Latest news with #marketforces
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Plastics Manufacturing At Crossroads: Pivot To Lead Or Lose
The latest UN plastics treaty collapse underscored what markets already know: a $400 billion stranded asset risk that forward-thinking petrochemical leaders must now confront strategically. While legacy producers viewed blocking production caps as protecting industry interests, market forces don't wait for diplomatic consensus. The transition window for plastics producers and pushers alike is narrowing, and who controls that transformation will determine market winners for the next three decades. The Plastics Risk Portfolio Reality Check The plastics industry faces mounting exposure across financial, regulatory, and reputational dimensions. The data reveals systemic vulnerabilities: only 9% of plastic waste is successfully recycled globally, microplastics now contaminate human blood as confirmed by groundbreaking research, and current projections show plastic production almost tripling by 2060. Meanwhile, oil majors increasingly depend on petrochemicals as their primary growth hedge against transport electrification. This isn't environmental ideology—it's risk management. Carbon Tracker has identified $400 billion in planned petrochemical expansions built on assumptions of infinite demand growth, while regulatory reality tells a different story. The EU's PPWR mandates 30% recycled content by 2030, California's SB 54 bans non-recyclable packaging, and consumer sentiment has shifted decisively toward sustainability metrics in purchasing decisions. The strategic question isn't whether to change course, but how to optimize portfolio transition while preserving long-term revenue streams. Legacy models that expose firms to mounting financial, reputational, and regulatory risk need managed evolution, not overnight abandonment. Plastics Strategy as Capital Market Differentiation Global investors are increasingly differentiating between high-risk commodity plastics and resilient specialty applications. BlackRock and LGIM now vote against directors of firms failing to address plastic-related risks. Project financing for petrochemical expansions faces enhanced ESG scrutiny, as demonstrated by investor concerns around major Gulf Coast projects. Lloyd's of London's exclusion of microplastic liability coverage signals broader insurance market caution. Firms that move first in rebalancing portfolios toward higher-value, lower-risk applications will secure cheaper access to capital. The market is rewarding strategic repositioning while penalizing commodity exposure—a trend that will only accelerate as ESG integration deepens across global finance. Plastics Portfolio Optimization: Winners and Losers Strategic manufacturers are already rebalancing based on regulatory exposure and long-term demand fundamentals. Rather than wholesale abandonment, smart money is shifting toward value-preservation strategies that target virgin plastic cuts of 20% by 2027 under emerging regulations: High-value durables: Automotive, aerospace, medical, and renewable energy infrastructure applications offer better regulatory protection and margin stability than commodity packaging. PVC and polystyrene exposure: These face accelerating regulatory pressure. IKEA's aggressive phaseout—plastic packaging eliminated for new ranges in 2025, complete elimination by 2028—signals corporate buyer behavior. Strategic exit while assets retain value makes financial sense. Multi-layer films: Major brands are abandoning these recycling-incompatible formats. PepsiCo's 2025 backtrack reveals the credibility gap—slashing virgin plastic cut targets from 20% to 2% while claiming 97% recyclable packaging by 2030. Compare to Unilever's €1 billion investment in reusable packaging systems, already showing 12% cost savings in pilot markets, proving circular models can be profit centers rather than compliance costs. Engineering plastics: Specialty applications provide longer runway and higher barriers to substitution, making them natural portfolio anchors during transition. The Plastics Innovation Scale-Up Opportunity Petrochemical majors possess unique advantages in commercializing next-generation technologies. While startups develop promising innovations, established players have the balance sheets and engineering capacity to scale them globally. The technology landscape offers adjacency opportunities rather than existential threats: Carbon utilization: CO₂-to-chemicals technologies transform waste streams into feedstock, leveraging existing infrastructure while improving carbon footprints. LanzaTech's UK expansion in 2025 demonstrates how major players can scale these faster than venture-backed newcomers. Advanced recycling: Chemical recycling and enzyme-based depolymerization require the kind of industrial-scale deployment that suits petrochemical engineering capabilities. Carbios' enzyme facility became operational despite 2025 restructuring, while Loop Industries launched Twist resin with a 70,000-ton facility planned. Microbial manufacturing: Cemvita Factory's breakthrough in using engineered microbes to produce industrial chemicals from CO₂ and waste streams could reach commercial scale within the decade, offering