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☆ Lenders, energy stocks help London stocks extend gains
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SummarySummary Companies FTSE 100 up 0.6%, FTSE 250 adds 0.2%March 28 (Reuters) - UK shares extended gains on Tuesday, supported by an upbeat performance in energy heavyweight BP, while lenders gained following reassuring comments by Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey on the stability of the banking sector. The pound strengthened 0.3% as traders weighed the prospects of higher interest rates. The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) rose 0.6%, while FTSE 250 (.FTMC) climbed 0.2% by 0718 GMT. Energy stocks (.FTNMX601010) rose 1.6%. Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Iraqi Kurdistan region's oil output at risk after Turkey halts pipeline exports
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Rowena Edwards | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The Iraqi- Turkish pipeline is seen in Zakho district of the Dohuk Governorate of the Iraqi Kurdistan province, Iraq, August 28, 2016. REUTERS/Ari JalalMarch 27 (Reuters) - Oil production in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region (KRI) is at risk after a halt in northern exports has forced firms operating there to divert crude to storage, where capacity is limited. Oil firms operating in the region have been left in limbo as they await the outcome of ongoing discussions between Ankara, Baghdad and the KRG to find a way to resume exports. The two firms hold stakes in the Tawke and Peshkabir fields, which produced 107,000 bpd of oil last year. Production at the Khurmala oil field run by Kurdish group Kar is currently unaffected at around 135,000 bpd and heading into tank, a source familiar with the field operations told Reuters.

☆ UK's WPP buys Obviously to expand social influencer marketing business
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 27 (Reuters) - British advertising group WPP (WPP.L) said on Monday it has acquired Obviously, a New York-based social influencer marketing agency, for an undisclosed sum. The deal comes less than a week after WPP agreed to buy Goat, an influencer marketing specialist, which focusses on marketing campaigns that aim to improve customer engagement for brands including Dell, Tesco, Uber and Natura. Obviously's team of nearly 100 people will join WPP subsidiary VMLY&R, a marketing agency with over 13,000 employees, WPP said. WPP said Obviously's proprietary "next-generation" tech platform helps the agency service large-scale complex campaigns for enterprise clients including Google, Ford, Ulta Beauty and Amazon. Obviously was founded by Mae Karwowski and Maxime Domain in 2014 and has operations in San Francisco and Paris.

☆ London stocks fall as fears of a banking crisis linger
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Shashwat Chauhan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Banks fall as fears of a banking crisis spikeEnergy down tracking lower oil pricesUK Feb retail sales rise unexpectedlyFTSE 100 down 1.4%, FTSE 250 off 1.0%March 24 (Reuters) - London stocks fell on Friday, dragged by energy shares that tracked oil prices lower, while banks extended declines at the end of a turbulent week as fears of a global banking crisis lingered. The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) fell 1.4%, extending losses after a near 1% drop on Thursday. British banks (.FTNMX301010) lost 2.7%, falling for a third straight session, joining their European peers in Friday's slide. Energy majors Shell (SHEL.L) and BP (BP.L) fell 2.5% and 2.5%, respectively, dragging the broader energy sector (.FTNMX601010) down 2.5%, as oil prices extended losses on worries about a potential oversupply. Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

March 16 (Reuters) - BP (BP.L) violated U.S. process safety rules and did not train workers properly at its Toledo, Ohio refinery in September, contributing to the death of two workers at the plant last year, U.S. federal investigators said Thursday. The two refinery workers died from their burns following an explosion in September 2022. Investigators said BP Products North America failed to properly train operators to identify the presence of naphtha, a flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture, during an upset. BP Products North America is a Houston based subsidiary of BP and operated the 150,800 barrel-per-day Toledo, Ohio, refinery at the time of the explosion. BP Products North America has 15 business days to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

LONDON, March 15 (Reuters) - Finance minister Jeremy Hunt presented less gloomy forecasts for Britain's economy at his Spring Budget on Wednesday. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsROSIER OUTLOOKA rout in global banking stocks on Wednesday overshadowed many UK-specific moves. Investments announced by Hunt such as a corporate spending tax break, a boost for defence and extra childcare support were not viewed as particularly inflationary. Unlike in the last budget, noise around windfall taxes on oil and gas companies was muted in the run-up to the budget since energy prices have fallen dramatically since then. "In general, the budget is not the big story for gilts right now, global drivers are in the driving seat," said James Smith, economist at ING.

