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☆ Halftime traders are bullish on these energy names, including two that could be a buying opportunity on earnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Energy stocks may be lagging the market, but don't count them out just yet, according to "Halftime Report" traders. The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund gained a whopping 57.6% in 2022, compared with the S & P 500 's 19.4% drop. XLE YTD mountain Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund YTD performance However, he still advocates an overweight exposure to the energy sector. Sarat Sethi, portfolio manager at Douglas C. Lane & Associates, is also slightly overweight in energy and sees a potential buying opportunity. "Generally speaking, European energy trades much cheaper to US energy for a variety of historical reasons that I think are no longer relevant," she said.

While law firms sometimes negotiate fixed fees on transactions, market participants said such deals would be unlikely on transactions that faced the amount of legal uncertainty of Rogers-Shaw. The Rogers-Shaw deal is expected to be the tenth-largest deal in Canadian history since 1995, according to data from Dealogic. Law firms Lax O’Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb represented Rogers, while Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg and Wachtell are lawyers for Shaw. None of the law firms responded to Reuters queries on the legal fee. Rogers and Shaw on Friday extended the closing deadline for the fourth time to March 31.

☆ Putin's plan is to 'out-suffer' Ukraine and win by sending hundreds of thousands of Russians to die, retired US general Petraeus says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

David Petraeus thinks Vladimir Putin hopes to beat Ukraine by sacrificing more lives. Petraeus was referring to two major conflicts that Russia managed to win, but at an enormous cost. Putin announced a partial military mobilization in September, drafting 300,000 people from Russia's reservists to fight in Ukraine. "Russia still has enormous military capacity and is certainly still a nuclear superpower, as well as a country with enormous energy, mineral, and agricultural blessing," Petraeus said. Petraeus in January also called for more aid for Ukraine from the West, saying that the war with Russia is now at a pivotal point.

☆ Petroecuador losing 3,500 barrels per day due to protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Empresa Pública de Hidrocarburos del Ecuador FollowQUITO, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Ecuador's state oil company, Petroecuador, said on Saturday that it was losing an estimated 3,500 barrels of crude oil a day due to "vandalism" at two of its blocks, referring to recent Indigenous protests at the site. The Indigenous community argues it was not consulted about the new operation of the blocks by Petroecuador and made other social demands. Petroecuador took over production of the blocks at the start of this year. Petroecuador's production is around 393,000 barrels of oil per day, according to official data. Reporting by Alexandra Valencia in Quito Writing by Isabel Woodford Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. Sanctions Nine Companies for Moving Iranian Oil Products
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Richard Vanderford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +2 min

The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned nine companies for allegedly helping move Iranian petroleum products and petrochemicals valued at hundreds of millions of dollars to buyers in Asia via a previously sanctioned Hong Kong company. Three companies in Malaysia and Singapore are among those facing sanctions, Treasury said Thursday. The companies were allegedly involved in the sale and shipment of products on behalf of Triliance Petrochemical Co., a Hong Kong-based broker that was added to the sanctions list in 2020. “Iran [is] increasingly turning to buyers in East Asia to sell its petrochemical and petroleum products, in violation of U.S. sanctions,” said Brian E. Nelson, a Treasury undersecretary. Officials are considering new sanctions on Chinese surveillance companies over sales to Iran’s security forces.

☆ Exclusive: The FBI's McGonigal labyrinth
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +28 min

She never saw McGonigal pay. "The notion that Mr. Deripaska is some proxy for the Russian state is a blatant lie," Ruben Bunyatyan, a spokesperson for Deripaska, told Insider by email. McGonigal was not charged with espionage, and although there is currently no evidence that McGonigal committed espionage, an FBI source told Insider that the investigation is ongoing. At the FBI, McGonigal racked up a string of big cases and promotions. "He said he needed to make more money," Guerriero told Insider.

