Wall Street falls as weak auto sales spur growth jitters

Stock market

Wall Street stocks fell on Tuesday, with each of the major indexes notching their worst day in about a month as economic data and weaker-than-expected auto sales spurred concerns about growth.

Shares of Ford and General Motors dropped more than 4 percent each after the two major U.S. automakers reported July vehicle sales slightly below expectations.

The automakers' declines pulled the S&P consumer discretionary sector .SPLRCD down 1.5 percent as the worst- performing of the 10 major S&P groups.

Data showed U.S. consumer spending rose more than expected in June as households bought a range of goods and services.

However, personal income rose only 0.2 percent, missing estimates of 0.3 percent, while inflation remained below the Federal Reserve's 2 percent target. That could keep the central bank on a cautious path to hiking interest rates.

"People are starting to see that things aren’t quite as rosy as they might have thought in the month of July with that big run up," said Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer at OakBrook Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois. The S&P 500 climbed 3.6 percent in July, its best month since March.

Another drop in U.S. crude CLc1 below $40 a barrel also weighed on sentiment, as the commodity settled down 1.4 percent at $39.51.

Pfizer, was the biggest percentage decliner on the Dow, after the largest U.S. drugmaker reported better-than-expected quarterly results but revenue from its branded patent-protected medicines was disappointing.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 90.74 points, or 0.49 percent, to 18,313.77, the S&P 500 lost 13.81 points, or 0.64 percent, to 2,157.03 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 46.46 points, or 0.9 percent, to 5,137.73.

CVS jumped more than 5 percent to $98.57 after the drugstore chain operator's quarterly profit beat estimates.

Of the 353 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings through Tuesday morning, 71 percent have topped analyst expectations, according to Thomson Reuters data. Earnings for the second quarter are expected to show a decline of 2.6 percent, an improvement from the expected 4.5 percent decline on July 1.

Equities pared early losses after a report in the Wall Street Journal that biotechnology giant Biogen Inc has drawn takeover interest from drug companies, including Merck & Co Inc  and Allergan Plc. Biogen shares surged 9.4 percent to $330.11 and the Nasdaq biotechnology index climbed 0.2 percent after falling as much as 1.8 percent.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 3.35-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.97-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

The S&P 500 posted 14 new 52-week highs and 1 new low; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 54 new highs and 38 new lows.

About 7.45 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, compared with the 6.64 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions.

Source by Reuters

AIG profit rises 6.3 percent as costs fall

Business

American International Group Inc, the largest commercial insurer in the United States and Canada, reported a 6.3 percent rise in quarterly profit as costs fell 16.3 percent.

The company's net income rose to $1.91 billion, or $1.68 per share, for the second quarter ended June 30, from $1.80 billion, or $1.32 per share, a year earlier.

On an operating basis, the company earned 98 cents per share.

Analysts on average had expected the company to earn 93 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. It was not immediately clear if the reported figures were comparable.

AIG, whose total costs fell to $2.59 billion from $3.09 billion, said its board has authorized a share buyback program of up to $3 billion.

Source by Reuters

EA revenue beats estimates on higher game downloads

Technology, Business

Video-game publisher Electronic Arts Inc, known for titles such as "FIFA" and "Star Wars Battlefront", reported first-quarter revenue that beat analysts' estimates, helped by higher downloads of its games.

The high-margin digital business, where players download digital versions of games, also helped EA post an adjusted profit for the quarter, compared with a loss that the company had forecast.

The company's shares rose 2.5 percent in extended trading on Tuesday.

"Our digital business drove this quarter, particularly outperformance from "FIFA Ultimate Team" on console and "Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes" on mobile," Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen said in a statement.

EA's adjusted revenue fell 1.6 percent to about $682 million in the first quarter ended June 30. Analysts on average were expecting $650.7 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

On an adjusted basis, EA earned 7 cents per share. The company had forecast a loss of 5 cents per share.

Adjusted sales from EA's digital business rose 6.8 percent to about $568 million and accounted for 83.3 percent of total revenue.

EA forecast a loss of 17 cents per share and revenue of about $915 million for the current quarter.

