Dow closes down over 600 points amid economic slowdown fears
U.S. stock indexes finished sharply lower on Wednesday, with...
U.S. stock indexes finished sharply lower on Wednesday, with both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index booking their worst day in over a monthafter data on falling retail sales in the holiday shopping season raised concerns that consumer spending and economic growth are losing momentum as the Federal Reserve raises interest rates.
The S&P 500 SPX, -1.56% was off 62.11 points, or 1.6%, to end at 3,928.86
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -1.81% fell 613.89 points, or 1.8%, to finish at 33,296.96
The Nasdaq Composite COMP, -4.66% lost 138.10 points, or 1.2%, ending at 10,957.01
Heavy slate of U.S. oil refinery overhauls to crimp fuel output
U.S. oil refiners plan twice as many refinery overhauls this spring as usual, aiming to resume maintenance...
U.S. oil refiners plan twice as many refinery overhauls this spring as usual, aiming to resume maintenance delayed by the pandemic and by the lure of record-high margins, according to data provider IIR Energy and Reuters reporting.
The size of the planned outages suggests supplies of gasoline and diesel could tighten and margins rise as the European Union's Feb. 5 ban on imports of Russian petroleum products takes effect, increasing the call on U.S. fuels.
At least 15 U.S. oil refineries plan maintenance ranging from two to 11 weeks through May, tallies by Reuters and refining intelligence firm IIR Energy show. By mid-February, U.S. refiners will drop some 1.4 million barrels per day of processing capacity, double the five-year average, according to IIR.
U.S. natgas futures drop 6% to 18-month low on warmer weather forecasts
U.S. natural gas futures dropped about 6% to an 18-month low on Wednesday on forecasts for warmer weather...
U.S. natural gas futures dropped about 6% to an 18-month low on Wednesday on forecasts for warmer weather and less heating demand in late January than previously expected. Adding to the price drop, a growing number of analysts have said they do not expect Freeport LNG's liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant in Texas to restart until February or later even though the company has said repeatedly that the plant was on track to exit its seven-month outage in the second half of January, pending regulatory approvals. Whenever the Freeport plant returns, U.S. gas demand will jump, which should cause prices to rise. Front-month gas futures for February delivery were down 20.9 cents, or 5.8%, to $3.377 per million British thermal units (mmBtu).
The world’s biggest oil company is confident demand will pick up strongly this year as China reopens...
The world’s biggest oil company is confident demand will pick up strongly this year as China reopens its economy and the aviation market recovers.
“We are very optimistic in terms of demand coming back to the market,” Saudi Aramco’s chief executive officer, Amin Nasser, said in an interview. “We are starting to see good signs coming out of China. Hopefully, in the next couple of months, we’ll see more of a pickup in the economy there.”
Demand for jet fuel is now around 1 million barrels a day below pre-pandemic levels, according to Nasser, roughly half the figure from a year ago. “It’s picking up,” he said at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Microsoft to Lay Off 10,000 Workers as It Looks to Trim Costs
Microsoft plans to lay off 10,000 workers, the company said Wednesday,...
Microsoft plans to lay off 10,000 workers, the company said Wednesday, as it looks to trim costs amid economic uncertainty and to refocus on strategic priorities, such as artificial intelligence.
The company employed about 221,000 workers as of the end of June, and the cuts amount to less than 5 percent of its global work force.
