Daily Brief – Robotaxis 

Robotaxis 

Uber announced at the end of last week that it is buying 50,000 Rivian R2 robotaxis which will be rolled out initially in San Francisco and Miami in 2028 and then in Europe by 2031. The fully autonomous vehicles will cost Uber USD1.25 billion.

EUR/USD 1.1543.

People’s Bank of China

Governor Pan Gongsheng gave a speech last week which is worth dissecting at this time of the slowing of China’s economy. Instead of the normal commentary on the progress of the current 5 Year Plan – the 15th – dominating his statement, there was much about maintaining stability, defusing financial risks, and safeguarding the markets’ stable operation. Reading the runes on what Governor Pan said is not hard: China’s banking system is overly exposed to China maintaining its previously strong economic momentum.

GBP/USD 1.3319.

EU Motoring

If you as a motorist are contemplating a camping/caravanning/touring trip around the EU in the near future, you might be interested to learn that at present the cheapest fuel (once you get there) is in Hungary where petrol is capped at EUR 1.51 and diesel at EUR 1.59 but those prices only apply to Hungarians and not to tourists. That prompted us to look at other EU fuel quirks, and we discovered that in Austria, which is of course well known for its love of regimentation, fuel prices may only be increased once a day at Noon, although more daringly fuel prices in Austria can be reduced at any time of the day. In Croatia, a price cap is being introduced and fuel will be fixed at EUR 1.50 from 23 March. Dutch drivers have the unfortunate distinction of paying the highest fuel price in Europe at EUR 2.17. German drivers are paying EUR 2.08 and are up in arms about it since that price is predicated largely by the tax element which increases as the underlying price goes up. Doubtless, that wheeze was dreamt up by a committee deep in the bowels of a Berlin government building late one night after such a price spike was judged to be an unlikely outcome. The pushback on German forecourt pricing is such that Germany is establishing a Task Force to examine the situation amid dark mutterings about the oil companies conspiring to price gouge the luckless German motorist.

EUR/GBP 0.8667.

Kiss n Fly

Stansted Airport has increased the cost of a sub 15 minute car drop off by 40% from £7 to £10 and if that is not bad enough, a more protracted farewell of 15-30 minutes will set you back £28. The Essex SeeYa on the nearby M11 roundabout is about to become more popular.

EUR/JPY 183.97.

Shiny Happy People

This day in 1991 R.E.M. scored their first Number 1 album with Out of Time which contains a host of hits including this number.

Shiny happy people laughing
Meet me in the crowd, people, people
Throw your love around, love me, love me
Take it into town, happy, happy
Put it in the ground
Where the flowers grow
Gold and silver shine
Shiny happy people holding hands
Shiny happy people holding hands
Shiny happy people laughing
Everyone around, love them, love them
Put it in your hands, take it, take it
There’s no time to cry, happy, happy
Put it in your heart
Where tomorrow shines
Gold and silver shine

Discussion and Analysis by Humphrey Percy, Chairman and Founder

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