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☆ A solid start to earnings season will be put to the test in the week ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

The biggest week of this earnings season showed us that things aren't as bad as many feared. The week ahead of earnings, including several more Club names, should tell us more. The results are always important, but it's the guidance and management commentary we will really hone in on to better understand the path ahead. In Amazon's case, a solid first quarter for its AWS cloud business was overshadowed by management seeing a material slowdown in April. ET: Nonfarm Payrolls Looking back It was the biggest week of this earnings season for the Club as several of our mega-cap holdings and industry bellwethers reported results.

☆ The messy, high-stakes world of private equity's fossil-fuel dilemma
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Most major private-investment firms are working to cut down on emissions their portfolio companies send into the atmosphere. It's also set targets to get three-quarters of its majority-owned power-and-energy portfolio companies' emissions that they generate directly and indirectly covered by Paris-aligned climate goals by 2025. A growing number of private-equity firms' pension-fund limited partners are under pressure themselves to either invest around environmental, social, and governance matters or shun investing through those lenses altogether. Firms' plans with their upstream investments tend to draw the most attention because they're involved in drilling for new oil and gas. If you're a private-equity firm and you continue to make new upstream investments, I don't believe you have a Paris-aligned plan.

☆ Here's what to buy — and where — as falling earnings and a looming recession take their toll on US stocks, according to $1.1 trillion asset manager Nuveen
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Marley Jay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

While she's cautious on stocks, Malik says some struggling areas could be ready for a comeback. Nuveen, the asset management unit of financial planner TIAA, believes that even as a recession approaches, some of the market's recent losers are almost ready for a comeback. "Certain equity sectors that were among the hardest hit by rising rates over the past year may now be poised to benefit," Malik wrote. "We think better opportunities exist by taking on credit risk rather than duration risk," she said. "We see value across credit sectors, especially in high yield and loans, and would emphasize that we generally favor relatively higher quality segments within individual credit sectors."

☆ Mountain Valley Pipeline's West Virginia water permit tossed by court
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Clark Mindock | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Circuit Court of Appeals found several defects in the review the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection conducted before issuing the permit. They told the court the agency ignored Equitrans' history of violating state water regulations when it issued the permit under the Clean Water Act. A spokesperson for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection said they're reviewing the decision. The permit is one of the last remaining hurdles for the multi-billion dollar project, which would carry natural gas between West Virginia and Virginia. For West Virginia: Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, Michael Williams and Lindsay See of the state attorney general’s office and Jason Wandling of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.

☆ Buying the dip on energy stocks? Wall Street pros name their top picks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Energy was the second-best-performing sector of the S & P 500 last week, as investors flocked back into the stocks amid a recent dip in oil prices. Thummel also likes two energy infrastructure stocks — Cheniere Energy and Energy Transfer . He likes Viper Energy Partners , which owns a royalty portfolio of oilfield assets. "Viper Energy has one of the largest backlogs of tier-one locations in the [Permian] basin. Viper Energy is thus able to leverage improving energy prices while having "strong" downside support, according to Davolos.

Iraq's Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani, who took office in October, plans to update Iraq's oil production strategies to meet local needs while complying with the OPEC+ agreement, oil ministry spokesman Asim Jihad told Reuters. It is too early for the new government to talk about any significant increases in Iraq's oil production outside the OPEC+ agreement, Jihad said. 'HARD, IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE'For the oil sector, the country has repeatedly delayed a target to reach 7-8 million bpd capacity, from the current 5 million bpd. The beneficiaries were not the international oil companies, but UAE firm Crescent Petroleum and two Chinese companies. Iraq's oil minister this month revived seven investment opportunities in Iraq's refining sector.

