Desert Gold Ventures is a Canadian gold exploration and development company focused on gold deposits in Africa, primarily West Africa. The Company's SMSZ project is one of the largest gold exploration projects in West Africa and has more than 20 open gold zones discovered to date. The project has the potential for further resource increases and the discovery of one or more large gold deposits comparable to Tier 1 gold mines in the region. Current news, project progress, and increasing M&A activity in the industry should boost the stock.
Oil prices are spiraling upward every day, and now the EU is threatening to impose an oil embargo on the aggressor Russia. This is increasingly complicating Germany's situation because the already difficult gas supply situation for the coming winter is now being compounded by the alternative procurement of oil on the world markets. This is happening at prices that have recently climbed to a 14-year high. Germany was dependent on Russian energy supplies for around 40% of its energy needs until 2021. On the other side of the Atlantic, however, oil production is going from strength to strength. Saturn Oil + Gas from the Canadian province of Saskatchewan is pulling off another mammoth takeover, this time with a volume of CAD 260 million. Production can increase by 50% as a result of the deal. The Western procurement market is already giving thanks. We do the math.
Sometimes it is a paradox on the capital markets: While the operating business is developing better than ever and all segments are rushing from record to record, the share price is falling drastically. This can be clearly seen at wallstreet:online AG, on the one hand Germany's leading neobroker operator by assets under custody and also by far the largest publisher-independent financial portal operator in the German-speaking world. After share price losses of up to 50% since June of last year and a positive outlook for the year as a whole, the management is now buying in addition to the supervisory board and founder.
The winners of the Ukraine conflict, as macabre as it may sound, are primarily arms companies such as Düsseldorf-based Rheinmetall AG. While these companies were still denounced as "socially harmful" shortly before the invasion of Russia, the share prices exploded at the latest after the announcement of a special fund of EUR 100 billion for the German Armed Forces. In addition, in order to create sustainability, at least 2% of economic output annually is to secure Germany's security, freedom and democracy in the long term. Now the agreement reached by the traffic light government and the CDU/CSU has cleared the way for the package. However, there was no further jump in the share price of the profiteer. In addition, further questions remain open for the future.
The dramatic changes in the energy markets are now being eyed with suspicion by European governments, because dependence on Russian oil and gas supplies may mean considerable expenditure on a replacement strategy in the future. Even at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, the oil price fell below USD 35 - in the days since the Russian aggression, prices have been reported to exceed USD 130. By thinking about embargoes, theoretically 11% of the world's energy supplies fall under the table. Fortunately, it is not like that, because India and China are happy about the Russian exports at dumping prices and thus relieve the global markets somewhat. North America is seizing the opportunity and is on the rise again with fracking, as even oil fields with production costs beyond the CAD 60 mark are once again profitable. The Canadian Saturn Oil + Gas from Saskatchewan has undergone a complete transformation in the last two years, and today they are stronger than ever in the market. The company delivered approximately 7,500 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day in Q1 2022, this is an improvement of over 3,000% over the same period in 2021. The current share price development has not yet reflected the special development of Saturn Oil + Gas, because in addition to recent quarterly figures, there is now also an increase in guidance.
Varta puts a difficult quarter behind it. The battery expert continues to suffer from weak demand for the otherwise fast-growing lithium-ion button cells. Although growth in energy storage systems and interest in conventional household batteries remain high, this cannot currently compensate for the decline in small rechargeable button cells. The sales from the e-mobility sector that the stock market is eagerly awaiting are still a long way off. Consequently, confidence is fading and investors are becoming much more cautious. A poor chart performance and the current crisis in growth stocks are not helping either. More operational momentum is needed in the course of the year. Here is an update from Ellwangen.
The Ukraine crisis shows the vulnerability of European energy policy. Continuing as before not only jeopardizes supply but also political stability in Europe because a permanent doubling of energy prices would put an extreme strain on purchasing power and future growth. The sooner the EU switches to renewables, the sooner the community of nations will become more independent and the more it will gain control over its own energy system. The energy renewal plan recently presented by the EU Commission, called "REPowerEU," is a bold initiative. With REPowerEU, the climate policy gains another crucial justification: it is no longer only necessary to mitigate the serious consequences of global warming, such as droughts, floods, social conflicts and migration in emerging economies. It is now also clear that a consistent climate policy will be part of the coming peace policy.
Last year, the leading media services provider for the commodities industry completed its transformation into a B2B digital media company, distributing high-quality content to a rapidly growing global audience through its XaaS model. Although the live events division slipped away due to the Corona pandemic, the Australians successfully navigated the period marked by COVID-19, and the Company made significant strides toward growth and profitability. The Future of Mining Australia event has now heralded a return to physical events, enabling Aspermont to generate exceptional returns. The figures for the second quarter clearly show the enormous potential for the future.
The conditions for a transformation of the energy industry could not be better. With the outbreak of war in Ukraine and the declared sanctions, the switch from fossil fuels such as oil and gas to renewable energies is to be accelerated significantly once again in order to reduce dependence on Russia. Green hydrogen is seen as the key to achieving climate targets and is becoming increasingly competitive due to the sharp rise in gasoline prices. In the long term, market leader Plug Power should benefit from its green hydrogen ecosystem. Despite this, the chart is severely battered and a major correction is imminent.
Last year went well for Bayer AG, with a consolidated net income of EUR 1 billion. In 2020, Bayer had posted a loss of EUR 10.5 billion. This was largely due to the formation of reserves for the Monsanto litigation. The Group also has to forfeit the loss of exclusivity rights to two of its most profitable pharmaceutical products. However, the seed business is picking up, as is the demand for pesticides. Thanks to its CropScience, Pharmaceuticals and Consumer Health divisions, Bayer has three mainstays. Back in the black, the Leverkusen-based company faces its next challenge: potential crisis effects from the Ukraine war and its consequences on the global economy have not yet been priced in.