Oil Posts Worst Week in Three With Demand Recovery in Focus - Bloomberg

Oil Posts Worst Week in Three With Demand Recovery in Focus - Bloomberg

• WTI for May delivery fell 28 cents to settle at $59.32 a barrel
• Brent for June declined 25 cents to end the session at $62.95 a barrel. The contract fell 2.9% over the week

Oil posted its worst week in three amid concerns that rising global coronavirus cases are slowing the economic recovery.

West Texas Intermediate futures ended the week down 3.5%, the biggest weekly loss since mid-March. With the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies planning to start raising output, markets are now focused on whether the demand recovery will be enough to absorb growing supplies.

While consumption is climbing in India and the U.S., rising virus cases and the possibility of stricter travel limits in Europe are muddying the forecast and putting pressure on crude. Oil plunged Monday after the U.K. said it may delay global travel beyond May 17.

“The Covid situation has really not had a strong recovery in Europe and across many emerging markets, and that’s really weighed down the demand outlook for oil,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda Corp.

Oil edges lower on mixed supply and demand outlook | Reuters

Oil edges lower on mixed supply and demand outlook | Reuters

Oil prices edged lower in rangebound trade on Friday on rising supplies from major producers and concerns over a mixed picture on the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on fuel demand.

Brent crude futures for June fell 16 cents, or 0.3%, to $63.04 a barrel by 1:38 p.m. EDT (1738 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for May was at $59.38, down 22 cents.

Both contracts are on track for a 2%-3% drop this week but still far from a low of $60.47 hit two weeks ago.

Downward pressure has been exerted by the decision of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known as OPEC+, to increase supplies by 2 million barrels per day between May and July.

More Middle East airlines face bankruptcy risks with each month of uncertainty: IATA | Aviation – Gulf News

More Middle East airlines face bankruptcy risks with each month of uncertainty: IATA | Aviation – Gulf News

Several airlines in the Middle East face heightened risk of bankruptcy - despite the industry receiving $4.8 billion in government aid in 2020. Most of this support ($4.1 billion) was distributed through direct cash injections.

“Government relief for airlines avoided massive failures that would jeopardize a restart,” said Kamil Al Awadhi, IATA Regional Vice-President for Africa and the Middle East. “[But] with no clear timeline to recovery the situation is far from resolved.

“Governments that have provided relief will need to be prepared for more - and governments that have not yet stepped up must recognize the growing risks as the crisis drags on.”

NMC Health creditors presented with restructuring proposal | The National

NMC Health creditors presented with restructuring proposal | The National

The administrators of NMC Health outlined a restructuring plan to lenders owed about $6.4 billion by the company, which would lead to more than $4bn of its debts being wiped out.

Joint administrators from Alvarez & Marsal outlined a Deed of Company Arrangement plan which would mean lenders agreeing to compromise their claims in return for exit instruments in a new holding company, with a view to achieving a "controlled" exit from the company within three years.

A presentation to lenders stated that administrators have so far received 927 claims from creditors, but there are 10 other "main financial creditors" that have yet to file before a deadline at the end of this month, which could add a further $650m to the total.

NMC Health was founded by BR Shetty in 1975 and grew to become the biggest privately-owned healthcare company in the UAE, employing more than 20,000 staff. However, it was placed into administration in April last year following the discovery of more than $4bn worth of previously undeclared debts at the group.

H-Energy’s Former #Dubai-Based LNG Trading Unit Being Liquidated - Bloomberg

H-Energy’s Former Dubai-Based LNG Trading Unit Being Liquidated - Bloomberg

A liquefied natural gas trading company that was until recently based in Dubai and part of India’s Hiranandani Group is being liquidated after it was determined that it can no longer operate, according to a letter to creditors seen by Bloomberg News.

HE Mideast Ltd. had insufficient funds to meet its debts, according to the letter, dated April 1, seen by Bloomberg. The firm defaulted on at least $50 million worth of debt to LNG suppliers including Malaysia’s Petroliam Nasional Bhd and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, said people with knowledge of the matter.

