DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Here's why hawkish Powell testimony might not derail the stock market rally
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Today, all eyes will be on central bank chairman Jerome Powell as he begins two days of hearings on Capitol Hill. Chairman of the Federal Reserve nominee Jerome Powell testifies during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee November 28, 2017 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Fed policy aside, the stock market has marched higher to start the year, with the S&P 500 gaining about 6% over the last nine weeks. US stock futures rise early Tuesday, as investors await the two-day testimony of Fed Chair Jerome Powell. The bear market rally isn't over yet as stocks just survived a crucial test.

☆ US natural gas prices plummet 13% as streak of mild winter weather set to continue
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Natural gas prices have fallen 13% amid forecasts of more mild weather as winter winds down. Falling prices are a sign that the US needs to scale back gas production, some commentators say. Henry hub natural gas futures for April fell to $2.62 per million British thermal units, according to data from the CME Group, down 12.73% from its previous close of $3 per million BTUs. Natural gas prices have tanked 34% since the start of the year, with the latest drop spurred by warm weather forecasts for the coming weeks. The changes in supply-demand balance are a stark contrast from last year, when issues stemming from Russia's invasion of Ukraine spiked gas prices on the spot market.

☆ Chesapeake Energy to reduce drilling amid natgas price slump
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Liz Hampton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 22 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas producer Chesapeake Energy Corp (CHK.O) on Wednesday said it would pull back on drilling and completing wells this year as natural gas prices have crashed to a quarter of what they were last summer. Earlier this month, Comstock Resources Inc (CRK.N) said it would cut drilling rigs to seven from nine this year. Henry Hub natural gas futures on Wednesday briefly dipped below $2 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) for the first time since September 2020, and were down from last year's $8 peak. Chesapeake, which previously announced plans to sell its oil position to focus on gas production, on Tuesday said it would sell oil assets in South Texas to chemical maker INEOS for $1.4 billion. Rival shale oil producer Diamondback Energy (FANG.O) on Wednesday said it was increasing its non-core asset sale target to at least $1 billion by the end of this year, up from $500 million previously.

☆ Coterra, Pioneer report strong fourth quarters — but the verdict is out on how investors will respond to higher spending this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Jeff Marks | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

That move prompted us to reduce our exposure to any potential post-earnings downside by trimming Coterra and Pioneer late last week. Fourth-quarter production Coterra Energy's oil-and-gas production came in above the high end of the company's guidance and edged out analysts' estimates, too. Notably, Pioneer doesn't hedge its oil production, making its realized pricing closer to that of the underlying commodity. 2023 outlook Guidance provided by Coterra and Pioneer echoed that of Devon: Softer production but higher capital expenditures in 2023. But it beat on expectations for oil production, which should please investors given the high margins of crude production.

LONDON, Feb 22 (Reuters) - U.S. gas prices have slumped close to their lowest level on record, after adjusting for inflation, as traders respond to signs of a persistent production surplus in the domestic market. Chartbook: U.S. gas prices and inventoriesThe U.S. gas market appears to have been running a persistent surplus since early September 2022, which has sent futures prices tumbling. The storage surplus marked a significant turn around from a deficit of -427 billion cubic feet (-13% or -1.52 standard deviations) on September 9. Gas prices are now sending the strongest possible signal for fuel-switching to blunt the accumulation of excess stocks. Related columns:- U.S. gas prices slump to maximise power burn (Reuters, February 10, 2023)- U.S. gas prices slump on production surplus (Reuters, January 12, 2023)John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst.

As a result, research on business cycles moved in other directions, and policymakers increasingly aimed to eliminate cyclical instability altogether. Oil and gas cycles have been closely correlated with each other and with U.S. manufacturing activity. On average, troughs in oil prices occur within ±3 months of a turning point in U.S. manufacturing activity, while troughs in gas prices occur within ±4 months. Some softness in manufacturing activity as well as oil and gas prices should therefore be expected at this point. If the current slowdown proves to be a mid-cycle soft patch, gas and especially oil prices are likely to rise strongly later in 2023.

