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☆ Saudi oil giant Aramco reports record profits in 2022, up 46% from the year before
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Dubai CNN —Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco on Sunday reported a record annual net profit of $161.1 billion for 2022, up 46% from the year earlier, on higher energy prices, increased volumes sold and improved margins for refined products. The profits follow similar reports in February from international peers BP, Shell, Exxon Mobil and Chevron which have mostly posted record profits for last year. Oil prices swung wildly in 2022, climbing on geopolitical worries amid the war in Ukraine, then sliding on weaker demand from top importer China and worries of an economic contraction. Aramco’s capital expenditure rose 18% to $37.6 billion in 2022 and the company said it expects this year’s spending to be around $45.0 billion to $55.0 billion including external investments. Free cash flow reached a record of $148.5 billion in 2022, compared to $107.5 billion in 2021.

☆ Here’s our fourth-quarter earnings report card for all the stocks in our portfolio
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +20 min

Fourth-quarter earnings season is in the rearview mirror and most Club stocks reported results ahead of, or in line with, analysts' forecasts. Moreover, excluding foreign exchange fluctuations, this marked the ninth quarter in a row of 20% or better annual earnings growth. Nvidia (NVDA) reported a very strong quarter and better-than-expected guidance for the current quarter . Eli Lilly 's (LLY) fourth-quarter results came up a bit short on revenue but delivered a strong bottom line. Despite missing on top-line expectations, Wells Fargo 's (WFC) earnings came in better-than-expected, as the bank realized the benefits of higher interest rates .

[1/5] Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visits the site of a crash, where two trains collided, near the city of Larissa, Greece, March 1, 2023. Rail workers, on strike since March 2, have extended their walkout until Friday. "We could have been there, we could have been on that same train," Aria Laska, 23, told Reuters. Three more railway workers were detained and accused of disrupting public transport leading to deaths, the semi-state Athens News Agency reported. "We are together in this trial," Mitsotakis said, adding that young people and their parents had "every right to be angry".

☆ Why Everyone Is Moving to Florida: Jobs, Economy, Cost of Living, Taxes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Emil Skandul | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

For other states to compete, they will need to pay attention to what Florida is doing right. Floridians pay no income tax and fewer taxes overall than people in states like New York, California, or Massachusetts. But a low tax rate isn't the only thing people care about. Despite having a budget half the size of New York's and a larger population, Florida, by many metrics, is able to do significantly more with the taxes it collects. Florida is also outshining New York and other major population centers in tackling the soaring cost of housing.

☆ These 5 dividend-paying Club stocks are expected to grow earnings double-digits this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Wells Fargo (WFC) and Halliburton (HAL) headline a group of five dividend-paying Club stocks that are expected to post robust earnings growth this year. We wanted to see which holdings are projected to boost per-share earnings this year well above the roughly 2% earnings growth estimated for the overall S & P 500 . Investors should also pay attention to valuation, so we excluded stocks trading above the S & P 500's multiple of 18 times forward earnings. Wells Fargo Estimated 2023 EPS growth: 50.7% Dividend yield: 2.7% Forward P/E: 9.4 WFC 1Y mountain Wells Fargo's stock price over the past 12 months. The average price target from analysts who cover Morgan Stanley is about 6% above the stock's closing price of $96.06 on Tuesday.

Equinor became Europe's top natural gas supplier last year after exports from Russia were mostly choked off following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Europe cut demand, increased domestic output and imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) at huge cost in response to the drop in Russian gas supplies, which accounted for around half of the region's supply in 2021. "Trying to replace 150 billion cubic metres of (Russian) gas is a massive task. "The weather in Asia can set the gas price in Europe," Opedal said. Equinor produced over 2 million barrels of oil equivalent of oil and gas in 2022, when it reported a record adjusted operating profit of $75 billion on the back of soaring oil and gas prices.

☆ Greek workers join walkout over deadly train crash, call protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Karolina Tagaris | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ATHENS, March 8 (Reuters) - Thousands of workers will join a nationwide strike on Wednesday in protest over Greece's deadliest train disaster that killed 57 people, and mass demonstrations are expected to culminate outside parliament in Athens. Wednesday's strike, to be joined by various public sector workers, is expected to disrupt metro, tram and bus servives, and ferries will remain docked in ports as seamen join the walkout. "We will impose safe railways so that no one will ever experience the tragic accident at Tempi ever again," the main railway workers union said in a statement. ADEY, the umbrella union representing hundreds of thousands of public sector workers, also called for a day-long strike and protest over the "murderous crime". Greece sold its state-owned railway operator, now called Hellenic Train, under its international bailout program in 2017 to Italy's state-owned Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane.