Starting from this quarter, EA will stop reporting non-GAAP measures that adjust for deferred revenue, as it has done since fiscal 2008, to comply with stricter guidelines by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Source by Reuters

Wall Street slips as car sales dent economic hopes

Stock market, Wall Street

Stocks fell Tuesday on Wall Street, with each of the major indexes notching their largest daily percentage loss in about a month as economic data and weaker-than-expected auto sales spurred growth concerns.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 90.74 points, or 0.49 percent, to 18,313.77, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 13.81 points, or 0.64 percent, to 2,157.03 and the Nasdaq Composite.IXIC dropped 46.46 points, or 0.9 percent, to 5,137.73.

Source by Reuters

Instagram's Snapchat-like feature allows 24-hour-limit posts

Technology

Users of Instagram, a photo-sharing app owned by Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) , can now post picture and video slideshows that last 24 hours, a feature similar to the signature function of social media rival Snapchat.

Snapchat, which launched in 2011, got its initial boost from millennials, especially teenagers, who value the privacy that the app offers. Text messages disappear right after they are read, and posts expire after 24 hours.

As with Snapchat, the new Instagram Stories feature allows its 500 million members to annotate their posts with emojis, doodles and texts, Instagram said in a blog post on Tuesday.

The feature is the latest salvo between Facebook, which bought Instagram for $1 billion in 2012, and Snapchat, which rejected Facebook's $3 billion buyout offer just three years ago, as they try to attract more users.

Snapchat is popular with younger people who want to shield their posts from the eyes of their parents, who are more likely to be on Facebook, whose 1.7 billion monthly users tend to be older. Snapchat recently surpassed Twitter Inc in daily users and is valued at around $18 billion.

In July, Snapchat introduced a Memories feature that enables users to save and share their content, as on Facebook.

Instagram Stories allows followers to send direct messages to the uploader but users cannot "like" an image or post a comment, as in Facebook.

Instagram Stories is available in the United States and will roll out globally over the next few weeks on Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhones and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Inc's Android-based smartphones, Instagram said.

"This is the latest step in putting video at the center of all our services. People are already creating and sharing more video, so we're going to make it even easier," Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook account.

Many replies to Zuckerberg's post pointed out the new feature's resemblance to Snapchat.

Facebook user Antoine Maillot wrote: "Snapchat-like on Facebook World... No, I prefer the real Snapchat app, sorry."

Shares of Facebook fell 1.1 percent to $122.92 at mid-afternoon.

Source by Reuters

NBA 2K videogame maker wins dismissal of big tattoo damages claim

Technology, Business

The maker of the popular NBA 2K video game series on Tuesday won the dismissal of a potentially large damages claim in a lawsuit over its depiction of tattoos belonging to LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and other National Basketball Association stars.

U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain in Manhattan said Take-Two Interactive Software Inc cannot be held liable to the plaintiff Solid Oak Sketches LLC for statutory damages of as much as $150,000 per copyright infringement, a sum that in theory could reach billions of dollars.

Swain said Solid Oak can still pursue actual damages over New York-based Take-Two's alleged unauthorized incorporation into NBA 2K16 of eight tattoo designs that the plaintiff had licensed from various artists.

The works includes the words "Hold My Own" on James' left bicep, butterflies on Bryant's right bicep, and designs on the bodies of Eric Bledsoe, DeAndre Jordan and Kenyon Martin.

Take-Two has said it sold more than 4 million copies of NBA 2K16 in the first week after its release last Sept. 29.

Swain said U.S. copyright law imposed a "bright-line" rule precluding recovery of statutory damages when the first of a series of infringements occurred before the works in question are registered with the U.S. Copyright Office.

The judge said Solid Oak's 2015 registration came two years after Take Two's alleged first infringement when it released NBA 2K14, and that it did not matter that the game has been updated.

"When the same defendant infringes on the same protected work in the same manner as it did prior to the work's registration, the postregistration infringement constitutes the continuation of a series of ongoing infringements," she wrote.

Darren Heitner, a lawyer for Solid Oak, said in an interview: "The case will proceed, and we look forward to explaining why we are entitled to actual damages."

A Take-Two spokesman said the company does not in practice comment on legal matters.

Bryant and Martin have retired from NBA.

The case is Solid Oak Sketches LLC v. Visual Concepts LLC et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 16-00724.

