Elsewhere, Reuters reported that India is commercializing its strategic petroleum reserves and has begun selling off crude from its state refiners. That will allow it to lease out some of that space, though it might mean lower Indian imports from Indian refiners in the short-term, said DNB Markets' Helge Andre Martinsen.
Copper prices were up 0.7%, clawing back some of its early-week losses as the dollar retreated from its one-month highs. Gold was also a touch higher but this week has been "mostly unresponsive to rising inflation expectations and low yields," said Swissquote's Ipek Ozkardeskaya.
"Buying gold as a bad-day hedge is good, but costly in a market where equities post abnormally high returns and banks call for further gains," she said.
EMEA HEADLINES
Carlsberg Raises 2021 View After 1H Recovery in Sales, Profit
Carlsberg AS on Wednesday raised its earnings guidance for 2021 after posting first-half net profit and revenue that beat expectations as it recovered from the hit caused by the pandemic last year.
The Copenhagen-based brewer said the strength of its first-half results enabled it to upgrade its guidance and to launch a new share buyback. It now expects organic growth in operating profit within the range of 8% to 11%, up from its previous range of 5% to 10%.
Old Mutual Sees 1H Recovery in Sales, Profit, But Raises Covid-19 Provision
Old Mutual Ltd. said Wednesday that it experienced a recovery in sales and earnings for the first half of the year, but that it has increased its Covid-19 provisions to take into account expectations of further coronavirus waves.
The South Africa-based financial services group said it expects adjusted headline earnings for the first six months of the year to be up between 65% and 75% on year to between 2.81 billion and 2.98 billion rand ($188.5 million-$199.9 million).
Persimmon 1H Pretax Profit, Revenue Rose
Persimmon PLC said Wednesday that first-half pretax profit and revenue rose and that it anticipates delivering around 10% growth in sales completions this year.
The U.K. house builder said that pretax profit was 480.1 million pounds ($659.7 million) compared with GBP292.4 million for the first half of 2020.
BHP's New Look Is Only a Shade Greener
BHP Group, the world's largest miner by market value, is becoming more sustainable, but not exactly green.
Against a backdrop of soaring metal prices, Chief Executive Mike Henry on Tuesday said the company's very strong operational results "frees us up" to simplify the group and invest more in what he calls "future-facing commodities."
GLOBAL NEWS
Jerome Powell Says It's Unclear What Covid-19 Surge Means for Economy
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said it remains to be seen how the U.S. economy will weather the recent Covid-19 surge, in comments that offered no views on the outlook for monetary policy.
"It's not yet clear whether the Delta [coronavirus] strain will have important effects on the economy; we'll have to see about that," Mr. Powell told students and teachers Tuesday during a virtual event held by the central bank.
Nancy Pelosi Braces for Showdown With Moderates Next Week Over Infrastructure Vote
WASHINGTON-Top House Democrats said the chamber would move forward with voting on the budget blueprint for a $3.5 trillion healthcare, education and climate package next week, rebuffing demands from a group of centrist Democrats to first vote on a $1 trillion infrastructure bill and urging their caucus to stay unified around President Biden's agenda.
"I would hope that none of us, that none of us, would do or say anything that would jeopardize passing these bills. These bills are critical for us maintaining our majority, and that must reign supreme," Democratic Whip James Clyburn (D., S.C.) told members on a Tuesday telephone call, according to a person listening to it.
Summer Road Trips, Falling Crude Prices Pump Up Refiners' Profits
Summer road trips and a pullback in crude prices have pumped up refineries' profits, offering brighter prospects for one part of the global oil complex despite rising worries about Covid-19.
Oil prices have grown choppy in recent weeks since China, the world's biggest commodities consumer, imposed restrictions to contain the Delta coronavirus variant. A decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and the cartel's other partners to pump more oil is also weighing on crude markets.
RBNZ Keeps Cash Rate Unchanged After Latest Lockdown
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand left its policy rate unchanged at a record low, as an outbreak of the Covid-19 Delta variant upends daily life and threatens to set back the economic recovery.
The central bank on Wednesday said the economy no longer needs the current level of monetary stimulus, but it decided to keep the cash rate at 0.25% for now because of uncertainty stemming from the virus outbreak.
Cargo Ships Are Again Idling Off Jammed Southern California Ports
Container ships are stacking up again off Southern California's jammed ports, as a flood of imports and logjams in domestic logistics networks hit operations at the biggest U.S. gateway for seaborne trade.
Thirty-seven container ships were anchored off the adjacent ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in recent days, according to the Marine Exchange of Southern California, the highest number since February, when 40 ships waited there.
Australia's Economy to Splutter to Life Rather Than Snap Back, CBA Says
SYDNEY-The widely expected snapback in Australia's economy later this year once Covid-19 vaccination rates hit key thresholds and lockdowns are eased is a fiction, according to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Instead of roaring back to life upon reopening as the economy had following earlier lockdowns, growth will instead be patchy as the engines of industry splutter amid a new and uncertain backdrop of surging Covid cases, with much of the population still unvaccinated, said Gareth Aird, head of Australian economics at CBA.
Covid-19 Booster Shot to Be Offered to People Fully Vaccinated With Pfizer, Moderna
The Biden administration is expected to call for a third Covid-19 shot for Americans who were fully vaccinated with the two-shot regimen, citing the threat from the highly contagious Delta variant and heightened concerns over data showing initial immunity wanes over time.
Taliban Consolidate Control in Afghanistan's Capital as Thousands Remain Stranded
The Biden administration said Tuesday that the airport in Kabul was open for both military and civilian flights, but access remained near-impossible for the thousands of Afghans seeking to leave Afghanistan, as the Taliban strengthened control over the city and a Taliban leader returned from exile.
Military flights resumed as the U.S. sent additional troops to secure the perimeter and manage air-traffic control and ground operations, following two days of chaos there while Westerners and Afghans raced to escape the country.
China Sees Risks in Stepping Into Afghanistan After U.S. Withdrawal
TAIPEI-Chinese state media has mocked the U.S.'s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan as the latest sign of America's declining global prestige, but China is approaching its own plans for engaging with the country under Taliban rule with caution.
On Tuesday, China's Foreign Ministry cited portrayals in U.S. media of a new "Saigon moment." China's state-run Xinhua News Agency the day before tweeted side-by-side photos of helicopters evacuating U.S. government employees from Saigon and Kabul with the words "history repeats itself."
U.S. Officials in Germany Hit by Havana Syndrome
BERLIN-At least two U.S. officials stationed in Germany sought medical treatment after developing symptoms of the mysterious health complaint known as Havana Syndrome, according to U.S. diplomats.
The symptoms, which included nausea, severe headaches, ear pain, fatigue, insomnia and sluggishness, began to emerge in recent months and some victims were left unable to work, according to the diplomats. They are the first cases to be reported in a NATO country that hosts U.S. troops and nuclear weapons.
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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
08-18-21 0559ET
