Economy

2024-01-13 15:00:00

So why say that when not a single day goes by without us talking regarding “energy transition”? We talk regarding it with our guest Jean-Baptiste Fressoz

Our energy choices and in particular fossil fuels (oil, coal, gas) are largely responsible for the climate deregulation and therefore lead us to leave an unlivable planet to the next generation.

And yet… the energy transition is, according to some, nothing more than a “fable that history deconstructs”.

Today we will try to understand. Because understanding our past means understanding the titanic obstacles that stand in the way of our future. And to answer our questions, Planète bleu invited Jean-Baptiste Fressoz, historian of science, technology and the environment and author of the book “Without transition. A new history of energy”.

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Here the author explains how materials and energies are linked togethergrow together, accumulate and pile on top of each other.

Why did the notion of energy transition emerge? How did this future without a past become, from the 1970s, that of governments, businesses and experts, in short, the future of reasonable people ?

The issue is fundamental because the links between energies explain both their permanence in the very long term, as well as the titanic obstacles which stand up on the path to decarbonization.

Welcome to “Planète Bleu”, the climate and biodiversity magazine!

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#energy #transition #place

2024-01-13 12:08:02

Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and U.S. and British strikes once morest their targets have disrupted shipping, boosted oil and gold prices, and hit revenue from the Suez Canal.

Shipping companies change routes

Shipping data from the London Stock Exchange Group and the Kepler global trade information platform showed that at least four oil tankers have sailed from the Red Sea amid growing concerns regarding escalating tensions since the United States and Britain launched attacks on Houthi rebel targets in Yemen. Diversion.

The Houthis have been targeting commercial ships since late last year in attacks that the group says are aimed at supporting the Palestinians given Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip. The attacks were concentrated in the Bab el-Mandeb area.

In another sign of escalation, Iran on Thursday seized an oil tanker carrying Iraqi crude bound for Turkey near the Strait of Hormuz, another key waterway for global trade.

Due to the impact of the Gaza war, the Houthi armed forces seized the cargo ship “Galaxy Leader” in November last year (French media)

The tankers Toya, Diana-i, Stolt Zulu and Navigate Pride LHJ turned around mid-voyage on Friday to avoid the Red Sea, according to ship tracking data.

Data shows that one of the tankers named “Toya”, a large crude oil tanker capable of carrying 2 million barrels of oil, is currently empty. The other three ships were oil tankers.

Over the past few weeks, several shipping companies have chosen to avoid the Red Sea region due to increased risks.

Dantom Shipping Group said on Friday it had decided to temporarily suspend all sailing operations through the southern Red Sea.

Hafnia Shipping Company, on the other hand, said on Friday that it had decided to immediately stop all ships sailing to or near the Bab el-Mandab Strait.

Hafnia’s statement said that this decision came following the United States and Britain launched air strikes once morest the Houthi rebels in Yemen, and the joint navy advised to stay away from the area.

It was followed by Swedish shipping company Stena Bulk, which told Archyde.com it had halted shipping in the Red Sea earlier on Friday.

Houthi leaders respond strongly, warning Washington and London not to expand confrontation

a cautious welcome

Major shipping companies Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd welcomed measures aimed at ensuring security in the region, but the companies did not clarify whether the US-UK crackdown would be enough to resume navigation operations to the Suez Canal. The Suez Canal is the fastest shipping route between Asia and Europe, and regarding 12% of the world’s container shipping companies pass through the canal.

Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd AG reported additional monthly losses estimated at tens of millions of dollars from Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

A spokesman for the group said the attacks had a “significant impact on the industry and on us”. The spokesman did not comment on the US and UK-led international military strikes once morest Houthi positions but said: “We welcome making the Red Sea passage safe once more measures.”

Archyde.com said the oil tanker association (Intertanko) circulated a memo to its members, which said the Combined Maritime Force (CMF) warned all ships to “stay away from the Bab el-Mandeb Strait”.

The Tanker Association added: “The threat period for shipping operations is expected to last for several days.” About 10% of global trade passes through the Red Sea.

U.S. Army: Our air forces struck 60 targets in 16 locations of Houthi rebels in Yemen

The oil market in the eye of the storm

The United States and the United Kingdom launched air and sea strikes once morest Houthi rebel targets in Yemen in response to attacks launched by the Houthi rebels in Yemen since the end of last year, causing tankers to reroute from the Red Sea and causing oil prices to rise 4%.

Oil prices rose by more than 4% amid high geopolitical risks. Brent crude oil traded above $80 before falling to around $78.3.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude also rose 4%, topping $75 before falling to around $73 in evening trading.

More than 20 million barrels of oil pass through the Strait of Hormuz every day, equivalent to regarding 20% of global consumption, ING analysts said in a report.

Gold benefits

Gold prices rose on Friday as air strikes in Yemen increased the appeal of the precious metal as a safe-haven asset.

Gold prices rose 0.9% in live trading to $2,046.62 an ounce as of 20:33 GMT on Friday.

U.S. gold futures also rose regarding 2% to $2,050.90.

Kelvin Wong, chief market analyst for Asia Pacific at Oanda, said attention will be focused on rising geopolitical tensions, which are seen as “supporting gold prices above the 50-day moving average above $2015.”