Source by Reuters

U.S. court puts Brazil's Petrobras class action on hold

Business, Commodities

A U.S. appeals court put a class action case against Brazil's state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (SA:PETR4) on hold pending the resolution of an appeal filed by the company, according to a court filing on Tuesday.

Petrobras, as the company is commonly known, is at the center of a massive corruption investigation in Brazil known as Operation Car Wash, which prompted U.S. shareholders in the company to file the class action.

The Brazilian company is appealing a lower court ruling allowing shareholders to pursue their claims as a group.

Source by Reuters

U.S. July auto sales miss estimates, shares drop

Business, Investing

The biggest U.S. automakers on Tuesday reported July U.S. sales that disappointed Wall Street as skittish investors feared the industry's long pleasure trip of strong sales may soon be over, sending their shares skidding about 4 percent.

General Motors Co (N:GM) reported that sales fell 2 percent to 267,258 vehicles, at the low end of expectations, while Ford Motor Co (N:F) posted sales of 216,479 vehicles, down 3 percent. Each of Ford's four top-selling models lost ground, including the Explorer SUV, which dropped 22 percent. GM and Ford are the market leaders by sales volume.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (MI:FCHA) (N:FCAU), the No. 4 by U.S. sales, said its sales rose 0.3 percent, missing estimates.

"The growth is over," Ford Chief Financial Officer Bob Shanks said in an interview with Reuters last week. Pent-up demand built during the last recession has been satisfied, and lower used car prices are drawing some buyers away from new vehicles.

Wes Lutz, owner of Extreme Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Jackson, Michigan, said consumers "are maxed out and can barely afford the vehicles they are driving." Lutz said he is expanding his used car showroom, anticipating that new vehicle sales will decline.

Still, July U.S. auto sales remained strong as consumers continued to spend on pickup trucks and SUVs but GM, Ford and FCA each fell below expectations of Wall Street analysts.

Toyota Motor Corp (T:7203), No. 3 in the U.S. market, reported sales down 1.4 percent, but it surpassed expectations.

Incentive spending in July was 9.9 percent of average vehicle selling prices, up from 9.6 percent a year earlier, said auto sales website and industry analyst TrueCar Inc. (O:TRUE)

“What is interesting to note is that while overall national retail spending remains strong and consumer confidence is relatively unchanged, we are probably seeing some attempts in incentive spending to boost auto sales beyond its organic demand,” said Oliver Strauss, TrueCar chief economist.

Analysts' estimates of July sales, on an annualized basis, ranged from 17.5 million to 18.1 million vehicles. A wider poll of 21 economists by Reuters showed expectations, on average, of 17.36 million vehicles, on an annualized basis.

Sales were tracking about 17.4 million vehicles on an annualized basis, according to RBC Capital Markets.

GM's chief economist, G. Mustafa Mohatarem, and Ford's sales chief, Mark LaNeve, both said sales are still at healthy levels.

Mohatarem said sales for the year were 1 percent higher than they were at this time in 2015. "Let's calm down on the doomsday talk," he said at an industry conference in Traverse City, Michigan.

GM thinks there is potential for a new record for U.S. industry auto sales this year, Mohatarem said.

Nonetheless, GM shares shed 4.5 percent, Ford slid 4.2 percent and FCA dropped nearly 4 percent.

While Wall Street took a dim view of American automakers on Tuesday, sales of SUVs and pickup trucks, which are responsible for record or near-record earnings this year for GM and Ford, are expected to continue to rise.

Sean McAlinden, chief economist at the Center for Automotive Research, said on Tuesday the shift to SUVs and other light trucks could hit 70 percent within two years because of low gas prices and fuel rules. They are about 60 percent now. Passenger cars, such as sedans and hatchbacks, were at 50 percent of the U.S. market in 2010.

Citi analyst Itay Michaeli said sales volume should fall in August in part because of fewer weekends than in July. But he emphasized that as sales plateau, they still remain historically strong.

Japan-based automakers Honda Motor Co (T:7267) said sales were up 4.4 percent, and joined Toyota in reporting higher-than-expected July U.S. sales. Nissan Motor Co (T:7201) said sales rose 1 percent, including a 33 percent hike for its top-selling model, the Rogue small SUV.

FCA last week restated its monthly sales going back to 2011. It is under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department for its sales reporting practices.

