How Europe Can Regain Its Role As A Clean Energy Leader

Governments and institutions around the globe are seeking immediate fixes and long-term solutions to the ongoing energy crisis, exacerbated by the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Mainland China, already in pole position in terms of access to critical raw materials (CRM) and processing, is relaxing regulations to encourage energy-intensive companies to relocate, while the Inflation Reduction Act in the US at the end of last year offered simple tax breaks enticing companies to set up shop in the country. Amid a push to retain its lead in…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/How-Europe-Can-Regain-Its-Role-As-A-Clean-Energy-Leader.html

Russia’s Budget Deficit Jumps Amid Plunging Oil Revenues

Russia’s budget was $24.7 billion (1.76 trillion rubles) into deficit in January, compared to a surplus for January 2022, as state revenues from oil and gas plunged by 46.4% due to the low price of Urals and lower natural gas exports, the Russian Finance Ministry said in preliminary estimates. Total budget revenues slumped by 35% last month compared to the same month of 2022, while overall budget expenditures jumped by 58.7% year-on-year in January, the ministry’s data showed.   Russia’s non-oil and gas revenues also dropped,…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Russias-Budget-Deficit-Jumps-Amid-Plunging-Oil-Revenues.html

UK Energy Crunch Concerns Ease As National Grid Tells Coal Plants To Stand Down

National Grid stood down its order for two coal power plant units to be warmed up yesterday evening, easing concerns of a supply crunch this week following frosty weather last weekend and a drop in wind power generation. This was the fourth time National Grid’s electricity system operator (NGESO) has turned to coal in the face of pressure on operating margins this winter before later standing down the order. The two coal units placed on standby were EDF’s West Burton A plant and Uniper’s Ratcliffe-on-Soar plant, both in…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/UK-Energy-Crunch-Concerns-Ease-As-National-Grid-Tells-Coal-Plants-To-Stand-Down.html

Green Steel Startup Secures $130 Million Series C Funding

Via AG Metal Miner The Renewables MMI (Monthly MetalMiner Index) traded sideways in January, dropping a mere 1.28%. A significant drop in grain-oriented electrical steel had the largest impact on the index month-over-month. Other parts of the index, particularly steel forms, managed to hold up better, trading sideways or rising slightly. Overall, the world continues to push for renewable resources regardless of their availability. Unfortunately, silicon and cobalt didn’t hold quite as well as steel, bringing the index down along with GOES.…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Metals/Commodities/Green-Steel-Startup-Secures-130-Million-Series-C-Funding.html

Energy, Metals Investments To Boom In 2023

Increased efforts to accelerate the energy transition and ensure energy security are driving a new upcycle in investment in the supply of oil, natural gas, renewable power generation, and metals critical to electrification.  Total investment in supply is set to hit an eight-year high in 2023 as demand for oil and gas rises in the post-Covid rebound and as the energy transition continues to gather momentum, according to estimates from Wood Mackenzie.  We have not reached the boom time, yet, but some metals key to the energy transition…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Energy-Metals-Investments-To-Boom-In-2023.html

Crude Oil Bounces Back As Earthquake In Turkey Creates Supply Concerns

Oil prices are on the rise, with WTI and Brent benchmarks both up around 3% on Tuesday following the devastating earthquake in Turkey. By 12:17 pm ET, WTI had risen $2.54 to $76.55 per barrel—a 3.43% rise on the day. The Brent benchmark was trading up $2.31 per barrel, to $83.30—a 2.85% climb. China’s reopening progress is also pressuring prices upward as the market eyes a demand boost from its zero-Covid transition. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has lifted the price of its flagship crude oil for Asian buyers, signaling that OPEC’s…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Crude-Oil-Bounces-Back-As-Earthquake-In-Turkey-Creates-Supply-Concerns.html

