Stock Markets
Oil eases on weak US fuel demand, profit taking
By Nicole Jao
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Oil prices fell slightly on Friday as investors weighed weak U.S. fuel demand and took some money off the table at quarter-end, while key inflation data for May boosted the chances that the Federal Reserve will start to cut interest rates this year.
futures for August settlement, which expire on Friday, were up 6 cents at $86.45 a barrel by 1:32 p.m. EDT (1732 GMT). The more liquid September contract was down 0.25% at $85.05.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 18 cents, or 0.22%, to $81.56.
Brent was on track for a small gain for the week, while WTI futures were headed for a 0.2% loss for the week. Both benchmarks were on track for monthly gains of 6%.
While U.S. oil production and demand rose to a four-month high in April, demand for gasoline fell to 8.83 million barrels per day, its lowest since February, according to the Energy Information Administration’s Petroleum Supply Monthly report published on Friday.
“The monthly report from the EIA suggested the gasoline demand was pretty poor,” said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group. “Those numbers didn’t really inspire more buying.”
Analysts said some traders took profits at the end of the second quarter after prices rallied earlier this month.
The U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, was flat in May, lifting hopes for rate cuts in September.
Still, the reaction in financial markets was minimal. For oil traders, the release passed unnoticed, said Charalampos Pissouros, senior investment analyst at brokerage XM.
Growing expectations of a Fed easing cycle have sparked a risk rally across stock markets. Traders are now pricing in a 64% chance of a first rate cut in September, up from 50% a month ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
Easing interest rates could be a boon for oil because it could increase demand from consumers.
“Oil prices have been converging with our fair value estimates recently, revealing the underlying strength in fundamentals through a clearing in the fog of war,” Barclays analyst Amarpreet Singh wrote in a client note.
Barclays expects Brent crude to remain around $90 a barrel over the coming months.
Oil prices might not change much in the second half of 2024, with concern over Chinese demand and the prospect of higher supply from key producers countering geopolitical risks, a Reuters poll indicated on Friday.
Brent crude is expected to average $83.93 a barrel in 2024 with averaging $79.72, the poll found.
The U.S. active oil rig count, an early indicator of future output, fell by six to 479 this week, the lowest level since December 2021, energy services firm Baker Hughes said.
By Maggie Fick and Ahmed Aboulenein
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Members of Donald Trump’s presidential transition team are laying the groundwork for the United States to withdraw from the World Health Organization on the first day of his second term, according to a health law expert familiar with the discussions.
“I have it on good authority that he plans to withdraw, probably on Day One or very early in his administration,” said Lawrence Gostin, professor of global health at Georgetown University in Washington and director of the WHO Collaborating Center on National and Global Health (NS:) Law.
The Financial Times was first to report on the plans, citing two experts. The second expert, former White House COVID-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha, was not immediately available for comment.
The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The plan, which aligns with Trump’s longstanding criticism of the U.N. health agency, would mark a dramatic shift in U.S. global health policy and further isolate Washington from international efforts to battle pandemics.
Trump has nominated several critics of the organization to top public health positions, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic who is up for the post of secretary of Health and Human Services, which oversees all major U.S. health agencies including the CDC and FDA.
Trump initiated the year-long withdrawal process from the WHO in 2020 but six months later his successor, President Joe Biden, reversed the decision.
Trump has argued that the agency failed to hold China accountable for the early spread of COVID-19. He has repeatedly called the WHO a puppet of Beijing and vowed to redirect U.S. contributions to domestic health initiatives.
A WHO spokesperson declined to directly comment but referred Reuters to comments by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a press briefing on Dec. 10 in which he was asked whether he was concerned that the Trump administration would withdraw from the organization.
Tedros said at the time that the WHO needed to give the U.S. time and space for the transition. He also voiced confidence that states could finalize a pandemic agreement by May 2025.
Critics warn that a U.S. withdrawal could undermine global disease surveillance and emergency response systems.
