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☆ Saudi energy minister denies output increase discussion -state news agency
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

DUBAI, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabian energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said the kingdom is not discussing a potential oil output increase with other OPEC oil producers, state news agency SPA reported, denying a Wall Street Journal report earlier on Monday. "It is well-known that OPEC+ does not discuss any decisions ahead of the meeting," the prince was quoted as saying, referring to the group's next meeting in December. "The current cut of 2 million barrels per day by OPEC+ continues until the end of 2023 and if there is need to take further measures by reducing production to balance supply and demand we always remain ready to intervene." Reporting by Maha El Dahan Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Volkswagen-SAIC venture to close manual transmission plant in China
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Nov 18 (Reuters) - (This Nov. 18 story has been corrected to say workers will be offered support by the company, not necessarily new jobs in paragraph 5)A manual transmission plant owned by Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) joint venture with SAIC Motors (600104.SS) will close next March, the carmaker said on Friday. The decision was taken several years ago, a Volkswagen spokesperson said, adding that production of manual transmission cars by the joint venture had fallen from 500,000 a year to about 50,000. Volkswagen's joint venture with FAW in the northeastern city of Changchun will continue to produce manual transmission systems, though output has also fallen in recent years. The German carmaker is the largest foreign automaker in China but is battling to compete with domestic electric vehicle manufacturers. Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Jan Schwartz and Zhang Yan Editing by Rachel More and David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

LONDON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - European refiners have found themselves oversupplied with crude as an expected shortage owing to the looming EU ban on Russian oil has yet to materialise. The front-month Brent crude futures spread narrowed sharply this week, reflecting better supply in the physical oil market as fears over the EU embargo on Russian crude begin to subside. Reuters Graphics"There's too much oil around," one European crude trader said. A G7 price cap on Russian crude also comes into effect on Dec. 5. ALTERNATIVES SOURCESTraders said refiners have adjusted to living without Russian crude, which had been a mainstay of Europe's refining system.

☆ Oil falls on easing geopolitical tensions, China demand outlook
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Arathy Somasekhar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Thankfully, those fears have abated and the situation de-escalated, which has seen oil gains unwound," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA. Brent crude fell $2.13 to $90.73 a barrel, a 2.3% loss, by 10:58 a.m. China reported rising daily COVID-19 infections and Chinese refiners have asked to reduce Saudi crude volume in December, Reuters has reported, while also slowing Russian crude purchases. "Struggling Chinese consumption is embodied in sinking domestic need for both Russian and Saudi crude oil," said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM. Oil gained some support from official figures that U.S. crude stocks fell by a bigger than expected 5 million barrels in the most recent week.

☆ Adderall users struggle amid ongoing medication shortage
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Raenu Charles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

A report from data analytics firm Trilliant Health found that nationally, prescriptions for Adderall among people ages 22 to 44 increased 15% between 2020 and 2021. “I’ve had patients call 10,15, 20 pharmacies in order to get their medication,” Goodman said. Clara is headed to her doctor to seek an alternative medication until Adderall is back in stock. It took five days for his pharmacy to fill his prescription in late October, and those days took a toll. Goodman strongly warns against this, offering a reminder that not only is selling your own prescription medication a felony, so is sharing it with others.

LONDON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - London Metal Exchange (LME) nickel trading has turned wild again this week. LME and ShFE nickel contracts price and volumeVOLATILITY TRAPThe fund exodus after March has left a liquidity vacuum and a self-reinforcing volatility trap in the nickel market. ("A financially constrained physical market", April 3, 2022)LME nickel trading volumes have fallen steeply since March. Year-to-date nickel volumes are 24% below last year's equivalent period, the scale of decline flattered by strong trading activity in January and February. But until inventory and volumes rebuild, time-spread turbulence and perma-backwardation are becoming the new normal in the Shanghai market.

