Fossil Fuels

Capital Calls: SoftBank Arm-twisting

22 Jun 2022

Concise views on global finance: The UK government may be eyeing desperate measures to keep SoftBank-owned chip group Arm's IPO in London.

Aussie energy crisis is an embarrassment of riches

10 Jun 2022

A looming gas supply shortage and high-power prices are due to years of bad policy in a country that should be a renewables poster child. It’s a chance for new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to layout a comprehensive clean energy plan that will foster a green investment boom.

Capital Calls: China and Australian coal

7 Jun 2022

Concise views on global finance: Chinese coal miner Yankuang Energy may have to increase its offer to Yancoal Australia’s minority shareholders.

Guest view: Global hunger fight means no biofuel

6 Jun 2022

Food supplies have shifted rapidly from surplus to shortage. Sarasin’s Henry Boucher argues Western governments have a way to stop prices spiralling further. It entails prioritising food over fuel, and scrapping states’ biofuel mandates.

Global cracks complicate West’s energy transition

2 Jun 2022

Modern civilisation is built on fossil fuels. If past shifts are a guide, switching to renewable energy will take decades, says Edward Chancellor. Conflict with Russia and tensions with China make this harder. The West faces a choice between decarbonisation or deglobalisation.

Capital Calls: Inflation-proof Dr Martens, Saipem

1 Jun 2022

Concise views on global finance: The UK bootmaker’s polished results offer glimmer of hope to embattled retailers; the Italian energy-services group reassures investors with $550 mln sale of its onshore drilling unit.

Oil embargo will hurt Putin more than EU

31 May 2022

Europe will halt 75% of Russian crude imports now and 90% by year end. Replacing the lost fuel will hike EU consumers’ red-hot energy bills. Moscow can sell oil elsewhere but may still lose more than a third of its most lucrative export revenue source, hurting its war machine.

Russia fossil fuel embargo has an inexorable logic

25 May 2022

Western allies are discussing buyer-imposed caps or tariffs to shrink Russia’s oil and gas revenues. But the measures would keep money flowing to Moscow, and could trigger the abrupt end of Russian imports they are meant to delay. Better to jump straight to an embargo now.

BlackRock spikes guns of green activists

10 May 2022

Larry Fink’s group will back more oil and gas production. After COP26, institutional money looked set to phase out fossil fuels, but an energy crisis has intervened. Rivals may follow the $10 trln fund giant, propping up driller valuations and complicating the green transition.

Europe’s oil major discount grows ever more stark

5 May 2022

Exxon Mobil and Chevron trade at big premiums to Shell, BP and Total, despite all benefitting from soaring fossil fuel prices. The Americans’ slower pivot to renewable energy is one reason why. Europeans’ lucrative trading arms give cause for investors to be more generous.

HSBC breakup, Big Oil’s surprise restraint

5 May 2022

The $129 bln bank is under pressure from its largest shareholder to spin off its Asian unit. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss why the plan deserves short shrift. Also, the decision by oil giants to limit production will win few friends.

EU’s oil embargo is slave to volatile crude price

4 May 2022

The bloc wants to stop buying Russian exports within six months. That looks too slow to properly choke off funding for President Vladimir Putin’s war machine. Yet going any faster could make crude prices spike, exacerbating Europe’s battle against inflation.

Capital Calls: Airbnb

3 May 2022

Concise views on global finance: The $97 bln vacation-booking platform’s post-pandemic bounceback has beat expectations. It helps that CEO Brian Chesky quickly adapted the business, including cutting costs.

Capital Calls: Amazon and consumers

29 Apr 2022

Concise views on global finance: People are spending more amid price hikes, while the e-commerce giant struggles with them.

Africa is imperfect solution to Europe’s gas woes

28 Apr 2022

The continent’s vast reserves and growing liquefied gas supplies can cut some of the bloc’s energy dependence on Russia. Yet lack of infrastructure, domestic needs and rigid contracts limit Africa’s ability to boost exports quickly. Political instability is a further headache.

Putin’s gas shock is acid test of EU unity

27 Apr 2022

In severing Polish and Bulgarian supply, the Russian leader shattered a fragile equilibrium that had seen European energy buyers fund his war. He hopes other EU states will carry on, dividing the bloc. Instead, Europe should backstop the costly process of ditching Moscow’s fuel.

Banks enter AGM season wearing green bullseyes

25 Apr 2022

Top U.S. lenders and some European rivals face votes on their climate policies at looming annual general meetings. Banks may resist greening their loan books if that hits earnings. But even if they clear the immediate hurdle, the heat will be on to clarify their net-zero plans.

India’s Russian oil binge carries hidden costs

14 Apr 2022

New Delhi is filling its boots with Moscow’s cheap crude, just as Europe and traders like Vitol start to turn away. The aggressive ramp-up carries longer-term risks. As a keen buyer, India will find it hard to get waivers from sanctions if the West targets Russia’s energy trade.

Capital Calls: Buffett’s HP bet, Gambling M&A

7 Apr 2022

Concise views on global finance: Berkshire Hathaway takes a hefty stake in the computer and printer maker; Betting group 888 negotiates a better price for buying UK bookie William Hill.

Hydrogen’s civil war reveals its winner

31 Mar 2022

The element has a big role in beating climate change. But fans of natural gas-based “blue” hydrogen and its zero-carbon “green” cousin are constantly vying for supremacy. Soaring fossil-fuel prices and energy supply fears after Russia’s Ukraine invasion are handing green victory.