Low carbon hydrogen

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Mortgage rates tumbled last week to their lowest level in over a month, according to data released Wednesday morning by the Mortgage Bankers Association, as waning confidence in the U.S. banking system provides a reprieve to home buyers. Key Facts The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate slipped from 6.71% to 6.48% last week, falling to its lowest level since mid-February and its largest percentage decline since November. Mortgage applications rose 3% last week, according to the survey, as buyers take advantage of rapidly declining home prices. That followed a wild stretch for the banking sector – headlined by the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, the nation’s second and third-biggest such failures ever – causing investors to pack into safer assets such as government bonds. Yields for 10-year U.S. Treasury notes sank 70 basis points to 3.4% in the two-week period … [Read more...] about Housing Market: Mortgage Rates Sink To 5-Week Low Amid Bank Havoc

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin When it comes to issues around sustainability and energy, there are few subjects less controversial than biomass. Often hailed as a lower carbon option for heating or generating electricity, biomass involves the burning of wood pellets, chips or logs. Its proponents argue that biomass has a key role to play in the road to net zero, using wood that is unsuitable for other products and would otherwise go to waste. But critics have pointed out that biomass still involves burning natural materials, which can pollute the atmosphere. The campaigning group Cut Carbon Not Forest recently published a new survey, which shows 73% of respondents are concerned that burning trees in power stations could be making air pollution worse and harming people's health. The survey also found almost two thirds of those surveyed (64%) agree that it is misleading to call biomass green. And only 3.4% believed burning wood from other … [Read more...] about Is Biomass A Friend Or Foe Of The Environment?

Like clockwork, the United Nations is out with yet another climate report, and the usual suspects are already blaring the global warming alarm sirens. The New York Times warned the planet is on track “to cross a critical threshold for global warming within the next decade” and the only way to “hold global warming to relatively safe levels” would “require global cooperation, billions of dollars and big changes.” The Associated Press declared the world is on “thin ice” due to warming. The BBC characterized the UN report as a “survival guide” — if we don’t follow it, we’ll see “the worst effects of climate change.” The alarmist frenzy was joined by prominent scientists, eco-activists, Democratic politicians and even the UN chief himself, who called the report a “how-to guide to defuse the climate time-bomb. In other words, the media, elites and the scientific establishment want you to take this report very, very seriously. The problem is no one who actually cares about … [Read more...] about BASTASCH: The UN’s Newest Climate Report Is A Woke Dumpster Fire Masquerading As Science

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Republicans decrying Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation into former President Donald Trump as a politically motivated stunt have sought to exploit the Democratic prosecutor’s links to billionaire George Soros, who for years has been the subject of conspiracies that tie his philanthropic ventures to issues demonized by the right. Key Facts GOP lawmakers, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), are among the Republicans who have claimed that Bragg took millions of dollars from Soros, while criticizing Bragg’s investigation into hush-money payments made on Trump’s behalf during the 2016 presidential election. Trump has also mentioned Soros in criticizing Bragg’s investigation, calling him “a highly controversial, George Soros backed District Attorney” and claiming he “received in EXCESS OF ONE MILLION DOLLARS” from Soros in a series … [Read more...] about GOP Leans Into George Soros Conspiracies In Targeting Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Officials in Florida are preparing for a 5,000-mile floating island of seaweed called the sargassum belt to make its way on shore, where it’s expected to become both a nuisance and a health hazard as it rots. Key Facts That belt of sargassum, which is estimated to weigh more than six million tons, doubled in size from December to January, Florida Atlantic University oceanographer Brian Lapointe told CNN , and is expected to hit Florida and the Caribbean earlier this year than expected, with algae already spotted within a mile of Martinique and Key Largo, Florida. The belt, which spans nearly the width of the Atlantic Ocean and would fill roughly 3,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools, is made of sargassum, a brown algae that forms gas-filled “berry-like structures” called pneumatocysts that act as pockets to keep the strands of algae afloat to receive sunlight. According to data from the … [Read more...] about What Is Sargassum? The 5,000-Mile Floating Seaweed Island Headed Toward Florida

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Miami-Dade county taxpayers must be wishing Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria had stuck with his original game plan. MIAMI, FL - MARCH 06: A general view of the new Marlins Ballpark shot throught a fishtank behind ... [+] home plate during a game between the Miami Marlins and the University of Miami Hurricanes at Marlins Park on March 6, 2012 in Miami, Florida. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife) For years Loria ran a low-budget baseball franchises and made a fortune by successfully maneuvering through Major League Baseball's financial system. Loria's strategy: rely on welfare from richer baseball teams and every now and then spend enough to have a contender (the Marlins defeated the New York Yankees in the 2003 World Series ) so fans stay at least somewhat interested. During the five years through the 2011 season the Marlins posted a staggering $153 million in aggregate operating income. But … [Read more...] about Miami Marlins Have Become Baseball’s Most Expensive Stadium Disaster

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Bitcoin BTC and cryptocurrencies have rocketed higher over the last week as the Silicon Valley Bank-led banking crisis sparks worrying hyperinflation fears . Subscribe now to Forbes' CryptoAsset & Blockchain Advisor and successfully navigate the bitcoin and crypto market rollercoaster The bitcoin price has added almost 50% since early March, helping the ethereum price and other cryptocurrencies rally, due to rising expectations the Federal Reserve will pivot from its hawkish stance in the face of slowing inflation and bank collapses . Now, Tesla billionaire Elon Musk has waded into the debate, sending a warning to U.S. president Joe Biden after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates again. It's at the beginning of a bull run you need up-to-date information the most! Sign up now for the free CryptoCodex — A daily newsletter for traders, investors and the crypto-curious that … [Read more...] about ‘Banks Are Melting’—Elon Musk Sends Warning To Joe Biden And The Fed Amid Wild Bitcoin, Ethereum And Crypto Price Swings

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin When you unshackle 1.4 billion consumers who have been penned up at home for three years, it’s reasonable to expect some fireworks. For the residents of Mainland China, life under “zero COVID” policies was a dreary round of rolling travel restrictions and lockdowns – as if the United States was permanently stuck on a skipping record of the Spring of 2020. While most of the population was able to find a way to get back to work eventually, the everyday routines of travel, dining out, and visiting friends and family were severely curtailed. Wallets stayed snapped shut. Since China executed its “COVID pivot” in late December 2022, economists have been scrutinizing the data to see if the country will be able to achieve its goal of 5% growth in 2023. If achieved, China will serve as an engine to help developed economies avoid tipping into recession. This is particularly relevant in the new era of higher interest rates, … [Read more...] about Why China’s COVID Comeback Is Still In The Early Innings, With Upside Ahead

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin FedEx stock (NYSE: FDX) is up 13% in a week, compared to a 3% rise for the broader S&P500 index. After its recent surge, FDX stock looks appropriately priced, in our view. Due to a decline in delivery volumes, FedEx FDX and other logistics companies have had a tough year. The big e-commerce surge seen through the lockdown phase of the Covid-19 pandemic has now cooled off. Furthermore, the weakening U.S. economy and high inflation further add to the woes. Our analysis of FedEx’s Revenue details how the company’s revenues are trending. Last week, the company reported its Q3 fiscal 2023 results (the fiscal year ends in May), with revenue of $22.2 billion, down 6% y-o-y, and falling below our estimate of $22.8 billion, primarily due to softening volume. Average daily package volume was down 11% during the quarter. However, yields continued to improve, with composite package yield rising by 3%. The company’s … [Read more...] about Should You Buy FedEx Stock After Q3 Earnings Beat?