China's government is attempting to push back on commodities inflation, starting with iron ore prices, where, according to the communist government's National Development and Reform Commission, there is rampant speculation driving prices. Thomas Hale reports for the Financial Times: The price of steelmaking ingredient iron ore fell sharply after China signalled it would focus on efforts to cool soaring prices, warning of “excessive speculation” as concerns grow over rising inflation. The National Development and Reform Commission, China’s economic planning agency, said on Monday it would … [Read more...]
Lumber Prices Are Soaring, Should the Fed Be Afraid?
Lumber prices are breaking records. First position Spruce-Pine-Fir futures are trading at over $1500/metric ton. Perhaps the most frightening aspect of the spike in lumber prices is that builders have been able to pass them on to customers. The Fed should be very worried about the rapid rise in prices going directly to consumers. The central bank's policy of low interest rates for longer could buckle under the pressure if inflation heats up faster than expected. Ryan Dezember reports in The Wall Street Journal: The Fed last week recommitted to near-zero interest rates, which have … [Read more...]
Reports of Oil’s Death Greatly Exaggerated
The drop in oil consumption resulting from the pandemic-caused drop in demand generated crowds of analysts happy to report the death of the oil industry. Those reports, just like those of Mark Twain's death in 1897, were greatly exaggerated. Exxon and Chevron are reporting surging profits. The FT's Justin Jacobs and Derek Brower report: ExxonMobil and Chevron surged back to profit in the first quarter as the crude price rally helped repair Big Oil’s finances after the huge pandemic-induced losses of 2020. Exxon reported net earnings of $2.7bn, up from a loss of $610m a year earlier and a … [Read more...]
One Word Explains the Worth of Your Neighbors’ House
In my conversations with you, you’re telling me home prices are crazy. It really doesn’t matter where you live. Take, for example, a realtor and prospective client I was talking with yesterday. He operates in the mountain west and said he has tons of buyers, just no homes to sell. No supply. And that’s residential real estate today in a nutshell—supply. On a recent trip to Key West, we talked with a realtor getting ready to show a house as we were walking by. Curious, we asked if we could take a quick look. This tastefully done home was a perfect, cozy, old town Key West conch retreat. The … [Read more...]
Which Fossil Fuel Wins in a Shift to Renewables?
Many countries are moving toward more renewable sources of energy. According to BP, in one of their more optimistic scenarios, renewable energy could supply almost half of the world’s energy by 2050. That is still a long way away, but long-term investors should start thinking about the potential winners and losers now. The losers in a shift to renewables are likely to be fossil fuels. What defines a loser? We are defining it here as a fuel that will lose market share. The biggest loser among fossil fuels is likely to be coal. Oil is also likely to see a significant loss of market … [Read more...]
Is Oil Headed Back to $100 per Barrel?
With all the focus on green and renewable energy, one might think that the oil and gas business is finished. It’s possible demand will peak within the next couple of decades, but don’t forget it is supply and demand that set the price. Every year without additional investment, the world's oil supply falls by millions of barrels a day. Oil demand collapsed in 2020, but so did investment which will limit supply in the near-to-medium-term. Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan are forecasting a surge in oil prices. The FT reports: The most bullish forecast has international crude prices staging a … [Read more...]
Texas Needs More Coal, and More Nuclear
The winter weather hitting Texas this year has shown that the "transition" energy combination of renewables and gas has flaws. The Wall Street Journal writes: Texas has about 30,000 MW of wind capacity, but winds aren’t constant or predictable. Winds this past month have generated between about 600 and 22,500 MW. Regulators don’t count on wind to provide much more than 10% or so of the grid’s total capacity since they can’t command turbines to increase power like they can coal and gas plants. Wind turbines at times this month have generated more than half of the Texas power generation, … [Read more...]
Texas Commissioner: ESG “Concern About Emissions Will Do More Harm Than Good”
Wayne Christian, a Texas Railroad Commissioner, is sounding the alarm over ESG investment trends that he says could put American oil companies out of business, and leave the world buying oil from companies in countries with the worst environmental practices. Michael Tobin reports for Bloomberg: A commissioner for Texas’s powerful energy regulator said the newfound popularity of ESG investing could result in record industry bankruptcies and the loss of millions of jobs while doing little to help the environment. Republican Wayne Christian, who sits on the three-person Texas Railroad … [Read more...]
Scientists Claim to Have Broken the Code on Solid State Lithium Batteries
Scientists working for QuantumScape claim to have found a breakthrough in lithium battery technology. WIRED reports: IF ELECTRIC VEHICLES are ever going to fully supplant gas guzzlers on the world’s roads, they’re going to need an entirely new type of battery. Despite steady improvements over the past decade in the energy density and lifetimes of lithium-ion batteries, the cells in new EVs still lag behind internal combustion engines on pretty much every performance metric. Most EVs have a range of less than 300 miles, it takes more than an hour to recharge their battery packs, the cells lose … [Read more...]
This Lithium Battery Start-up is Growing Fast
In Barron's, Al Root reports on QuantumScape, a lithium battery start-up that has helped push the industry's valuation to new highs. He writes: The lithium-battery industry is now more valuable than Exxon Mobil, which pioneered the technology back in the 1970s. The valuation of QuantumScape (ticker: QS) pushed the battery makers over the top. Its stock is up more than 300% over the past three months, valuing the start-up maker of solid-state electric-vehicle batteries at more than $30 billion. Exxon (XOM) stock has staged a comeback from earlier in the year, with a gain of about 12% … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- …
- 39
- Next Page »