Record deal to cut oil output ends price war – BBC News

Opec producers and allies have agreed a record oil deal that will slash global output by about 10% after a slump in demand caused by coronavirus lockdowns.

The deal, agreed on Sunday via video conference, is the largest cut in oil production ever to have been agreed.

Opec+, made up of oil producers and allies including Russia, announced plans for the deal on 9 April, but Mexico resisted the cuts.

Opec has yet to announce the deal, but individual nations have confirmed it.

The only detail to have been confirmed so far is that 9.7 million barrels per day will be cut by Opec oil producers and allies.

Source: Record deal to cut oil output ends price war – BBC News

New Kensington Shop ‘n Save to close at the end of April | TribLIVE.com

A family-run Shop ’n Save in New Kensington is closing after about a decade in the city.

The grocery store in the Central City Plaza will close its doors for good April 30.

Co-owner Lauren Beter of New Kensington said the move is due to decreased sales the past few years, and not because of the covid-19 pandemic.

“It’s bittersweet because it’s not something that we necessarily wanted to do,” she said. “It wasn’t the path we started down on, but we weren’t able to make it work. Our lease is coming up, and we wrestled with renewing it for five years and couldn’t take the chance. It has nothing to do with the coronavirus. It’s just an awful coincidence.”

She said big box retailers like Walmart and other competitors have made it a very expensive challenge for mom-and-pop shops.

The New Kensington grocer was previously owned by Beter’s parents, Thomas and Elizabeth Beter of Lower Burrell.

Lauren and her brother, Elliot Beter, took ownership of it about five years ago.

Source: New Kensington Shop ‘n Save to close at the end of April | TribLIVE.com

U.S. stock futures retreat ahead of Friday’s jobs report – MarketWatch

U.S. stock index futures fell late Thursday, leaving Wall Street on track for another week of losses. As of 9 p.m. Eastern, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YM00, -1.21% were down more than 200 points, or 1%, while S&P 500 futures ES00, -1.17% and Nasdaq-100 futures NQ00, -1.20% slipped as well. Earlier, stocks gained in the regular session, with the Dow DJIA, +2.24% closing up more than 2% as President Donald Trump hinted at imminent production curbs by feuding oil giants Saudi Arabia and Russia. But investors may be bracing for Friday’s March jobs report, which is expected to be ugly though not fully indicative of the massive job losses caused by businesses shutting down due to the coronavirus pandemic. On Thursday, data showed that unemployment applications last week soared to a record 6.6 million.

Source: U.S. stock futures retreat ahead of Friday’s jobs report – MarketWatch

Stock Markets in Asia Dip on Dire U.S. Warning: Live Updates – The New York Times

Markets fell in early Wednesday trading in Asia as investors digested a steady drip of worrying news about the economic ramifications of the global coronavirus outbreak.

Major indexes in Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea were modestly lower midday, as financial markets settled into a slow grind of bad news. While the panic of recent weeks appeared to have subsided, numerous signs pointed to glum prospects for a quick recovery.

After Wall Street’s Tuesday close, President Trump said at a news conference that the United States would face “a very painful, very very painful two weeks.” U.S. government scientists projected that the outbreak could kill up to 240,000 Americans.

Futures markets predicted Europe and the United States would open lower later on Wednesday. Prices for long-term U.S. Treasury bonds, a traditional investment safe haven, rose, as did gold futures. Oil prices were mixed.

Source: Stock Markets in Asia Dip on Dire U.S. Warning: Live Updates – The New York Times

Tick alert: May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month

AUGUSTA (Sun Journal) — Welcome to the start of tick season. May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month in the United States, and the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a reminder that everyone be “tick aware and tick alert,” especially as the days get warmer. Maine game wardens are definitely seeing ticks, according to spokesman John MacDonald. Ticks like damp, wet grass and woods. The National Weather Service said Tuesday that Maine in April received 5.

Source: Tick alert: May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month

Oil Market: OPEC output rises, US sanctions on Iranian oil in focus

Oil prices dipped on Friday on hopes that producer club OPECwill soon raise output to make up for a decline in exports from Iran following a tightening of sanctions on Tehran by the United States.

Brent crude futures were at $74.16 per barrel at 0223 GMT, down 19 cents, or 0.3 percent, from their last close.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $64.83 per barrel, down 38 cents, or 0.6 percent, from their previous settleme

Source: Oil Market: OPEC output rises, US sanctions on Iranian oil in focus

Toys ‘R’ Us Gets 11th-Hour Bid From Little Tikes’s Larian – Bloomberg

  • Billionaire toy marketer Isaac Larian offered to save Toys “R” Us from liquidation with an almost $900 million bid for its stores in the U.S. and Canada that relies in part on crowdfunding.

Larian is offering $675 million for the U.S. stores and $215 million for the outlets in Canada, he said Friday in a statement. The funds will come from Larian himself, other investors and bank financing. A representative for Toys “R” Us didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Isaac Larian

Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

The would-be rescuer is the chief executive officer of MGA Entertainment Inc., which sells toys including Little Tikes, Bratz and L.O.L. Surprise! Larian previouslystarted a GoFundMecampaign to help keep Toys “R” Us open, with the page showing pledges of about $200 million.

Source: Toys ‘R’ Us Gets 11th-Hour Bid From Little Tikes’s Larian – Bloomberg

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