Ford Faces Growing Pains As It Expands Into The EV Market

Ford Motor Co has yet to announce mass layoffs like the ones that have plagued the tech industry in recent months. The latest sign the Detroit automaker might reduce headcount in the near term is from the CEO himself, according to Bloomberg.  “It takes us 25% more engineers to do the same work statements as our competitors,” CEO Jim Farley said on SiriusXM radio’s “Cars & Culture with Jason Stein,” which will air on Feb. 10.  Farley continued: “I can’t afford to be 25% less efficient.” Last week, during Ford’s earnings call, Farley…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Ford-Faces-Growing-Pains-As-It-Expands-Into-The-EV-Market.html

Russia And India Boost Energy Ties

The top executives at the largest Russian energy firms are attending the India Energy Week summit this week, signaling that Russia and India are bolstering their energy ties now that India is a top customer of Russian oil. Before the invasion of Ukraine, India was a small marginal buyer of Russian crude oil. After Western buyers started shunning crude from Russia, India became a top destination for Russian oil exports alongside China. Russia is now the single-biggest oil supplier to India, having overtaken Iraq in November.   India’s…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Russia-And-India-Boost-Energy-Ties.html

French Strikes Halt Fuel Shipments From Refineries And A Fuel Depot

A nationwide strike in France over a proposed pension reform interrupted on Tuesday the shipment of fuels from refineries and a fuel depot of TotalEnergies, the French supermajor told Reuters. Workers and employees in various sectors, including the energy sector, civil servants, and teachers, have been staging strikes for weeks to protest against President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the retirement age.   Workers at the oil refineries at Donges and Feyzin, operated by TotalEnergies, are on strike today, a representative of the Force…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/French-Strikes-Halt-Fuel-Shipments-From-Refineries-And-A-Fuel-Depot.html

BP Pivots On Climate Promises

BP has scaled back its climate ambitions, easing plans to slash the amount of oil and gas it produces over the current decade to meet global demand. The energy giant had previously promised its emissions would be 35-40 percent lower by the end of this decade. It is now targeting a 20-30 percent cut and plans a greater production of oil and gas over the next seven years compared with previous targets. This is a definitive pivot in policy from BP, which was one of the first fossil fuel producers to commit to net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/BP-Pivots-On-Climate-Promises.html

Ship-To-Ship Loadings Of Urals Hit Record High As Russian Oil Heads To Asia

Loadings of Russia’s flagship Urals crude using ship-to-ship (STS) transfers in the Mediterranean surged eight times in January from December to a record in the first full month in which the EU banned seaborne imports of Russian oil. STS loadings, used by traders to move the crude from smaller tankers onto larger ones to make the journey to Asia profitable, have soared since the EU ban came into effect on December 5, according to data from Refinitiv Eikon cited by Reuters on Tuesday. The key STS loading points in the Mediterranean are near…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Ship-To-Ship-Loadings-Of-Urals-Hit-Record-High-As-Russian-Oil-Heads-To-Asia.html

Oil Prices Climb Despite Underwhelming Chinese Demand

Despite a relatively underwhelming rebound in Chinese demand, oil prices were pushed higher at the start of this week by the embargo on Russian oil products and the earthquake in Turkey which took an oil terminal offline.Chart of the Week- The G7 price cap coalition agreed on product price caps, setting the maximum price for high-value products (diesel, gasoline, jet) at $100 per barrel and for low-value products (fuel oil, naphtha, and waste oils) at $45 per barrel.  – Vessels carrying Russian products that loaded before 5 February can still…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Oil-Prices-Climb-Despite-Underwhelming-Chinese-Demand.html

California Governor Urges Federal Inquiry Into Surging Natural Gas Prices

California’s Governor Gavin Newsom has called on the federal authorities to launch an investigation into the soaring natural gas prices in California and the rest of the Western U.S., as customers have been warned they would receive high gas utility bills. In a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the agency responsible for regulating wholesale natural gas, Governor Newsom requested that the agency “immediately focus its investigatory resources on assessing whether market manipulation, anticompetitive behavior,…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/California-Governor-Urges-Federal-Inquiry-Into-Surging-Natural-Gas-Prices.html

