RIA consolidator Cerity Partners has acquired Bingham, Osborn & Scarborough, a $5 billion registered investment advisory firm in San Francisco, a move that expands Cerity’s West Coast footprint and brings its total client assets to more than $40 billion under advisement.
The B|O|S team, led by CEO Kevin Dorwin and President and Chief Operating Officer Carol Benz, will become part of Cerity. The RIA has also reorganized its leadership structure as a result, naming Benz its chief people officer, a new role designed to oversee the recruitment, development, education, engagement, diversity and growth of Cerity’s people and culture. B|O|S principal David Newson will become chief marketing officer of Cerity. Dorwin will become Cerity’s San Francisco market leader.
Related: RIA Edge: Updating Growth Strategies for RIAs With Cerity Partners’ Claire O’Keefe
B|O|S was founded in 1985 and serves high-net-worth individuals and families in the Bay Area, providing comprehensive financial planning, investment management, and trust and estate planning.
“The merger allows us to enhance our clients’ experience and broaden the breadth and depth of our expertise,” said Cerity Partners CEO and President Kurt Miscinski, in a statement. “It also significantly deepens our presence in and commitment to San Francisco and Silicon Valley, a region that continues to create meaningful wealth for many individuals and families.”
Related: Mindy Diamond on Independence: The Catalysts Behind the Growth of Mega-Firm Cerity Partners
Cerity, which was founded in 2009, is backed by private equity firm Lightyear Capital, which bought a 50{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} stake in the consolidator in 2018 from Emigrant Bank. Cerity has been slowly amassing a sizeable talent pool.
In 2020, it acquired $5 billion in assets under management from four acquisitions. In January 2020, it acquired Los Angeles RIA Sullivan & Serqitz and Chicago-based EMM Wealth. In December, Cerity announced it had added two firms, Algonquin Advisors in Greenwich, Conn. and Worldview Wealth Advisors in San Francisco that pushed its assets up to $27 billion.
Earlier this year, Cerity announced its acquisition of Bainco International Investors, a Boston asset manager and wealth planning firm with $1.1 billion in assets under management.
In a recent RIA Edge podcast, Claire O’Keefe, partner and head of corporate development at Cerity, reveals how the firm was able to become one of the top RIAs for individuals, businesses and nonprofits, and how they have fostered long-term, sustainable growth for their business.
The certified financial planner, or CFP, designation is often considered the standard of excellence for financial planners. It’s a mark of an advisor’s commitment to providing the best holistic advice to clients, one that requires extensive study and experience.
“The CFP is the most comprehensive financial planning designation and demonstrates a broad knowledge of topics ranging from investments to taxes and estate planning,” says Bryan Koslow, a CFP and principal of Clarus Group. With certificants adhering to rigorous studying, testing and ethical standards to hold the CFP mark, it can be a good way of differentiating them from the pack.
Current financial professionals can become CFPs, as can students or career-changers looking to enter the financial planning field.
Wherever you start your CFP journey, it’s important to know what it means to be a CFP and what it’s like becoming and working as one before you start. Here’s what to know about earning your CFP.
What Is a CFP?
A CFP is a financial professional who has met the training and experience requirements of the CFP Board, passed the CFP certification exam and committed to the CFP Board’s ethical standards, which require them to put their clients’ interests first.
Of the five professional designations Kasey Gartner, a CFP and wealth management advisor at Northwestern Mutual, has received, she says the CFP is “by far the most valuable.” It’s been one of the “greatest gifts” to her career, she says.
“Initially, holding the CFP designation served as a differentiator among other advisors,” she says. “Now, I consider it almost a baseline for advisors looking to do true planning for their clients, and for clients looking for a holistic and comprehensive advisor.”
How to Become a CFP
To become a CFP, you must complete the CFP Board’s “Four Es:” education, exam, experience and ethics.
The education component requires applicants to have a bachelor’s degree and complete a CFP Board registered program. The bachelor’s degree can be in any discipline as long as it’s from an accredited university. Most people take 12 to 18 months to complete the CFP coursework requirement, according to the CFP Board. While advisors have to finish the CFP Board’s coursework before taking the exam, they have five years from when they pass the exam to get their bachelor’s degree.
CFP applicants also have five years from when they pass the exam to fulfill the experience requirement of either 6,000 hours of professional experience related to financial planning or 4,000 hours of apprenticeship experience under the direct supervision of a CFP professional.