☆ Liverpool owner Henry rules out sale of the club
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 20 (Reuters) - Liverpool's American owner John Henry has said there are no plans to sell the Premier League club after the Merseyside outfit's owners said in November they were exploring a sale. After FSG's initial statement, Liverpool chairman Tom Werner said there was no urgency to complete any potential deal. Are talking with investors about Liverpool? I believe so, but it won't be a sale. Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken FerrisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

In this article LUV Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTGenaro Molina | Los Angeles Times | Getty ImagesWill the majority of travelers forgive Southwest Airlines and start buying tickets on the major U.S. air carrier again? Southwest Airlines accepted the blame for its technological meltdown during the holidays, and it has committed over $1 billion to fixing it. He pointed to $29 fare sales, "something I haven't seen Southwest offer in a long time," he said. The Southwest spokeswoman said the airline has a long history of innovation and pioneering technology in the airline industry. BALTIMORE, MD - DEC 27: Hundreds of passengers wait in line to handle their baggage claim issues with Southwest Airlines at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Baltimore, Maryland on December 27, 2022.

☆ Buy these 12 stocks to profit from higher-than-expected price growth, according to an inflation fund manager who beat 96% of his competitors last year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Top fund manager Simon Lack shared 12 top stocks to buy while inflation remains hot. The news confirmed what Simon Lack, a 37-year market veteran who runs a leading inflation fund, has long suspected: that price growth will remain an issue for investors throughout 2023 — and possibly beyond. If high inflation is the new normal, the Fed will struggle to achieve its goal of stabilizing prices, Lack said — at least not without causing a recession. His Rational Inflation Growth Fund (IGOAX) finished in the top 4% of its category in 2022 after beating its index by 14 percentage points, according to Morningstar. By contrast, his fund goes on offense by owning stocks in sectors that benefit from high prices.

☆ Natural Gas: Fasten Your Seat Belts
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Jinjoo Lee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Last year, natural-gas prices were—by some measures—the most volatile since the U.S. shale boom began about a decade earlier. Despite the recent plunge in prices, it could be just a preview of coming attractions. Here is one way to quantify the wild swings: There were 18 days last year when the benchmark Henry Hub futures contract’s daily closing prices moved by more than 10%, the most since the Nymex natural-gas contract made its debut more than three decades ago, according to Eli Rubin , senior energy analyst at EBW Analytics Group. Historical volatility—measured as the standard deviation for the previous 20 days of daily changes in the Henry Hub—averaged 81.6% on an annualized percentage basis last year, well above the 10-year average of 48.6%.

☆ OAS members recommit to helping Haiti through gang violence
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS) Luis Almagro heads a session at the OAS 52nd General Assembly, in Lima, Peru October 7, 2022. REUTERS/Angela PonceFeb 10 (Reuters) - The Organization of American States (OAS) on Friday passed a resolution to support Haiti on its path to long-delayed elections and help the Caribbean country manage widespread gang violence that is driving a humanitarian crisis. Talks on such a force have lagged as no country has offered to lead it, though some Caribbean states said they would participate and Canada sent a surveillance military aircraft. Henry has pledged to leave office by Feb. 7, 2024, after repeatedly postponing elections due to a devastating 2021 earthquake as well as the gang violence. The head of the Washington-based OAS, Luis Almagro, has agreed and said locals would have to drive a precise roadmap.

☆ ‘Samuel Pepys and the Strange Wrecking of the Gloucester’ Review: The Nearly Sunk and Future King
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Henry Hitchings | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

There are three million shipwrecks scattered across the ocean floor. Only a tiny number of these have been explored. This 117-foot craft had sunk in May 1682 after hitting a sandbank, while carrying the Duke of York, the future King James II of England. But only in June last year was the wreck formally identified—and hailed as the most significant maritime discovery since Henry VIII’s warship the Mary Rose was raised in 1982. Another find is a silver teaspoon, with an engraving that suggests it belonged to one of James’s huntsmen, Thomas Jory, a “saucy fellow” who hid under a seat on a rescue boat as the Gloucester went down.

