Market Pulse - Commodities
Trump warns China not to retaliate as trade war escalates
Tensions between Washington and Beijing were put in sharp focus on Monday after a series of tweets by Donald Trump aimed at Chinese counterpart President Xi.
Quadrise Fuels gushes higher after signing Chinese agreement
Quadrise Fuels (QFI) shot up on Monday after entering into a memorandum of understanding with API POLY-GCL Alliance Limited work together on an exclusive basis to pursue commercial opportunities involving the production and supply of MSAR fuel in China.
Bitcoin climbs past $7,000 and hits nine-month high
Bitcoin has climbed past $7,000, reaching its highest price since September on the back of an extended rally that has seen it surge by more than $1,000 over the weekend.
Week ahead: Vodafone and Burberry report; UK jobs data and US retail sales eyed
Next week sees the release of results from the likes of Vodafone, Tui and Burberry, while investors will also be keeping an eye out for the latest UK jobs data, US retail sales and the German ZEW survey.
US producer prices rise less than expected in April
Wholesale prices in the States edged up last month, buoyed by dearer energy as well as transportation and warehousing costs and for some economists the most likely direction of travel going forwards was pointing upwards.
JKX begins drilling new sidetrack in southern Russia
JKX Oil & Gas has announced plans to suspend clearing out a well in Russia in favour of drilling a fresh sidetrack.
Thursday preview: China CPI, BT Group
Markets' focus on Thursday will continue to be very much on all things China as the country's National Bureau of Statistics releases a report on consumer prices covering the month of April.
Berenberg lowers target on Sirius Minerals, but believes financing package will succeed
Berenberg lowered its target for Sirius Minerals's share price from 40p to 35p after incorporating the structure of the potash miner's long-awaited stage two financing for its Woodsmith polyhalite mine into its valuation model.
Hackers nab $40m Bitcoin from Binance exchange
Hackers breached the security of the Binance exchange, making off with 7,000 bitcoins worth around $40m in a single transaction, revealed a post on the bitcoin market's website.
Quadrise Fuels lands Kuwaiti partner for MSAR development
Quadrise Fuels International on Wednesday landed a major Kuwaiti partner as it entered into an agency agreement with Hawazin Regional Trading Company for its MSAR low-cost alternative to heavy fuel oil.
China foreign trade data for April paints mixed picture of the economy
Chinese export growth fell back unexpectedly last month and while an acceleration in imports pointed to an improvement in the domestic economy, economists were somewhat divided on the strength one could expected of any rebound.
Iran drops key commitments under 2015 nuclear deal
Iran announced on Wednesday that it would drop two of the key commitments that it entered into as part of the 2015 nuclear deal in response to America's withdrawal and its decision to reinstate sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
China reneges on multiple aspects of draft trade agreement
The White House received a diplomatic cable from Beijing late on Friday night containing systematic edits to the pair's nearly 150-page draft trade agreement, threatening to undo months of negotiations between the world's two largest economies.
Report backs universal basic income trials in UK
A report commissioned by shadow chancellor John McDonnell urged that trials of a universal basic income scheme providing regular cash payments to adult citizens should start.
Chinese vice premier Liu He to travel to Washington on Thursday
China's top trade official will travel to the States this week even after the US administration's decision to backtrack on a promise not to further increase its tariffs on the Asian giant's exports, in response to what Washington said was backsliding by Beijing on various of its recent commitments.
Commodities: Iranian oil minister warns of possible OPEC collapse
Metals and energy futures moved higher at the end of the week, boosted by a stronger-than-expected reading on the US jobs market, although remarks from Iranian officials that OPEC was in danger of collapsing may have tempered gains in the latter.
Week ahead: Brexit talks, China data in focus
The focus over the coming week will be on the restart of talks between the government and Labour on thrashing out a Brexit deal, although some observers believed that any agreement would likely have to wait until for after the 23 May elections to the European Parliament.
Berenberg marks up Shell target price ahead of Investor Day
Analysts at Berenberg bumped up their target price for shares of Royal Dutch Shell from 3,000p to 3,100p, pointing out to clients the oil major's upwardly revised guidance for payouts and telling them that shares could recover from their recent underperformance if "momentum can be maintained".
Phoenix Global narrows losses as revenues improve
Upstream oil and gas company Phoenix Global Resources turned in a narrowed full-year loss on Friday, as expenses such as exploratory and finance costs were reined in.
Commodities: WTI skids lower on reports Russian output cuts falling short
Energy futures slumped following reports that Moscow's oil output cuts were falling short of the targeted levels and the arrival of clean Russian crude to Belarus, which pointed to a prompt resolution of the recent disruption of supplies to Eastern Europe.