Investment Chronicles
Survey data show the U.S. manufacturing sector contracted for the eighth consecutive month in June (from Reuters on July 3)…
U.S. manufacturing slumped further in June, reaching levels last seen when the nation was reeling from the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, but price pressures at the factory gate continued to deflate, a silver lining for the economy. Shrinking activity left factories resorting to layoffs, the survey from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM)
Today’s macro environment shares some “uncomfortable” similarities with some major stock market tops of the past (from The Variant Perception Blog on June 30)…
1929, 1973 and the dotcom bubbles all saw sustained monetary policy tightening and a clear divergence of surging bubble stocks vs the average stock moving sideways/falling. The 1929 top was preceded by 18 months of tightening policy and a 9-month period of divergence between surging bubble stocks (utilities + tech, thanks to buzz around new
Here’s more on the thinking behind Berkshire’s big investments in the energy sector (from Kingswell on July 18)…
Last week, Berkshire Hathaway Energy agreed to purchase Dominion Energy’s 50% interest in the Cove Point LNG terminal and pipeline for $3.3 billion. This boosts BHE’s stake in the Maryland-based facility up to 75% — and gives Berkshire control of a rare domestic asset capable of exporting natural gas overseas. This comes hot on the
Global consulting giant McKinsey warns of huge potential shortages in “clean energy” metals (from Bloomberg on July 4)…
McKinsey & Co. joined the growing chorus warning that metals considered key to the clean-energy transition face shortages in coming years, potentially suppressing the adoption of electric cars, wind turbines and solar panels. These deficits likely will slow global decarbonization efforts by raising supply-chain costs and, consequently, the prices of lower-carbon products, McKinsey said in