Reuters Financial News

Oil prices fell on Thursday, as concerns over low demand following a surprise U.S. crude inventory build outweighed jitters over global trade disruptions and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Brent crude futures fell 65 cents, or 0.8%, to $79.05 a barrel by 0120 GMT while U.S.

(Reuters) -Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) CEO David Zaslav met with Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish to discuss a potential deal between the two companies, a source told Reuters on Wednesday.

Heritage Foundation senior fellow Brent Sadler reacts to BP pausing Red Sea oil shipments after Houthi attacks on Varney & Co.

insurance. Back home, on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), crude oil futures due for a January 19 expiry, was last trading higher by 1.39 per cent at ₹6,253 per bbl, having swung between ₹6160 and ₹6,289 per bbl during the session so far, against a previous close of ₹6,167 per barrel. -Oil pared some gains after weekly data from the US Energy Information Administration showed a surprise crude inventory build, larger than expected fuel stocks gains and record domestic oil production. -On Wednesday, Greece advised commercial vessels sailing in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to avoid Yemeni waters.

But who are these Houthi rebels attacking ships in the Red Sea, what do they want? Let's take a deep dive into the crisis: Houthi rebels are backed by Iran. They seized Yemen's capital, Sanaa, in 2014, launching a grinding war. They are formally known as Ansar Allah, or the “partisans of God." As of now, the Yemeni rebel group controls the west of the country, including its Red Sea coast, the Guardian reported.

By Divya Chowdhury

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By Natalie Grover

hijacked in the Middle Eastern sea with 25 people on board by Houthi rebels. This disruption is significant as approximately 12 percent of global shipping traffic navigates through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.

LONDON — U.K. inflation fell by more than expected in to hit 3.9% in November, in the lowest annual reading since September 2021.

Alibaba Group CEO Eddie Wu will take over as chief executive of Taobao and Tmall Group, Alibaba's domestic e-commerce arm, effective immediately, the company said on Wednesday. Wu, who has been Group CEO since September, also took over from previous head Daniel Zhang as the company's cloud business CEO that month. The latest appointment means Wu now leads the overall group as well as its two most important business divisions — cloud and domestic e-commerce.

global market cues. The Asian markets traded higher while the US stocks ended with gains overnight amid upbeat sentiment over easing monetary policy by the central bank going ahead. Catch Live Market Updates here However, a spike in crude oil prices on concerns over disruption in the Red Sea would weigh on investor sentiment.

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's exports in November fell for the first time in three months dragged down by China-bound chip shipments, underscoring worries that slowing overseas economies may deal another blow to the trade-reliant economy as domestic demand slows.

Bard and AI-based searches, Reuters reported. The announcement from the Alphabet company comes ahead of the pivotal 2024 US Presidential election. While the US election garners global attention, 2024 is also crucial for other nations.

SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) — China stood pat on benchmark lending rates at the monthly fixing on Wednesday, matching market expectations, after the central bank kept its medium-term policy rate steady earlier last week.

By David Shepardson and Valerie Insinna

Israel-Gaza War Day 73: Israel faces new calls for truce after killing of hostages raises alarm. 10 updates Meanwhile, President Isaac Herzog indicated that Israel was willing to undertake a fresh truce in the coming days for recovery of hostages.

inflation rate held steady at 3.1 per cent in November, Statistics Canada said Tuesday, amid a “broad-based” easing in grocery price hikes.Some economists had expected a decline in the headline inflation figure, but StatCan said higher prices on travel tours and elevated housing costs kept the annual rate steady.Rents were up 7.4 per cent year-over-year — down from the previous month — and mortgage interest costs rose nearly 30 per cent annually, the agency noted.A 26.1 per cent jump in the prices for travel tours last month was offset by drops in the cost of cellular services, which StatCan said related to Black Friday deals in November.Gas prices were down last month but to a lesser extent than October, which the agency said put upward pressure on the monthly inflation figure. A drop in the price of fuel oil helped to reduce price pressures in the month, with StatCan noting the Liberal government’s temporary suspension of the federal carbon levy on home heating oil “contributed to the decline.”November was the fifth straight month that food inflation slowed, the agency noted, with grocery prices rising 4.7 per cent annually in the month.StatCan said that the easing at the grocery store was “broad-based,” with price hikes on every component in the grocery basket cooling from October’s increases.

Heritage Foundation senior fellow Brent Sadler reacts to BP pausing Red Sea oil shipments after Houthi attacks on 'Varney & Co.'

By Elizabeth Howcroft