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☆ Brent oil hovers above $80 as U.S inflation eases
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Natalie Grover | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 13 (Reuters) - Global oil benchmark Brent hovered above $80 a barrel on Thursday after U.S. inflation data implied interest rates in the world's biggest economy are close to their peak. The futures contract structure of the global benchmark Brent indicates the market is tightening and that OPEC could be succeeding in its mission to support the market. The premium of a front month Brent contract to a six-month February 2024 contract rose to $2.64 a barrel on Wednesday. At the end of the June, the front month contract was at a discount to the six month contract. Meanwhile, an OPEC report also published on Thursday, maintained an upbeat world oil demand outlook despite economic headwinds.

Persons: Craig Erlam, Brent, Natalie Grover, Jeslyn Lerh, Laura Sanicola, Jacqueline Wong, Elaine Hardcastle, Barbara Lewis, Conor Humphries Organizations: Brent, U.S, West Texas, OPEC, International Energy Agency, Customs, Thomson Locations: Brent, U.S, Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, India, London, Singapore, Washington

FRANKFURT/LONDON July 13 (Reuters) - Energy majors BP (BP.L) and TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) have won a 7 gigawatt (GW) offshore wind site auction in Germany worth a record 12.6 billion euros ($14.1 billion), allowing them entry to the central European market without a partnership. The awards for capacity due to come online in 2030 also excluded leading offshore wind developers, such as RWE (RWEG.DE) and Orsted (ORSTED.CO). AUCTION DESIGNThe 7 GW electronic auction officially opened in January and bidders had until June 1 to submit offers. In previous German lease auctions, companies have made low or negative bids with the expectation of subsidies from the state. Industry groups have said the high costs of the leases could drive up the cost of offshore wind projects.

Persons: Bundesnetzagentur, Bernstein, WindEurope, Orsted, Norway's, TotalEnergies, Vera Eckert, Susanna Twidale, Christoph Steitz, Ron Bousso, Nora Buli, Nina Chestney, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Energy, BP, Industry, Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT, Germany, Macquarie, England, Danish

July 12 (Reuters) - Oil prices settled higher on Wednesday, with benchmark Brent futures breaching $80 a barrel for the first time since May, after U.S. inflation data spurred hopes the Federal Reserve may have fewer interest rate hikes in store for the world's biggest economy. U.S. data showed consumer prices rose modestly in June and registered their smallest annual increase in more than two years. Markets expect one more interest rate rise, but oil traders hope that may be it. Brent futures settled up 71 cents, or 0.9%, to $80.11 a barrel. Forecasts from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) point to the market tightening into 2024.

Persons: Naeem Aslam, Brent, Tamas Varga, Phil Flynn, Natalie Grover, Trixie Yap, Sonali Paul, Barbara Lewis, Emelia, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Zaye, . West Texas, U.S . Energy Information Administration, International Energy Agency, IEA, Saudi, U.S . Energy, Administration, Price Futures, Thomson Locations: China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, U.S, London

☆ Premier urges Chinese tech giants to support economy as crackdown ends
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

After listening to suggestions from firms that also included PDD Holdings' (PDD.O) Pinduoduo and JD.com (9618.HK), Li told them authorities would seek to make regulation of platform firms more transparent and predictable. Shares in some U.S.-listed Chinese firms rallied in premarket trade, with Alibaba Group Holding gaining 2.2% and PDD Holdings rising 2.7%. Still Zhou Hao, economist at Guotai Junan International, said Wednesday's meeting was a "positive signal". "A sound development of the platform economy is very significant to investors too. Prudent development of platform firms is important to investors' long-term valuation," he added.

Persons: Li Qiang, Li, ByteDance's Douyin, Zhou Hao, Ella Cao, Brenda Goh, Ellen Zhang, Ethan Wang, Ryan Woo, Barbara Lewis, Mark Potter Organizations: Wednesday, HK, PDD Holdings, Alibaba, Ant, Reuters, Guotai, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, premarket

Phillip alleged Barclays owed her a duty to ignore her instructions if the bank had reasonable grounds to suspect she was being defrauded. "Where the customer has authorised and instructed the bank to make a payment, the bank must carry out the instruction promptly," he said. "It is not for the bank to concern itself with the wisdom or risks of its customer's payment decisions." James Levy, a partner at law firm Ashurst, said the onus was on customers to ensure payment instructions were bona fide. The Supreme Court, however, allowed Philipp to pursue an alternative case against Barclays on the grounds that the bank breached its duty by failing to take adequate steps to recover the money transferred to the UAE.