☆ Big Oil’s old profligacy lives on Down Under
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Antony Currie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Throw in dividends and Santos shareholders have received a measly 6% total return during that period. Santos’ 15% return on capital employed last year puts it at the bottom of the class; BP delivered almost 25%. It looks slated to stay in the basement, with analysts projecting a sub-8% return for 2025, per Refinitiv data. The bonus is mostly tied to successful “growth projects”, which arguably encourages him to overinvest. If that happens again at next month’s annual meeting, it would, under Australian rules, allow investors to boot the entire board.

☆ BP recommends vote against climate activist resolution at April 27 AGM
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 13 (Reuters) - BP's (BP.L) board recommended on Monday that shareholders vote against a climate activist resolution asking for more emissions cuts by 2030 at its April 27 shareholder meeting. BP called the Follow This resolution "unclear", "simplistic" and "disruptive" and said it encroached on the board's responsibility to set the firm's strategy. As a result, BP reduced its ambitions to cut emissions from fuels sold to customers to 20%-30% by 2030, from 35%-40%. Last year, shareholder support for Follow This' resolution fell to around 15% of BP shareholders from around 21% the previous year. BP said its board did not consider the activist resolution to be in the company's or its shareholders' best interests.

☆ Factbox: Global firms with exposure to collapsed SVB
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

March 13 (Reuters) - Startup-focused lender SVB Financial Group (SIVB.O) became the largest bank to fail since the 2008 financial crisis last week, sending shockwaves across global markets as billions of dollars belonging to companies and investors were left stranded. The collapse raised concerns that the end of decades-long era of cheap money would reveal cracks in the global financial system as climbing interest rates expose vulnerabilities in the economy. HSBC (HSBA.L) said on Monday it is acquiring the UK subsidiary of SVB for 1 pound, rescuing a key lender for technology start-ups in Britain. Below is a list of companies across the globe that have revealed their exposure to SVB:EUROPEAround 16 tech and life sciences companies in Europe have disclosed about $190 million in exposure to SVB in the UK and the United States. Moonpig adds that SVB UK is one of ten lenders that provide senior debt facilities to the group as part of a strong banking syndicateASIA-PACIFICNITRO SOFTWARE (NTO.AX)Australia's productivity software maker Nitro Software Ltd (NTO.AX) said it had about $12.18 million of its global cash reserves held on deposit at SVB.

Meanwhile, extremely wide forecasts for new public borrowing requirements make the outlook for government bonds uncertain. Here are the main budget predictions for UK stocks, gilts and the pound. However NatWest analysts flagged that the OBR will likely revise down growth forecasts for the next five years, making the outlook for interest rates finely balanced. Hunt will likely keep the budget "reasonably dull" after Truss's "mini-budget" sent sterling to its lowest on record, she added. Investors in UK stocks are already grappling with a wide valuation gap with U.S. equities.

☆ Factbox: Which companies are affected by SVB collapse?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

ROKU (ROKU.O)Streaming devices maker says it has about $487 million, or 26% of its cash and cash equivalents, held in deposits with SVB. CIRCLEUS cryptocurrency firm Circle says $3.3 billion of its $40 billion of USD Coin reserves are at SVB. BLOCKFIBankrupt crypto lender BlockFi Inc has roughly $227 million in unprotected funds at SVB, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. VIR BIOTECHNOLOGY (VIR.O)Biotech firm says it maintains operating accounts at SVB with about $220 million as of Friday. EUROPEAround 16 tech and life sciences companies in Europe have disclosed about $190 million in exposure to SVB in the UK and the United States.

☆ UK pension funds threaten to vote against BP and Shell directors over climate targets - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 12 (Reuters) - Two of the UK's largest pension schemes will vote against the election of top directors at BP Plc (BP.L) and Shell Plc (SHEL.L) at their annual meetings unless both companies improve their commitments to tackling carbon emissions, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. Shell declined to comment, while BP, USS and Borders to Coast did not respond immediately to requests for comment. BP said previously it aimed to cut emissions from fuels sold to customers to 20% to 30% by 2030, less than an earlier target of a 35% to 40% reduction, and it planned to reduce its total emissions to net zero by 2050. Shell has pledged to be a net zero carbon company by 2050 and has said its overall carbon emissions peaked in 2018 at around 1.7 billion tonnes. ($1 = 0.8314 pounds)Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Looney's base salary of 1.3 million pounds was topped up by retirement benefits and performance-related elements including an annual bonus and shares to 10.03 million pounds ($11.99 million), more than double the 4.46 million pounds he was awarded in 2021. The ex-CEO of energy rival Shell (SHEL.L), Ben van Beurden, saw his pay package rise 53% to 9.7 million pounds after Shell reported record profits of $40 billion. EMISSIONSBP's emissions in 2022 were broadly unchanged from the previous year at around 340 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, according to its annual report and Reuters calculations. Unlike Shell, BP in its figures excludes emissions from fuels it sells that are derived from crude oil it does not produce. This measure includes all energy BP sells including fuel originally produced by other companies.

