Anytime Ulf Ek needs to think, he goes for a walk in London’s Richmond Park with Dollar, a Maltese-Yorkie mix. The 2,500-acre expanse of fields, forest, and deer herds about 12 miles southwest of the financial district has long been a bucolic respite from urban life.
In the 17th century, King Charles I moved his court to a nearby palace to avoid the plague. For Ek it’s a break from the frenzy of the energy markets; he knows just how fraught that world can be, having lived through a price meltdown that cost him a fortune and made him nauseous.
As Dollar sniffed around the park one day in late 2017, Ek, the founder, and chief investment officer of hedge fund Northlander Commodity Advisors LLP, mulled over some news he’d later use to make tens of millions of dollars.
In Brussels, European Union policymakers were finalizing plans to overhaul the bloc’s Emissions Trading System, a carbon market created to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by making them a tradeable commodity like soybeans or gold. The ETS—the biggest market of its kind—wasn’t working. Generous pollution limits in the system’s design had flooded the market with carbon permits. Prices were too low to persuade businesses to clean up, so the EU drafted measures to boost prices by removing permits from the market.
Ek was trying to figure out how the market would react to the EU’s latest moves and how he should play it. A Swede who’d moved to London in 1998, Ek had bought and sold European electricity and gas contracts for about two decades, including at Enron Corp. and Deutsche Bank AG. He followed the ETS since its inception in 2005 but cooled on the market after a disastrously bad bet lost him about €12 million ($14.2 million) just months later.
Bu hikaye Bloomberg Markets dergisinin August - September 2021 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Bloomberg Markets dergisinin August - September 2021 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
See Which Countries Are Falling Behind On Climate Change
Under the Paris Agreement, 190 countries and the European Union pledged to take steps to hold the global temperature rise to less than 2C (3.6F) from preindustrial levels—and preferably 1.5C.
Billionaires Vie for the Future of Brazilian Finance
An escalating battle between two billionaires is upending the financial community in São Paulo, Latin America’s wealthiest city.
Ford Foundation's Darren Walker: ‘We Have to Get Uncomfortable'
DARREN WALKER, 62, disrupted his Wall Street life more than 25 years ago when he left what is now UBS Group AG to volunteer at a school and eventually pursue a career in community development and philanthropy. Since 2013 he’s been at the pinnacle of the philanthropic world as president of the Ford Foundation, created by the family of automaker Henry Ford during the Great Depression to advance human welfare.
Fueling the Ener Transition
I MAY BE BIASED, but some of the most important research and data on the Bloomberg terminal lies in one of its lesser-known functions: {BNEF }
Dig Into Analysts' Estimates for Disruptive Companies
THE PANDEMIC ERA generated a whole wave of disruptive companies as it accelerated the introduction of new products and services in areas including artificial intelligence, digitization, electronic payments, online meeting platforms, and virtual currencies.
Climate Risks Come for Sovereign Credit
FOR YEARS climate scientists have warned about the ferocious wildfires and hurricanes that are now overwhelming many communities. Today alarms are ringing about a related financial danger: risks lurking within government bonds, the biggest part of the global debt market.
Responsible-Investing Pioneer Lydenberg Says ESG Needs An Upgrade
STEVE LYDENBERG’S passion for social change was inspired by anti-Vietnam War demonstrations, consumer boycotts, and the movement to divest from apartheid South Africa. But he didn’t take to the streets. Instead, Lydenberg turned to the world of finance to help catalyze societal change.
Engine No. 1's Grancio: ‘People Will Appreciate an Economic Argument'
ENGINE NO. 1 sent shock waves across corporate America in May when the fledgling investment firm won a boardroom battle with Exxon Mobil Corp., securing three seats on the oil and gas giant’s board after purchasing only about $40 million of its stock.
Find Out Which Companies May Ramp Up Payouts After Covid
AS THE PANDEMIC DISRUPTED business last year, many companies cut or suspended dividends. Which will boost their payouts when economies pick up again?
Get Into the Minds of Central Bankers as They Navigate Shocks
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED how central bankers forecast the impact of shocks on the economy?
