How the cobalt market fell victim to allure of electric cars.

Unsurprisingly, Donald Trump and Brexit are in the news again this week with the president’s Twitter antics causing major investment losses and industry anxieties about the security of energy if the UK leaves the EU at the end of the month. Elon Musk’s electric car has caused a cobalt crisis, and veteran traders have joined Exxon Mobil Corp.

Here is a selection of our top news stories this week.

1. How the cobalt market fell victim to allure of electric cars. Cobalt prices have dropped significantly according to an article in the Bloomberg News, and mining companies are feeling the pinch. Despite major mine expansions, by companies such as Glencore Plc, prices have plummeted a whopping 60% to $15.88 a pound since 2018. Click here to read more 
2. Energy security: can the UK handle a calm, cold, cloudy snap? With an increased use of renewable technologies, power-technology.com raise concerns about the UK’s capacity to cope with unexpected weather conditions. Reliant on unpredictable energy sources such as sun and wind, the latter of which provided 18.8% of the UK’s electricity in the first
   quarter of 2018, questions have been raised about the backup plan if both the sun and the wind decide to hibernate, especially given post-Brexit energysecurity fears. Click here
   to read more
3. One of Wall Street’s Most Popular Trading Strategies Is Now Failing. Donald Trump is confusing computers with his Twitter posts. Befuddled machines struggle to cope with surprises, resulting in a poorer performance than their human counterparts. Computer ‘traders’ invest approximately $1 out of $3 based on common trends. Hedge fund executives believed automatic trading was an effective strategy, but recent losses have suggested otherwise. Click here to read more
4. UK chemicals industry says Brexit could cost sector 500 million pounds. Brexit is in the news again with reuters.com reporting increasing anxieties within the UK chemical industry. Currently working closely with the EU, the industry will be excluded from a wide range of safety laws and standards, including a product registry. Exports of chemicals from the UK to the EU account for 60% of the UK’s chemical manufacturing and the creation of a UK product registry would cost in the region of half a billion pounds. Click here to read more
5. Exxon adds veteran traders to bulk up oil trading – sources. Exxon Mobil Corp has enlisted experienced traders, Mitch Rubenstein and Michael Paradise, to increase profits. Despite historically avoiding trading units, for fear of being accused of market manipulation, Exxon has been creating a team of knowledgeable traders, to compete with industry competitors. Rubenstein and Paradise both worked for Noble Group Trading Ltd until 2017, the former as Managing Director and Global Head of Crude Oil. Additional new members of the Exxon team include Gary Pace, a former trader for Shell, and Nelson Lee, a former trader for BHP Billiton Plc. Click here to read more