petrochemical companies new bio-based production pathways. Feedstock diversification: Bio-based and captured-carbon feedstocks expand the resource base rather than threatening it, creating opportunities for companies with processing expertise and global distribution networks. UBQ Materials' 2025 masterbatch launch exemplifies how waste streams become valuable inputs. The question isn't whether these technologies will scale—it's who will control their commercialization. First-mover advantages in licensing, partnership, and deployment could define the next industrial cycle. Leveraging Regulatory Fragmentation as Bridge Strategy Global policy fragmentation creates near-term arbitrage opportunities while markets converge toward sustainability standards. Petrochemical leaders are uniquely positioned to exploit these asymmetries while building transition capabilities: Europe's strict EPR rules reward recycled content expertise. California's packaging restrictions favor mono-material innovation. Emerging markets maintain growth potential for essential applications while developed markets focus on circularity. BP's own Energy Outlook acknowledges that declining oil use in road transport is being offset by increasing petrochemical demand, but smart players are preparing for the eventual policy convergence. This fragmentation won't last indefinitely, but it provides a transition window for companies that invest now in capabilities they'll need globally later. Building circular expertise in sympathetic markets creates competitive advantages when regulations harmonize. Companies that invest now in next-generation sorting systems like TOMRA's 2025 deep learning AI for aluminum recovery will be positioned to capture value as feedstock quality requirements increase globally. BP's 2025 Energy Outlook confirms oil demand peaked in 2025 at 102 million barrels per day, with petrochemical demand offsetting transport decline but plateauing by decade's end. Preserving Social License to Operate As global awareness of environmental justice rises, companies that proactively address community siting, health impacts, and international waste flows will preserve operating licenses and avoid costly litigation. The traditional export of difficult-to-recycle materials to developing nations creates mounting reputational and legal exposure. Forward-thinking companies are investing in domestic circular systems while partnering with international communities rather than simply relocating problems. This isn't just ethical positioning—it's risk mitigation against consumer boycotts, investor flight, and regulatory backlash as environmental justice movements gain political influence. Beyond ESG Theater: Plastics Metrics That Matter ESG reporting has become performance theater designed to deflect rather than direct real change. The metrics that matter for survival cut through the noise: annual virgin plastic reduction percentages, microplastic leakage per product unit, and community impact assessments that resist superficial disclosure games. Companies serious about transformation are adopting cradle-to-cradle design principles, where materials flow in closed loops rather than linear waste streams. They're licensing breakthrough technologies rather than developing incrementally. They're building durable license-to-operate through genuine community partnerships. Most importantly, they're setting concrete targets: 20% virgin plastic reduction by 2027, zero microplastic leakage by 2030, and measurable community health improvements in production zones. Financial advantages for early movers: Strategic Futures: The Plastics Leadership Opportunity The industry faces three plausible scenarios by 2030, each offering different positioning opportunities: Regulatory Acceleration: Rapid policy convergence around EPR and production limits favors companies with advanced circular capabilities and low-risk portfolio composition. Managed Transition: Gradual policy evolution allows time for technology deployment and market development, rewarding strategic partnerships between petrochemical leaders and innovation companies. Technology Breakthrough: CO₂-to-chemicals, advanced recycling, or bio-feedstock innovations achieve cost parity faster than expected, creating opportunities for early deployment partnerships. In each scenario, petrochemical majors who position themselves as energy-to-materials champions of the 21st century rather than defensive incumbents will capture the largest share of transition value. The companies that lead circular innovation rather than simply comply with it will define the next industrial era. The winning strategy combines managed portfolio evolution with aggressive technology deployment. Rather than abandoning core capabilities, leaders will redeploy them toward sustainable feedstocks, circular business models, and high-value applications that align with rather than fight against regulatory trends. Critically, circular feedstocks expand rather than shrink petrochemical demand pools—they simply change the input sources while leveraging existing processing expertise. By 2030, expect three pivotal shifts that will reshape competitive dynamics: • Policy Convergence: The EU will implement a plastics border adjustment mechanism