It’s Blue Monday – apparently the most depressing day of the year – so what better time for news that higher utility bills are here to stay?
Anders Opedal, CEO of Equinor, said the shift to renewables will mean prices will not return to pre-Russian invasion levels.
Mr Opedal told the TBEN there is “some kind of rewiring of the whole energy system going on in Europe, especially after the gas was taken away from Russia”.
He said huge investment in renewables would be needed, including using more hydrogen, which would be costly.
5 things to start your day with
1) Three times as many heat pump engineers needed to meet targets, industry warns | Handelsgroep says that the shortage of employees is a ‘hammer blow’ for rolling out ambitions
2) Electric car ambitions will be stifled by fines for missing targets, warns Jaguar| Carmaker says a new zero-emissions mandate could have a “significant financial impact.”
3) Buy now and pay later to impact credit scores of millions | Changes at Zilch will see data being shared with agencies and could impact buyers’ borrowing power at major banks
4) Wall Street ‘Tiger Cub’ Bets Against Dr. Martens | Bootmaker, founded in Northamptonshire, is struggling with declining sales in the US
5) Walls closing in on TikTok as President Biden leads Western crackdown | Concerns about China’s video-sharing app are rising in the West
What happened from one day to the next
Asian stocks rallied higher on Monday as investors waited to see whether the Bank of Japan would defend its massive stimulus policy at a pivotal meeting this week, while a holiday in US markets slowed trading.
Japan’s Nikkei fell 1pc to a two-week low amid rumors the BOJ could hold an emergency meeting on Monday over its struggle to defend its new yield cap despite massive selling.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside of Japan rose 0.5% on hopes for a speedy Chinese reopening, giving it a 4.2% gain last week. The Chinese blue chip index also gained 0.6 percent.
EUROSTOXX 50 futures grew 0.6 percent and FTSE futures added 0.1 percent. Meanwhile, S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures were flat on the heels of a Wall Street rally last week.
