Oil gains more than $2 after settlement on reports Iran preparing Israel attack
Oil prices extended gains after settlement on Thursday,...
Oil prices extended gains after settlement on Thursday, rising by more than $2 per barrel on a report that Iran is preparing to attack Israel from Iraqi territory in the coming days.
Closing Prices: Brent crude futures settled up 61 cents, or 0.84%, to $73.16 a barrel. Brent futures for December delivery expired on Thursday. The more actively traded January contract settled at $72.81. WTI futures settled up 65 cents, or 0.95%, at $69.26.
After settlement: WTI crude oil futuresjumped $2.15 or 3.13% to $70.76 at 3:22 p.m. EDT, and Brent futuresfor January delivery jumped by $2.10 or 2.91% to $74.26.
Israeli intelligence suggests Iran is preparing to attack Israel from Iraqi territory in the coming days, possibly before the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5, Axios reported on Thursday, citing two unidentified Israeli sources.
The attack is expected to be carried out from Iraq using a large number of drones and ballistic missiles, the Axios report added. The report said that attacking pro-Iran militias in Iraq could be an attempt by Tehran to avoid another Israeli attack against strategic targets in Iran.
Marathon Oil Expects 'Mass Layoff' After ConocoPhillips Deal Closes
According to a filing with the Texas Workforce...
According to a filing with the Texas Workforce Commission, Marathon Oil Corp. will lay off a chunk of its workforce after closing on its merger with ConocoPhillips by year-end.
The Houston-based E&P is planning for “a mass layoff at the Houston Facility wherein at least 500 employees will experience an employment loss” during the 12 months following closing, said Jill Ramshaw, senior vice president for human resources, in the Oct. 28 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) letter.
Marathon and ConocoPhillips announced the $22.5 billion merger in May. The Houston address listed in the WARN notice is Marathon’s corporate headquarters.
Comstock: Monster Western Haynesville Wildcats Cost $30MM-plus
Comstock Resources has confirmed its prolific,...
Comstock Resources has confirmed its prolific, super-deep, super-high-pressure, far western Haynesville Shale 2-mile-plus wildcat wells cost more than $30 million to drill and complete.
The operator reported in an investor call on Oct. 31 that the latest well’s cost was $2,814/ft for the 11,405-ft lateral. Industry rumors this past spring suggested well costs of between $30 million and $40 million at Hart Energy’s DUG GAS+ Conference & Expo in Shreveport.
By comparison, Comstock’s 16-year-old traditional Haynesville Shale wells in northwestern Louisiana—where depth is some 10,000 ft to 12,000 ft— cost $642/ft to drill and $776/ft to complete, it reported in the call.
🎃Stock market suffers a Halloween selloff as tech investors get the chills
It was more trick than treat for investors on Halloween,...
It was more trick than treat for investors on Halloween, with a tech-led selloff pushing the S&P 500 down Thursday and leaving the Nasdaq Composite with its biggest one-day fall since early September. The Invesco QQQ Trust SeriesQQQ, which tracks the Nasdaq-100, fell 2.5%
Investors and analysts blamed a confluence of frightful factors, including guidance from Big Tech behemoths and perhaps a round of pre-election jitters.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 378.08 points, or 0.9%, ending at 41,763.46.
The S&P 500 fell 108.22 points, or 1.9%, closing at 5,705.45.
The Nasdaq Composite shed 512.78 points, or 2.8%, finishing at 18,095.15.
For October:
The Dow and S&P 500 shed 1.3% and 1%, respectively, booking their first monthly losses since April, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
U.S. initial unemployment claims retreat to lowest level since May
Initial jobless claims in...
Initial jobless claims in the week ended October 26 showed a significant decline, dropping by 12,000 to 216,000, according to the Labor Department. This marks the third consecutive weekly decrease, bringing claims to their lowest level since May. Economists who were polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected claims to rise by 3,000, but instead witnessed a decline, with the number of new claims based on actual filings falling to 200,132.
The labor market appears robust, with the number of people collecting unemployment benefits in the week of Oct. 19 falling by 26,000 to 1.86 million. Economists noted that after a spike to 260,000 in early October due to Hurricane Helene, jobless claims have now returned to low levels that suggest no significant strain in the labor markets. This trend indicates continued stability in employment despite potential disruptions.
