Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi asked the head of the International Energy Agency to prepare for an additional coordinated release of oil reserves should it be required. Takaichi was speaking to Fatih Birol in Tokyo during a visit by the IEA executive director on Wednesday. The group announced in early March that it would release a record 400 million barrels from its emergency oil reserves ...
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi asked the head of the International Energy Agency to prepare for an additional coordinated release of oil reserves should it be required. Takaichi was speaking to Fatih Birol in Tokyo during a visit by the IEA executive director on Wednesday. The group announced in early March that it would release a record 400 million barrels from its emergency oil reserves to help ease supply shocks and contain price spikes caused by the war in the Middle East. “If the situation requires more support from the IEA, we are there,” Birol said in response to Takaichi’s comments. “We still have a significant amount of stocks. If necessary, we are ready to move forward — but I very much hope that it will not be necessary.” Japan is heavily reliant on oil from the Middle East, making it vulnerable to the ongoing war in Iran and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The country is set to start releasing crude from its national reserves on Thursday. Read More: How Prepared Is Japan for an Energy Crisis?: Explainer
Maks_Lab/iStock via Getty Images S&P Global’s flash PMI data showed Japan’s economic upturn losing momentum following the outbreak of war in the Middle East. Inflation also looks set to spike higher after firms reported a jump in input costs, likewise emanating from the war. Strong growth fades Having risen to 53.9 in February, its highest since May 2023 and signalling one of the strongest expansi...
Maks_Lab/iStock via Getty Images S&P Global’s flash PMI data showed Japan’s economic upturn losing momentum following the outbreak of war in the Middle East. Inflation also looks set to spike higher after firms reported a jump in input costs, likewise emanating from the war. Strong growth fades Having risen to 53.9 in February, its highest since May 2023 and signalling one of the strongest expansions recorded over the survey’s history (since 2007), the headline PMI tracking output across the manufacturing and services sectors fell to 52.5 in March, according to the provisional ‘flash’ reading. Growth slowed in both sectors. While still well above the 50.0 no-change level to thereby indicate another month of robust economic growth, in fact rounding off the strongest quarterly expansion since the fourth quarter of 2013, the loss of growth momentum in March was accompanied by some worrying forward-looking indicators. Confidence slumps as demand falters First, new orders growth, which typically drives changes in output, slowed sharply in March. Having risen in February at the fastest rate for nearly three years, buoyed by reduced US tariff worries and rising hopes of domestic political stability and support to business from the Takaichi government, inflows of new orders rose only modestly in March to register the weakest increase for three months. The slowdown was commonly linked to signs of more subdued customer demand, particularly from overseas, amid rising costs and an uncertain geopolitical climate. Second, business expectations for the year ahead likewise deteriorated, slumping from February’s 13-month high to now sit at an 11-month low (and the second-lowest recorded since the pandemic). Inflation spike and supply chain worries A key concern stemming from the war in the Middle East is the impact on supply chains and inflation, notably through energy prices, given Japan’s dependence on accessing the majority of its oil through the Strait of Hormuz. March’s flash P...
Rasi Bhadramani/iStock via Getty Images Key Takeaways Markets: US equities, as measured by the Russell 1000 Index, climbed in the fourth quarter. While investors continued to pile into artificial intelligence stocks, corporate earnings were strong and the market advance broadened in the quarter, with both small-cap and value stocks performing well. Contributors: Stock selection in the consumer sta...
Rasi Bhadramani/iStock via Getty Images Key Takeaways Markets: US equities, as measured by the Russell 1000 Index, climbed in the fourth quarter. While investors continued to pile into artificial intelligence stocks, corporate earnings were strong and the market advance broadened in the quarter, with both small-cap and value stocks performing well. Contributors: Stock selection in the consumer staples, consumer discretionary and health care sectors supported relative results. Individual contributors included Dollar General ( DG ), General Motors ( GM ) and Roche Holdings ( RHHBY ). Detractors: Security selection in financials, information technology and materials hindered relative performance. Among the detractors were Fiserv (FI), Charter Communications ( CHTR ) and BNP Paribas ( BNPQY ). Outlook: We remain focused on identifying opportunities to acquire stocks at attractive valuations based upon our assessment of fundamental value. Our process of finding underappreciated and misunderstood companies with identifiable catalysts to unlock shareholder value may provide meaningful upside potential and possible downside risk management during turbulent periods. Performance Review The Fund (Class Z without sales charges) underperformed its benchmark, the Russell 1000 Value Index, for the quarter ended December 31, 2025. Retailer Dollar General boosted relative results as recent earnings have been strong on better earnings as comparable store sales and traffic improved. Same-store sales in all their categories were positive, including the higher-margin non-consumables categories. US automaker General Motors supported relative results following solid quarterly financial results as the impact from tariffs has been less than anticipated, and the company has maintained strong cost discipline. It raised its outlook for 2025 and is optimistic about 2026. Payments company Fiserv hurt relative returns after the new chief executive slashed 2025 guidance and issued weak 2026 foreca...