BP Becomes The Latest Oil Major To Report Record-Breaking Profits

BP (LON: BP) became the latest oil and gas supermajor to report record earnings for 2022, more than doubling its profit last year as oil and gas prices surged. BP reported on Tuesday an underlying replacement cost profit – its closest metric to net profit – of $27.65 billion for 2022, more than doubled from the previous year’s earnings of $12.8 billion.   The UK supermajor beat its previous earnings record – set in 2008 when oil prices hit an all-time high – and joined the other supermajors which have also reported…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/BP-Becomes-The-Latest-Oil-Major-To-Report-Record-Breaking-Profits.html

Earthquakes Cause Severe Damage To Turkey’s Energy Infrastructure

Turkey’s energy infrastructure has suffered severe damage from the two earthquakes that shook Turkey and neighbor Syria yesterday, killing more than 3,000 people, according to the country’s government. The first 7.7-magnitude quake damaged a big port on the Mediterranean, Turkey’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Donmez said, as quoted by news agencies, and later in the day, a fire broke out at the same port. Operations at the Ceyhan oil terminal were halted as a result of the quake but Turkey’s oil pipelines—Kirkuk-Ceyhan…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Earthquakes-Cause-Severe-Damage-To-Turkeys-Energy-Infrastructure.html

Fed Chair Powell says inflation is starting to ease, but interest rates still likely to rise

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell spoke Wednesday in a question-and-answer session at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/07/fed-chief-powell-says-the-the-disinflationary-process-has-begun-but-has-a-long-way-to-go.html

Dow finishes more than 250 points higher, and Nasdaq climbs 1.9% after Fed Chair Powell says inflation is declining

Investors reacted to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s comments on inflation and interest rate hikes.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/06/stock-market-futures-open-to-close-news.html

Inflation Reduction Act has spurred 100,000 new green jobs so far: Here’s where they are

The wind, solar and EV manufacturing sectors are creating the new clean energy positions, according to a report by the nonprofit Climate Power.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/07/inflation-reduction-act-which-states-have-most-new-green-jobs-so-far.html

Microsoft CEO Nadella calls AI-powered search biggest thing for company since cloud 15 years ago

Satya Nadella said AI-powered search is the biggest thing to happen to the company in the nine years he’s been CEO

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/07/microsoft-ceo-satya-nadella-calls-ai-search-biggest-thing-in-15-years.html

Goldman says these overlooked companies will play a key role in a more sustainable economy

Goldman Sachs analysts said service-oriented companies that repair, use spare parts, and refurbish items have a role to play in a more sustainable economy.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/07/goldman-says-these-overlooked-companies-play-a-key-role-in-a-sustainable-economy-.html

Zoom to lay off 1,300 employees, or about 15% of its workforce

Zoom on Tuesday announced plans to cut about 1,300 workers, or 15% of its workforce, according to a blog post shared to the company’s website.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/07/zoom-to-lay-off-1300-employees-or-about-15percent-of-its-workforce.html

New photos show the Navy recovering downed China spy balloon off U.S. coast

A Chinese spy balloon was shot down on orders of President Joe Biden, and his administration is considering other actions, Sen. Chuck Schumer said.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/07/china-spy-balloon-new-photos-show-the-us-navy-recovering-downed-aircraft-off-us-coast.html

Microsoft announces new A.I.-powered Bing homepage that you can chat with

Microsoft announced a new version of Bing search and its Edge browser that tie in with OpenAI’s GTP artificial intelligence.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/07/microsoft-open-ai-chatgpt-event-2023-live-updates.html

Ex-Coinbase manager pleads guilty to insider trading, and crypto skips Super Bowl: CNBC Crypto World

CNBC Crypto World features the latest news and daily trading updates from the digital currency markets and provides viewers with a look at what’s ahead with high-profile interviews, explainers, and unique stories from the ever-changing crypto industry. On today’s show, Charlie Shrem of The Bitcoin Foundation discusses the outlook for crypto amid bitcoin’s recent rally.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2023/02/07/insider-trading-crypto-super-bowl-cnbc-crypto-world.html

Bitcoin trades around $23,000 after Fed Chair Powell warns that rates could rise further

