Brewer AB InBev reports Q1 profits more than double forecasts
Cans of Budweiser beer are displayed on a supermarket shelf in Shanghai, China February 24, 2022. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab
LONDON, May 8 (Reuters) - Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI.BR)
, opens new tab on Thursday reported a 7.9% rise in first-quarter operating profit, well ahead of analyst estimates for 3.1% growth.
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Reporting by Emma Rumney; Editing by Christian Schmollinger
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21 minutes ago
- Reuters
Morning Bid: Oil keeps calm, MidEast conflict carries on
LONDON, June 23 (Reuters) - What matters in U.S. and global markets today I'm excited to announce that I'm now part of Reuters Open Interest (ROI), opens new tab, an essential new source for data-driven, expert commentary on market and economic trends. You can find ROI on the Reuters website, opens new tab, and you can follow us on LinkedIn, opens new tab and X., opens new tab In this latest round of Middle East violence, the oil price has been remarkable as much for what it hasn't done as for what it has. Oil prices initially rose this morning following the U.S. strike on Iran over the weekend, but crude has since given back all these gains. I'll discuss this and the rest of the market news below, and then in today's column, I ask why markets are remaining surprisingly calm despite mounting U.S. debt concerns. Today's Market Minute * Iran said on Monday that the U.S. attack on its nuclear sites expanded the range of legitimate targets for its armed forces and called U.S. President Donald Trump a "gambler" for joining Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic. * The U.S. bombing injected fresh uncertainty into the outlook for inflation and economic activity at the start of a week chock full of new economic data and central banker commentary, including two days of Congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. * Utilities in the developed world are stressing over how to keep up with demand from data centres and artificial intelligence searches. But globally, keeping people cool is likely to be a much bigger drain on electricity grids and a more pressing power sector challenge. Read the latest from ROI global energy transition columnist Gavin Maguire. * The escalation of the Middle East conflict could lead Tehran to disrupt vital exports of oil and gas from the region, sparking a surge in energy prices. But as ROI energy columnist Ron Bousso says, history tells us that any disruption would likely be short-lived. * Several recent global developments have sparked some of the highest levels of uncertainty in decades. ROI outside contributor Joachim Klement claims equity investors seeking clarity should be careful what they wish for. Oil keeps calm, MidEast conflict carries on With global stock and bond markets using crude as a lodestar for how they react to the Iran crisis, the remarkably quick reverse and decline in U.S. oil prices on Monday have seen U.S. and European equities rally following the weekend events. Wall Street futures were up about 0.25% ahead of Monday's bell. European (.STOXXE), opens new tab and Chinese (.CSI300), opens new tab, (.HSI), opens new tab were higher too, with Japan's Nikkei (.N225), opens new tab bucking the trend even as the yen weakened. Mostly due to the yen slide, the dollar index (.DXY), opens new tab was firmer. U.S. President Donald Trump said he had "obliterated" Iran's main nuclear sites in strikes over the weekend, joining an Israeli assault in an escalation of conflict in the Middle East as Tehran vowed to defend itself. Trump then openly hinted at 'regime change' in his social media posts on Sunday. U.S. crude prices initially jumped above $78 per barrel to their highest since January, but quickly fell back below Friday's close to trade below $74 - more than $6 below the high for this year and down 11% on levels seen a year ago. Brent prices are down on the day too. While the escalating conflict surrounding Iran has turned unpredictable, it happens in a market where global space oil production capacity is running in excess of 4 million barrels a day - an oversupply expected to persist through the end of next year at least. What's more, outsize bets on the direction for oil linked to the outcome of the Iran war are frustrated by numerous binary outcomes - including both the survival of the Tehran government and even possible mining of the Straits of Hormuz. While the latter could stymie shipping in the region for a bit, it's not clear how long it could be enforced. With global demand set to ebb later this year, due in part due to the growth-dampening effects of U.S. trade tariffs, and U.S. production set to increase, speculative oil price punts are very risky. With oil prices still largely under wraps, the fallout for U.S. Treasuries is similarly limited. With one eye on Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell's semi-annual Congressional testimony on Tuesday and series of debt auctions during the week, 10-year yields remained stuck in recent ranges about 4.4%. Trump on Friday again floated the idea of firing Powell. "I don't know why the Board doesn't override (Powell)," Trump wrote in a lengthy post on Truth Social criticizing Fed policy. "Maybe, just maybe, I'll have to change my mind about firing him? But regardless, his Term ends shortly." San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said on Sunday that U.S. central bank should consider giving less forward guidance about its monetary policy intentions, particularly in uncertain times. "Words have power, which is a great tool. But words can be harder to reverse than the interest rate," she said. The economic data calendar homes in on June business surveys, with the flash versions of U.S. soundings from S&P Global due out later in the day. Overall euro zone business activity expanded only modestly in June, with a small improvement in the dominant services industry offsetting more