Trading Ideas

(Bloomberg) — Exxon Mobil Corp. is slowing the pace of its flagship shale project in the Permian Basin, one of the first signs that the oil majors are throttling back on production in response to the recent slump in prices.The U.S, energy giant said Thursday in a slide presentation that it will operate at a “reduced pace” this year and next compared with its prior outlook. The company sees output from the basin in West Texas and New Mexico at about 360,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day in 2020, but stuck to its long-term plan to almost triple production …read more […]

Recession risk is high, Jim Bianco warns. And that could send stock much lower. …read more […]

After getting fired as co-CEO at Canopy Growth, Bruce Linton is back with Collective Growth for a cannabis showdown. …read more […]

Headlines moving the stock market in real time. …read more […]

Oil prices are down over 20% this year and natural gas prices have touched their lowest in decades, as fears of the economic impact of the coronavirus dent short-term demand. Exxon’s Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods said the company would spend between $30 billion and $35 billion a year through 2025 and forecast $33 billion in capital expenditure this year. On Tuesday, Exxon’s closest U.S.-rival Chevron showed off its own war chest by highlighting it has up to $80 billion that it could use for shareholder returns over the next five years regardless of the price that oil …read more […]

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(Bloomberg) — HP Inc. said it has rejected an unsolicited takeover offer from Xerox Holdings Corp. and has asked shareholders not to tender their shares.The $34 billion offer “meaningfully undervalues HP and disproportionately benefits Xerox shareholders,” the Palo Alto, California-based company said in a statement on Thursday. Xerox’s “urgency” in launching the offer shows its “desperation to acquire HP to address its continued business decline.”Xerox has pitched HP investors on a cash-and-stock offer worth $24 a share. For each HP share, a holder would receive $18.40 in cash and 0.149 Xerox shares. The offer is set to expire April 21, …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — IRB Brasil Resseguros SA, the re-insurer taking flak from Berkshire Hathaway Inc. after allegedly making false claims Warren Buffett’s holding company owned a stake, said both its top executives resigned.The exit of Chief Executive Officer Jose Carlos Cardoso and Chief Financial Officer Fernando Passos marks the latest twist in a month-long drama that captivated Latin American investment circles and wiped out $5.3 billion in IRB market value.Short seller Squadra Investments triggered the first leg of a 58% stock plunge on Feb. 2 when it released a 150-page report disclosing a bearish position and questioning IRB’s profit figures. IRB …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Global markets in turmoil. Central banks rushing to arrest panic. But in China, the country most affected by the virus outbreak, it’s boom time for traders.A gauge of stocks in Shanghai and Shenzhen has jumped 14% in just over a month to close at a two-year high on Thursday. One exchange-traded fund focused on 5G amassed $2 billion in days as investors clamored to chase a rally in tech shares. Seeking to maximize returns, punters have driven stock leverage and daily turnover past 1 trillion yuan ($142 billion), both near four-year highs. Government bonds have surged too, with …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Seven & i Holdings Co. has scrapped plans to acquire Marathon Petroleum Corp.’s Speedway gas stations for $22 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, ending a deal that would have been among the world’s biggest this year.The outbreak of the novel coronavirus was one of the factors that impacted negotiations in the exclusive phase, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. Seven & i decided not to proceed with the transaction on concerns over valuations, the person said.On Feb. 20, shares of Seven & i slumped in …read more […]

Top news and what to watch in the markets on Thursday, March 5, 2020. …read more […]

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China’s top gas importer PetroChina has declared force majeure on natural gas imports, including on liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments and on gas imported via pipelines, following the coronavirus outbreak, four industry sources told Reuters. The company issued the force majeure notice to suppliers of piped gas and also to at least one LNG supplier, though details of the force majeure notice could not immediately be confirmed. PetroChina did not immediately respond to requests for comment. …read more […]

OPEC ministers gathered in Vienna on Thursday to discuss cutting output, a day ahead of crunch talks with Russia which has yet to sign up to their plans for production curbs that aim to shore up crude prices battered by the coronavirus outbreak. Saudi Arabia wants OPEC and its allies, including Russia, to cut 1 million to 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) for the second quarter and to keep existing cuts of 2.1 million bpd in place until the end of 2020. …read more […]

(Bloomberg Opinion) — Europe’s lenders are staring at yet another possible crisis, this time not of their own making, and the brutal reality is that the European Central Bank can do very little to help them. That’s bad news for the real economy too.The economic hit from the rapid spread of the coronavirus will probably mean another spate of loans turning bad, a slump in demand for new borrowing, and falling income from trading and commission. The banking industry has been among the hardest hit in the recent stock-market rout. Little wonder.There are some minor measures that ECB President Christine …read more […]