☆ Factbox: Bumper profits fuel surge in dividends, buybacks at oil firms
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Feb 3 (Reuters) - Energy firms are using a chunk of their bumper quarterly profits from surging natural gas and fuel prices to reward shareholders with higher dividends and share buybacks. The top 25 North American oil and gas companies by market capital posted a combined profit of $70.04 billion for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 186.3% higher than a year earlier, according to Refinitiv data. However, the record profits have renewed calls for a windfall tax, especially as sky-rocketing prices have fueled inflation around the globe. Below are some of the companies that have announced higher dividends and repurchases in recent weeks:Valero Energy Corp (VLO.N)Dividend: Increased quarterly dividend by 4.1% to $1.02 per shareNet Income in latest quarter: More than tripled to $3.11 billionExxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N)Dividend: Q4 per-share dividend of 91 cents, up 3 centsNet Income in latest quarter: Jumped 43.7% to $12.75 billionChevron Corp (CVX.N)Dividend: Raised quarterly dividend by 9 cents to $1.51 per shareShare buyback: Approves a $75 billion buyback programNet Income in latest quarter: Jumped 25.6% to $6.35 billionConocoPhillips (COP.N)Dividend: Declares variable dividend of 60 cents per shareShare buyback: Raised existing share repurchase authorization by $20 billionNet Income in latest quarter: Rose 23% to $3.2 billionCHESAPEAKE ENERGY CORP (CHK.O)Dividend: Increased total quarterly dividend to $3.16/shr from $2.32/shrNet Income in latest quarter: Stood at $883 mln, compared with $345 mln year-ago lossBAKER HUGHES CO (BKR.O)Dividend: Increased quarterly dividend by 5.5% to 19 cents per shareShare buyback: Authorized an additional $2 blnNet Income in latest quarter: Fell 38.1% to $182 millionSLB (formerly Schlumberger) (SLB.N)Dividend: Increased quarterly cash dividend 43% to $0.25 per shareShare buyback: Resumed share repurchase programNet Income in latest quarter: Rose 77.2% to $1.07 billionMarathon Petroleum Corp (MPC.N)Share buyback: Approved an additional $5 billion in stock repurchasesNet Income in latest quarter: Rose 329.1% to $3.32 billionPhillips 66 (PSX.N)Share buyback: Plans to return up to $12 bln more to shareholders by end-2024 through dividends and buybacksNet Income in latest quarter: Jumped 1241% to $5.4 billionMarathon Oil Corp (MRO.N)Dividend: Expects to raise base dividend by an additional 11% after closing the purchase of EnsignNet Income in latest quarter: Climbed 344% to $817 millionEOG Resources Inc (EOG.N)Dividend: Raised regular dividend by 10%, $1.50/shr special dividendNet Income in latest quarter: Rose 160.6% to $2.85 billionAPA Corp (APA.O)Dividend: Doubled quarterly dividend to an annualized rate of $1.00/shrNet Income in latest quarter: Stood at $422 million, compared with a loss of $113 millionCOTERRA ENERGY INC (CTRA.N)Dividend: Increased dividend by 3 cents to 68 cents/shrNet Income in latest quarter: Surged 1768.75% to $1.2 billionPATTERSON-UTI (PTEN.O)Dividend: Doubled quarterly cash dividend to 8 cents/shrShare buyback: Increased share repurchase authorization to $300 millionNet Income in latest quarter: Rose 181% to $61.5 millionTEXAS PACIFIC LAND CORP (TPL.N)Share buyback: Approved purchase of up to $250 mln worth of sharesNet Income in latest quarter: Rose 55% to $129.8 mlnCANADIAN NATURAL RESOURCES LTD (CNQ.TO)Dividend: Raised quarterly dividend by 13% to 85 Canadian cents/shrNet Income in latest quarter: Rose 27.7% to C$2.81 blnCenovus Energy Inc (CVE.TO)Dividend: Announced a variable dividend of C$0.114Share buyback: Plans to renew repurchase programNet Income in latest quarter: Climbed 192% to C$1.61 blnIMPERIAL OIL (IMO.TO)Dividend: Raised quarterly dividend by 29% to 44 Canadian cents/shrShare buyback: Announced a C$1.5 bln substantial issuer bid to buy back sharesNet Income in latest quarter: Rose 123.6% to C$2.03 blnTOURMALINE OIL CORP (TOU.TO)Dividend: Announced a special dividend of C$2.25/shr; raised quarterly dividend by 11% to 25 Canadian cents/shrNet Income in latest quarter: Rose 481% to C$2.09 blnReporting by Sourasis Bose, Ankit Kumar and Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Here are JPMorgan's top stock picks heading into February
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

