Might Blackstone end up owning key things every American needs?

[CKN]

Infinity Energy, out of Rocklin, earned my business with a great deal on my solar project. They are no longer in business due to NEM3.
Yup.

Solar installs should be able to stand on their own. If the difference in how much money you get back from the utility is a deciding factor-you shouldn't install one. JMHO.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Solar installs should be able to stand on their own. If the difference in how much money you get back from the utility is a deciding factor-you shouldn't install one. JMHO.

Not sure I follow. I don't get money back from PG&E; they are buying the energy my panels produce. I paid for the solar project; the project had an expectation of an ROI like any other investment. That ROI has exceeded my expectations. Otherwise, why make the capital expendature?

 

[Vil_Riker]

Finding new investment opportunities is both hard and risky, but this is where real GDP growth comes from.
Buying existing operations (usually using heavy leverage) and squeezing them for a little more juice is both easier and safer but does nothing to promote growth.
Real engineering versus financial engineering.

Well, you let the government assume the risk of real engineering and if it works out then you just assume ownership.

Easy peasy with a few dollars donated to a all election campaigns.

 

[PandaBear]

There are a few things going on I think:

Black Rock is the big giant owning everything and packaging them into investment assets for your retirement funds and sovereign funds, they are the house, they don't speculate like private equity funds, they don't guarantee things appreciate in value or "create values" above market return. They just make a cut in management fees.

Black Stone is sort of a private equity fund that leverage, buy, harvest, sell, and let the asset collapse at the new ownership.

I can see Black Rock, Vanguard, Fidelity owning everything in the world eventually, but Black Stone? They are hit and run and are not a buy and hold kind of company attempting to get above market return.