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Natural gas prices: Liquefied plans?
A few months ago, natural-gas traders in Asia were excitedly recalling the boom days of 2008. Back then, cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) fleetingly sold for US$20/million British thermal units...
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Pharma: AstraZeneca disappoints again
AstraZeneca was always going to take a hit this quarter after losing patent protection on many of its key drugs. But its second-quarter results were even worse than most analysts expected, with revenue...
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Bank valuations: Premium Russian brand
Earlier this week, Russia’s central bank sold a 7.6% stake in the country’s largest lender, Sberbank. The offer—twice oversubscribed—priced at Rb93 per share (US$3.04), raising around US$5.2bn for the...
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Oil and gas in North America: Independence day
Shale gas, you might think, is old hat. As a topic of conversation, the “revolution” in US natural gas production—in which innovative techniques including hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) have opened...
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National broadband plans: Significant influence
Many factors influence how fast broadband spreads across a country. Income and investment levels, regulation, competition and urbanisation all play a role. But which of these is most important? New...
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US oil exports to Canada: Reverse flow
Much attention has focused of late on the fate of the Keystone XL pipeline, and the underlying question of how to get plentiful oil from Canada’s tar sands to refiners in the US. But a steep rise in...
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European car sales: May days
Car sales in the European Union hit a historic low in May, according to the latest figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association. At just over 1m units, a 6% drop from the previous...
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UK motoring costs: Ups and downs
For the past 25 years the RAC, a motoring organisation, has surveyed British car owners on a wide variety of issues. The latest survey, released earlier this month, dwelled on the exasperation of...
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Shale oil: Revolution 2.0
Yesterday, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) unveiled its first global estimate of oil resources caught in shale rock. The headlines: there is a lot of shale oil out there (supposedly 10%...
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Mobile broadband: Atlantic divide
Starting from roughly equal footing in 2007, the US has invested far more than Europe in mobile infrastructure over the past six years. This has left many Europeans without access to cutting-edge 4G...
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The Keystone XL pipeline: Leaky data
The controversy over the proposed Keystone XL pipeline to pump oil from Alberta’s tar sands to the US continues to generate heat. President Barack Obama’s perennial postponement of a decision enrages...
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Broadband in Australia: LTE v NBN
While the debate still rages over Australia’s US$32bn fibre rollout, blanketing most of the country with superfast fixed-line broadband connections over the next eight years, the country’s...
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Renewable energy: Mixed picture
The latest survey of global renewable-energy investment by the Pew Charitable Trusts, a non-profit organisation, paints a relatively sorry picture. Last year, funds devoted to solar plants, wind farms...
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US banks: Reality bites
The initial results of the Federal Reserve’s latest round of bank stress tests are out. Only Ally Financial, the majority government-owned auto lender, saw its core capital—the Tier-1 common ratio, to...
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HSBC’s settlement: It’s all relative
The landmark US$1.9bn settlement between US authorities and HSBC is by far the largest of its kind. The bank’s “wilful and dangerous practices” allowed its American unit to process transactions for...
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Dealmaking at HP: Buyer’s remorse
Another quarter, another multi-billion-dollar writedown. Computer maker HP’s latest results include the blockbuster revelation of a US$8.8bn impairment to goodwill and intangible assets related to...
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American car demand: Baby Boomers’ flagging thirst for petrol
The American auto industry owes a lot to the Baby Boom generation. Born between 1946 and 1964, this group’s penchant for driving more—and more often—than other groups fuelled a long boom in car sales....
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China’s retail market: Double dragon
Things change quickly in the retail sector, especially in China. Over the next five years, the Chinese market will roughly double in size, overtaking the US—the current market leader—for the first...
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Oil and gas in North America: Independence day
Shale gas, you might think, is old hat. As a topic of conversation, the “revolution” in US natural gas production—in which innovative techniques including hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) have opened...
View ArticleBank valuations: Premium Russian brand
Earlier this week, Russia’s central bank sold a 7.6% stake in the country’s largest lender, Sberbank. The offer—twice oversubscribed—priced at Rb93 per share (US$3.04), raising around US$5.2bn for the...
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