June, 2017

• 12 June

  European grocery rivalry expands to US as Aldi, Lidl bulk up

  

  Bloomberg A decades-long supermarket battle in Europe is moving to the US, adding to the competitive pressure in an industry embroiled in a deflation-fueled price war. Aldi, known for low prices on its private-label items, plans to spend $3.4 billion over the next five years to open 900 supermarkets, the company said on Monday. The investment comes as its European ...

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• 12 June

  America’s stubborn oil supply glut catches funds off guard

  

  Bloomberg Crude markets are taking oil optimists by surprise yet again. Hedge funds boosted bets on a rally just before West Texas Intermediate prices tanked from a report showing surging American stockpiles. Wagers rose 7.3 percent to the highest since April in the week through June 6, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. The next day, futures fell the ...

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• 12 June

  Oil steady after third weekly loss as US shale keeps drilling

  

  Bloomberg Oil steadied after a third weekly loss on speculation that sustained drilling by US producers will blunt efforts by OPEC and Russia to re-balance an oversupplied crude market. Futures were little changed in New York after sliding 3.8 percent last week. Inventories are declining and reductions will accelerate in the next three to four months, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister ...

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• 12 June

  As Qatar grapples with diplomatic isolation Japanese gas buyers seek better deals

  

  Bloomberg As Qatar grapples with deepening diplomatic isolation, Japanese liquefied natural gas buyers are pushing the world’s largest seller for cheaper supplies. Both Jera Co., one of the biggest LNG purchasers, and Tokyo Gas Co. haven’t decided if they’ll sign new deals with Qatar to replace current contracts that begin expiring in 2021, according to executives from both companies. The ...

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• 12 June

  Crude oil, fuel shipping costs from Qatar set to rise

  SINGAPORE / Reuters The costs to ship fuel and crude oil from Qatar are expected to rise after the United Arab Emirates banned vessels that previously called at Qatar from docking at UAE ports, multiple sources from the oil and shipping sectors said on Monday. After Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and others last week severed diplomatic and transport links ...

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• 12 June

  Oil demand in India rises most since cash clampdown

  Bloomberg India’s oil demand bounced back in May, led by the highest growth in gasoline consumption in nine months and the fastest increase in diesel usage since November. Total fuel consumption rose 5.4 percent to 17.79 million tons in May, the most in six months, according to the Oil Ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell. Demand for diesel, which accounts ...

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• 12 June

  Britain’s hung parliament raises business hopes for softer Brexit

  

  Bloomberg After the shock comes the silver lining. Most business leaders are dismayed at the political chaos unleashed by the UK election, which left a damaged Prime Minister Theresa May trying to forge a shaky coalition government. But some are quietly hoping that it may lead to softer terms for the country’s exit from the European Union. UK Plc was ...

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• 12 June

  UK house prices climb to record even as sales slow in London

  

  Bloomberg UK house prices climbed to a record last month as a slowdown in London sales was offset by a stronger market in the north of the country, according to a report by Acadata and LSL Property Services Plc. Prices in England and Wales rose 0.3 percent from April to an average of 303,200 pounds ($386,000), despite the uncertainties of ...

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• 12 June

  Canada adds wage gains to stellar jobs performance

  

  Bloomberg Canada’s labor market continued surprising in May, with a greater-than-expected 54,500 jobs gain that also finally came with signs of a pick-up in wages. The employment gain — the third biggest one-month increase in the past five years — was driven by the addition of 77,000 new full-time jobs, which offset falling part-time employment. Economists had forecast a 15,000 ...

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• 12 June

  Are we ‘present at the destruction’?

  

  Seventy years ago on Monday, Secretary of State George Marshall delivered a Harvard commencement day address that became the framework for what we call the ‘Marshall Plan’ for European recovery. It’s a cruel anniversary this year, as we watch President Trump dismember the world order that Marshall and his colleagues helped build. Dean Acheson, one of Marshall’s colleagues and his ...

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