Latest news with #BenCook
The Independent
01-08-2025
- Automotive
- The Independent
Warning over drivers running red lights at £145 million lifting bridge
Drivers racing through red warning lights at a £145 million lifting bridge to avoid a delay to their journey when it is raised are posing a risk to safety, council chiefs have said. The Gull Wing Bridge is the largest rolling bascule bridge in the world, and was officially opened last year by the Princess Royal. It spans Lake Lothing in Lowestoft, Suffolk, and is lifted by hydraulic cylinders to allow boats through. However, some drivers have been racing through red warning lights which signal that gates will be imminently lowered and the bridge is about to be raised. Suffolk County Council said 112 breaches of the red safety lights were recorded between March and July. In one incident, a van collided with the barrier leaving it inoperable and needing urgent repairs to prevent disruption to road and marine traffic. The council said it was pursuing the cost of the repairs from the company that owned the van. The authority said no legal action for infringements has yet been issued, but bosses are considering introducing tougher measures that could include installing ANPR cameras. Councillor Paul West, Suffolk County Council Cabinet member for Operational Highways, said: 'Any red traffic warning light is there for a reason and to gamble on racing through them just to avoid a few minutes wait is highly irresponsible.' Ben Cook, head of contract management and commissioning for Suffolk County Council, said: 'While the numbers of red-light breaches remain relatively low, any instance of poor driver behaviour poses a risk to both safety and bridge operation.' The bridge spans 345 metres in total and has a main bascule span that is 39.5 metres long. When raised it can accommodate marine vessels up to 32 metres wide.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Investing in energy stocks? One name to avoid & one to check out
The latest edition of Good Buy or Goodbye focuses on the energy sector. Hennessy Energy Transition Fund portfolio manager Ben Cook explains why Expand Energy (EXE) is a stock to consider and Occidental Petroleum (OXY) could be one to say goodbye to. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Domination here. Welcome to goodbye or goodbye. Our goal here helping you cut through the noise to navigate the best moves for your money. I'm here with Hennessy Energy transition Fund portfolio manager. That would be Ben Cook. Ben, welcome to the show. Let's get you going here with your buy. We're going to start there. Now this is name expand energy. It's up about 7% this year, Ben. I would say most of the analyst on the street, Ben, about 90% who cover this name, they they tell their clients this is a buy. Can actually zero sell. So you're in good company. Let's run through the list of reasons, Ben. You say it is a smart place to commit capital. The first reason, geographically advantage, walk us through what you mean by that. Yeah, thanks for having me, Josh. You know, we believe that Expand Energy has an advantage set of assets located primarily in Northwest Louisiana. That's in close proximity to where we see much of the growth in LNG export capacity over the next several years. They'll benefit from higher production as well as better pricing because of that asset footprint. All right, and second reason, benefiting from lower leverage. Yeah, Expand was formed last year with the merger between Chesapeake Energy and Southwestern Energy. And since that time, they've done a good job at reducing their leverage. They're now embarking on a a production growth phase where they're able to, because of that lower leverage, spend more money and that's going to benefit them longer term. Final reason you say this one's a buy, Ben, significant free cash generation. Yeah, the company's articulated a cash return profile to investors that's extremely attractive to us. They pay a base dividend, they're going to be paying down debt and they're going to be paying a variable dividend and repurchasing shares as well. So now you made a good case, Ben, but before folks all pile in, right? Remind people, what are some downside risks you think they need to consider? Yeah, we see some significant tailwinds to natural gas demand growth over the next several years. If there's any kind of change to that picture, that could pose a risk to expand energy. Part of that would be a change to the LNG export outlook here from the United States or any kind of deviation from the strong trend we're seeing from AI power demand for natural gas. All right, so that's your buy. Let's move on to a name you would avoid, Ben. That would be Occidental petroleum. This one is down about 10% year to date. You still still want to avoid. Go through the reasons there. One, crude oil production waiting challenge. Yeah, as as as the market might well knows, this is a company that's that's grown through merger and has has grown its oil production by the acquisition of Anadarko petroleum in 2019, and again, Crown Rock last year. Companies waiting towards oil production is roughly 52%, which is higher than its peers, and we think that could create some headwinds given the headwinds to oil prices here over the next six months. Second reason, significant leverage waiting. Yeah, as I mentioned, you know, the acquisitions that the company has undertaken over the last several years has has resulted in above average leverage. And as a result, they're required to really the market wants to see them pay down that debt before they start returning significant significant cash levels to investors. And third and final reason you say this wanted to avoid Berkshire Hathaway's large stake. Yeah, the name Berkshire Hathaway is generally associated with a bullish outlook on a stock. Berkshire owns roughly 28% of the common shares and they own a significant preferential issue as well. Obviously a succession issue at Berkshire Hathaway, Greg Abel coming in from for Warren Buffett's seat. Any kind of communication that would suggest less interest in the equity, we think would be an create an overhang on Occidental stock. All right, now before you avoid it though, what would be the upside risk you got to think about? Yeah, great question. Obviously any any move that would support a higher move to the crude oil price would be beneficial for Occidental. So we we'll be watching for any kind of change in crude fundamentals over the next six months. All right, so there is a buy expand energy, avoid Occidental petroleum, Ben, great to see you. Thank you, sir. Thank you very much. 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
NZ Herald
30-06-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Cook Property's Ben Cook selling another Bunnings in $43m deal with Investore
Multimillionaire property investor Ben Cook of Cook Property is selling another Bunnings in Auckland. Multi-millionaire property investor Ben Cook of Cook Property is selling another Bunnings in Auckland as he fulfils his plan to sell holdings in this country and take more than $100 million to Australia. The $1 billion NZX-listed specialist retail entity Investore Property told the NZX on Friday it would add
