A roundup of what The Globe and Mail’s market strategist Scott Barlow is reading today on the Web
The Financial Times’ Alphaville site tackles the often-mentioned criticism of electric vehicles – that the power they use to charge the batteries is fossil fuel intensive and EVs are not much better environmentally than diesel-powered cars.
The catalyst for the report were comments by German economist Hans-Werner Sinn that electric vehicles are responsible for carbon dioxide emissions, just “at a remove,”
“We’re not going to pretend like electric vehicles are a panacea. Apart from Sinn’s worries, there are concerns over the energy required to make batteries, and the provenance of the rare metals used to manufacture them. But given the march of technological process in everything from semiconductors to fuel efficiency over the past few decades, electric vehicles will almost certainly not be as damaging as those of today. The internal combustion engine is nearing its death. To claim otherwise is to place faith in a status quo that will not only kill the planet, but German car manufacturers too.”
“Are electric vehicles more damaging than diesel?” – FT Alphaville
Related: “The developing world has hit the brakes on clean energy” – M.I.T. Technology Review
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Like a lot of Canadians, I haven’t thought much about the new free trade agreement with the U.S. since an agreement was reached in principle.
The truth remains, however, that the new trade pact has yet to be approved by Congress although that might change shortly,
“'We are within range of a substantially improved agreement for America’s workers. Now, we need to see our progress in writing from the Trade Representative for final review,' [U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi] said in a statement. House Democrats have voiced concerns over the enforcement of labor and environmental provisions. Labor unions have publicly voiced opposition to the accord amid worry that it will not protect U.S. jobs.’
“Pelosi says U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal is 'within range'” – Reuters
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These two headlines about Canada don’t co-exist well with me, but readers’ mileage may vary,
“Why Canada’s global ‘brand’ is among the world’s most potent” – Report on Business
“Ottawa goes meek and gentle with Beijing” – Maclean’s
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Nomura strategist Masanari Takada believes that FOMO – Fear of Missing Out – has taken hold among hedge funds and active investors,
“Some hedge funds that had staked out short positions in global stocks (out of a sense that the market was becoming overheated) have begun unwinding those positions now that short-term downside tests are looking less likely. Although last week's spontaneous market adjustment was probably not significant enough to have truly let all the excess pressure out of the system, there has been a notable lack of incoming bad news, and it appears that some market participants are being inexorably pulled back into taking on risk after deciding that it was a bad call to try to capture the downside. What we are seeing has all the hallmarks of the early symptoms of a classic case of FOMO”
“@SBarlow_ROB Nomura: FOMO takes hold in hedge funds” – (research excerpt) Twitter
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Diversion: “A Conversation with Mark Zuckerberg, Patrick Collison and Tyler Cowen” – Facebook
Newsletter: “Canadian Consumer: Beware, Burdened and Bewildered” – Globe Investor
Tweet of the Day:
Scott Barlow