(Bloomberg) -- Oil rallied as stronger consumption continued to push physical markets higher, even as many countries struggle to bring the coronavirus under control.Futures in New York traded above $40 a barrel on Friday and are up about 11% this week. Oil traders Vitol Group and Trafigura Group and exporter Saudi Aramco all talked up the strength of the demand recovery in recent days, and prices for some of the world’s major oil products have begun to roar higher.Gasoline futures in the U.S. moved into backwardation for the first time in three months on Thursday, a bullish signal indicating supplies are tightening as the summer driving season gets under way. Meanwhile, swaps in the North Sea market that prices much of the world’s crude jumped on Thursday as traders posted several bids for cargoes but only one willing seller emerged.Though the outlook for crude has brightened in recent days, a potential...
(Bloomberg) -- Global stocks rose with U.S. equity futures on Friday as investors cheered the latest breakthrough in trade negotiations between America and China and stimulus talks in Europe. Treasuries slipped.The Stoxx 600 Index climbed as attention turned to Friday’s negotiations over the European Union’s proposed 750 billion-euro ($840 billion) program to help economies rebound from lockdowns. Wirecard AG shares bucked the trend, continuing their free-fall as the German payments company faced a potential cash crunch. Contracts on the three main U.S. stock gauges advanced after China said it plans to accelerate purchases of American farm goods to comply with the phase one trade deal following talks in Hawaii. After a brief swoon, equity markets are back to rallying as investors bet that governments will be able to put their economies back on track with enough stimulus at their disposal. The Stoxx 600 is up 3% since Monday and has clawed...
After the pandemic brought to a halt its earlier efforts, Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE: MPC) has been in negotiations for the sale of its Speedway gas-station unit.What Happened Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc (OTC: ANCUF), a Canadian company, is said to be a possible buyer of the gas-station unit, reported the Wall Street Journal. There is no clarity on the valuation of Speedway, but last fall it was estimated to be worth between $15 billion and $18 billion by Marathon.No concrete time-frame for a deal has yet emerged, and Marathon may spin off the gas-station business instead of selling it.Why It Matters According to the WSJ, Marathon had planned to separate Speedway from itself due to pressure from activist investors such as Elliott Management Corp.Talks for the sale of Speedway were held with the parent of 7-11 convenience stores, the Japanese Seven & i Holdings Co. Ltd. (OTC: SVNDY), but sale efforts had...
(Bloomberg) -- Stocks rose with U.S. equity futures on Friday as investors shrugged off fears over a second wave of coronavirus infections that had spurred caution earlier in the week. Treasuries held their gains, while the dollar slipped.The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed, led by banks and travel companies, as attention turned to Friday’s negotiations over the European Union’s proposed 750 billion-euro ($840 billion) program to help economies rebound from the Covid-19 lockdown. Contracts on the three main American stock gauges extended gains after China said it plans to accelerate purchases of American farm goods to comply with the phase one trade deal.Still, with investors weighing a resurgence of cases, and a welter of options set to expire later Friday, investors are bracing for potential bouts of volatility. The quarterly event know as quadruple witching usually coincides with a re-balancing of major indexes and can spark some of the busiest trading...
(Bloomberg) -- Wirecard AG shares continued their free-fall after the two Asian banks that were supposed to be holding 1.9 billion euros ($2.1 billion) of missing cash denied any business relationship with the German payments company.Wirecard now faces a potential cash crunch. The company warned Thursday that loans up to 2 billion euros could be terminated if its audited annual report was not published on Friday. Analysts at Morgan Stanley estimated that Wirecard has available cash of around 220 million euros, if it cannot locate the missing $2.1 billion.BDO Unibank Inc., the Philippines’ largest bank by assets, and the Bank of the Philippine Islands said in separate statements on Friday that Wirecard isn’t a client.“It was a rogue employee who falsified documents and forged the signatures of our officers,” BDO Unibank Chief Executive Officer Nestor Tan said in a mobile phone message. “Wirecard is not even a depositor -- we have...
