Author: omc_admin

WASHINGTON (AP) — One major question will be front and center for Federal Reserve policymakers as they prepare for an annual conference in Jackson, Wyoming next week and a crucial policy meeting in September: Which is a bigger problem for the economy right now, stubborn inflation or slower hiring? Weak job gains since April have pushed some officials toward supporting a cut in the Fed’s key rate as soon as next month, but speeches and comments by other Fed policymakers show that inflation is still a concern.That could make the Fed’s ultimate move at its September 16-17 meeting a close…

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s big GPT-5 announcement was drowned out by users clamoring to keep their access to older models.Less than 24 hours after OpenAI announced it would discontinue 4o, Altman and his team signaled a retreat. The fierce responses show that OpenAI’s userbase has developed strong attachments to its various AI models, an achievement in and of itself, but one that poses a challenge to the company as it looks to convince people to shift to newer models.”If you have been following the GPT-5 rollout, one thing you might be noticing is how much of an attachment some people have to…

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced Thursday that former Pemex chief executive Carlos Treviño has been detained in the United States and will be deported to face corruption charges in Mexico.Treviño led the state-owned oil company from 2017 until 2018, leaving the role when former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador assumed office.Sheinbaum told reporters at her daily press briefing that prosecutors intend to bring Treviño to trial over alleged corruption committed during his time at the helm of Pemex.On Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that two Mexican businessmen, Roma Energy CEO Ramón Alexandro Rovirosa Martínez and former gubernatorial candidate…

(Bloomberg) — A South African court overturned a decision granting TotalEnergies SE environmental authorization for an oil exploration block offshore the country’s west coast.  The Western Cape High Court ruled that the environmental impact assessment for Total’s Block 5/6/7 was “deeply flawed, failing to address key risks, legal requirements, and public participation,” Green Connection, one of the environmental groups that brought the case, said in a statement. Environmental groups in recent years have had multiple court victories successfully blocking some exploration activity offshore South Africa. Total and oil major Shell Plc are ramping up preparations to drill in…

Aviva’s chief executive, Amanda Blanc, has reiterated the insurer’s commitment to climate goals in the face of growing pushback against net zero ambitions in the US and UK.On Thursday Aviva’s shares hit their highest level since the 2008 financial crisis, with investors cheering a rise in profits, and fresh payouts for investors worth 13.1p a share.Blanc told journalists that the insurer was not wavering on climate transition plans, which she said were an important step in responding to a further rise in extreme weather events affecting its insurance business.“We remain committed to our ambition,” she said on Thursday. “It’s also…

India’s state-owned refiners, which paused Russian crude buying a few weeks ago, have now started to inquire traders about potential purchases of the flagship Russian crude Urals, sources familiar with the development told Reuters on Thursday.The biggest Indian state-owned refiners have pulled out of spot purchases of Russian crude for cargoes loading in October, after the U.S. announced an additional 25% tariff on India over its imports of crude from Russia.U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order enacting an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, explicitly targeting India’s ongoing imports of Russian crude oil. The overall 50% tariff on…

Brent crude rose 1.63% to $66.70 and WTI gained 1.74% to $63.74 on Thursday, as of 11:50 a.m. ET, with traders positioning ahead of a closely watched meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. The talks, expected to touch on Arctic oil and gas development as well as the war in Ukraine, come as markets weigh the potential for new energy cooperation or geopolitical friction between two of the world’s top producers.Traders are watching for any indications of an easing of sanctions, which could unlock additional Russian crude and condensate for global markets, pressuring…

Image: Canadian Natural Resources (Bloomberg) — Canadian oil sands companies have found a way to ramp up production in the face of oil prices: curtailing lengthy repairs to equipment.  Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Imperial Oil Ltd. and others are extending maintenance cycles to two-years from one, which saves on capital expenditure, increases output and effectively offsets declining profits from crude prices that have fallen 11% in the past year. Suncor Energy Inc., meanwhile, completed a major coke-drum replacement at its Base Plant more than 3 weeks faster than planned, allowing the company to cut capex guidance by C$400…

Canada’s major oil sands producers are boosting crude production even if they aren’t starting up new projects. The secret sauce appears to be reducing maintenance times and extending maintenance cycles to squeeze more oil and raise efficiencies, Bloomberg reports.Suncor Energy, for example, completed ahead of schedule a multi-year effort to replace eight coke drums at its Base Plant, extending the life of the facility’s Upgrader 1 by about 30 years.“Everything went flawlessly, resulting in the project being completed safely, coming in ahead of schedule and below budget,” Peter Zebedee, Executive Vice President – Oil Sands, said earlier this month.Two other…

There’s one word that strikes terror in the heart of a creative working on a MrBeast video: “cringe.”If the world’s top YouTuber calls a video or idea “cringe,” it’s likely dead in its tracks.MrBeast knows better than anyone what might spark a backlash among his millions of fans, a former staffer said. “If he doesn’t buy into it, it’s not going to work,” they said.MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, is known for turning YouTube videos into eye-popping spectacles. The 27-year-old creator has buried himself alive, put hundreds of contestants through endurance challenges, and sent a train barreling into…