Latest news with #Wolfson
Newsweek
6 days ago
- Business
- Newsweek
Trump is Undoing Climate Action. Can Clean Energy Investments Survive?
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. You've probably heard of the old curse that goes, "May you live in interesting times." These are certainly interesting times for those in the clean tech and climate solutions sectors. With the passage of his "big beautiful" bill this month, President Donald Trump has eliminated many of the federal government incentives that had triggered hundreds of billions of dollars of investments in clean energy, batteries, EVs and other climate solutions over the past three years. The Trump administration has pulled the U.S. out of international climate agreements and scrapped regulations on emissions from autos and the power sector in an attempt to steer the energy economy back to reliance on fossil fuels. But the whiplash-inducing U-turn on energy policy in the U.S. is starkly at odds with signals from the broader energy market. In the U.S., renewable energy now accounts for about 90 percent of the new electricity capacity being added to the grid as wind, solar and batteries have become the cheapest and fastest sources of new power. In the series "Climate Investing in a Volatile Climate" we'll hear from leading climate tech investors about how they are navigating the rapid shifts in U.S. policy and the energy markets. In the series "Climate Investing in a Volatile Climate" we'll hear from leading climate tech investors about how they are navigating the rapid shifts in U.S. policy and the energy markets. Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Getty/Canva Globally, the International Energy Agency reported that the capital flowing into low-carbon energy sources this year is roughly twice that going into fossil fuel development, raising the specter that the U.S. is turning its back on one of the world's fastest-growing new industries. Add to all that the impacts of tariffs and trade wars, and you have a period of unparalleled uncertainty for clean tech companies and the investors who back them. Interesting times indeed. Better Planet asked some leading clean tech and climate solutions investors how they are making sense of this shifting landscape and what they see ahead for a series we're calling "Climate Investing in a Volatile Climate." In this first installment, we'll hear from Johanna Wolfson, co-founder and general partner at Azolla Ventures, a climate-focused venture capital fund, and Peter Davidson, founder and CEO at Aligned Climate Capital, an asset management company focused on companies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Both Wolfson and Davidson told Newsweek that Trump's sudden policy shifts on energy will slow, but not stop investment, and both predicted that the strong economic arguments for clean tech will still attract capital. "We are seeing signs of a coming pull back from other venture capital firms in clean tech," Wolfson said. Climate investing won't dry up altogether, she said, but newer companies and emerging technologies with higher risk will likely find it harder to attract capital. Her advice to clean tech companies: "Hunker down, do the work, build the solutions, and be ready," she said. Davidson said that even before the Republican-led Congress voted to phase out clean energy tax credits, the atmosphere of uncertainty was already causing companies to cancel or scale back some announced projects. "You can get depressed about that or you can continue the fight," Davidson said. Despite political headwinds, he said, market forces are working in favor of clean energy. "It's gotten complicated because you have to avoid things that are reliant on federal tax policy," Davidson said. "But there are plenty of companies out there, many projects out there, that we think are still highly investable and can earn a very good return." 'It's a Big World' for Climate Investors Wolfson described Azolla Ventures as a "catalytic capital" firm that invests in early-stage climate technologies, using capital sourced mainly from tax-exempt foundations and donor-advised funds. This allows Azolla to prioritize positive climate impact when deciding what companies to back. "We're taking on outsized risk and maybe doing that at an earlier time or in a different way than even other climate-oriented venture funds might be willing," she said. "We're looking for giga-scale impact." One budding success story, she said, is the low-carbon cement company Sublime Systems. Azolla was an early backer, and Sublime recently signed a deal with Microsoft that is the largest procurement deal for clean cement to date. Azolla's approach also assumes a long lead time for nascent clean technologies to develop, she explained, a mindset that is less susceptible to shifting political winds. "When we're evaluating companies for investment, we're looking at market growth and emissions avoided out to 2050," Wolfson said. "That's a lot longer than a four-year administration." Wolfson said some clean energy sources are still well-positioned to benefit under Trump policy, such as new nuclear technology and geothermal energy, which she