While you can take the exam before getting industry experience, having several years of experience in the industry first can be beneficial, says Andrew Schultz, a CFP and partner and wealth management advisor with Clarity Financial Planning Group, a Northwestern Mutual private client group. “There isn’t a substitute for time invested and firsthand experience working with clients through various planning situations.”
The CFP exam is a six-hour test taken in two three-hour sessions during a single day. It consists of 170 multiple-choice questions, including stand-alone, scenario-based and case-study questions. In July 2021, 62{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} of exam-takers passed the test.
“Studying for the exam is a major commitment and is usually done while maintaining a full-time work schedule,” Schultz says. Be prepared to spend many evenings and weekends studying.
“You can leverage technology by listening to audio recordings while driving and taking online prep courses,” he says. “It’s important to really immerse yourself in the content in order to be properly prepared for the exam.”
Gartner took an intensive review course between completing her coursework and taking the exam. She strongly encourages any CFP candidates to do the same. She also recommends creating a calendar with deadlines for when you intend to complete each of the required courses and a target date for taking the exam.
“It’s not enough to work in financial services for years and complete the coursework,” she says. “You must prepare for the exam and structure your environment for success.”
The final step in becoming a CFP is to meet the ethics requirement and pass the CFP Board’s background check. Applicants will be required to sign the CFP Board ethics declaration and commit to the CFP Board’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct. These are an expansion of the fiduciary standard, which requires advisors to always act in their clients’ best interests.
“Being held to a fiduciary standard as a CFP professional allows for clients and prospects to trust our process even more, knowing we will always put their needs first,” says Gartner, who worked as a fiduciary before becoming a CFP.
What Do CFPs Do for Work?
CFPs can work at large banking or financial institutions or at smaller, independent firms. Some CFPs choose to start their own practices, while others prefer to work under the umbrella of a larger firm.
CFPs can fill many roles within the financial field, both in financial planning and investment advising roles. Some of the most common financial planning positions held by CFPs include personal financial planners, client services advisors, associate advisors and wealth management advisors. On the investment side, CFPs may serve as portfolio managers, financial analysts or investment managers.
Regardless of the job title, almost all financial planning CFP jobs involve working closely with clients to construct holistic financial plans.
“We work intimately with people to plan some of their biggest life decisions such as whether to start a family, make a career change, take care of aging family members and when to retire,” Koslow says. “Every day is different because every set of client circumstances is unique.”
In many ways, working as a CFP is no different than working without the designation, Schultz says. “People still need your help, and the products and services you can offer are often the same. The biggest difference is the knowledge you gain allows you to better understand the various elements of someone’s financial situation and how they all fit together.”
The typical salary for a CFP varies by job role. For instance, in salary-based compensation models, analysts typically earn between $47,000 and $62,000, while lead advisors or managing directors earn between $125,000 and $262,000, according to an InvestmentNews compensation and staffing study. These roles may also include bonuses or other compensation, such as a percentage of revenue.
As a mentor for aspiring CFPs, Koslow encourages applicants to follow their passion and see what areas of financial planning interest them most. “There are so many ways that CFPs can help clients,” he says. “It’s a lot easier to be successful in this business if you love what you do.”
The number of Americans applying for first-time jobless claims reached the lowest level since November 1969, with the number of filings dropping to 199,000.
Improvements in the labor market have been broad-based, with the weekly rate of those rendered newly unemployed falling precipitously across the country since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
As usual, the Labor Department’s latest weekly report included a breakdown of the states and territories with the highest and lowest insured unemployment rates, or the ratio of people claiming jobless benefits divided by the overall size of the labor force. For a number of states, this key labor market metric improved to its best level in two years, showing an even smaller proportion of their populations were claiming jobless benefits than before the coronavirus outbreak.
“I don’t even think you can call it an economic recovery anymore,” Chris Rupkey, chief economist for FWDBONDS, told Yahoo Finance Live. “Remember the best economy in 50 years late in 2019? Well, we’re way, way, way above that right now. I don’t even think you can call this a reopening of the economy after the pandemic — we’re miles and miles ahead of the fourth quarter of 2019.”
South Dakota was the state with the lowest insured unemployment rate. As of the week ended Nov. 6, the state’s rate was at 0.2{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} on a seasonally unadjusted basis. The last time this figure was below that level was in October 2019.
