
Carlyle's Jeff Currie Sees Downside Risk on Oil That Could Hit Shale
Jeff Currie, Chief Strategy Officer for Energy Pathways at Carlyle, says there's a lot of downside risk, with oil and commodities 'in the cross-hairs' of the trade war. 'I think oil probably has this right in re-pricing the risk again this morning,' he said. Currie joins "The Pulse with Francine Lacqua" on Bloomberg Television. (Source: Bloomberg)

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Solar Bankruptcies Show US Clean Energy Industry Is Teetering on the Brink
(Bloomberg) -- The US clean energy industry is starting to buckle under the weight of persistently elevated borrowing costs, President Donald Trump's anti-renewables policies and high tariffs. Next Stop: Rancho Cucamonga! Where Public Transit Systems Are Bouncing Back Around the World Trump Said He Fired the National Portrait Gallery Director. She's Still There. US Housing Agency Vulnerable to Fraud After DOGE Cuts, Documents Warn Senator Calls for Closing Troubled ICE Detention Facility in New Mexico The latest domino to fall is residential solar company Sunnova Energy International Inc., which filed for bankruptcy early Monday. Its demise follows the Chapter 11 filing last week of Solar Mosaic LLC, one of the biggest lenders in the rooftop solar market. And it's not just home solar firms running into trouble: Since January, businesses have canceled or delayed more than $14 billion in clean energy and electric vehicle investments, according to a recent analysis by E2, a non-partisan group that advocates for renewables and policies to protect the environment. Clean energy's financing struggles arrive at a critical time for the US power industry. Utilities are rushing to meet growing demand from data centers running artificial intelligence applications. Advocates for solar, wind and batteries say those resources are faster — and cheaper — to deploy compared with traditional generation sources. But the Trump administration's support for fossil fuels is putting renewables' grip on the market at risk. The outlook for the residential solar industry is especially bleak. US House Republicans have advanced a bill that would end federal tax credits for solar panels offered in former President Joe Biden's landmark climate law. Losing those incentives - which are now being debated in the US Senate - would decimate the home solar market and are already freezing investments, analysts and executives have said. The ripping away of tax credits in the House bill 'will eliminate at least half of the market for residential solar energy,' Roth Capital Partners analyst Phil Shen wrote in a research note. The troubles for Sunnova, one of the country's largest home-solar firms, started before Trump came into office. The company took on a pile of corporate debt, much of it convertible to shares, that it wasn't able to pay off after sales softened. Efforts to cut costs and streamline the business fell short. And the possible end of federal support made potential investors skittish about the company's prospects. The rooftop solar sector 'has a long history of companies getting into financing trouble,' said Joe Osha, an analyst at Guggenheim Securities. 'This whole business model is predicated on this ability to raise capital, put stuff on people's roofs and create a stream of cash flow to satisfy third-party capital providers and leave something left for the company.' Sunnova's corporate borrowing came at a time when the outlook for solar was rosier. In 2023, the company also got a $3 billion partial loan guarantee from the Biden administration to support solar loans to disadvantaged homeowners. Most of that loan was canceled before Sunnova filed. But sluggish sales and delayed payments to its dealers eroded confidence in the company. In March, Sunnova's founder and Chief Executive Officer John Berger stepped down after the company warned that it may not be able to remain in business. Prior to the bankruptcy filing, the shares had plunged more than 90% since the start of the year, leaving it with a market cap of $27.5 million. 'They got tripped up on leverage,' said Julien Dumoulin-Smith, an analyst for Jefferies LLC. 'And it's a volatile business.' The bankruptcy filings for Sunnova and Solar Mosaic were just the latest from rooftop companies with national scope. Last year, one of the most prominent names in solar, SunPower Corp., filed for Chapter 11. Years before, SolarCity was bought by Tesla Inc. after amassing a large amount of debt. Sunnova's strategy of chasing growth over cash generation hit turbulence when interest rates rose and California, the biggest home solar market, slashed subsidies two years ago, Osha said. The SEC Pinned Its Hack on a Few Hapless Day Traders. The Full Story Is Far More Troubling Cavs Owner Dan Gilbert Wants to Donate His Billions—and Walk Again What America's Pizza Economy Is Telling Us About the Real One New Grads Join Worst Entry-Level Job Market in Years America Cast Itself as the World's Moral Leader. Not Anymore ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
an hour ago
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The Head of Tesla's Humanoid Robot Program Says That He DEFINITELY Wasn't Fired and Is Only Leaving to Spend Time With His Family, Not Because Elon Musk Is on the Warpath
Fresh on the heels of Elon Musk's dubious return to Tesla, the head of the company's humanoid robot program is departing — but he swears the decision was his alone. According to an insider who spoke to Bloomberg, Milan Kovac, the head of engineering for the Optimus robot program, informed colleagues at the end of this past work week — the same one that saw Musk and president Donald Trump explode at each other on social media — that he would be leaving effectively immediately. Soon after, Kovac posted a lengthy and heartfelt missive on X about his alleged choice to end his nine-year tenure at Tesla, where he initially worked on artificial intelligence programs like Autopilot before transitioning to the lead Optimus engineer in 2022. "This week, I've had to make the most difficult decision of my life and will be moving out of my position," the ex-Tesla-er tweeted. "I've been far away from home for too long, and will need to spend more time with family abroad." He also included an unusual disclaimer. "I want to make it clear that this is the only reason, and has absolutely nothing to do with anything else," Kovac continued. "My support for [Musk] and the team is ironclad — Tesla team forever." The gentleman, it seems, doth protest too much — and Musk's response doesn't inspire confidence about the veracity of Kovac's claim, either. "Milan, thank you for your outstanding contribution to Tesla over the past decade," the billionaire, who himself was newly sacked, replied. "It was an honor working with you." "Enjoy the time with family," Musk wrote. (The "and don't let the door hit you on your way out" might have been implied.) While there's no concrete evidence suggesting that Kovac's resignation was forced, there are plenty of context clues that make you wonder. Beyond Musk's no-good very bad week, Kovac's leadership of Tesla's humanoid robot program has left much to be desired. Despite some seemingly impressive prototypes — one of which was actually remote-controlled, and another of which was made to look cooler via sneaky video editing tricks — Optimus doesn't appear anywhere near ready for prime time in any economically viable sense, regardless of what Musk claims on investor calls about the robotic Hail Mary. If Kovac is telling the truth about his departure, it would make sense for him, as a seeming true Tesla believer, to resign of his own volition because he failed to deliver a bona fide humanoid robot. Given how volatile his now-ex-boss is, however, there's a pretty good chance the decision to leave was not Kovac's alone. More on Tesla: Tesla Seems Terrified These Messages About Its Robotaxi Rollout Will Be Released


Bloomberg
an hour ago
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ESG Funds Outperform S&P 500 for Longest Stretch Since Late 2022
ESG-focused funds are beating the performance of the S&P 500 Index for the longest period since late 2022. Environmental, social and governance funds tracked in the US are up 5.4% on this year, more than doubling the 2.6% return of the S&P 500 Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The research includes only equity funds with assets under management of more than $500 million.