JPMorgan added fresh names to its top stock picks for February, including a medical tech company that's rallied sharply to begin the year. For February, JPMorgan added five new names to its Focus List: Cenovus Energy , CMS Energy , Rogers Communications , Stryker and Treace Medical Concepts . The medical tech stock is up 12% year to date. JPMorgan said new additions CMS Energy and Cenovus Energy are uniquely positioned within the industry, according to the note. Amazon's stock fell more than 30% during the past 12 months, but it has rallied to start the year, up more than 24% in 2023.

☆ Winter heating costs likely won't be as high as feared
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Tami Luhby | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —Heating your home this winter likely won’t burn quite as big a hole in your wallet as initially forecast. Still, costs are up across the board compared to last winter — nearly 26% and 14.5% for heating oil and natural gas, respectively, and 10.5% and nearly 9% for electricity and propane, respectively. “You’re still paying more, but not as much more,” said Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association. Applications for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program are projected to reach their highest level in more a decade, Wolfe said. To help its residents cope with the high heating costs, Maine started sending $450 energy relief payments on Monday.

☆ Laid-off tech workers could find a home at startups trying to solve the climate crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Big Tech layoffs have sweetened the talent pool for climate startups and venture-capital firms. Climate startups now have a growing talent pool to choose from, and hiring is picking up, according to recruiters, venture capitalists, and workers who already made the jump from Big Tech to climate tech. "Over the last year, people were already leaving mainstream tech to come into the climate space," Veery Maxwell, a partner at Galvanize Climate Solutions, a global investment firm focused on climate tech, told Insider. Cianfarini told Insider his salary is $185,000 a year plus a $40,000 stock option grant that vests over four years. This trend makes climate tech an attractive option, she said.

☆ Oliver Stone's new film puts nuclear energy in the spotlight. These stocks are ready to hop on the trend
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

In his latest documentary "Nuclear Now," Stone argues for the use of nuclear energy as an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels. "We had the solution [nuclear power] … and the environmental movement, to be honest, just derailed it. For investors, the film adds to growing interest in nuclear power as a fossil fuel alternative beyond renewables. These funds invest in a variety of stocks tied to nuclear power throughout the value chain. Other global nuclear energy ETFs such as Sprott Uranium Miners (URNM) and the VanEck Uranium+Nuclear Energy (NLR) have gained more than 13% and 4% in 2023, respectively.

It is planning to develop a CCS hub in northern Alberta, expected to cost C$16.5 billion ($12.3 billion) by 2030. Trudeau told Reuters in an interview earlier this month Alberta was "hesitating around investing in anything related to climate change". Canada is the world's fourth-largest producer of crude, most of which comes from Alberta's oil sands. The oil and gas sector is the country's highest-polluting industry and needs to drastically cut emissions if Canada is to achieve its climate commitments. 'NO TIME TO SLIP'The Pathways Alliance has already said Ottawa's goal of cutting oil and gas emissions 42% by 2030, equivalent to a 35-megatonne reduction, is impossible.

☆ Rapper Flo Rida wins $82 million lawsuit against energy drink company Celsius
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Alex Portée | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

A Florida jury ruled in favor of a lawsuit brought forth by rapper Flo Rida against Celsius energy drinks and awarded him a total of $82.6 million in damages. On Wednesday, a jury found Celsius guilty of breaching an endorsement deal with Flo Rida that ran from 2014 to 2018. In a statement, Flo Rida, whose legal name is Tramar Dillard, thanked the jury, judge and his attorneys, and said he gained a "new respect for the judicial system." Rapper Tramar Dillard, known as Flo Rida, at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Tuesday. "I’m glad, in this case, the jury concluded that Flo Rida should get what he worked for."