☆ Thousands protest in Athens after Greece's deadly train crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Alkis KonstantinidisATHENS, March 5 (Reuters) - Clashes erupted briefly between police and a group of demonstrators in central Athens on Sunday on the fringes of a protest by thousands of students and railway workers over Greece's deadliest train crash in living memory. A small group of protesters hurled petrol bombs at police, who responded with tear gas and stun grenades. The train, travelling from Athens to the northern city of Thessaloniki, was packed with university students returning after a long holiday weekend. Railway workers' unions say safety systems throughout the rail network have been deficient for years as a remote surveillance and signalling system has not been delivered on time. Greece would soon announce action, he said, adding that Athens would seek expertise from the European Commission and other countries on improving rail safety.

ATHENS, March 5 (Reuters) - A Greek railway employee was jailed on Sunday pending trial over a deadly train crash that killed at least 57 people, as Greeks seethed with anger over the worst rail disaster in living memory. Clashes erupted between police and demonstrators in Athens on Sunday, after thousands rallied to protest over the crash. The 59-year-old Larissa station master faces multiple charges of disrupting transport and putting lives at risk. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis 1 2 3 4 5Railway workers say the country's rail network has been creaking under cost-cutting and underinvestment, a legacy of Greece's debilitating debt crisis from 2010 to 2018. Mitsotakis said on Sunday that if there had been a remote system in place throughout the rail network "it would have been, in practice, impossible for the accident to happen".

☆ Persistent underinvestment in the oil sector will keep global supply tight, Aramco CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Chronic underinvestment in the hydrocarbons sector will keep global supply tight, the head of the world's largest oil company warned, suggesting higher future energy prices as China's reopening and the comeback of the aviation industry gather pace. Asked by CNBC's Dan Murphy about the current state of the oil market, Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said, "A persistent underinvestment in oil upstream and even downstream is still there. The latest report from the IEA talks about a demand of 101.7 million barrels — going from 100 million barrels in 2022 to almost 2 million barrels more with China opening up and the aviation industry," which hasn't yet returned to pre-Covid levels. "There is a lot of potential for growth in aviation," Nasser said. Larger-than-expected U.S. fuel stocks in recent months and expectations of weaker global growth have helped lower energy prices.

Here's an update on our energy, industrials and materials names in Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust, the portfolio we use at the CNBC Investing Club. In 2022, by contrast, the priority was its variable dividend, which changed quarter by quarter depending on its financial results. The industrial company is one of our more recently added holdings. He also mentioned that Halliburton's top boss, Jeff Miller, has expressed notable conviction that the company's stock price is too cheap. The alternative would be consolidating our holdings to two oil-and-gas producers, along with Halliburton as our third energy stock.

☆ The 'office apocalypse' won't doom big cities — it's actually making them stronger
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Matthew E. Kahn | Christopher Okada | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

In San Francisco, tax revenue is projected to drop by as much as a billion dollars over the next six years. In order to bring in these new residents, cities will have to shift some of their priorities. Research coauthored by Steven Levitt of "Freakonomics" found that increases in violent and property crimes were correlated with city residents migrating to the suburbs. All is not lostThere's little doubt that superstar cities like New York and San Francisco have serious problems on their hands. Christopher Okada is the CEO of Okada & Company, a full-service commercial real estate brokerage and investment company in New York City.

☆ Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary says energy stocks are the new gold and touts optimism for the US economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Energy stocks are gold in the market, according to "Shark Tank" investor Kevin O'Leary. "If you didn't own energy in the last 18 months, you missed the market," he said in a recent interview. O'Leary is bullish on the market this year, despite warnings of a recession and a stock crash from commentators. He previously made the case that the US could still sidestep a recession in 2023, despite warnings of an impending downturn from other Wall Street forecasters. That's contrary to what other Wall Street experts have said, warning of an impending downturn and market crash as the economy shows signs of stress.

