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Charter rates and prices for new LNG tankers surge as Europe looks for alternatives to throttled Russian gas supplies

Europe’s energy crisis has unleashed a global battle over natural-gas tankers, leading to a shortage of ships and further boosting the fuel’s record prices.

European countries ramped up their purchases of liquefied natural gas from the U.S., Qatar and other sources this year as Russia cut supplies to the continent. They are competing with peers in South Korea and Japan—where gas demand has surged during a heat wave—for a finite amount of supply ferried by a limited number of vessels.

The jostling has increased orders for new tankers transporting LNG—specialized ships the length of three football fields—as well as their price. Rates to charter existing tankers have jumped too, which helped push gas prices to records in Europe and Asia last week. Traders expect gas prices and tanker rates to zoom even higher if China, where demand has been curtailed by Covid-19 lockdowns, steps back into the market before winter.

The race to secure tankers is another sign of the reshuffling of the global energy map following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The war has intensified competition for tight energy supplies, reoriented commodity flows and fractured parts of the global oil-and-gas market, with supporters and opponents of Russia paying different prices.

LNG and the tankers that carry the fuel were in high demand even before the conflict, as extreme weather curtailed hydropower and many economies sought to ditch coal to reduce carbon emissions. The war has turbocharged that trend.

Before the war, Russia covered 40% of the European Union’s gas supplies, mostly via a network of pipelines. Given that it will take time to upgrade the continent’s pipeline network to receive imports from other nearby exporters, the main short-term alternative is LNG, which can be bought from producers further away and shipped, albeit at a higher price.

In the production of LNG, gas is chilled to minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit and shrunk to a liquid that can be stored and shipped to terminals. There it is returned to a gas state and used to power factories and heat homes.

Just one LNG tanker is available to be chartered for a single voyage in Asia two months or more from now, said Jason Feer, head of business intelligence at Poten & Partners, a shipbroker. None is available in the Atlantic Ocean.

“Everything out there is going to be snapped up,” said Toby Copson, head of trading and advisory at Shanghai-based Trident LNG. “Effectively you’ve got Europe and Asia bidding against each other and propping the market up.”

The scramble for ships adds another challenge for Europe, where governments are racing to fill storage facilities ahead of the heating season and companies are buckling under high gas prices. Russia has capped deliveries to Germany via the key Nord Stream pipeline at 20% of its capacity, blaming Western sanctions. German and European officials have called the throttling an economic attack.

Amid the gas rush, daily charter rates for existing tankers that traders will take hold of between mid-September and mid-November have risen to $105,250 a day, up from about $64,000 now and about $47,000 a year ago for vessels heading from the U.S. to Europe, according to Spark Commodities.

Rates were above $100,000 a day in June, before dropping when a fire at an LNG export facility in the U.S. reduced exports and demand for boats. Analysts and traders expect them to rebound because trading companies have booked many more boats on a long-term basis to make sure they can ferry LNG, in turn reducing the pool of vessels immediately available.

To avoid getting caught out in the future, traders are going on a buying spree for ships. Customers have shelled out $24.1 billion on orders for new LNG tankers—including orders for eight vessels in August—so far in 2022, according to Stephen Gordon, managing director at London-based shipping firm Clarkson. They have already blown past the full-year record of $15.6 billion from 2021.

Currently, 257 vessels are on the order book globally, according to consulting firm Rystad Energy. Shipmakers in South Korea, the world’s biggest producer of LNG tankers, don’t have free capacity for new orders until 2027, Rystad estimates.

Among the biggest buyers of LNG tankers is Qatar, one of the world’s largest LNG exporters. This tiny Persian Gulf kingdom has emerged as one of Europe’s best hopes to wean itself off Russian gas, and European countries have been in talks with it about long-term LNG contracts.

Demand for tankers has raised the price of the new vessels. Surging steel prices and limited shipyard capacity are also contributing to the tanker inflation, with newbuild prices approaching $240 million a ship from $190 million a year ago, according to Rystad.

