Oil Powers Agree Output Freeze

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW, RIGHT NOW. #IBTPulse   Oil Powers Bid To Curb Glut Oil ministers from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Russia and Qatar agreed Tuesday to freeze their output at January levels, provided that other major producers follow suit. The move, the ministers said, was aimed at stabilizing the oil market, which has seen prices fall over 70 percent since June 2014. Speculation about a freeze or possible production cut being agreed to at the meeting had sent oil prices sharply up. Cameron In Brussels For Crucial 'Brexit' Talks The British prime minister is racing to shore up support for a deal to keep the U.K. in the European Union, ahead of a leaders’ summit Thursday. On Monday he reached a “firm basis” for an agreement with French President François Hollande, and today he heads to the Belgian capital for talks with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and senior MEPs. If a deal is secured this week, the referendum campaign in the U.K. could begin just days later. Anglo American Posts $5.6B Loss The global mining giant has been hard-hit by falling commodities prices, and announced plans to repair its finances by disposing of $3 billion to $4 billion in assets this year, including its iron ore business. Anglo became the first large global mining firm to lose its investment grade credit rating amid the commodities rout this week, when ratings agency Moody’s cut its credit rating to junk. China's Bank Loans Hit Record High China’s banks issued a record amount of new loans in January — in a sign that looser monetary policy may be having some impact in combating the slowdown in the nation’s economic growth. Rising numbers of bad loans, however, are worrying analysts. Non-performing loans totaled 1.27 trillion yuan ($195 billion), amounting to some three-quarters of the 1.59 trillion yuan ($244 billion) profits made by Chinese banks last year. HERE'S WHAT YOU MISSED LAST NIGHT. India Slaps Vodafone With $2.1B Tax Bill Authorities in India have threatened the firm with asset seizures if it does not pay up. The bill dates back to Vodafone’s 2007 purchase of the Indian mobile phone business of Hutchison, and has been the subject of international arbitration proceedings since last year. Analysts said that the case could have an impact on international investors’ perception of India. GE Eyes Iran Oil And Gas Business General Electric sent the CEO of its oil and gas business to the country, which until recently was subject to a raft of international sanctions, to explore business opportunities. Despite record low oil prices, Iran is keen to ramp up its domestic production and export business, and an active sector there could help GE’ s oil field equipment business to offset some of the losses caused by low crude prices. MH370 Search Might 'Not Succeed' After nearly two years of extensive search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean, Martin Dolan, head of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, said Tuesday that there is “a possibility” that the search for the missing flight “will not succeed.” Barring the discovery of any fresh clues, the hunt for the aircraft is scheduled to end in June this year. Shell Completes $53B Deal For BG Group The acquisition makes the oil giant the world leader in liquefied natural gas, but it faces a challenging transition period during the current oil glut. Shell is the largest oil company in Europe, and saw its profits crash by 80 percent in 2015. Chief Executive Ben van Beurden is seeking to transform the company into a more specialist operation, focused on liquefied natural gas and deep-water oil production.   7 Hanover Square, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10004 © 2015 IBT Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Please add pulse@ibt-mail.com to your contacts Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy