David Fuller and Eoin Treacy's Comment of the Day
Category - Energy

    Tesla resale values

    This graphic from Bloomberg may be of interest to subscribers:


    It’s early, but there are signs Tesla Inc.’s Model 3 could be as exceptional in the used market as it has been in the new-car world. The sedan has sold at volumes no other electric vehicle has come close to reaching, turning Tesla into the most valuable auto company in the world. Car-shopping websites still have small sample sizes to work with, yet so far, the Model 3s are retaining much more of their value than their small luxury-vehicle peers and they’re selling quickly once owners list them for sale -- on average just 29.3 days from March through June -- according to iSeeCars.com.

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    Email of the day - on risk appetites and the value of a subscription.

    I am a pre-subscriber (financial constraints, exacerbated since Covid-19, make it impossible for me to become a full subscriber, I'm afraid, so I may not qualify for a reply. But David did reply to me on more than one occasion;  he was always so kind, and is greatly missed).

    I remember your being on the panel at a money show in the conference centre in Westminster Square (I forget the name - possible Westminster Conference Centre) - it must have been about 2009 because I remember asking a question as to whether there were any "good" banks left that might be worth investing in.
      
    Anyhow, in response to a question from another attendee about companies drilling for water in Australia, (or possibly into wind power or solar or even lithium miners (if it wasn't too early) - I forget exactly which), I remember you replying that you never favoured chasing these early-stage stories, and in general you have been proved right since.   

    I still tend to class hydrogen fuel and battery power for vehicles in the same category, but perhaps you feel that times have changed sufficiently now?    Since I am only a pre-subscriber, and not able to read the full article, I appreciate that you may have said more on this there, or in previous Comments of the Day.
        
    It seems to me that since hydrogen when mixed with oxygen is a very explosive mix (although this could also be said to a lesser extent of petrol vapour, I suppose), it would only take one careless mistake or faulty construction to cause a serious explosion.   But perhaps the design features are so tight that this would be impossible.   

    At least I would trust an electric vehicle more than a self-driving one! In fact, I am a bit nervous by nature. I would never trust a Toyota now, after that stuck accelerator pedal caused a fatality. What the last minutes of those poor occupants were like I cannot face thinking about.

    Whether it is possible to reply to this or not, many thanks Eoin for the comments that I am able to read daily. They give a very sane and reassuring perspective, especially in these difficult times.

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    Ballard Power Gets Stock Upgrade as Hydrogen Vehicles Gain Steam

    This article by Divya Baljifor Bloomberg may be of interest to subscribers. Here is a section: 

    Ballard Power, one of Canada’s best-performing stocks this year, just got an analyst upgrade as
    governments and vehicle manufacturers around the world push for the development of battery and hydrogen vehicles. BLDP fell as much as 9.5% intraday Thursday in Toronto.

    * Stock raised to outperform from sector perform, PT increased to C$20 from C$18 by National Bank of Canada analyst Rupert Merer

    * Ballard is in discussions with potential partners in Europe and could form a joint venture with a top-tier supplier; China could have a detailed hydrogen plan come soon, targeting one million hydrogen vehicles by 2030

    * Merer sees a number of positive catalysts this year and the stock is still well priced compared with its peers

    * Ballard is up more than 110% this year, making it the fourth best performing Canadian stock, vs the S&P/TSX Composite Index’s 2.7% decline

    * NOTE: July 29, Fuel-Cell Firm Stages Comeback 20 Years Later With Help of China

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    GM Shares Soar on Electric-Vehicle Spin-Off Speculation

    This article by David Welch for Bloomberg may be of interest to subscribers. Here is a section:

    GM does plan to sell more than 20 EV models around 2023. That business could be spun off for $20 billion and eventually be worth as much as $100 billion, Deutsche Bank’s Rosner said. GM’s core business selling gasoline-powered sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks is generating cash but viewed as being in long-term decline and is less exciting to investors than the company’s electric-car plans, he wrote.

    Despite the share gains this week, the Detroit-based automaker’s stock is down about 17% so far this year while all-electric rival Tesla Inc.’s value is eight times that of GM. By spinning off its EV business, GM could get the kind of momentum enjoyed by Tesla and a handful of startups that have lured capital despite their having no vehicles on the market.

    Battery-powered cars have caught the imagination of investors in recent weeks, sending shares of Tesla to successive record levels and boosting the value of electric startups such as Nikola Inc., Fisker Inc. and Lordstown Motors Corp., all of which took a fast track chasing public listings after being acquired by special purpose acquisition companies.

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    Black silicon photodetector hits record-breaking 132% efficiency

    This article by Michael Irving for NewAtlas may be of interest to subscribers.

    Together, these advances made for a device with 130-percent external quantum efficiency. The team even had these results independently verified by the German National Metrology Institute, Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB).

    The researchers say that this record efficiency could improve the performance of basically any photodetector, including solar cells and other light sensors, and that the new detectors are already being manufactured for commercial use.

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    Platinum Quarterly Presentation Q1 2020

    This report carries a great deal of relevant information for the platinum market. Here is a section:

    Automotive demand down only 17% (-132 koz) YoY despite a 24% fall in Q1 light global vehicle sales

    Tightening global emissions standards, driving higher pgm loadings, partially counters lower auto sales/production

    W. Europe diesel share decline slowed on increased diesel sales

    Diesel vehicles still key for automakers to avoid or reduce heavy CO2 fines

    German diesel car market share continued to recover (Q1’20 average 35%, up 1.3% over 2019 average)

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    Changes in the global value of ecosystem services

    This report from Elsevier may be of interest to subscribers. Here is a section:

    3. Valuation is not privatization It is a misconception to assume that valuing ecosystem services in monetary units is the same as privatizing them or commodifying them for trade in private markets (Costanza, 2006; Costanza et al., 2012; McCauley, 2006; Monbiot, 2012). Most ecosystem services are public goods (non-rival and non-excludable) or common pool resources (rival but non-excludable), which means that privatization and conventional markets work poorly, if at all. In addition, the non-market values estimated for these ecosystem services often relate more to use or non-use values rather than exchange values (Daly, 1998). Nevertheless, knowing the value of ecosystem services is helpful for their effective management, which in some cases can include economic incentives, such as those used in successful systems of payment for these services (Farley and Costanza, 2010). In addition, it is important to note that valuation is unavoidable. We already value ecosystems and their services every time we make a decision involving trade-offs concerning them. The problem is that the valuation is implicit in the decision and hidden from view. Improved transparency about the valuation of ecosystem services (while recognizing the uncertainties and limitations) can only help to make better decisions.

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    Email of the day - on returning customers

    Dear Eoin and team, I would like to thank you very much for the big difference you have made to my confidence in advising my clients, since I re-joined the service. If only I could find a way of explaining the benefit to my professional contacts! All the very best

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    Shale Driller Devon to Pay Biggest Dividend In Its History

    This article by Joe Carroll and Rachel Adams-Heard for Bloomberg may be of interest to subscribers. Here is a section:

    The debt buybacks will target an amount equivalent to about half of Devon’s outstanding net debt, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Devon stock was the best performer in the S&P 500 Index, rising 7.8% to $11.95 at 9:33 a.m. in New York after earlier climbing 8.3%.

    Devon’s special payout and debt-reduction targets are the most aggressive efforts yet as shale explorers grapple with a virus-induced demand collapse and tumbling energy prices.

    “These shareholder-friendly initiatives demonstrate our commitment to a new E&P business model, which moderates growth, emphasizes capital efficiencies, generates free cash flow and returns increasing amounts of cash directly to our shareholders,” Devon Chief Executive Officer Dave Hager said in the statement.

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