“I am specifically intested in a follow-up on "fr a cking" and whether you see an interesting theme to invest in? and if so, in which way?”

Eoin Treacy's view Thank you for this question. We have described the boom in unconventional oil and gas supply as a game changer for the energy sector for a number of years. However since the primary result of this surge in supply has been to depress natural gas prices, the clearest beneficiaries have been on the demand side and among companies that profit from increased volumes.

In the manufacturing sector, lower energy prices have contributed to the USA's competitiveness, particularly in the chemical, industrial and utility sectors. On the supply side pipelines have been the greatest beneficiaries of increased volumes because the product must be brought to market before it can be sold. A corollary of this theme has been growth in demand for railcars where pipelines do not exist. Since fracking requires additional wells to maintain supply, this is also bullish for related drilling companies.

Please see Comment of the Day on November 27th and December 21st .