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Exclusive-Biden administration buys last oil for emergency reserve as fund taps out

By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Biden administration said on Friday it has bought its last batch of oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve after selling a record amount from the facility in 2022 to counter fuel prices that had risen after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Department of Energy said it had bought 2.4 million barrels of oil for the reserve for delivery from April through May to the SPR’s Bryan Mound, Texas … Read more…

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The ‘Trumpet’ Blast – by Justin Vaughn

(Justin Vaughn, Editor, Options Trading Report) After a week of peaks and valleys, last Friday ended on a peak, with investors and traders coming off the sidelines and stepping into market action. Stock market activity was brisk at opening with the Dow Jones Industrial Average heading North on the way to adding 289 points. The Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 followed, up 0.8% and 0.1% respectively. Value stocks were the heroes of the day, while … Read more…

CNN must face Project Veritas’ defamation lawsuit, US appeals court rules

By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) -A U.S. federal appeals court on Thursday revived a defamation lawsuit accusing CNN of defaming Project Veritas in its explanation of why the conservative group, which is often accused of using deceptive tactics, was suspended from Twitter in 2021. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta said Project Veritas could sue over CNN journalist Ana Cabrera’s on-air statement that it was suspended for “promoting disinformation,” rather than for publishing … Read more…

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Barrick Gold misses profit estimates on higher costs, lower Nevada production

By Sourasis Bose (Reuters) -Canada’s Barrick Gold missed Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit on Thursday, weighed down by higher costs and lower production at its Nevada mines. Total gold output at Nevada Gold Mines fell to 385,000 ounces in the July-to-September quarter, compared with 401,000 ounces in the preceding three months, the company reported in October. Meanwhile, all-in sustaining costs (AISC) for gold, an industry metric reflecting total expenses, rose to $1,507 per ounce … Read more…

US rate futures price in more Fed easing in December and 2025

By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) – Futures on the federal funds rate, which measure the cost of unsecured overnight loans between banks, priced in on Thursday another 25-basis-point rate cut next month, after the Federal Reserve lowered rates by the same magnitude at the end of its two-day policy meeting. Rate futures also implied another 67 bps of reductions for 2025, LSEG calculations showed. The central bank’s rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee lowered the … Read more…

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Datadog raises annual forecast betting on AI-driven cybersecurity demand

(Reuters) – Cloud monitoring firm Datadog raised its annual revenue and profit forecasts on Thursday, betting on accelerating demand for its AI-backed cybersecurity products. Shares of the New York City-based company rose 4.1% before paring gains later in volatile trading. “Datadog reported very strong results and guided for further impressive growth, some of it driven by AI applications. Shares are up significantly over the last few weeks as investors had very high expectations, which may … Read more…

The Next FAANG Stocks with High Upside Potential

Over the past decade, investors have closely watched the performance of “FAANG” stocks, as they have been among the most popular and best-performing technology companies in the United States. FAANG, of course, is an acronym for five of the best-performing tech-oriented stocks over the past several years: Facebook (now Meta), Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google (now Alphabet.) But for those looking for the highest upside potential moving forward, it’s important to look for those companies … Read more…

Danone wins dismissal of Evian microplastics lawsuit in Chicago

By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) – The maker of Evian spring water, Danone, won the dismissal of a lawsuit on Tuesday accusing it of defrauding consumers with labels that claim the water is “natural” even though it contains microplastics that seep from the bottle. U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin in Chicago said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulation for spring water does not mention microplastics, preempting the plaintiffs’ claim that concealing their presence violates state … Read more…

Exclusive-EU regulators investigate if Visa, Mastercard fees harm retailers, document shows

By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU antitrust regulators are investigating whether the fees charged by Visa and Mastercard have a negative impact on retailers, an EU document seen by Reuters showed. The European Commission, which enforces EU competition rules, sent questionnaires about both Visa and Mastercard to retailers and payment service providers in September, giving them until October to respond. Visa and Mastercard have long dominated the market for payment cards, prompting complaints … Read more…

Blackstone Real Estate to take Retail Opportunity private in $4 billion deal

(Reuters) – Blackstone Real Estate on Wednesday entered into an agreement to take Retail Opportunity Investments Corp private in an all-cash transaction valued at about $4 billion, including debt. Reuters reported on Sunday that the alternative asset manager was in advanced talks for the acquisition of the company, which owns strip malls across the United States. Owners of strip malls, pharmacy chains and retail stores have managed to pass on increased costs from high inflation … Read more…