UK Plans £60 Billion Grid Overhaul To Support Offshore Wind Boom

Pylon-haters beware – the National Grid has unveiled a multi-billion pound plan to overhaul the UK’s energy and electricity framework. The ‘Beyond 2030’ report outlines the need for a £60bn injection to fortify the UK’s embattled offshore wind sector and how it can be used to power the country. It sets out an ambitious target of 86GW of offshore wind by 2035 – more than exists today in the world as a whole. For many, this will mean using electricity generated from the current and planned stock of wind farms…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/UK-Plans-60-Billion-Grid-Overhaul-To-Support-Offshore-Wind-Boom.html

Shadow Fleet Tanker Destined To Carry Sanctioned Russian Oil Causes Collision

In what can only be described as an I-told-you-so moment, a shadow fleet oil tanker carrying sanctioned Russian crude oil was involved in a collision at sea near Denmark, the Danish Maritime Authority said in a Tuesday statement. 15-year-old Andromeda Star, an oil tanker set bound for Russia to load Russian Urals crude oil at the Primorsk port, had the capacity to carry 700,000 barrels of crude oil. The tanker was not carrying oil at the time of the collision. Unlike other countries, Denmark does allow all vessels bound for Russia to traverse its…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Shadow-Fleet-Tanker-Destined-To-Carry-Sanctioned-Russian-Oil-Causes-Collision.html

Breakthrough Catalyst Turns Sewage Into Clean Energy

Pohang University of Science & Technology scientists have developed a catalyst for the urea oxidation reaction, enhancing hydrogen generation efficiency. Professor Kangwoo Cho and PhD candidate Jiseon Kim from the Division of Environmental Science & Engineering at Pohang University (POSTECH) collaborated with the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) to devise a novel catalyst aimed at enhancing the efficiency of reactions using contaminated municipal sewage to produce hydrogen — a noteworthy green energy source. The research…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Breakthrough-Catalyst-Turns-Sewage-Into-Clean-Energy.html

Steel Prices Stall As European Economies Slow

Via Metal Miner   Market sources report that hot rolled coil steel prices in northern and southern Europe continued to decline in recent weeks due to slowing economies in Europe as well as overcapacity. “I’m a little scared about Germany,” one trader told MetalMiner, referring to that country’s current economic situation. Germany’s economy is the largest in the European Union (EU), but projections state the country will grow just 0.2% in 2024. This is a significant decline from an earlier outlook of 1.3%. It’s…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Metals/Commodities/Steel-Prices-Stall-As-European-Economies-Slow.html

Russia Promises To Defend Oil Infrastructure With Missiles

Russia’s energy ministry has promised to defend its oil and gas infrastructure against Ukranian strikes with missiles, Reuters reported on Tuesday. Artyom Verkhov, the director of the energy ministry’s department for gas industry development, has said that a defensive system is already in the works. “We are jointly working, including with colleagues from the Russian National Guard, to cover objects, on installing, accordingly, protection systems such as Pantsir,” Verkhov said. Ukrainian strikes have so far taken nearly between…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Russia-Promises-To-Defend-Oil-Infrastructure-With-Missiles.html

Hot Inflation Data Raises Stakes for Tomorrow’s Fed Meeting

Markets are in the thick of a busy week for central banks with decisions from the US Federal Reserve and Bank of England still to come after the Bank of Japan ended its experiment with negative interest rates. The Japanese central bank hiked rates for the first time in 18 years, bringing its key rate to 0.1 per cent. It also ended its policy of yield curve control. The widely anticipated decision was made following substantial salary increases obtained by employees at several of Japan’s leading firms, marking the largest pay rise since 1991.…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Finance/the-Economy/Hot-Inflation-Data-Raises-Stakes-for-Tomorrows-Fed-Meeting.html

The U.S. Oil and Gas Industry Spent $234 Billion on M&A in 2023

U.S. oil and gas exploration and production companies spent as much as $234 billion on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) last year—the highest such spend in real dollar terms since 2012, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in an analysis on Tuesday. The deal-making of the past year marks a return to the consolidation trend from before 2020, the EIA noted. Between 2020 and 2022, heightened market volatility and uncertainties in demand and supply led to a decline in transactions.   But M&A activity was back…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/The-US-Oil-and-Gas-Industry-Spent-234-Billion-on-MA-in-2023.html

Oil Gains Momentum as China’s Demand Outlook Improves

Oil prices are steadily increasing, with this week’s momentum bolstered by drone strikes on Russian refineries in Ukraine. – Prices of medium sour grades produced in the US Gulf of Mexico, most notably Mars, have shot up as US energy officials reiterated their plans to keep on replenishing SPR barrels over the summer months, with Mars now trading at a $0.90 per barrel premium to WTI.- The announced plans of the Biden administration to keep on buying as long as oil stays at $79 per barrel or below might run into difficulties as front-month…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Oil-Gains-Momentum-as-Chinas-Demand-Outlook-Improves.html

