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☆ Maple Leafs oust Lightning for first playoff series win since 2004
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Frank Pingue | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Obviously it's a bit of a monkey off our back and we still got plenty of work to do but this one obviously feels really great," said Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews. Toronto's last postseason series win came long before the arrival of gifted goal scorer Matthews (2016), explosive winger Mitch Marner (2016) and durable captain Tavares (2018). And for once the Maple Leafs, who had gone 0-11 in series-clinching games since they last advanced, gave their eternally optimistic fan base a reason to celebrate. The Tavares goal less than five minutes into overtime allowed the entire Maple Leafs organization and their fan base to breathe a collective sigh of relief. The Maple Leafs will next face the winner of Sunday's game between the top-seeded Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers.

☆ Morgan Stanley's top auto analyst Jonas sees tough year ahead for EVs, gives his top picks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Analyst Adam Jonas is expecting a "challenging" 2023 for auto earnings on the back of declining demand and deflation – particularly for electric vehicle makers. But Jonas' price target implies the stock could gain 10.6% from where it closed Tuesday. Jonas cut the expected electric vehicle penetration forecasts for 2025 and 2030 to 11% and 26%, respectively, from 13% and 32%. Tesla and Rivian are both electric vehicle makers among his top picks. The stock, which is down 48.4% this year, has a price target that shows it could gain 34% over Tuesday's close.

☆ 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.

The ECB, which bought 5 trillion euros of bonds ($4.9 trillion) over the past decade to lift low inflation, now finds itself battling record high inflation at 10%. "This consideration also makes the practical implementation of ECB QT significantly harder," BofA said. That would reduce its balance sheet by a "manageable" 155 billion euros in 2023 and 300 billion euros in 2024, ING reckons. An eventual wind-down of PEPP holdings could add to balance sheet reductions in 2025 worth a total 388 billion euros, ING said. AllianceBernstein portfolio manager Nick Sanders said he was "sceptical" how the ECB could achieve QT with those protections in place.

A liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker is tugged towards a thermal power station in Futtsu, east of Tokyo, Japan November 13, 2017. The global LNG market has more than doubled in size since 2011, ushering in dozens of new entrants and the expansion of smaller players in Asia. The capital needed to trade the market soared after benchmark LNG prices rose from record lows below $2 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) in 2020 to highs of $57 in August. LNG spot prices price stood at $40.50/mmBtu then. 'DIFFICULT TO COMPETE'High LNG cargo prices are also widening energy poverty globally as some cargoes, initially destined for poorer nations, end up being diverted to European buyers.

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