The national average insured unemployment rate was at 1.3{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} for the same week, or the lowest since December 2019. At its worst pandemic-era point in May 2020, during widespread lockdowns and layoffs, the insured unemployment rate peaked at 15.9{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} nationally.
Other states also posted insured unemployment rates well below the national average. Alabama’s insured unemployment rate for the week ended Nov. 6 came in at 0.3{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}, or the lowest on record for the state based on data spanning back to the 1980s. Nebraska’s rate also came in at 0.3{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} for the period, marking a two-year low.
Five states — Kansas, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Utah and Virginia — posted insured unemployment rates of 0.4{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} for the start of November, also representing a marked improvement from their pandemic-era highs.
A little less than half of U.S. states and territories — or 19 in total — posted insured unemployment rates at or above the national average at the start of the month. Of these, the Virgin Islands saw the highest rate at 3.0{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}, which marked a slight uptick from the prior week’s 2.2{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} rate. Still, this was well below its pandemic-era peak of nearly 18{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996} in June 2020.
Meanwhile, Puerto Rico, Washington, D.C., and Alaska each posted insured unemployment rates of 2.7{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}, tying for the second-highest rates in the nation, based on the latest data. California followed close behind with an insured unemployment rate of 2.6{21df340e03e388cc75c411746d1a214f72c176b221768b7ada42b4d751988996}. Many of the states posting persistently elevated insured unemployment rates have been those that rely heavily on tourism and their service economies, given the ongoing recovery still taking place in these industries after the outbreak.
“Workers remain in high demand in a labor market where payrolls and the civilian labor force remain well below pre-pandemic levels,” wrote Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist for High Frequency Economics, in a note Wednesday morning. “Developments on the health front remain a risk that may weigh on labor supply, but we expect workers to gradually return to the labor market, as the cushion from savings diminishes, supporting job growth over coming months.”
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -China on Thursday criticized the United States for putting a dozen Chinese companies on its trade blacklist over national security and foreign policy concerns, citing in some cases their help developing the Chinese military’s quantum computing efforts.
The Chinese additions to the blacklist maintained by the U.S. commerce department comes amid growing tensions https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/biden-administration-invites-taiwan-its-summit-democracy-2021-11-24 between Beijing and Washington over the status of Taiwan and trade issues.
The department also said several entities and individuals from China and Pakistan were added to the Commerce Department’s Entity List for contributing to Pakistan’s nuclear activities or ballistic missile program.
In total, 27 new entities were added to the list from China, Japan, Pakistan, and Singapore.
China strongly opposes the sanctions on the Chinese companies, and will lodge solemn representations with the United States, Shu Jueting, a spokesperson for the Chinese commerce ministry, said at a news conference on Thursday.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a statement on Wednesday that the new listings will help prevent U.S. technology from supporting the development of Chinese and Russian “military advancement and activities of non-proliferation concern like Pakistan’s unsafeguarded nuclear activities or ballistic missile program.”
China’s embassy in Washington charged that the United States “uses the catch-all concept of national security and abuses state power to suppress and restrict Chinese enterprises in all possible means.
“China is firmly opposed to that,” embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said.
He said the United States should “follow the spirit” of a virtual meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping https://www.reuters.com/world/biden-raised-concerns-over-xinjiang-tibet-hong-kong-xi-warns-taiwan-red-line-2021-11-16 last week and “meet China halfway instead of going further down the wrong path.”
China will take all the necessary steps to defend its companies, and reserves the right to take countermeasures against the sanctions, warned Zhao Lijian, spokesman at the Chinese foreign ministry, at a briefing on Thursday.
The U.S. Commerce Department said Hangzhou Zhongke Microelectronics Co Ltd, Hunan Goke Microelectronics, New H3C Semiconductor Technologies Co Ltd, Xi’an Aerospace Huaxun Technology and Yunchip Microelectronics were placed on the Commerce Department’s entity list for their “support of the military modernization of the People’s Liberation Army.”
It also added Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, QuantumCTek and Shanghai QuantumCTeck Co Ltd to the list for “acquiring and attempting to acquire U.S.-origin items in support of military applications”.
The eight Chinese firms were listed to prevent U.S. technology being used to help China develop quantum computing applications for its military.