☆ Exxon vs. Chevron? Goldman Sachs reveals its favorite — and other energy picks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Energy stocks dropped last week as oil prices fell to a 15-year low , with the banking crisis roiling markets. Amid the volatility, Goldman Sachs named the energy stocks it likes in a March 16 note. Exxon vs. Chevron For investors looking for a defensive play, Goldman analysts recommend Exxon as a top pick, adding that they prefer it over rival Chevron . Targa vs. Oneok Within midstream stocks, Goldman said it was "more positive" on U.S.-based companies Targa Resources and Cheniere Energy following the pullback. That's because lower oil prices would not hit Targa's operations as much as Oneok's, they added.

☆ Investors are buying energy stocks in record amounts after a dip in oil prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Investors have been scooping up energy names amid a recent drop in oil prices, according to Bank of America. The energy sector of the S & P 500 is down more than 3% for the month, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) is off about 4% in March. Targa Resources , which provides midstream natural gas and natural gas liquids services, has buy ratings from about 86% of the analysts who cover it. The name has the highest upside potential on our list, based on its average target price of 59.4%. Diamondback Energy is on the list with buy ratings from three quarters of its analysts and potential upside of about 38%.

☆ Citigroup's top ideas from here for the next 12 months
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Citi refreshed its highest conviction ideas for the next 12 months, as the market enters a new period of volatility. Citi highlighted several equity strategies for the coming months, adding four new buy names to its focus list: Targa Resources , Bruker , Criteo , and Comerica . The natural gas company's shares are down 6.9% year-to-date, but have gained 4.2% during the past 12 months. The stock is up about 7% in 2023 and more than 10% during the past 12 months. But the stock is still down more than 28% year to date, given the recent declines in regional bank stocks.

☆ Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Tesla, Target, Goldman Sachs, Meta, FedEx & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

Bank of America reiterates Goldman Sachs as buy Bank of America said the investment bank is "best-in-class." Bank of America reiterates Taiwan Semiconductor as buy Bank of America said the semiconductor company has "strong AI potential." Evercore ISI reiterates Meta as a top pick Evercore named Meta a top pick, noting it still likes the company's business model. " Evercore ISI reiterates Meta as a top pickEvercore named Meta a top pick, noting it still likes the company's business model. Oppenheimer reiterates Meta as outperformOppenheimer said it's standing by its outperform rating on Meta.

The five-phase project to integrate gas production, storage, pipeline transportation and liquefaction is key for the South American country to monetize its vast reserves and become an exporter on liquefied natural gas (LNG). A delegation of technicians from Petronas traveled to Argentina in February to plan for the project. Drilling rigs could be imported for the upstream portion of the gas project as Argentina struggles to secure specialized equipment, YPF Chief Executive Officer Pablo Iuliano told journalists at the CERAWeek conference in Houston. If the decision is yes, then construction could begin between late 2023 and early 2024,The gas project with Petronas, the oil terminal and a two-phase gas pipeline connecting Vaca Muerta to the country's Northern region are needed to boost the country's oil and gas output and exports. Oil and gas producers expect the government will send draft legislation for promoting LNG production to Congress in the coming weeks, Iuliano said.

Among methods that produce what is known as green hydrogen are electrolysis to split water into hydrogen and oxygen using power from renewables. The technology for shipping hydrogen is still in early stages of development, said Chevron's vice president of hydrogen Austin Knight. About 30-35% of the total energy system will need hydrogen to decarbonize, he said. NextEra is working with the U.S. Treasury on rules that govern what can be considered green hydrogen, he said. The process is complicated by the variability of renewable power supply from wind and solar, he said.

REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File PhotoHOUSTON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Russia's decision to cut crude oil production by 500,000 barrels per day reflects its inability to sell all of its oil, Ben Harris, a U.S. Treasury Department Assistant Secretary, said on Thursday. Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak last week said it would voluntarily cut production beginning next month following the start of Western price caps on Russian oil and oil products on Feb. 5. Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have pushed for lowering the crude oil cap. There have been no American companies involved in trading Russian oil above the price cap, he said. Phillips 66's (PSX.N) Chief Executive Mark Lashier said the company's base assumption is that Russia's crude and oil products will find their way into the marketplace.