The cryptocurrency struggled to hold the $23,000 level in the previous session as the rally loses momentum.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/07/bitcoin-trades-around-23000-after-fed-chair-powell-warns-that-rates-could-rise-further.html

State of the Union live updates: Biden will press GOP on debt ceiling, tout economy in annual address

U.S. job growth, the war in Ukraine, domestic manufacturing, the ongoing pandemic, and America’s strategic competition with China will dominate tonight’s speech.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/07/state-of-the-union-live-updates-biden-faces-stubbornly-high-inflation-and-divided-congress-in-annual-address.html

Race to find survivors as quake aid pours into Turkey, Syria

More than 8,000 people have been pulled from the debris in Turkey alone, and some 380,000 have taken refuge in government shelters or hotels.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/06/powerful-quake-rocks-turkey-and-syria-kills-more-than-3400.html

Biden Labor Secretary Marty Walsh to become head of NHL players union

Labor Secretary Marty Walsh is the first statutory member of President Joe Biden’s cabinet to depart. He will become head of the NHL’s Players Association.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/07/biden-labor-secretary-marty-walsh-to-become-head-of-nhl-players-union.html

Profit Recession Is Already Priced Into Stocks

By Jessica Menton, Bloomberg Markets Live reporter and analyst

There’s a little bit of good news for investors worried that stock prices are going to be pummeled by shrinking corporate profits. The drop so far seems largely priced in.

When the S&P 500 Index hit a low in October, the market was effectively factoring in a 15% decline in earnings-per-share over the next 12 months, according to Bloomberg Intelligence’s fair-value model.

But the reality — at least for now — hasn’t been quite so grim.

With the fourth-quarter results from more than half of the S&P 500 companies already in, earnings per share have fallen 2.8% from a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence. That’s less than the 3.3% drop expected before earnings season began.

The smaller-than-anticipated drop suggests that the profit contraction isn’t beginning as badly as once feared, lending support to share-price valuations. That’s likely one reason why the market is rewarding companies that exceed expectations and even dialing back the punishment of those that fall short.

“This earnings season was already projected to be pretty bad,” said Michael Casper, an equity strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence. “When results come in line with projections or slightly worse than expected, it’s clear that investors had already priced that into stocks so equities aren’t going to get punished as much this time around.”

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/profit-recession-already-priced-stocks

Oaktree Among Distressed Funds Piling Into Tumbling Adani Bonds

Following a historic plunge in the net worth of Gautham Adani, who is still India’s richest and was briefly the world’s richest man, following a scathing report by short-seller Hindenburg Research which cut the market value of Adani’s network of businesses by more than half, hedge funds and distressed debt specialists have seen enough and are rushing to scoop up bonds related to Adani’s business empire as they look to capitalize on falling prices.

According to Bloomberg, Oaktree and Davidson Kempner, two of the largest US distressed hedge funds, were among those buying the debt in recent weeks. Distressed funds have been actively trading the bonds from their Asian offices, Bloomberg reports citing a person familiar with the matter. It was not clear whether the firms already held Adani bonds prior to US short-seller Hindenburg Research publishing its report on Jan. 24.

Last month all publicly traded securities linked to Adani’s sprawling empire tumbled after Hindenburg accused the group inflated revenue and stock prices. The conglomerate has repeatedly denied Hindenburg’s allegations of corporate wrongdoing and threatened legal action, but has largely failed to stem the drop.

Meanwhile, on a call with clients last week, Goldman traders said Adani securities had drawn interest from investors amid an equity rout and a debt slump that pushed some bonds to distressed levels. According to Goldman, Adani debt had hit a floor in the short term and bonds of Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd. had become interesting at the current price. The price of those bonds rose in the following days as investo …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/oaktree-among-distressed-funds-piling-tumbling-adani-bonds

More Than 7,000 Dead As Turkey Declares State Of Emergency In Quake Zone

Update (1425ET):

The death toll continues to climb.

NBC News reported at least 7,266 people were killed in Turkey and Syria.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday evening that 5,434 people were killed and 22,168 injured. He said at least 8,000 people had been pulled from collapsed buildings.

