Finimize - 😬 OPEC's not scared of Covid

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Hi Reader, here's what you need to know for January 5th in 3:14 minutes.

☕️ Finimized over a macha cappuccino at Cajna Hisa in Ljubljana, Slovenia (🌥 8°C/46°F)

Today's big stories

OPEC+ announced it will be upping its oil production next month
Goldman Sachs has laid out 50 companies that look set to profit if China's crackdowns continue in 2022 – Read Now
Tesla delivered more cars than expected last quarter

Loil Friends

What’s Going On Here?

OPEC+ are sticking together through slick and thin: a group of the world’s biggest oil-producing countries and their allies announced on Tuesday that they’ll up oil production next month.

What Does This Mean?

Demand for oil crept up in 2021 as the global economy got back to its feet, and OPEC+’s members have been boosting their output to meet that need. In fact, they’ve finally restarted about two-thirds of the production they halted when Covid first darkened their doorsteps.

Now, though, OPEC+ has announced it’ll be increasing production by 400,000 barrels a day next month. This, at a time when Omicron could knock economic recoveries – and, by extension, oil demand – off balance. As for why, OPEC+ is feeling cocksure: it says the world’s more able to deal with the pandemic these days, and that countries will still need to replenish their depleted stockpiles even if the new variant does get in the way.

Why Should I Care?

The bigger picture: Brits need a break.
More oil in the market should (all else equal) drive down the price of the slippery elixir and, by extension, the price of energy. And since energy costs bear a lot of the blame for high inflation, that might be no bad thing. The UK certainly wouldn’t mind: data out on Tuesday showed its manufacturers hiked prices at the fastest pace on record last month, which could force businesses to raise their prices and drive the country’s inflation rate even higher.

Zooming out: Airlines breathe a sigh of relief.
Airlines will like the sound of cheaper oil too, since it’ll bring their fuel bills down. And the good news has just kept coming for our airborne pals: the Omicron-plagued UK doesn’t look like it’ll impose stricter travel restrictions, and Germany’s relaxing its own rules. That could mean there’ll be less disruption than investors expected, which might be why British Airways-parent IAG and Lufthansa saw their stocks rise 12% and 5% respectively on Tuesday.

You might also like: How to invest in oil and energy now the good times are back.

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Analyst Take

Goldman’s 50 “Common Prosperity” Stock Picks

Reda, Analyst

We’re highlighting a few of our favorite Insights of 2021, giving you a chance to revisit some of the year’s most exciting investment opportunities.

What’s Going On Here?

The concept of “common prosperity” gained some real steam in China last year.

And as far as Goldman Sachs is concerned, this push toward economic equality over economic growth is going to lead to some big changes in the country’s economy.

For one thing, it should galvanize new spending habits among the lower classes, and drive an uptick in purchases of household appliances, cars, apparel, and more.

Those new habits should benefit certain companies that you can invest in – and Goldman’s made a list of 50 of them.

So that’s today’s Insight: four ways common prosperity could transform China’s economy, and the 50 stocks Goldman is expecting to benefit.

Read or listen to the Insight here

Make that a double

The new year is coming, and you know what that means: out with the old and in with the new.

Sometimes, though, the old is exactly what you need – at least, The Motley Fool thinks so.

That’s why it’s putting out a “double-down” recommendation: a call for you to up your investment in three stocks it thinks will keep performing particularly well in 2022.

Or if you missed the boat the first time around, it’s a chance to take your position while you still can.

And The Motley Fool‘s been right before: Netflix, Amazon, and Apple are all previous double-down picks.

The stock tips are totally free: get your report today.

Get The Stock Tips