Fossil Fuels

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.

Oil’s latest boost has longer-term thrust

25 Nov 2020

Multiple Covid-19 vaccines have lifted crude prices to March levels on hopes of an economic recovery. Producers may now pump like crazy, but renewed declines look less likely. Meanwhile, Big Oil’s virus-driven cuts to new supply should prop up prices further down the line.

Aramco’s mighty value reflects mini investor base

3 Nov 2020

Shares in the $1.8 trln Saudi oil giant are flat since January, while those of western rivals like BP have halved. Aramco’s solid and more-secure dividend explains some of the difference. But a tiny free float comprised of investors who are less likely to sell helps, too.

BP’s investment case falls between two stools

27 Oct 2020

The $54 bln oil major’s shares have sunk further than peers in recent months. Boss Bernard Looney won’t mind if his renewable energy shift leads oil bulls to prefer Exxon Mobil. He might get more bothered if investors find rival Total’s green transition more compelling.

Aramco pipeline spinoff plan is born of necessity

14 Oct 2020

The $1.9 trln oil giant is echoing Abu Dhabi-based peer ADNOC by discussing a part-sale of its distribution network with BlackRock and others. Aramco’s foreign investors’ dividend is safe. But financing state payouts and other activities requires the $10 bln it could raise.

Corona Capital: Oil, Delta, Hunger

13 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: OPEC and the International Energy Agency issue forecasts that bode ill for crude demand; the U.S. airline steers through turbulence; and a food crisis is exacerbating problems facing the most vulnerable in society.

Big Oil’s green rush needn’t inflate a big bubble

6 Oct 2020

Total has joined BP in promising more investment in renewable energy. The risk is that deep-pocketed interlopers push up prices of wind farms and solar parks, eroding returns. Luckily for transitioning oil majors, the scale of new capacity needed to replace fossil fuels is vast.

North Sea drillers find mutually acceptable Plan B

6 Oct 2020

Private equity-owned Chrysaor and listed Premier Oil are uniting in a $7 bln merger. Ideally, the former would have gone public via an IPO, not a reverse takeover, and the latter’s creditors would have avoided a haircut. But the oil price rout left both with second-best choices.

Utility mega-deal may create wrong kind of sparks

30 Sep 2020

NextEra’s tilt at rival Duke could create a $200 bln giant, spanning clean-energy generation and lighting homes across the American south. NextEra’s juiced-up shares give it a currency. But the need to please watchdogs suggests a deal has to be harmonious, and probably expensive.

Corona Capital: NYC

30 Sep 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: New York City’s economic reboot comes up against a new outbreak.

China’s green goal could lead to a virtuous circle

29 Sep 2020

Beijing’s pledge to decarbonise before 2060 requires major electrification using renewable energy. The catch is that key parts of that strategy, like hydrogen power, remain too pricey. Yet if political focus helps make them cheaper, the benefits will not just be felt in China.

Corona Capital: Shale merger, Logistics startup

28 Sep 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Two Permian Basin oil drillers agree to merge to share their coronavirus demand-shock woes; and delivery upstart ShipBob gets some SoftBank cash to help it compete with Amazon.

BP limbers up for green transition high-wire act

14 Sep 2020

The UK group is the first oil major to pivot to wind and solar in a big way. To fund the shift, CEO Bernard Looney has cut the dividend and assumes higher oil prices. Even then, investors face years of relatively spartan payouts, and uncertain returns from green investments.

BHP selfishly brushes up green credentials

18 Aug 2020

Surging iron ore sales cushioned declines in other commodities as annual earnings fell 4% to $9 bln. Boss Mike Henry plans to ditch some high-polluting energy assets, albeit for economic, not environmental, motives. Regardless, a cleaner portfolio makes business sense.