Monday, April 20, 2020

Forbes: The Real Reason Oil Futures Plunged On Monday Isn’t What You Think

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Ouch! On the face of it, things look bad for the oil market. 

That’s an easy conclusion to make from the epic dive crude oil futures prices took on Monday. But the bigger story is far more complicated than most would like to admit.

Most of the issue revolves around oil delivery rules and storage capacity issues specific to a single location in Oklahoma. Read more here.

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Forbes: 4 Reasons To Bet On An Oil Rally

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Finally, some good news for the oil patch.

The price of oil should rally at least 37% this year following a weekend agreement by the members of OPEC (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and some recently affiliated nations, experts say. Read more here.

Friday, April 10, 2020

Korn Ferry: The Crisis as a Tipping Point for 3D Printing

By SIMON CONSTABLE

3D printing started out as a novelty invention and grew to become a small but fast-growing part of the manufacturing world. Now, COVID-19 has given a whole new meaning to the value of this technology in today’s gridlocked world of supply chains. 

Used for creating everything from oil rig replacement parts to artificial skin for a cosmetics maker, the technology could be an important answer to companies that outsourced heavily and now find themselves helpless. The technique, of course, employs computer codes to allow for the production of items via local machines, eliminating the need for a far-flung manufacturer. Read more here.

Photo by Tom Claes on Unsplash

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Forbes: COVID-19 Panic Sparks Record-Breaking Gold Buying Binge During First Quarter

By SIMON CONSTABLE 
The COVID-19 pandemic has made investors go crazy for gold so far this year. 
In the first quarter, they snapped up a record-breaking $23 billion of exchange-traded funds that hold the metal, according to a recent report from the World Gold Council. These investments include the grand-daddy of all bullion ETFs, the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD). Read more here.

Forbes: How COVID-19 Killed The Stock Buyback Program

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The COVID-19 pandemic may have torpedoed one of corporate America’s favorite activities: Buying back their own shares.

Since the end of the financial crisis a decade ago, each year the companies in the S&P 500 index have spent hundreds of billions of dollars conducting stock buybacks.

But this year the COVID-19 virus will likely put an enormous dent in those programs. Read more here.