☆ Chef Alison Roman loves her induction stove. Twitter has so many questions.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Those questions and comments rolled in for the celebrity chef Alison Roman on Wednesday after she tweeted that she owns an induction stove "by choice." Induction units are five to 10% more energy efficient than conventional electric stoves, and three times more efficient than gas stoves. Copper or aluminum cookware won't work on an induction stove — magnetic metals like cast iron and some stainless steels are best. The majority of US homes already use conventional electric stoves, while about 38% use gas stoves, according to the US Energy Information Administration. The Inflation Reduction Act authorized an $840 rebate for low- and middle-income households that don't already have an electric stove.

"As counterintuitive as it may sound, this layoff left me in a really good position," the 24-year-old said. U.S. tech giants including Meta, Microsoft (MSFT.O), Twitter and Snap (SNAP.N) have purged more than 150,000 staff, according to Layoff.fyi, which tracks technology job losses. Day One Ventures, an early stage venture fund in San Francisco, launched a new initiative in November to fund startups founded by people who had been laid off from their tech jobs, touting the slogan "Funded, not Fired". Silicon Valley investor U.S. Venture Partners and Austrian VC firm Speedinvest have meanwhile earmarked a similar amount for newly founded companies. Fong told Reuters that experience in Big Tech firm gave founders a "strong brand that can be leveraged to meet investors, potential customers, and recruit team members".

☆ Jeff Bezos has called work-life balance a 'debilitating phrase,' and says work and life are actually a circle
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

In 2018, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos called "work-life balance" a "debilitating phrase." The billionaire and former Amazon CEO taught employees that work and life are a circle. Bezos said the reality is if he is happy at home, he has "tremendous energy" in the office. "I get asked about work-life balance all the time," Bezos told Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner. And if he's happy at work, Bezos said he comes home with the same energy.

☆ Ecuador's $290 mln Petrolia debt void on handover - gov't, company
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Alexandra Valencia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

QUITO, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Ecuador's $290 million debt to a subsidiary of Canada's New Stratus Energy (NSE.V) will be void once contracts for the operation of two oil production blocks expire on Dec. 31, the government and subsidiary said on Thursday. "The state owed the contractor, under unpaid tariffs, $290 million," the energy ministry said in a statement. Ecuador has paid Petrolia some $60 million in fees over the past two years, company manager Ramiro Paez told Reuters, acknowledging the remaining $290 million debt would be wiped when the contracts ended. The company has not yet presented its arbitration case because it must complete a mediation process first, he added. State oil company Petroecuador will on Jan. 1 take over operation of the blocks, which together produce about 14,000 barrels a day.

☆ Republicans went after BlackRock and sustainable investing in 2022. Meet 12 officials crusading against 'woke capitalism.'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

A group of vocal conservative officials are criticizing aspects of ESG investing. Players in the ESG ecosystem, like S&P Global and BlackRock, the world's largest money manager and an influential proponent of ESG investing, are often the subject of their critiques. Instead, officials often paint large financial firms' ESG strategies as functions of left-leaning agendas. Here are key GOP players who are taking aim at ESG investing. Abbott, who is seeking reelection in November, was early to denouncing ESG investing.

☆ Bulb bailout exposes UK’s pseudo power market
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( George Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Bulb is the biggest of dozens of flaky British power suppliers which opted not to hedge their future costs when energy prices were cheap. The Office for Budget Responsibility expects the saga to cost taxpayers 6.5 billion pounds. Octopus itself thinks the loan could be more like 2.4 billion pounds, as wholesale prices have recently fallen. If that’s correct, regular payments by Bulb customers will cover the cost. With retail power prices fixed and the government on the hook for higher wholesale costs, Britain’s privatised power industry is operating in anything but a free market.