The company took speculative positions on physical and paper LNG trades over the last few years, which strapped them with debt they were unable to repay, said the people, who requested anonymity as the matter is private.

Novato Investing Ltd., current owner of HE Mideast, declined to comment on any liquidation. Shell declined to comment, and Petronas didn’t respond to a request to comment. Petronas signed a supply deal with the company in 2018.

Oil Dips With Stronger Dollar After Saudis Defend Output Hike - Bloomberg

Oil Dips With Stronger Dollar After Saudis Defend Output Hike - Bloomberg

WTI for May delivery fell 0.3% to $59.43 a barrel at 10:04 a.m. London time Brent for June dropped 0.5% to $62.91 a barrel

Oil dipped, weighed by a stronger dollar and after Saudi Arabia said it was confident that OPEC+ was right in agreeing to raise output.

West Texas Intermediate futures gave up early gains to trade 0.5% lower, though prices remain within the $5 range they’ve been holding since mid-March. The dollar rose, making commodities priced in the currency more expensive.

Traders continue to await a potential recovery in consumption. While the roll out of vaccines is showing signs of boosting demand in places like the U.S. and U.K., cases continue to spread rapidly elsewhere. India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, posted a record number of cases this week while Japan is set to reimpose lockdowns in Tokyo, Kyoto and Okinawa.

Mubadala Discusses GlobalFoundries IPO at $20 Billion Value - Bloomberg video

Mubadala Discusses GlobalFoundries IPO at $20 Billion Value - Bloomberg

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co. has started preparations for a U.S. initial public offering of chipmaker GlobalFoundries, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The sovereign wealth fund has been having initial discussions with potential advisers about a listing of GlobalFoundries that could value the business at about $20 billion, according to the people. It hasn’t yet selected underwriters, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.

Technology companies have already raised $20 billion in U.S. IPOs this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Deliberations are at an early stage, and details of the potential deal could change, the people said. Representatives for Mubadala and GlobalFoundries declined to comment.

GlobalFoundries Chief Executive Officer Thomas Caulfield, in a Bloomberg Television interview this week, said the company always reviews strategic alternatives, and the timetable for an IPO “has always been sometime in 2022.”

Column: Ensuring the energy transition is equitable | Reuters

Column: Ensuring the energy transition is equitable | Reuters

Phasing out consumption of fossil fuels in favour of zero-emission sources of energy will cause major social and economic disruption, creating a large number of losers as well as winners.

Policymakers have begun to focus on the need for a just or equitable transition to address some of these impacts and broaden political support for ambitious decarbonisation.

Like any welfare-improving public policy, it should in theory be possible for the winners to compensate the losers through taxes, subsidies, transfer payments and other government programmes.

In practice, government help to cope with the costs of industrial transition and adjustment has rarely been enough to offset the losses of the worst-affected groups.

Structural economic changes caused by industrial transformation and changes in international trade have often created significant numbers of losers who have been hard to help through retraining and other policies.

The zero-emissions energy transition is likely to have a similar impact. Providing transitional assistance to those individuals and communities hardest hit by the energy transition is likely to prove harder than policymakers anticipate and needs to be a major sustained focus.

Oil prices edge down as investors weigh rising supplies, demand outlook | Reuters

Oil prices edge down as investors weigh rising supplies, demand outlook | Reuters

Oil prices edged down on Friday as investors weighed rising supplies from major producers and the impact on fuel demand from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brent crude futures for June edged down 12 cents, or 0.2%, to $63.08 a barrel by 0731 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for May was at $59.59 a barrel, down 1 cent.

Both contracts are on track to post a 2%-3% drop this week after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, a group known as OPEC+ that includes Russia, agreed to gradually increase supplies by 2 million barrels per day between May and July.

Analysts expect global oil inventories to continue to fall, however, as fuel demand accelerates in the second half of this year as the global economic recovery gathers steam.