Dow dropped 260 near session lows, decliners over advancers 2-1 & NAZ retreated 227. The MLP index pulled back 4+ to the 229s & the REIT index fell 4+ to the 399s. Junk bond funds were mixed & Treasuries continued to see selling, raising yields. Oil was off 1+ to the high 77s & gold pulled back 7 to 1938 (more on both below).
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]](https://www.kitco.com/images/live/gold.gif?0.2180338269244485)
Russian Pres Vladamir Putin met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman by phone to discuss a collaboration on stabilizing the global oil market, the Kremlin said. The 2 leaders talked about a bilateral cooperation in the political, trade, economic & energy sectors. OPEC+, which Russia is a member, meets this week. The global members will seek coordination & stability on oil prices & policies. Oil is under pressure on indications of strong Russian supply despite a EU & G7 price cap imposed over its invasion of Ukraine. The EU has banned imports of Russian oil products since Feb 5. Hopes of a rise in Chinese demand have boosted oil in 2023. The world's biggest crude importer pledged over the weekend to promote a consumption recovery that would support demand.
Saudi Crown Prince and Putin discuss oil prices ahead of OPEC+ meeting
The electric car price wars may be heating up. Ford announced that it is cutting the price of the Mustang Mach-E by up to $5900. The adjustment comes just days after Tesla announced steep cuts on several models. Ford said the change is due to a combination of "streamlined costs" & an upcoming increase in production. "We have to compete," Marin Gjaja, chief customer officer for Ford's EV unit, told Automotive news. "It's
a competitive marketplace, and it just got a lot more competitive
because of what Tesla did. We're not going to cede ground to anyone." "At @Ford, we want to make EVs more accessible, so we’re increasing #MustangMachE
production & reducing prices across the Mach-E lineup," Ford CEO
Jim Farley said. "Scaling will shorten customer wait times.
And with higher production, we’re reducing costs, which allows us share
these savings with customers." The reductions across the Mustang Mach-E's 6 trims $600-5900, & the price of upgrading to the extended range battery option
offered on some models was cut from $8600 to $7000. Mustang Mach-Es sold in the US are built in Mexico & models with
list prices under $55K currently qualify for the full federal $7500
tax credit, but new rules on battery material
sourcing scheduled to go into effect in Mar are expected to reduce
that amount. Ford delivered 39K Mustang Mach-Es in the US in 2022, making it the3rd-best selling EV behind TSLA's Model Y & Model 3. The stock fell 39¢.
If you would like to learn more about Ford, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/F_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Electric car price wars may be heating up as Ford cuts cost of new SUV
The World Health Organization said Covid-19 remains an global health emergency as the world enters the 4th year of the pandemic. But WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was hopeful that the world will transition out of the emergency phase of the pandemic this year. “We remain hopeful that in the coming year, the world will transition to a new phase in which we reduce hospitalizations and deaths to the lowest possible level, and health systems are able to manage Covid-19 in an integrated and sustainable way,” Tedros said. The WHO's emergency committee met on Fri & advised Tedros that the virus, which was initially discovered in Wuhan, China in late 2019, remains a public health emergency of intl concern, the UN agency’s highest alert level. The WHO first declared an emergency in Jan 2020. Last month, the WHO chief said the end of the emergency phase of the pandemic is closer than ever before. In the fall, Tedros said the end of the pandemic was in sight. “We have never been in a better position to end the pandemic. We are not there yet but the end is in sight,” Tedros told reporters in Geneva last Sep.
WHO says Covid remains a global emergency but pandemic could near an end in 2023
Gold futures ended lower after posting weekly gains over the last 6 consecutive weeks. With so much uncertainty ahead of this week’s Federal Reserve meeting, gold prices have slipped back, although the lows for the last 5 days have been pretty steady at around $1915-1920. A hawkish surprise from the Fed could see prices slip back towards $1900 in the short term. The Fed will announce its monetary policy decision on Wed. Gold for Apr delivery fell $6 to settle at $1939 an ounce.
Gold futures end lower after posting gains for six weeks in a rowOil futures declined, with US benchmark prices settling at their lowest in about 2½ weeks. Uncertainty surrounds the outlook for demand & production ahead of an expected interest-rate hike by the Federal Reserve & a committee meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries & their allies, both due Wed (OPEC+). US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for Mar declined by $1.78 (2.2%) to settle at $77.90 a barrel, the lowest front-month contract finish since Jan 11.
U.S. oil prices settle at their lowest in two and a half weeks
Traders are twiddling their thumbs, waiting for the Fed & OPEC+ to speak on Wed.
Dow Jones Industrials
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