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☆ In the 'Garden of England', loss-making orchards are cut down
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Sarah Young | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The fruit that helped give the "Garden of England" its name hundreds of years ago no longer makes money so farmer James Smith is tearing down his orchards. Turning a profit from selling red apples to supermarkets has been a struggle for years, he said. In Kent, Smith is removing 80% of his orchards. Last year growing apples lost him 150,000 pounds ($186,000), a loss which would have been higher had it not been cushioned by other income streams from his land. He's also planting a vineyard and is growing small amounts of cherries, the fruit which legend has it prompted King Henry VIII to first call Kent the "Garden of England".

☆ These stocks are the biggest winners when oil prices surge
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Oil prices are on a tear to start the new quarter, and if history is any guide, some stocks are better positioned to benefit from rising prices. The recent surge comes after oil prices tumbled last month to their lowest since December 2021 as Silicon Valley Bank's collapse rattled traders and spurred fears that a banking crisis could dent global economic growth. With oil prices at highs, CNBC Pro screened for the S & P 500 that consistently win during these times. Here are the names that made the list: Given their close correlation to oil prices, it's no surprise that energy stocks topped the list. While energy stocks, on average, benefit most when oil prices rise, other sectors also prosper.

☆ EU single market remains short of a single patent
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

While it’s good the EU is moving forward, a single patent can’t fulfill its promise without full participation. The European Patent Office holds fifth place. Billions of euros remain out of reach because the EU is strong on research but weak in finding market success. Seeking an EU patent via separate applications across Europe costs about 20,000 euros, compared to an estimated 6,000 euros under the new system. For Europe to be more than the world’s technology incubator, its single market needs more tools that are fully subscribed.

☆ SVB Collapse Threatens Funding Source for Climate Startups
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Ed Ballard | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Sublime Systems Chief Executive Leah Ellis was about to go on stage at a big energy-industry conference on Thursday when her phone was flooded with messages urging her to withdraw her company’s funds from Silicon Valley Bank. “In the middle of presenting and being interviewed, I was there getting my cofounder to fill out paperwork,” she said. Sublime, based in Somerville, Mass., has developed a way of producing low-carbon cement. The company raised $40 million in venture-capital funding in January, most of which was sitting in its SVB account.

☆ Here's why it makes sense that stocks are rallying as rates rise and a recession approaches, and what to own because they could keep going, according to research firm Leuthold Group.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Marley Jay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Leuthold Group CIO Doug Ramsey says the "irrational" stock market rally could continue. Ramsey says that when economic indicators hit a low point, it's generally very good for stocks. It might not make a lot of sense that stocks have jumped in 2023 even as recession concerns have risen and interest rates have climbed to 15-year highs, notes Doug Ramsey, investment chief at Leuthold Group. Ramsey concedes that the moves are "irrational," but that doesn't mean there is no reason to be optimistic about stocks. He notes that a closely watched measurement of economic activity, the Conference Board's Leading Economic Index, is in a downturn.

☆ Warren Buffett’s must-read annual letter arrives Saturday. Here’s what to expect from the investing legend
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Andrew Harnik | APWarren Buffett's loyal following of value investors is about to hear from the legend himself, at a crucial time when interest rates have soared and recession fears are raging. He believed that when interest rates are high, it could be a major "gravitational pull" on values. "We have a roughly 15-year period of abnormally and historically low interest rates. "Interest rates are the main determinant of equity prices, to quote Buffett, so I think I'm looking for and expecting a discussion on interest rates." "Private equity and others who are thinking of making acquisitions would have to go into the market to borrow [at] higher interest rates.

☆ In the Big-Oil Buyback Splurge, Shell Is Especially Generous
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Carol Ryan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Oil-and-gas giants on both sides of the Atlantic are printing cash as energy prices stay higher for longer due to the war in Ukraine. Based on the share of its market value it is handing back to shareholders, London-listed Shell appears particularly enticing. On Thursday, Shell became the latest big energy company to report record results for 2022. Shell more than doubled its adjusted earnings to $39.9 billion, breaking the previous record set in 2008. It also made $17 billion more than it did in 2014, when Brent prices were at similar levels to today.

☆ Morning Bid: Land of the rising yields
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan. In the last major central bank set-piece of the year, the BOJ raised its long-standing cap on 10-year Japanese government bond yields by quarter of a percentage point to 0.5% - sending those yields and the yen surging and squeezing stocks further. Yet most investors felt that was only likely when BOJ chief Haruhiko Kuroda stepped down in April. Japan's 10-year bond yields immediately almost doubled close to the new 0.5% target, with U.S. Treasury and European sovereign debt yields rising in their slipstream. Apart from the timing, the BOJ move marks a significant moment in draining the world economy of central bank liquidity pumped in to support economies during the pandemic.

