Crédito y Caución (Atradius) | Latin America is a frontrunner in the energy transition. It has the cleanest electricity mix in the world. But it is mainly focusing on hydropower, which is susceptible to altering rain cycles. The region has huge potential in other sources of green energy, such as sun, wind and geothermal generation. To remain a leader in clean electricity and achieve net zero emissions in 2050 it…
José Carlos González Vázquez (Ceca Magán Lawyers) | On April 1, 2022, Los Angeles County Superior Court has found that California Corporations Section 301.4 (AB 979 signed in September 30, 2020), which requires publicly listed corporations to have at least one director on their boards from “underrepresented communities”, defined as “an individual who self-identifies as Black, African American, Hispanic, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, Native Hawaian, or Alaska Native,…
Juan Girón Roger (journalist) | You might have thought why you can leave your house, take a taxi, jump into a plane, get a bus, take a train and get to your destination. That is because of multimodal travel. This vision was developed to make people’s life easier. But is this something anybody can use and benefit from? Let’s take it one step at a time. Multimodal travel implies that…
Juan Antonio Martínez & Leonardo Gago (ASE Group) | More liquefied natural gas (LNG) is arriving at European ports and has lowered the daily price and that of immediate short-term gas products at the Dutch TTF. For the time being, the increase in LNG imports is offsetting the strain on Russian supply. In Q1 2022, Russian exports to the EU had fallen by 35% compared to the 2016-2021 average for…
Alicia García Herrero (Natixis) | With high inflation globally and supply chain disruptions in Mainland China, Taiwan will face more headwinds in growth. Even though the economic fundamentals are still supportive, the worsened environment can multiply risks in capital outflows and corporate profits. Above all, the good news is exports and investment remain the strong pillars. With buoying global demand, Taiwan’s export grew 24% YoY in Q1 2022. There was…
Fitch explains that for large US banks “the sharp rise in interest rates across the curve led to unrealised losses in AFS (Available-for-Sale) securities portfolios with an estimated negative effect on CET1 ratios of 20-110bp”. Specifically, according to Bloomberg, JPMorgan reported latent losses of about USD 7.4 billion on a total of USD 313 billion of Treasuries and other bonds in its available-for-sale portfolio in the Q1’22 results announced last…
Renta 4 | Ferrovial (FER)‘s partial sale of its UK services affiliate Amey to the fund Rubicon Partners would be at an advanced stage, according to the press. We are talking specifically about the utilities business, focused on electricity and water. This activity invoiced 200 million GBP in 2020 (9.4% of the sales of this division in the UK and 3.5% of total group sales. More residual weighting in terms…
Fernando Rodríguez | Close to nine out of 10 members of Boards of Directors – some 89% – believe that “one or two members should be replaced” on their board. This is according to the latest survey Board effectiveness: A survey of the C-suite elaborated by consultancy PwC and independent organisation The Conference Board, following questions put to 550 top executives from listed companies. Only 29% of those selected think…
The Santander analysts review the electric car market and explain that “Delivery times for the main models in Europe have increased considerably. The Renault Zoe and Twingo Electric are no longer sold in Germany because delivery times are too long. The waiting time for an Audi Q4 e-tron is now 18 months. This also explains the current success of Stellantis Electric Vehicles in Europe, where their lead times are shorter…
European Views | The conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues and so do the global gas supply issues. Iran hopes to step in and become Europe’s main gas provider replacing Russian gas export. Iran to Offer Alternative to Russian Gas Export in Europe Being the second-largest gas reserves globally, Iran has 34 trillion cubic metres of natural gas. It’s nearly 17% of the world’s total reserves. Some believe that Iran…