The Commerce Department wants to stop the Chinese military from developing its counter-stealth technology, which could include equipment like advanced radars, and counter-submarine applications such as undersea sensors. The action also blocks U.S. material from being used to help China break encryption or develop unbreakable encryption, the Commerce Department said.
Suppliers to companies on the entity list will need to apply for a license before they can sell to them, which is likely to be denied.
Separately, the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology was added to the Commerce Department’s military end user list, but the listing did not provide additional information other than it had produced military products.
The entity list has increasingly been used for national security and foreign policy aims since the Trump administration. Chinese telecom company Huawei was added in 2019, cutting it off from some key suppliers and making it difficult for them to produce mobile handsets.
(Reporting by Chris Sanders and Karen Freifeld; additional reporting by David Brunnstrom and Yew Lun Tian and Jing Xu in Beijing; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Angus MacSwan)
Deal is designed to accelerate eCombustible Energy’s go-to-market strategy
eCombustible Energy has developed a customizable hydrogen-based fuel production technology that provides on-site fuel delivery under long-term fuel supply agreements
eCombustible Energy’s fuel technology is applicable to a large variety of stationary thermal applications, requires little to no modification to customers’ existing thermal power equipment (e.g., boiler or kiln), and the eCombustible fuel contains no carbon
eCombustible Energy fuel production modules are built, installed, owned, operated, and maintained onsite by eCombustible Energy
Global organizations in the mining, steel, tile, beverage, hospitality and tire sectors have shown strong interest in the eCombustible fuel solution, with several under contract and a number under MOU to integrate eCombustible fuel into their operations
Securityholders of eCombustible Energy to receive shares of common stock with a value of $805 million, subject to adjustment, plus an earnout of up to 59 million additional shares
Combined company expected to trade on Nasdaq under the symbol “ECEC”; the transaction is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval and other customary closing conditions
MMIAMI, FL / ACCESSWIRE / November 24, 2021 / Yesterday, Benessere Capital Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq:BENE), a special purpose acquisition company (“Benessere”), and eCombustible Energy LLC, a leading innovator and provider of customizable hydrogen-based fuel for thermal industrial applications (“eCombustible Energy”), announced that the companies have entered into a definitive business combination agreement, providing for a business combination that will result in eCombustible Energy becoming a public listed company, subject to regulatory and stockholder approval and other customary closing conditions. Upon completion of the proposed transaction, the combined company is expected to operate under the name eCombustible Energy Corp. and list on Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker symbol “ECEC”.
Founded in 2010 by Miami-based entrepreneur and investor Jorge Arevalo, eCombustible Energy offers a long-term fuel supply solution that is designed to provide the world’s most fossil fuel-dependent industries with a fuel that is carbon-free, cost-competitive, and requires little to no modification to existing customer equipment. The efficacy of its hydrogen-based fuel, eCombustible, has been validated through testing and independent assessments by third-party engineering firms and experts.
“We believe a carbon-free future will best be achieved on a win-win basis, with fossil fuel-reliant industries being empowered to transition to clean and renewable energy solutions without crippling investments,” said eCombustible Energy CEO, Jorge Arevalo. “This business combination is intended to fuel the acceleration and adoption of eCombustible, and we are confident that we can help many of the world’s largest industrial companies’ transition to our carbon-free fuel and advance ESG objectives in a seamless, viable, and impactful way.”
Benessere is a blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with technology-focused, middle-market and emerging-growth companies in North, Central and South America. Led by CEO Patrick Orlando, Benessere was drawn to eCombustible Energy given the immense need for and potential of decarbonizing industries.
“The transition away from carbon containing fuel towards hydrogen and other clean fuel technologies has been underway for several years; however, the applicability of hydrogen as an alternative is nascent. eCombustible has not only focused on producing hydrogen efficiently but also making hydrogen a true solution for applications including fixed thermal applications. Thermal energy is foundational to a multitude of industrial applications and we believe eCombustible presents a unique solution with the potential to accelerate the transition to a lower carbon energy future,” said Patrick Orlando, CEO of Benessere. “We are excited to work with the eCombustible Energy team in an attempt to enhance value across the company, industry, public shareholders and society.”
For more information about eCombustible Energy, please visit www.ecombustible.com.