Source Reuters

Obama, Singapore leader push Pacific trade deal in state visit

Economy

U.S. President Barack Obama and Singapore's prime minister on Tuesday made impassioned sales pitches for the benefits of a pending Trans-Pacific trade deal during a state visit by the head of the Southeast Asian commercial hub.

Both the United States and Singapore are signatories to the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which Obama hopes Congress will approve before he leaves office in January.

Obama and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong stressed that while concerns about the fate of workers in the increasingly global economy are well founded, the United States cannot turn its back on trade.

"We are part of a global economy. We are not reversing that. It can't be reversed because it is driven by technology ... and the fact that the demand for products inside of our country means we've got to get some things from other places," Obama said at a joint press conference with Lee.

"The notion that we're going to pull that up root and branch is unrealistic," he said.

The TPP faces a battle in Congress. Some U.S. voters blame trade deals for shutting factories, shipping jobs overseas and favoring corporations over the environment.

The pact is also opposed by presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, a Democrat, and Donald Trump, a Republican.

Obama said he looked forward to making the case for the trade deal to lawmakers from both parties after the Nov. 8 presidential election, when Congress will be in a lame duck session ahead of the inauguration of Obama's successor.

"I think I've got the better argument," he said. "Hopefully after the election is over and the dust settles, there will be more attention to the actual facts behind the deal. It won't just be a political symbol."

Obama believes the TPP will fix problems in a previous trade deal, the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, and will create jobs by allowing people around the world to buy U.S. products. The TPP aims to liberalize commerce in 40 percent of the world's economy and would be a check against China's influence in Asia.

Lee cast the deal as pivotal to the United States' relationship with Asia. If the United States were to pull out now, it would be like a bride not arriving at the altar, he said.

"In terms of the economic benefits, the TPP is a big deal," Lee said. "In terms of America's engagement of the region, you have put your reputation on the line."

Dropping out of the trade deal could harm U.S. relations with its allies in Asia, and may cause Japan to question whether it can continue to depend on the United States for security, Lee said.

Source Reuters

Sovereign funds' European shareholdings up to four times bigger than thought

Stock market

Sovereign wealth funds' combined shareholdings are likely to be far bigger than previously thought, running to an average of at least 6-7 percent for Europe's largest listed companies, according to a study.

Some Gulf-based government funds are likely to own four times as many European shares as companies' management believe, the study by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions also found.

The study tracked share ownership in 20 major European companies from five countries and different sectors. The group provides analysis of shareholder and investor activity including on the $6.5 trillion sovereign wealth sector.

The report notes that because the funds, especially Gulf-based ones, hire external asset managers for equity investments, the extent of their foreign holdings tends to be hidden.

"SWFs own way more than any public data would show. You may be looking at SWFs owning 6-7 percent comfortably across the larger European companies. The perception is of less," Scott Young, associate director for advisory services at Nasdaq and one of the report's authors, told Reuters on Tuesday.

That excludes well-publicized holdings such as Qatar's stake in Volkswagen (DE:VOWG_p). Adding these would easily take sovereign ownership levels to 8-9 percent, Young said.

Correctly identifying ownership is important for companies because of implications for shareholder voting and taxation, Young said, noting that a firm with majority overseas-domiciled shareholders could find itself liable to changes in tax structures.

The study, released to clients last week and seen by Reuters on Tuesday, aggregates data from reports commissioned by companies, which permitted Nasdaq to access data from custodian banks on the underlying beneficial owners of their shares.

Norway's $850 billion fund reports its investments in detail, while China's SAFE manages a large portion of its European investments in-house.

But the Gulf-based funds in Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait are not only opaque, they also outsource 75-100 percent of their European equity investing to third parties that subsequently show up as company shareholders.

As a result, Gulf funds typically have far more invested than a company is usually aware of, the report said.

It cited the example of one unnamed company which knew of just a quarter of the actual holding in it owned by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).

Young said that while the Norwegian and Chinese funds owned up to 3 percent and 1.5 percent respectively in the 20 big European firms he analysed, the study showed Saudi Arabia's SAMA likely held up to 0.75 percent while ADIA and the Kuwait Investment Authority owned around 0.3 percent each.

