Business

By Siddharth Cavale NEW YORK (Reuters) – Higher egg prices, an issue U.S. President Donald Trump spoke about often during his election campaign last fall, boosted Walmart grocery revenue, the world’s largest retailer said during its earnings briefing on Thursday. Walmart said its grocery revenue rose by mid-single digits in the quarter through January 31, and a Walmart earnings presentation showed that egg-price inflation was baked into that increase. Egg prices have been rising as … Read more…

(Reuters) – U.S. crude oil stockpiles were expected to have risen last week, while distillate inventories likely fell with gasoline falling marginally, an extended Reuters poll showed on Wednesday. Nine analysts polled by Reuters, ahead of weekly inventory data, estimated on average that crude inventories rose by about 3.1 million barrels in the week to February 14. The data is delayed a day due to the President’s Day holiday on Monday. The report from industry … Read more…

By Marianna Parraga and Kemol King GEORGETOWN (Reuters) – U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil is planning to increase natural gas output and supply in Guyana through a large-scale project announced on Wednesday, following the government’s call for more gas to fuel onshore power and petrochemical projects. The “Wales Gas Vision”, outlined by Exxon’s Guyana head, Alistair Routledge, is set to provide gas for the production of fertilizers through a $1 billion pipeline completed last year. … Read more…

(Reuters) – Amazon said it would stop support for its unified communications service, Chime, next year and will not accept new customers beginning Wednesday. Amazon employees have long used Chime, which lets users meet, chat and place business calls inside and outside the organization, as a preferred service for video calls. “After careful consideration, we have decided to end support for the Amazon Chime service, including business calling features, effective February 20, 2026,” Amazon’s cloud … Read more…

(Reuters) – U.S. crude oil and gasoline stockpiles were expected to have risen last week, while distillate inventories likely fell, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Tuesday. Three analysts polled by Reuters, ahead of weekly inventory data, estimated on average that crude inventories rose by about 2.2 million barrels in the week to February 14. The data is delayed a day due to the President’s Day holiday on Monday. The report from industry group the … Read more…

(Reuters) – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has requested assistance from Indian authorities in its investigation of Adani Group founder Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani over alleged securities fraud and a $265 million bribery scheme, a court filing showed on Tuesday. The SEC told a New York district court its efforts to serve its complaint to Gautam and Sagar Adani were ongoing and that it is seeking help from India’s Ministry of … Read more…

(Reuters) – Thinking Machines Lab, an AI startup founded by former OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati, has tapped about 30 leading researchers and engineers from competitors such as OpenAI, Meta and Mistral, it said in a blog post on Tuesday. The team — roughly two-thirds of which comprises former OpenAI employees — includes Barret Zoph, a prominent researcher who left the ChatGPT maker on the same day as Murati in late September. Zoph will … Read more…

(Reuters) – BlackRock has temporarily paused meetings with some portfolio companies while studying the impact of new reporting rules from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, according to people familiar with the matter. The top U.S. asset manager is among those affected by a recent SEC interpretation requiring fund firms to file more extensive ownership disclosures when they pressure asset managers over certain environmental, social or governance (ESG) matters. News of BlackRock’s action was first … Read more…

By Nora Eckert DETROIT (Reuters) – About half the middle managers at Ford Motor will not get stock bonuses this year in what is seen internally as CEO Jim Farley’s latest attempt to cut the automaker’s bloated costs, according to six people familiar with the matter. The stock awards are usually paid in March, but senior managers have been told to select which half of their middle management staff will receive them, four of the sources … Read more…

BEIJING (Reuters) – President Xi Jinping held a rare meeting on Monday with some of the biggest names in China’s technology sector, such as Alibaba founder Jack Ma, urging them to “show their talent” and be confident in the power of China’s model and market. The tightly choreographed pro-business rally, a turnaround in Beijing’s approach to its tech giants from a regulatory clampdown four years ago, reflected policymakers’ concern about a slowdown in growth and … Read more…