Persons: Fiona Philipp, Phillip, George Leggatt, James Levy, Ashurst, Philipp, Sam Tobin, Kirstin Ridley, Louise Heavens, Barbara Lewis, Jane Merriman Organizations: Barclays, Wednesday, Court, United Arab Emirates, Payment Systems, Financial Services, UAE, Thomson Locations: fraudsters, UAE

☆ India hits online gaming industry with 28% tax
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Nikunj Ohri | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

International investors have also been drawn to the industry, with Tiger Global backing Indian gaming startup Dream11, the lead sponsor of India's national cricket team. India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who chairs the goods and services tax (GST) council, comprising state finance ministers, said the decision to tax online gaming was reached after extensive discussion. "The implementation of a 28% tax rate will bring significant challenges to the gaming industry. This higher tax burden will impact companies' cash flows," Aaditya Shah, chief operating officer at the gaming app IndiaPlays, said. Roland Landers, CEO of The All India Gaming Federation, said the decision was "unconstitutional (and) irrational".

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Nirmala Sitharaman, Shah, Roland Landers, Sudipto Ganguly, Aftab Ahmed, Mark Potter, Jane Merriman, Barbara Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Tiger Global, national cricket team, India's, Industry, The, India Gaming Federation, Thomson Locations: DELHI, India

☆ Sibling around-the-world aviators set another youth record
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Alan Baldwin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 11 (Reuters) - Siblings and solo around-the-world aviators Mack and Zara Rutherford set more records on Tuesday as they collected a trophy whose previous winners include Lewis Hamilton and Richard Branson. The British-Belgian duo are the youngest winners of the Royal Automobile Club's Segrave Trophy, first awarded in 1930 and featuring a roll call of aviation pioneers and motorsport greats. Only four women have previously won the Segrave trophy - awarded to British adventurers who show outstanding skill, courage and initiative in travel on land, sea or air - and none as young as Zara. Mack, who beat the record set by 18-year-old Briton Travis Ludlow in 2021, had to land on an uninhabited island after crossing the Pacific Ocean on a trip whose itinerary had to be changed due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Previous winners of the Segrave Trophy include Formula One racing drivers Stirling Moss, Bruce McLaren, Jackie Stewart, Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill as well as Hamilton.

Persons: Mack, Zara Rutherford, Lewis Hamilton, Richard Branson, Zara, Briton Travis Ludlow, Stirling Moss, Bruce McLaren, Jackie Stewart, Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill, Donald Campbell, Amy Johnson, Alan Baldwin, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Royal Automobile, Stanford University, Reuters, Renault, Thomson Locations: The British, Belgian, Sofia, Russia, Alaska, Zara, New York, Iceland, Singapore, Siberia, Ukraine, Hamilton, London, Australia

☆ Icelandic volcano erupts near capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Nora Buli | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Smoke billows and lava spurts after the eruption of a volcano, on the Reykjanes peninsula, near the capital Reykjavik, in southwest Iceland, July 10, 2023, in this picture obtained from social media. Juergen Merz - Glacier Photo Artist/via REUTERSOSLO, July 10 (Reuters) - A volcano has erupted on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwest Iceland, near the capital Reykjavik, following intense earthquake activity in the area, the country's Meteorological Office (IMO) said on Monday. "At the moment, it's a very small eruption," said Matthew Roberts of the service and research division at the IMO. Reykjanes Peninsula is a volcanic and seismic hot-spot southwest of the capital Reykjavik. "This is not a volcanic eruption with any ash.

Persons: Juergen Merz, Matthew Roberts, IMO's Roberts, Nora Buli, Barbara Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, country's Meteorological, Reykjavik's, Keflavik, Thomson Locations: Reykjavik, Iceland, REUTERS OSLO, Reykjanes, Oslo

Exports last year were 94 metric tonnes, up 25% on 2021. Last year's exports totaled 44 metric tonnes in both wrought and unwrought form. As of September 2022 the DLA was storing 14 metric tonnes of germanium metal and 6.9 metric tonnes of scrap. An outright ban could be counter-productive, as China found out when it halted exports of rare earths to Japan in 2010. China has no shortage of pressure points to push, from rare earths to cobalt to lithium and even electric vehicle batteries.