India Buys More U.S. Oil

India is set to import in April its highest oil volumes from the United States in 11 months as the stricter enforcement of the U.S. sanctions against Russia are slowing Russian crude flows to the world’s third-largest crude importer. So far this month, three Indian refiners – state-held Bharat Petroleum and Indian Oil Corporation and private refining giant Reliance Industries – have already bought around 7 million barrels of U.S. crude for loading in April, unnamed traders have told Bloomberg. The April volumes of U.S. crude…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/India-Buys-More-US-Oil.html

Energy Giants Create Global Synthetic Natural Gas Coalition

Supermajor TotalEnergies, another French energy giant, Engie, and U.S. Sempra Infrastructure have announced plans to create a global coalition to support the production and use of e-natural gas (e-NG), a synthetic natural gas produced from renewable hydrogen and CO2. A total of eight major companies from three continents – TotalEnergies and Engie of France, Belgium’s TES, U.S. firm Sempra Infrastructure, and Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation, Osaka Gas, Tokyo Gas, and Toho Gas – are joining forces to launch the global…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Energy-Giants-Create-Global-Synthetic-Natural-Gas-Coalition.html

How Long Will Dirt Cheap Natural Gas Prop Up U.S. Economic Activity?

Natural gas prices in the United States plunged 62% last year compared to a year earlier. Prices were driven lower by booming production, where growth substantially outpaced demand growth. The low prices for gas stimulated a surge in U.S. LNG exports, and at home, they prompted a palpable decline in household heating bills—leaving people with a bit more money to spend on other things. It is this last fact, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in its latest consumer price index, that, according to Bloomberg, has helped…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/How-Long-Will-Dirt-Cheap-Natural-Gas-Prop-Up-US-Economic-Activity.html

Japanese Power Giant Begins Testing Ammonia Co-Firing in Groundbreaking Trial

The biggest power producer in Japan, JERA, is starting this month the world’s first trial of co-firing 20% ammonia in a coal power plant in the first such trial using large volumes of ammonia at an operational electricity generating facility.    JERA has been betting on ammonia to decarbonize the Japanese grid, which is heavily reliant on fossil fuels that need to be imported in resource-poor Japan. The power giant said in January that it would conduct demonstration testing of thermal power generation with a 20% substitution…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Japanese-Power-Giant-Begins-Testing-Ammonia-Co-Firing-in-Groundbreaking-Trial.html

Bitcoin Continues To Sink Despite Bullish Bets by Big Banks

Many crypto skeptics laughed over a month ago when, back on February 5, Standard Chartered analyst Geoff Kendrick predicted that Ether (which was then trading in the low $2000s) would hit $4,000 by May, around the time the Ethereum ETF was to be approved. They weren’t laughing when we got there just one month later, and more than two months ahead of schedule. They also laughed when back in January, Kendrick laid out his “high” case for bitcoin ETF accumulation – one which would justify a 2024 year-end price of $100,000 – as hitting 400,000 in early…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Finance/the-Economy/Bitcoin-Continues-To-Sink-Despite-Bullish-Bets-by-Big-Banks.html

A $74 Billion Investment Plan for the UK’s Energy System

National Grid ESO, the UK’s power systems operator, is proposing a plan of $73.6 billion (£58 billion) in investment in the grid to meet growing demand and the rise of renewable power sources. The Electricity System Operator (ESO) published a report, ‘Beyond 2030,’ on Tuesday, which says that the UK would need these investments to accommodate the rise in wind and solar power and an overall rise in electricity demand amid growing electrification and decarbonization in many sectors, including transportation. “The…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/A-74-Billion-Investment-Plan-for-the-UKs-Energy-System.html

U.S. Aims to Restock Strategic Oil Reserves by Year-End

The Biden Administration aims to have crude in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) back up to the levels before the massive sales of 180 million barrels in the past two years, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston. The U.S. saw the stockpiles of crude oil in the SPR fall from 638 million barrels at President Joe Biden’s inauguration to just 347 million barrels by the summer of 2023 as the Administration tried to bring down gasoline prices for consumers. The large sell-off in the country’s…

Read more at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/US-Aims-to-Restock-Strategic-Oil-Reserves-by-Year-End.html

Nvidia shares close up after company unveils latest AI chips

Nvidia stock closed up 1% on Tuesday after the company unveiled its latest generation of artificial intelligence chips called Blackwell.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/19/nvidia-stock-dips-after-company-unveils-latest-ai-chips.html