While the data pertains only to 20 big companies in five countries, he said the trend was so clear that "it can be applied across the largest European markets, even where you don't have disclosure laws in place."

Source Investing.com

Gold tests 28-month high, as Dollar remains in freefall

Commodities

Gold surged on Tuesday, soaring more than $10 an ounce to test 28-month highs, as the dollar slumped to its lowest level since late-June and inflation remained relatively weak, potentially delaying the timing of the Federal Reserve's latest interest rate hike.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, Gold for December delivery traded between $1,353.80 and $1,374.15 an ounce before settling at $1,372.25, up $12.65 or 0.93% on the session. Gold has now closed higher in six consecutive sessions. Since opening the year around $1,075 an ounce, Gold has soared approximately 30% year to date and is on pace for one of its strongest years in a decade.

Gold likely gained support at $1,337.50, the low from July 20 and was met with resistance at $1,391.40, the high from March 14, 2014.

On Tuesday morning, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) said Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) rose by 0.1% in June, slightly below consensus estimates of a 0.2% increase following a gain of 0.2% over the previous month. The gains are reflected by an uptick in spending for gas, electricity and healthcare services, which were partially offset by a reduction in spending in new vehicles. Over the last 12 months, the PCE Price Index has increased by 0.9% -- remaining unchanged from the year-over-year gains exhibited in May.

The Core PCE Index, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, inched up by 0.1% in June, in line with consensus estimates and below May's 0.2% monthly increase. On an annual basis, Core personal consumption expenditures are up by 1.6%, unchanged from May's level. At last week's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) July monetary policy meeting, the Committee said market-based measures of inflation continue to remain low, as the Core PCE index hovers below its long-term targeted objective of 2%.

While delivering a speech on monetary policy and the global economy in Beijing, Dallas Fed president Rob Kaplan urged the U.S. central bank to raise rates in a "gradual and patient manner," amid continuing challenges facing the U.S. economy. A day earlier, Kaplan told Bloomberg in a televised interview that a September rate hike is still on the table. Last week, the FOMC left its benchmark Federal Funds Rate unchanged at a level between 0.25 and 0.50% for a fifth consecutive meeting.

Any rate hikes this year are viewed as bearish for gold, which struggles to compete versus high-yield bearing assets in periods of rising rate environments.

Elsewhere, investors kept a close eye on developments out of Japan after Shinzo Abe's cabinet approved a ¥28 trillion stimulus package on Tuesday. Abe's economic stimulus plan was approved mere days after the Bank of Japan surprised markets by implementing only modest easing measures at a closely-watched meeting last week. The $274 billion stimulus is one of the Japanese government's largest since the Financial Crisis and comes amid growing sentiment that Japan's economy will need to rely upon fiscal, not monetary policy in order to stave off deflation. USD/JPY plunged more than 1.5% to an intra-session low of 100.69, falling to near 1-year lows.

The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, fell sharply on Tuesday to an intraday low of 94.94, slipping below 95 for the first time since June 24. The Dollar has been in freefall since hitting four-month highs at 97.62 early last week.

Dollar-denominated commodities such as Gold become more expensive for foreign purchasers when the dollar appreciates.

Silver for September delivery gained 0.178 or 0.87% to $20.678 an ounce.

Copper for September delivery added 0.009 or 0.39% to $2.208 a pound.

Source Investing.com

Britain must respect Chinese investors, says head of UK manufacturing body

Economy

Britain must respect Chinese investors, whose vast wealth may be crucial to the future of the economy, the head of the British manufacturing organization said on Tuesday after a last-minute delay on a partly Chinese-funded nuclear deal.

Prime Minister Theresa May decided last week she wanted more time to review a deal to build the country's first nuclear power plant in decades - a project funded by French utility EDF (PA:EDF) and Chinese partner China General Nuclear.

The unexpected delay has raised concerns that her new government takes a sterner view of Chinese investment which had been a source of cash courted by her predecessor David Cameron.

Terry Scuoler, head of Britain's manufacturing trade body the EEF, said the delay was understandable but it could not be allowed to deter Chinese investors from putting much-needed cash into areas such as Britain's ageing network of power plants.

"It's not unreasonable that the prime minister puts her foot on the ball and surveys the playing field here," he told Reuters in an interview.

