CSX will be a safe play long for years to come. I worked for them for a short time about 13 years ago, and coal transport is just a small piece of their pie. I expect their short-term to go down for now because of the low oil prices. But when CL (and diesel) starts shooting up again, everyone is going to go back to rail transport for bulk goods. If they could just get their error control under control in operations, they'd save a lot of money.
Breaking https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/blackrock-dumps-thermal-coal-20200114-p53rd0 BlackRock dumps thermal coal Tony BoydColumnist Jan 14, 2020 — 8.00pm BlackRock, the world's largest fund manager, is dumping more than half a billion dollars in thermal coal shares from all of its actively managed portfolios, as part of a more active global stance on climate change driven by chief executive Larry Fink. The coal ban, which includes any company earning 25 per cent of its revenue from thermal coal, will apply to BlackRock's $US1.8 trillion ($2.6 trillion) in actively managed equity portfolios. "Climate change has become a defining factor in companies’ long-term prospects," Mr Fink wrote. It will not affect the balance of the fund manager's $US5.2 trillion in assets under management that are managed in passive exchange-traded and index funds. But as part of a new sustainable investment policy, BlackRock will help clients screen out fossil fuels from passive portfolios. 'Climate risk is investment risk' Geraldine Buckingham, who is BlackRock's head of Asia Pacific, said in an interview with The Australian Financial Review the thermal coal decision was in the interests of clients. "This is really about us believing that these companies, given the carbon risk, represent poor sources of long term Alpha and we don’t believe its in our clients’ best interest to be investing in them on their behalf," she said. Alpha is the mathematical estimate of the amount of return expected from an investment's inherent values. "What it means for us is really that climate risk is investment risk." "This is not about people's personal or individual views about environment or, you know, what the right policy responses are, this is really about how do we fulfil our role as a fiduciary to help clients understand how to manage the risk in their portfolio. "This is really about us believing that these companies, given the carbon risk, represent poor sources of long term Alpha," says Geraldine Buckingham. Michael Chiu "It's become very clear, I think, in the last few years that climate risk represents significant investment risk in portfolios and I think that the regulators, as well as managers like BlackRock, are saying that this risk in the portfolio is material." A defining factor Mr Fink announced the coal ban on Tuesday in his annual letter to the chief executives of global companies BlackRock is invested in. This year the letter was almost entirely devoted to climate change and its potential impact on the global allocation of capital. "Climate change has become a defining factor in companies’ long-term prospects," Mr Fink wrote. "Last September, when millions of people took to the streets to demand action on climate change, many of them emphasised the significant and lasting impact that it will have on economic growth and prosperity – a risk that markets to date have been slower to reflect. "But awareness is rapidly changing, and I believe we are on the edge of a fundamental reshaping of finance." Mr Fink said the world would see changes in capital allocation more quickly than changes in the climate itself. "In the near future – and sooner than we anticipate – there will be a significant reallocation of capital," he said. New approach Ms Buckingham said as part of BlackRock's new approach to sustainable investment it will offer sustainable versions of all its flagship passive products, it will double the number of environment, social and governance exchange-traded funds and help index providers expand and improve the universe of sustainable indices. She said BlackRock would make changes to the way it votes at annual meetings in relation to climate change resolutions as well as revealing its voted on a quarterly basis instead of once a year. "Our role in investment stewardship is ultimately to work towards maximising the long term value of that shareholding," she said. "If we believe that proposals will help us towards that goal, then we may vote in support of them. "But many of these proposals don't and where we believe the proposal is limited in terms of the impact it's going to have on the goal of the long term value creation for the client we reserve the right not to vote with it."
Two coal mines in Wyoming in July 2019, most would think miners go to one of the other ten mines, but most filled to full time already. Over all trickle down affects, Union Pacific railroad had huge layoff or repositioning railroad personnel in North Platte, Ne because of loss of coal, then many small towns lost citizens to sell goods and housing. Am sure real estate has dropped in those regions and some file bankruptcy when they lost railroad jobs. The two shuttered mines are owned by West Virginia-based Blackjewel LLC, which filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy and closed down operations on July 1. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/coal-mine-closures-shake-wyoming/ar-AAGNcjh
Quote from the article referring to the mine closures that pretty much sums it up “For the entire time I lived here, they said this was the one thing that wouldn’t happen,” she said." Denial is apparently more than just a river in Egypt. I get that they might not understand $gas<$coal being as how that's math and all. But when pretty much every major coal mining company files for bankruptcy and the consensus "they" expect it will have no impact on coal mining?