expects to grow rapidly as major tech companies race to procure steady power for AI data centers. However, she said that as U.S. leadership retreats from climate action, much of the rest of the world is moving ahead, and investment dollars are likely to follow. "It's a big world," Wolfson said. Some companies Azolla works with are now looking to pilot new projects outside of the U.S., and her firm is supporting them to integrate into other markets. "We should go to where the early adopters are, and if that continues to shift, then those companies should shift with it." Overall, Wolfson said, she is "deeply concerned" about the lack of global progress on climate goals. That makes Azolla more interested in early-stage support for "big swing" technologies that have potential for large-scale emissions cuts. "They're going to have to shoulder more of the emissions avoided since we're not keeping track with the desired reduction," she said. Azolla is also looking at more investment in adaptation and resilience solutions to help society better deal with climate change impacts that are happening now. "They're going to accelerate," she said of climate-driven extreme weather events. "We've essentially baked that in." An Energy Policy 'Reckoning is Coming' Before launching Aligned Climate Capital, Peter Davidson had worked on funding energy projects in the Department of Energy (DOE), where he directed the DOE's Loan Programs Office under President Barack Obama and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. That long history with the public and private sectors informs his view of what Trump 2.0 means for clean tech investment. "We've seen this movie before, because we were in this business during Trump One," Davidson said. "And during his entire first term, renewable deployment was never higher, EV deployment was never higher, corporate commitment to clean energy was never higher. So, we see the same things happening here." Aligned's most recent round of funding concluded in March with $85 million, double the previous round and higher than the company's target, Davidson said. The company's main focus is investing in proven technologies that can rapidly scale, and supporting construction of distributed power generation such as community and mid-sized solar projects—what Davidson called the "quiet workhorse" of the clean energy transition. Contractors install solar photovoltaic modules on top of a department store roof in Hamilton Township, New Jersey. Contractors install solar photovoltaic modules on top of a department store roof in Hamilton Township, New Jersey."They're big enough for meaningful impact, but you avoid the red tape of utility-scale development," he said. Recent data from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) shows that even amid the Trump administration's assault on climate action, solar (often paired with battery storage) remains the favored way to add power as electricity demand rises. In the first four months of this year, FERC data showed, solar accounted for 78 percent of new capacity. Looking ahead, FERC expects about 90 gigawatts of new solar to come online in the coming three years, compared to only 19 gigawatts of new gas-fired power. Coal-fired power is expected to drop further with the retirements of several older facilities. "The energy transition is underway and it's unstoppable," Davidson said. Even with the reduced tax credits, he argued, solar generation is still cheaper to build than natural gas, and supply chain backlogs for gas turbines mean many gas projects will likely be delayed. "So, anything that's going to be built in the United States over the next five years is what we're doing, mid-size, or the large, utility scale, wind and solar," Davidson said. However, renewable energy will not grow as fast as it would have with continued tax credits and other government support. The existing fleet of natural gas power plants will be taking up a lot of the coming demand for electricity at the same time that the Trump administration is promoting more exports of liquified natural gas. That points to a nearly inevitable rise in energy prices, Davidson said. Most independent analyses of the "big beautiful" budget bill Trump signed on July 4 show sharp increases in energy costs. Analysts at Rhodium Group estimate the law will increase national average household energy bills by at least $78 and as much as $192 while forcing total industrial energy expenditures up by at least $7 billion. (Industrial energy costs also tend to get passed along to consumers via higher prices for goods and services.) Davidson predicted that rising energy prices will bring a political backlash. "Eventually there'll be a correction at the polls," he said. "We believe a reckoning is coming, and when that happens, it will bring a little more sense and sensibility into our energy policy." We'll have more conversations with climate investors in the weeks leading up to Climate Week NYC in September, when Newsweek will host events on energy and the green transition. Mark your calendars for our events "Pillars of the Green Transition" on Wednesday, September 24, and "Powering Ahead" on Thursday, September 25.