"But, equally, relationships have been built up with the Chinese and they have been given to expect a level of access and support and partnership and that needs to be considered very carefully in her thought processes."

A decision on the deal for the Hinkley Point reactor is expected in September. For the Chinese firm, it has been seen as a foot in the door to the British nuclear market, paving the way for another Chinese-designed reactor to be built in the future.

Underlining the need for investment, Scuoler said he expected factories to suffer power shortages over the winter in Britain as a result of low capacity surpluses caused by a failure to replace old, coal-fired electricity plants.

China, he said, could have a key role in helping to rebuild the country's infrastructure, provided the money was invested in a way that was in both countries' interests.

"Chinese investment in the UK is critically important. It is growing. The Chinese government has the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world today," Scuoler said.

"Access to that fund on a partnership basis should, and hopefully will, be very important for our economy, but it must be on a true partnership basis."

Source Reuters

U.S. crude back below $40 as oil pares gains on glut worry

Commodities

Oil prices fell more than 1 percent on Tuesday, erasing early gains and pushing U.S. crude back below $40 a barrel as persistent worries of a glut offset the impact of a weak dollar that initially propped the market.

A slide in U.S. equities also forced U.S. crude futures, which plunged below the $40 level on Monday for the first time since April, to give back early gains of as much as 2 percent, traders said.

"There is much talk about the product glut replacing the oil glut, and this is a worrisome indicator for crude demand," said Frank Klumpp, oil analyst at Stuttgart-based Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 50 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $39.56 a barrel by 11:36 a.m. EDT (1536 GMT). It had risen to as high as $40.91 earlier.

Brent crude fell 54 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $41.60 a barrel, after rising to $43.18 earlier.

The dollar hit a six-week low, propping oil initially, before U.S. stocks fell to a three-week trough, mitigating the rebound. [USD/] (N)

"I am bullish here overall but worry about being too early," said Scott Shelton, energy futures broker at ICAP (LON:IAP) in Durham, North Carolina. "I also wonder if the market is going to chop around a bit first, like it did in late May to June before dropping after many threw in the towel."

Oil hit 2016 highs above $50 a barrel between late May and early June as crude supplies tightened from disruptions in Canada, Nigeria and Libyan energy sectors, and a near economic meltdown in OPEC member Venezuela. The rally faded soon after as higher prices spurred higher crude and refined product production.

Oil traders and investors expect the U.S. government to report on Wednesday that crude inventories fell last week after a surprise build the previous week that broke a nine-week drawdown. Trade group American Petroleum Institute (API) will issue a preliminary report at 4:30 p.m. EDT on Tuesday ahead of the government data. [EIA/S]

But the forecast draw pales to the global oil inventory situation. Fuel stockpiles across the world are brimming as refineries have churned out huge volumes of diesel, gasoline and jet fuel, squeezing refining margins as demand failed to keep up with supply.

Meanwhile, crude remains oversupplied as top oil producers in OPEC pump at near record high levels. Saudi Arabia also cut at the weekend its crude selling price to Asian customers, signaling the start of another price war and tussle for market share among producers.

Hedge funds have turned very bearish towards both crude and refined products over the last two months amid signs of an oversupply of gasoline.

"With the market continuously focusing on oversupply, this bearish trend seems hard to change in the near term," said Hans van Cleef, ABN AMRO (AS:ABNd) senior energy economist.

Source Reuters

New Instagram feature makes content disappear after 24 hours

Business, Technology

Instagram, the photo-sharing app owned by Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), is taking aim at fast-growing messaging app Snapchat with a new feature that gives users the option to make pictures and videos to disappear automatically after 24 hours.

The feature, Instagram Stories, will showcase pictures and videos uploaded by a user in a slideshow format, Instagram said in a blog post on Tuesday.

Snapchat, which has more 100 million users, is known for automatically making postings disappear after 24 hours. However, the privately owned company released a feature in July called "Memories" that enables users to save and share content.

That will help it compete more directly with other social networks such as Facebook.

Instagram, which has more than 500 million members, said the new feature does not allow users to "like" an image or post a comment, but followers can send direct messages to the uploader.

Instagram Stories will be rolling out globally over the next few weeks on Apple's iOS and Google's Android platforms.

Source Reuters