Persons: Germany's, Wei Jianguo, Barbara Lewis Organizations: U.S, Chips, Export, United States Geological Survey, Alliance, Defense Logistics Agency, Teck Resources, Agency, Solutions, Democratic, Gecamines, World Trade Organization, China, Toyota, Honda, Audi, Commerce, China Daily, Reuters, Thomson Locations: U.S, China, United States, Teck, NYR.BR, Clarksville, Tennessee, New York, Australia, Europe, Democratic Republic of Congo's, Russia, Japan, Beijing, West

A jump in the number of people working part-time for economic reasons also suggested a weaker labor market, but the pace of job growth remains strong and with inflation still double the Fed's target rate, a rate hike this month is likely. "The Fed is being hawkish and that prevents the dollar from depreciating too much. After the jobs data, futures pointed to an 88.8% probability that the Fed hikes in three weeks. Adding a tailwind to the rally in the yen was some position-squaring among speculators, who have built up sizeable bearish positions, Hardman said. The Australian dollar rose 0.8% to $0.6681, but it is still battered by weak Chinese economic data and broad risk aversion.

Persons: Joe Manimbo, We're, Thierry Wizman, They've, Lee Hardman, Hardman, YEN, Herbert Lash, Amanda Cooper, Rae Wee, Sam Holmes, Mark Potter, Barbara Lewis, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Federal Reserves, Labor Department, Treasury, ECB, Strong U.S, Bank of Japan, Thomson Locations: U.S, Japan, New York, London, Singapore

The STOXX 600 (.STOXX) rose 0.1% by 1615 GMT, turning positive midway through the session after data showed the U.S. economy added the fewest jobs in 2-1/2 years in June. However, persistently strong U.S. wage growth pointed to still tight labour market conditions that cemented bets the Fed will resume raising interest rates, later this month. Traders stuck to bets the Fed will raise its benchmark interest rate this month to a 5.25%-5.5% range, but were sceptical of further hikes beyond that. The STOXX 600 fell 3.1% for the week, its worst performance since mid-March. Comments from European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde will be monitored later in the day.

Persons: Candice Tse, Christine Lagarde, Matteo Allievi, Shubham Batra, Shreyashi Sanyal, Ankika Biswas, Janane Venkatraman, Shinjini Ganguli, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Federal, Traders, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Reuters, Coca Cola HBC AG, European Central Bank, Thomson Locations: U.S, China, Gdansk, Bangalore

HONG KONG, July 7 (Reuters) - Alibaba Group Holdings (9988.HK) and Huawei Technologies Co on Friday showcased new products, including an artificial intelligence (AI) image generator and an AI model upgrade, as Chinese companies jostle for position in the global AI race. Alibaba Cloud, an Alibaba subsidiary, presented at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai an image generator named Tongyi Wanxiang that will initially be available to enterprise customers in beta form. Also on Friday, Huawei demonstrated the third iteration of its Panggu AI model at the start of its three-day annual developer conference in Dongguan. Alibaba's image generator will compete with OpenAI's DALL-E and Midjourney Inc's Midjourney, U.S.-based rivals that have gained a large following worldwide. Alibaba Cloud emerged from a massive overhaul announced in March that split the Chinese tech major into six units.

Persons: OpenAI, OpenAI's DALL, Inc's Midjourney, Alibaba, Josh Ye, Edmund Klamann, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Alibaba Group Holdings, HK, Huawei Technologies, Artificial Intelligence, Huawei, McKinsey, Alibaba, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Shanghai, Dongguan, U.S, Shenzhen

But OPEC ministers and executives from oil companies told a two-day conference in Vienna governments needed to turn their attention from supply to demand. But record profits from oil and gas last year and relatively low returns from renewable energy prompted some investors to demand companies renew their focus on oil and gas to raise profits. DEMAND HITS RECORDMeanwhile, oil demand has reached new peaks of above 102 million barrels per day this year, recovering from a dip during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is expected to rise further, driven by strong demand from Asia and for petrochemical production, oil executives and analysts said. The oil industry has long said lower investment in oil and gas in the absence of a reduction in oil demand will only lead to higher prices.