The number of ships passing through the Suez Canal has dropped to 544 so far (Al Jazeera)

The Suez Canal is suffering

Suez Canal Authority chief Osama Rabie said the Suez Canal’s dollar revenue has fallen 40% since the start of the year compared with 2023, following Yemen’s Houthi rebels disrupted its navigation route following attacks on ships bound for Israel. Departed from this corridor.

Osama Rabie mentioned in the TV program that from January 1 to the 11th of the same month, ship transit traffic dropped by 30% year-on-year.

He explained that the number of ships passing through the Suez Canal has dropped to 544 so far this year, compared with 777 in the same period last year.

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#Red #Sea #attack #confuses #shipping #lines #revives #oil #gold #Economy #Jazeera

2024-01-13 13:58:00

New episode of our consumer test series. As a reminder, every week we test products on sale in the six supermarket chains (Delhaize, Colruyt, Aldi, Lidl, Intermarché and Carrefour) by comparing the major brands to “white products” or distributor brands. The final score for each product is out of twenty points: 2.5 points for the appearance of the packaging, the appearance of the product, the nutritional value and the readability of the label, and 5 points for the taste and the quality-ratio. price. This week, we tested canned ravioli.

Appearance of the packaging: We chose Panzani as a reference brand. The product is a great classic when buying canned goods and they were all easily spotted on the shelves. Red was obviously required for all products, except Lidl which opted for white. The product was really well promoted for Colruyt and Delhaize, less so for the big brand.

The big brand test: the big brand fails for Bolognese sauce! (COMPARATIVE)

Appearance of the product: at Intermarché, Lidl and Carrefour, it was very basic, and we regretted the lack of sauce and smell. It was already more generous for Colruyt and Delhaize, and there were also herbs in the sauce. It was pretty decent at Aldi, with small pieces of vegetables in the sauce, the same for the big brand.

Nutritional value: Nutri-Score B for everyone, it’s rather positive for a prepared dish.

Readability of the label: for Intermarché, there was a lot of text, and it was too small to be perfectly readable. The same goes for Carrefour and Lidl. It was already much clearer for Colruyt and Delhaize, and even better at Aldi. Finally, the big brand offered a beautiful presentation but the text was too small.

The big brand test: to start the year off right, here is the only king cake to choose from in mass distribution (COMPARATIVE)

Taste: we start with the product sold by Intermarché. It wasn’t bad, but you didn’t taste much of anything other than the pasta. Not inedible but ordinary… For Carrefour, it was already a little spicier and pleasant but the meat was very discreet. On the Colruyt side, it was more spicy and delicious. The Lidl product, on the other hand, was really bad. Even the texture was unpleasant, it made lumps in the mouth… Aldi was a little better but it was still disappointing all the same. We moved to another division by tasting the ravioli from Delhaize, much better and with, finally, a taste of meat. Finally, the big brand was no better than… Lidl! Floury and tasteless…

Value for money: as cans do not all have the same weight, we have rounded up to 100 g. The brand is much more expensive than the competition: €2.84! For the rest, we are under the euro. Here in order: Aldi and Lidl (€0.31), Colruyt and Delhaize (€0.49) and finally Intermarché and Carrefour (€0.99).

The big brand test: autumn is back, the raclette season is launched (COMPARATIVE)Comparison of ravioli ©IPM Graphics
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#big #test #brands #industrial #crash #big #brand #canned #ravioli #COMPARATIVE

2024-01-13 15:00:22

The oil markets have been going through a period of uncertainty for several weeks. Oil prices are up and down. They increase and decrease in particular according to geopolitical events. Indeed, tensions in the Red Sea have had a significant impact on the price of a barrel. This Saturday, January 13, prices are on the rise, hence the question regarding their impact on fuel prices in France.

The situation in the Red Sea remains worrying for world trade. Houthi rebel attacks on shipping are pushing many shipping companies and some liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers to avoid the world’s main east-west trade route. In response to the attacks by these Yemeni groups, the Americans and British responded with strikes on Yemen.

As a result, some tankers turned away from the Red Sea, pushing up oil prices. This Saturday, January 13, Brent is trading at 78.32 USD. For its part, American West Texas Intermediate crude was sold at 73.64 USD. The increase is not significant given that prices have not yet reached their levels of a few months ago. However, the market needs to be monitored and prices might spike at any time if the situation in the Red Sea gets bogged down.

It must be said that the markets quickly reacted to the dozens of airstrikes launched on Yemen by American and British warplanes, ships and submarines. Indeed, oil prices gained several dollars before stabilizing. However, the deterioration of the geopolitical situation in the Middle East has run out of steam, due to a lack of direct effect on supply.

What impact on fuel prices in France?

It must be said that the Red Sea is one of the major routes, particularly for connections between Asia and Europe. 20,000 ships pass through the Suez Canal each year, the entry and exit point for boats using this “ highway of the sea », connecting the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, and therefore Europe to Asia. The interruption of passage through this sea therefore has several repercussions on the world economy. Oil prices, which have calmed down, are starting to rise little by little due to these attacks.

However, the increase is not significant. Prices remain in the low range at the start of this year. Therefore, these current increases will not have a big impact on fuel prices in France, which have relatively stabilized following a long period of increase followed by another of decline.

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#impact #fuels #France