The headlines followed by the global financial media last night and this morning are as follows:

1. Fears of a recession in the United States intensify Wall Street investors' shift to defensive stocks

Goldman Sachs Group estimates that the probability of recession in the United States in the next two years is 35%.

3. Elvis Presley's golden songs all come out of Musk's obscure tweets that confuse investors.

4. At the beginning of the peak tourist season, the new CEO of American Airlines emphasizes maintaining reliability.

5. Fuel prices soar and Britain's willingness to support sanctions against Russia falls sharply

6. Italian Prime Minister: the European Union can reduce its dependence on Russian energy faster than expected.

Fears of recession in the United States exacerbate Wall Street investors' shift to defensive stocks

Investors in US stocks, worried that geopolitical uncertainty and the Fed's measures to fight inflation will undermine economic growth, are turning to defensive industries that are better able to weather volatile times and tend to offer strong dividends.

The health care, utilities, consumer commodities and real estate sectors have all risen so far in April, and although the broader market has fallen, it continues to outperform the S & P 500 this year.

Defensive industries have been particularly attractive in recent months as investors worry that the Fed will stifle the US economy as it tightens policy aggressively in response to soaring consumer prices. that is, the Fed's aggressive measures could lead to a recession as they struggle to deal with the economy.

The U. S. bond market sent a worrying signal last month that some maturing government bonds had higher short-term yields than long-term yields. This phenomenon, known as the reverse yield curve, occurred before past recessions.

The s & p 500 fell nearly 8% in 2022, utilities rose 6%, office supplies rose 2.5%, health care fell 1.7%, and real estate fell 6%.

Goldman Sachs Group estimates that the probability of recession in the United States in the next two years is 35%.

History suggests that the Fed will face the daunting task of tightening monetary policy to cool inflation without causing a recession in the US, with a probability of contraction of about 35 per cent over the next two years, according to Goldman Sachs Group.

Chief economist Jan Hazius wrote in a research note on Sunday that the main challenge facing the fed is to narrow the gap between jobs and workers and to reduce jobs without significantly raising the unemployment rate by tightening financial conditions, thus slowing wage growth to a rate consistent with the 2% inflation target.

Achieving a so-called soft landing can be difficult because the gap in US history has fallen sharply only during recessions.

Elvis Presley's golden songs have all come out. Musk's obscure tweets have puzzled investors.

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk alerted investors this weekend when he posted a mysterious tweet with the words "tender" on Twitter, which could be a wink and nod to a possible takeover offer from Twitter shareholders to gain control of the company.

Last week, the world's richest man submitted a $43 billion proposal to offer $54.20 a share for the social network, leading Twitter to adopt a so-called "poison pill" on Friday. to make it harder for Musk or a group of investors to get more shares, causing an uproar.

If Twitter directors eventually reject him, the world will know whether Musk really threatened to attract shareholders directly, or whether he just added Elvis Presley's 1956 hit "Love Me Tender" to his playlist.

Intelligence analysts Mandip Singh and Ashley King wrote Friday that Mr. Musk may try to work with investors, including Oracle Corp.

American Airlines' new CEO emphasizes maintaining reliability at the beginning of the tourist season.

Robert Isom, the new chief executive of American Airlines, aims for one thing this summer: reliability.

American Airlines grew faster than its big competitors last year, with passengers occasionally facing widespread disruptions as a result of routine challenges such as weather and understaffing. Other airlines, such as Southwest Airlines and Spirit Airlines, face similar problems, forcing them to adjust their flights.

Now, Isom, who runs the nation's largest airline on March 31, says his priority is to make sure passengers become more dependent on American airlines this summer and beyond.

"people really need to feel like they can control their schedule, and we give them control by making sure they get where they want to go on time. I can't be outspoken any more, "Mr Isom said last week. Other airlines are also struggling. "

After two years of new crowning pandemics, air travel has surged and passengers have shown they are willing to pay for airfares, a trend that is helping airlines make up for soaring fuel costs. Domestic leisure travelers are making up for relatively weak demand for business and international travel.

Fuel prices soar Britain's willingness to support sanctions against Russia falls sharply

The latest opinion poll in Britain shows that the willingness of the British people to support sanctions against Russia has significantly reduced in the face of rising fuel prices.

According to the results of an opinion poll released by the Daily Telegraph on the 16th, the proportion of respondents willing to accept higher fuel prices caused by Western sanctions against Russia fell to 36% from 50% in March, a drop of 14 percentage points.

The survey was conducted on the 13th of this month. On the same day, the UK's consumer price index (CPI) rose 7% year-on-year in March, the highest since March 1992, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics.

The tension in the global supply chain caused by the COVID-19 epidemic has been exacerbated by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and Western sanctions against Russia. The prices of European energy, food and other commodities that meet basic living needs have generally risen, and the cost of living has risen.

The board of directors of Tata Steel will consider a split of the stock and propose a dividend on May 3, Indian Steel said in a statement Sunday.

Without specifying the split ratio, it said it would consider subdividing shares of 10 rupees a share at the May 3 meeting.

The split will be approved by regulators and statutory bodies.

On May 3, the company will also report results for the quarter ended March 31, the company said.

Italian Prime Minister: the European Union can reduce its dependence on Russian energy faster than expected

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said in an interview with Italy's Corriere della Sera that Europe could reduce its dependence on Russian energy faster than previously expected.

"it is possible and feasible to diversify relatively quickly, in a shorter time than we thought just a month ago," Mr Draghi said. Earlier, he reached an agreement with Algeria to increase natural gas imports.

"We have natural gas in stock and will get new gas from other sources," Mr Draghi said, adding that the impact of "restrictive measures" would be mild. "basically, the heating temperature is reduced by 1-2 degrees, and the air conditioner is also adjusted similarly. "

In his first interview with the newspaper since taking office in February 2021, Mr Draghi said Italy's proposal to limit the price of natural gas used for power generation was gaining "growing consensus" in other European countries in order to reduce its dependence on Russia.