☆ Equinor raises energy trading forecast on volatility, flexibility
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Nora Buli | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Norway's Equinor (EQNR.OL) raised its energy trading division's outlook on Wednesday, saying it expects the business to profit from a more flexible asset portfolio and market volatility. Equinor earlier posted record overall profits for 2022, driven by soaring gas prices, sending its shares up 7%. It lifted the adjusted quarterly earnings guidance for its Marketing, Midstream and Processing (MMP) segment to $400 million-$800 million, from $250 million-$500 million previously. Equinor also benefits from having a flexible oil and gas production portfolio and different options for where and when to send its production, she added. Last year's volatility was extreme and Equinor did not expect to see the same geographical spreads, Rummelhoff said.

☆ Nuveen investment chief Saira Malik told us how investors should be positioned today, and when they should flip the switch and change strategies for bigger post-recession profits
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Marley Jay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Saira Malik is the chief investment officer at Nuveen, which manages $1.1 trillion in assets. Malik favors fixed income over stocks, and explained how she thinks investors should allocate. January was a decent month for stocks, and the third positive month for US indexes out of the last four. Some might call it a relief rally, but Nuveen investment chief Saira Malik doesn't seem relieved. She's the chief investment officer and head of the global investment committee for Nuveen, a unit of TIAA that managed $1.1 trillion in assets as of September 30.

☆ Phillips 66 buys public units of pipeline operator DCP Midstream for $3.8 bln
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The deal, the first major move by Mark Lashier who took over as chief executive of Phillips 66 in July last year, will double the company's stake in DCP Midstream to 86.8%. The Houston, Texas-based refiner is buying the public units for $3.8 billion, or $41.75 per share, compared with its previous offer of $34.75 per share. DCP Midstream's shares rose nearly 6.4% to $41.84, while those of Phillips 66 were up 1.1%. The DCP deal is expected to generate an incremental $1 billion of adjusted EBITDA for Phillips 66, the refiner said in a statement. Phillips said it expects to save at least $300 million by integrating DCP into its existing midstream business.

☆ In an income-obsessed world, dividends that are too high could turn into a dry well
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Scott Schnipper | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Income and yield, dividends and royalties. After all, analysts' forecast yield on the S & P 500 as a whole in 2023 is still only about 1.8% today. To find red flags among high-payers, CNBC Pro searched the S & P 1500 Index, consisting of the S & P 500, Midcap 400 and Smallcap 600 indexes. The result is five stocks with dividends ranging as high as 15.2%, but no lower than 5.5%. More optimistically, however, its dividend coverage ratio stands at a reasonable 2.0.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology removes CO2 emissions from the atmosphere and stores them underground. * Smeaheia, a project by Equinor to develop a storage site in the North Sea with a potential to inject up to 20 mtpa from 2027/2028. The project plans to transport CO2 via pipelines to a storage site some 145 km offshore in the southern North Sea. ICELAND* The Coda Terminal will be a cross-border carbon transport and storage hub in Straumsvík, operated by Icelandic carbon storage firm Carbfix. The full capture, transport and storage chain will handle up to 100,000 mtpa of CO2.

☆ Analysis: Argentina's Vaca Muerta shale boom is running out of road
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Eliana Raszewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

[1/4] Workers stand next to a drilling rig in Vaca Muerta shale oil and gas drilling, in the Patagonian province of Neuquen, Argentina November 3, 2022. It holds the world's second-largest shale gas reserves and the fourth-largest shale oil deposits. Reuters Graphics'ABOUT TO COLLAPSE'On the ground in the key Vaca Muerta shale town of Anelo the signs of strain are clear. Local and regional demand is not enough," said Ricardo Markous, president of Tecpetrol, which operates the huge Fortin de Piedra field in Vaca Muerta. There are currently around eight active fracking crews in Vaca Muerta compared to nearly 280 in the United States, Rystad said.