Business Insider
10-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
RBC Capital Sticks to Its Buy Rating for Agnico Eagle (AEM)
In a report released on July 7, Josh Wolfson from RBC Capital maintained a Buy rating on Agnico Eagle, with a price target of $145.00. The company's shares closed yesterday at $117.69. Don't Miss TipRanks' Half-Year Sale Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Make smarter investment decisions with TipRanks' Smart Investor Picks, delivered to your inbox every week. Wolfson covers the Basic Materials sector, focusing on stocks such as Agnico Eagle, Newmont Mining, and Anglogold Ashanti PLC. According to TipRanks, Wolfson has an average return of 10.9% and a 66.82% success rate on recommended stocks. Agnico Eagle has an analyst consensus of Strong Buy, with a price target consensus of $139.14, which is a 18.23% upside from current levels. In a report released on June 30, Raymond James also initiated coverage with a Buy rating on the stock with a $130.00 price target. Based on Agnico Eagle's latest earnings release for the quarter ending March 31, the company reported a quarterly revenue of $2.47 billion and a net profit of $814.73 million. In comparison, last year the company earned a revenue of $1.82 billion and had a net profit of $347.19 million Based on the recent corporate insider activity of 97 insiders, corporate insider sentiment is negative on the stock. This means that over the past quarter there has been an increase of insiders selling their shares of AEM in relation to earlier this year.
Business Insider
05-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Analysts Offer Insights on Materials Companies: Barrick Mining (B) and DuPont de Nemours (DD)
There's a lot to be optimistic about in the Materials sector as 2 analysts just weighed in on Barrick Mining (B – Research Report) and DuPont de Nemours (DD – Research Report) with bullish sentiments. Don't Miss TipRanks' Half-Year Sale Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Make smarter investment decisions with TipRanks' Smart Investor Picks, delivered to your inbox every week. Barrick Mining (B) In a report issued on July 2, Josh Wolfson from RBC Capital maintained a Buy rating on Barrick Mining, with a price target of $26.00. The company's shares closed last Thursday at $21.46. According to Wolfson is a 5-star analyst with an average return of 11.6% and a 67.4% success rate. Wolfson covers the Basic Materials sector, focusing on stocks such as Wheaton Precious Metals, Osisko Gold Royalties, and Anglogold Ashanti PLC. The word on The Street in general, suggests a Moderate Buy analyst consensus rating for Barrick Mining with a $25.31 average price target, representing a 20.5% upside. In a report issued on June 30, Benchmark Co. also initiated coverage with a Buy rating on the stock. DuPont de Nemours (DD) RBC Capital analyst Arun Viswanathan maintained a Buy rating on DuPont de Nemours on July 2 and set a price target of $90.00. The company's shares closed last Thursday at $73.72, close to its 52-week low of $72.38. According to Viswanathan has 0 stars on 0-5 stars ranking scale with an average return of -3.1% and a 47.3% success rate. Viswanathan covers the Basic Materials sector, focusing on stocks such as Air Products and Chemicals, Sherwin-Williams Company, and Axalta Coating Systems. DuPont de Nemours has an analyst consensus of Strong Buy, with a price target consensus of $84.62, representing a 14.2% upside. In a report issued on June 20, J.P. Morgan also maintained a Buy rating on the stock with a $93.00 price target.
Business Insider
25-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
New Buy Rating for Anglogold Ashanti PLC (AU), the Basic Materials Giant
RBC Capital analyst Josh Wolfson maintained a Buy rating on Anglogold Ashanti PLC (AU – Research Report) on June 23 and set a price target of $53.00. The company's shares closed yesterday at $46.40. Confident Investing Starts Here: Wolfson covers the Basic Materials sector, focusing on stocks such as Newmont Mining, Agnico Eagle, and Anglogold Ashanti PLC. According to TipRanks, Wolfson has an average return of 11.6% and a 67.19% success rate on recommended stocks. The word on The Street in general, suggests a Moderate Buy analyst consensus rating for Anglogold Ashanti PLC with a $46.92 average price target, a 1.12% upside from current levels. In a report released on June 12, Roth MKM also initiated coverage with a Buy rating on the stock with a $52.00 price target. AU market cap is currently $24.16B and has a P/E ratio of 20.56. Based on the recent corporate insider activity of 28 insiders, corporate insider sentiment is negative on the stock. This means that over the past quarter there has been an increase of insiders selling their shares of AU in relation to earlier this year.
