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Major innovation is needed to diversify the global battery sector. Lithium-ion batteries are taking over the world – you probably have a few within reach at this very moment in your rechargeable devices. And since China controls the world's lithium supply chains and dominates global lithium-ion battery manufacturing, the global tech sector has become dangerously consolidated. Breaking this dependency on China will require breaking our dependency on lithium, creating a dire need for the development of viable alternative battery technologies.…
The blockage of the Strait of Hormuz is causing a much larger problem than just a global energy crisis. While oil and gas are critical to energy security for nearly every country on Earth, petroleum is also at the heart of global food systems. A crude oil shortage is also a fertilizer shortage, with potentially disastrous consequences for farmers and consumers, especially in the world’s poorest countries. As the war in Iran stretches on, half the world’s calories are at risk. Roughly half of all fertilizer feedstock exports in the world…
Following the Mubaraz LNG tanker's exit from the Hormuz chokepoint in recent weeks, the first such transit since the conflict began, new ship-tracking data from Bloomberg late Tuesday afternoon show that the first crude supertanker, Idemitsu Maru, is also exiting the critical waterway. Idemitsu Maru, operated by the tanker unit of Japan's Idemitsu Kosan, marks yet another positive signal for Gulf energy flows, but activity in the waterway remains deeply depressed. Two key things we must point out: first, the tanker is through; second, the tanker…
Previously, we reported that Oil & Gas stocks are on track to outperform the broader market by its widest margin on record, driven by Middle East conflict, rising demand from the AI boom, and a continued rotation away from expensive technology and growth stocks. The Energy Sector has netted a 26.6% return in the year-to-date compared to 4.7% rise by the S&P 500, the best sector performance and nearly double the 14.1% gain by second-placed Materials Sector. Oil prices were rallying again on Monday, with Brent crude for June delivery up 2.92%…
I believe the global financial markets are now in what I would call a Wile E. Coyote moment, frequently depicted in the old Warner Bros. animated series called "The Road Runner Show." In this cartoon series, a coyote, while pursuing a roadrunner, would inevitably end up running off a cliff and be suspended in mid-air until he looked down and hurtled to the bottom. I say this because, in case you didn't notice, last week we had the first public admission that fear is starting to grip monetary officials as a result of the Iran conflict. The United…
