Endesa has completed the development and validation phase with real users of the ‘Confia’ project, which is a pioneer in Europe. Thanks to ‘blockchain’ technology, it will enable the processing of cases of energy poverty to be speeded up as much as possible. The project is part of Endesa’s commitment to the fight against energy poverty. The company currently has more than 270 agreements in force.
BBVA has launched a five-year Covid-19 issue, the first of its kind by a financial institution in Europe. The resources will be used to finance eligible social projects, mainly to mitigate the severe economic and social impact caused directly or indirectly by the pandemic.
Once again the US has threatened Spanish oil company Repsol and other companies that pump oil in Venezuela and sell it on the international market with “devastating” sanctions. In addition to Repsol, the Italian company ENI and India’s Reliance are currently operating in Venezuela. As a reference, Repsol’s exposure to Venezuela is: 270 million dollars of capital employed (1%) and 50,000 barrels (7% of total production). This exposure has been lowered in recent years.
Bankinter | Sabadell and Bankia will fall by 73.7% and 57.5%, respectively, in 2020, amongst the biggest drops in the European banking sector (a decline of 46.4% for the EuroStoxx Banks). So is a merger looming between these two Spanish lenders? The market has been speculating about this possibility for some time, even as a mechanism to dilute the state’s position in Bankia (currently at 61.8%) which it holds via the FROB.
Iberdrola plans to participate in the renewable energy auction the United Kingdom is preparing for next year. The Spanish power company will submit its East Anglia offshore wind project in the upcoming auction call to try to win one of the contracts for differences (CfD). The project will require an investment of close to 7.6 billion euros.
Mobeen Tahir (Wisdom Tree) | Following weakness in prices around the middle of March, when liquidity needs created acute selling pressures on gold, the precious metal has resumed its strong run this year with more than 13% price appreciation year to date.
After Moody’s downgraded ArcelorMittal’s debt rating by one notch yesterday, causing it to lose its “investment grade” status, the company has proposed a $2 billion capital increase via shares and mandatory convertible bonds. It will decide what proportion is covered by each of the two offers. Furthermore, it reserves the right, depending on demand, to increase the amount of $2 billion.
Simon Peters (eToro) | This week, the Bitcoin block reward halving will happen, possibly as early as today. We don’t know the exact date and time as it happens automatically after 210,000 blocks are mined rather than a defined date and time, but if you want a New Year’s Eve style countdown, check out Bitcoinblockhalf.com I’ve covered the technical details of halving in previous newsletters, so I won’t go over them again. The important thing to note is that the block reward to miners will halve from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC, hence the name of the event.
Telefónica has finally reached an agreement with Liberty Global to merge its UK businesses, O2 Holdings and Virgin Media UK respectively, and form a 50/50 joint venture. The merger would make the new group the UK market leader with a 34% market share compared to BT’s 32%. This integration is the largest transaction in Telefónica’s history. Whatsmore, it will always be remembered for having happened in the midst of the restrictions determined by the confinement in the two countries.
Repsol has found oil in two important deep-water deposits in the Gulf of Mexico, specifically in the wells known as Polok-1 and Chinwol-1. These are located in Block 29 of the Salina Basin, in the south-east area of the Gulf and off the coasts of the states of Veracruz and Tabasco. The effects of the coronavirus pandemic determined Spanish oil and gas group’s results first quarter 2020 results. It recorded an adjusted net result of 447 million euros, a 27.7% decrease from the 618 million euros a year earlier.