High-Flying Platinum Stocks Set to Extend Johannesburg Gains
Bloomberg 4 days ago Adelaide Changole
(Bloomberg) The blistering pace of gains that has pushed South African platinum stocks to the highest in more than 12 years looks likely to be sustained as an upswing in demand and supply constraints fuel the rally.
Johannesburg’s index of platinum stocks has soared 30% this year, leaving the other sectors in the local equities benchmark trailing in their wake. Over 12 months, the FTSE/JSE Africa Platinum Mining Index is up an eye-watering 230% as of Tuesday’s close, thanks to surging prices for palladium and rhodium, dug up with platinum and used in vehicle pollution-control devices.
Oil Tanker Owners Pay to Move Crude in Wake of Supply Cuts
Bloomberg 1/20/2021 Alex Longley
(Bloomberg) Saudi Arabia’s oil production cuts have hit the tanker market so hard that owners of the biggest vessels are effectively subsidizing cargo deliveries on the industry’s main trade route.
Supertankers delivering 2-million-barrel shipments of the kingdom’s oil to China are losing $736 a day for the privilege, according to data from the Baltic Exchange in London on Tuesday. While owners might, in practice, be able to mitigate such losses by ordering captains to sail the vessels slower, the reality is that some ships are losing money on Middle East-to-Asia deliveries, according to Halvor Ellefsen, a shipbroker at Fearnleys.
High Bar for European Profit Rebound Leaves No Room for Setbacks
Bloomberg 1/17/2021 Joe Easton
(Bloomberg) Europe is kicking off the year’s first earnings season with expectations running high after a strong equity rally, setting the stage for disappointment if companies signal further pandemic pain.
With luxury brand Burberry Group Plc, chip equipment maker ASML Holding NV and miner Rio Tinto Group among some 30 companies in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index posting earnings or sales updates in the next week, investors are seeking reassurance about a recovery beyond the lockdowns currently weighing on sentiment. Analysts predict a strong profit rebound this year, following last year’s sharp slump triggered by the impact of Covid-19.