French and Benelux stocks - Factors to watch in November
Here are some company news and stories that could impact the markets in France and Benelux or even individual stocks. The Delen family and Belgian holding company extended their historic shareholder agreements by 25 years. French cybersecurity company CD&R said that Permira and CD&R had received all the regulatory clearances needed for the proposed acquisition of the majority stake in the firm. French semiconductor materials provider reported a 16 percent drop in sales for the first half of the year, citing lower volume due to high inventories throughout the smartphone value-chain and a softening automotive market.
Viaro CEO accused of forging documents in UK lawsuit to steal millions
Former employer of the CEO of an independent British Oil Producer who is purchasing North Sea assets from Shell and Exxon Mobil, is suing him for allegedly falsifying documents in order to steal substantial amounts. Court documents show that Viaro Energy's CEO Francesco Mazzagatti has been accused of involvement in the misappropriation at least of 143.8 million euro ($151.5 millions) by Singapore-based Alliance Petrochemical Investment. The suit, first reported in the Financial Times, was filed by London's High Court at the end of August. Mazzagatti denies all allegations.
Financial Times - Nov. 12
These are the most popular stories from the Financial Times. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports. Companies will admit that the UK made a legal mistake in issuing oil and gas licenses. Shell, Ithaca, and Equinor, a Norwegian oil company, are all set to admit that the UK government committed a mistake by granting them licenses for two new major offshore developments. This is the beginning of an important case for future fossil-fuel projects. Ken Griffin's Citadel hedge fund has hired Nabeel Bhanji…
ND Governor Burgum on Trump's Energy Shortlist
President-elect Donald Trump is considering North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum to be his new "energy tsar", the Financial Times reported on Friday.Burgum is Trump's preferred candidate for the role, the newspaper reported citing people familiar with the discussions, adding that former energy secretary Dan Brouillette is also a contender.The new energy tsar role and its powers are not yet finalized, the FT reported.
Drone crashes into oil depot in Russia’s Stavropol Region
Vladimir Vladimirov, the local governor of Stavropol in southern Russia, said that a drone had crashed on an oil storage depot. This was the second suspected Ukrainian strike in a row on Russian energy and fuel targets. It followed a period of seven weeks after a fuel station in Tula, Russia was attacked on September 10. Vladimirov, on Telegram, said that there were no injuries in the incident at Svetlograd Oil Depot. Baza Telegram, a channel close to Russia's Security Services, has posted a CCTV footage purportingly showing the attack at the oil depot. The video showed at least one fuel tank being quickly engulfed in a fireball.
Financial Times - Oct 16
These are the most popular stories from the Financial Times. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports. BBC, the British broadcaster, has announced plans for 155 job cuts across its news operations. This is part of a larger cost-cutting plan worth 700 million pounds (915 million dollars). Woodside Energy, an Australian oil and natural gas company, announced on Wednesday that it will delist next month from the London Stock Exchange in order to cut down the administration costs of the business.
TSX reaches record high in anticipation of a larger US rate reduction
Canada's main index of stocks hit another record on Friday, in a rally that was led by mining companies. Investors reacted to the overnight surge in expectations for a large U.S. rate cut next Monday. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX Composite index rose 143.04 or 0.61% to 23,618.73, and was on track to extend its record-breaking run. As the market anticipated a larger rate cut from the Federal Reserve during its policy meeting on September 18, at least 11 sectors in the index saw gains. Materials led the sectoral gains, as gold prices hit record highs on anticipations of U.S. rate cuts. First Majestic Silver Corp. topped the index. , Alamos Gold Inc?
Financial Times - Sept 4
These are the most popular stories from the Financial Times. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch their accuracy. After warning of a new "era of austerity", the Scottish finance secretary announced a 500 million pound ($655.40) cut in spending to relieve "enormous" pressure on the budgets of the devolved authorities. TotalEnergies, the French oil and gas company, has signed a deal with the green energy division of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani's conglomerate to invest $444m in a portfolio of joint solar power projects.
Alphabet Winds Down Makani
Alphabet, Google's parent company, announced that it is calling it quits on its efforts to build and monetize its Makani wind energy kites.Google acquired Makani, which developed airborne wind turbines and aimed to make wind energy more accessible and affordable, in 2013. Last year, the company spun it out of X and made it a standalone Alphabet unit.Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai has reportedly been under pressure to cut losses from the company's 'Other Bets' category, which includes projects such as X, self-driving car service Waymo and wireless broadband project Loon.
Bullet Dodged? Markets Bet on Global Economy
World shares climbed back towards record highs and safe-haven bonds tumbled on Tuesday, as hopes that Washington may roll back some of the tariffs it has imposed on Chinese imports rekindled optimism about the global economic outlook.A year-end rally looked to be building. Wall Street's main markets were expected to add to their 20% gains and best year since 2013. MSCI's 49-country world index was just 1.4% shy its early 2018 peak.Europe had galloped to a 21-month high on Monday before retreating on Tuesday. Asia had raced to its highest since May.
