Author: omc_admin

By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) -Citigroup must face a revived lawsuit claiming it caused more than $1 billion of losses by orchestrating and concealing a vast fraud at the now-bankrupt Mexican oil and gas services company Oceanografia, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Thursday. A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Miami said 30 Oceanografia vendors, creditors and bondholders adequately alleged that Citigroup substantially aided the fraud, and a lower court judge erred in dismissing the nine-year-old case. Danielle Romero-Apsilos, a Citigroup spokeswoman, declined to comment. Juan Morillo, one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers, said his clients…

By Marc Jones LONDON (Reuters) – World shares inched higher on Thursday, buoyed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s promise of a first trade deal in his global tariff war – tipped to be Britain – while the dollar gained as markets pushed out the chance of near-term Fed rate cuts. Traders also got a widely expected quarter-point rate cut from the Bank of England while Sweden and Norway also hinted they could also cut theirs later in the year given the current global uncertainty. Europe’s main stock markets tested recent highs, led by a more than 1% rise from Germany’s…

By Lucy Craymer WELLINGTON (Reuters) -New Zealand’s employment grew at a soft pace in the first quarter with the jobless rate holding around 4-1/2-year highs and wage inflation moderating, reinforcing bets for more interest rate cuts later this month and throughout the year. The South Pacific nation crept out of a recession at the end of last year, but sluggish domestic demand and rising external risks from U.S. President Donald Trump’s global trade war remain a drag on economic growth. In an effort to shore up demand, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand has slashed the cash rate by 200…

(Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs are increasingly clogging up the wheels of a world economy which for decades were greased by predictable and relatively free trade. Big-name multinationals right down to niche e-commerce players last week cut sales targets, warned of job cuts and reviewed their business plans, while major economies revised down growth prospects amid bleak data read-outs. While financial markets are betting the U.S. and China will pull back from an all-out trade war and that Trump will cut deals to avert higher tariffs on others, the sheer uncertainty of where this ends has become a…

(Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Reserve’s incoming vice chair for supervision is seeking to review the confidential ratings for the health of the country’s biggest banks, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. If any adjustments were to be made to the supervisory ratings, which have gone through layers of evaluation at the central bank, some bank examiners would likely raise concerns, according to the report. The Fed is yet to release the new ratings for U.S. banks with over $100 billion or more in assets and intends to wait until the Senate confirms Michelle Bowman as the new top banking…

By Sheila Dang and Shadia Nasralla HOUSTON/LONDON (Reuters) -Big Oil’s first-quarter earnings have shown a clear split in how companies are positioned to weather the downturn sparked by a slump in oil prices to a four-year low in April. Investors were focused on whether companies would cut share repurchases, since lower crude prices would leave them with less cash to fund the programs. Buybacks and dividends are key to investor interest in the oil industry. U.S. oil producer Exxon Mobil and UK-based Shell kept the pace of share buybacks. Their top rivals, U.S.-based Chevron and UK-based BP said they would…

RIO DE JANEIRO/SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazilian state-run oil firm Petrobras reported on Tuesday oil, gas and gas liquids production of 2.77 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) in the first quarter, down 0.2% from a year earlier. Petrobras’ oil production in Brazil fell by 1% year-on-year, to 2.21 million barrels per day (bpd), said the firm, adding that the Almirante Tamandare floating production vessel (FPSO) started producing in February at the country’s Buzios field. “The start of operations of the FPSO Almirante Tamandare is strategic for Petrobras and represents a sustainable expansion of production,” said Renata Baruzzi, head…

By Shadia Nasralla LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices extended declines on Wednesday and were set for their largest monthly drop in almost three and a half years as the global trade war eroded the outlook for fuel demand while concern over mounting supply also weighed. Brent crude futures were down 77 cents, or 1.2%, at $63.48 a barrel by 1305 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped 74 cents, also 1.2%, to $59.68. So far this month Brent and WTI have lost about 15% and 16% respectively for the biggest percentage falls since November 2021. Both benchmarks slumped after…

By Stella Qiu SYDNEY (Reuters) -Core inflation in Australia slowed to a three-year low in the first quarter as costs in the services sector cooled markedly, data showed on Wednesday, supporting the case for another cut in interest rates in coming weeks. Investors are fully expecting a quarter-point rate cut from the Reserve Bank of Australia on May 20 given the darkening outlook for global growth caused largely by U.S. tariffs, even as a stronger-than-expected reading in headline inflation saw some scale back aggressive bets for five rate cuts this year. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed the…

By Rae Wee SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Shares struggled for direction on Wednesday and oil prices slid as relief over a potential easing of global trade tensions was offset by a worsening economic outlook and dour signals from corporates swept up by Donald Trump’s tariffs. U.S. Treasury yields also languished near multi-week lows as traders raised bets of more rate cuts from the Federal Reserve to support the world’s largest economy. Despite Trump’s move to soften the blow of his auto tariffs and signs of progress in broader trade negotiations, details remain scant, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick saying he had…