BP suspends share buybacks to reduce debt, sending shares down 7%
On Tuesday, BP suspended its share buybacks. It also took charges of about $4 billion on its renewables assets and biogas assets. This sent its shares down by 7% during afternoon trading. The oil major said that it will shift money from its buybacks into shrinking debt and refocusing investment in oil and natural gas projects, where it expects higher returns. Analysts at Berenberg were not surprised that buybacks have been removed, but they said the market viewed it negatively, along with BP's decision to drop its pledge to pay between 30% and 40% of operating cash flow as dividends and stock buybacks.
Take Five: Near or far, wherever the markets are
A few traders may have a little downtime this week due to the outcome of Japan's snap elections, key U.S. economic data, earnings season and a decline in some tech stocks. Rae Wee, Lewis Krauskopf and Lucy Raitano from London, Karin Strohecker and Tommy Wilkes in New York, and Rae Wee, in Singapore, will tell you everything about the financial markets. The coalition of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi won a historic election over the weekend. This will pave the way for tax cuts and increased military spending to counter China. Investors responded by sending Japanese shares to record highs on Monday, while super-long bond prices reversed the early weakness.
Take Five: Near or far, wherever the markets are
The upcoming week will be dominated by the Japan snap election, key U.S. economic data, earnings season and a decline in some tech stocks. Rae Wee, Lewis Krauskopf, Karin Strohecker and Lucy Raitano from London, and Rae Wee, in Singapore, will tell you everything you need to know about the financial markets. On Sunday, Japan will vote and Prime Minister Sanae Taichi hopes that 'the nation of over 120 millions people' will give her a strong mandate so she can deliver on the promises of increased spending. The election for the lower house is one of most unpredictable in recent years. Polls indicate that Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party will gain a majority.
China may require asset sales in the Rio Tinto-Glencore merge to win them over
Rio Tinto and Glencore's proposed merger could require asset sales in order to gain regulatory approval from China, the world's largest commodity buyer. China has long-standing concerns over market concentration and resource security. Last week, the two mining giants announced that they are in early merger discussions for the second time within the last 'two' years. This could create the world’s largest mining company worth more than $200 billion. Analysts and lawyers say that the size of their sales in China will require approval from Beijing as has been done with past mining mega-deals, such as Glencore’s purchase of Xstrata for $35 billion back in 2013.
China may require asset sales in the Rio Tinto-Glencore merge to win them over
The proposed tie-up of Rio?Tinto with Glencore may require asset sales in order to gain regulatory approval from China, the world's largest commodity buyer. China has long-standing concerns over resource security and market consolidation. Last week, the 'two mining giants' revealed that they are in early merger talks for the second year in a row. This could create the world’s largest mining company worth more than $200 billion. Analysts and lawyers say that the size of their sales in China will require approval from Beijing as has been done with past mining mega-deals, such as Glencore’s purchase of Xstrata for $35 billion back in 2013.
Oil Prices Surge Ahead of Possible Iranian Supply Disruptions
Oil prices surged by about 3% on Tuesday as the prospect of disruptions to Iranian crude exports overshadowed possible increased supply from Venezuela.Brent futures LCOc1 jumped $1.88, or 2.9%, to $65.75 a barrel by 11:07 a.m. EST (1607 GMT), hovering around a three-month high. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 climbed $1.79, or about 3%, to $61.29."The oil market is building in some price protection against geopolitical drivers," said PVM Oil Associates analyst John Evans, highlighting the potential exclusion of Iran's exports, trouble around Venezuela…
Venezuelan oil will boost US refiners but hurt Canadian producers
Refiners in the United States would be able to absorb most of the approximately 1 million barrels of crude oil per day if U.S. Sanctions on Venezuela are lifted. According to a report on Tuesday, the U.S. has been in talks with Venezuela about exporting crude oil from the South American country to the United States. Sources say that U.S. oil executives will visit the White House Thursday to discuss Venezuela. The increase in Venezuelan oil exports may hurt Canadian firms that sell similar heavy oils, as well as small Chinese refiners who would be forced to pay higher prices if Venezuelan crude was diverted to the United States. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, wants U.S.