downbeat manufacturing. The services PMI nudged up to sit right on the break-even 50 mark up from May's final reading of 49.7. Optimism among services firms increased and the business expectations index bounced to a four-month high of 57.9 from 56.2. European Central Bank boss Christine Lagarde testifies at the European Parliament later in the day. Economic surprise indexes, capturing how incoming economic readings are above or below expectations overall, show a sharp divergence between Europe and the United States - with the euro zone index at its most positive since May and the U.S. equivalent at its most negative in nine months. Elsewhere, Bitcoin was sharply lower over the weekend, while gold prices also fell back early on Monday. Chart of the day Relatively quick reversals of oil price spikes were largely thanks to the ample spare production capacity - and also due to the fact that any rapid oil price increase curbs demand in turn. The current global oil market certainly has spare capacity. OPEC+, an alliance of producing nations, today holds around 5.7 million barrels per day in excess capacity, of which Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates hold 4.2 million bpd. Although there are concerns about closing of the key Straits of Hormuz waterway, the two Gulf powers could bypass it by oil pipelines. Saudi produces around 9 million bpd and has a crude pipeline that runs from the Abqaiq oilfield on the Gulf coast in the east to the Red Sea port city of Yanbu in the west. The UAE, which produced 3.3 million bpd of crude oil in April, has a 1.5 million bpd pipeline linking its onshore oilfields to the Fujairah oil terminal that is east of the Strait of Hormuz. Today's events to watch * Flash U.S. June business surveys from S&PGlobal (0945EDT) May existing home sales (1000EDT) * Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher Waller, Fed Board Governor Adriana Kugler, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman, and Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee all speak. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde speaks to European Parliament (0800EDT) * EU-Canada summit takes place in Brussels * U.S. Treasury sells $58 billion of 3-year notes Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, opens new tab, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. Want to receive the Morning Bid in your inbox every weekday morning? Sign up for the newsletter here.
Reuters
36 minutes ago
- Reuters
Japan's retail rice prices fall below 4,000 yen, hitting prime minister's target
TOKYO, June 23 (Reuters) - Japan's average retail rice prices fell below 4,000 yen ($27) for the first time in four months, data showed on Monday, after the government released an emergency stockpile of rice to tackle food inflation ahead of a national election. The supermarket price of rice per 5kg dropped by 6.1% to 3,920 yen in the seven days to June 15, marking the fourth straight week of decreases to reach a level last seen in February, according to the farm ministry. With that, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba achieved a target set last month to bring the price of staple Japanese grain to below 4,000 yen. Rice prices have doubled since last year, creating a political challenge for Ishiba as he faces an upper house election in late July. The vote could be critical for his coalition's chances of survival, after it lost its majority in the more powerful lower house in October. Last month, a new farm minister ended a system of distributing emergency rice via auction and switched to discretionary contracts with retailers so that consumers would pay about 2,000 yen per 5kg. That stockpiled rice first became available through some retailers on May 31, selling out quickly. Rice prices leapt in part because of a poor-quality harvest due to extreme heat in 2023, which led to a shortage of rice in the market around the middle of last year. The spike in rice costs has driven Japan's food and overall consumer inflation in recent months, data has shown, complicating the Bank of Japan's rate hike schedule as economic pressure from U.S. tariffs looms. ($1 = 147.7200 yen)
Reuters
36 minutes ago
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Singapore's OCBC says no another offer for Great Eastern even if delisting proposal fails
June 23 (Reuters) - Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp ( opens new tab on Monday said that it has no intention to make another offer to buy the rest of Great Eastern ( opens new tab in the future in the event shareholders opted to not delist the insurer from the Singapore bourse. OCBC was responding to a media report saying that it still can propose to take Great Eastern private when its non-voting shares are due in five years if the latest delisting proposal by Great Eastern cannot be achieved in an EGM on July 8. OCBC, Singapore's second largest lender, said in a stock exchange filing that it has no intention to convert its non-voting shares to ordinary shares on or after five years as it would result in Great Eastern losing its free float again. OCBC would opt to receive the non-voting shares to help restore the free float and a resumption in trading of Great Eastern if the delisting proposal by the insurer is not achieved. Great Eastern on June 6 proposed to delist from the domestic bourse by way of its largest shareholder OCBC offering S$900 million ($696.27 million) to buy the rest of the insurer it does not already own. Trading in Singapore-based Great Eastern's shares was suspended on July 15, 2024, after its free float fell below 10% following an offer by OCBC to acquire an 11.56% stake at S$25.60 apiece in May 2024. OCBC had obtained acceptance from some shareholders and currently owns 93.72% of Great Eastern. "Delisting GEH is a long-term strategic goal of OCBC," OCBC said, referring Great Eastern as GEH. It said it is satisfied with its 93.72% economic interests since October 2024 regardless of the outcome of the EGM to vote on the proposed delisting on July 8. ($1 = 1.2926 Singapore dollars)
