Oil Companies Sputtering In Turbulent Markets

Oil Majors Lost One Engine; Now the Second One Is Sputtering  

BP says second-quarter refining margins drop to 6-year low Downstream business was key last year in cushioning cheap oil If Big Oil was a two-engine airplane, you could say it’s been flying on a single engine since energy prices crashed in 2014. Now, the second motor is sputtering. The major integrated oil companies, including Exxon Mobil Corp., Total SA and BP Plc, have relied on their so-called downstream businesses, which include refining crude into gasoline, oil trading and gas stations, to cushion the losses on their upstream units, which pump crude and natural gas. “The crash in oil prices in late 2014 brought refineries worldwide a pleasant surprise: booming margins,” said Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at consulting firm Energy Aspects Ltd. in London. “But now, the market is changing.” BP, the first major to report second-quarter results, showed the impact on Tuesday. The British company said its downstream […]

 bloomberg.com

Singapore Banks Facing Earnings Stumble as Bad Loans, Sibor Bite

Overall classified loan exposure, which includes debts that are unrecoverable as well as those unlikely to be repaid, rose to a seven-year high of 0.92 percent by March, according to Monetary Authority of Singapore data.

Why Pensions’ Last Defense Is Eroding

Long-term returns for U.S. public pensions are expected to drop to the lowest levels ever recorded, portending deeper pain for states and cities as a $1 trillion funding gap widens.

China: Strikes, mass unemployment a growing worry for country's leaders

Prominent labour activist Zhang Ziru, who has been involved in much of the labour unrest in China's south, had a dire warning for the Government. "If China's system doesn't improve and the Government fails to make political reforms, the grievances and grudges will grow until society explodes," he said.

Analyst Warns of a Restaurant Downturn and Sees Harbinger of U.S. Recession

A downturn in dining could be implying a U.S. recession as soon as early 2017, he said, since "restaurants have historically led the market lower during the three to six-month periods prior to the start of the prior three U.S. recessions," Westra adds.  

Record bankruptcies pressure Brazil banks as recession bites

 SAO PAULO, July 26 Brazil's harshest recession

in eight decades is prompting some of the nation's top banks to

reclassify some 90 billion reais ($27 billion) in problematic

doubling in bankruptcy protection filings. 

Corporate loans, eroding profits as banks struggle with a

    Lenders face a deluge of requests to renegotiate existing

corporate borrowers of cash. Some companies, like rig leaser

loans and stretch out guarantees as the economic crisis deprives
Sete Brasil Participações SA and phone carrier Oi SA, have been

sole client Petróleo Brasileiro SA derailed plans to
forced to seek court protection from creditors. 

Reuters