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.
Corona Capital: Bank fears, Payments M&A, Coal 2 Jun 2020 Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: A new U.S. regulator wants cities to reopen to prevent bank robberies. Western Union may bid for struggling rival MoneyGram. And the pandemic is hastening the decline of U.S. coal.
Glencore split could spring-clean dusty valuation 18 Feb 2020 The commodity giant’s coal operations dragged in 2019. Spinning them off into a separate entity would underline the low-carbon potential of the copper and cobalt assets left behind. That could leave billionaire CEO Ivan Glasenberg with a more valuable overall cake.
Siemens CEO’s climate blog sends semi-woke signal 13 Jan 2020 Joe Kaeser has admitted the 98 bln euro German engineer should not be working on Australia’s Adani coal mine, but cannot pull out. Creating a panel to vet deals for their greenness, and possibly nix them, is partial penance. The CEO’s public disapproval may be a better deterrent.