A hoax report wasn't too far off | Russia isn't giving out oil |

Hi John, here's what you need to know for July 14th in 3:05 minutes.

☕️ Finimized over a lemon and lime bitter at TwinFin in Lagos, Portugal (🌥 33°C/91°F)

Today's big stories

  1. US inflation continued to climb last month, if not as much as a fake report would have had you believe
  2. Russia’s poised to shut off a major gas line to Europe, so now might be a good time to give a new trade a try – Read Now
  3. Russia’s oil exports fell in June, but a rising price kept the country of out trouble

The Price Is Wrong

The Price Is Wrong

What’s Going On Here?

Data out on Wednesday showed that US consumer prices continued to climb by more than expected last month.

What Does This Mean?

Earlier this week, a report emerged claiming that US consumer prices were 10.2% higher in June than the same time last year. And while it turned out to be a hoax, it certainly seemed plausible enough: the US government has, after all, been downplaying the latest inflation numbers ahead of the real update. It was so plausible, in fact, that stocks slumped following its release.

Fake or not, it wasn’t far off: consumer prices rose 9.1% in June, well above May’s 8.6% and April’s 8.3%. That was mostly down to – you guessed it – energy and food prices, which were 42% and 10% higher than the same time last year. And even though salaries have been rising lately, clearly they haven’t been rising fast enough: the data showed that inflation-adjusted hourly wages fell 3.6% – the biggest drop since 2007.

Why Should I Care?

For markets: Are stocks about to rally?
Higher prices and lower salaries could lead to a drop in consumer spending, which is bound to be flagged as a concern this earnings season. But Deutsche Bank doesn’t think it’ll lead to another stock market selloff: the bank argues that the writing has been on the wall for a while now. In fact, Deutsche has pointed out that the market has historically rallied during an earnings season that follows a selloff like the one we’ve just seen.

The bigger picture: The almighty dollar.
This data only makes it more likely the Fed will hike interest rates substantially again later this month, which will continue to make the US dollar an appealing prospect for international savers and investors. The ECB’s reluctance to hike rates, meanwhile, is having the opposite effect on the euro. That might be why the euro fell below the value of the greenback for the first time in 20 years on Wednesday.

Copy to share story: https://www.finimize.com/wp/news/inflation/

🙋 Ask a question

Analyst Take

How To Hedge Yourself If Russia Pulls The Plug On European Gas

How To Hedge Yourself If Russia Pulls The Plug On European Gas
Photo of Reda Farran

Reda Farran, Analyst

And we’re off.

Russia has now halted the flow of gas through the Nord Stream pipeline – Europe’s main gas import infrastructure – for 10 days of scheduled maintenance.

The taps will come back on again on the 21st July. Or at least, that’s what Europe is hoping.

It’s nervous that Russia might be taking the chance to cut off its supply for good, and that it might only be a matter of time before the aggrieved country does the same to the other key pipelines.

But while the move would have major consequences for consumers, the economy, and your portfolio, there is a way to protect yourself.

So that’s today’s Insight: how to hedge yourself if Russia pulls the plug.

Read or listen to the Insight here

SPONSORED BY YONDER

Get credit card points you’ll actually use

Points aren’t that fun when you can only use them on flights to unknown cities on a Tuesday in November.

But with Yonder, you can spend your hard-earned points on things you actually want to do in London. Think meals at snazzy restaurants, tickets to Secret Cinema, and luxury countryside getaways.

That’s not the only reason to try Yonder, mind you: you’ll also get worldwide family travel insurance, Mastercard Priceless benefits, purchase protection, and a darn good-looking metal card.

You can also spend away without paying any foreign exchange fees, and you can talk to a real person anytime with Yonder’s 24/7 customer support team. Yup, all for just £15 a month.

Oh, and there’s one more thing: apply now and you’ll get a £50 experience and your first 3 months free.

Check It Out

Approval is subject to eligibility. Over 18 & UK residents only. Membership fee applies. Borrow responsibly. T&Cs apply. Rep 59.3% APR var.

Oils Of War

Oils Of War

What’s Going On Here?

The International Energy Agency (IEA) released a report on Wednesday estimating that Russian oil exports dropped off last month.

What Does This Mean?

Ever since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Europe – by far the country’s biggest oil export market – has gradually been phasing out its oil. And while the Middle East and elsewhere are still buying the country’s slippery elixir, they haven’t been taking enough to make up for Europe’s principled stand: the IEA estimates that Russian daily exports fell by 250,000 barrels in June.