🚨 WATCH || Overwhelmed rescuers struggled to save people trapped under the rubble as the death toll from a devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria approached 7,200 on Tuesday

– https://t.co/Jf9fs8w3s0 pic.twitter.com/fq8e2rpfll

— PiQ (@PriapusIQ) February 7, 2023

The Syrian Health Ministry said 812 people were killed, with another 1,832 injured. In Syrian rebel-held areas, about 1,020 died, and 2,400 were injured.

Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said 338,000 people were in government shelters or hotels. Tens of thousands of others were taking refuge in community centers, stadiums, shopping malls, and other buildings that were still structurally sound.

Erdogan also declared a state of emergency in the quake-affected areas:

“We are declaring ten cities impacted by the earthquake zone,” he said, adding the emergency order will …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/more-5000-dead-turkey-syria-rescue-work-begins

BP Pivots On Climate Promises

Via OilPrice.com,

• BP has just announced that it will be revising its emissions targets in order to produce more oil and gas to meet global demand.
• The British energy giant previously aimed to cut emissions by 35-40% by 2030, but now it is targeting a 20-30% decrease.
• BP has also recorded bumper profits which have been met with criticism, reigniting calls for tougher windfall taxes.

BP has scaled back its climate ambitions, easing plans to slash the amount of oil and gas it produces over the current decade to meet global demand.

The energy giant had previously promised its emissions would be 35-40 percent lower by the end of this decade.

It is now targeting a 20-30 percent cut and plans a greater production of oil and gas over the next seven years compared with previous targets.

This is a definitive pivot in …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/bp-pivots-climate-promises

BP scales back climate targets as profits hit record

It is the latest energy giant to report record annual profits after oil and gas prices soared last year.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64544110?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Civil servants set to strike on Budget day

The PCS union plans a second walkout as the row with the government over pay escalates.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64561834?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Trial of scrapping train return tickets extended

The transport secretary set out how tickets can be simpler for passengers in a speech on Tuesday.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64548794?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Most Adani stocks stage a comeback. Check out top gainers from the pack

Shares of Adani Group companies rallied on Tuesday, a day after it prepaid some loans. >> For more such web stories click on the ET icon below

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/web-stories/most-adani-stocks-stage-a-comeback-check-out-top-gainers-from-the-pack/articleshow/97698621.cms

Tech View: Nifty charts hint at selling pressure on every uptick. What traders should do on Wednesday

As Nifty formed a lower top for the second consecutive day, chart readers said 17,870 – 17,854 could be the trading range for the Nifty in the near term.Options data suggests a broader trading range between 17400-18200 zones, while an immediate trading range between 17600-17900 zones.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/tech-view-nifty-charts-hint-at-selling-pressure-on-every-uptick-what-traders-should-do-on-wednesday/articleshow/97697588.cms

Sensex ends 215 pts lower, Nifty below 17,800 ahead of RBI’s rate decision

From the Sensex pack, Tata Steel was the worst performer, declining 5.5%. ITC, Maruti, HCL Tech, Tata Motors, and Sun Pharma also closed with losses

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/sensex-ends-215-pts-lower-nifty-below-17800-ahead-of-ahead-of-rbis-rate-decision/articleshow/97693059.cms

The Big Move: My late mother left me her home, but the mortgage will make it difficult for me to pay my medical and living expenses. Should I sell?

‘I’m on a fixed income of $2,900 a month, and I have only worked full-time for two months due to medical reasons.’

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-7191-ACBA86A137AA%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

Futures Movers: Oil futures settle at highest in a week on China demand hopes, Middle East supply issues

Oil futures settle Tuesday at their highest in a week, finding support as hopes for a revival in Chinese crude demand continue to run strong.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-7192-417E2651B542%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1

Earnings Outlook: This is the best way to understand where stocks are headed

MarketWatch takes this part of the company story very seriously — and so should you.

Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B20C06575-04D4-B545-7191-6F4413B63BB2%7D&siteid=rss&rss=1