A recent auction of oil drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico was met with yawns by the oil drilling industry. Only 1% of the land on offer was bid on, and the average paid was $153 per acre. That's very low. Timothy Puko reports for The Wall Street Journal: The tepid response shows just how difficult it is for the administration to fulfill its promise of helping the energy industry grow at a time of abundant supplies. A boom in shale drilling has helped set the country on course to become the world’s largest oil producer, but it has also sunk prices and lured drillers away from higher-cost … [Read more...]
Archives for March 2018
World’s Largest Fund Manager Bets Big on Algorithms
BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, is making a big bet on quantitative investing. BlackRock’s quant group has shown strong results, so Larry Fink, the firm’s CEO, wants to double down on the group. That may sound like a good idea, but when you are the world’s biggest asset manager, and you start shifting hundreds of billions, if not trillions, into quantitative strategies, don’t the profits start to erode? Indeed they do. The FT has more. With increasingly efficient markets and an arms race between traditional and quantitative investors to be the first to spot even transitory … [Read more...]
How Many “Retirees” Will Keep Working?: Part II
Of Americans aged 50 and over who are still working, 31% haven't even prepared a retirement budget. Of that same group 73% prepare to delay retirement according to a survey performed by the NHP Foundation. Many of the people in this group, encompassing many Baby Boomers but also some older Gen-Xers, are wishful thinking. Lee Barney writes for Plan Adviser: Thirty-one percent haven’t prepared a retirement budget. Among those that have tried to figure out a retirement budget, 62% say that Social Security will comprise half or more of their monthly income. Sixty-five percent have not budgeted … [Read more...]
The Race for the World’s Lithium
With demand for lithium ion batteries for cars, phones, grid storage and more growing each day, there is a race on to secure the world's supplies of lithium. That race is becoming a battle in Chile, where regulators are unsure about whether or not to give a Chinese state-backed firm the go ahead to buy a major stake in SQM, a Chilean lithium miner. Reuters reports: The National Economic Prosecutor’s office, known by its Spanish initials FNE, is set to review the sale by Canada’s Nutrien Ltd of a 32 percent stake in Santiago-based SQM for more than $4 billion to Chinese bidder Tianqi … [Read more...]
How Many “Retirees” Will Keep Working?
The Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) reports that 79% of workers expect to keep working to supplement their retirement incomes. That's a plan for those who haven't saved enough to enjoy their golden years. But what happens if you can't work in retirement? At the Washington Post, Michelle Singletary explains what happens when retirees who expected to work more, simply can't. Yes, more seniors are staying in the workforce past 65 and happily so. But many others are finding themselves in a retirement quandary. They thought they had more time, but the reality is they are forced to … [Read more...]
UPS: The Beginning of the End of the Internal Combustion Engine
Soon the entire fleet of UPS trucks traveling in London, England will be powered solely by electricity. The company says this is the beginning of the end of its reliance on the internal combustion engine. UPS has said new charging technology has enabled it go ahead with plans to more than triple the number of electric vehicles it runs in London over the next few years, to 170. Camilla Hodgson reports in the FT: “We certainly believe this to be groundbreaking,” said Peter Harris, director of sustainability at UPS Europe. The development will herald “a new generation of sustainable urban … [Read more...]
Scientists Could Soon Make a Breakthrough in Battery Tech
The Wall Street Journal's Chistopher Mims writes that scientist working on enhancing battery technology could make a breakthrough that would increase capacity by double digit percentages. Predictions like these come often. Fusion power has been "just 10 years away" for 50 years. And battery technology has been about to make a giant leap forward for some time now. The most encouraging part of Mims' prediction is that this time, many researchers are working on battery technology, and they have a lot of money behind their efforts. Mims writes: The next wave of batteries, long in the … [Read more...]
Is Amazon Holding Down Retail Prices?
After years of encouragement by the Federal Reserve, inflation is finally ticking up in America. Now, if you believe your dollars ought to be worth as much when you spend them as when you earn them, this is not ideal. But that's a story for a different post. One place where inflation is not rising is in retail. I've been explaining my Bezos Law theory for a few years now. In it I say that any industry Jeff Bezos enter sees prices decline. No industry has been further consumed by Bezos than retail. Amazon.com has come to dominate e-commerce, and that is having effects in the world of brick … [Read more...]
UK-EU Brexit Breakthrough
It appears negotiators have made a breakthrough in the ongoing discussions over how Brexit will unfold. Alex Barker and Mehreen Khan report for the FT: “We were able to agree this morning…on a large part of what will make up an international agreement for the ordered withdrawal of the UK,” said Mr Barnier. Under the time limited period, the UK will have to abide by all existing EU rules but will lose its say in the decision-making process. The negotiators published a colour-coded draft text of Britain’s withdrawal agreement, showing areas of agreement and dispute. The two most difficult … [Read more...]
Can Tesla Deliver on its Model 3 Promises?
Tesla is burning money fast, but the company is having trouble meeting its goals for production of Model 3 sedans. Tim Higgins and Susan Pulliam report in The Wall Street Journal that Tesla must increase its production numbers to 5,000/per week by June, or suffer severe financial consequences. They write: In April, Tesla will reveal whether it is on track to meet an ambitious second-quarter targetof producing 5,000 Model 3s a week—a goal that it already twice delayed. The Model 3 is Tesla’s mainstream electric-car offering, priced more affordably than Tesla’s luxury models, and a key part of … [Read more...]
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