Money Talks

Oil is headed for its third weekly drop, its longest losing run this year, on concerns that a recession could cut into energy demand. Oil prices are edging up this morning, after falling 3% on Thursday, as the OPEC+ group of producers, including Russia, agreed to stick to its output strategy. However, the producers' club avoided discussing policy from September onwards. Brent crude is now trading at $109 a barrel, and WTI at $105 a barrel. Crude fell around 8% in June, as investors fretted over a potential global economic slowdown.

We spoke to Craig Erlam, who is senior market analyst at OANDA.

#OilPrices #Recession #OPEC

Chinese markets rose on Thursday as government data showed factory activity grew in June, for the first time in four months. That's as authorities lifted a strict lockdown in Shanghai, buoying growth in production and new orders, and as a rebound in the services sector is pressing on. The official manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 50.2 in June from 49.6 in May. The 50-point mark separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis, and the index has been under 50 since March.

For more on China's economic recovery, we spoke to Stephen Innes, who is SPI Asset Management Managing Partner in Bangkok.

#China #ChinaEconomy #ChinaFactoryActivity

The world's oil exporters, for the past two years and counting, have consistently failed to meet their commitments on how much crude to pump out of the ground. The expanded global oil cartel known as OPEC+ agrees on how much each member should produce every month. But since May of 2020, the group has fallen more than half a billion barrels short of its commitments to its clients around the world.

Han Tan is the chief market analyst at Exinity Group and he joined us in Abu Dhabi.

#OPEC #OilSupply #OilPrices

Oil prices rallied for a third day in a row on Tuesday, as threats to global output risked tigthening the market, just before OPEC+ meets later this week to address supply concerns. In Libya, a worsening political crisis may lead to more disruptions to exports, and in Ecuador, anti-government protests are threatening to shut down production completely in the former OPEC member.

For more on the oil market, we were joined by Naeem Aslam, who is chief market analyst at AvaTrade in London.

#OilPrices #OPEC #EcuadorProtests

Russia has defaulted on its foreign debt for the first time since the 1917 revolution, according to reports. The country missed a deadline of Sunday night to meet a 30-day grace period on interest payments of $100M on two Eurobonds originally due on May 27. Some Taiwanese holders of Russian Eurobonds said on Monday that they had not received interest payments due. That's after Russia's attempts to pay in its ruble currency were blocked by international sanctions.

David Madden is a market analyst at Equiti Capital and he joined us in London.

#RussiaAttacksUkraine #RussianRuble #RussiaDefaults

Eco-tourism is a growing trend in the travel industry. The desire to be with in nature while still maintaining a level of luxury is steering travelers towards glamping, the modern take on camping. Tayyibe Aydin reports from a glampsite in Sapanca, Türkiye.

#Glamping #EcoTourism # Türkiye

Türkiye and Saudi Arabia are looking to boost their economic ties and increase bilateral investments, following a visit to Ankara by the Kingdom's Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. Businesses are now hoping for a rebound. Construction, refined fuel and chemical companies along with manufacturers of textiles and furniture would be among the biggest beneficiaries.

For more on that, we spoke to Taha Arvas, who is Bogazici University Adjunct Professor of Finance.

#Türkiye #SaudiArabia #MohammedBinSalman

Sri Lanka's economic crisis is deepening, as the government scrambles for money just to pay for basic goods. The country needs a bailout worth billions of dollars, which officials say will buy them time to implement reforms that can turn things around. Paolo Montecillo has more.

For more on this, we spoke to Chayu Damsinghe in Colombo. He is head of macroeconomic research at Frontier Research. He says the government is struggling to implement reforms demanded by the International Monetary Fund and other international lenders and that rehabilitating the country's finances could take months.

#SriLankaEconomy #EconomicCrisis #FuelShortage

Russia's attack on Ukraine has made energy a new battlefield. The EU has been searching for ways to cut its dependency on Moscow's fossil fuels and the quest to cut energy costs is also driving other countries to seek out new suppliers. Sibel Karkus has more from Berlin.

For more on the story, Bob Ward joined us from London. He's the policy and communications director at the London School of Economics.

#EuropeanUnion #Russia #Energy

Netflix is cutting hundreds of jobs as it seeks to streamline operations, in the face of tougher competition. The streaming giant says it's letting go of 300 people or about 4% of its workforce. Last month, the company fired 150 employees, shortly after reporting that it had lost subscribers for the first time in a decade. Earlier, carmaker Tesla said it would cut about 3.5% of its staff and Facebook-owner Meta will slow down hiring of new employees.

For details, we spoke to David Madden, who is market analyst at Equiti Capital in London.

#Layoffs #TechFirms #Netflix