Vancouver Sun
19-06-2025
- Health
- Vancouver Sun
Iranian missile hits hospital in Israel
At least six people were seriously wounded by an Iranian missile barrage on Israel on Thursday morning. Beersheva's Soroka Medical Center sustained a direct hit, and impacts were also reported in Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan and Holon. Four serious injuries were caused by a direct hit on a residential building in Holon, south of Tel Aviv, according to Wolfson Medical Center. The hospital said it was also treating 19 people listed in mild condition. Two people were seriously wounded in the direct hit in Ramat Gan. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. As of Thursday afternoon, the number of injured stood at more than 200, including at least 147 in the greater Tel Aviv region and around 60 in Beersheva. The figures include those injured while running to shelters, individuals suffering from anxiety, and hurt people who arrived independently at hospitals. In addition to Wolfson and Soroka, victims were evacuated for treatment to Ichilov, Sheba, Beilinson, Assaf Harofeh, Barzilai, Mayanei Hayeshua, Assuta, and Schneider medical facilities. Shrapnel severely damaged the home of former Health Minister Dan Naveh in Savyon, southeast of Ramat Gan. The president and CEO of Israel Bonds is on a fundraising trip in the United States, but he told Channel 12 News that his children were at home and survived unharmed. 'Our home suffered severe damage today. Thank God, the three children were together in the safe room and are OK; they were truly saved by a miracle. I was on a video call with the children when the explosion was heard—there were many moments of anxiety,' he said, adding, 'We are in an important existential war, and our spirit is strong.' The barrage, composed of some 30 ballistic missiles, was the heaviest launched by the Islamic Republic in nearly 48 hours. Emergency teams were responding at several sites, searching for wounded and treating several individuals for minor injuries, according to the Magen David Adom emergency medical service. In total, 22 individuals with mild injuries were being transported to hospitals. Following direct missile strikes on residential buildings in central Israel, United Hatzalah volunteers provided initial treatment to three women in serious condition, two men in moderate condition, and more than 50 additional people who sustained mild injuries, including many suffering from emotional shock. Officials from the IDF Home Front Command surveyed the damage at the impact site in Holon, with Home Front Command head Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo praising the actions of local residents. 'This incident is an exceptional example of civilian behavior—the civilians heard the alert, went down to the shelter, and that saved their lives,' Milo said. Israel's Channel 12 News reported that a suspected leak of hazardous materials on one of the floors of Soroka Medial Center was being investigated and that the area was being evacuated; however, it was later reported that a dangerous leak had been ruled out. 'There has been damage to the hospital and extensive damage in various areas. We are currently assessing the damage, including injuries,' the Soroka spokesperson said, requesting that people not come to the medical center at this time and stating that further updates would be provided as soon as possible. According to reports, part of the Soroka complex had been evacuated a day before Thursday's strike by a special order of the Health Ministry, including the floor hit by the missile. 'Just yesterday, they evacuated the old surgical building, which today took a direct hit. It's a great miracle,' a doctor at Soroka told Kan News. Israeli Health Minister Uriel Buso called the Soroka strike 'an act of terror' that crosses a red line. 'It is a war crime by the Iranian regime, deliberately targeting innocent civilians and medical teams dedicated to saving lives. The Health Ministry was prepared in advance, and thanks to the immediate actions we took, a major disaster was averted,' said Buso. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called the Iranian regime 'Nazis who launch missiles at hospitals, at the elderly, and at children.' If the regime had nuclear weapons, it would deploy them 'without even thinking for a second,' he added. He called 'Operation Rising Lion,' the IDF campaign in Iran, 'the most just campaign Israel has ever embarked on in its history. 'I embrace the citizens of Israel and strengthen the hands of the prime minister and my colleagues in the Cabinet during these days. We are all united—to remove this threat once and for all, until the end and until absolute victory! The people of Israel live,' Ben-Gvir said.