☆ Did That Hit Arrive in 2022 or 1987? This Year, It Was Hard to Tell.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Jon Caramanica | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +12 min

Turns out it’s the same sample, a sleight of ear designed to trigger warm nostalgia, and also maybe a little confusion. Even its video is optimized for recognition, with Santana doing the same stomp Beyoncé does in hers, in an almost identical outfit. Throughout 2022, that gambit has been deployed again and again — by pop singers and rappers, established stars and newbies. Here, old songs — hip-hop classics, pop novelties and more — are scrunched and stretched sometimes to the point of absurdity. These songs are concessions that say the quiet part out loud — everyone has always been borrowing voraciously, from everyone else, constantly.

☆ The C-Suite Survival Guide to Inflation and Economic Turbulence
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Brian Hershberg | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

C-suite executives and other business leaders are planning for a period where inflation is sticky, interest rates are rising, the geopolitical landscape is fraught with tumult and the economy is slowing. U.S. retailers, for instance, are struggling to balance consumer expectations for discounts and the need to keep raising prices to offset high inflation. Real-estate companies are finding it costly to hedge their floating-rate debt amid surging interest costs, and even highly rated companies are pursuing term loans instead of bonds to save on interest costs. In Europe, the war in Ukraine is driving inflation, food shortages, and the prospect of a long, cold winter. Here is how marketing executives can continue to sell their brands to consumers during tight times.

☆ Energy firms' derivatives are financial stability risk, says ECB
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( John O'Donnell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Regulators and policymakers have been examining whether companies' use of such complex instruments, largely unregulated, threatens financial stability. "The volatility in ... energy markets ... has also affected the derivative markets which energy sector firms use to manage risk," the ECB said in its biannual Financial Stability Review, pointing to a concentration of such activity with a small number of big energy firms. The central bank said that about half of energy traders with power and gas derivatives could be hit with similar margin calls should prices rise. Policymakers in Brussels are also concerned and recently circulated a paper suggesting extending tough rules applied to banks to energy firms that trade derivatives. Energy companies say derivatives are chiefly to hedge or protect themselves against swings in prices.

☆ Africa is hosting the UN climate summit. It's also home to 3 oil-and-gas deals announced in just two weeks.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

During the COP27 event, three oil-and-gas deals in Africa have been announced. In the past two weeks — essentially the time of the COP27 summit — three oil-and-gas deals were announced for Africa alone, in Egypt, Nigeria, and Tanzania. That demand is evident even in announcements that purportedly support renewable energy. Plus, the projects are more expensive than building out renewable energy like solar. "If we really want to improve the lives of people, we need to invest in community renewable energy," Elmaawi said.

☆ Nicki Minaj criticizes Grammys for moving ‘Super Freaky Girl’ to pop category
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Marianne Garvey | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Nicki Minaj has a message for the Recording Academy after they moved her song “Super Freaky Girl” from a rap category to a pop category for award consideration. “I have no prob being moved out the RAP category as long as we r ALL being treated FAIRLY. If SFG (‘Super Freaky Girl’) has 2B moved out RAP then so does Big Energy!” Minaj wrote in a series of tweets, referring to the Latto song. “If ‘Super Freaky Girl’ is pop, then so is ‘Big Energy.’ If you move ‘Super Freaky Girl’ out of rap and put it in pop, do the same with ‘Big Energy.’ Right? The Recording Academy has not publicly stated the reasoning for placing “Super Freaky Girl,” which samples “Super Freak” by Rick James, in the pop category.

Their joint communique released by the U.S. Treasury late on Wednesday did give Japan something - but it was thin gruel. read more"Recognizing that many currencies have moved significantly this year with increased volatility, we reaffirm our exchange rate commitments as elaborated in May 2017," the G7 wrote. And, for the record, the 2017 phraseology was that excess volatility and disorderly currency moves have negative impacts on their economies and financial stability. read more"We cannot tolerate excessive volatility in the currency market driven by speculative moves," he opined after. The big question is whether this dollar surge is in fact a "short run" aberration or whether it is a more permanent feature of the global landscape.

REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File PhotoBERLIN, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The German government has opened discussions about providing urgent support for scores of regional state-owned energy providers which are struggling to cope with soaring gas prices, three sources familiar with the matter said. A spokesperson for Germany's economy ministry said it was in contact with the country's regional states concerning the municipal authorities, but declined to elaborate. There is a growing sense of urgency to provide support as energy bills for German households and industry become increasingly unaffordable. Liebing, who has previously warned about insolvencies in the sector, said the talks involved measures needed to shield municipal utilities from "acute" difficulties. "Should municipal authorities be at risk of collapse, many other services such as water, bin collection and public transport could fall apart," he said.

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