☆ Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas talks President Biden, infrastructure funding, and governing without gridlock at the local level: 'We've got to get stuff done'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas strives for collaboration as he works on tough policy issues. And he looks at Kansas City — whose Chiefs won Super Bowl LVII earlier this month — as an example of resiliency. What have been some of the most tangible and immediate benefits of the law for Kansas City? Mayor Lucas speaks during the Kansas City Chiefs' victory celebration in Kansas City, Missouri, on February 15, 2023. In Kansas City, we've said: "How do we keep talking to people even if everybody's mad at each other in the room?"

☆ Why a U.S. national electric grid would be great for the climate — and is nearly impossible
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +15 min

But the energy grid in the U.S. has developed over decades as a patchwork of thousands of individual utilities serving their own local regions. The Department of Energy is in the process of conducting a National Transmission Planning Study,to look into all of this. "Many mid-U.S. states have excellent wind resources, and the southwest U.S. has excellent solar resources, but the population is insufficient to use them," McCalley told CNBC. Finally, improved energy sharing would also lead to a more reliable energy grid for consumers. At the kickoff for its next round of transmission planning, MISO had a three hour planning meeting with 377 people in the meeting.

Analysts expect China's oil imports to hit a record high in 2023 to meet increased demand for transportation fuel and as new refineries come on stream. China and India have become major buyers of Russian crude amid Western sanctions on Russian oil and more recently, embargoes and price caps because of the Ukraine war. In India, the world's third-biggest oil importer, crude imports rose to a six-month high in January, government data showed. Russia plans to cut oil production by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd), equating to about 5% of its output, in March after the West imposed price caps on Russian oil and oil products. Prices will move higher "as the market pivots back to deficit with underinvestment, shale constraints and OPEC discipline ensuring supply does not meet demand", they wrote.

Both crude benchmarks settled $2 down on Friday for a decline of about 4% over the week after the United States reported higher crude and gasoline inventories. Analysts expect China's oil imports to hit a record high in 2023 to meet increased demand for transportation fuel and as new refineries come on stream. China and India have become major buyers of Russian crude amid Western sanctions on Russian oil and more recently, embargoes and price caps because of the Ukraine war. Russia plans to cut oil production by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd), equating to about 5% of its output, in March after the West imposed price caps on Russian oil and oil products. Prices will move higher "as the market pivots back to deficit with underinvestment, shale constraints and OPEC discipline ensuring supply does not meet demand", they wrote.

☆ Oil rises on China demand hopes and supply concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Noah Browning | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Monday, buoyed by optimism over Chinese demand, continued production curbs by major producers and Russia's plans to rein in supply. Separately Russia plans to cut oil production by 500,000 bpd, equating to about 5% of its output, in March after the West imposed price caps on Russian oil and oil products. China and India have become major buyers of Russian crude since the European Union embargo. At the same time, future oil supply shortages are likely to drive prices toward $100 a barrel by the end of the year, Goldman Sachs analysts said in a Feb. 19 note. Prices will move higher "as the market pivots back to deficit with underinvestment, shale constraints and OPEC discipline ensuring supply does not meet demand", they wrote.

☆ Oil rises on China demand hopes, concerns on supply outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Emily Chow | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SINGAPORE, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Monday amid optimism over China's demand recovery, concerns that underinvestment will crimp future oil supply and as major producers keep output limits in place. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for March, which expires on Tuesday, was at $76.78 a barrel, up 44 cents or 0.6%. Russia plans to cut oil production by 500,000 bpd, or around 5% of output, in March after the West imposed price caps on Russian oil and oil products. China is the world's largest crude oil importer. Prices will move higher "as the market pivots back to deficit with underinvestment, shale constraints and OPEC discipline ensuring supply does not meet demand," they wrote.

☆ Ukraine yet to make defence a safe investor haven
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Lisa Jucca | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

MUNICH, Feb 20 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The West’s rush to supply weapons to war-torn Ukraine looks like a golden opportunity for defence companies to exit the ESG doghouse. As with air-polluting coal, socially-minded investors including pension funds and insurers - particularly European ones - have long excluded or heavily restricted investment in defence companies on ethical grounds. Risk committees, particularly at domestic banks, are now more frequently assessing the merits of financing defence companies, two senior bankers among the 850 or so conference participants said. Proponents of the approach argue military companies that help Ukraine perform a globally valuable social function by upholding democracy. The Munich Security Index, a global risk perceptions survey conducted before the conference, showed security concerns had replaced climate challenges as the top concern.