☆ A heart-shaped pendant linked to Henry VIII was dug up on an English farm, pointing to a more romantic side to the Tudor king
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

An amateur metal detectorist found a gold necklace linked to Henry VIII and his first wife. The locket is engraved with "H" and "K", the initials of the Tudor king and Katherine of Aragon. The heart-shaped locket is engraved with "H" and "K", the initials of the Tudor king and his first wife Katherine of Aragon. It is not known if the pendant belonged to Henry VIII, Katherine, or a courtier. Henry VIII is famous for his six marriages.

☆ Jamaica willing to take part in military intervention in Haiti, PM says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Prime Minister of Jamaica Andrew Holness addresses the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters in New York City, U.S., September 22, 2022. REUTERS/David 'Dee' DelgadoKINGSTON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Jamaica would be willing to take part in an international military deployment to Haiti, Prime Minister Andrew Holness told lawmakers on Tuesday, saying the Caribbean island country could also support its neighbor on electoral reforms. Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry has pleaded for foreign military support. The U.N. envoy to Haiti, Helen La Lime, has called for more urgency, saying the police cannot win without outside support. "Jamaica would be willing to participate in a multinational security assistance deployment to Haiti under the appropriate jurisdictional parameters to support a return to a reasonable level of stability and peace," Holness told lawmakers.

A total of 95 cargoes carrying LNG departed last month from U.S. ports mainly bound for customers in Europe, which received 68% of exports. In December, U.S. LNG exports had increased to 7.22 million tonnes as producers made an effort to supply as much as possible to Europe. Clients there took 79% of total exports that month. Delays to restart the second-largest U.S. LNG plant, Freeport LNG, after a fire have also created limitations to export the superchilled gas since mid-2022. Freeport LNG on Tuesday asked U.S. regulators for approval to supply natural gas to one of the three idled units at its Texas plant, a milestone in efforts to restore production after a seven-month outage.

When it comes to queer books, the loudest headlines may be about bans and censorship, but a quieter truth about the state of LGBTQ books reveals the resilience of their authors and commitment of their readers. The queer titles debuting in 2023 are as full of joy as they are examples of resistance, and those in the industry say LGBTQ writers are only getting more ambitious. And while queer young adult books are often the target of book-banning efforts, these titles drove the highest gains in the category, the report found. When it comes to considering a queer future, and what’s next for queer books, that’s something that’s been on the mind of Suzi F. Garcia, the editor of Lambda Literary, a nonprofit that advocates for LGBTQ books and authors. She described the book as having a “queer core” and a sense of hope while discussing issues critical to LGBTQ and Black communities.

While all airlines were affected, one stood out as the grounding of domestic flights had a cascading effect on air travel: Southwest Airlines. According to the flight tracking company Flight Aware, Southwest had as many as 49% of its flights delayed as of noon Wednesday. Anuvu, another site that tracks flights, showed just 7% of Southwest flights were departing on time, compared with 15% for American Airlines, 21% for United Airlines, and 33% for Delta Airlines. Southwest is still reeling from the huge disruption it experienced over the Christmas holiday that saw an estimated 11,000 of its flights canceled. Southwest said Wednesday it would rebook customers on the next available Southwest flight with seats available to the customer’s ticketed destination, at no additional cost.

☆ Everyone's elite, but not for long. Airlines make travel perks harder to earn this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

And now it's a small army," said Cohen, who leads a digital entertainment consulting firm and has lifetime elite status on United and American Airlines . Travelers willing to shell out more for tickets and popular rewards credit cards are swelling ranks in front cabins and airport lounges. Osorio frequents airport lounges on trips booked with rewards points that she earned through strategic credit card use and sign-up bonuses. Bigger space for big spendersDelta, American, United and American Express have been opening bigger airport lounges to fit more travelers. A new American Airlines and British Airways lounge at John F. Kennedy International Airport, November 29, 2022.

☆ Natural gas prices haven’t been this low since Russia went to war
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

London CNN —Natural gas prices in Europe and the United States have tumbled to levels last seen before Russia sparked a global energy crisis by invading Ukraine. Even so, European gas prices are still historically high, and could rise again this year if demand from China picks up or supplies are disrupted. Wholesale prices were already shooting up in the months before the war as economies reopened from pandemic lockdowns. “It will take a bit [of time] for the fall in the wholesale prices of natural gas to [feed into] into the retail prices,” he said. That will keep Europe at a competitive disadvantage to the United States, where gas prices are about five times lower.