Transaction Overview
Benessere raised $115 million in its initial public offering earlier this year, and approximately $116.5 million is now held in a trust account for the benefit of Bennessere’s public stockholders. Under the terms of the proposed transaction announced today, a newly formed successor to Benessere will issue shares of its common stock with an aggregate value of $805 million, subject to adjustment, to current securityholders of eCombustible Energy upon the closing of the proposed transaction. These eCombustible Energy securityholders may also receive, subject to the terms of the business combination agreement, up to an additional 59 million shares of Benessere common stock based on the daily volume weighted average share price of the combined company’s common stock in any 20 trading days within a 30 trading day period beginning on the closing of the transaction and ending on the 30-month anniversary of the closing, as follows: 29.5 million shares if the share price exceeds $12.50 prior to such 30-month anniversary and an additional 29.5 million shares if the share price exceeds $15.00 prior to such 30-month anniversary.
The transaction is subject to approval by stakeholders of Benessere and eCombustible Energy and other customary closing conditions, including applicable regulatory approvals. Additional information about the transaction will be provided in a Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and available at www.sec.gov. The description of the business combination contained herein is only a summary and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the definitive business combination agreement. In addition, Benessere intends to file a registration statement on Form S-4 with the SEC (the “Registration Statement”), which will include a proxy statement/prospectus of Benessere, and will file other documents regarding the proposed business combination with the SEC.
Additional Information and Where to Find It
In connection with the business combination agreement and the proposed business combination, Benessere intends to file with the SEC a Registration Statement, which will include a proxy statement/prospectus. Benessere’s stockholders and other interested persons are advised to read, when available, the preliminary proxy statement/prospectus and the amendments thereto and the definitive proxy statement/prospectus and documents incorporated by reference therein filed in connection with the business combination, as these materials will contain important information about Benessere, eCombustible Energy, the merger agreement and the business combination. When available, the definitive proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials for the business combination will be mailed to stockholders of Benessere as of a record date to be established for voting on the business combination. Stockholders of Benessere will also be able to obtain copies of the Registration Statement, the preliminary proxy statement/prospectus, the definitive proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed with the SEC that will be incorporated by reference therein, without charge, once available, at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov, or by directing a request to: Benessere Capital Acquisition Corp., 78 SW 7th Street, Unit 800, Miami, FL 33130.
Participants in the Solicitation
Benessere, eCombustible Energy and their respective directors, executive officers, other members of management and employees may be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies from Benessere’s stockholders with respect to the proposed business combination. Investors and securityholders may obtain more detailed information regarding the names and interests in the business combination of Benessere’s directors and officers in Benessere’s filings with the SEC, including the Registration Statement, and such information with respect to eCombustible Energy’s directors and executive officers will also be included in the Registration Statement.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws with respect to the proposed business combination between Benessere and eCombustible Energy, including without limitation statements regarding the anticipated benefits of the business combination, the anticipated timing of the closing of the business combination, the implied enterprise value and pro forma ownership, future financial condition and performance of eCombustible Energy and the combined company after the closing and expected financial impacts of the business combination, the satisfaction of closing conditions to the business combination, the level of redemptions of Benessere’s public stockholders, the potential benefits of eCombustible Energy’s solution for customers and potential customers, and the products and markets and expected future performance and market opportunities of eCombustible Energy. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “believe,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “strategy,” “future,” “opportunity,” “plan,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will likely result” and similar expressions, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties.
Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release, including but not limited to: (i) the risk that the business combination may not be completed in a timely manner or at all, which may adversely affect the price of Benessere’s securities, (ii) the risk that the business combination may not be completed by Benessere’s business combination deadline and the potential failure to obtain an extension of the business combination deadline if sought by Benessere, (iii) the failure to satisfy the conditions to the consummation of the business combination, including the approval of the business combination agreement by the stockholders of Benessere, (iv) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the business combination agreement, (v) the failure to achieve the minimum amount of cash available following any redemptions by Benessere stockholders, (vi) redemptions exceeding a maximum threshold or the failure to meet The Nasdaq Stock Market’s initial listing standards in connection with the consummation of the contemplated transactions, (vii) the effect of the announcement or pendency of the business combination on eCombustible Energy’s business relationships, operating results, prospects and business generally, (viii) risks that the proposed business combination disrupts current plans and operations of eCombustible Energy, (ix) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against eCombustible Energy or against Benessere related to the business combination agreement or the proposed business combination, (x) changes in the energy markets in which eCombustible Energy competes, including with respect to its competitive landscape, technology evolution or regulatory changes, (xi) changes in domestic and global general economic conditions, (xii) the risk that eCombustible Energy is not able to recognize revenue for its products or secure additional contracts that generate revenue, (xiii) risk that eCombustible Energy may not be able to execute its growth strategies; (xiv) risks related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and response, (xv) risk that eCombustible Energy may not be able to develop and maintain effective internal controls, (xvi) costs related to the business combination and the failure to realize anticipated benefits of the business combination or to realize estimated pro forma results and underlying assumptions, including with respect to estimated stockholder redemptions, (xvii) risks related to competition in the markets in which eCombustible Energy intends to compete, (xviii) risks related to the early stage of eCombustible Energy’s business, and (xix) and those factors discussed in Benessere’s filings with the SEC and that that will be contained in the Registration Statement relating to the proposed business combination. The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties that will be described in the “Risk Factors” section of the Registration Statement and other documents to be filed by Benessere from time to time with the SEC. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and while Benessere and eCombustible Energy may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, they assume no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Neither of Benessere or eCombustible Energy gives any assurance that Benessere or eCombustible Energy, or the combined company, will achieve its expectations.
No Offer or Solicitation
This press release shall not constitute a solicitation of a proxy, consent, or authorization with respect to any securities or in respect of the proposed business combination. This press release shall also not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any states or jurisdictions in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offering of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or an exemption therefrom.
About Benessere Capital Acquisition Corp.
Benessere Capital Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq:BENE) is a blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. Benessere’s strategy is to identify and complete business combinations with technology-focused middle market and emerging growth companies in North, Central and South America. For more information, please visit www.benespac.com.
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MEDIA CONTACT Isys Caffey-Horne Isys@stripetheory.com 404-368-7070
The United States and five other world powers announced a coordinated effort to tap into their national oil stockpiles on Tuesday, attempting to drive down rising gas prices that have angered consumers around the world.
The move appeared to underwhelm oil traders, who had been expecting President Biden to announce a larger release from America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which is the biggest in the world with 620 million barrels. The price of a barrel of crude oil actually rose after the announcement in global trading, although administration officials said prices could fall in coming weeks.
The market reaction underscored the difficulties Mr. Biden faces, both politically and economically, in his efforts to react to the fastest increase in U.S. inflation in three decades. The president has seen his approval ratings slump as gas and food prices have risen, while Republicans have launched a steady series of attacks blaming Democrats.
Mr. Biden has shifted his messaging on the issue in recent weeks, in hopes of showing consumers he understands their financial pain. On Tuesday at the White House, he cast the release of oil from the strategic reserve as an important step toward lowering fuel costs for drivers at the start of the holiday travel season.
“Today we’re launching a major effort to moderate the price of oil, an effort that will span the globe and ultimately reach your corner gas station, God willing,” Mr. Biden said.
“While our combined actions will not solve the problem with high gas prices overnight, they will make a difference,” he said. “It will take time, but before long you should see the price of gas drop where you fill up your tank.”
Earlier on Tuesday, administration officials said Mr. Biden had ordered the Energy Department to tap into 50 million barrels of crude in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Traders had been expecting 100 million barrels, said Richard Bronze, head of geopolitics at Energy Aspects, a market research firm in London.
Britain said it would authorize the release of up to 1.5 million barrels and India said it would release five million. Mr. Bronze estimated that Japan and South Korea would each add four million to five million barrels. China did not announce details of its plans.
The concerted effort, the largest ever for a release of strategic reserves across multiple countries, is meant to address fluctuations in supply and demand for oil, administration officials said. And it was a shot across the bow of OPEC Plus, the name for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries as well as Russia and other countries. Mr. Biden has pushed those countries to increase production, but has been rebuffed.
The move could bring a response next week when the group holds its monthly meeting. While it could prompt those countries to increase production, it could just as easily push the cartel to restrict supply further and push global prices higher.
In recent monthly meetings, OPEC Plus has stuck with plans to increase production by a relatively modest 400,000 barrels a day each month. U.S. officials sidestepped a question about possible retaliation from OPEC Plus. The officials said they had pushed oil producers to announce their own supply increases for weeks and made clear to those nations that Mr. Biden and other world leaders were considering emergency releases of their own. They said Mr. Biden would have preferred a parallel release that included more oil-producing countries.
