Cryptos take a massive tumble; Oil prices on the rise as drilling companies meet trouble; Archegos scandal destroys profits of big banks;
Cryptos take a massive tumble
All major cryptocurrencies took a massive tumble during month of May. Bitcoin, which started at 57000+ and went as high as 59000, fell to lows of 30000. Ethereum, started at 2700+ USD and shot up to 4300+ USD before falling back to 2500 USD. Dogecoin, which seemed to be everyone’s choice at a moonshot, climbed 220% before falling below 7% compared to the start of the month. Shiba Inu coin, which was dubbed by some as the top contender for Dogecoin, fell by 74% since its listing began in May.
Both Bitcoin and Ethereum prices stabilised towards the last week of May. Bitcoin now seems to be range bound between 35000-40000. Ethereum trades between 2200 and 2700.
Oil prices on the rise as drilling companies meet trouble
WTI crude oil futures started the week around 63.87 USD to end at 66.66 USD per barrel. The 4% increase within the week brings it very close to the Jan-2021 highs of 67.98 USD and had surpassed the Jan-2020 highs of 65.65 USD per barrel.
Meanwhile some drilling companies are facing much trouble. Royal Dutch Shell lost a case against climate activists at a court in the Hague. Shell was ordered to cut down greenhouse emissions by as much as 45% by 2030. Shell commented that they will be appealing the verdict. While Shell has previously unveiled a plan to cut down carbon emissions by 20% in 2030 compared to 2016 levels and 100% by 2050. However the court found that the plan is not concrete and has conditional clauses.
Engine No 1, a new hedge fund managed to secure two board seats of Exxon Mobil. Engine No 1 was campaigning for Exxon to diversify its investments and to prepare for a future with less fossil fuels. The hedge fund called out the lack of investments by Exxon on renewable energy and to become carbon neutral by 2050.
Over 61% shareholders of Chevron voted in favour of a resolution to reduce the carbon emissions by the second largest oil company in the US. The scope of the resolution covers not only the emissions by the company itself, but also emissions of its customers.
Soruces:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/activist-wins-exxon-board-seats-after-questioning-oil-giants-climate-strategy-11622050087
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chevron-proxy-shareholders-idUSKBN2BV2GI
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/05/26/exxonmobil-rebel-shareholders-win-board-seats/
Archegos scandal destroys profits of big banks
Collapse of the family owned Archegos Capital Management has caused the prime broker units of many banks to report losses in the 1st quarter of 2021. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, UBS and Deutsche Bank were quick to get off from the positions they had against Archegos. Nomura and Credit Suisse, who were also acting as prime brokers for Archegos had reported losses of 2.9B USD and 4.7B USD respectively.