☆ Heating bills are getting expensive for Americans as winter storm lands a punch
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Even before this historic winter storm emerged, experts warned home heating costs would jump this winter to the highest level in more than a decade. The cost to heat homes is expected to be 35.7% higher this winter than the 2020-2021 winter, the report said. More than 100 million people across the United States are under winter weather and wind chill alerts. But the heating bills will only get more expensive if the winter proves to be colder than expected. New England is especially vulnerable to severe winter weather, in large part because of constraints on pipelines sending natural gas into the region.

☆ Bill Gates-backed reactor delayed on worries about fuel from Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Timothy Gardner | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The fuel, called high assay low enriched uranium, or HALEU, is enriched up to 20%, much above the up to 5% level today's reactors use. "TerraPower is anticipating a minimum of a two-year delay to being able to bring the Natrium reactor into operation," he said. The Department of Energy (DOE) is looking to downblend some of its stockpile of weapons-grade uranium to help provide fuel for the reactor projects. Levesque said TerraPower will provide a schedule update next year when it knows more about HALEU supply including the availability of DOE material for downblending. Only one company outside Russia, U.S.-based Centrus Energy Corp (LEU.A) is licensed to produce the fuel but it is years away from making commercial amounts.

☆ Biden administration announces $2.5 billion loan to help GM and LG make EV batteries
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Ella Nilsen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The US Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office will announce Monday that it is issuing a $2.5 billion loan to help start three lithium battery manufacturing hubs in Ohio, Tennessee and Michigan. The DOE loan programs office will loan the money to Ultium Cells LLC, a joint venture of General Motors and South Korean battery manufacturer LG Energy Solutions making batteries to power electric vehicles. In order to take advantage of a federal EV tax subsidy in the Inflation Reduction Act, electric vehicles and much of their battery components be sourced, processed and assembled in North America. LG Energy Solutions is also set to partner with Japanese automaker Honda on a $3.5 billion joint venture battery factory in southern Ohio. The Warren, Ohio, Ultium facility will be represented by the United Auto Workers, after the plant voted to unionize on Friday.

Researchers for decades have attempted to recreate nuclear fusion – replicating the fusion that powers the sun. Nuclear fusion happens when two or more atoms are fused into one larger one, a process that generates a massive amount of energy as heat. Scientists across the globe have been inching toward the breakthrough, using different methods to try to achieve the same goal. This heat can then be used to warm water, create steam and power turbines to generate power. “The opposing argument is that this result is miles away from actual energy gain required for the production of electricity,” he said.

☆ Column: 'Dispatchable' renewables in spotlight after upbeat IEA report: Maguire
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

LITTLETON, Colo., Dec 8 (Reuters) - This week's upbeat renewable energy supply outlook by the International Energy Agency (IEA) contained an important but overlooked lament about the slow roll-out of so-called dispatchable renewable energy sources. In an optimised renewables-based electricity system, dispatchable power sources may only be required in minimal amounts during periods of abundant solar and wind power generation. (A column on the locations of major renewable energy installations is available here.) That statement implies that overall conditions could become more favourable for dispatchable renewable energy sources if their worth was better understood. Ultimately, it may be the utilities that have the biggest direct impact on the prospects for dispatchable energy projects.

☆ Oil from questionable origins with a 40% discount is being offered to US energy traders, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

US energy traders are receiving pitches for steeply discounted crude with unclear origins, Bloomberg reported. One middleman offered up to 200,000 barrels of heavy-sour crude at a $30 markdown vs. West Texas Intermediate, per the report. Those three nations combined may be exporting over 4 million barrels a day of discounted oil, according to Bloomberg and EIA data. Moscow has denounced the West's price cap measure and sanction measures, and is still working on a response to the restrictions, a Kremlin spokesperson said Wednesday. Possible counters to the price cap may include banning oil sales to certain nations or setting a maximum price discount for its flagship Urals crude against Brent.

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