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BOGOTA (Reuters) – Shareholders of Colombia’s majority state-owned oil company Ecopetrol on Friday approved a plan to shore up the country’s fuel-price stabilization fund (FEPC), as well as an extraordinary dividend for minority shareholders, a spokesperson said. Colombia’s government, which owns 88.5% of the oil company, and Ecopetrol will cover the FEPC deficit with 14.1 …

Colombia’s government, Ecopetrol will shore up fuel price fund Read More »

(Reuters) – Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic on Friday said he supported the U.S. central bank’s 0.75 percentage point interest-rate hike this week, adding that supply chain fixes have been slow in coming. “That means that we’re going to have to be more muscular in our policies,” Bostic told American Public Media’s “Marketplace” …

Fed policy needs to be more ‘muscular’ to battle high inflation -Bostic Read More »

By Lewis Krauskopf NEW YORK (Reuters) – Whipsawing bond yields, surging oil prices and a Federal Reserve bent on squashing the worst inflation in four decades are hampering investors’ ability to assess U.S. stock valuations, even as the market’s tumble creates potential bargains. Without a doubt, stocks are far cheaper than at the start of …

Cloudy valuations give investors pause in buying beaten-up U.S. stocks Read More »

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Petrobras’ board of directors held discussions Friday over freezing fuel prices for 45 days, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter. The proposal, presented by board member Francisco Petros, comes just hours after Petrobras announced it was raising fuel prices, sparking outrage among Brazil’s top politicians. One of …

Brazil’s Petrobras in talks to freeze fuel prices for 45 days -sources Read More »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Whether the United States, the world’s largest economy, will slip into a recession is a growing concern for chief executives, the Federal Reserve, and the administration of President Joe Biden. But defining what a recession is, and predicting when it will happen, is not straight-forward. WHAT IS A RECESSION? A recession is …

Explainer-How do you define a recession? Let us count the ways Read More »

By Gabriel Araujo SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazilian motorists will soon pay more at the pump after state-run Petrobras said it plans to hike fuel prices from Saturday as the country grapples with soaring inflation ahead of elections later this year. Leading politicians denounced the announcement on Friday. Petrobras shares plunged almost 10% on fears they …

Brazil’s Petrobras to hike fuel prices, infuriating politicians Read More »

By Giuseppe Fonte and Francesca Landini MILAN (Reuters) -Italy may declare a heightened “state of alert” on gas next week if Russia continues to curb its supplies, two government sources said on Friday after energy company Eni reported a shortfall in flows from Moscow for the third day in a row. The state of alert …

Italy weighing state of alert amid Russian gas supplies squeeze Read More »

Of all the central banks which until recently dismissed inflation as transitory, one still stands: the Bank of Japan. But it’s increasingly being challenged by hedge funds, which are betting it can’t hold the line on super-loose policy forever. Ears are peeled, too, for any details on the ECB’s plan to prevent rate hikes from …

Take Five: The last surviving dove Read More »

A look at the day ahead in markets from Julien Ponthus Operation shock and awe: June 2022 will most likely be remembered as the month central banks finally decided to bring out the big guns to shoot down soaring inflation. Within 48 hours, the U.S. Federal Reserve made its biggest rate hike since 1994, the …

Marketmind: This is how it sounds like, when the doves cry Read More »

By Arathy Somasekhar HOUSTON (Reuters) – U.S. refiners last month imported the most heavy crude in nearly two years, customs data showed, as they cranked up motor fuel production and sought to replace sanctioned Russian oil. Higher heavy-crude imports are common in summer-driving months, but this year’s increase comes as the Biden administration is calling …

U.S. steps up heavy crude imports as Biden blasts profiteering Read More »