2025-07-23 18:46

Diesel margins boost US refiners' Q2 profits Refiners' earnings rebound from recent quarterly losses Refining stocks up 20% year-to-date NEW YORK, July 23 (Reuters) - Investors are expecting top U.S. refiners to report higher second-quarter profits, bouncing back from losses during the first three months of the year as unseasonably strong diesel margins boost earnings. Fuelmakers have reaped unexpected profits from producing key products in recent months, a respite after earnings slipped from record levels in 2022, when a recovery in demand following the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine lifted prices. Sign up here. Some forecasting groups had anticipated weaker margins this year as demand was expected to slow. While analysts expect a recovery from the previous quarter, profits are likely to be weaker than a year ago. "Refiners are up 20% year-to-date, with surprising counter-seasonal diesel crack strength supporting the group," said TD Cowen analyst Jason Gabelman. Product margins could potentially hold at elevated levels until autumn maintenance, Gabelman said. Diesel cracks averaged $17 per barrel during the second quarter, in line with the first quarter, but ended the three-month period higher at $21 per barrel, TPH & Co analyst Matthew Blair said in a note. U.S. distillate inventories reached five-year lows in early May thanks to strong exports and improving demand, which supported margins, Blair said. U.S. refinery distillate yields have also been low, likely due to a lighter crude slate. Valero (VLO.N) , opens new tab, the second-largest U.S. refiner by capacity, is set to kick off refiner earnings on Thursday, with analysts forecasting a profit of $1.75 per share, down from $2.71 per share profit a year ago, according to data from LSEG. Marathon Petroleum (MPC.N) , opens new tab, the top U.S. refiner by volume, is expected to report a per-share profit of $3.28, compared with a $4.12 per share profit a year ago, LSEG estimated. Phillips 66 (PSX.N) , opens new tab is expected to report a profit of $1.69 per share, versus $2.31 per share profit a year ago, according to LSEG estimates. Both Marathon and Phillips 66 reported losses in the first quarter. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-refiners-may-see-q2-profit-recover-stronger-diesel-margins-2025-07-23/

2025-07-23 18:19

CPC's shareholders include US majors Chevron and ExxonMobil More than 2% of global oil supply could be disrupted CPC's operations have been disrupted over the year Restrictions follow contamination scare over Azeri BTC oil MOSCOW, July 23 (Reuters) - Foreign oil tankers are being temporarily barred from loading at Russia's main Black Sea ports following new regulations, two industry sources said on Wednesday, effectively blocking exports from Kazakhstan handled largely by a consortium partly owned by U.S. energy majors. The lack of port access to foreign ships, which also affected Russian oil exports from the port of Novorossiisk, could amount to more than 2% of global oil supply, according to Reuters calculations based on loadings data from the region. Sign up here. It comes days after the EU imposed fresh sanctions on Russia and complicates operations of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, whose shareholders include Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab and ExxonMobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab. CPC ships oil through the pipeline, which carries more than 80% of all Kazakh oil exports, and further via Russia's Yuzhnaya Ozereevka terminal. On Monday, President Vladimir Putin signed a law under which foreign ships will require the approval of Russia's FSB security service to access the country's ports. The decree said that permission from port authorities for foreign ships to enter would need to be agreed with the FSB, which is the main successor organisation to the Soviet-era KGB. The new measures came into force immediately after the decree was published. CPC and Russia's ministry of transport declined to comment on the suspension. One of the sources said he expected the situation at the ports to be resolved in a day or two. Black Sea CPC Blend oil exports from the CPC terminal in Russia were set at 1.66 million barrels per day for August, or about 6.5 million metric tons, almost unchanged from the July export plan. Exports and oil transit via Novorossisk are seen around 2.2 million metric tons in July, according to industry sources. Mediterranean oil markets were already jittery following a contamination scare which led to delayed loadings of Azeri BTC crude oil from the Turkish port of Ceyhan in recent days. CPC's operations were also disrupted by a damaged pumping station in February in a suspected drone attack, and Russia's brief restrictions on capacity of the CPC's Black Sea terminal in April. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/kazakh-black-sea-oil-exports-halted-by-new-russian-regulations-sources-say-2025-07-23/

