PPI shows sharpest drop in wholesale-level inflation since 2020
The numbers: Wholesale prices posted the biggest drop...
The numbers: Wholesale prices posted the biggest drop in April since the pandemic in 2020, but the decline in inflation appeared to be a one-off tied to falling egg and gasoline prices and a quirky category that measures certain business profit margins.
The big reversal in the producer price index was unexpected. Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast a 0.3% increase last month.
Meanwhile, the wholesale inflation rate in the past year slowed to 2.4% from 3.4%.
Wholesale prices fell a slight 0.1% if the volatile categories of food, energy, and retail trade margins are omitted. The so-called core rate is seen as a better predictor of future inflation.
Bakken Beast: Chord Plans Seven More 4-Mile Bakken Wells in ‘25
Chord Energy has drilled three 4-mile laterals in the middle Bakken and...
Chord Energy has drilled three 4-mile laterals in the middle Bakken and is closely tracking the results from the first, which is now online. Seven more are planned for the rest of this year.
The first 4-mile Bakken well was spud in late 2024 and completed in February. Chord reached a total depth (TD) exceeding 30,400 ft, vertical and lateral combined, while cleaning out frac plugs.
Chord remained tight-lipped about production from the first 4-mile well, noting that the well is choked back restrictively to minimize sand flow back and protect the pumping equipment.
Compared to 2-mile wells, Chord’s 4-mile wells are expected to produce 90% to 100% more EUR for 40% to 60% more investment per well. That helps lower the breakeven cost for a 4-mile well by between $8/bbl to $12/bbl versus a 2-mile well.
Walmart extends to 12 its streak of Wall Street–beating earnings reports
Shares of Walmart Inc. surged 2.9% in premarket trading...
Shares of Walmart Inc. surged 2.9% in premarket trading Thursday, after the discount retail giant’s fiscal first-quarter results beat on every key metric, and the full-year outlook was maintained in the face of economic and tariff-related uncertainties.
Adjusted earnings per share for the quarter to April 30 rose to 61 cents from 60 cents a year ago, and beat the average analyst EPS estimate compiled by FactSet of 58 cents. That marked the 12th straight quarter of bottom-line beats, according to FactSet data.
Total revenue grew 2.5% to $165.6 billion, above the FactSet revenue consensus of $165.69 billion, as comparable sales for Walmart U.S. stores increased 4.5% to beat expectations of 3.8%.
For the full-year of fiscal 2026, Walmart said it still expects net sales growth of 3% to 4% and adjusted EPS of $2.50 to $2.60.
Trump met with the president of Syria and made deals in Qatar
A day after saying he would end US sanctions on Syria, President Trump ...
A day after saying he would end US sanctions on Syria, President Trump met in Saudi Arabia with President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who was formerly linked to Al Qaeda and whose forces toppled the Assad regime. It was the first meeting between the two countries’ presidents in 25 years, and Syria is looking to come out of isolation with its new leadership. Trump then traveled on to Qatar, where he announced $243.5 billion worth of deals, mostly focused on defense and aviation.
Databricks is buying database startup Neon for $1 billion. The...
Databricks is buying database startup Neon for $1 billion. The data analytics company’s big purchase of the startup appears to be all about AI agents, autonomous bots that the tech world believes are about to be as ubiquitous as Stanley cups. “Pretty much every customer we have is super excited and wants to leverage agents,” Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi told the Wall Street Journal, adding that to do what companies want, they need to be hooked up to databases, and that’s where Neon comes in. The company offers a cloud-based database platform, and Databricks is planning for that to connect with the data it stores for companies to help AI agents do their thing.
Ukraine and Russia are scheduled to hold peace talks in Turkey today, but even figuring out who would attend them has been contentious.
eToro soared nearly 29% following its Nasdaq debut, giving investors new hope for IPOs.
Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral scholar at Georgetown University who was arrested amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on foreign students, was released after a judge ruled that his detention was in violation of his constitutional rights to free speech and due process.