Higher tanker prices and rising rates for chartering ships are feeding into the LNG value chain and boosting already high gas prices worldwide, said Kaushal Ramesh, an analyst at the consulting firm. “The recent focus on energy security means the entire market has gone back to taking a long-term view on supply and shipping,” he said.

Demand has also risen for so-called floating storage and re-gasification units, which are often converted LNG tankers moored at the coast. Setting up these facilities, known as FSRUs, is faster than building a dedicated LNG terminal, which usually takes years.

Across Europe, 14 FSRUs are currently planned. FSRU charter rates have risen to $200,000 a day in some cases, more than double the rate in early 2021, according to Rystad.

Germany, which had for years been dependent on cheap Russian piped gas, doesn’t have a single LNG terminal. Now, Berlin is planning to have two such FSRUs ready by the end of the year, with several others following next year.

A deal would mark Amazon’s latest foray into the healthcare sector

Amazon.com Inc. is among the bidders for healthcare company Signify Health Inc., joining other heavy hitters vying in an auction for the home-health-services provider, according to people familiar with the matter.

Signify is for sale in an auction that could value it at more than $8 billion, the people said. Bids are due around Labor Day, according to the people, but it is always possible an eager bidder could strike a deal before then.

CVS Health Corp. is also among the suitors, The Wall Street Journal previously reported, as the drugstore and insurance giant looks to expand in home-health services. UnitedHealth Group Inc. and another corporate buyer are also circling the company, according to the people.

There is no guarantee any of them will reach a deal for Signify, which has been exploring strategic alternatives. The healthcare company has a market value of roughly $5 billion, boosted since the Journal first reported on the possibility of a deal early this month.

Signify uses analytics and technology to help employers, health plans, physician groups and health systems with in-home care. It offers in-home health evaluations for Medicare Advantage and other government-run managed care plans.

A deal would mark Amazon’s latest foray into the healthcare sector, and the second time in recent months it faced off against CVS.

The online-commerce and media and technology giant in July agreed to pay $3.9 billion for 1Life Healthcare Inc., ONEM 0.17% which operates a primary-care practice under the name One Medical. The deal marks the first major acquisition announced during the tenure of Chief Executive Andy Jassy, for whom expansion into healthcare is a top priority.

CVS also had eyed the One Medical parent, according to people familiar with the matter.

New York-based private-equity firm New Mountain Capital is an investor in Signify, after first backing it in 2017.

The U.S. Open begins next week, but the betting favorite on the men’s side, Novak Djokovic, will likely be prevented from competing, barring a last-minute pivot by the player or the U.S. government.

On April 21, the Department of Homeland Security extended “temporary Title 19 requirements” that mandate non-U.S. citizens entering the U.S. be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and provide related proof of vaccination upon request.

“These requirements were extended in consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and several other federal agencies,” DHS wrote in announcing the extension. “According to CDC, vaccines remain the most effective public health measure to protect people from severe illness or death from COVID-19, slow the transmission of COVID-19, and reduce the likelihood of new COVID-19 variants emerging.”

Djokovic doesn’t seem any more likely to change course. “I’m not planning to get vaccinated, so the only good news I can have is them removing the mandated green vaccine card or whatever you call it to enter United States or exemption,” Djokovic said last month after winning Wimbledon, his 21st Grand Slam title. At the end of July, the Serbian tennis ace posted on his social media channels, “I am preparing as if I will be allowed to compete, while I await to hear if there is any room for me to travel to the US. Fingers crossed!”

Djokovic fans received a glimmer of hope that the three-time U.S. Open champion will be able to travel to New York, based on updated COVID-19 guidelines announced by the CDC on Aug. 11. The revised guidance moved away from social distancing and COVID-19 quarantine requirements, while eliminating any distinction in the protocols between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.

“This guidance acknowledges that the pandemic is not over, but also helps us move to a point where COVID-19 no longer severely disrupts our daily lives,” Greta Massetti, a C.D.C. epidemiologist, said in a statement.

The CDC said it will work to “align stand-alone guidance documents” in the coming weeks as related to “healthcare settings, congregate settings at higher risk of transmission, and travel.” But few expect the DHS regulations, which have kept Djokovic out of the U.S. for all events this year, to change this week.

