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The Morning Ledger: Big Oil's Bet On Natural Gas Takes Its Time |
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The interior of an LNG storage tank under construction at a Futtsu, Japan, power plant in September. PHOTO: TOMOHIRO OHSUMI/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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Good day. Executives at big oil companies are betting on natural gas as the fuel of the future — and working hard to ensure new projects deliver profits of the future, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Full project pipeline: Royal Dutch Shell PLC last week announced a liquefied natural gas project in Canada that will cost $14 billion to build. Exxon Mobil Corp. and partners are expected to approve a multibillion-dollar LNG project in Mozambique in 2019. That is a similar timeline to Russia’s roughly $20 billion Arctic LNG-2 project, which is part-owned by France’s Total SA.
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In the short term: Natural-gas projects historically have delivered lower returns than big oil projects, leading companies and shareholders to prioritize oil developments. High oil prices further complicate matters.
In the long term: Big gas projects generate lower returns, but they are profitable and provide much more stable long-term cash flow than most oil developments — attractive characteristics for shareholders who want to know their dividends are secure.
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Fastenal Co. is among the companies scheduled to report earnings today.
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A pedestrian passes a WeWork co-working space in London, U.K. PHOTO: LUKE MACGREGOR/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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SoftBank Group Corp. is in discussions to take a majority stake in WeWork Cos., in what would be a giant bet on the eight-year-old provider of shared office space, according to people familiar with the talks.
Pfizer Inc. assigned new leadership roles and jobs to a range of top executives, as the drug maker prepares for Albert Bourla to begin his tenure as chief executive in January.
William Ackman said his activist hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management LP has built a roughly 1.1% stake in coffee giant Starbucks Corp.
Sears Holdings Corp. added a bankruptcy expert to its board of directors, another sign the embattled retailer is preparing for a complex restructuring.
Cannabis retailer MedMen Enterprises Inc. has named Ben Cook, a former supply-chain executive with Walmart Inc. and Apple Inc., as chief operating officer, a sign of the ambitious distribution plans being built as more states legalize recreational and medical marijuana.
McDonald’s Corp. franchisees are considering making a push to urge the company to help improve profit and cash flow at their restaurants.
Trian Fund Management LP thinks PPG Industries Inc. could use a fresh coat of paint. The activist hedge fund disclosed a stake in the paint maker in a filing Tuesday, without detailing its intentions or the current size of the investment.
Lennar Corp. is in advanced talks to sell its real-estate lending unit, looking to offload the business at a time when the nation’s largest home builder and its peers are struggling alongside a stagnant housing market.
South Korea’s Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. is getting about $5 billion in additional state funding to finance a series of new orders for megaships as the company tries to compete with bigger Asian and European rivals in a difficult container shipping market.
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A collection of Google apps on an Android portable device. PHOTO: JAAP ARRIENS/NURPHOTO/ZUMA PRESS
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Alphabet Inc.’s Google on Tuesday said it filed an appeal of the European Union’s €4.34 billion ($4.97 billion) antitrust fine for allegedly abusing the dominance of its Android operating system for mobile phones.
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HSBC Holdings PLC will pay $765 million to settle U.S. Justice Department claims that it willfully covered up risks associated with residential-mortgage products in the run-up to the last housing-market downturn.
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Standard Chartered PLC Chief Executive Bill Winters told senior staff Tuesday the bank is working on an “acceptable resolution” with U.S. authorities over historic sanctions violations that are expected to result in a $1 billion-plus fine.
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French oil giant Total SA has stopped buying Iranian oil, its Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanné said Tuesday, as companies start cutting imports before next month’s U.S. deadline.
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IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde has warned that the pressure on emerging markets could lead to market corrections. PHOTO: MADE NAGI/EPA-EFE/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK
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A new study by the International Monetary Fund projects emerging economies will muddle through recent market turbulence without a severe shock to their financial systems, but flags an outside chance of a crisis.
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Pension funds, endowments, wealthy families and other large investors could be on the hook for a portion of damages caused by Hurricane Michael, particularly if the storm intensifies.
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President Trump repeated his frustration with higher short-term interest rates set by the U.S. Federal Reserve, but said he hadn’t spoken with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell because he wanted to stay “uninvolved” in monetary policy.
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Mexican inflation accelerated in September, led by higher energy costs that have kept the annual rate well above the Bank of Mexico’s target.
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Oil prices rose Tuesday on concerns over declining supply from Iran, as well as worries about a hurricane that has sharply curtailed offshore oil production in the Gulf of Mexico.
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Dominion Energy Inc., a Virginia-based gas and power utility, named James Chapman its new finance chief, effective Nov. 1, according to a regulatory filing.
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He replaces incumbent Mark McGettrick who will remain with the company until Jan. 1 to aid in the transition. Mr. McGettrick's departure will cap a nearly 40-year career with Dominion. Mr. Chapman has been senior vice president of mergers and acquisitions and treasurer since February 2016. He joined Dominion Energy in August 2013 after a stint at Barclays PLC. Compensation information has yet to be released.
Domino's Pizza Group PLC, a U.K.-based unit of the international pizza delivery company, appointed David Bauernfeind as CFO and executive director, effective immediately. Mr. Bauernfeind was initially appointed on an interim basis and following a consultancy period, the company said it has made the role permanent. Compensation details were not available.
BuzzFeed Inc., a New York-based media company, appointed Eric W. Muhlheim as CFO, effective Oct. 15. Mr. Muhlheim joins BuzzFeed from OpenX Technologies Inc., an advertising marketplace. Compensation details were not available.
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