2025-07-23 18:04

MEXICO CITY, July 23 (Reuters) - Executives at Mexican lender Banorte (GFNORTEO.MX) , opens new tab on Wednesday warned that foreign-exchange volatility and a potential dividend payout could weigh on the company's performance for the remainder of the year. The cautionary outlook came a day after the bank reported a 4% rise in second-quarter net profit, bolstered by double-digit growth in its loan portfolio. Banorte's shares rose 3.5% during the analyst call. Sign up here. On the call, executives said a strengthening peso could dent results by reducing the value of income generated in U.S. dollars, though they maintained full-year guidance. They noted that a peso level of 17 or 18 to the dollar would add pressure, while a move above 20 would be beneficial. The bank's forecast is for the peso to ease toward 19 per greenback by year-end. This outlook is based on expectations that Mexico's central bank will cut interest rates by 100 basis points this year, outpacing an expected 50-basis-point reduction in the U.S., which would narrow the rate differential and likely weigh on the peso. Executives added that they were analyzing a dividend payout which could be announced in the third quarter to reward shareholders, though it would mean less cash on hand to grow the loan book. Despite the headwinds, which also include uncertainty around reviews of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade pact, Chief Financial Officer Rafael Arana de la Garza said that the bank is well-positioned to manage stress. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/mexicos-banorte-warns-fx-potential-dividend-could-weigh-full-year-results-2025-07-23/

2025-07-23 17:58

July 23 (Reuters) - Advent-backed consumer insights company NIQ Global (NIQ.N) , opens new tab was valued at $6.1 billion as its shares dipped 3.6% in their NYSE debut on Wednesday, marking a rare setback in an otherwise strong stretch for initial public offerings. The stock opened at $20.25 per share, compared with the IPO price of $21 per share. Sign up here. While strong equity markets and upbeat IPO debuts have boosted optimism among companies and investors alike, NIQ's performance highlights that investors continue to be picky. "Although there is excitement around many of the technology IPOs, there is still a quality bar that any issuer must clear," said Sam Kerr, head of equity capital markets at Mergermarket. The Chicago, Illinois-based company had priced its shares at the lower end of the $20 to $24 range it marketed earlier, raising $1.05 billion. NIQ delivers insights on consumer shopping behavior that brands and retailers use to fine-tune their products and strategies. It has about 23,000 clients including Coca-Cola (KO.N) , opens new tab, Nestlé (NESN.S) , opens new tab and Sony (6758.T) , opens new tab and is led by Jim Peck, former CEO of credit information company, TransUnion (TRU.N) , opens new tab. NIQ's revenue was $965.9 million for the three months ended March 31, slightly higher than a year earlier. Net loss attributable to it narrowed to $73.7 million, from $173.9 million a year ago. Proceeds from the IPO will be used to repay some debt and for other general corporate purposes, NIQ said. Circana and YouGov are some of the company's competitors. J.P. Morgan, BofA Securities and UBS Investment Bank are among the underwriters for the IPO. The listing came more than four years after NIQ was spun off from Nielsen Holdings. https://www.reuters.com/business/advent-backed-niq-valued-61-billion-shares-slip-nyse-debut-2025-07-23/