Dow closes more than 300 points higher Tuesday as Fed rate decision looms: Live updates

The Federal Reserve begins its March meeting on Tuesday. Investors don’t expect the central bank to change the current path of monetary policy at the meeting.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/18/stock-market-today-live-updates.html

Here’s everything to expect from the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting Wednesday

The Fed has a lot to do at its meeting this week, but ultimately may not end up doing a whole lot.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/19/heres-everything-to-expect-from-the-federal-reserves-policy-meeting-wednesday.html

Banks are in limbo without a crucial lifeline. Here’s where cracks may appear next

High interest rates and rising losses on commercial real estate threaten hundreds of U.S. banks, mostly smaller regional lenders and community institutions.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/19/where-cracks-in-the-banking-sector-may-appear-without-more-ma.html

The Fed is expected to offer clues Wednesday on the future of its balance sheet reduction

If you’re looking for a wild card out of this week’s Fed meeting, forget about interest rates and focus on the balance sheet.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/19/fed-is-expected-to-give-clues-wednesday-on-the-future-of-its-balance-sheet-reduction-.html

Fed could cut rates fewer times than expected as economy keeps growing, according to CNBC survey

The average probability of a soft landing was 52%, up from 47% in the January CNBC Fed survey.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/19/fed-could-cut-rates-fewer-times-than-expected-as-economy-keeps-growing-according-to-cnbc-survey.html

MicroStrategy, largest corporate holder of bitcoin, drops as much as 18% as cryptocurrency falls

Shares of MicroStrategy tumbled on Tuesday with the price of bitcoin, as the company bought even more of the cryptocurrency.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/19/microstrategy-largest-corporate-holder-of-bitcoin-drops-as-much-as-18percent.html

Microsoft hires DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman as CEO of new AI unit

Suleyman was part of DeepMind, one of the world’s top artificial intelligence research labs. He’s becoming a top leader at Microsoft after running a startup.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/19/microsoft-names-deepmind-co-founder-mustafa-suleyman-as-ceo-of-ai-unit.html

JetBlue cuts routes spanning Los Angeles to Lima in race to lower costs

JetBlue is under increased pressure to reduce expenses and return to profitability.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/19/jetblue-cuts-routes-los-angeles-south-america.html

Bitcoin’s weekly losses mount as the cryptocurrency briefly slips below $63,000: 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, Brian Dixon of Off the Chain Capital discusses what’s driving bitcoin’s recent losses.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2024/03/19/bitcoins-weekly-losses-mount-briefly-slips-below-63000-crypto-world.html

Why EVs are causing a tire boom

The tire business can be a brutal one. But industry analysts say the rise of EVs provides the biggest growth opportunity tire makers have seen in decades.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/19/why-evs-are-causing-a-tire-boom.html

Ferrari boss promises ’emotion’ won’t be lost in EV engine roar

Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna promised that the luxury carmaker’s new EV will offer drivers the same “unique” experience as its historic combustion engines.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/19/ferrari-boss-promises-emotion-wont-be-lost-in-ev-engine-roar.html

Nordstrom shares jump more than 10% on report retailer is trying to go private

Nordstrom is reportedly considering going private weeks after it gave a gloomy sales outlook for 2024.

Read more at: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/19/nordstrom-reportedly-trying-to-go-private.html

There Goes The Fed’s Inflation Target: Goldman Sees Terminal Rate 100bps Higher At 3.5%

Two years ago, we first said that it’s only a matter of time before the Fed admits it is unable to resolve the so-called “last mile” of inflation and that as a result, the old inflation target of 2% is no longer viable.

At some point Fed will concede it has no control over supply. That’s when we will start getting leaks of raising the inflation target

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) June 21, 2022

Then one year ago, we correctly said that while everyone was paying attention elsewhere, the inflation target had already been hiked to 2.8%… on the way to even more increases.

The new inflation target has been set to 2.8%. The rest is just narrative fill for the next 2 years. https://t.co/X1xYkecyPy

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) February 21, 2023

And while the Fed still pretends it can one day lower inflation to 2% even as it prepares to cut rates as soon as June, moments ago Goldman published a note from its economics team which had to balls to finally call a spade a spade, and concluded that – as party of the F …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/there-goes-feds-inflation-target-goldman-sees-terminal-rate-100bps-higher-35

US Aims To Restock Strategic Oil Reserves By Year-End

By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com

The Biden Administration aims to have crude in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) back up to the levels before the massive sales of 180 million barrels in the past two years, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston.