ETNEW YORK, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Tuesday along with major stock indexes, after U.S. data signaled that inflation could be starting to subside, which would be a positive for oil demand. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.18, or 1.4%, to $87.05. "The inflation data was positive in a way. In U.S. supply, crude oil stocks are expected to have dropped by about 300,000 barrels in the week to Nov. 11, a Reuters poll showed on Monday ahead of reports from the American Petroleum Institute due at 4:30 p.m. Investment bank JPMorgan cut its quarterly and full-year forecasts for economic growth in China.

☆ Liberty Steel agrees debt restructuring deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The Liberty Steel group owned by commodities tycoon Sanjeev Gupta has reached an agreement to restructure much of its debt for global operations, it said on Tuesday, while negotiations continue on the debt of its European business. Liberty said in a statement that it had signed a term sheet subject to contract on an agreement in principle on debt restructuring with parties responsible for the main creditors of Greensill Capital UK Ltd, Greensill Bank AG and Credit Suisse Asset Management (CSGN.S). The company said in June that it had reached a standstill agreement with its largest creditor, Greensill Bank, on debt facilities for its European business. Tuesday's statement said Liberty was in the process of negotiating a similar term sheet for restructuring debt for the European business. German-based Greensill Bank is a subsidiary of Greensill Capital, which lent money to businesses by buying their invoices at a discount, but it collapsed after one of its main insurers declined to renew its cover.

SHENZHEN, China/HONG KONG, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings (0700.HK) has begun a new round of job cuts targeted at its video streaming, gaming and cloud businesses, four sources close to the matter said. Two of the sources said some staff in IEG were informed last week they were being laid off. Tencent already cut jobs earlier this year, alongside peers, including Alibaba Group (9988.HK) and smaller Chinese tech companies such as Xiaohongshu. In August, Tencent disclosed its employee numbers fell to 110,715 by the end of June from 116,213 in March. Refintiv data shows analysts expect Tencent to report flat revenues or a small contraction on Wednesday, when it publishes third-quarter results.

☆ Continental investigates cyberattack after report says data up for sale
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Continental (CONG.DE) on Tuesday said it was investigating the theft of company data in a cyberattack but declined to comment on media reports that hackers had put the information up for sale. The tyre and automotive parts manufacturer said its investigation was moving ahead with the highest priority. Last week it said a cyberattack it reported in August had resulted in some data being stolen from the company. Handelsblatt said the hackers had put the data up for sale for $50 million after Continental "apparently did not want to pay a ransom". Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach Writing by Paul Carrel Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ OPEC cuts oil demand growth forecast again as economic challenges mount
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Alex Lawler | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - OPEC on Monday cut its forecast for 2022 global oil demand growth for a fifth time since April and also trimmed next year's figure, citing mounting economic challenges including high inflation and increases to interest rates. "The world economy has entered a period of significant uncertainty and rising challenges in the fourth quarter of 2022," OPEC said in the report. The group, which recently cut production targets, will remain cautious, Saudi Arabia's energy minister was quoted as saying last week. For October, with oil prices weakening on recession fears, the group made a 100,000 bpd cut to the OPEC+ production target, with an even bigger reduction starting in November. The report said that OPEC output fell by 210,000 bpd in October to 29.49 million bpd, more than the pleged OPEC+ reduction.

☆ Yellen says U.S. debt ceiling hike by lame-duck Congress would be 'great'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks at a news conference during the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington, U.S., October 14, 2022. Yellen told reporters on the sidelines of G20 summit meetings in Bali that Senate control by Democrats would ease the path for approving nominations and other legislative actions. "We want to see the debt ceiling get done. If it got done in the lame duck, that would be great, as far as I'm concerned," Yellen said. Reporting by David Lawder Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China's Silk Road Fund to invest in Indonesian pharma firms
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JAKARTA, Nov 13 (Reuters) - China's Silk Road Fund (SRF) and Indonesia's INA sovereign fund INA invest in two state-owned Indonesian pharmaceuticals companies in a deal worth about 1.86 trillion rupiah ($120 million), a deputy minister said on Sunday. "We hope the investment partnership can improve the pharma firms' digital services, product development and also repair (their) capital structure," he said. SRF was set up in 2014 and is backed by China's foreign exchange reserves, China Investment Corp, the Export-Import Bank of China and the China Development Bank. In July INA and SRF signed an investment framework agreement under which the Chinese fund aims invest up to 20 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) in Southeast Asia's biggest economy. ($1 = 15,490.0000 rupiah)($1 = 7.1066 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Stefanno Sulaiman Editing by Martin Petty, Kanupriya Kapoor and David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ South Africa's Ramaphosa focuses on the poor as he seeks ANC re-election
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Tim Cocks | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Ramaphosa was concluding the African National Congress (ANC) executive committee meeting before an elective conference next month chooses the party's candidate for 2024 national elections. The president faces multiple challengers from within the party, mostly allied to his predecessor Jacob Zuma. Much may depend on whether Ramaphosa is seen as the best candidate to revive the fortunes of the ANC, the popularity of which is at an all-time low. He also pledged to forge ahead with policies to improve the standard of public education and introduce universal health insurance. The ANC's black empowerment initiatives were also mentioned, with Ramaphosa saying the measures need to be more "broad-based".

