Jim Kane

If profits shape the energy transition we need to understand the biggest profit event this century: the 2022 oil and gas price spike.

Very happy our paper is now out in Energy Research & Social Science. Thread by lead-author @gregorsemieniuk.bsky.social 👇

River or sankey diagram showing the allocation of profits from global oil and gas companies to quantiles of the US wealth size distribution via financial system intermediaries, such as asset managers, and categories of ultimate beneficiaries, such as business owners, pension funds and shareholders in listed companies. The scale is hundreds of billions of US dollars, and ultimately 50.4% of profits reaching the US personal wealth distribution go to the richest 1% of households.

🚨NEW PAPER🚨
We all know the 2022 energy price shock fueled the cost of living crisis. It also caused a profit bonanza for the very rich. We show the US reaped the largest profits ($377bn) of any country. 50% went to the richest 1%, only 1% to the bottom 50%. A🧵 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Three private-equity firms are in contention, the source said: Apollo Global Management (which just launched a sports-focused fund), Sixth Street Partners, and Ares Management (Sports Illustrated first reported the news of the latter three funds’ interest). Then, there’s CalPERS, a statewide pension fund for California public employees that manages more than $580 billion in assets for more than two million members. The fund, the largest public pension in the U.S., has about 18% of its assets allocated to private equity. The proposal may include CalPERS investing in the Big Ten as a co-investment alongside any or all of the aforementioned PE firms. (In such a deal, CalPERS would invest in the Big Ten entity alongside a PE firm for a minority stake and less control and lower fees.)

"Big Ten Considering Investment From California Pension Fund" 🫣

frontofficesports.com/big-ten-cons...

the only site on the internet that might be more unhinged than twitter.

I Spent Five Days in Israel’s Desert Prison I joined a flotilla to deliver aid to Gaza. After Israeli forces seized our ship, I spent five days inside al-Naqab prison, witnessing the cruelty of Israel’s detention regime.

I joined a flotilla to deliver aid to Gaza. After Israeli forces seized our ship, I spent five days inside al-Naqab prison, witnessing the cruelty of Israel’s detention regime.

The shock therapy will continue until morale improves.
www.ft.com/content/745f...

Visualization of the circular transactions between Nvidia, Open AI, Oracle, Intel, AMD, xAI, and others

I guess it was just a matter of time before xAI was added to this web.

www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Today is the official publication day for CRACKED FOUNDATIONS!! 🏠🥳🎉
For the next month, Penn is offering a discount of 40% off using the code UHA25. Which brings the price down to $20.97. A screaming deal!
www.pennpress.org/978151282822...

for some reason, I have premium access with a regular subscription. not sure if I was grandfathered in or what.

Green hydrogen is growing — but not enough to meet the hype Low-emission production still meets only a small fraction of hydrogen demand

on.ft.com/46SNxWf

Updated IBIT fee numbers: "Their calculations suggest that the fund, which charges a modest 0.25% fee, brings in an annual revenue haul that tops $240 million"

Of course, as the article below notes, 25 bps is actually not so modest for an ETF.

“Two years ago today, Hamas carried out a horrific war crime, killing more than 1,100 Israelis and kidnapping 250 more. I mourn these lives and pray for the safe return of every hostage still held and for every family whose lives were torn apart by these atrocities. In the aftermath of that day, Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israeli government launched a genocidal war: adeath toll that now far exceeds 67,000; with the Israeli military bombing homes, hospitals, and schools into rubble. Every day in Gaza has become a place where grief itself has run out of language. I mourn these lives and pray for the families that have been shattered. Our government has been complicit through it all. This must end. The occupation and apartheid must end. Peace must be pursued through diplomacy, not war crimes, and our government must act to end these atrocities and hold those responsible to account. These last two years have demonstrated the very worst of humanity. We must answer it by modeling the very best: a relentless pursuit of our higher ideals and an unwavering commitment to universal human rights.”

My statement on the two year anniversary of October 7, 2023.

Brookfield raises $20bn in second energy transition investment fund Canadian parent company to contribute heavily alongside UAE and Norwegian wealth funds

For Brookfield, "investing in energy transition assets" of course means buying existing assets.

How politicians and passengers gave up on greener air travel A renewed push for economic growth has added to technological challenges and problems with carbon offset schemes

The iron law of climate politics: everyone is "in favour of climate action" [as long as it means zero change to existing lifestyles]

Bessent Picks Social Security Chief Frank Bisignano as IRS CEO The Social Security head will do double duty at the tax agency while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent retains his formal title as acting IRS commissioner.

Alarming news this morning that Social Security head Frank Bisignano has been named “CEO” of IRS, a move that raises 3 major concerns:

www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

part 2, how BlackRock influences other capitalists, will (hopefully) be ready toward the end of the month or early November.

If you're trying to make sense of BlackRock's recent buying spree, we have a deep dive into the firm's operations and where it's likely headed.

Trump 2 is a private equity presidency,
Big Finance still rules the show and #WallStreetConsensus is apparently going to make Palestine investible.

I'll check if any of the shops in philly selling "legalize marinara" t-shirts already have it.

At long last, the Net Zero Banking Alliance gives up the ghost.

I wrote on the implications of its slow-motion demise earlier this year for the Guardian -

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Make Agnolotti Great Again

have a new piece out that asks the question: is it good to run the pentagon like a private equity firm?

www.nybooks.com/online/2025/...

www.thedp.com/article/2025...

The Billionaire Behind Trump’s Deal for Universities

“Mr. Rowan, who is chief executive of Apollo Global Management, and Stephen A. Schwarzman, the chief executive of Blackstone — are helping shape seismic discussions related to the Trump administration’s campaign to upend American campuses.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/u...

And then there’s the investment consultants showing their clients capital market assumptions with private credit having equity-like returns and bond-like volatility going out 30 years.

BlackRock Nears $40 Billion Data Center Deal in Bet on AI BlackRock Inc.’s Global Infrastructure Partners is in advanced talks to acquire Aligned Data Centers, targeting a major beneficiary of AI spending in one of the year’s biggest deals, according to peop...

Sure, why not? Put the data centers and utilities under the same owner.

"GIP has also been eyeing other big takeovers, including a potential acquisition of power company AES Corp. on expectations that the sector will benefit from surging electricity demand from facilities running AI applications."

image of an AI chatbot. Text says: "Mercatus AI Research Assistant. Ask questions about this research"

It appears that hell has at least one more layer than I was aware of.

don't worry, I'm sure CPPIB will prevent anything bad from happening 🫠

“How much variable exposure to shadow banking does the banking system have now, given the fast growth of NDFI lending? And how much wrong-way risk is out there? I don’t know, and I’m not sure anyone else does, either.” — @robarmstrong.bsky.social

Shadow banks are not outside the banking system And that is a worry

“…NDFIs acquire “liquidity insurance”, usually in the form of credit lines with banks. These lines are the “umbilical cords” connecting the NDFIs to the banks, as Acharya put it to Unhedged.”