☆ American is cutting 3 more cities and leaving one without airline service entirely — see the full list of 19 cities it has dropped since the pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

American Airlines is cutting 3 cities from its network, blaming the pilot shortage and "soft demand." One small airport — Del Rio, Texas — will lose airline service entirely after the carrier's exit. Del Rio, a tiny city in southern Texas with only about 35,000 people, is currently served by American from Dallas/Fort Worth. However, the airline's announced exit will leave Del Rio without any air service link to the rest of the country. Del Rio joins a growing list of 19 cities that American has dropped since the pandemic, the carrier confirmed to Insider.

That outage dropped the United States behind top exporter Australia as global demand for the fuel boomed. In 2022, U.S. exports of natural gas as LNG rose 8% to 10.6 bcfd, just shy of Australia's 10.7 bcfd. The United States remained ahead of Qatar, which in third place shipped 10.5 bcfd, according to data provider Refinitiv. CROWN WITHIN SIGHTHowever, the loss of Freeport LNG's supply at mid-year took away the U.S. chance to take the crown as top exporter in 2022. In 2021, when prices in Asia were higher, just 35%, or about 3.3 bcfd, of U.S. LNG exports went to Europe.

☆ Final farewell: From Sidney Poitier to Pope Emeritus Benedict a look back at the influential figures who died in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +55 min

Other world leaders who died in 2022 include former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who died in August. The final days of 2022 saw the loss of some exceptionally notable figures, including Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Here is a roll call of some influential figures who died in 2022 (cause of death cited for younger people, if available):___JANUARY___Dan Reeves, 77. A Cuban-born artist whose radiant color palette and geometric paintings were overlooked for decades before the art world took notice. A prolific character actor best known for playing villains and tough guys in “The Manchurian Candidate,” “Ocean’s Eleven” and other films.

☆ Southwest's antiquated and atypical flight systems are partially responsible for cancellation chaos, airline experts say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

An outdated scheduling system and unique flight network structure exacerbated the problem. Airline analysts and industry experts told Insider and other outlets that Southwest's outdated scheduling system and atypical approach to mapping its flight network were partially responsible for the crisis. Canceled Southwest Airlines flights show on a monitor at Hollywood Burbank Airport, Tuesday, Dec 27, 2022. The problem has been further inflamed by Southwest's scheduling system. Passengers wait in line to claim their baggage at Nashville International Airport after their flights on Southwest Airlines were cancelled in Nashville, Tennessee, on December 27, 2022.

☆ NextDecade increases LNG supply volume in deal with China's ENN
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SINGAPORE, Dec 28 (Reuters) - U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) developer NextDecade Corp (NEXT.O) announced it will increase the volume of LNG supplies in a sales and purchase agreement signed with China's ENN Natural Gas Co. Ltd. (600803.SS). Under the agreement, ENN via a wholly-owned subsidiary ENN LNG (Singapore) Pte Ltd, will now purchase 2 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG, up 0.5 mtpa from the original agreement, according to a statement by NextDecade dated Tuesday. Earlier in April, NextDecade announced it would supply 1.5 mtpa of LNG to a unit of China's ENN for a 20-year term. China was the world's top importer of LNG in 2021, shipping in 78.8 million tonnes of the chilled fuel that year. Of its total imports, nearly 9 million tonnes or 11% were from the United States, according to China's customs data.

Canada is in the midst of building a large terminal to export LNG, but its completion is two years away. Canadian gas production is on track to reach a record 18 bcfd in 2022 and 19 bcfd in 2023, according to energy consultancy Rystad Energy. Pipelines are also constrained in Canada due to swift production growth, particularly TC Energy Corp's (TRP.TO) NGTL pipeline system that ships gas around and out of western Canada. In August, gas prices in Alberta briefly turned negative because of bottlenecks stemming from NGTL maintenance. U.S. LNG exports are expected to reach 10.6 bcfd in 2022 and 12.3 bcfd in 2023, according to federal estimates.

Search resuls for: "Henry H"

25 mentions found