By Arunima Kumar (Reuters) – Phillips 66 reported a 46% fall in second-quarter profit on Wednesday, the latest U.S. refiner to signal the hit from a decline in margins from last year’s sky-high levels when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine squeezed fuel supplies. The company’s shares fell 2.7% to $109.04 in afternoon trade. Realized margins fell…
By Indradip Ghosh BENGALURU (Reuters) – The U.S. dollar will hold its ground against most major currencies over the coming three months as a resilient domestic economy bolsters expectations interest rates will remain higher for longer, according to FX strategists polled by Reuters. Despite net short dollar positions hitting their highest since March 2021, the…
BOGOTA (Reuters) -The technical team of Colombia’s central bank on Wednesday lowered its outlook for inflation in 2023 to 9%, from 9.5% previously, and cut its forecast growth for Latin America’s fourth-largest economy to 0.9%. The technical team previously forecast Colombia’s economic growth at 1% for this year. The revisions in the team’s quarterly monetary…
By Deborah Mary Sophia (Reuters) -Yum Brands on Wednesday beat estimates for quarterly comparable sales and profit as strong demand for cheaper meals and promotional offers at its KFC restaurants countered lackluster traffic at its Taco Bell and Pizza Hut outlets. Quarterly comparable sales at KFC jumped 13% and topped estimates for an 8.29% growth,…
By Peter Frontini SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazil’s central bank kicked off its rate-cutting cycle more aggressively than expected on Wednesday, reducing its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points and signaling more of the same in the months ahead due to an improving inflation outlook. The bank’s rate-setting committee Copom cut its Selic policy rate…
By David Shepardson (Reuters) – A General Motors LG Energy Solution battery joint venture on Wednesday said it does not see any path for workers at its Ohio plant to be covered under a national labor agreement, rejecting a push by Democratic U.S. senators. Ultium Cells LLC said on Wednesday it “does not see a…
(Reuters) -Ratings agency Fitch on Wednesday downgraded U.S. mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) and senior unsecured debt ratings to ‘AA+’ from ‘AAA’ after the U.S. rating downgrade on Tuesday. The agency said the cut was a result of Tuesday’s downgrade and was “not being driven by fundamental…
By David French (Reuters) -Wall Street finished lower on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite down for a second straight day as investors took profits on five months of gains a day after rating agency Fitch cut the U.S. government’s credit rating. Fitch downgraded the United States to AA+ from AAA late on…
By Nate Raymond BOSTON (Reuters) -An industry-backed group and a labor union on Wednesday proposed letting voters decide whether Uber Technologies and Lyft ride-share drivers in Massachusetts should be treated as independent contractors or allowed to unionize. Flexibility and Benefits for Massachusetts Drivers, a group whose contributors include Uber, Lyft and DoorDash, filed a proposed…
By David Milliken LONDON (Reuters) – The Bank of England is expected to raise interest rates to a 15-year high of 5.25% from 5% on Thursday, though there is a risk of a repeat of June’s surprise half-point increase as inflation remains the highest of the world’s major economies. The U.S. Federal Reserve and the…
