January, 2019

• 28 January

  Oil dips on global growth concern

  

  Bloomberg Crude tumbled below $52 a barrel as disappointing corporate earnings forecasts in the US stoked concern about the global economy, weighing down a market already anxious about America’s oil boom. Futures in New York dropped as much as 3.5 percent, joining the slide in equities after chip-marker Nvidia Corp and heavy-equipment company Caterpillar Inc warned of slowing global growth. …

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• 28 January

  Unipec suffers $688mn losses over ‘inappropriate hedging’

  

  Bloomberg China’s oil refining giant said its trading unit lost almost $700 million last year after being wrong-footed by zigzagging markets, revealing one of the biggest losses by a commodity trader in the last decade. Sinopec blamed the losses at its Unipec unit in part on “inappropriate hedging techniques” and said it closed its positions after discovering the problem. Oil …

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• 28 January

  China’s offshore oil, gas experts dip toes in wind power

  

  Bloomberg China’s offshore oil and gas experts are dipping their toes in wind power, bringing their experience working on the ocean floor and adding a new twist to their portfolios. Cnooc Ltd., the country’s top offshore oil explorer, said it wants to use its expertise in marine geology to replicate its success in the offshore wind sector. The company entered …

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• 28 January

  US refiners facing gasoline glut take Venezuela hit

  

  Bloomberg America’s gasoline producers can run, but they can’t hide from a plunge in refining profit margins that sanctions against Venezuelan crude would only worsen, analysts said. The biggest US refiners are expected to report strong fourth-quarter earnings thanks to profits from diesel processing in a strong US economy, as well as a drop of about 40 percent in crude …

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• 28 January

  Heavy canadian oil hits railroad

  Bloomberg Heavy Canadian crude isn’t getting any cheaper — but that hasn’t stopped companies from splurging on costly rail shipments. Rail-car loadings hit a record 356,000 barrels a day in the week ended Jan. 11, up from a daily average of 296,000 barrels in December, according to Genscape Inc., which monitors some of the larger crude-by-rail terminals in Western Canada. …

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• 28 January

  US stocks slide on Nvidia, Caterpillar earning results

  

  Bloomberg US stocks fell after Caterpillar and Nvidia blamed slowing global growth for disappointing results, adding to concern the trade war with China is hitting corporate profits. The dollar edged higher. The S&P 500 began a crucial week for trade and monetary policy sharply lower as the sector bellwethers doused enthusiasm over the young earnings season. The Dow Jones Industrial …

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• 28 January

  Pound’s rally over Brexit unsustainable

  

  Bloomberg The pound’s world-beating rally is unsustainable as traders are over-optimistic about the way forward on Brexit, according to money managers. Sterling has gained more than 3 percent versus the dollar this year, the most among its Group-of-10 peers, on conviction that the possibility of a no-deal Brexit has receded. Fund managers at both Aberdeen Standard Investments and BlueBay Asset …

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• 28 January

  Malaysia to put $5.5 billion of homes on sale rack in March

  

  Bloomberg Malaysia is planning a sale for $5.5 billion of real estate to bridge the gap between property oversupply and lack of affordable homes, with developers asked to offer at least 10 percent discount. The numbers are staggering: about 180 developers will offer 22,000 units worth a total of 22.5 billion ringgit ($5.5 billion) at the expo planned for March …

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• 28 January

  ECB can sound confident in economy by cutting forecasts

  

  Bloomberg The European Central Bank’s (ECB) pessimism over its economic outlook might not last long even if the euro area fails to pick up speed — instead it’ll just revise the projections to reflect the heightened risks. Governing Council members Francois Villeroy de Galhau and Vitas Vasiliauskas said that policy makers expect to cut their 2019 growth prediction in March …

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• 28 January

  ECB’s Knot says recession concerns are ‘premature’

  

  Bloomberg The European economy doesn’t show any signs of falling into a recession, ECB Governing Council member Klaas Knot said. “The European economy is doing pretty well,” and even though capacity utilisation is high and unemployment low, this isn’t leading to inflation, the Dutch central bank president said in Dutch television show Buitenhof. “I do find talk about a crisis, …

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