Ophir Agrees to be Bought by Medco
London-listed Ophir Energy Plc said on Wednesday it agreed to be bought by Indonesian oil and gas group Medco for a sweetened cash bid of 408.4 million pounds ($539 million) after previously agreeing to a lower offer.Under the terms, Ophir shareholders will receive 57.5 pence per share in cash, the companies said in a joint statement. That is up from the previously agreed 55 pence per share.The increased offer comes after the Financial Times reported that hedge fund Petrus Advisers, which owns 3.94 percent of Ophir, planned to vote against…
GasLog: LNG Demand Grew 9% in 2018
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is expected to have increased by 9%, from 288 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) in 2017 to 313 mtpa in 2018, said GasLog.The Monaco-based owner, operator and manager of LNG carriers said in a stock exchange announcement that China’s LNG imports increased by approximately 16 mtpa, or 41%, to 54 mtpa in 2018, driven mainly by continued coal-to-gas switching in the industrial, commercial and residential sectors.South Korea, Pakistan, Thailand and Mexico also experienced strong growth in LNG imports during 2018. The outlook remains robust…
Woodside Raises Dividend
Australia's Woodside Petroleum Ltd surprised investors with a fat dividend on Thursday after reporting a 36-percent percent rise in annual profit, underpinned by stronger oil prices.The higher-than-expected payout came after shareholders stumped up $2.5 billion to buy new shares a year ago at a time when Australia's biggest independent oil and gas producer expected oil prices to average $65 a barrel.By the end of the year it was flush with cash as oil prices had averaged $71 and the Wheatstone liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, run by Chevron Corp and partly owned by Woodside…
Oil Rises After Saudi Pledge, Declining U.S. Inventories
Oil prices rose on Wednesday after top exporter Saudi Arabia said it would cut crude exports and deliver an even deeper cut to its production, and after an industry group reported a surprise decline in U.S. oil inventories.Brent crude, the global benchmark, was up $1.07, or 1.7 percent, at $63.49 a barrel at 9:55 a.m. EST (14:55 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were up 91 cents, or 1.7 percent, at $54.01."The feel-good factor is back in play but oil bulls are by no means out of the woods yet," PVM Oil Associates Stephen Brennock…
Oil Up On Saudi and OPEC Cuts
Oil prices gained nearly 3 percent on Tuesday, supported by OPEC-led production cuts, which Saudi Arabia said it would surpass by more than half a million barrels per day (bpd), and by U.S. sanctions against Iran and Venezuela.Brent crude futures were up $1.65, or 2.7 percent, at $63.16 a barrel by 1445 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures also gained 2.7 percent, rising by $1.40 to $53.81.Markets are tightening because of voluntary production cuts from Jan. 1, led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia…
Ineos to Buy ConocoPhillips North Sea Assets
Britain's richest man Jim Ratcliffe's oil and gas company Ineos Group Holdings is in exclusive talks with ConocoPhillips to buy North Sea oil and gas fields worth $3 billion from the U.S. energy company.Various news paper reports say that British petrochemicals company has confirmed it is negotiating to buy several North Sea oil fields from U.S. energy giant.The Sunday Times, which first reported the story, said that the period is said to be set to three months after the entity registered in Switzerland agreed to pay a "substantial" deposit.Accoding to the Financial Times…
Maritime Rule Change Stirs Fears of Diesel Shortage: Kemp
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has so far resisted pressure to soften or postpone the implementation of new regulations requiring ships to use bunker fuels with a lower sulphur content from the start of 2020.That has prompted warnings from some analysts that the regulations will squeeze the availability of low-sulphur diesel and jet kerosene required by trucks, trains, aircraft, farmers and industry, resulting in big price increases.The regulations and any associated rise in fuel prices will occur in the run up to the next U.S.
Exxon Plans $650 mln Upgrade for UK Refinery
Exxon Mobil Corp is planning to spend more than 500 million pounds ($650.00 million) to upgrade the UK's largest oil refinery, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.The project, to be in Fawley, will be Exxon's biggest investment in UK in almost 30 years, according to the report FT said that while the plan was still awaiting final approval from local authorities and the company's board, work had already started on clearing the site for the proposed upgrade.Exxon did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.Reporting by Debroop Roy in Bengaluru
Oil Tight on Libyan Port Struggles
Libyan oil production could face protracted disruption as factions in the east seek to seize control of crude exports, adding pressure to a tight global market. Eastern factions have tried to take over oil exports in the past but have struggled to find buyers because Western nations insist they will deal only with the internationally recognised National Oil Corporation (NOC) based in the Libyan capital of Tripoli. But this has not stopped eastern forces from seeking control of the ports, accusing Libya's western-based government of failing to share revenues fairly.
Struggle to Control Libyan Oil Ports Adds to Global Supply Worries
Libyan oil production could face protracted disruption as factions in the east have sought to seize control of crude exports, adding pressure to a tight global market.Eastern factions have tried to take over oil exports in the past yet struggled to find buyers as Western nations insist they will only deal with the internationally recognised National Oil Corporation (NOC) based in the Libyan capital of Tripoli.But this has not stopped eastern forces from seeking control of the ports, accusing Libya's western-based government of failing to share revenues fairly.The latest tussle for power has already slashed national production to about 600…