by the early 2030s, forcing global convergence on recycled content standards and inspiring similar measures in North America and Asia. • Petrostate Reinvention: At least one Gulf petrostate—likely Saudi Arabia or the UAE—will reposition as a global circular hub, investing heavily in CO₂-to-chemicals and advanced recycling to preserve export relevance in a carbon-constrained world. • Innovation Breakthroughs: TOMRA's 2025 deep learning AI systems, Carbios' operational enzyme facility, LanzaTech's UK scale-up, and Cemvita's microbial manufacturing platform will achieve commercial scale within five years, redrawing competitive advantage across the value chain. Additionally, Loop Industries' Twist resin launch and UBQ Materials' masterbatch deployment signal industrial breakthrough timing. The transformation won't be driven by treaties alone—capital markets, regulators, and technology innovators are reshaping the rules of industrial survival faster than diplomatic processes ever could. Expect at least one $10 billion petrochemical expansion to be mothballed or canceled under investor pressure before 2030, validating Carbon Tracker's stranded asset thesis. The Plastics Policy Clock The Strategic Pivot Point This isn't about corporate virtue signaling—it's about optimizing portfolios for long-term value creation under changing market conditions. The petrochemical industry's inflection point has arrived. Companies can defend obsolete positions, adapt portfolios reactively, or lead the transition and capture first-mover advantages in next-generation materials. The UN's failure created a transition window, not a reprieve. Carbon Tracker research shows the industry is betting its future on demand growth that regulatory and market forces will constrain. The smartest leaders aren't waiting for policy clarity—they're building capabilities that will thrive under any plausible regulatory scenario. The choice is strategic: adapt portfolios now to secure relevance through 2050 and beyond, or risk portfolio stranding as markets evolve. The companies that redeploy petrochemical expertise toward circular systems, sustainable feedstocks, and high-value applications won't just survive the transition—they'll define it. The question is not whether this pivot happens, but which companies seize it first—and which are left behind. The next industrial cycle will be built on resource optimization, not resource depletion. The question is not whether the plastics pivot happens, but which manufacturing companies seize it first—and which are left behind.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
What's Behind Ether's (ETH) Latest Rally
Key Points Ether (ETH) climbed as much as 9.3% intraday and was up about 5.2% over 24 hours as of 2 p.m. The gains sprang from a mix of market forces and analyst reports. Ether has now gained about 72% over six months and about 973% over five years, highlighting both strong returns and high volatility. 10 stocks we like better than Ethereum › Ether (CRYPTO: ETH) is skyrocketing right now. The second-largest crypto (measured by total market value) was up 5.2% in 24 hours as of 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The one-day jump was even larger on Wednesday morning, as the Ethereum blockchain token's rocket ride started on Tuesday afternoon. For example, it posted a 24-hour gain of 9.3% just before 8 a.m. ET today. The big jump was powered by several smaller catalysts, working together to drive Ether's price higher. Three catalysts fueling Ether's surge First, well-respected British bank Standard Chartered (OTC: SCBF.F) gave Ether an upgrade yesterday. The bank's crypto analyst bureau raised the token's year-end price target from $4,000 to $7,500, thereby boosting an already bullish forecast. Standard Chartered highlighted Ethereum-based stablecoins as a key driver of transaction fees and coin-owner value creation. Then, Ether traders noted heavy inflows of new cash into leading Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Large Ether purchases by top funds such as the iShares Ethereum Trust (NASDAQ: ETHA) and Fidelity Ethereum Fund (NYSEMKT: FETH) added support to the cryptocurrency's prices, and inspired other cryptocurrency investors to follow along. These funds punch way above their weight, setting the pace for the crypto market as a whole. Lastly, a few companies are adding Ether to their balance sheets nowadays. Crypto investing specialist BitMine Immersion Technologies (NYSEMKT: BMNR) reported a $5 billion Ether stash yesterday, far outweighing the company's $18.8 million in Bitcoin holdings. If BitMine's lucrative Ether investment inspires others to follow suit, the resulting investment interest could become a self-fulfilling prophecy and drive prices much higher. Long-term use vs. short-term hype Ethereum and Ether aren't really designed for investors. The blockchain network is a useful tool for building apps on a global scale, designing financial tools and other programs around Ethereum's robust data security and flexible programming platform. Many of today's largest stablecoins are actually tokens on the Ethereum blockchain, for instance. Increased real-world use of the integrated Ether token should lift the cryptocurrency's value in the long run. This week's price gains are a mixed bag of speculation and long-term value plays. Rising investor interest helps the coin price in the short term but doesn't add much to Ethereum's long-term usage thesis. From that perspective, I would make the case that Standard Chartered's insightful analysis is more valuable than the bullish trading trends. Either way, Ether has now gained 72% in six months and 973% in five years. The second-largest cryptocurrency is going places, and fast. Should you invest $1,000 in Ethereum right now? Before you buy stock in Ethereum, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Ethereum wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $653,427!