Saudi Arabia to U.S. Oilmen: Cut Costs or Exit the Business

The world’s most powerful oilman brought a harsh message to Houston for executives hoping for a rescue from low prices: high-cost producers -- many of them sitting in the room -- need to either “lower costs, borrow cash or liquidate."

For the thousands of executives attending the IHS CERAWeek conference, the message from Saudi Arabia oil minister Ali al-Naimi means deeper spending cuts, laying off more roughnecks and idling drilling rigs.

"It sounds harsh, and unfortunately it is, but it is the most efficient way to rebalance markets," Naimi told the audience in Houston on Tuesday.i

London Stock Exchange Is in Merger Talks With German Rival

London Stock Exchange Group Plc is in merger talks with Deutsche Boerse AG, a tie-up that would create one of the biggest exchange companies in the world.

Shares in the market operators soared as the companies confirmed in a statement on Tuesday that they are considering a deal. Should the all-share merger take place, LSE Group equity holders would own 45.6 percent of the enlarged group, while Deutsche Boerse stockholders would get 54.4 percent.

African Markets Catch Bear Fever

Hopes are fading that Africa’s bond and equity markets will draw more than the most adventurous.

A toxic cocktail of plunging commodities prices, policy mismanagement and stubborn corruption have exposed investors like Mark Mobius for their excessive optimism. In 2012, when he declared that Africa “could be the emerging-market story of the next decade,” his Templeton Emerging Markets Group followed Neptune Investment Management Ltd. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. in setting up a fund dedicated to the continent.

GTI REVIEW OF 2015 AND 2016 OUTLOOK

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

‘’To be, or not to be’’ is the dilemma that confronts the Nigerian economy in 2016. The largest economy in Africa has continued to perform below its potentials given its inherent potentials. The crash in crude oil prices, the exchange rate volatility, weak infrastructure, lack of political willpower to implement aggressive fiscal reforms, policy inconsistencies and many more are some of the major challenges that has plagued the country in the past.

Our 2015 review takes a critical look at how the Nigerian economy fared in the just concluded year, analyzing the domestic economic challenges and pass through effects from other global economies. The impact of the crash in crude oil prices (over 60% decline between 2014 and 2015) weighed heavily on the Nigerian economy, clearly because of the country’s reliance on crude oil for up to 70% of its foreign exchange earnings. The impact also trickled down to exchange rate, creating a huge volatility as a result of the country’s import dependence.  

BP Slumps to Biggest Annual Net Loss on Record: Chart

By most measures, the 2010 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion and oil spill was the darkest chapter in BP’s history. Looking solely at the company’s bottom line, 2015 was even worse as the London-based oil and gas producer posted a net loss of $6.48 billionas average crude prices fell to the lowest level in a decade. That’s almost double the $3.72 billion loss made in 2010, a year in which the company took charges of more than $40 billion to cover the legal, operational and environmental costs of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

source: Bloomberg