By Florence Tan SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices edged up on Wednesday ahead of data on U.S. oil inventories, with crude futures supported by tight supplies and recovering fuel demand as China’s top cities relax COVID-19 curbs. Brent crude futures for August rose 22 cents, or 0.2%, to $120.79 a barrel by 0012 GMT after…
By Daniel Leussink TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s economy shrank slightly less than initially reported in the first quarter, as private consumption remained resilient in the face of resurgent COVID-19 infections, offsetting a drop in capital spending. The slower contraction is welcome news for policymakers worried about the world’s third-largest economy’s recovery this quarter amid pressures…
By David Lawder and Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told senators on Tuesday that she expected inflation to remain high and the Biden administration would likely increase the 4.7% inflation forecast for this year in its budget proposal. During a Senate Finance Committee hearing, Yellen said that the United States was…
By Stefanno Sulaiman JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi said on Tuesday the government would bring down its combined maximum crude palm oil export and levy rate to $488 per tonne from $575 per tonne to encourage shipments. Indonesia, the world’s biggest palm oil producer, has allowed palm oil exports to resume after…
By Diane Bartz and Leroy Leo (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is looking into how big pharmacy benefit managers like CVS Caremark affect pricing and patients’ access to prescription drugs at a time when costs of some medicines, even older ones like insulin, have skyrocketed, the agency said Tuesday. As part of the probe,…
WASHINGTON (AP) — State officials across the nation have taken on Big Tech companies in the courts and state legislatures, and federal regulators have nipped at Twitter over alleged violations of users’ data privacy. Now, one state attorney general with an outsize personality and edge-skating stance nearly in the league of Elon Musk is striding…
By Sabrina Valle HOUSTON (Reuters) – Europe’s plan to double down on renewable fuels in response to rising fuel costs could have the unintended short-term effect of increasing prices and slow down the energy transition, Chevron Corp Chief Executive Michael Wirth said on Tuesday. “That can erode the public support that will be necessary for…
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Hedge funds posted negative performance in May, accentuating their losses this year to almost 3%, as investors positioned for a potential recession, a report by hedge fund data provider HFR showed on Tuesday. The fund weighted composite index went down 0.58% in May, amid volatility in equities, bonds and commodities, HFR…
NEW YORK (AP) — Meltdowns in the cryptocurrency space are common, but the latest one really touched some nerves. Novice investors took to online forums to share tales of decimated fortunes and even suicidal despair. Experienced crypto supporters, including one prominent billionaire, were left feeling humbled. When the stablecoin TerraUSD imploded last month, an estimated…
By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. dollar index retreated from earlier highs and fell on Tuesday as Wall Street stocks erased initial declines amid growing hopes that inflation may have peaked, but the greenback managed to hit its highest level in 20 years against the Japanese yen. While a decline in Target…