☆ Market shows resiliency in face of bad news like hot PPI — listen to the 'Homestretch'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

>>> HELLO, EVERYBODY. WELCOME TO THURSDAY'S EDITION OFTHE "HOMESTRETCH" AND YOU KNOW,I HAVE TO SAY THAT WE WERE DOWNEARLIER WHEN WE LAST BROKE ATTHE MORNING MEETING, AND IT'S,YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE SAMETHEMES AS WHAT WE HAVE BEENSEEING ALL WEEK. THE CLEANEST GROWTH STORIES INALL OF PHARMA WHICH IS MAJOMAWHICH IS APPROVED FOR OBESITYTHIS SPRING, AND J&J IS A TOUGHONE AFTER BEING RESILIENT NEXTYEAR, AND ANOTHER ONE THAT ISGOING TO BE ADDEDOPPORTUNISTICALLY, AND I WILLLUMP DANAHER IN AS A HEALTH CARESTOCK, AND THIS IS ANOTHER ONEWE LIKE WITH THE UPCOMINGSEPARATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAND APPLIED SOLUTIONS BUSINESS. WE WILL WAIT FOR THE REST OF THEDAY. I'M JEFF MARKS FOR THE"HOMESTRETCH" AND I WILL SEE YOUTOMORROW ON THE HOME MEETING.

☆ Devon Energy's plunge after management fails to reassure investors makes us question our stake
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Shares of Club holding Devon Energy (DVN) fell sharply Wednesday, one day after delivering disappointing fourth quarter results , reducing its fixed-plus-variable dividend and barely buying back any stock. DVN 1Y mountain Devon Energy (DVN) 1-year performance Devon management on Wednseday did reassure investors of its commitment to financial discipline and shareholder returns. Production guidance On Devon's earnings call Wednesday morning, management said that the first quarter is expected to be the lowest production quarter of fiscal 2023. The facility is expected to be back up and running by mid-March, with no impact to second quarter production expected. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

☆ Glencore declares $7.1 bln payout to shareholders after record 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Adjusted EBITDA up 60% to record $34.1 billionMetals and fossil fuels trading profit up 73% to record highLONDON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Glencore (GLEN.L) announced a payout of $7.1 billion to its investors on Wednesday, including a $1.5 billion share buyback, as strong oil and coal prices helped it post a record 2022 profit. Its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 60% to a record $34.1 billion, smashing a previous best of $21.3 billion a year earlier, in line with analysts' estimates. Profit on metals and fossil fuels trading hit a record $6.4 billion in 2022, up 73%, though analysts see a repeat of that performance this year or next as unlikely. "COVID, supply chain disruptions and the power crisis in Asia/Europe has created exceptional opportunities for Marketing," UBS analysts said in a note. Reporting by Clara Denina, Helen Reid, Muhammed Husain; editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Coterra, Danaher and TJX Companies are in the news. Here's our take on the headlines
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

A trio of Club stocks — Coterra Energy (CTRA), Danaher (DHR) and TJX Companies (TJX) — are in the news Monday. The multiweek slide in natural gas prices is at the heart of Raymond James' downgrade because Coterra's revenue is split roughly 50-50 between natural gas and oil. @NG.1 5Y mountain Natural Gas prices over 5 years The Club's take: The decline in natural gas prices is undoubtedly going to affect the amount of cash Coterra generates and then returns to shareholders via its fixed-plus-variable dividend strategy and buybacks. We're not heading for the exits on Coterra despite the decline in natural gas prices. A photo of a natural gas flare burning near an oil pump jack at the New Harmony Oil Field in the U.S. on June 19, 2022.

☆ Saudi Arabian shares drop on lower oil prices; Egypt rises
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Md Manzer Hussain | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 5 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabian stock market closed lower on Sunday, in response to fall in oil prices on Friday amid concern about the European Union embargo on Russian refined products. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister warned on Saturday that sanctions and underinvestment in the energy sector could result in a shortage of energy supplies in future. The European Union has imposed a series of sanctions against Russia, reducing Russian energy exports. Saudi oil giant Aramco (2222.SE) sank 1.5%, while the world's largest Islamic bank by market capitalization, Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE), dropped 1.9%. Qatar's stock index (.QSI) ended down 0.4%, with almost all its constituent stocks in negative territory.

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