Energy

Capital Calls: HSBC, MRNA scramble, Cable project

18 Jun 2021

Concise views on global finance: The UK bank’s France sale disappoints; Danaher snaps up Moderna supplier for $9.6 bln; geopolitics sinks internet cable.

Green megalomania renews $80 bln Congo hydro dream

18 Jun 2021

Aussie mining magnate Andrew Forrest is behind a fresh push to turn the African river’s vast power into energy. Dam-building is a fool’s errand, though, and his Fortescue’s plan to produce hydrogen for export may not stack up financially. Less bombastic alternatives are better.

Capital Calls: Corporate America blowback

15 Jun 2021

Concise views on global finance: An investor lawsuit against Trump-era rules on shareholders' proposals is the latest sign of the tables turning.

Capital Calls: U.S. malls are a tale of two REITs

14 Jun 2021

Concise views on global finance: Shopping center operator Washington Prime filed for bankruptcy protection, but the outlook is a bit rosier for premium mall owners.

Shell’s U.S. rethink betrays lack of wiggle room

14 Jun 2021

The Anglo-Dutch driller may sell assets worth $10 bln in Texas. Not so long ago the U.S. Permian Basin was a key oil major growth area, but now Shell is under pressure to cut emissions. Restricting carbon while earning a financial return is increasingly determining strategy.

Greener Acciona comes with stiff family discount

11 Jun 2021

The $9 bln Spanish group’s valuation is yet to reflect the potential uplift from spinning off its renewables unit. That may be because the clan that owns Acciona will also control the new entity. Even so, investors may warm to the fact it could be worth more than its parent.

Capital Calls: Biden’s Big Corn battle

11 Jun 2021

Concise views on global finance: The U.S. president is caught between oil refiners and farmers in biofuel mandate.

Big Smoke offers Big Oil tips to avoid dodo status

9 Jun 2021

Fat dividends supported tobacco shares even as regulators focused on health risks. The outperformance of Philip Morris suggests investors like speedy pivots. Better still, hydrocarbon producers’ switch to green energy looks an easier ESG sell than tobacco substitutes.

Danish hydrogen adds hygge to market green malaise

7 Jun 2021

Green Hydrogen Systems is planning a Copenhagen float that will value the electrolyser maker at $500 mln. Of late, pulled IPOs reflect investor scepticism about so-so renewable energy listings. The green gas’s key role in cutting EU carbon emissions may make this a comfier fit.

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.

Jay Powell’s oil price bet counts on green inertia

3 Jun 2021

The Fed boss and his peers expect rebounding energy costs will only temporarily lift inflation. But if Western oil majors cut capex to please investors, crude could grow more expensive in coming years. Rate-setters are implicitly banking on a more gradual eco-friendly shift.

Capital Calls: AMC craziness, Pro lacrosse

2 Jun 2021

Concise views on global finance: The movie-theater chain raised $230 million from a hedge fund, which promptly sold the shares at a profit; New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Alibaba's Joe Tsai are betting on the latest U.S. effort to professionalize the preppy sport.

The Exchange: Steering Europe’s green transition

1 Jun 2021

Frans Timmermans has a key leadership role in the European Union’s quest to reduce its 2030 emissions by 55% compared to 1990 levels. Ahead of a major set of green policy updates next month, he talks to George Hay about both these and November’s COP26 conference.

Pandora adds green polish to its lab-diamond bet

28 May 2021

The $13 bln Danish trinket maker is switching to all synthetic stones, a move driven more by profit than sustainability. Man-made rocks can be 90% cheaper than natural ones, putting them in Pandora’s mass-market ambit. The reduced carbon footprint adds some millennial sparkle.

Oil giants’ setbacks turn BP from tortoise to hare

27 May 2021

Investors were initially sceptical about the UK major cutting fossil fuels, preferring the fuzzier plans of its U.S. and European rivals. Shell’s legal defeat and an investor revolt at Exxon Mobil change the game. Clarity on cutting emissions will increasingly support valuations.

Dutch court hands Shell chairman shakeup stick

26 May 2021

A Hague judge has told the oil giant to toughen up its targets for cutting carbon emissions. Besides appealing, Shell could try to dodge the ruling by moving its headquarters. Alternatively, new chair Andrew Mackenzie could shunt the group in the direction of rivals BP and Total.

North Sea oil IPOs had best take the plunge soon

24 May 2021

Ex-Centrica boss Sam Laidlaw is mulling a float that may see his Neptune Energy group valued at $10 bln. Equity markets are skittish and rival driller Wintershall Dea also wants to list. But question marks over gas demand make it riskier for owners CVC, Carlyle and CIC to wait.

Capital Calls: “Friends” reunion, SPACs in D.C.

24 May 2021

Concise views on global finance: AT&T's HBO Max is streaming a delayed 25-year reunion of the popular sitcom cast just as the company ditches its media assets; busybody U.S. Congress is taking a hands-off approach to blank-check firms.

Bursting gas bubble leaves hierarchy of pain

21 May 2021

Until recently, the hydrocarbon seemed a vital bridge from coal to wind and solar. Yet the International Energy Agency now says output must peak by 2025. Gas bulls from European oil majors to producer-states like Qatar all lose out. But some will suffer more than others.

Rusal’s upside from clean break only goes so far

19 May 2021

The $6 bln aluminium maker’s plan to demerge carbon-heavy assets could unlock value if ESG-focused investors value the other parts more highly. But the greener entity will still have 28% of polluter Norilsk Nickel and the risk of U.S. sanctions snapback. That might cap any gains.