Month: January 2020

Soaring stock prices are propelling credit and debit card companies Visa Inc and Mastercard Inc up the market value charts, where they currently rank 7th and 11th among companies in the benchmark S&P 500 index. The stock prices of both Visa and Mastercard have gained roughly 50% in the past year. While the stocks may not keep up that torrid pace, Visa and Mastercard would each be worth over $1 trillion by 2023 if their average annual gains of the past three years were to continue, surging past the likes of Facebook Inc and Berkshire Hathaway Inc, if …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Perched on the back of a semi-trailer is the latest weapon in tackling the problem of wasted natural gas that oil producers often vent into the air or even burn off at the wellhead.Cryobox takes fuel directly from wells and turns it into liquefied natural gas, which is easy to store and transport.For small gas fields uneconomical or too distant to connect to a traditional pipeline network, this small-scale LNG plant is a solution to absorb fuel that would otherwise be wasted. That also makes it a way to prevent greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Oil jumped after the World Health Organization said there’s no need for travel and trade bans due to the coronavirus, but was still set for its worst month since May as the outbreak sapped the demand outlook.The WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern, but said restrictions on commerce weren’t necessary and that it had confidence in China’s ability to control the virus. However, that was undercut by the U.S. government telling Americans not to travel to China. Crude got a further boost after a non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index in Asia’s largest economy beat estimates, helping …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Every other market has already reacted to the deadly virus threatening China’s economy. Soon it will be China’s turn, and it’s likely to be brutal.Stocks and commodities will almost certainly sink when financial markets reopen Monday for the first time since Jan. 23, while bond yields will drop. For equities, the declines are likely to be exacerbated by the amount of leverage in the market — near the highest in 11 months. That could create a downward spiral where steep losses become steeper as traders face margin calls.As an example of how extreme selling can be: In May …read more […]