Persons: Bernard Looney, Wael Sawan, Abu, Sultan al Jaber, Patrick Pouyanne, Jean Paul Prates, Prates, Amin Nasser, Dmitry Zhdannikov, Barbara Lewis Organizations: BP, of, Petroleum, Reuters, Bloomberg, Wall Street, Companies, Shell, BBC, Investments, Rystad Energy, Petrobras, PETR4, Saudi Aramco, Thomson Locations: Vienna, VIENNA, Ukraine, Asia, Abu Dhabi

☆ Uber rival Bolt names new CFO in preparation for IPO
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

STOCKHOLM, July 6 (Reuters) - Estonian ride-hailing and food delivery startup Bolt named Mikko Salovaara as its chief financial officer ahead of the company's preparation for an initial public offering. The company, a rival of Uber (UBER.N), was valued at over $8 billion when it raised 628 million euros from investors in January last year. Chief Executive Officer Markus Villig told Reuters in May that Bolt expects to become profitable in the next 12 months and be ready for an IPO in 2025. Salovaara, who will join the company later this month, was earlier the CFO of fintech firm Revolut. Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; editing by Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Mikko Salovaara, Uber, Markus Villig, Bolt, Supantha Mukherjee, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: STOCKHOLM, Salovaara, Stockholm

☆ China's rare earths dominance in focus after it limits germanium and gallium exports
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Mai Nguyen | Thomson Reuters | Mai Reports On The Nonferrous Metals Markets In Asia. She Writes About Daily Price Movers | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Exports: Chinese exports of rare earths have declined. Beijing then curbed global exports of rare earths, saying it was trying to curtail pollution and preserve resources. The chemical properties of rare earths make them difficult to separate from surrounding materials, and processing generates toxic waste. Western countries have ramped up support to boost domestic production of critical minerals including rare earths. Electric vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA.O) is moving away from rare earths in future models to mitigate environmental and supply risks, as the rare earth industry struggles to meet demand.

Persons: Lynas, Mai Nguyen, Melanie Burton, Dominique Patton, Tony Munroe, Barbara Lewis Organizations: United States Geological Survey, Adamas Intelligence, United, RARE, European Union, World Trade Organization, Thomson Locations: China, Japan, Beijing, CHINA, United States, Australia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Russia, Brazil, India, Canada, Las Vegas, California, Hanoi, Melbourne

It also defies protests from a minority of activist investors who want oil companies to be more closely aligned with global efforts to mitigate climate change. An oil and gas price rally driven by energy producer Russia's invasion of Ukraine translated into record profits for the energy majors. That has increased confidence in the most costly, high-risk offshore exploration that can also deliver the highest rewards. Wood Mackenzie analysts predict a continued increase in activity, forecasting offshore exploration and drilling activity to grow by 20% by 2025. Wood Mackenzie meanwhile predicts the commitment of up to $185 billion to develop 27 billion barrels of oil reserves, with international oil companies focused on the higher-cost, higher-return deepwater developments.

Persons: Olivier Le Peuch, Baker Hughes, Wood Mackenzie, Leslie Cook, TotalEnergies, Yujnovich, QatarEnergy, Shell, Graff, La Rona, Ron Bousso, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Shell, BP, SLB, Reuters, International Energy Agency, Barclays, West Africa –, Nambia's Petroleum, Thomson Locations: Namibia, Ukraine, Gulf of Mexico, South America, West Africa, NAMIBIA, Canada

LONDON, June 30 (Reuters) - Shell's (SHEL.L) head of renewable generation Thomas Brostrom is leaving the company, a spokesperson said on Friday, weeks after CEO Wael Sawan scaled back the company's energy transition plans. "Thomas Brostrøm has elected to leave Shell to pursue an external opportunity," the company said. He will be succeeded by Greg Joiner, currently VP Shell Energy Australia. Sawan also introduced a new structure to the company's top leadership that eliminated Brostrom's role and split it into regions. Reporting by Ron Bousso; Editing by Susan Fenton and Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Thomas Brostrom, Wael Sawan, Thomas Brostrøm, Shell, Greg Joiner, Brostrom, Sawan, Ron Bousso, Susan Fenton, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Shell Energy Australia, Shell, Thomson