The U.S. saw the stockpiles of crude oil in the SPR fall from 638 million barrels at President Joe Biden’s inauguration to just 347 million barrels by the summer of 2023 as the Administration tried to bring down gasoline prices for consumers. The large sell-off in the country’s safety supply of crude oil was met with criticism. Also met with criticism has been the Administration’s slow response to falling oil pr …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/us-aims-restock-strategic-oil-reserves-year-end

“They Came For Me, They Can Come For You” – Former Trump Adviser Peter Navarro Reports To Prison

Authored by Jacob Burg via The Epoch Times,

Peter Navarro voiced frustration at a press conference on March 19, just before turning himself over to authorities in Miami, Florida, to begin his four-month sentence at the city’s minimum-security prison.

The former Trump White House trade adviser is the first official from President Donald Trump’s administration to serve jail time. He was found in contempt of Congress in 2023 for refusing to comply with the Democrat-led House Jan. 6 select committee subpoena.

Mr. Navarro declined to turn over records for the committee, citing the former president’s executive privilege that allows some presidential records to be blocked from disclosure.

“I am not nervous,” Mr. Navarro said to a reporter on March 19. “I am pissed.” …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/they-came-me-they-can-come-you-former-trump-adviser-peter-navarro-reports-prison

Netanyahu To Biden: “There’s No Way To Destroy Hamas Without Rafah Ground Op”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has revealed more about his Monday phone call with President Joe Biden. He informed a closed meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that he made it clear to Biden that there’s no way to eradicate Hamas without a ground operation in Rafah.

Biden had reiterated to Netanyahu that the US sees a Rafah invasion as a “mistake” given the presence of over one million internally displaced Palestinian civilians in the city amid an already soaring death toll.

“The Americans asked that we not do an operation in Rafah,” Netanyahu told defense officials. “But there is no other choice. We need control over the Philadelphi Route,” he continued in refence to the Egypt-Gaza border area.

Image source/GPO via Times of Israel

A White House spokesman on Monday …

Read more at: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/netanyahu-biden-theres-no-way-destroy-hamas-without-rafah-ground-op

Ted Baker jobs at risk as administrators appointed

Ted Baker will continue to trade and customer orders will be fulfilled.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68580956

Tesco forced to change Clubcard logo after Lidl row

The supermarket giant has to change its yellow circle logo after a ruling it infringed Lidl’s trademark.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68607823

‘Impossible trade-offs’ if no UK growth – Reeves

Ahead of a speech, Rachel Reeves says Labour is “under no illusions” of the challenge if voted in.

Read more at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68602668

​Exit Mode! 6 companies where promoters sold stakes in last 1 month

Here’s a list of companies where promoters have offloaded stakes in the past month. (Source: ET NOW)

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/tcs-indigo-among-6-companies-where-promoters-sold-stakes-in-last-1-month/exit-mode/slideshow/108621502.cms

Tech View: Nifty gives up key support level. What traders should do on Wednesday

The overall chart pattern of Nifty is weak and one may expect further decline in the near term. The next lower levels to be watched are around 21,500 in the next one week. Any rise up to 22,000 could be a sell-on-rise opportunity, Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities said.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/tech-view-nifty-gives-up-key-support-level-what-traders-should-do-on-wednesday/articleshow/108621957.cms

Sebi proposes audiovisual representation of disclosures by companies floating IPOs

The audiovisuals on the public issues will be in bilingual version i.e. English and Hindi, and made available in the public domain. The duration of each bilingual version of the audiovisual shall be a maximum of 8 minutes.

Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/sebi-proposes-audiovisual-representation-of-disclosures-by-companies-floating-ipos/articleshow/108623946.cms

What New Jersey did right — and New York did wrong — with recreational-cannabis launches

New Jersey is now on track for $1 billion in cannabis sales, while New York is launching an overhaul of its licensing program as illegal shops flourish in the state.

Read more at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-new-jersey-did-right-and-new-york-did-wrong-with-recreational-cannabis-launches-87ed75e4?mod=mw_rss_topstories

Biden’s EPA to roll out regulation that GOP blasts as ‘EV mandate’

President Joe Biden’s administration is expected on Wednesday to release a much-anticipated final rule on tailpipe emissions for new passenger vehicles.

Read more at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/bidens-epa-to-roll-out-regulation-that-gop-blasts-as-ev-mandate-184b8a70?mod=mw_rss_topstories

10-year Treasury yield ends near four-month high as Fed begins policy meeting

Rates on U.S. government debt fell by the most in about two weeks on Tuesday as attention turned to the Federal Reserve’s upcoming policy announcement.

Read more at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/treasury-yields-hold-near-four-month-high-as-fed-begins-meeting-boj-hikes-38c8471c?mod=mw_rss_topstories