US Lifts Stop-Work Order for Equinor’s Empire Wind Project
Equinor said May 19 that it has been cleared to restart construction...
Equinor said May 19 that it has been cleared to restart construction of its Empire Wind project offshore New York after the U.S. lifted a stop work order.
The move by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management came about a month after the Interior Department ordered the company to halt construction until it reviewed information suggesting the Biden administration rushed through the project’s approval without sufficient analysis.
The Interior Department approved the construction and operations plan for the project in February 2024, about six years after the project’s site assessment plan was approved.
UK suspended trade talks with Israel over Gaza offensive
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced that the UK is ...
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced that the UK is suspending negotiations with Israel on a new free trade agreement due to Israel’s blockade of and new ground offensive in Gaza. The news came as several allies of Israel—including the UK, France, and Canada—increasingly denounced its expanding military operation in Gaza. A joint statement by the three allies threatened “further concrete actions” if Israel does not lift its aid restrictions. Meanwhile, the EU said it’s reviewing its trade deal with Israel amid the “catastrophic” situation in Gaza.
FDA will limit access to Covid booster shots. In a...
FDA will limit access to Covid booster shots. In a major policy shift, the FDA will no longer routinely approve annual Covid shots for most healthy people, the Trump administration said yesterday. Under the new guidelines, the FDA will continue to offer shots to adults 65 and older and high-risk younger people—but shots for other Americans will have to undergo more studies before they’re approved. Experts say the change is expected to limit the number of Americans who get a Covid shot each year. FDA officials argued that “one-size-fits-all” vaccines are outdated and that the new framework puts the US in line with other countries. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine skeptic, was an early opponent of Covid shots.
Home Depot said it doesn’t plan to raise prices due to tariffs following Walmart’s announcement that it does.
Levi Strauss sold khaki giant Dockers to Authentic Brands, which also owns Reebok and Aeropostale, for $311 million.
CATL, the world’s biggest EV battery manufacturer, surged in its Hong Kong market debut after raising $4.6 billion for its IPO.
Elon Musk said he’s committed to staying on as CEO of Tesla for at least another five years and would only stop “if I’m dead.”
Apple TV+ will release Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical—the first new Peanuts musical special in 35 years—on July 18.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil...
The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States rose again, this time by 2.499 million barrels in the week ending May 16 after analysts had estimated a 1.85-million-barrel draw. The API reported a 4.287 million barrel inventory increase in the prior week. So far this year, crude oil inventories are up more than 25 million barrels, according to Oilprice calculations of API data.
Gasoline inventories fell in the week ending May 16, by 3.238 million barrels, after falling by 1.374 million barrels in the week prior. As of last week, gasoline inventories were already 3% below the five-year average for this time of year, according to the latest EIA data.
Distillate inventories were also down this week, by 1.401 million barrels. In the week prior, distillate inventories slid by 3.675 million barrels. Distillate inventories were already a startling 16% below the five-year average as of the week ending May 9, the latest EIA data shows.
Cushing inventories—the benchmark crude stored and traded at the key delivery point for U.S. futures contracts in Cushing, Oklahoma—fell by 443,000 barrels, the API data showed, compared to last week’s 850,000 barrel dip.
Oil prices little changed on geopolitical uncertainty, weak China demand signals
Oil prices changed little on Tuesday due to uncertainty in U.S.-Iran...
Oil prices changed little on Tuesday due to uncertainty in U.S.-Iran negotiations and Russia-Ukraine peace talks, while new government data delivered a cautious outlook for top crude importer China's economy.
Brent futures slid 16 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $65.38 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slid 13 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $62.56.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said U.S. demands that Tehran stop enriching uranium are "excessive and outrageous," voicing doubts whether talks on a new nuclear deal will succeed.
A deal between Iran and the U.S. would allow Iran to raise oil exports by 300,000 to 400,000 barrels per day if sanctions were eased, StoneX analyst Alex Hodes said.
Iran was the third-biggest crude producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) group in 2024 behind Saudi Arabia and Iraq, according to U.S. federal energy data.