Venezuelan oil will boost US refiners but hurt Canadian producers
Refiners in the United States would be able to absorb the majority of the approximately 1 million barrels of crude oil per day that would be traded freely if the sanctions were lifted. The sanctions against the South American nation are lifted. Canadian oil companies, who sell heavy crude similar to that of Venezuela, and small Chinese refiners would suffer higher costs, if Venezuelan crude was diverted to the U.S. The U.S. president Donald Trump is asking for billions of dollars in order to rebuild Venezuela's oil sector, which has been neglected and is producing far below its potential due to decades of mismanagement. Rump said that the U.S.
Oil Prices Fall to Lowest Since May Ahead of Possible Russia-Ukraine Peace Deal
Oil prices fell below $60 a barrel on Tuesday, the lowest since May, as prospects for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal appeared to strengthen, raising expectations sanctions could be eased.Brent crude futures fell $1.03, or around 1.7%, to $59.53 a barrel at 1340 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was trading at $55.76, down $1.06, or 1.9%."Brent has dropped this morning to below $60 per barrel for the first time in months, as the market assesses a potential peace deal resulting in additional Russian volumes becoming available and oversupplying the market further," said Rystad analyst Janiv Shah.The U.S.
Miners benefit from financials that drag down the UK's FTSE100
The UK's FTSE 100 dipped on Wednesday, as financials shares declined. This was offset by gains in energy and mining stocks ahead of next week's U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate decision. The blue-chip FTSE 100 as well as the midcap FTSE 250 both fell 0.2% at 11:05 GMT. This is on course to be the third consecutive session of declines. After a session of gains, heavyweight bank shares fell by almost 1%. The British financial regulator announced that it would lift the suspension on motor finance complaints by May 31, 2026. This is two months earlier than originally proposed. It will also finalise a compensation plan for those affected by a misselling scandal.
UK stock markets set to suffer sharp losses this week as Fed, tech concerns impact the market
London's major stock indexes fell on Friday and headed for weekly losses as fears over tech valuations, the Federal Reserve's hawkish position, and signs of possible progress towards peace in Ukraine rattled global markets. Defence shares also dropped amid signs that could lead to a breakthrough. The blue-chip FTSE 100 fell 0.4% at 1222 GMT, erasing the short recovery of Thursday, while the midcap FTSE 250 index declined 0.6% and was on track to extend its loss streak to an eight consecutive session. The rally that began on Thursday after Nvidia released its upbeat chip forecast was short-lived. Worries about a possible AI bubble returned and the mixed U.S.
RWE Reports Near 15-Year High Boosted by Data Center Sale
RWE, Germany's largest power producer, reported higher-than-expected profit for the first nine months of the year, boosted by a 225 million euro ($262 million) book gain on the sale of a data centre project to a large unnamed cloud service provider.Shares in RWE, which is also the world's second-biggest developer of offshore wind projects, rose as much as 7% to their highest level since March 2011. They were last trading 6.7% up.The sale of the facility, located on the site of a former coal-fired power plant in Britain, could herald similar deals…
UK stock prices set to drop by a week's end as earnings-driven losses weigh
UK stocks fell on Friday with IAG as the main drag. They were also set to record losses for a week that was packed with earnings, as well as a Bank of England rate decision. As of 1125 GMT the blue-chip FTSE 100 fell 0.8%, while midcaps lost 0.5%. IAG, the British Airways-owned company that owns travel and leisure stocks, fell 8.4%. Rightmove, Britain's largest property portal, warned that profit growth would be slower next year. The real estate industry as a whole lost 1.20%. Heavyweight banks shed 0.7%. HSBC, Barclays and other heavyweight banks fell by about 1%.
Analysts are looking at 2026 as a timeframe for predicting the growth of oil earnings.