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,119,863!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,060% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 182% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 13, 2025 Anders Bylund has positions in Ethereum and iShares Ethereum Trust. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Ethereum. The Motley Fool recommends Standard Chartered. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. What's Behind Ether's (ETH) Latest Rally was originally published by The Motley Fool 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
Globe and Mail
6 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
What's Behind Ether's (ETH) Latest Rally
Key Points Ether (ETH) climbed as much as 9.3% intraday and was up about 5.2% over 24 hours as of 2 p.m. The gains sprang from a mix of market forces and analyst reports. Ether has now gained about 72% over six months and about 973% over five years, highlighting both strong returns and high volatility. 10 stocks we like better than Ethereum › Ether (CRYPTO: ETH) is skyrocketing right now. The second-largest crypto (measured by total market value) was up 5.2% in 24 hours as of 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The one-day jump was even larger on Wednesday morning, as the Ethereum blockchain token's rocket ride started on Tuesday afternoon. For example, it posted a 24-hour gain of 9.3% just before 8 a.m. ET today. The big jump was powered by several smaller catalysts, working together to drive Ether's price higher. Three catalysts fueling Ether's surge First, well-respected British bank Standard Chartered (OTC: SCBF.F) gave Ether an upgrade yesterday. The bank's crypto analyst bureau raised the token's year-end price target from $4,000 to $7,500, thereby boosting an already bullish forecast. Standard Chartered highlighted Ethereum-based stablecoins as a key driver of transaction fees and coin-owner value creation. Then, Ether traders noted heavy inflows of new cash into leading Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Large Ether purchases by top funds such as the iShares Ethereum Trust (NASDAQ: ETHA) and Fidelity Ethereum Fund (NYSEMKT: FETH) added support to the cryptocurrency's prices, and inspired other cryptocurrency investors to follow along. These funds punch way above their weight, setting the pace for the crypto market as a whole. Lastly, a few companies are adding Ether to their balance sheets nowadays. Crypto investing specialist BitMine Immersion Technologies (NYSEMKT: BMNR) reported a $5 billion Ether stash yesterday, far outweighing the company's $18.8 million in Bitcoin holdings. If BitMine's lucrative Ether investment inspires others to follow suit, the resulting investment interest could become a self-fulfilling prophecy and drive prices much higher. Long-term use vs. short-term hype Ethereum and Ether aren't really designed for investors. The blockchain network is a useful tool for building apps on a global scale, designing financial tools and other programs around Ethereum's robust data security and flexible programming platform. Many of today's largest stablecoins are actually tokens on the Ethereum blockchain, for instance. Increased real-world use of the integrated Ether token should lift the cryptocurrency's value in the long run. This week's price gains are a mixed bag of speculation and long-term value plays. Rising investor interest helps the coin price in the short term but doesn't add much to Ethereum's long-term usage thesis. From that perspective, I would make the case that Standard Chartered's insightful analysis is more valuable than the bullish trading trends. Either way, Ether has now gained 72% in six months and 973% in five years. The second-largest cryptocurrency is going places, and fast. Should you invest $1,000 in Ethereum right now? Before you buy stock in Ethereum, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Ethereum wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $653,427!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,119,863!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,060% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 182% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 13, 2025 Anders Bylund has positions in Ethereum and iShares Ethereum Trust. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Ethereum. The Motley Fool recommends Standard Chartered. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Forbes
05-08-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Does ESG Drive Consumer Confidence?