The price of oil has fallen since late October partly in anticipation that countries would take action to try to tame energy costs. The U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate, immediately jumped after the administration’s announcement, and was trading 1.3 percent higher for the day. So far this month, the price had dropped 4.75 percent.
Demand for oil fell precipitously in the early months of the pandemic, so oil-producing nations cut output. In the United States, reduced demand led to a substantial decline in drilling; the country’s number of active oil rigs was down nearly 70 percent in summer 2020.
As prices rose in recent months, Mr. Biden looked for ways to show he was trying to tame prices, including asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate possible illegal conduct by large oil companies in the national gasoline market. The president has pushed oil producers to ramp up supply even as he urges the U.S. and other countries to wean themselves from fossil fuels over the long term to avert catastrophic global warming.
On Tuesday, Mr. Biden said his environmental agenda was not contributing to the recent price increases at the pump.
“My effort to fight climate change is not raising the price of gas,” he said.
Rising gas prices have stoked anxiety among Americans amid declining approval numbers for the Biden administration.Credit…Jason Henry for The New York Times
The emergency stockpile that Mr. Biden tapped is stored in underground caverns in Texas and Louisiana. It was established after the 1973-74 oil embargo by Arab members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, and has been tapped in emergencies like the buildup to the Persian Gulf war in 1991 and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when much of the Gulf of Mexico oil infrastructure was damaged. The reserve is also used to exchange or lend oil to refineries when accidents or storms block shipping channels.
Most experts believe a release could eventually lower prices modestly, but only for a short time because oil prices are set globally and world consumption averages roughly 100 million barrels a day. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the United States rose to $3.40 on Tuesday from $2.11 a year ago, according to AAA, the travel services organization. But gas prices have started to level off in the past week.
Several recent presidents have ordered releases from America’s strategic reserves, including Mr. Bush; his father, George H.W. Bush; Bill Clinton; and Barack Obama.
But research suggests the effect on gas prices, for the most part, is modest at best — underscoring how gas prices are largely outside a president’s control.
Mr. Obama’s administration led the most recent coordinated global release of oil reserves in June 2011, when the United States and 27 other nations released 60 million barrels of reserves to replace lost production from Libya that was halted by political turmoil in the North African country. Of the total amount of oil released, about half came from reserves in the United States, with the rest from the other 27 industrialized nations that belonged to the International Energy Agency.
Biden administration officials said the coordinated effort announced on Tuesday would come in two parts: a loan of 32 million barrels over several months to refineries and the accelerated sale of 18 million barrels, which has already been congressionally authorized.
Britain will be allowing companies to voluntarily release their oil reserves. If every company takes advantage of the option, it would amount to 1.5 million barrels, a British government representative said.
Helima Croft, head of global commodities at RBC Capital Markets, an investment bank, said OPEC Plus could choose to respond at its next meeting, on Dec. 2.
“If OPEC wants to be obstructionist, they can blunt the impact” of the oil release, she said, by not approving the next monthly 400,000 barrels-a-day production increase at the meeting.
On the other hand, she added, doing that would “expose them to a lot of problems in Washington,” potentially including an antitrust bill in Congress aimed at OPEC, known as NOPEC, that could call for going after the financial reserves of countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. “I think it would be a nuclear option and OPEC won’t want to go down that path,” she said.
Robert McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group, a market research firm and a former energy adviser in George W. Bush’s White House, said Tuesday’s announcement “may be politically smart, but I don’t think it is smart in terms of policy and will likely backfire.”
“There are good odds that OPEC Plus will offset this, and they have a bigger fire hose than we do,” he said. “Using strategic stocks to defend an oil price level set in a global market is pure folly.”
Republicans including Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the House minority leader, criticized Mr. Biden and blamed the White House for inflation.
In a tweet, Mr. McCarthy said the decision to tap America’s strategic reserves “is a crass political ploy just 3 days ahead of Thanksgiving.”
Democrats in Congress, including the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, have recently called for Mr. Biden to take action to provide immediate relief for Americans.
Jennifer M. Granholm, the secretary of energy, cautioned Tuesday against expecting an immediate, dramatic drop in gas prices. When asked when Americans might see lower prices, Ms. Granholm made no promises: “It won’t be tomorrow,” she said.
Eshe Nelson and Clifford Krauss contributed reporting.