☆ Shell reviewing oil output reduction targets, CEO tells the Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - Shell (SHEL.L) is reviewing its current plan to reduce oil output by 1% to 2% per year by 2030, Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan told the Times, against the backdrop of rival BP recently rowing back from hydrocarbon output reduction aims. The CEO nevertheless indicated that Shell could revise its current goal of reducing its oil output by 2030. "We're reflecting on what is the right guidance to the market," Sawan told the Times in an article published on Friday. Shell expects its oil and gas output to reach between around 1.8 million and 2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day this quarter. In contrast to BP, Shell never set a target for the reduction of its gas output.

☆ Britain's FirstGroup to add another 117 electric buses to fleet by 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies FirstGroup PLC FollowMarch 2 (Reuters) - Britain’s FirstGroup (FGP.L) will add another 117 electric buses to its fleet by next year after the public transport operator secured new funding as part of the country's move towards cleaner travel. The group was able to secure 25 million pounds of government co-funding in partnership with local authorities through the Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) funding programme. Britain is on the road to investing heavily in policies that promote public transport, including buses, providing incentives for operators to convert diesel buses to electric or hydrogen-powered vehicles. The company, which runs First Bus and First Rail, was also awarded funding under the first ZEBRA scheme last March. The new funding will take the total number of electric buses in its fleet to more than 600 by March 2024.

☆ FTSE 100 falls as Ocado sinks; still set for best Feb in six years
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Shashwat Chauhan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) lost 0.6% with shares of Ocado (OCDO.L) plunging 10.5% on the online supermarket and technology group's worse-than-expected full-year loss. "Ocado is in the eye of the cost-of-living storm because its offering isn't synonymous with being the best value," said Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. Lund-Yates said Ocado is a higher-end option, without the same benefits of enticing people with tangible, physical goods like peer Marks & Spencer (MKS.L). Despite recent volatility, the exporter-heavy FTSE 100 is on track to record its best February performance since 2017 as higher earnings and weakness in the pound earlier in the month made equities more attractive. On the flipside, hedge fund firm Man Group (EMG.L) gained 7.9% after posting a higher full-year core pretax profit and beating expectations on assets under management.

LONDON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - British asset manager abrdn (ABDN.L) fell to a full-year pretax loss and reported a slide in client funds for 2022, as global markets turmoil and runaway inflation weighed on its finances. Abrdn reported a 615 million pound ($741 million) pretax loss for the year ended Dec. 31, compared to a 1.1 billion pound profit the prior year. Abrdn's assets under management fell 8% to 500 billion pounds from 542 billion pounds, while the company reported a further year of net outflows of client funds. The company also said it had agreed to sell its discretionary fund management arm abrdn Capital to Liechtenstein-based private bank LGT for 140 million pounds. The sale involves the transfer of around 6.1 billion pounds of assets and about 140 employees, the company said.

☆ Chevron CEO does not rule out consolidation among oil majors
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Sabrina Valle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HOUSTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Chevron Corp. (CVX.N) Chief Executive Michael Wirth on Tuesday said a consolidation between the five top Western oil producers remains a possibility but would face regulatory hurdles. Soaring stock prices and cash levels at oil-focused U.S. energy majors has driven Wall Street talk of potential deals for European oil producers. Citi analysts in January speculated Chevron or Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) could acquire BP PLC (BP.L), Shell PLC (SHEL.L) or TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) due to valuation differences. "I never say never about anything," Wirth said in a media briefing following the company's annual business update for investors. Chevron is not in a hurry for M&A in oil or renewable energy and remains committed to keeping a tight rein on spending even during periods of high energy prices and cash abundance, he said.

