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Big Oil Faces Looming Threat from Climate-Conscious Investors
Bank financing of fossil fuel and mining projects is “undermining” the recently signed Paris climate accord. This is according to “$horting the Climate: Fossil Fuel Finance Report 2016” issued by a quartet of environmental groups: Rainforest Action Network, Sierra Club, Banktrack and Oilchange International. Well, so what else is new? Somebody has to finance those big projects. Who else but financial institutions? Do we want to sound like Captain Renault in “Casablanca” shocked at gambling in Rick’s establishment? Now for the reaction. Those environmental groups have issued this report annually fingering banks that financed fossil fuel projects. As far as we can tell, the banks ignored these reports in the past. They certainly didn’t react that way this time. Several pledged to phase out loans to coal mining in general and to projects that removed mountain tops. One bank said it would no longer lend to new coal mining […]
Nigeria Seeks $40-$50 Billion in Oil Investment as Output Rises
Nigeria Seeks $40-$50 Billion in Oil Investment as Output Rises Country’s crude production as high as 1.9m b/d two days ago Output should rise to 2.2m b/d in July if pipe repairs finish Nigeria is seeking $40 billion to $50 billion in investment in oil projects as the OPEC producer said it raised crude output to as much as 1.9 million barrels a day as of two days ago. The African producer signed a potential deal for $8.5 billion of investment with China North Industries Group Corp., Nigerian State Minister for Petroleum Resources Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu said in a Bloomberg television interview in Beijing on Monday. The country’s crude output should rise to 2.2 million barrels a day next month if repairs to a pipeline are completed, he said. “We’re looking to raise about $40 to $50 billion,” Kachikwu said in the Bloomberg interview . “Going to places like […]
Panama opens canal extension, only a dozen heads of state attend
A cargo ship is pictured crossing through the Miraflores locks, a day before the inauguration of the Panama Canal Expansion project, in Panama City, Panama June 25, 2016. Panama opened the long-delayed expansion of its shipping canal on Sunday with just a dozen of the 70 heads of state invited to see the debut of the third set of locks attending the ceremony. Analysts said the rank of those leading the delegations was affected by the Panama Papers scandal, in which millions of documents were leaked from law firm Mossack Fonseca, revealing how some of the world’s richest people use offshore companies to avoid tax and launder money. Panama’s foreign ministry said the event was a diplomatic success, with representatives from nearly all the invited countries in attendance, including from China, Japan, Peru, South Korea, Colombia and Mexico, as well as executives from top shipping firms and thousands of […]
China aims to cut steel capacity by 45 million tonnes in 2016: state planner
A labourer marks steel bars at a steel and iron factory in Huai’an, Jiangsu province, February 18, 2008. China plans to cut its steel production capacity this year by 45 million tonnes and lower coal output capacity by 280 million tonnes, the head of the country’s top economic planner said on Sunday. The capacity cuts will involve relocating 700,000 workers in the coal sector, and 180,000 workers in the steel industry, Xu Shaoshi, chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at the World Economic Forum in the northern city of Tianjin. Xu said he was very confident that China will achieve the 2016 targets. “The most urgent task is reducing excess capacity,” Xu said. “I’m very confident that we can achieve the targets.” China has vowed to tackle price-sapping supply gluts in major industrial sectors, and said in February that it would close 100 million-150 million tonnes […]
Post-Brexit dollar surge presents Fed with new conundrum
As Federal Reserve officials anxiously scan the aftershocks of the Brexit vote in the coming days, the reaction of the US dollar in currency markets will be front and centre of their attention. The dollar rose sharply on Friday in response to the UK’s vote to leave the EU, as money flowed into perceived havens. But a further surge would inject a destabilising element into already unsettled markets and add pressure on the Fed to delay any future rate rises. Lewis Alexander, US economist at Nomura, said the dollar would be “the first order of business” for the central bank as it examines the markets, followed by gyrations in credit and equities.
The dollar has been a main driver of Fed policy for the past two years because of the drag that a strong currency has imposed on US exports, inflation and corporate earnings. Nearly half of sales by S&P 500 companies in 2014 were generated overseas, according to UniCredit research. The strong dollar has also injected financial volatility into emerging markets — as seen in January and February this year. It could pose a particular threat to China by rekindling worries about capital outflows and currency devaluation. It is also a potential menace to other emerging markets because of their large stocks of dollar-denominated debts.