“We of course would welcome Novak if the federal guidelines currently prohibiting unvaccinated non-U.S. citizens from entering the country were to change,” a USTA spokesperson said via e-mail. Djokovic is believed to be the only player ranked in the ATP top 100 that would be prevented from playing, based on the guidelines.

Current American players, John Isner and Taylor Fritz, both questioned the decision to keep Djokovic from playing, with Isner calling it “lunacy.” John McEnroe has also supported Djokovic. “I think it’s BS,” McEnroe told Fox News this month. “It’s really unfortunate but that’s the rules we really have right now with the government. I don’t agree with it but c’est la vie at the moment.” Two-time presidential candidate Steve Forbes echoed McEnroe, calling it “bureaucratic BS” on Twitter.

Djokovic has been at the center of the tennis world on and off the court in 2022. He was deported from Australia in January ahead of the Australian Open when his medical exemption visa was canceled. Djokovic’s ability to enter France for the French Open was in doubt, but he was ultimately allowed to compete at Roland Garros, where he lost to Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals. His seventh and last event so far this year was his title at Wimbledon. The stakes are raised for Djokovic as he competes with Nadal and Roger Federer for the all-time men’s record for Slam wins. Nadal is currently on top with 22.

Djokovic ranked fifth with $28.2 million in Sportico’s tally of the world’s highest-paid tennis players. Though sponsors have started backing away from Djokovic, despite his chance to go down as the greatest player in the history of the sport. This year, UKG and Peugeot both ended valuable “patch” sponsorships, which generate huge exposure for brands during marquee matches, such as Grand Slam finals. His Peugeot deal started in 2014, with UKG signing Djokovic in 2019. Lacoste remains Djokovic’s most valuable endorsement partner in a pact worth as much as $10 million annually, including bonuses for a big year on the court.

Djokovic lost to Daniil Medvedev in last year’s U.S. Open final in a stunning upset, ending his quest to become the first man to win the calendar grand slam since Rod Laver in 1969. It was his record sixth loss in an Open final. The Caesars sportsbook has Djokovic the favorite this year at +150, followed by Medvedev at +250.

Authorities scrap Shanghai Bund light show and drivers struggle to charge EVs as temperatures soar

Chinese authorities have stepped up emergency measures to deal with extreme heat and a crippling drought in the south-west of the country that has forced cities to dim lights and left electric vehicle drivers struggling to recharge cars.

A record months-long heatwave, with temperatures reaching a high of 43.4C in Chengdu on Sunday, has emptied rivers and dams in Hubei and Sichuan provinces, which rely on hydropower.

The situation has had a cascading effect on electricity supplies in other parts of the country, just as the economy has been hammered by Beijing’s zero-Covid restrictions and a crisis in the property sector.

Officials in Sichuan have declared the event a “level 1” emergency incident, the highest possible, and at least 50 mobile generators from other provinces have been dispatched to help stabilise the local power supply, the State Grid Corporation of China said.

Authorities have suspended power supplies to a number of factories, forcing manufacturers such as Toyota and Foxconn to suspended operations in Sichuan, a province of 84mn people and a hub for lithium mining and solar panel production.

Lier Chemical, a Shenzhen-listed pesticide manufacturer, said in a filing on Monday that local officials had extended the industrial power cuts until Thursday.

The cities of Chongqing and Chengdu have ordered lights to be dimmed, and shopping malls and office buildings have turned off illuminated outdoor advertising and suspended the use of lifts. Office workers in Chengdu have also been urged to set their air conditioners to 27C in an attempt to reduce energy use.

Shanghai, which partially depends on hydropower from the region, said at the weekend it would suspend its famous daily light show on the Bund, the waterfront stretch of commercial buildings, for two days.

Electric vehicle owners in Sichuan and Chongqing have also complained that recharging stations have been closed. Tesla said only two of its 14 charging stations in Chengdu were open on August 17.

“[I am] either charging my car or looking for an available charging pile,” an electric vehicle owner in the city wrote on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like microblogging platform.