☆ New Rolls-Royce boss says more to come after profit beat
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Paul Sandle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies FY op profit 652 mln stg, up 57%Profit beats consensusNew CEO says 2023 profit will riseLONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - The new chief executive of Britain's Rolls-Royce (RR.L) forecast more profit growth in 2023 after last year beat expectations, and said the engineering company was capable of "much more" as his transformation plan starts to take shape. As Rolls-Royce announced a 57% rise in underlying operating profit on Thursday, he said his transformation programme was already underway and moving at pace. The company posted operating profit of 652 million pounds ($786.4 million) for 2022, beating an analyst forecast of 478 million pounds, helped by an improving performance in civil aerospace, its biggest division, as travel recovers from the pandemic. For 2023, Rolls guided to underlying operating profit of 0.8-1.0 billion pounds and free cash flow of 0.6-0.8 billion pounds, helped by the early benefits of the transformation. ($1 = 0.8291 pounds)Reporting by Paul Sandle; additional writing by Sarah Young and Kate HoltonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Uber to introduce EVs in India in push to clean cars
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Aditi Shah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW DELHI, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Uber Technologies (UBER.N) said on Monday it will introduce electric vehicles (EVs) in India for ride-sharing, its first move to adopt clean cars amid an Indian government push for greater electrification of public transport and shared mobility. Uber's fleet partners will buy the EVs from Tata Motors (TAMO.NS), India's biggest electric carmaker, Prabhjeet Singh, president, Uber India and South Asia, said during a phone interview on Monday. Even with 25,000 EVs, electric cars will still be a fraction of Uber's current overall active fleet of 300,000 vehicles in India, according to Singh. Uber has set a 2040 target for 100% of its rides to be in zero-emission vehicles, public transport or with micro-mobility, including in India. Tata rival Mahindra & Mahindra (MAHM.NS) is the only other Indian automaker to build electric cars locally.

☆ Repsol's profit beats forecasts, flags big spending increase
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Inti Landauro | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Its fourth-quarter profit surged to 2.01 billion euros ($2.15 billion) from 872 million a year earlier, topping the 1.75 billion euros expected by analysts polled by Refinitiv Eikon. Net income for 2022 jumped to 4.25 billion euros up from 2.5 billion euros in 2021. "Repsol plans to spend more than 5 billion euros in organic investments. Repsol used its higher cash flow to increase capital investment by 40% in 2022, reduce its net debt by 60% to 2.26 billion euros and increase shareholders' remuneration. Repsol's hefty profit follows similar reports from larger rivals TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA), BP (BP.L), Shell (SHEL.L), Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) and Chevron (CVX.N), prompting calls to further tax the sector as households struggle to pay energy bills.

REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File PhotoHOUSTON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Russia's decision to cut crude oil production by 500,000 barrels per day reflects its inability to sell all of its oil, Ben Harris, a U.S. Treasury Department Assistant Secretary, said on Thursday. Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak last week said it would voluntarily cut production beginning next month following the start of Western price caps on Russian oil and oil products on Feb. 5. Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have pushed for lowering the crude oil cap. There have been no American companies involved in trading Russian oil above the price cap, he said. Phillips 66's (PSX.N) Chief Executive Mark Lashier said the company's base assumption is that Russia's crude and oil products will find their way into the marketplace.

☆ BP to buy TravelCenters for $1.3 bln in U.S. fuel retail drive
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 16 (Reuters) - BP Plc (BP.L) will buy truck fueling provider TravelCenters of America Inc (TA.O) for about $1.3 billion in cash, the companies said on Thursday, as the British energy giant seeks to expand its travel convenience and fuel supply footprint in the country. Shares of the U.S. truck stop operator surged about 71% to $84.3 in morning trading, hovering near BP's per share offer of $86. TravelCenters owns a network of about 281 highway sites across 44 states and offers services including diesel and gasoline fuel, truck maintenance and repair, restaurants, travel stores, and parking. BP has been pushing to boost its investments in convenience, bioenergy and EV charging. By 2030, the London-listed company aims for around half its annual investment to go into these transition growth engines.

☆ BP to buy TravelCenters of America for $1.3 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 16 (Reuters) - TravelCenters of America Inc (TA.O) said on Thursday it would be acquired by BP Plc (BP.L) for about $1.3 billion in cash, as the British energy giant looks to expand its travel convenience and fuel supply footprint in the United States. BP has offered $86 per TravelCenters share held, which represents a 74% premium to the stock's last close on Wednesday. TravelCenters owns a network of about 281 highway sites across 44 states and offers services including diesel and gasoline fuel, truck maintenance and repair, restaurants, travel stores, and parking. Convenience is one of BP's five strategic transition growth engines. By 2030, the London-listed aims for around half its annual investment to go into these transition growth engines.

After a dearth of plant approvals last decade, developers have secured dozens of long-term contracts to finance new multibillion-dollar LNG plants. The United States was long an importer of LNG, but natural gas discoveries and production from the shale revolution flipped the country into an LNG exporter in 2016. U.S. LNG exports hit 10.6 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2022, making the country the second biggest LNG exporter behind Australia. But their production volumes will allow the United States to remain ahead of output from Australia and Qatar. The seven U.S. export plants already in service, including Freeport LNG, can turn about 13.8 billion cubic feet of gas into LNG each day.

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