☆ Rembrandts of 'extraordinary rarity' could fetch $10 million at auction
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 30 (Reuters) - Two rediscovered Rembrandts, the last known pair of portraits by the Dutch master to have remained in private hands, could fetch around $10 million at auction next week. Signed and dated 1635, the depictions of married couple Jan Willemsz van der Pluym and Jaapgen Carels, who were close to the artist's family, have a price estimate of 5 million - 8 million pounds ($6.35 million - $10.16 million). "They are things of extraordinary rarity,” he said, adding the Amsterdam-based Rijksmuseum had analysed them. The portraits are among the highlights of Christie's July 6 "Old Masters Part I Sale", part of the auction house's Classic Week. Also on offer is a panel by Greek-born Spanish Renaissance painter El Greco, "The Entombment of Christ" (6 million - 8 million pounds) and a bust of Helen of Troy by neoclassical sculptor Antonio Canova (2.5 million - 4 million pounds).

Persons: Jan Willemsz van der, Jaapgen Carels, “, they’ve, Henry Pettifer, ”, El Greco, Helen of Troy, Antonio Canova, Fra Angelico, Saint John the, Magdalen, Queen Charlotte, King George III's, Marie, Louise Gumuchian, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Christie’s, International, Reuters, Virgin, Saint John the Baptist, Thomson Locations: Amsterdam, Spanish, Bayreuth

☆ Oil ticks down on interest rate hike fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Arathy Somasekhar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Summary Rate hike expectations boost fears of slow economic growthWeak economic data in China weighs on sentimentHOUSTON, June 29 (Reuters) - Oil prices edged lower on Thursday, as fears that rising interest rates could dent global economic growth and crude demand offset a bigger-than-expected fall in U.S. inventories. Brent crude futures fell 38 cents, or 0.5%, to $73.66 a barrel by 1127 a.m. Investors were concerned about rising interest rates and economic growth after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated that he expects the moderate pace of interest rate decisions to continue in the coming months. "Crude traders remain torn between rising interest rates with fears of a global recession against elevated travel demand and shrinking crude supplies," said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial. "The lack of prospects for fuel demand growth has limited the gain in oil prices, even with supply curbs by oil producers," said Tetsu Emori, CEO of Emori Fund Management Inc.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Dennis Kissler, Christine Lagarde, Tetsu Emori, Ahmad Ghaddar, Yuka Obayashi, Jason Neely, David Evans, Barbara Lewis, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Brent, . West Texas, U.S . Energy Information Administration, Investors, Federal Reserve, BOK Financial, European Central Bank, Emori Fund Management Inc, Thomson Locations: China, HOUSTON, European, Saudi Arabia, OPEC, London

Several consumer industry trade bodies - whose members use aspartame - on Thursday rejected the IARC’s assessment. Shoppers can find aspartame in Weight Watchers yoghurts, some Snapple drinks and Conagra’s Mrs. Butterworth’s syrups. “Aspartame has been in use as an intense sweetener for more than 30 years in the UK. In 2014 General Mills (GIS.N) swapped the aspartame in Yoplait Light for the sweetener widely known as Splenda. Sweeteners have varying levels of sweetness and price, and are different chemical compounds, making it difficult to simply swap ingredients.

Persons: Health Organization's, Garrett Nelson, Butterworth’s, ” Nelson, ” Tom Sanders, Mills, Richa Naidu, Savyata Mishra, Jessica DiNapoli, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Reuters, International Agency for Research, Cancer, Health, Joint WHO, Food, Agriculture Organization's, CFRA Research, Shoppers, Nutrition, King’s College London, PepsiCo, Thomson

☆ Microsoft president goes to Europe to shape AI regulation debate
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Together with Twitter-owner and Tesla (TSLA.O) CEO Elon Musk, Smith has sought to court regulators and lawmakers with calls for regulating AI, a technology that has drawn massive public interest with the arrival of Microsoft-backed OpenAI's ChatGPT. Big Tech has shared suggestions on how best to regulate AI, which could help to blunt some of the impact of such rules on their business. "Our intention is to offer constructive contributions to help inform the work ahead," Smith said in a blogpost. He said Microsoft's five-point blueprint for governing AI, which includes government-led AI safety frameworks, safety brakes for AI systems that control critical infrastructure and ensuring academic access to AI aligns with the EU's proposed legislation. Smith also urged the EU, the United States, G7 countries, India and Indonesia to work together on AI governance in line with their shared values and principles.

