2025-05-03 19:55

CAIRO, May 3 (Reuters) - Kuwait's oil minister said that the OPEC+ meeting would significantly affect production policy formulation in the coming period, Kuwait's state news agency reported on Saturday. OPEC+ agreed in a meeting earlier in the day to accelerate oil production hikes for a second consecutive month in June by 411,000 barrels per day. Sign up here. Kuwaiti minister Tariq Suleiman Al-Roumi said the gradual increases in oil production could potentially be suspended or even cancelled in response to evolving market conditions, the state news agency said. He also praised the OPEC+ member states' readiness to implement additional voluntary increases in production in June, as well as the "determination" of countries to fully compensate for any surplus production since January 2024. In December, eight OPEC+ countries that have been implementing the group's most recent output cut of 2.2 million bpd agreed to gradually phase it out in monthly increases of about 138,000 bpd from April 2025. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/kuwait-says-opec-meeting-significantly-affect-production-policy-formulation-2025-05-03/

2025-05-03 18:16

NEW YORK, May 3 (Reuters) - Warren Buffet said on Saturday that Vice Chairman Greg Abel should become Berkshire Hathaway's chief executive officer at the end of this year. Buffett's announcement was made during Berkshire's annual meeting in Omaha. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/buffett-says-greg-abel-should-become-berkshires-ceo-year-end-2025-05-03/

2025-05-03 13:42

OMAHA, Nebraska/NEW YORK, May 3 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N) , opens new tab on Saturday posted a lower operating profit in the first quarter, dented by insurance losses from wildfires and foreign currency changes, while its cash stake grew to a record $347.7 billion. Operating profit for the Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate dropped 14% to $9.64 billion, or about $6,703 per Class A share, from $11.22 billion a year earlier. Sign up here. Net income was down 64% to $4.6 billion, or $3,200 per Class A share, from $12.7 billion, reflecting unrealized losses on common stock holdings including Apple (AAPL.O) , opens new tab. The cash stake grew from $334.2 billion at year-end, reflecting Berkshire's difficulty finding things to buy. It repurchased none of its own stock for a third straight quarter, and was a net seller of stocks for a 10th straight quarter, buying $3.18 billion and selling $4.68 billion. Berkshire said little about how U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies affected results. It said in its quarterly report that "considerable uncertainty remains," and Berkshire was "unable to reliably predict" the potential impact on the company, including as to product costs, supply chain costs and customer demand. Results included $1.1 billion of losses on insurance claims stemming from the Los Angeles-area wildfires in January. That caused overall net income from insurance to fall by nearly half, to $1.34 billion. The wildfire losses offset continued improvement at the Geico car insurer, as increased premiums and reduced accident claims helped push pre-tax underwriting profit up 13%. Results also included $713 million of currency-related losses as the U.S. dollar weakened, compared with a $597 million gain a year earlier. The results were released ahead of Berkshire's annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, part of a weekend that draws tens of thousands of people to the city. Buffett, 94, has led Berkshire for 60 years, transforming it from a struggling textile company into a conglomerate whose businesses include Geico, the BNSF railroad, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Dairy Queen and See's Candies. Berkshire shares have far outperformed the broader market in 2025, with many investors viewing the company as a safe haven from potential disruptions to the economy, including from tariffs. In other businesses, tariffs may have temporarily helped the BNSF railroad, where profit rose 6%. BNSF reported higher volumes for consumer products, including west coast imports and automotive vehicles, which suggests higher demand for shipments before tariffs kicked in. Berkshire Hathaway Energy also fared better, increasing profit 53% through broad-based gains and a lower loss at the HomeServices real estate brokerage unit. Profit fell 1% at Berkshire's manufacturing, service and retailing businesses. Berkshire's collection of car dealerships benefited from higher sales of new and use vehicles. But home furnishings and other retailing businesses struggled with what Berkshire called "increased competition, sluggish demand and impacts of higher economic uncertainty." https://www.reuters.com/business/berkshire-hathaways-operating-profit-falls-q1-2025-05-03/

