Tuesday: June 10th
Today, Hydrogen is mostly extracted from natural gas in two main techniques: Blue Hydrogen and Green Hydrogen.
Blue Hydrogen is a more traditional way of producing hydrogen that starts with natural gas and removes the carbon dioxide.
Green Hydrogen, alternatively is made by "splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen using renewable electricity".
Air Products has made a large push in the Hydrogen space in Louisiana starting in 2021 when they shared plans to construct a $4.3 Billion Hydrogen plant that would produce Blue Hydrogen and sequester the carbon dioxide under the Lake Maurepas. But, given the push from the Trump administration to cut Biden's tax incentives for green energy sources, and other factors, the project has ballooned to $8 billion. Another issue for Air Products is the lack of customers for their Hydrogen product. As of now, only one definitive deal has been struck with TotalEnergies in Europe leaving the project's longevity precariously in question.
TSX 60: 1,574.27
DJIA: 42,738.27
S&P: 6,009.91
Nasdaq: 19,620.11
Oil (WTI): 65.46
ICE NGX (T-1): 1.28
How Hydrogen, the Fuel of the Future, Got Bogged Down in the Bayou
Thursday: June 5th
The trade deficit in the United States dropped significantly month-over-month in April from the extreme levels seen the 2 months previous. The elevation in deficit was no doubt caused by businesses front-loading their inventory orders ahead of Trumps 'Liberation Day' address on April 2nd. The goods and services trade deficit in February was $138.3 billion. This figure dropped to $61.6 billion in April constituting a 55% drop. Notably, of this segment, imports of consumer goods dropped 32% a category that was largely driven by a $26 billion drop in pharmaceutical products. Exports also rose slightly which helped close the deficit, again, likely fueled by future tariffs.
These are only the early reporting numbers that are going to show the effectiveness of Trumps fiscal trade policies. These figures do not seem too consequential yet as they are clearly influenced by companies front-loading their inventories. I think a better indicator of Trumps' policies will be the data in 6 months' time compared with 2024 figures, and see if there is a drop in trade deficit that persists at that time.
TSX 60: 1,575.76
DJIA: 42,487.89
S&P: 5,985.67
Nasdaq: 19,518.20
Oil (WTI): 62.76
ICE NGX (T-1): 0.82
U.S. Trade Deficit Cut in Half on Record Drop in Imports
Wednesday: June 4th
In a public statement on his X account, Elon Musk was very critical of Trumps first major bill, coined the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" which is estimated to increase the federal debt to an even $40 trillion, an increase of $3.8 trillion. The Bill is aimed at fulfilling the promises made on the campaign trail; extending the 2017 tax cuts, boosting spending on military and border security. It seems however, that Musk was happy to proclaim the benefits of Donald's plans en mass pre-election, but lost his nerve when the actual details of making good on the promises came to light.
"I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination.
Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it."
What was Musk expecting out of the 47th president? Maybe there is something behind the scenes that isn't clear on the outside. Wasn't the whole point of DOGE to free-up $1 trillion in government spending to allow for spending on military/border defense while cutting taxes? [READ MY POST FROM FEB 20TH ON THIS TOPIC HERE]
TSX 60: 1,580.49
DJIA: 42,574.13
S&P: 5,978.94
Nasdaq: 19,063.06
Oil (WTI): 63.36
ICE NGX (T-1): 0.18
Musk calls Trump's tax-cut and spending bill 'a disgusting abomination'
Monday: June 2nd
OPEC+ raised their production, or rather, peeled back their production caps that were already in place by another 411,000 bpd. The markets warmed to this news as Brent rose by 3.6% and WTI rose by 4.9% in early morning trading today. Obviously the market was not confident that the increases in OPEC oil would be the same as the previous two months. Analysts foresee further increases through to August (1 more meeting where production will be raised), while others expect further production hikes through to October. The basis of these hikes are still to punish the OPEC+ allied countries who are over-producing their agreed upon limits. Kazakhstan is one example. In order for overproduction to become uneconomical and these hikes to take effect, Brent would need to trade at, or less than $58. Brent was at $65.08 today.
TSX 60: 1,568.22
DJIA: 42,199.94
S&P: 5,896.68
Nasdaq: 19,063.06
Oil (WTI): 61.11
ICE NGX (T-1): 1.12