quarter due to a sharp drop in the valuation of its Rivian stake. Ford said the investment suffered a $5.4 billion loss in market value.
Bill Gates says there’s good reason to believe world growth is slowing
Bill Gates said interest rates could rise high enough to slow the global economy due to the conflict in Russia and Ukraine and the impact of the new crown pandemic.
“There’s a very strong argument for the world economy going ‘bear’ and that worries me a lot,” Gates said on Sunday. “
The billionaire philanthropist and co-founder of Microsoft (MSFT.US)$ said the situation in Ukraine that sent commodities prices soaring came in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, with U.S. government debt levels already very high and some already existing. supply chain issues.
Many countries, including the U.S., U.K. and India, have begun raising interest rates in an attempt to tame inflation, which Gates believes “will ultimately lead to a slowdown.”
Vitol’s prankster thinks Russian oil deal will be more difficult
Commodities companies will find it more difficult to buy and sell Russian oil from the middle of this month as Europe tightens sanctions on Moscow, according to the world’s largest independent crude trader.
Vitol Group Asia head Mike Mueller said on a podcast produced by Dubai-based Gulf Intelligence on Sunday that Russia’s exports of crude oil and petroleum products may have fallen from 7.5 million bpd in late February before the conflict between Russia and Ukraine About 1 million barrels. They could fall further after May 15, he said.
Many trading firms have interpreted EU regulations as barring them from dealing with Russian state-owned energy companies after that.
Vitol, which trades 7.6 million barrels a day of crude and refined products in 2021, said last month that it intends to stop trading Russian-made products by the end of the year.
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