2025-05-03 12:00

MIAMI, May 3 (Reuters) - Formula One's switch to 100% sustainable fuel from next season is proving much more expensive than expected, according to Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff. The cost of the fuel was raised by one of the engine manufacturers at a recent Formula One commission meeting that includes team bosses and major stakeholders. Sign up here. "What makes it so expensive is that the whole supply chain and energy contribution needs to be green," Wolff told reporters at the Miami Grand Prix, round six of the season. "To achieve all of that, you need a certain specification of ingredients that is very expensive. And it’s coming in much more expensive than anyone thought. "So we need to look at whether there's anything we can tweak to bring the per-litre price down." Wolff said Mercedes' fuel partner Petronas was fully committed technically but looking into whether a regulation change could make sustainable fuel also more financially sustainable. Red Bull boss Christian Horner agreed there were a lot of development costs involved, but said it was not a significant issue for his team. "Maybe a certain bracket should be introduced going forward. But fuel is potentially one of the bigger performance differentiators. The fuel companies seem very engaged in that," he added. Formula One plans to be net zero carbon by 2030, a plan covering the cars on track and sporting operations at race weekends. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/wolff-says-sustainable-f1-fuel-is-more-expensive-than-expected-2025-05-03/

2025-05-03 10:54

OPEC+ countries to boost output in June by 411,000 bpd April, May, June hike combined nearly 1 mln bpd Oil prices likely to fall on Monday, analyst says Saudi Arabia unhappy with poor compliance - sources LONDON/DUBAI, May 3 (Reuters) - OPEC+ has agreed to accelerate oil production hikes for a second consecutive month, raising output in June by 411,000 barrels per day, the group said on Saturday, despite falling prices and expectations of weaker demand. Following an online meeting lasting just over an hour, the producer group announced the supply increase, saying the fundamentals of the oil market were healthy and inventories were low. Sign up here. Oil prices fell to a four-year low in April below $60 per barrel after OPEC+ announced a bigger-than-expected production boost for May, and as U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs raised concerns of global economic weakness. OPEC+ sources have said Saudi Arabia is pushing OPEC+ to accelerate the unwinding of earlier output cuts to punish fellow members Iraq and Kazakhstan for poor compliance with their production quotas. The hikes also follow calls from Trump on OPEC+ to raise output. Trump will visit Saudi Arabia later in May. In December, eight OPEC+ countries that have been implementing the group's most recent output cut of 2.2 million bpd agreed to gradually phase it out in monthly increases of about 138,000 bpd from April 2025. The June increase from the eight will take the total combined hike for April, May and June to 960,000 bpd, representing a 44% unwinding of the 2.2 million bpd cut, according to Reuters calculations. Brent crude futures lost more than 1% on Friday to $61.29 a barrel as traders braced for more oil from OPEC+. Oil prices will fall on Monday due to the OPEC+ news amid trade tensions and concerns about economic growth, said UBS's analyst Giovanni Staunovo. "We continue to call this a 'managed' unwind of cuts and not a fight for market share”, he said. After his participation, Kuwait's oil minister said the OPEC+ meeting on Saturday would significantly affect production policy formulation in the coming period. Reuters reported this week that officials from Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of OPEC+, have briefed allies and industry officials that they are unwilling to prop up oil markets with further supply cuts. "Compliance again appears to be the key focus, with Kazakhstan and Iraq continuing to miss their compensation targets, alongside Russia to a lesser extent," said Helima Croft of RBC Capital Markets. Kazakhstan defied OPEC+ this month when its energy minister said he will prioritise national interests over those of the OPEC+ group when deciding on oil production levels. Kazakhstan's April oil output exceeded its OPEC+ quota despite a 3% fall. OPEC+, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia, is still cutting output by almost 5 million bpd and many of the cuts are due to remain in place until the end of 2026. The group plans to hold a full ministerial meeting on May 28. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/opec-set-make-another-accelerated-oil-output-hike-june-sources-say-2025-05-03/

2025-05-03 08:14

MOSCOW, May 3 (Reuters) - The mayor of the Russian port city of Novorossiisk declared a state of emergency on Saturday after local authorities said a Ukrainian drone attack had damaged a grain terminal and several residential buildings, injuring five people. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine, whose air force said Russia had attacked Ukraine overnight with 183 drones and two ballistic missiles. Sign up here. Andrei Kravchenko, the mayor of the Russian Black Sea city of Novorossisk, was shown inspecting damage to three apartment buildings in video released on his official Telegram account. The video showed debris scattered in front of apartment buildings, a crushed car, blown out windows and balconies hanging off the buildings' facade. Kravchenko said one of the injured people, a woman, was in hospital in a serious situation. Two children had also been injured, local authorities said. The governor of Russia's southern Krasnodar region Veniamin Kondratyev said that debris from falling drones had also damaged three storage units at a grain terminal in Novorossiisk, sparking a fire. Nobody had been injured, he said. Delo Group, the owner of the damaged grain terminal, said in a statement that a clear-up was underway and that a fire there had been extinguished. "DeloPorts terminals is operating normally in accordance with internal instructions and the instructions of relevant authorities and agencies," the company said. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-declares-state-emergency-port-after-ukrainian-drone-attack-novorossiisk-2025-05-03/