The extremely hot weather is forecast to last for the rest of the month, and analysts said the high temperatures would heap more pressure on the economy.

“With Covid restrictions . . . still a day-to-day issue for the country . . . and a real estate sector that is undergoing critical rehabilitation, a black swan event has occurred with a record two-month-long heatwave,” Jefferies analysts said.

“The drought has created a vicious spiral as hydroelectric power becomes scarce which in turn cuts electricity production for industry.”

“Sichuan is now facing the hottest temperatures and the worst drought of the past 60 years, with hydropower resources down 51 per cent,” Morgan Stanley analysts Simon Lee and Leo Deng wrote in a research note, adding that the government expected the situation to last to the end of August.

They said 19 provinces were experiencing record high power demand as a result of the high temperatures.

Acquisition of Nearmap is latest in string of tech sector deals by US private equity firm

Thoma Bravo has agreed its first Australian acquisition after the board of mapping company Nearmap recommended a A$1.06bn ($730mn) takeover by the US private equity firm that has been on a technology sector buying spree.

The purchase is also the latest in a string of deals for listed Australian companies that driven mergers and acquisition activity to record highs, dispelling concerns that rising interest rates and a deteriorating global economic environment would slow the pace of takeover activity.

The A$2.10 a share cash offer represents a 67 per cent premium on the average Nearmap share price over the past six months.

Thoma Bravo, with $114bn of assets, is one of the most active acquirers of software companies in the world. The firm paid $12.3bn for email security company Proofpoint last year, one of the biggest tech deals of 2021, and agreed to pay $10.7bn for data platform provider Anaplan in March before negotiating a reduction on the price over a pay dispute.

It has also launched a £2.7bn takeover bid for Darktrace, the UK cyber security developer.

Nearmap was founded in Perth in 2007 and has become one of the world’s largest aerial imaging companies. The group provides 11,000 government departments and private sector companies with detailed cloud-based 3D images of terrains in the Pacific and North America. The company is expected to expand in North America once the takeover is complete.

Nearmap chief executive Rob Newman said: “We expect the location intelligence and aerial imaging market in North America to undergo change and consolidation over the next few years, which will present organic and inorganic opportunities for Nearmap.” 

AJ Rohde, a senior partner at Thoma Bravo who led the deal, said: “We believe Nearmap’s insights are increasingly mission-critical to enterprises and the use cases rapidly evolving, as evidenced by the company’s accelerating adoption with blue-chip customers in North America.”

Nearmap shares rose just over 5 per cent to A$2.07 on Monday following the announcement that the deal had been agreed, slightly below the offer price. The stock traded at more than A$4 in 2019 but has not recovered to those levels.

John Campbell, an analyst with bank Jefferies, said that results last week from Nearmap showed that the company was confident of achieving positive cash flow in fiscal 2024, which would have strengthened Thoma Bravo’s resolve to buy the business.

“Whether any competing bidders emerge is obviously a key unknown,” he wrote in a note.

Central bank equals record rate cut in May but move unlikely to resolve crisis for developers, strategists say

China has slashed its mortgage lending rate for the second time this year as the country’s central bank seeks to limit the fallout from a liquidity crisis in the property sector.

The five-year loan prime rate was lowered to 4.3 per cent from 4.45 per cent on Monday, exceeding the median forecast from economists polled by Bloomberg and equalling a rate cut in May that was the largest on record.

The reduction in the benchmark, which is based on rates offered by domestic lenders and published by the People’s Bank of China, will reduce borrowing costs on new mortgages nationwide and provide a boost to the country’s debt-laden real estate sector, which accounts for almost a third of annual economic output.

The one-year LPR, which is also based on domestic Chinese lending rates and primarily used to price corporate loans, was cut to 3.65 per cent from 3.7 per cent.

The larger-than-expected cut to the benchmark mortgage rate helped bolster the Hang Seng Mainland Properties index in Hong Kong, which rose 1.4 per cent on Monday. But it did little to boost wider markets, with the benchmark CSI 300 index of Shanghai- and Shenzhen- listed stocks up just 0.7 per cent.

