Nigeria's Dangote refinery may squeeze margins for rivals
As Nigeria's 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote refinery scales up, analysts...
As Nigeria's 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote refinery scales up, analysts warn of mounting pressure on global refining margins, particularly in high-cost regions like Europe. "This is one of the largest refineries that has ever been built, so the pace at which it ramps up is the difference between margins staying good for refiners or deteriorating," said S&P Global Commodity Insights Global Head of Fuels and Refining Daniel Evans.
Produced water management challenge requires innovation
Produced water management is both a challenge and an opportunity for...
Produced water management is both a challenge and an opportunity for the US oil and natural gas industry, said Occidental Petroleum CEO Vicki Hollub, as she advocated for beneficial reuse. ConocoPhillips' Vice President for the Delaware Basin Aaron Hunter echoed this view and stressed the need for collaboration and quality standards to scale produced water recycling and reuse.
Israel and Hezbollah are reportedly on the verge of a cease-fire
The Israeli cabinet is expected to ...
The Israeli cabinet is expected to vote on—and pass—a US-backed cease-fire agreement with the Lebanese paramilitary group today, CNN reported. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly agreed “in principle” to the deal, which would give Israel 60 days to withdraw from Lebanon while Hezbollah moves its weapons north, further from Israel. More than 3,500 Lebanese and 140 Israelis have been killed since October 8 of last year, when Hezbollah began attacking Israel in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza.
Trump pledges to slap steep tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China. In...
Trump pledges to slap steep tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China. In posts on Truth Social yesterday evening, the president-elect vowed to place a 25% tariff on all products imported to the US from close allies Canada and Mexico, as well as an additional 10% tariff on all products imported by China. Trump suggested the tariffs would serve as punishment for migrants and illegal drugs, such as fentanyl, arriving in the US from some of those countries. Economists say blanket tariffs on the US’ biggest trading partners (Mexico is No. 1) would raise prices for American consumers and disrupt supply chains. Energy is Canada’s largest export to the US, and Mexico exports loads of autos, electronics, veggies, and plastics to its northern neighbor.
Drake sued Universal Music Group and Spotify, accusing the companies of conspiring to artificially inflate Kendrick Lamar’s diss track, “Not Like Us.”
Sixteen people are missing after a tourist boat sank in the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt, while 28 have been rescued.
The EU said Bluesky is violating rules around information disclosure, though it won’t regulate the platform like it does X because it’s not big enough yet.
Călin Georgescu, an obscure far-right Romanian politician, shockingly won the first round of the country’s presidential election after his campaign clips went viral on TikTok.
AMC Theatres banned moviegoers from singing along to screenings of Wicked, and if you have a problem with that, we can take this outside.
Dow logs record close as Wall Street welcomes Trump's Treasury secretary pick
It's not unusual for one person to help spark a rally, but when that...
It's not unusual for one person to help spark a rally, but when that happens, it's usually Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Today, the market continued to climb and set new record highs, possibly thanks to someone less familiar, Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent.
President-elect Trump's nomination of Bessent, who has a reputation as a deficit hawk, was likely a factor in today's sharp Treasury yield slide to nearly one-month lows. This, accompanied by hopes Bessent can help boost U.S. economic growth through lower taxes, appeared to help small-cap stocks and companies more exposed to the domestic market including homebuilders, retailers, auto makers, and freight handlers.
On the other hand, many companies with heavy exposure to foreign markets like semiconductors, health care, and certain retailers also climbed, possibly taking their cue from Bessent as well. The Treasury nominee supports Trump's tariff policy, but media reports said he may see tariff threats as more of a negotiating tactic. The U.S. dollar weakened today on hopes for less pressure on overseas economies if U.S. tariff policy is more nuanced, and that also appeared to lift multinational U.S. stocks. Here's where the major benchmarks ended:
The SPX rose 18.03 points (0.30%) to 5,987.37; the $DJIadded 440.06 points(0.99%) to 44,736.57; and the Nasdaq Composite®($COMP) gained 51.18 points(0.27%) to 19,054.84.
The 10-year Treasury note yield fell 15 basis points to 4.27%.
The CBOE Volatility Index® (VIX)dropped to 14.74, the lowest since November 14.
