Written By: Emily Vo
Utilities
The utilities sector saw a +0.48% price change and renewable energy seems to be the focus for 2021
As of February 1st, 2021, the utilities sector has had a +0.48% price change. With the climate crisis looming, renewable and clean energy seems to be the main focus for 2021. In the utilities sector, and throughout other sectors such as energy and resources, there has been a shift towards more sustainable energy. With a surge of new startups relying on renewable energy and large utility companies such as PG&E easing into cleaner energy sources, this new focus in 2021 is as clear as ever. Major utilities are also moving deeper into the distributed energy resources (DER) realm. Though this is a mostly positive shift, Siemens Energy just announced that it plans to cut 7,800 jobs worldwide due to the shift towards green energy. This illustrates a fear many people hold about the switch to sustainable energy: job loss.
Trading
Robinhood raises $2.4 billion from its shareholders to meet the increasing trade demand
Robinhood was able to secure an additional $2.4 billion from its shareholders after investors just placed $1 billion into the trading company. After the GameStop fiasco that originated on Redt tjustdit, Robinhood has seen a surge in new users and trading on its app. In an effort to meet this greater demand, investors put $1 billion into the company to meet the rising cash demands. Demand for cash surged as users frenzy traded popular stocks such as GameStop. Robinhood claims that this additional $2.4 billion will go towards forming a cushion to cover a surge in collateral requirements from the recent boom in trading. Furthermore, the money will also allow Robinhood to lift the trading restrictions it originally placed on stocks such as GameStop. These restrictions angered many of its users and has led to poor publicity. With the lift of these restrictions, Robinhood is looking to gain its positive image back and to allow users to continue trading.
Silver
In a GameStop-like frenzy, silver prices surge with the biggest one-day gain in more than a decade
Online investors first focused on GameStop and AMC shares as they drove the market into a frenzy. Now, it appears that these investors have moved on to silver. Silver prices saw their largest advance within a day in over a decade. The idea of aggressively buying silver was brought up and popularized in the subreddit form “r/WallStreetBets” and has now spread, leading to this price surge. Many investors began buying silver, but some investors claim that commodity trade is largely speculative. There is currently a surplus of silver needed to meet industrial demand, but despite this, the speculation has still driven silver prices up in an unprecedented way. Edward Meir described silver as “the GameStop of commodities” to the Wall Street Journal with its surge mirroring that of GameStop’s. Professional traders are currently discussing whether or not this increased demand for silver can sustain the rise in silver prices. Either way, many say this new silver craze will end badly.
COVID-19
More Americans have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine than have tested positive for the virus
Despite the United States’ record high number of COVID-19 cases, there seems to be some hope with regards to the vaccine. Bloomberg gathered data showing that 26.5 million Americans had received at least one dose of either vaccines, with many already having their second dose. While data from John Hopkins University reports that 26.3 million Americans have tested positive for COVID-19, and 443,000 have died. Though these numbers look grim, the United States has actually been administering the vaccine on a daily rate faster than any other country. Data gathered from Bloomberg indicates that approximately 1.34 million doses of the vaccine are administered every single day in the United States. This means about 7.8% of Americans have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 1.8% of Americans are fully vaccinated. Though the United States has been a leader in COVID-19 cases and deaths, its lead in vaccinations is something to celebrate.
Politics
President Biden plans to take action in response to Myanmar’s military coup
On Monday, Myanmar’s military was successful in seizing control of the government as they detained their State Counsellor, Aung San Suu Kyi. They also detained senior members of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy. Army chief Min Aung Hlaing has taken sole control of Myanmar after this coup and it will be seen how he deals with any backlash and protests against the coup. Aung San Suu Kyi has been leading Myanmar’s transition to democracy since 2015 and President Biden has expressed that the military’s coup was a direct attack on this transition to democracy. He plans to work with other countries in the region to restore democracy in Myanmar. Though any action is difficult with the United States limited leverage and influence in the region. Any sanctions imposed could also drive Myanmar closer to China, who sustains a multibillion-dollar trade with Myanmar. This is an early challenge for the Biden administration and we will soon see how they plan to resolve it.
Works Cited:
Bloomberg.com, Bloomberg, www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-01/u-s-hits-milestone-in-pandemic-with-more-vaccinated-than-cases.
Bloomberg.com, Bloomberg, www.bloomberg.com/markets/sectors/utilities.
Mauldin, William, and Ian Talley. “Biden Plans 'Appropriate Action' After Myanmar Coup, but U.S. Leverage Is Limited.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 1 Feb. 2021, www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-slams-myanmar-militarys-seizure-of-power-11612201288?mod=hp_lead_pos7.
Press, The Associated. “Siemens Energy to Shed 7,800 Jobs in Cost-Cutting Drive.” The Seattle Times, The Seattle Times Company, 2 Feb. 2021, www.seattletimes.com/business/siemens-energy-to-shed-7800-jobs-in-cost-cutting-drive/.
“Renewables, DERs Take Center State: 2021 Predictions for Energy, Utilities, Resources.” StackPath, www.tdworld.com/distributed-energy-resources/article/21153835/renewables-ders-take-center-stage-2021-predictions-for-energy-utilities-resources.
“Robinhood Raises Additional $2.4 Billion as App Continues to Deal with Reddit-Trader Frenzy.” Business Insider, Business Insider, markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/robinhood-raises-additional-24-billion-reddit-daytrader-gamestop-amc-frenzy-2021-2-1030029079.
Rudegeair, Peter. “WSJ News Exclusive | Robinhood Raises Another $2.4 Billion From Shareholders.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 1 Feb. 2021, www.wsj.com/articles/robinhood-raises-another-2-4-billion-from-shareholders-11612197680.
Solomon, Feliz, and Niharika Mandhana. “Myanmar Coup: What We Know About Aung San Suu Kyi's Detention.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 1 Feb. 2021, www.wsj.com/articles/myanmar-coup-aung-san-suu-kyi-11612169495?mod=article_inline.
Wallace, Joe, and Amrith Ramkumar. “Silver Prices Jump in GameStop-Like Frenzy.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 1 Feb. 2021, www.wsj.com/articles/reddit-users-fuel-rally-in-silver-11612182810?mod=hp_lead_pos1.
“What Really Happened: What Really Happened.” Morning Brew, www.morningbrew.com/daily/issues/2021/02/01?email=emilyvo@utexas.edu.