☆ These ETFs can help investors navigate stubbornly high inflation in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Jesse Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Gargi Pal Chaudhuri, head of iShares Investment Strategy Americas, said that she expects inflation to still be above 3% by the end of 2023, driven by services inflation. However, there's also the other part of inflation which is services inflation. Services inflation makes up about 60% or so of the consumer basket," Chaudhuri said. One way to play this is through infrastructure vehicles, like the iShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF (IFRA) . The iShares TIPS ETF have a total return of about -10.4% this year.

☆ Top Wall Street analysts bet on these stocks to brace for a sharp downturn
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Tipranks.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

In this article ADIMCHPFANGVMW Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTVMware at the NYSE, Dec. 14, 2021. Source: NYSEVMwareWhile software company VMware (VMW) reeled from lackluster quarterly results, Monness Crespi Hardt analyst Brian White maintained his positive conviction on the stock. Impressively, Hanold holds the 8th position among more than 8,000 analysts on TipRanks, and boasts a 70% success rate. Recently, Stifel analyst Tore Svanberg recently reiterated a buy rating on MCHP stock and even increased the price target to $80 from $77. (See Analog Devices Hedge Fund Trading Activity on TipRanks) The analyst sees Analog Devices outperforming its peers in the present challenging macroeconomic environment.

☆ Trump-Fuentes-Ye dinner was a mistake given 2022 election results
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Musa Al-Gharbi | Musa Al-Gharbi Is A Paul F. Lazarsfeld Fellow In Sociology At Columbia University. His Research | Social Media Can Be Found On His Website | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Many who backed the GOP in other races voted for Democrats when the Republican was an election denier. The cynical bid paid off: Literally all the extreme GOP candidates that Democrats boosted failed in the general election. Many people who would otherwise happily vote Republican were unwilling to vote for Trump or those he endorsed. And Trump’s sexist and misogynistic rhetoric alienated Republican voters, men and women alike. Women, for their part, moved toward the GOP, with women of color shifting more than white women.

☆ HBO layoffs, cuts, and 'ill will' over show cancellations have damaged its reputation among TV creators
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Elaine Low | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

"I'm super, super nervous, because HBO has always been my favorite place to do business," said one TV agent. But concerns about new corporate leadership, layoffs, budget cuts, and the future of HBO Max — the streaming home of HBO — kept bubbling to the top. "I'm super, super nervous, because HBO has always been my favorite place to do business," one TV agent said. Aside from the 70 or so layoffs at HBO and HBO Max over the summer amid broader restructuring at WBD, creatives were troubled by the company's decision to pull existing TV shows and films from HBO Max. Read all of Insider's 2022 report here: 14 TV insiders rank the streamers where they want to sell shows: HBO is No.

☆ HBO is No. 1 as 14 TV insiders rank the streamers where they want to sell shows: Apple's a big spender and 'there's a sheen when you're a Hulu show,' but there's 'fear in the air' at Netflix
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Elaine Low | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

"It's definitely been not the most exciting and robust year," said one TV agent at a major agency. Around 70 people at HBO and HBO Max have been let go this year, and their comedy development teams have merged. While WBD doesn't break out streamer-specific figures, it said on Thursday's earnings call that HBO Max, HBO, and Discovery+ have a combined 94.9 million subscribers, ensuring that any show on HBO Max has the chance to get a lot of eyeballs. They'll also take smaller swings in the genre department, do things at a lower budget," said the second TV agent. Echoed the first TV agent: "You pitch and sell to them if no one else wants it."

☆ "We're still early days in this downturn": A portfolio manager at Lazard reveals the 3 asset classes that will provide investors with the steadiest returns as recession fears mount — and shares 3 high
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But in a year like 2022 when stocks are down, real assets can suddenly look a lot more attractive to investors. On the other hand, real estate has been a relatively weak performer this year due to its inverse correlation with interest rates. Year-to-date the Lazard Real Assets fund is beating 85% of its peers, down 5.7% versus its category average of a negative 12% return. "It's gone from a second-class in the real estate space to now an integral part of the supply chain," he explained. Finally, in the infrastructure space McGoey highlighted Targa Resources (TRGP) as a key midstream player.

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