By Medha Singh and Lisa Pauline Mattackal (Reuters) – The world of stablecoins is suddenly looking shaky. Seismic shifts may be afoot in the $137 billion market after New York-based Paxos Trust Company, which mints Binance’s stablecoin, said it would cease issuing new BUSD tokens after U.S. regulators labeled the asset an unregistered security. The […]
Oil settles down $2/bbl, ends week lower on Fed worries, ample supply
reuters | February 18, 2023
By Laura Sanicola (Reuters) -Oil settled down $2 a barrel on Friday and ended the week markedly lower, as traders worried that future U.S. interest rate hikes could weigh on demand and got nervous about mounting signs of ample crude and fuel supply. On Thursday, two Fed officials warned additional hikes in borrowing costs are […]
New Biden EV charger rules stress Made In America, force Tesla changes
reuters | February 15, 2023
By Jarrett Renshaw and Hyunjoo Jin (Reuters) -The Biden administration on Wednesday issued long-awaited final rules on its national electric vehicle charger network that require the chargers to be built in the United States immediately, and with 55% of their cost coming from U.S.-made components by 2024. The White House hopes the new rules, issued […]
U.S. Gas Producers Skimped on Price Hedges and Now Face a Reckoning
reuters | February 14, 2023
By Arathy Somasekhar HOUSTON (Reuters) – A rout in natural gas prices will hurt first-quarter earnings and cash flows at gas producers as hedges – the industry’s version of price insurance – were inadequate to offset the expected losses, analysts and industry experts said. Producers starting the year with fewer hedges than historically will have […]
Binance stablecoin backer says U.S. SEC has labeled token an unregistered security
reuters | February 14, 2023
By Hannah Lang, Tom Wilson and Elizabeth Howcroft WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) – The firm behind Binance’s stablecoin, Paxos Trust Company, said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has told the company it should have registered the product as a security and is considering taking action against the platform. In a statement on Monday, Paxos said […]
U.S. weekly jobless claims increase, labor market still tight
reuters | February 9, 2023
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased more than expected last week, but remained at levels consistent with a tight labor market. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 196,000 for the week ended Feb. 4, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists […]
Alphabet shares dive after Google AI chatbot Bard flubs answer in ad
reuters | February 9, 2023
By Martin Coulter and Greg Bensinger LONDON (Reuters) – Alphabet Inc lost $100 billion in market value on Wednesday after its new chatbot shared inaccurate information in a promotional video and a company event failed to dazzle, feeding worries that the Google parent is losing ground to rival Microsoft Corp. Alphabet shares slid as much […]
Explainer-The Fed says disinflation is welcome. What is that, exactly?
reuters | February 2, 2023
By Ann Saphir WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Financial markets this week latched on to what U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell called “most welcome” disinflation, betting it signals the central bank’s war on high inflation is nearing an end. Powell in fact used the word 15 times during his 45-minute press conference Wednesday – an explosion […]
Recession fears pose challenge to energy shares after stellar year
reuters | January 28, 2023
By Lewis Krauskopf NEW YORK (Reuters) -A potential U.S. recession and tough comparisons to a stellar 2022 are weighing on the prospects of energy stocks delivering an encore to last year’s stunning run, despite valuations that are seen as still comparatively cheap. The S&P 500 energy sector is up 4.2% year-to-date, slightly lagging the rise […]
White House blasts Big Oil stock buybacks again as Chevron profits double
reuters | January 27, 2023
By Nandita Bose and Jarrett Renshaw WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House on Friday launched a fresh attack against U.S. oil companies, accusing them of using profits to pay shareholders instead of boosting supply, after Chevron Corp said its annual profit doubled for 2022. Chevron posted a record $36.5 billion profit for 2022 that was […]