Entries by Simon Lack

Some Surprising Facts About Energy

BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy offers many interesting and sometimes surprising insights about global energy. Start with our neighbors to the north. In a poll last year, two thirds of Canadians believed climate change is as serious an issue as Covid. Canada has a carbon tax, and lowering emissions has long been official government […]

Modern Monetary Theory Goes Mainstream

Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) argues that because a government can never go bankrupt in its own currency, the only constraint on spending is inflation. Applied to the U.S., this justifies pandemic stimulus checks, spending on infrastructure and clean energy initiatives, expanded Obamacare and doubtless other initiatives too. Price tabs begin at $1TN nowadays. Stephanie Kelton’s […]

Using More Energy, Everywhere

Last week the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released their 2021 Annual Energy Outlook (AEO). It is produced by their Bipartisan Policy Center, and presidential elections aren’t supposed to affect their work. It isn’t a policy document but is intended to make forecasts based on current policies and known technology. Past AEOs are taken down […]

GameStop Overhauls The Hedge Fund Business

The impact of GameStop (GME) will resonate far beyond a few short-selling hedge funds. It’s a rare breed of manager that runs exclusively or mostly short positions. Behind the forensic financial analysis that’s required lies a deep skepticism of company executives. They see a dark side to human behavior lurking out of sight to most […]

Asia Leads Natural Gas Demand

Last week John Kerry, Climate Czar, warned that natural gas pipeline assets could become “stranded assets” within 30 years. Democrat attitudes toward fossil fuels remind one of St. Augustine (“Lord, make me chaste—but not yet.”). Three decades of debauchery before celibacy shows self-discipline, under the circumstances. Since Biden now owns U.S. climate change policy, indulging […]

Emissions To Rise Under Democrats

By the end of President Biden’s first year in office, his administration’s report card on climate change will offer some uncomfortable facts. Natural gas, after taking market share from coal for power generation under the Trump administration, will see those gains reversed. In the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) most recent Short Term Energy Outlook, […]

Warnings Of Inflation Grow

In early November when Pfizer’s vaccine announcement triggered a strong rally, technology stocks lagged small cap value. Having been out of favor for years, the Russell 2000 sprang to life, drawing in buyers at the expense of tech. The relative movement of tech to value, defined as the ratio of the Nasdaq and Russell 2000 […]

Renewables: More Capacity, Less Utilization

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is generally apolitical – they’re not championing any single energy source. That may change under the new Administration, and they may become a shrill for renewables, but so far, they largely report data. Yesterday their website carried Renewables account for most new U.S. electricity generating capacity in 2021, highlighting […]

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