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After what we all experienced one of the longest years ever, 2020 is behind us. We all look forward to doing the things in 2021 that we did not have the opportunity to do during the pandemic. COVID restrictions are lifting in many states, many Americans are getting vaccinated, allowing us to start to live our normal lives as we once knew. Sunshine is on the rise!

Over the past few days, we have been seeing a lot of Red next to ticker symbols throughout the NYSE but that is not the case for oil and gas futures. Yesterday on 3/4/21, Oil futures rallied with their highest finish since 2019 caused by talks of rolling over current production cuts to the end of April. OPEC+ also approved a continuation of production levels of March for the Month of April.

As new variants of COVID-19 emerge, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been given the green light by the U.S. FDA for emergency use. This will be the first single shot vaccine released to fight COVID-19. As early as Tuesday morning, 3.9 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be distributed to states, tribes, territories, pharmacies, and community health centers. While the vaccine will be limited at first, Johnson & Johnson expects to increase production within the coming months. By the end of March, we should see an additional 16 million doses distributed. The company is committed to delivering 100 million doses by June and “up to a billion” by the end of 2021. Since their vaccine is one dose that will equate to as many people being treated as vaccinations.

Following a brutal year for their balance sheets, the world’s biggest oil companies are anticipating a windfall of cash flow this year. Prices have rallied significantly over the past month or so, and the massive cost-cutting from last year positions some of the biggest International Oil Companies (IOCs) to reap the benefits of high crude prices.