Coal

Coal’s end will come sooner than Glasgow suggests

5 Nov 2021

Agreements struck at the COP26 summit point to the fossil fuel being a major carbon dioxide source for 20 years or more. But even after a recent rally, the valuations of specialist miners like Peabody and Whitehaven imply the mineral will be around for nowhere near as long.

Glencore CEO’s top M&A pick is Glencore

15 Oct 2021

With a strategy set under predecessor Ivan Glasenberg, new boss Gary Nagle has few ways to make his mark. Record coal and copper prices and unique cobalt assets mean his own shares look cheap. He could buy them back, but a more striking gambit would be a full sale to Rio or BHP.

Green transition needs a wider focus than oil cuts

13 Oct 2021

Fossil fuel investment has fallen to levels that would limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the IEA says. Yet measures to hike green energy and curb demand are just as important, and lagging. Unless states act, high energy prices risk becoming an ongoing headache.

China’s power woes herald green transition strains

30 Sep 2021

Surging coal prices are largely to blame for shortages hitting factories and homes. Boosting fossil fuel imports may help but it jeopardises carbon-neutrality goals. It’s better to bear the pain now from resetting rates and weaning industrial polluters off cheap electricity.

Wanted: Exxon-like activism at top Aussie polluter

23 Sep 2021

AGL’s investors have warned the $2.6 bln energy giant to up its game on climate change. Poor strategy, including a bungled coal spinoff, has halved its market value in 2021. An activist-led shakeup of its underwhelming board, as at the U.S. driller, would bring needed change.

Capital Calls: Zoom glitches, Pret A Manger pivots

21 Sep 2021

Concise views on global finance: The video-conference company’s $13.6 bln deal with call-center software firm Five9 could slip away, and that’s no bad thing; the sandwich-to-coffee chain’s 100-million-pound post-pandemic overhaul is a punt on an untested formula.

South Africa is litmus test for climate solidarity

15 Sep 2021

Despite its relatively small size, the Rainbow Nation’s economy is a big CO2 emitter. Yet Pretoria can ill afford a switch from coal due to soaring public debt. A $10 bln aid plan could be the answer, if lenders can close their eyes to the financial and political risks.

RWE makes for a good coal wind-down guinea pig

10 Sep 2021

The 22 bln euro German utility’s new activist wants it to ditch carbon-intensive lignite assets faster. If the government wants to hit tougher CO2 emissions targets, RWE will have to. The least-bad way forward may be for Berlin to assume the offending power plants itself.

Coal bad bank fund dangles complex climate kudos

5 Aug 2021

The ADB and the UK’s Prudential could buy Asian power plants fuelled by the pollutant, close them early and foster green energy. Bragging rights from cutting carbon should bag the needed cash. But investors will have to accept the risks and the iffy optics of profiting from coal.

Glencore can live with a faster coal phase-out

5 Aug 2021

The commodity giant is enjoying soaring prices of everything from copper to coal. New plans to help Asian states shutter coal earlier are a potential cloud. But they could also lead to price-boosting supply deficits, and anyway, Glencore’s metals will fuel the green transition.

Cox: Saudi may have a super-green future after all

5 Aug 2021

At a recent G20 summit, the kingdom didn’t just align with U.S. and European climate crusaders. Its delegates even tried to break an impasse with India on coal. It’s a sign of how confident Saudi has become in its ability to manage, and profit from, the energy transition.

Climate bad bank concept has ideal test case

29 Jun 2021

Rising prices may help BHP offload more fossilised assets. A better option for mining boss Mike Henry would be to shovel them into a bad bank of sorts, using cashflows to cut carbon while winding down the units. That would help win over ESG investors and set a replicable example.

Capital Calls: Genetic gold rush

28 Jun 2021

Concise views on global finance: A company has shown biotechnology called CRISPR can precisely edit defective genes in humans, fueling investment and squabbles.

Anglo spinoff points to darker future for coal

7 Jun 2021

The mining giant’s thermal coal unit, Thungela, was valued at just $250 mln on its market debut. That’s a third of the EBITDA its South African mines may earn this year. It’s a stark reminder of the black stuff’s rapidly declining worth, and of public investors’ aversion to it.

Anglo American tests shareholders’ ESG bona fides

8 Apr 2021

The miner is giving investors one share in its spun-off thermal coal unit for every 10 already held. The commodity’s kryptonite status means many European institutions will want to get rid of them for the same reason as Anglo. But rising coal prices may turn some heads.

Aussies find promising mine to bury coal in

11 Mar 2021

The country’s dirtiest power plant will close early after an agreement between owner EnergyAustralia and the Victorian government. The deal will cut emissions, foster renewables and help displaced workers. It could be a blueprint for others, if the finances weren’t so opaque.

Coal India is in the pits of climate activism

16 Feb 2021

The commodity’s top pure-play miner is setting up renewable-energy units and looking for partners. It’s a hedge against coal’s decline and a modest bet on a hot field. But it has potential to boost lousy returns at the $11 bln company that’s key to the country’s power needs.

Anglo takes quick, dirty route to greener pastures

8 Feb 2021

The miner may dump its African coal unit, worth maybe $1 bln. A spinoff could add six times that sum to the $45 bln group’s value by luring eco-conscious investors. Yet it doesn’t cut global emissions, and Anglo American’s iron ore assets may soon feel the environmental heat.

The Biden portfolio is mainly the Trump portfolio

29 Oct 2020

It might matter for mini sectors, like solar power and cannabis, who wins next week’s U.S. presidential election. But as Trump’s impact on coal shows, it’s not that predictable. Instead the Fed, stimulus, taxes and the post-Covid economy are cause for an asset-allocation rethink.

Corona Capital: Drug hoarding, Vacation-free world

1 Jul 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Stockpiling of Covid-19 treatment remdesivir may come back to haunt the Trump administration, while a forecast of $3.3 trillion in lost tourism is more than an inconvenience for some national economies.