At stake is an unresolved dispute over compensation for the Korean wartime labourers used by Japanese firms during World War Two, which had worsened bilateral relations in recent years. The South Korean presidential office also said that the two leaders agreed to continue discussions for prompt resolution of the pending issues. A South Korean court has ordered the seizure of assets of Japanese companies accused of not compensating some of their colonial-era labourers. read moreTokyo says the issue of compensation was settled under a 1965 treaty normalizing diplomatic ties and providing South Korea with economic assistance, and has warned of serious repercussions if the orders are enforced. Japan has urged South Korea to present a solution, and a Seoul official said it would devise a proposal that can win consent from both South Korean victims and Tokyo.

☆ Biden to make clear U.S. does not seek conflict with China - White House official
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE, Nov 13 (Reuters) - United States President Joe Biden will make clear in his bilateral meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Indonesia that his country seeks no conflict, a White House official said on Sunday. Jake Sullivan, a national security adviser to Biden, said the meeting could last "a couple of hours". "The president sees the United States and China as being engaged in a stiff competition, but that competition should not tip over into conflict or confrontation," Sullivan told reporters. Sullivan said Biden would be "totally straightforward and direct" in his conversation with Xi, continuing an approach he has pursued from the beginning of his presidency. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden would speak with reporters after his meeting with Xi, but declined to say if he would hold a full news conference.

☆ U.S. President Biden arrives in Bali for G20 summit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] U.S. President Joe Biden watches a cultural performance as he arrives at the Ngurah Rai International Airport ahead of the G20 leaders' summit, near Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, November 13, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueNUSA DUA, Indonesia Nov 13 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden landed in Bali, Indonesia, on Sunday for the summit of the G20 group of major economies. Biden, who arrives off the back of his attendance at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt and the ASEAN summit in Cambodia, is set meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders to address a range of geopolitical issues this week, including the war in Ukraine, tensions in the Taiwan Strait and the ongoing food, energy and climate crises. Reporting by Fransiska Nangoy Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Chinese refiners seek less Saudi crude as demand weak
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Muyu Xu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SINGAPORE, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Several Chinese refiners have asked Saudi Aramco to reduce December-loading crude oil volumes, two sources close to the matter said, as COVID-19 restrictions and a faltering economy have weakened fuel demand in the world's biggest oil importer. China's crude oil imports in October recovered to the level last seen in May, supported by stockpile demand at two new refineries preparing for commercial operation. Apart from the reduced demand, China has been buying Russian crude oil priced at steep discounts after the Ukraine crisis, squeezing out other suppliers, including Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request comment, which was made outside office hours. Saudi Aramco has cut its December selling prices for its flagship Arab Light crude and told at least four refinery customers in North Asia they will receive full contract volumes of crude oil in December.