Analysts at Capital Economics said the cut to the five-year LPR would not affect most outstanding mortgage rates until the start of next year, but the move suggested the PBoC was “particularly concerned about problems in the housing market”.

Strategists warned that the rate cut was unlikely to address a crisis of confidence faced by Chinese developers, many of which are struggling to finish incomplete “pre-sold” homes for which down payments have already been received. The method of financing construction has become more common as authorities cracked down on excess leverage in the sector in recent years.

“So far, lower mortgage rates haven’t translated into higher property sales due to the lack of confidence in large developers and the presales model,” said David Chao, global market strategist at Invesco. “Policymakers may need to implement more non-traditional measures or even some kind of intervention in order to restore faith in the property market.”

Last week, Country Garden, the country’s largest real estate group by sales, estimated first-half profits fell as much as 70 per cent, in the latest sign that a financing crisis once limited to high-risk developers such as China Evergrande has spread to the rest of the industry.

Analysts said the central bank was likely to cut the five-year LPR at least one more time this year. “When the market sees progress in the construction of uncompleted projects, we may see an improvement in home buying sentiment and home prices should stabilise,” said Iris Yang, chief economist for Greater China at ING.

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The response to a tweet about the durability of Telfar’s Shopping bags contains an important takeaway for brands navigating the complex sustainable fashion space.

Telfar’s signature “Shopping” tote has become an explosively successful symbol of the cultural shifts reshaping fashion.

Gen-Z’s first It bag is accessibly priced, genderless and made of vegan leather. The so-called “Bushwick Birkin” designed by Liberian-American designer Telfar Clemens is positioned as a subversive riposte to the expensive European leather goods that have dominated the luxury market.

Despite its relatively humble price point (between $150 and $257), its cultural cachet is such that Beyoncé name-checked the bag in her latest album: “This Telfar bag imported. Birkins? Them shit’s in storage,” the megastar sings on the final track.

So when a vegan dancer and choreographer posted a video to Twitter, showing how the faux leather on his well-loved Telfar tote had worn away over four years of use, the internet had many opinions.

For some, the video, which has so far clocked up 1.6 million views, was proof that leather alternatives are a poor substitute for the real thing. Others took the opportunity to point out that vegan leather is just a fancy way of saying plastic. A few saw it as an unfair critique of a brand that has succeeded against the odds in an industry that for years has ignored and marginalised the community it represents. Many defended the brand, making the case that four years is a respectable lifespan for an everyday handbag or sharing that their Telfar bags have lasted years with careful use.

In essence, the tweet — which was intended to start a conversation about the quality of vegan leather alternatives — captured in a viral social-media moment why navigating topics linked to sustainability can be so complex.

Over the last few years, “sustainability” has become a highly marketable catch-all for any effort to operate more responsibly, from climate to inclusivity and workers’ rights.

That hazy definition has made it a space fraught with trade-offs and conflicts, enabling greenwashing, but also tripping up brands whose genuine efforts aren’t necessarily intended to cover all bases.

Take vegan leather, a popular way to rebrand materials that are essentially just plastic. While that may tick the box for consumers whose primary concern is animal rights, the link to fossil fuels means such materials are hardly a responsible choice from a climate perspective.

The weight of expectation is particularly charged for a label like Telfar which, for the record, doesn’t promote itself as a sustainable brand. (The brand didn’t comment for this story.)

“There are so many expectations when it comes to Black brands to either be everything or nothing,” said fashion writer Scarlett Newman. “It’s unrealistic.”

Telfar, though, is clear about what it stands for and why it does what it does. Its use of faux leather is a choice driven by the material’s price and accessibility, according to the company’s website, in line with the brand’s ethos to design for a community long ignored by the fashion industry because of gender, race or socioeconomic background.

That holds a lesson for any company trying to navigate the current landscape: the key is to clearly define what you stand for and consistently deliver on that.

“The brand is very transparent about who they are, what they represent and what they’re trying to do,” Newman said. Among the reasons Telfar resonates so strongly is that it stands for “the cause, to support a Black designer, to represent ‘I’m part of this community, this is where I stand.’”