Bloomberg After three weeks of intense volatility, metal markets seem to be calming down. Aluminum steadied after a four-day selloff that accelerated after the US decision to ease sanctions against United Co. Rusal. Nickel advanced as the Philippines moved forward with a plan to limit the area of land miners are permitted to exploit. Most other metals were little changed. …

Bloomberg For generations of investors, Exxon Mobil Corp. has been a cornerstone of fund managers’ portfolios alongside the biggest names in corporate America. Not so much any more. From leading the S&P 500 Index a decade ago, the company has dropped to the ninth-largest in a top 10 now dominated by technology giants. Its rivals Royal Dutch Shell Plc and …

Bloomberg Saudi Arabian Oil Co. and Total SA are weighing jointly buying businesses such as Tas’helat Marketing Co to gain access to networks of retail fuel stations in the Gulf kingdom, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The state-owned company, known as Aramco, and the French oil giant are also looking at a range of options from consolidating …

Bloomberg Are Berlin’s close energy ties with Moscow paying off? Data from Russia’s Federal Customs Service shows they might be after Germany paid less for natural gas from the world’s largest exporter than most other buyers. Only the UK, which produces most of its own gas, had lower import costs among the biggest offtakers, according to the figures obtained by …

Bloomberg The Permian shale play is all about setting records. Now, the region may even become the world’s largest oil patch over the next decade. Output in the basin is forecast to reach 3.18 million barrels a day in May, according to the Energy Information Administration. That’s the highest since the agency began compiling records in 2007. By 2023, the …

Bloomberg Europe is struggling to agree on how to tackle money laundering in the wake of high-profile scandals in the Baltic region. Latvia, grappling with the aftermath of its third-biggest bank being closed down, is calling for a pan-European approach to fighting dubious financial flows. While it has the support of other small states, it hasn’t convinced Germany, which argues …

Bloomberg For the first time since 2008, Standard Chartered Plc (StanChart) is topping the list of bond sales arrangers in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena). The emerging markets-focussed lender climbed four places from 2017 and has already built up a substantial lead on the competition just four months into the year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. JPMorgan …

Bloomberg Germany wants to help UK banks get access to the European market after Brexit, but would need Britain to make concessions, according to a person familiar with the German government’s position. With Brexit talks bogged down in divorce issues, the outlook for Britain’s financial services sector hasn’t been discussed yet. But the European Commission, which is leading negotiations on …

Bloomberg Low inflation and solid growth mean there’s no pressing need to devalue the currency in the near term, State Bank of Pakistan Governor Tariq Bajwa said in an interview. Pakistan has allowed the rupee to weaken twice in recent months as it attempts to mend its deteriorating finances before elections due in July. Bajwa said another near-term move to …

Bloomberg A plan to carve out and sell the performing assets of Cyprus Cooperative Bank Ltd is attracting interest from US investment funds, said Nicholas Hadjiyiannis, Chief Executive Officer of the troubled Nicosia-based lender. Burdened by 6.2 billion euros ($7.6 billion) of non-performing exposures —equal to about one third of the country’s total economic output— Cyprus Coop is struggling to …