Markets & Industries
Libya can inflate oil prices to $ 100 per barrel - 05/01/2018
Illness of General Haftar will certainly result in aggravation of the political situation in Libya and disruptions in oil production. This, in turn will provoke a new sharp jump in the oil prices. Even the most ardent opponents of Khalifa Haftar – there is enough of them in Libya - have to admit that without him the country will once again plunge into chaos and that civil war will break out with...
Shale mining hits the highest level in three years - 04/30/2018
Shale companies in the US continue to increase investment in drilling against the backdrop of oil prices soaring to 3-year records. Last week, the number of drilling rigs used in US fields increased by another 5 units, and their total number - 825 - was a record since March 2015. This is reported by Baker Hughes, which has been monitoring activity in oil wells around the world for more than 70...
The country of cordcutters: Americans are refusing cable TV - 04/30/2018
Three leading providers of television services in the US reported a significant reduction in the number of subscribers. The shift from cable television to streaming is believed to be a fundamental change in consumer behavior. Last week, financial statements of the three leading providers of television services confirmed the unpleasant and, as experts say, a "fundamental" change in the behavior of...
Competition tears German renewable energy market apart - 04/26/2018
Fixed tariffs, which guaranteed investors 20 years with a fixed price of € 0.51 per 1 kWh of generated energy, were one of the main market measures in Germany. They were aimed at stimulating the development of renewable energy sources (RES). The households were able to produce and sell renewable energy (mainly sun and wind), including by merging into energy cooperatives. In the last ten years,...
Does smart farming have a future in the retail market? - 04/24/2018
The concept of smart farming (development of intelligent systems that control all natural processes of cultivation and allows to forecast the harvest) from the farms outside the city has moved to consumers' apartments. Will the manufacturers of home gadgets open a new market? With the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT) and big data, many technologies that seemed only a distant future, have...
Infrastructure crisis endangers US shale oil production - 04/23/2018
Factors restraining the growth of oil production within the Permian basin are beginning to trouble the oil market. Some analysts even began to say that shale mining in the US may not justify the high hopes placed on it. The excitement in West Texas predictably led to numerous problems at all points of the value chain. Oil drillers are facing rising costs for labor, drilling rigs, maintenance...
Housing rental threatens the UK budget - 04/23/2018
A British Research organization The Resolution Foundation predicts that about a third of local millennials may never become home owners until retirement. This could sharply increase budget spending in the Kingdom, when older and already retired tenants will begin to demand a subsidy for renting an apartment. Last week, the British research organization The Resolution Foundation published a study...
Venezuela: Oil in exchange for a catastrophe - 04/20/2018
The Venezuelan oil industry, just like all other branches of the economy, is now in a severe crisis. The situation in the oil industry has once again confirmed the difficult condition of Venezuela's economy: Caracas is spending millions of dollars every day to buy oil. According to experts, writes the London Independent, the Venezuelan oil industry is now working only on 40% of its capabilities....
Investor activity in the healthcare market reaches a 10-year maximum - 04/19/2018
Bain & Company consulting company released a report on activity of investors in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sector in 2017. Private equity funds and private investors spent $ 42.6 billion to buy such companies throughout the world, which is a record for the last ten years. The total volume of corporate M&A in the healthcare market increased by 27% compared to 2016, reaching $ 332...
Portfolio managers are afraid of a possible trade war - 04/18/2018
Managers of the largest investment funds are concerned about trade confrontations between the US and China. And they are reducing investments in shares of companies from developed countries while simultaneously increasing the share of cash in their portfolios. At the same time, investors are willing to build up their investment in developing countries. International investors have sharply...