Fossil Fuels

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.

BlackRock’s green activism fires on some cylinders

2 Jun 2021

The $9 trln asset manager voted with a hedge fund against Exxon Mobil and for tougher emissions targets at Chevron. That’s progress. Still, its voting record with other oil majors like Royal Dutch Shell suggests it sometimes gives polluters a pat rather than the required shove.

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.

Total is least-bad pick for confused oil investors

29 Apr 2021

First-quarter results show the French group and rivals BP and Royal Dutch Shell rebounding from last year’s woes. Yet BP’s turn to wind and solar may be too sharp and Shell’s too relaxed. For now, Total’s balanced green ambition and fat dividend look more appealing.

Aramco’s mystery sale saga follows familiar plot

28 Apr 2021

The Saudi oil giant is in talks to sell a 1% stake to a “leading global energy company”, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman says. As with previous puzzles over international IPO venues, there are plenty of potential candidates. And as with those, it’s possible nothing happens.

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.

Aramco’s next share offer is just as hard a sell

22 Mar 2021

The $1.9 trln Saudi oil giant’s annual results showed Covid-19 scars. If Riyadh sells more shares, Aramco’s low costs and spare capacity may be appealing to non-Saudi investors that largely sat out its 2019 IPO. But many environmental, social and governance red flags remain.

South Africa enters greener bond-market crosshairs

11 Mar 2021

With 90% of its power coming from coal, the Rainbow Nation is one of the worst CO2 emitters. Mining’s political heft also means foot-dragging on climate policy. With big external funding needs, the kick from bond investors when they flick the green switch will hurt hardest.

Oil price supercycle could be super short

8 Mar 2021

Crude spiked above $70 a barrel, regaining pre-virus levels. It could climb even higher given OPEC is holding back supply and global policymakers are stimulating economies. But if lofty prices encourage production by those outside the cartel, they may not last that long.

Market jitters make energy IPOs suddenly look good

4 Mar 2021

Wintershall Dea is preparing to list. Fears over higher borrowing costs make cash-generative oil and gas companies look relatively attractive compared to the high growth stocks investors have been dumping this year. Stabilising crude prices could make for an even sweeter spot.

Capital Calls: Exxon, Greensill, Research SPAC

2 Mar 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: U.S. securities regulators take on the oil giant; Investors in even lower-risk funds get nervy about the supply chain finance provider; And a supplier of picks and shovels to the online trading boom gets a blank-check listing.

Capital Calls: Bubble alert

16 Feb 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Bitcoin burst through $50,000, and global fund managers are maximum bullish on the pace of the recovery from the pandemic.

Shell’s new plan tests investors’ green resolve

11 Feb 2021

The Anglo-Dutch group’s decarbonisation strategy will see it stay big in oil longer than BP. European investors now have a choice between Shell’s walking pace and its rival’s handbrake turn into wind and solar. It could become a gauge of how seriously investors take green issues.

Capital Calls: KKR, the investment bank

9 Feb 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: The private equity firm run by Henry Kravis is building a useful capital-markets business, with almost half its deals last year for outside clients.

Total’s Indian green energy splurge has two hedges

18 Jan 2021

The French giant is upping its exposure to renewable power by buying 20% of Adani Green Energy. The $2.5 bln price tag is well below the target’s market value. Teaming up with tycoon Gautam Adani may also help avoid problems suffered by other Western energy groups in India.

Corona Capital: Vaccine dibs

21 Dec 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Vaccine prioritization is about to get competitive.

Corona Capital: Bitcoin, Lonely Planet

1 Dec 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Bitcoin hit a record, buoyed by inflationary fears, new fans and plain old speculation. Meanwhile Lonely Planet has found a new owner, as it wrestles with an anything-but-lonely market for travel information.