A daily market update from FS Insight — what you need to know ahead of opening bell
“Knowledge will give you power, but character respect.” – Bruce Lee
Overnight
Donald Trump defeats Kamala Harris to win 2024 presidential election CNBC
Republicans projected to win Senate majority CNBC
Trump’s comeback reverberates through markets WSJ
Bitcoin spikes to record as traders expect Trump’s victory to boost cryptocurrencies AP
China’s central bank affirms supportive monetary policy stance at closely watched meeting CNBC
Netflix Europe offices in Paris, Amsterdam raided in tax fraud probe BBC
Supreme Court to hear Facebook bid to escape securities fraud suit RT
Super Micro share fall, says review found ‘no evidence’ of fraud after auditor resigned FT
CVS names former UnitedHealth executive as head of Aetna WSJ
Amazon gets FAA approval for new delivery drone as it begins tests in Arizona CNBC
Alaska Airlines is giving AI a shot at scheduling flights QZ
FBI thwarts alleged white-supremacist terrorist’s plan to attack Nashville power grid with explosive-laden drone NYP
World’s first wood-paneled satellite launched into space BBC
‘Walking pneumonia’ is surging ahead of cold and flu season WSJ
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| Date | Time | Description | Estimate | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/7 | 8:30AM | 3Q P Nonfarm Productivity | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| 11/7 | 8:30AM | 3Q P Unit Labor Costs | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| 11/7 | 2PM | Nov 7 FOMC Decision | 4.75 | 5.0 |
| 11/8 | 10AM | Nov P UMich 1yr Inf Exp | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| 11/8 | 10AM | Nov P UMich Sentiment | 71.0 | 70.5 |
| 11/12 | 6AM | Oct Small Biz Optimisum | 92.0 | 91.5 |
| 11/12 | 11AM | Oct NYFed 1yr Inf Exp | n/a | 3.0 |
MORNING INSIGHT
Good morning!
The election results have emerged sooner than many expected. This is arguably a positive for financial markets, removing the uncertainty that would have accompanied a delayed election outcome.
Click HERE for more.
TECHNICAL
- SPX rally into US Election should follow-through higher to temporary all-time highs.
- Small-caps seem to be kicking into gear, and IWM breakout looks to be forthcoming.
- DXY looks likely to decline post US Election with 102.50 a possible short-term target.
Click HERE for more.
CRYPTO
Looking further beyond the election results, we maintain an optimistic outlook for the crypto market through year-end due to favorable seasonality and improving liquidity conditions.
Click HERE for more.
First News
We have written in the past about the growing demand for nuclear power, driven by the increasing needs of AI and hyperscaler data centers and bolstered by the desire to gradually transition from fossil fuels. So great is this demand that few raised objections when Microsoft signed an agreement with Constellation Energy to restart a nuclear power plant at Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island, the site of the most serious nuclear disaster in U.S. history. Although the 1979 disaster sparked fears about reactor meltdowns that arguably kept public opposition to nuclear power at elevated levels for nearly half a century, the lack of outcry in the face of the Microsoft/Constellation agreement shows that those fears appear to have finally subsided.
The downside to nuclear power isn’t just limited to the risk of a meltdown, however. As long as we’re still talking about nuclear fission (rather than fusion, which for decades has been touted as on the verge of a breakthrough), we still need to talk about what to do with the radioactive nuclear waste that reactors produce. The U.S. has no permanent solution to the problem of nuclear waste, which needs to be isolated away from human contact for at least hundreds of years, if not far longer.
This problem could become significantly more serious with the growing adoption and construction of small modular reactors, which can be built and brought online far more quickly than conventional nuclear power plants. Although some claim that such SMRs will produce levels of waste comparable to conventional reactors, others disagree, warning that they might produce anywhere from two to 30 times as much. It’s not just the large volumes of waste, either: that waste could be far more dangerous, with higher levels of radiotoxicity and more chemically and physically reactive.
That makes it troubling that the U.S. currently has no permanent storage solution for radioactive waste, despite having generated more than 88,000 metric tons of it since the dawn of the nuclear age in 1942. All of that waste is currently being stored in what was intended to be “temporary” storage, and some of the oldest containers are degrading and beginning to leak. (One in three Americans lives within 50 miles of such a temporary storage facility, incidentally.) Efforts to establish and implement a permanent storage facility 300 meters below the surface at Nevada’s Yucca Mountain have been meandering since 1987, having stalled and been revived multiple times, and remain partially completed as of this writing.
The recycling of such waste could help lessen (though not eliminate) the need to store it safely, and possibly shorten the time waste needs to be toed. Depending on the design of the reactor, the resulting waste could be processed to extract uranium and plutonium that can then be incorporated into new fuel rods. The U.S. has investigated this possibility, but not as much as countries such as France, Japan, and Russia, partly due to the added costs. Nevertheless, further investigation might be warranted, given the possibility of disruptions in the supply chain of new fuel. (SA, BAR, TC)