But Russia has had one saving grace: the price of oil averaged $117 a barrel last month, as global supplies continued to fail to keep up with a post-pandemic rebound in demand. So even though Russia exported far less of the dusky earth juice, the value of its oil exports still rose by $700 million to over $20 billion in June (tweet this).

Why Should I Care?

The bigger picture: More demand, please.
Oil’s higher price is already impacting demand for the commodity by more than the IEA first thought, which might be why the agency has lowered its estimates for global demand. It now thinks demand will overtake pre-Covid levels next year rather than this one, and also warned that faltering demand poses a real risk to the global recovery – not to mention the economic stability of emerging economies.

Zooming out: It’s up to the governments.
The US is urging Middle Eastern producers to help boost supply, but it’s not quite that simple: Saudi Arabia and the UAE only have the capacity to increase their daily output by 2.2 million barrels a day. That might sound like a lot, but the world gets through about 4 million an hour. So the IEA is recommending governments create their own policies to limit energy use, in a bid to keep their economies on track.

Copy to share story: https://www.finimize.com/wp/news/oil/

🙋 Ask a question

💬 Quote of the day

“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.”

– Michael Jordan (an American businessman and former professional basketball player)
Tweet this

SPONSORED BY NOBIAS

Analyze the analysts

Nobias is on a mission to make financial media more transparent for young investors.

Nobias uses its AI-based Analyst Accountability Algorithm to scan and interpret 300,000 financial articles every day, and then ranks the performance of individual financial experts.

That bank of information lets you assess a writer’s credibility before you act on their advice, and you’ll even be able to see how their stance compares to the wider market sentiment.

And if you search for a particular stock you’re interested in, you’ll be able to see what top-performing Wall Street analysts and financial writers have to say about it.

Discover information without the bias: get started with Nobias from just $0.25 a day.

Try Nobias Today

All content is published and provided as an information source for investors capable of making their own investment decisions. None of the information offered should be construed to be advice or a recommendation that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person.

The information offered is impersonal and not tailored to the investment needs of any specific person. The Nobias star rating is based on past performance results and is not an indicator of future results. These past performance returns do not represent returns that any investor actually earned. Assumptions made include the ability to purchase the stocks recommended by the author under liquid markets where the transaction would be at the market price for the day. In reality, loss in liquidity may have a material impact on the returns that actually may have been earned. Further, returns are calculated without including any transaction costs, management fees, performance fees or expenses, or reinvestment of dividends and other income. This information is provided for illustrative purposes only.

When you support our sponsors, you support us. Thanks for that.

🌎 Finimize Live

🎉 Coming Up In The Next Week…

All events in UK time.

🔮 How To Think Like An Analyst: 10am, July 13th
💪 How To Survive A Stock Market Crash: 6pm, July 13th
🌍 Blockchain, Crypto, and ESG: 5pm, July 19th
👀 Your Guide To Earnings Season: 3pm, July 20th
🎉 Navigating The World Of Stablecoins: 6pm, July 20th

🥳 And After That…

🔥 How To Use Machine Learning For Trading: 12pm, July 21st
🍷 Is Wine The Perfect Recession-Proof Investment?: 1pm, July 27th
♻️ Building A Crypto ESG Framework: 6pm, August 2nd
📈 A Case For DAO Treasury Diversification: 6pm, August 9th
💻 How To Spot The Best Tech Stocks: 6pm, August 16th

🎯 On Our Radar

  1. Hot tables are back. Good luck getting that 8.30pm res at Dorsia now.
  2. Feeling peckish? Food might not satisfy you, but human touch could.
  3. How to put yourself first without hurting someone else. There’s an art to breaking up with someone.
  4. Switzerland is going robotic. The country will never need to rely on drivers again.
  5. Rest days matter. Especially when you’re in the middle of the Tour de France.

When you support our sponsors, you support us. Thanks for that.

❤️ Share with a friendYour Referrals: 0

Thanks for reading John. If you liked today's brief, we'd love for you to share it with a friend.

Share your unique link:

https://finimize.com/invite/?kid=12T6MV

You stay classy, John 😉

We’d love to hear your thoughts. Give feedback

Want to advertise with us too? Get in touch

Image Credits:

Image credits: Zwiebackesser - Shutterstock | Fly Of Swallow Studio - Shutterstock

Preferences:

Update your email or change preferences

View in browser

Unsubscribe from all Finimize Emails

😴

Crafted by Finimize Ltd. | Bow Bells House, Bread Street, London, EC4M 9HH

All content provided by Finimize Ltd. is for informational and educational purposes only and is not meant to represent trade or investment recommendations. You signed up to this mailing list at finimize.com or through one of our partners. © Finimize 2021

View Online