Big Oil's third-quarter results may be boosted by marginally higher oil and refining prices, as well as stronger results in the refinery sector. However, some analysts are more concerned with how the global oil majors will set the stage for the year 2026 when they report their results next week. According to LSEG's analyst estimates, Shell, the British oil giant, and TotalEnergies, the French major, will begin their earnings season on Friday. Both companies are expected to announce 18% and 11 % increases in adjusted net profit, respectively, compared to the second quarter. However, both figures are lower than a year earlier.
Analysts are looking at 2026 as a timeframe for a rise in Big Oil earnings
Big Oil's third-quarter results may be boosted by marginally higher oil and refining prices, as well as stronger results in the refinery sector. However, some analysts are more concerned with how the global oil majors will set the stage for the year 2026 when they report their results next week. According to LSEG's analyst estimates, Shell, the British oil giant, and TotalEnergies, the French major, will begin earnings season on a Thursday. Both companies are expected to announce 18% and 11 % increases in their adjusted net income compared to last quarter, though they are both down from a full year ago.
S&P 500 and Nasdaq close higher as Fed worries are outweighed by tech strength
The technology sector helped U.S. stock prices close higher on Wednesday, as investors, unable to access economic data due to the shutdown of the federal government, turned to the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting to get a sense of the outlook for rate cuts until year-end. Nasdaq, the tech-heavy market, was in front. Its gains were largely due to megacaps related to artificial intelligence that have led this year's market gains. S&P 500 & Nasdaq closed at new highs. The report by the Mortgage Bankers Association shows that home loan demand dropped 4.7% despite the recent easing of interest rates. Bill Merz is the head of Capital Market Research for U.S.
Five Point-backed WaterBridge raises 634 million dollars in US IPO
WaterBridge Infrastructure, a company that manages oilfield water, announced on September 16th that it raised $634 Million in its initial public offering (IPO) in the United States. This is the latest indication of renewed momentum within the listing market. Houston-based company, Texas, sold 31.7 millions shares at $20 each, the upper end of their marketed range from $17 to $20.00 per share. It was valued at $2.3 billion in the IPO. WaterBridge is the latest in a string of IPOs. StubHub ticket reseller, Netskope cybersecurity firm, and Pattern e-commerce company are also slated to go public this week. This highlights renewed investor interest for new offerings. The U.S.
Stocks mostly fall after Friday's gains; US Dollar edges higher
After a strong performance on Friday, major stock indexes largely declined on Monday. The dollar has stabilized, and a rate cut in September is likely but not guaranteed. Powell's comments at Jackson Hole caused the market to fall last week. U.S. Treasury Yields rose on Monday. Barclays BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and other major brokerages now expect the Fed to cut rates by 25 basis points in September. Fed funds futures are pricing 84% odds that a rate cut will occur in September, according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool. On Friday, there was much excitement about Powell essentially indicating that a rate reduction would be likely.
WaterBridge, backed by Five Points, files for US IPO in a hot listings market
WaterBridge Infrastructure, a midstream water management firm, filed for an initial public offering in the United States on Friday. This highlights the growing momentum of new listings. In recent days, a number of corporate issuers joined the IPO pipeline. This could lead to a September launch. Positive IPO sentiment is also expected to be supported by firmer bets on potential rate cuts in the near future. Josef Schuster, CEO of IPOX, said that lower U.S. interest rates and a proliferating rally in U.S. mid- and small-cap stocks could add fuel towards the end of the year.
Cox, a Spanish company, prepares a multi-billion dollar investment plan focusing on Mexico
Nacho Moreno, CEO of Spanish energy company Cox, said that the new strategic plan will be focused on Mexico where Cox plans to invest more than $10 billion by 2030 in renewable energy and water. Moreno stated that this figure includes Cox's acquisition of Iberdrola assets in the country for $4.2 billion, a deal which was "transformative" and allowed Cox already to reach the targets set by the company for 2028. The new plan will be unveiled on September 25, according to the schedule. Iberdrola's deal included 15 power stations with a combined capacity of 2.6 gigawatts and an pipeline of 11.8 GW of renewable projects.