Shell turns back on refiners’ association over disagreements on climate policy April 2, 2019 Oil giant Shell will cut ties with a major industry body, citing the group’s refusal to support the Paris Agreement on climate change. The London-listed firm today said it would allow its membership of the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) to expire in 2020 when it is up for renewal. Read more: Shell switches [...]
Oil price hits 2019 peak as Trump moots new sanctions against Iran April 2, 2019 Oil prices reached a 2019 high today as traders worry over the stability of supplies from Iran and Venezuela. The price of international standard Brent crude reached $69.50 per barrel in the early hours, and edged close to that price again closer to midday. Read more: Oil prices rise as Trump asks for them to [...]
Turkish lira falls against dollar as tensions with US mount over fighter jets April 2, 2019 The Turkish lira has fallen against the dollar today after the US suspended the delivery of F-35 fighter aircraft equipment to Turkey. The drop follows a tumultuous period in the foreign currency markets that saw a key lira lending rate hit 1,200 per cent amid claims of government meddling. Read more: Overnight Turkish lira lending [...]
Is Uber the new Amazon? April 2, 2019 | City Talk By Edmond Jackson from interactive investor. In a test of narrative power versus whopping financial losses, so-called “ride-hailing” or “ridesharing” giants Uber and Lyft have rivalled each other to list on the New York Stock Exchange – Lyft got there first. Both capture the spirit of the times, connecting taxi drivers to passengers via their [...]
Are emerging markets really worth the risk? April 2, 2019 At a time when the US Federal Reserve has well and truly capitulated on its hiking path, some emerging markets are not showing signs of relief. Against the dollar, Argentina’s peso is close to an all-time low, the Turkish Lira is teetering near a year-to-date low, and the South African rand is creeping back to [...]
Cryptocurrency Bitcoin hits yearly high as it soars above $5,000 April 2, 2019 Bitcoin soared to its highest level of the year this morning, rising as much as 22 per cent to trade at $5,080 (£3,892). The cryptocurrency has enjoyed a strong period of trading recently, posting its largest quarterly price gain since late 2017. Read more: Bitcoin makes biggest quarterly price gain since the end of 2017 [...]
Overnight Turkish lira lending rate surges to 400 per cent April 1, 2019 The Turkish lira overnight swap rate rocketed up to 400 per cent today, from a closing rate of 23.75 per cent on Friday. The rate – which is the cost to investors of borrowing lira using foreign currency overnight – hit 1,200 per cent last week, by far its highest mark in history. Economists and bankers believed [...]
Bitcoin makes biggest quarterly price gain since the end of 2017 April 1, 2019 Crypto traders will be hoping Bitcoin can emulate the first quarter of 2017 in the coming months, after it posted its biggest quarterly price gain since late 2017. Investors in the original cryptocurrency saw its price plummet last year after record highs of almost $20,000 (£15,886) per coin in December 2017. Read more: Bitcoin critic warns [...]
Vale stops operations at nine more dams after auditors’ report April 1, 2019 Under-fire Brazilian miner Vale has closed another nine sites across the country, it said today, over two months since a disaster which is thought to have killed over 300 people. Vale said that external safety experts had failed several of its dams, including one at the Corrego do Feijao mine where another dam burst in January [...]
Saudi Aramco leapfrogs Apple to claim title as world’s most profitable company April 1, 2019 Ol giant Saudi Aramco was today confirmed as the world’s biggest profit machine, making as much as Apple, ExxonMobil and Google put together last year. The Saudi state oil company showed net income hitting $111.1bn, considerably ahead of second-place Apple on $59.4bn. Aramco revealed the impressive state of its finances for the first time as [...]