“The U.S. would lose influence and clout in global health and China would fill the vacuum. I can’t imagine a world without a robust WHO. But U.S. withdrawal would severely weaken the agency,” Gostin said.
U.Today – MicroStrategy has made headlines again by purchasing 5,262 BTC for approximately $561 million at an average price of $106,662 per BTC. The company now holds a staggering 444,262 BTC, accumulated at a total cost of approximately $27.7 billion, with an average purchase price of $62,257 per BTC.
Despite impressive returns of 47.4% since the beginning of the quarter and 73.7% since the beginning of the year, skepticism about the company’s strategy is growing.
It is believed that to sustain its purchases, MicroStrategy raises capital through methods such as issuing convertible and corporate bonds, securing credit lines and selling shares.
This cycle appears to operate as follows: shares are sold to acquire the cryptocurrency, and the rising price per BTC increases asset value, enabling further loans, which are then reinvested in more purchases.
Some observers warn that a significant decline in Bitcoin’s price or MicroStrategy’s stock could trigger a cascade effect. A sharp fall in MSTR shares would weaken the collateral backing its loans, potentially leading to forced asset sales, including BTC.
This scenario could exert downward pressure on the broader cryptocurrency market, as the company holds 2.2% of the global Bitcoin supply now.
Thus, while some view Michael Saylor’s approach as a bold bid to cement the cryptocurrency’s role in the financial system, others see it as unsustainable. History offers a cautionary note: in 2000, MSTR shares surged to $333 before plummeting 99%, a collapse that took 24 years to recover from.
National homebuilder ranked No. 12 on inaugural list ranking companies based on trust
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Dec. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — With a longstanding reputation for trust, national homebuilder and land developer Taylor Morrison (NYSE:) (NYSE: ™HC) has been recognized by Forbes on their inaugural list of the Most Trusted Companies in America. The homebuilder ranked No. 12 out of 300 companies across all industries.
“There are few things more powerful than trust and it’s something we strive to earn amongst all company stakeholders, from our customers to our team members, our shareholders, and our local communities,” said Taylor Morrison Chairman and CEO Sheryl Palmer. “To be included on this esteemed list in its inaugural year is especially meaningful and these awards are important reminders of the relationships we’re building across all aspects of our business.”
Fueled by hundreds of millions of data points, the Most Trusted Companies in America list combines data on a wide range of factors across four categories: employee trust, customer trust, investor trust and media sentiment. The ranking was created in partnership with research companies HundredX, Signal AI and Glassdoor.
Taylor Morrison also earned the No. 67 spot on Forbes’ inaugural America’s Best Companies list. The ranking is Forbes’ most comprehensive company ranking to date and factored in ratings for financial performance, customer and employee satisfaction, cybersecurity, sustainability, companies’ remote work policies, media coverage and more. Forbes’ America’s Best Companies list assessed more than 60 metrics across 11 primary categories to identify which organizations excel across the board. Of the more than 2,000 U.S.-based publicly traded companies that were eligible, only 300 qualified for each list.
In addition to being named among the Most Trusted and Best Companies in America by Forbes, Taylor Morrison holds several additional accolades including being named on Newsweek’s America’s Most Responsible Companies and America’s Greenest Companies lists, U.S. News & World Report’s Best Companies to Work For list, the American Opportunity (SO:) Index, America’s Most Trusted ® Home Builder for nine years, Hearthstone’s 2021 BUILDER Humanitarian Award, and inclusion on the Fortune 500 list since 2021.
About Taylor Morrison
Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Taylor Morrison is one of the nation’s leading homebuilders and developers. We serve a wide array of consumers from coast to coast, including first-time, move-up, luxury and resort lifestyle homebuyers and renters under our family of brands”including Taylor Morrison, Esplanade and Yardly. From 2016-2024, Taylor Morrison has been recognized as America’s Most Trusted ® Builder by Lifestory Research. Our long-standing commitment to sustainable operations is highlighted in our annual Sustainability and Belonging Report.
For more information about Taylor Morrison, please visit www.taylormorrison.com.
CONTACT:
media@taylormorrison.com
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