August, 2017

• 27 August

  Commodities lose as Trump’s business councils disband

  

  President Donald Trump’s decision last week to disband the Manufacturing Council and Strategy & Policy Forum not only puts his agenda to revitalize the nation’s infrastructure in jeopardy, it also weakens the precarious support commodities such as copper, steel and crude oil have relied upon. Although not stellar, global commodity prices had shown decent support ever since it became clear ...

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• 27 August

  Good reason to dismiss market fears for now

  Risk assets across the globe, despite already high valuations, have recovered impressively from a sell-off triggered by concerns about a North Korean nuclear attack. In doing so, they have again highlighted the extent to which traders and investors—highly confident about the environment they operate in (be it economic, financial or institutional)— have developed endogenous stabilizers. And while there is a ...

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• 27 August

  ‘Great Again’ is Trump’s magic Twitter mantra

  If President Donald Trump really wants to light up the Twittersphere, what should he write about? White supremacists? The wall? Obama? Fighting terrorism? Nope. Judging from experience, his best bet is just repeating his mantra: “Make America Great Again.” Welcome to another special edition of the Trump Twitter Filter, where we analyze the behavior of @realDonaldTrump so you don’t have ...

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• 27 August

  Poor healthcare is India’s greatest public failing

  

  As India celebrated 70 years of independence last week, a tragedy in a remote corner of India’s largest state, Uttar Pradesh, highlighted how far the world’s largest democracy still is from being able to provide a healthy life for most of its citizens. For all its talk of smart cities and industrial corridors, this is the government’s greatest failing—and one ...

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• 27 August

  Sorry, but Silicon Valley isn’t special anymore

  

  Silicon Valley has a perception problem. Steve Jobs once said, speaking about the irreverent culture he helped create, that “it’s better to be a pirate than join the navy.” This ethos served the community well when its firms existed at “pirate scale.” But now Silicon Valley’s most successful companies have become some of the largest in the world. This culture ...

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• 27 August

  Sorry, renewables won’t end geopolitics of energy

  

  In another sign that the age of fossil fuels is waning, the California State Senate has passed a bill to commit the state to use 100 percent renewable energy for power by 2045. Other states and cities—including Massachusetts, Chicago and Atlanta—intend to make similar switches. Proponents highlight a bevy of ways in which the Age of Renewables will improve our ...

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• 27 August

  US grid report calls for saving coal plants

  

  Bloomberg The Energy Department, in a long-anticipated report on the security of the US electric grid, makes the case for rescuing the nation’s coal industry from widespread plant shutdowns, but stops short of an assault on renewable power that environmentalists had feared. The study, commissioned by Energy Secretary Rick Perry who has warned that policies favoring solar and wind may ...

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• 27 August

  Shell joins solar push in Australian coal hub

  

  Bloomberg Royal Dutch Shell Plc is investigating a solar power project in an Australian region better known for its fossil fuels, particularly coal. The company is studying the feasibility of a solar development on its land in the Western Downs area of Queensland, which is subject to a final investment decision, a spokeswoman said by email. Though Shell’s statement didn’t ...

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• 27 August

  Comcast deal prompts Sunrun to soar

  

  Bloomberg Sunrun Inc., the residential solar company that’s boosting market-share, rose to a 52-week high last week after saying it will tap a partnership with the biggest US cable-TV company to add new customers. Comcast Corp. and Sunrun agreed to a 40-month partnership after a trial showed that cable customers had interest in solar products, according to a statement. San ...

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• 27 August

  Duke asked to cancel planned South Carolina N-reactors

  

  Bloomberg Duke Energy Corp. asked to cancel its planned nuclear plant in South Carolina, citing the bankruptcy of reactor manufacturer Westinghouse Electric Co. North Carolina utility regulators should require customers of the company’s Duke Energy Carolinas unit to pay $353 million of pre-construction costs spent on the Lee Nuclear Station over the next dozen years, the Charlotte-based company said in ...

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