☆ Berkshire Hathaway sells $145 mln of shares in China's BYD, filing shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Berkshire Hathaway, the investment company owned by Warren Buffett, has sold 5.78 million Hong Kong-listed shares of electric vehicle maker BYD (002594.SZ) for HK$1.14 billion ($145.38 million), a stock exchange filing showed. The sale lowered Berkshire's holdings in BYD's total issued H-shares to 16.62% on Nov. 8, down from 17.15%, Friday's filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange showed. Last week Berkshire Hathaway sold H-shares worth HK$560 million. ($1 = 7.8414 Hong Kong dollars)Reporting by Twinnie Siu Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Chad agrees debt plan with creditors, including Glencore, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Mahamat Ramadane | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

N'DJAMENA, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Chad has reached agreement on a plan with creditors, which includes Swiss commodities trader Glencore (GLEN.L), for its $3 billion external debt, which could pave the way for more IMF funding. It is also China's first participation in a finalised joint debt treatment deal with other creditors, a source close to the negotiations told Reuters. A third of the central African country's external debt of nearly $3 billion is commercial and concentrated in an oil-backed loan from Glencore. "We are pleased that all stakeholders have agreed on how Chad's external debt should be treated," a Glencore spokesperson said in an emailed statement. Chad's statement did not specify the terms of the debt relief agreement.

☆ China supports central SOEs to issue tech innovation bonds
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SHANGHAI, Nov 11 (Reuters) - China's securities regulator on Friday it will support bond issuance by central state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to fund tech innovation. The China Securities Regulatory Commission said in a notice that banks, social security fund and other long-term investors are encouraged to invest in tech innovation bonds issued by SOEs controlled by the central government. The statement was jointly issued with China's state assets regulator. Reporting by Shanghai and Beijing newsroom Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Hackers release Thales data on dark web, franceinfo says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Nov 11 (Reuters) - Data relating to French defence and technology group Thales (TCFP.PA) have been published on the dark web by hacker group LockBit 3.0, franceinfo news website reported on Friday. The company this week said the Russian-speaking extortion and ransomware group had claimed to have stolen some of its data, with plans to publish it on Nov. 7. Thales, which on Tuesday said it had opened an internal investigation and informed the ANSSI national cyber security agency, did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comments. The French company provides businesses, organisations and governments with advanced technologies in the defence, aeronautics, space, transport and digital security sectors. Reporting by Juliette Portala Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Dollar slides, CPI data suggests Fed could slow pace of rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Herbert Lash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"Inflation is clearly moving in the right direction, and that keeps a more hawkish Fed at bay," he said. The spike higher in the yen versus the dollar stirred speculation the Bank of Japan intervened, which analysts doubted. Fed funds futures priced in a drop in expectations for the U.S. central bank's peak target rate, which fell below 5%. The likelihood of a 50-basis-point rate hike by the Fed instead of a 75-basis-point increase in December rose to 71.5%. CPI rose 7.7% in October on a year-over-year basis, down from 8.2% in the prior month, as headline inflation fell below 8% for the first time since February.

☆ Oil prices rise 1% after tepid U.S. inflation data
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Shariq Khan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

After three days of declines, crude futures rallied after the inflation data supported investor hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve would temper its interest rate hikes, which could support oil demand. "(Consumer Price Index data) could be the turning point investors have craved," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA. Brent crude rose 94 cents, or 1%, to $93.59 a barrel by 12:52 a.m. EDT (1752 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 69 cents, or 0.8%, to $86.52. The U.S. dollar index , as the sunny economic data lured investors away from the safe-haven greenback towards riskier assets including oil.

☆ ASML launches 12 bln euro buyback, upgrades 2025 forecast
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

AMSTERDAM, Nov 10 (Reuters) - ASML Holding NV (ASML.AS), a key supplier of equipment to computer chip manufacturers, on Wednesday said it would launch a 12 billion euro ($12.2 billion) share buyback programme to run through 2025. In an announcement ahead of an investors' day on Nov. 11, the company said it expects revenue of 30 billion to 40 billion euros by 2025, up from a previous estimate of 24 billion to 30 billion euros. The company's 2021 sales totalled 18.6 billion euros. "While the current macro environment creates near-term uncertainties, we expect longer-term demand and capacity showing healthy growth," the company said in a statement. Shares jumped on the announcement and were trading 8.6% higher at 538.50 euros by 1550 GMT.

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