Renewables hit 51%; Lib leadership tussle; Tesla dumps EV models

Renewables hit 51%; Lib leadership tussle; Tesla dumps EV models

News in brief

The federal Liberal party is contemplating a change of leadership, with the two main rivals to Opposition leader Sussan Ley, Andrew Hastie and Angus Taylor, meeting in Melbourne yesterday.

 

With Australia Day over, home auctions across the country pick up this weekend with more than 1600 scheduled, about four times the level of last weekend.

 

It was a tale of two commodities on the ASX yesterday. Uranium prices surged to their highest level in two years, sending nuclear stocks higher, while rare earths stocks tumbled on comments from Donald Trump.

 

The EU and India have ratified a mega trade deal as countries rethink trade ties on the back of US tariffs. European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen called the agreement the “mother of all deals”. It involves the 27-member countries of the EU, and the world’s most populous country.

 

There were a bunch of US tech stocks reporting over the past 24 hours. Tesla said it will scrap its S and X models and invest $US2 billion into Elon Musk’s xAI. It reflects Tesla’s shift in focus away from cars to AI and robotics.

Fear-o-meter

What was particularly impressive about renewable power providing the bulk (51 per cent) of electricity in the December quarter, was that there was record demand from households and industry.

 

Distributed photovoltaics, more commonly known as rooftop solar, had a record quarter because the sun was shining and more people have installed panels.

 

Also, there are now 145,000 household battery installations, and more wind farms (and during the quarter more wind). Variable renewable energy output last quarter was up 23 per cent on a year earlier.

 

Two very important benefits from renewables. They are cheaper than fossil fuel energy, and wholesale prices across the market averaged about 40 per cent lower than a year earlier.

 

And they reduce emissions. The market operator said the increase in renewable output drove National Energy Market total emissions and emissions intensity to new all-time record low levels.

Fear & Greed Q+A today

On weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy that are reshaping healthcare, and potentially the economy:

 

“The next generation of these drugs is really interesting because they target multiple receptors, not just one. We’re finding GLP-type receptors in muscle cells, the brain and nervous system. These drugs may improve insulin sensitivity, reduce glucose spikes in the brain, lower inflammation and potentially improve cardiovascular and brain health.

 

From a medical perspective, I’m actually excited about competition coming into the market, even though companies are spending billions trying to block rivals in court. Newer versions appear to cause less nausea and gut side effects while delivering more systemic benefits. The question going forward is whether we use lower, micro-doses long term, not for dramatic weight loss, but for metabolic health, inflammation and disease prevention. At the moment, all approved doses are aimed at diabetes and weight loss. How we safely and ethically use these drugs for broader health outcomes is the next big frontier.”

For the first time, renewables supplied the majority of Australia’s electricity needs for a complete quarter, and as a result, prices across the network for the final three months of last year were lower. The Australian Energy Market Operator said wind, solar, hydro and batteries accounted for just over 51 per cent of generation across the National Electricity Market in the December quarter, edging out coal and gas for the first time. It reflects decades of investment in renewable capacity, supported by wind generation, ongoing rooftop solar panel uptake and a rapid expansion of large-scale batteries.

Greed-o-meter

Company	Market cap (USD)
Citigroup	204 B
PepsiCo	203 B
Walt Disney	196 B
Boeing	189 B
BHP	186 B
BlackRock	174 B
AT&T	171 B
Uber	166 B
Verizon	166 B
Booking.com	165 B

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Australia's biggest company BHP got a little bigger yesterday, with its shares closing nearly two per cent higher after the price of copper hit a new record. But while a market cap of $262 billion (about $US186 billion) is enough to make it the largest company on the ASX, BHP is a lot smaller than the giants of Wall Street. In fact, if it was listed on the S&P 500, it would be the 67th largest company, surrounded by a bunch of household names:

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Source: MarketIndex, CompaniesMarketCap