There is a meme swirling through LinkedIn where an online stock trader bemoans the current economy and asks if we should bring back pronouns because woke was 'load bearing' the bull market. Of course, it's a joke. Because most serious businesspeople believe the downturn in ESG/sustainability/purpose efforts is simply because companies can't afford to 'be good' in this market. All that social good stuff is subject to market forces, it can't actually cause them, surely? Perhaps it's time to unpick the complicated causality between sustainability and confidence. Consumer confidence is well understood: in times of consumer optimism, when people believe the future will be better, economies grow. Consumer spending rises, productivity surges, and governments are emboldened to make long-term investments. In short, when societies believe they are improving, that lives will get better, economies follow suit. Call it self-fulfilling prophesies or the economist preferred 'market reflexivity', the phenomenon has been long studied. Optimistic people spend money, get jobs and drive growth. That's why the current backlash against ESG, DEI, and sustainability might be more than an economic sideshow. Indeed, dumping all the 'social good stuff' just might be supremely reckless. Because dismantling the scaffolding of social progress risks collapsing the very confidence on which modern economies depend. The Confidence Feedback Loop Let's start with a basic but under appreciated truth: most economies are confidence machines. Consumers buy when they believe they'll have money tomorrow. Businesses invest when they believe their markets will grow. And governments undertake major investments when they believe society will reward them for it. Sustainability, ESG, and DEI initiatives do not merely respond to that confidence. They help generate it. Take the consumer. Across major economies, the rise of the sustainability zeitgeist coincided with a measurable uptick in what the OECD calls 'consumer future orientation' which is a proxy for optimism about personal and national economic prospects. A 2021 OECD report notes that people who identify with sustainability concerns are more likely to engage in future-oriented financial decisions, from household investment to lifestyle planning This is not accidental. When people see businesses and policymakers actively pursuing social and environmental progress, they are more likely to believe in their own future and thus spend, invest, and plan for it. Greenhush Is Anti-Happiness If sustainability builds consumer confidence, then hiding it does the opposite. So-called greenhushing, when companies underreport or obscure their sustainability activity for fear of backlash, is becoming a silent saboteur of consumer sentiment. What may seem like a prudent communications strategy is, in fact, a confidence trap. Consumers can't reward what they can't see. The trust premium that sustainability generates comes from transparency, not virtue concealed in spreadsheets. In Edelman's 2023 Brand Trust Report, 73% of global respondents said they want to know what companies are doing behind the scenes on social and environmental issues, and 64% say silence makes them suspicious. When firms retreat from visible commitments, they risk creating a vacuum filled by doubt. People begin to wonder whether companies are still investing in long-term value, or simply waiting out the cultural noise. Worse still, greenhushing undermines the shared norms that drive collective progress. Sustainability is a signal that society is moving forward. When leaders go quiet, others question whether progress is stalling altogether. Then there is our fatalism problem. In a landmark 2021 global survey, The Lancet Planetary Health asked ten thousand people aged 16–25 across ten countries about climate anxiety: 56% of them agreed that 'humanity is doomed'. Do marketers genuinely believe this level of ennui, fatalism and misery is good for business? Greenhushing not only undermines brand equity but also bust consumer confidence. The logic is simple: if the companies you trust won't speak confidently about the future, why should you spend confidently in the present? So, greenhushing may shield a firm from one week's headlines, but it erodes the trust that underpins future demand. In a values-driven marketplace, silence is forfeiture. Woke Markets Are Bull To be clear, ESG and DEI are imperfect. But their presence, even flawed, is better than their absence. Because together they generate an optimism dividend: the added economic value that comes from people believing they live in a society worth contributing to. Economists often talk about how £1 of government spending can generate £1.50 of economic activity, aka fiscal multipliers. Well, social and environmental optimism is the ultimate multiplier. One act of progress can spark ten acts of confidence, which in turn fuel hundreds of decisions that grow the economy. In a time when productivity is stagnant, investment is hesitant, and anxiety is high, we should protect and expand the drivers of collective confidence. Sustainability, DEI, and the wider social-good agenda are prerequisites for the consumer confidence that drives growth. It takes hope to turn a bear into a bull. And hope, as every economist should know, is the most powerful economic force we have.
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CNA
29-05-2025
- Business
- CNA
Deep Dive - Have rising commercial rents reached a tipping point?
Play Amid rising rents and growing competition, some Singapore businesses are closing down or relocating to cheaper premises. A local bakery in Siglap recently announced on social media it was moving out after its rent was increased by 57 per cent. Are commercial rent hikes spiralling out of control, or is this simply market forces at work? Steven Chia and Otelli Edwards speak to Ethan Hsu, head of retail at Knight Frank Singapore, and Terence Yow, managing director of Enviably Me Group of Companies and chairperson of the SG Tenants United for Fairness. Deep Dive - Have rising commercial rents reached a tipping point? Amid rising rents and growing competition, some Singapore businesses are closing down or relocating to cheaper premises. A local bakery in Siglap recently announced on social media it was moving out after its rent was increased by 57 per cent. Are commercial rent hikes spiralling out of control, or is this simply market forces at work? Steven Chia and Otelli Edwards speak to Ethan Hsu, head of retail at Knight Frank Singapore, and Terence Yow, managing director of Enviably Me Group of Companies and chairperson of the SG Tenants United for Fairness. 25 mins Deep Dive - Cabinet reshuffle: No big surprises but key moves to align the ministries under PM Wong's 4G team Prime Minister Lawrence Wong unveiled his Cabinet and one surprise was the lack of a second deputy prime minister. Instead, the new Cabinet includes three coordinating ministers. What does that signal? And will there be more changes to come? Steven Chia speaks to independent political observer Dr Felix Tan and Dr Elvin Ong of the National University of Singapore. 20 mins Deep Dive - GE2025: Are independent candidates a new force to be reckoned with? For the first time in 53 years, an independent candidate received more than 35 per cent of vote share, performing better than some smaller opposition parties. Jeremy Tan, who ran in Mountbatten SMC, and Darryl Lo who contested in Radin Mas SMC, join Steven Chia and Otelli Edwards to talk about lessons learnt from their campaigning and their future after GE2025. 21 mins Deep Dive - GE2025 results: A closer look at the strong PAP mandate and the opposition strategy Voters gave the People's Action Party and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong a clear mandate in GE2025. What accounted for the result and why couldn't the opposition parties make good on gains from the last election? Steven Chia and Otelli Edwards speak to Associate Professor Eugene Tan from the Singapore Management University and Dr Reuben Ng from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. 23 mins
