Business
Oil prices rise, stocks fall on worries over nascent Iran ceasefire – SUCH TV
Oil prices climbed and stocks fell Thursday on fears over the nascent US-Iran ceasefire after Tehran threatened to resume hostilities after Israel launched a major bombardment of Lebanon.
Equity markets across the globe soared and crude plunged Wednesday after US President Donald Trump announced the two-week halt in the war, and the Islamic republic said it would reopen the Strait of Hormuz as peace talks took place.
But with the deal less than a day old, cracks were already appearing as Tel Aviv said it did not include Israel’s fight against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon as it continued attacks on its northern neighbour.
That view was echoed by Vice President JD Vance, who said: “If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart… over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them, and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice.”
Iran said that broke terms of the deal as reports said the vital Hormuz waterway — through which a fifth of world oil and gas passes — was shut again.
However, that came as Tehran announced alternative routes for ships travelling through the Strait, citing the risk of sea mines.
The country’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf posted on X that the “workable basis on which to negotiate” had already been violated, making further talks “unreasonable”.
He listed three alleged US violations of the truce plan: the continued attacks in Lebanon, a drone entering Iranian airspace and a denial of the country’s right to enrichment.
Hezbollah said Thursday it had fired rockets towards Israel in response to its “violation”.
Meanwhile, a senior US official said Tehran’s 10-point plan was not the same set of conditions the White House had agreed to.
Fears that the ceasefire could fall apart while crude remains stuck in Hormuz saw West Texas Intermediate oil jump around three percent Thursday, having plunged more than 16 percent the day before. Brent was up more than two percent following a 13 percent drop.
Equities also gave up some of their gains.
Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Seoul and Taipei were all down.
Attention is also turning to crunch talks in Pakistan that are expected on Friday or Saturday, with Vance leading the US delegation.
“Many questions remain with the 10-point plan that Trump has received from Iran (which includes Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz, US acceptance of Iran’s uranium enrichment programme, the end of all sanctions and withdrawal of the US military from the Gulf region) is at odds with Trump’s 15-point peace plan,” wrote National Australia Bank’s Skye Masters.
Still, observers warned that an end to the conflict would not see a quick return to normal, with crude prices still elevated and key regional infrastructure targeted that could take billions of dollars and at least months to repair.
Shipping journal Lloyd’s List estimated around 800 ships have been stuck in the Gulf since the end of February, when hostilities broke out.
Still, FOREX.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada said: “Investors are confident that oil prices could ease further and the Strait of Hormuz will re-open again and hopefully stay open beyond the two-week ceasefire period.”
– Key figures at around 0230 GMT –
West Texas Intermediate: UP 3.0 percent at $97.22 a barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 2.5 percent at $97.11 a barrel
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.6 percent at 55,997.18 (break)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.5 percent at 25,757.20
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.6 percent at 3,972.21
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1660 from $1.1667 on Wednesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3390 from $1.3405
Dollar/yen: UP at 158.85 yen from 158.35 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.08 pence from 87.22 pence
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Disney plans layoffs of as many as 1,000 employees
People gather at the Magic Kingdom theme park before the “Festival of Fantasy” parade at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, U.S. July 30, 2022.
Octavio Jones | Reuters
Disney is planning to begin its next phase of cost cutting, which will include as many as 1,000 layoffs, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The cost-cutting initiative comes shortly after Josh D’Amaro took the helm as CEO in mid-March.
The layoffs are expected to mostly affect Disney’s marketing department, according to the person, who requested to speak anonymously because the moves had not yet been made public. That department was recently consolidated under Asad Ayaz, who was named chief marketing and brand officer in January.
Ayaz, who reports directly to D’Amaro and Dana Walden, Disney’s president and chief creative officer, oversees marketing for all of Disney’s divisions — entertainment, experiences and sports — in the newly created role. It’s the first time that Disney brought all of its units under one marketing chief.
Disney’s stock was slightly down in afternoon trading on Thursday. The layoffs were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The changes to the marketing department structure occurred in January, when Bob Iger was still CEO of the company. Disney announced shortly after that that D’Amaro would take take over the top job — a long-awaited decision for the company.
D’Amaro, who previously was chairman of Disney Experiences, succeeded Iger after a period of uncertainty for the media and theme park giant — which had included a succession race and recent reorganization and turnaround of the business.
Iger reclaimed the Disney CEO role in late 2022, about two years after his initial departure. He was immediately tasked with a turnaround of the business as its stock price had fallen and earnings began to miss expectations.
By February 2023, Disney had announced sweeping plans that reorganized the structure of the company, cut $5.5 billion in costs and eliminated 7,000 jobs from its workforce.
On D’Amaro’s first official day as CEO in March, he noted the work Iger had done to get the company past one of its most difficult periods.
“When Bob returned to the company a few years ago, his goal was to fortify our business and lay the groundwork for long-term growth, by reigniting creativity and improving performance at our studios, building a robust and profitable streaming business, transforming ESPN for a digital future, and turbocharging our parks and experiences,” D’Amaro said on stage at the company’s investor day.
“We’ve accomplished all of those things, and we’re operating from a place of strength, with ample opportunity for growth.”
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