Reap the whirlwind
Turbine turbulence
Good morning, sustainability savants. This is your Stock Market Rundown for November 16th, 2023. Thank you for joining me today. Let’s get going:
TODAY’S TOP STORY: HARNESSING THE WIND 💨
The dream of clean energy advocates has always been that humans could harness the power of the wind to replace fossil fuels. And today, it’s a reality—sort of.
The share of US electricity generation coming from wind turbines has surged from practically zilch a decade ago, to some 10% today, thanks to 72,000 whirring turbines across the nation.
So with all this success, why are wind energy exec moaning that the industry is “fundamentally broken”? Because lately, regulatory uncertainty and spiralling costs are making wind energy providers resemble a seagull that flew into a turbine blade.
Companies that manufacture wind turbines, like Vestas and Siemens, have seen their profit margins crushed due to cost inflation and supply chain constraints. And top wind developer Orsted just announced it’s writing off $4 billion due to scrapping two offshore wind projects in New Jersey.
More offshore wind projects are planned, in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, but to make them economic, Uncle Sam needs to put his thumb on the scale. Luckily, help is on the way, in the form of federal legislation passed a year ago that will pump billions into renewable energy.
That’s good news for the wind energy industry, because without these government handouts, the fossil-fuel-free future would be as elusive as a fart in the wind.
SO WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
Moody’s downgraded its outlook on US debt due to US legislative dysfunction and a widening budget deficit. This is the governmental version of your credit score dropping a hundred points due to missing a few payments for your Range Rover.
Novo Nordisk, sellers of blockbuster weight-loss drug Ozempic, is doubling down on its bet on American fatness. Management is seeking “bolt-on deals” to bolster their franchises in diabetes, obesity, and other ailments exacerbated by the Standard American Diet.
While Main Street consumers are retrenching, it’s business as usual for America’s wealthy: Amex reported a strong quarter as its affluent consumer base continued to spend, spend, spend. Those Lalique chandeliers and bottles of Château Pétrus aren’t going to buy themselves, darling.
LinkedIn, the website for keeping track of how your exes’ careers are going, just hit one billion members. That’s a lot of thinkfluencers trying to launch their keynote speaking side hustles.
That's all she wrote for today, folks; looking forward to checking in with you again tomorrow morning. Yours in capitalism, The Axe