2025-07-23 17:58

Japan to invest $550 billion in U.S., tariffs reduced to 15% Uncertainty over tariffs keeping forex market on edge Japanese PM Shigeru Ishiba denies reports he would quit Aussie dollar hits eight-month high, euro edges higher LONDON/NEW YORK, July 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar strengthened against the Swiss franc and euro but weakened versus the yen on Wednesday as positive sentiment from a new U.S. trade deal was offset by political uncertainty surrounding Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's future. President Donald Trump announced a trade deal on Tuesday with Japan, which lowers tariffs on auto imports to 15% in exchange for a $550 billion package of U.S.-bound investment and loans. It is the most significant of a clutch of agreements that Trump has bagged since unveiling sweeping global levies in April. Sign up here. The dollar gained against the Swiss franc , on track to snap three straight sessions of losses. It was last up 0.24% to 0.79425. Wall Street's main indexes were all advancing while U.S. Treasury yields rose. The greenback weakened against the yen , hitting its lowest level since July 11 at 146.20 per dollar after reports that Ishiba intends to step down next month following a bruising upper house election defeat. Ishiba denied the reports that he had decided to resign, calling them "completely unfounded." The yen was last down 0.06% at 146.565 yen. "The main thing driving USD/JPY has to do with political anxiety as it looks like the prime minister is feeling some pressure to consider resigning," Juan Perez, senior director of trading at Monex USA in Washington, told Reuters in a statement. "This deal helps automakers, for now, but leaves markets also wondering if at any point tariffs can be increased since they will not go away as tools for negotiating anything and everything. Japan, an advanced economy agreeing to new terms for trade does leave concern that successful tariff use will give incentive to keep using their threat." The European Union and the U.S. are heading towards a trade deal that would result in a broad tariff of 15% on EU goods imported into the U.S., two diplomats told Reuters. The deal would mirror a similar agreement the U.S. struck with Japan. The euro pared earlier losses and was up 0.08% against the dollar at $1.176250, . The U.S. dollar has been one of the biggest losers among major currencies since Trump announced sweeping tariffs on trading partners on April 2. The weakness continued as those duties were suspended to allow further negotiations, but has steadied this month. The August 1 deadline for tariff deals still looms for many countries and investors remain cautious on how it will play out. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, fell 0.14% to 97.33, on track for four straight sessions of losses. "I think what the market is expecting is that there will be a blanket tariff of a certain amount: let's just say 10% or so, and that has been set in place for quite a while. And I believe that it's discounted," said Jeff Young, head of investment strategy, at PGIM Quantitative Solutions in New Jersey. "The effect on the dollar is going to be ... folded into the overall macro picture. And I think it's going to be difficult to disentangle the exact impact of the tariff versus all the other things that are affecting the currency because I do think that a lot of that is pretty much already discounted." Sterling was up 0.26% at $1.35690 . The Aussie hit an eight-month high and was last up 0.4% at U.S.$0.6584. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/dollar-falls-against-yen-markets-weigh-new-trade-deal-japanese-politics-2025-07-22/

2025-07-23 17:43

MEXICO CITY, July 23 (Reuters) - Mexico's largest broadcaster, Grupo Televisa, reduced 2025 capital spending on Wednesday, lowering it to $600 million from $665 million. Televisa's Co-Chief Executive Alfonso de Angoitia said on a call with analysts that negotiations with suppliers had resulted in more favorable terms for the company. Sign up here. "While we expect CAPEX deployment to accelerate during the second half of the year, we are cutting our CAPEX budget," Angoitia said. Following the call, shares in the world's biggest producer of Spanish-language content were up 3.3%, paring earlier gains of as much as 7.6%. Televisa's (TLEVISACPO.MX) , opens new tab stock has surged over 30% year-to-date, with Wednesday's gain alone adding 820.4 million pesos ($44.18 million) to the company's market capitalization. On Tuesday, the broadcaster reported net profit of 474.5 million pesos for the second quarter, rebounding from a 25.6-million peso loss one year ago. The quarterly profit was largely supported by lower costs, despite a fall in subscriptions, particularly for Televisa's satellite-TV unit, SKY. "Through 2025, we expect the broadcaster to maintain constant challenges in both the cable and Sky segments, but with a less adverse scenario in terms of inflation and comparable bases," analysts at brokerage Monex said. SKY had about 350,000 disconnections and a 16.3% dip in revenue during the second quarter, while the cable segment registered a revenue drop of 2.5% year-over-year. The company's revenue totaled 14.73 billion pesos, a 6% decrease from the same period last year. However, Angoitia added that revenue remained unchanged when excluding the impact of the Mexican peso's depreciation. The peso weakened 2.6% from the end of June last year to the end of June this year. ($1 = 18.5705 Mexican pesos) https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/mexican-broadcaster-televisa-cuts-2025-investment-budget-shares-rise-2025-07-23/