April, 2020

• 27 April

  BP to close Hilcorp-Alaska deal with revised payment terms

  

  Bloomberg BP Plc confirmed its commitment to completing the sale of its Alaska business to Hilcorp Energy Co, but said financial terms had been adjusted to reflect market conditions. The renegotiation of the deal will come as a relief to the London-based oil major, which is leaning on asset sales to rein in its debt and sustain its dividend amid ...

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• 27 April

  Manila Electric slashes spending amid lockdown

  

  Bloomberg Manila Electric Co is slashing its capital spending budget by almost half as the largest Philippine power retailer sees lower demand this quarter, with the coronavirus outbreak shutting many businesses. Capital expenditure for infrastructure projects will be cut to 9.3 billion pesos ($183.38 million) from the 17.8 billion pesos initially planned at the start of the year, Meralco Senior ...

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• 27 April

  India brokers seek court protection from ‘negative oil’

  

  Bloomberg At least three Indian brokerages have petitioned the courts to challenge the settlement of crude oil contracts at negative prices. Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd and PCS Securities Ltd are appealing to the Bombay High Court, which was expected to hear on April 27 their case against the decision by Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. Religare Enterprises Ltd ...

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• 27 April

  Petronas mulls more dividend to fund Malaysia stimulus

  

  Bloomberg Malaysia’s state oil company is considering raising this year’s dividend to help the government fund its nearly $60 billion stimulus package, according to people familiar with the matter. Petroliam Nasional Bhd., or Petronas, could increase the payout by as much as $2.3 billion, said one of the people, who asked not to be named as the information is private. ...

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• 27 April

  S’pore coastline packed with oil ships

  Bloomberg A narrow waterway off Singapore has become even more congested as oil-laden tankers wait out a slump in global fuel consumption that’s crimped demand and boosted the use of ships to store cargoes. About 60 clean fuel tankers are currently anchored along the busy strait, up from the usual 30-40 ships, according to Rahul Kapoor, head of commodity analytics ...

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• 27 April

  Argentina set to start roadshow in bid to restructure $76b debt

  

  Bloomberg Argentina and the province of Buenos Aires will start setting up virtual meetings this week with institutional investors as they continue the process of restructuring more than $76 billion in debt, according to people familiar with the plan. The national government will call on about 20 institutions and funds — including BlackRock, Ashmore and Fintech’s David Martinez — to ...

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• 27 April

  World’s wheat supply dries up when some want it most

  

  Bloomberg For the first time in a decade, the world risks being cut off from Russian wheat at a time when some key buyers are rushing to import it. The top shipper last month limited sales through June to protect its own supply as the coronavirus crisis sparks food-security concerns around the world. Although the curbs were seen loose enough ...

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• 27 April

  Bayer warns of liquidity risk as virus slows roundup talks

  

  Bloomberg Bayer AG raised the specter of “considerable liquidity challenges” as it engages in high-stakes negotiations over Roundup litigation in the US and grapples with the pandemic. The number of plaintiffs claiming that the weedkiller caused their cancers rose to 52,500 from 48,600 in February, Bayer said in its first-quarter. It’s still too early to know how Covid-19 will impact ...

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• 27 April

  US firms divided on return to normal ops

  

  Bloomberg Nearly one-third of US business economists expect operations at their companies will return to normal within five to eight weeks, though almost as many say it’s likely to be three to six months before coronavirus-mitigation efforts wind down in earnest. A survey by the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) showed respondents in the construction and manufacturing industries were ...

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• 27 April

  UK market manipulation reports surge amid virus

  

  Bloomberg Market manipulation is still on the rise in the UK even after a decade of crackdowns on schemes to rig foreign-exchange rates and other key benchmarks. And the coronavirus pandemic could make things worse. Reports of suspected market manipulation made to the Financial Conduct Authority have increased by 23% since 2017, with a sharp jump in 2018 followed by ...

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