CNN (August 14)
“Nuclear power plants idled. Crops harvested at 3 a.m. Iconic tourist attractions shuttered early. Soaring temperatures are forcing drastic measures in Europe, where successive heatwaves are straining an economy already under pressure from US tariffs, Chinese competition and higher energy prices because of the Iran war.”
Tags: Chinese competition, Crops, Economy, Energy, Europe, Heatwaves, Idled, Nuclear, Plants, Shuttered, Straining, Temperatures, Tourist attractions, U.S. tariffs
The Guardian (August 9)
“India is attempting to do something the world has never seen before…. No major economy has tried to expand GDP nearly eightfold within a generation while simultaneously redirecting its energy and industrial systems to reach net zero within two generations.” This is remarkable. “China industrialised at vast scale, but not on a sustainable net zero path. Korea, Japan and Europe became wealthy by industrialising before decarbonizing,” but “the world’s most populous country has to do this while also reducing emissions.” And India doesn’t have much choice. “In April, on a single day, all of the planet’s top 50 hottest cities were in India.”
Tags: China, Decarbonizing, Emissions, Energy, Europe, GDP, Hottest cities, India, Industrial systems, Industrialized, Japan, Korea, Major economy, Net zero, Scale, Sustainable, Wealthy
Fortune (July 12)
“An energy crisis is already ravaging Russia’s economy, and a banking crisis may soon erupt as a mountain of debt weighs on consumers and businesses.” A European intelligence report indicates “the Kremlin has relied on banks to pump up the economy with massive liquidity, as its own budget comes under growing strain from Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.”
Tags: Banks, Budget, Businesses, Consumers, Crisis, Debt, Economy, Energy, European intelligence, Kremlin, Liquidity, Pump up, Putin, Ravaging, Relied, Russia, Strain, War
The Times (June 2)
“Since the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, schools have closed in Dhaka, food prices have surged in Lagos, and air fares have risen in Seoul. And in Tokyo, otherwise respectable men have started exposing their hairy knees.” Cool Biz and Super Cool Biz had already toppled expectations for suits and ties, but “it took the Hormuz crisis, for a country that imports 90 per cent of its energy from the Middle East, to topple this final bastion of formality.” There have been dire consequences of the Iran war, but “none as bizarre as the fate that has befallen the Japanese.”
Tags: Air fares, Bizarre, Consequences, Cool Biz, Crisis, Dhaka, Dire, Energy, Food prices, Formality, Lagos, Middle East, Respectable, Schools, Seoul, Strait of Hormuz, Suits, Ties, Tokyo, War
MarketWatch (May 12)
“The most expensive part of the Iran war may not be the oil prices themselves. It may be uncertainty. Markets can absorb expensive energy; businesses can adapt to higher fuel costs if those costs remain stable and predictable. What becomes far more damaging is an environment in which prices swing violently, geopolitical risks shift by the hour and corporate decision-makers lose visibility over what comes next.”
Tags: Adapt, Businesses, Decision-makers, Energy, Environment, Expensive, Fuel costs, Geopolitical risks, Iran war, Markets, Oil prices, Predictable, Prices, Shift, Stable, Uncertainty
Financial Times (May 7)
“US fuel exports have surged to a record level as Europe and Asia lean on American energy supplies to make up for the shortfalls caused by the war in Iran.” Last week, America exported over “8.2mn barrels a day of refined fuels including gasoline, diesel and jet fuel,” a year-on-year increase exceeding 20%. Last week’s “huge demand for US energy” also transformed America into “a net exporter of crude oil for the first time since the second world war.” While this provides “a windfall” to US energy companies, “it also risks a political backlash for President Donald Trump as domestic pump prices rise.”
Tags: 20%, 8.2mn bbl, Asia, Backlash, Crude oil, Demand, Diesel, Energy, Europe, Exports, Fuel, Gasoline, Iran, Jet fuel, Record, Shortfalls, Surged, Trump, U.S., War, Windfall
Wall Street Journal (March 12)
“Escalating Iranian attacks and the U.S. government’s decision to hold off on military escorts for oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz are raising the prospect of a prolonged closure that would choke off exports through the world’s most important energy-transport route.”
Tags: Attacks, Choke, Decision, Energy, Escalating, Exports, Government, Iranian, Military escorts, Oil tankers, Prolonged closure, Route, Strait of Hormuz, Transport, U.S.
OilPrice.com (March 11)
“The world’s top crude oil and LNG importer, China, is not as exposed and vulnerable to energy deliveries from the Middle East as one might think. China has been amassing crude volumes in storage for months, it has been working for years to diversify oil and gas supply sources and routes, and has boosted the share of transport electrification, which has reduced demand for road transportation fuels.”
Tags: China, Crude oil, Demand, Electrification, Energy, Exposed, Gas, Importer, LNG, Middle East, Storage. Diversify, Supply sources, Transport, Vulnerable
Barron’s (July 31)
“The Federal Reserve’s key inflation gauge,” which excludes food and energy “ran just slightly above expectations in June, raising additional doubts about how quickly the bank will be able to lower interest rates.” Rising 0.3% month on month and 2.8% year on year, the core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index surpassed consensus expectations. This week, Fed officials indicated the need before lowering rates for “more evidence that inflation is sustainably moving toward the bank’s 2% target,” but the PCE’s “stronger-than-expected result” appears to show the opposite.
Tags: 2% target, Consensus, Doubts, Energy, Evidence, Expectations, Fed, Food, Inflation, Inflation gauge, Interest rates, June, PCE
Fortune (April 8)
“The U.S. crude oil benchmark temporarily plunged below the stress-inducing $60 per barrel threshold on Monday amid tariff and economic slowdown fears, putting the nation’s record-high volumes of oil production at risk.” After beginning April above $70, oil temporarily dropped below $60 (NYMEX WTI). “Energy analysts see the $60 per barrel price as a key threshold when oil producers scale back activity and, eventually, cut back on production.”
Tags: Analysts, Benchmark, Crude oil, Economic slowdown, Energy, Fears, NYMEX WTI, Plunged. $60/bbl, Producers, Production. Risk, Scale back, Tariff, Threshold, U.S.