OpenAI is tapping Kiran Mani, the chief executive officer of Indian streaming platform JioStar, for a newly created role leading its Asia-Pacific operations. Mani will take up the position of managing director for the region in June, relocating to the ChatGPT maker’s Singapore office and reporting to Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon . An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed the move. Mani couldn’t immed...
OpenAI is tapping Kiran Mani, the chief executive officer of Indian streaming platform JioStar, for a newly created role leading its Asia-Pacific operations. Mani will take up the position of managing director for the region in June, relocating to the ChatGPT maker’s Singapore office and reporting to Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon . An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed the move. Mani couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. OpenAI is in a race against rivals such as Anthropic PBC and Alphabet Inc. ’s Google to capture users, with populous markets across Asia holding significant promise. India, with more than 1.4 billion people, is a key country for the company. JioStar, a joint venture between Reliance Industries Ltd. and Walt Disney Co. , runs the JioHotstar streaming platform. The service has tapped into India’s obsession with cricket as well as its appetite for soap operas and reality shows, building a subscriber base of more than 300 million. In 2024, OpenAI hired its first employee in the country, a government relations head, and has been ramping up staff since then. In February, OpenAI announced a partnership with the Tata Group to build artificial intelligence technologies, including data center infrastructure. Read More: OpenAI to Partner With Tata for AI Data Center Buildout in India Previously, Mani worked at Google for more than 13 years, rising to general manager for Android and Google Play across Asia-Pacific and Japan, according to his LinkedIn profile . He also worked at Microsoft Corp. and International Business Machines Corp.
A Philippine prison was supposed to contain Park Wang-yeol. Instead, according to South Korean investigators, it became his office from which an alleged drug trafficking empire was run, complete with a “VIP” lifestyle, a Telegram alias and a girlfriend summoned to his cell on demand. On Wednesday, after nine years of failed extradition attempts, that arrangement finally came to an end. Bearded, si...
A Philippine prison was supposed to contain Park Wang-yeol. Instead, according to South Korean investigators, it became his office from which an alleged drug trafficking empire was run, complete with a “VIP” lifestyle, a Telegram alias and a girlfriend summoned to his cell on demand. On Wednesday, after nine years of failed extradition attempts, that arrangement finally came to an end. Bearded, silent and dressed in casual clothing, the 48-year-old arrived at Incheon International Airport near...
olrat/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Roughly 15% of TotalEnergies’ ( TTE ) production is offline, as the war with Iran nears the one-month mark, but surging oil prices have more than made up for the lost barrels, chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné told CNBC in an interview. With Brent crude ( CO1:COM ) trading above $100 a barrel, much of the attention has focused on oil prices, but Pouyanné sai...
olrat/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Roughly 15% of TotalEnergies’ ( TTE ) production is offline, as the war with Iran nears the one-month mark, but surging oil prices have more than made up for the lost barrels, chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné told CNBC in an interview. With Brent crude ( CO1:COM ) trading above $100 a barrel, much of the attention has focused on oil prices, but Pouyanné said the crisis is having a much larger impact on product prices. “The Brent market is ok, but the products market, which is the one which impacts customers … is much higher than Brent,” he told CNBC at S&P Global’s CERAWeek energy conference in Houston. He added, the world has “never experienced” refining margins from products including Asian jet fuel at current levels. In addition to petroleum products , about 30% of global fertilizer moves through the Strait of Hormuz, jeopardizing the spring planting season. TotalEnergies ( TTE ) is a major player in the global LNG market, including the largest exporter of U.S. LNG. The CEO said the company can still fulfill customer orders in Europe and Asia thanks to its diversified global portfolio. Pouyanné expects prices could move substantially higher if the war drags on through the summer, since Asian demand rises over the summer just as Europe looks to refill storage. European natural gas traded around $18 per million British thermal units Tuesday, but Pouyanné said prices could hit $40/MMBtu over the summer if the conflict continues. Last week, QatarEnergy said its Ras Laffan plant suffered “ extensive damage ” following Iranian drone attacks, effectively taking 20% of global LNG supply offline. The shutdown has sent natural gas prices in Europe and Asia surging. Shares linked to U.S. natural gas rose Tuesday as the Iran war disrupts Middle East supplies. Notable movers included Venture Global ( VG ), Diversified Energy ( DEC ), Cheniere Energy ( LNG ), NextDecade ( NEXT ), Expand Energy ( EXE ), Antero Resources ( AR ), Coterra E...