Persons: Brad Smith, Elon Musk, Smith, Foo Yun Chee, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Microsoft, Twitter, Big Tech, European, EU, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, U.S, Brussels, Washington, United States, India, Indonesia

☆ Young at heart: England's Royal Shakespeare Company redefines age
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Sarah Mills | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

STRATFORD, England, June 29 (Reuters) - Celebrated British actor Geraldine James thought it was a joke when she was asked to take the lead in the Royal Shakespeare Company's latest production of "As You Like It", a comedy of young love. Playing at the Royal Shakespeare Company's home in Stratford, central England, until Aug. 5, the production is in step with a trend for experimental casting - last year Britain's Ian McKellan, now 84, played the student prince Hamlet. She brings her craft "to a role and words that in more kind of traditional casting, we wouldn't be able to hear". Her one criticism of Britain's greatest playwright is that his best female roles, such as Rosalind, are young. Reporting by Sarah Mills; writing by Barbara Lewis, Editing by William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Geraldine James, Shakespeare, Omar Elerian, James, Ian McKellan, Richard Attenborough’s, Rosalind, Elerian, Lear, Prospero, Sarah Mills, Barbara Lewis, William Maclean Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: STRATFORD, England, British, Italian, Stratford ,

Commercial inventories of crude oil and refined products in the OECD advanced economies were around 2,842 million barrels at the end of May, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). While the real price was a little low, it was not obviously mispriced or significantly below the long-term median price of $81. The spread was slightly high, but again not obviously mispriced, or significantly above the long-term median of a backwardation of 98 cents. Chartbook: Global oil stocks and pricesThere are no comprehensive estimates for OECD inventories in June as yet. Related columns:- Frustrated oil bulls made to wait for price recovery (June 22, 2023)- Saudi Arabia’s 'lollipop' has yet to sweeten oil prices (June 6, 2023)John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst.

Persons: Brent, John Kemp, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Global, OECD, U.S . Energy Information Administration, ⁺, Thomson, Reuters Locations: United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Venezuela, Iran, North America, Europe, China, Saudi

☆ Exclusive: NielsenIQ's GfK deal set for conditional EU antitrust approval
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, June 28 (Reuters) - Advent-owned NielsenIQ is set to secure EU antitrust clearance for its proposed acquisition of German market research firm GfK on the condition GfK sells its consumer panel business, people familiar with the matter said. U.S. consumer market research company NielsenIQ, which is present in more than 90 markets covering more than 90% of the world's population, announced the deal a year ago. GfK's consumer panel business covers 122,500 households and 1,800 retailers, with its data showing patterns, trends and predictions. The European Commission, which is scheduled to complete its preliminary review of the deal by July 4, declined to comment. The list includes French peer Ipsos, the UK's Kantar, YouGov, Dynata, Circana, Omnicon Group, Publicis Group, Cision and private equity firms such as H.I.G.

Persons: Ipsos, Foo Yun Chee, Jan Harvey, Barbara Lewis Organizations: European Commission, EU, Omnicon, Publicis, Equity, Bregal, Oakley, Symphony Technology, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, TowerBrook, Equistone

☆ BlackRock says AI 'mega-force' to buck tough macro trend
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 28 (Reuters) - Shares of AI-focused companies will be a major driver of returns for developed markets in a tough economic environment, BlackRock Investment Institute said, citing an unusually concentrated rally in a handful of technology stocks. "We think this unusual equity market shows a mega force like AI can be a big driver of returns even when the macro environment is not your friend," BlackRock Investment Institute's team wrote in a mid-year outlook note. The institute, an arm of the world's biggest asset manager, has an over-weight allocation for AI-related shares in developed markets. "We think this is an environment that is going to persist," Jean Bovin, Head of the BlackRock Investment Institute told reporters on Wednesday. BlackRock said it expects central banks in developed economies to keep rates steady at a high level regardless of possible episodes of financial instability.

Persons: Jean Bovin, BlackRock, Susan Mathew, Davide Barbuscia, Sinead Carew, Anil D'Silva, Barbara Lewis Organizations: BlackRock Investment Institute, Investment, Thomson Locations: BlackRock, Japan, Bengaluru, New York

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