Business
Reliance bags US licence to buy Venezuela oil; may help replace Russian crude: Report – The Times of India
Reliance Industries (RIL) has been granted a general licence by the Donald Trump administration that will allow the company to crude oil directly from Venezuela without breaching any existing sanctions, a Reuters report has said.According to the report, this general licence permits the acquisition, export, and sale of oil sourced from Venezuela that has already been produced, as well as its refining. Reliance had submitted its licence application in early January.Recently, US President Donald Trump removed the 25% punitive tariff on India and said that New Delhi would increase its purchases of oil from the United States and possibly from Venezuela as well.Earlier this month, after US authorities detained Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, officials in Washington indicated that sanctions on Venezuela’s energy sector would be relaxed. The move is intended to support a proposed $2 billion oil supply arrangement between Caracas and the United States, along with a broader $100 billion initiative aimed at rebuilding the nation’s oil infrastructure.
Venezuelan oil to replace Russian supply?
Issuing such approval to Reliance may accelerate Venezuela’s crude shipments while potentially lowering feedstock expenses for the company, which operates the world’s largest refining complex, the Reuters report said.Earlier this month, Reliance bought 2 million barrels of Venezuelan crude from trading firm Vitol. The trader, along with Trafigura, had been given US approvals to market and sell large volumes of Venezuelan oil following the capture of President Nicolas Maduro.Buying Venezuelan crude directly would allow Reliance to substitute Russian supplies in a more economical manner, as heavy oil from Caracas is typically available at discounted prices, the report said.Also Read | Trump removes 25% penal tariff: What happens if India stops buying Russian crude oil?Refining and trading sources said Indian refiners, including Reliance, are refraining from securing Russian oil cargoes for April delivery and are likely to continue avoiding such deals for some time. Reliance has in the past been a consistent buyer of Venezuelan crude for use at its sophisticated refining facilities but suspended imports in early 2025 after US sanctions were imposed. The company currently operates two refineries with a combined processing capacity of roughly 1.4 million barrels per day.
Business
Nike shares fall 9% on weak outlook, expected 20% sales decline in China
A Nike logo is displayed at a Nike store in Austin, Texas, Feb. 5, 2026.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
Shares of Nike fell in extended trading Tuesday after the retailer warned sales will fall for the rest of the calendar year, led by an expected 20% decline in its key China market during the current quarter.
Chief Financial Officer Matt Friend said during the company’s earnings call that Nike expects sales for its current fiscal fourth quarter to drop between 2% and 4%, compared with Wall Street estimates of a 1.9% increase, according to LSEG.
For the duration of the calendar year, Friend said, the company expects sales to fall by a low single-digit percentage, led by growth in North America and offset by declines in China. That outlook wasn’t comparable to estimates.
Nike beat expectations across the business on both the top and bottom lines for its fiscal third quarter, but its guidance left investors with more questions about how long its turnaround will take. Friend also cautioned that Nike’s guidance was based off of where the global economic picture stands today — and it could change given recent geopolitical volatility.
“We also recognize that the environment around us has become increasingly dynamic, and we could experience unplanned volatility due to the disruption in the Middle East, rising oil prices and other factors that could impact either input costs or consumer behavior,” said Friend. “We are focused on what we can control.”
Shares fell more than 8% in extended trading.
Here’s how the world’s largest sneaker company did for its fiscal third quarter, compared with estimates from analysts polled by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: 35 cents vs. 28 cents expected
- Revenue: $11.28 billion vs. $11.24 billion expected
The company’s reported net income for the three-month period that ended Feb. 28 was $520 million, or 35 cents per share. That’s a 35% decline from $794 million, or 54 cents per share, a year earlier. That plunge came as Nike’s gross profit margin slid 1.3 percentage points to 40.2%, “primarily due to higher tariffs in North America,” the company said.
Sales were flat at $11.28 billion, compared to $11.27 billion last year.
While Nike beat expectations on the top and bottom lines, it posted a mixed picture regionally. Nike’s largest market of North America continued to show steady growth, as revenue climbed 3% to $5.03 billion, but that was just shy of Wall Street’s expectations of $5.04 billion, according to StreetAccount.
Meanwhile, Nike’s Greater China market continued to shrink, with revenue down 7% to $1.62 billion during the quarter. Still, that total beat analyst estimates of $1.50 billion, according to StreetAccount.
Nike is continuing to work through a colossal turnaround under CEO Elliott Hill. About a year and a half into his tenure, Hill has made strides in repairing parts of the business, but has been clear that it’ll take time for the entire company to improve given the retailer’s scale and complexity.
He reiterated that expectation on Tuesday, saying in a news release that “the pace of progress is different across the portfolio.”
“The areas we prioritized first continue to drive momentum,” Hill said. “The work is not finished, but the direction is clear, our teams are moving with focus and urgency, and our foundation is getting even stronger to build the future of NIKE.”
Friend said Nike’s turnaround efforts “will continue to impact results over the balance of the calendar year.”
Nike’s recovery was already coming at a tough time as a global trade war dented its efforts to improve profitability and drive sales from inflation-weary shoppers. But now the athletic company will have to contend with a new war in the Middle East that’s already led to rising gas prices and is expected to send consumer prices even higher, which could push shoppers to cut back on nice-to-haves like new clothes and shoes to save money elsewhere.
“We continue to be encouraged by the momentum in North America. We’ve got a strong order book for summer,” Friend said. “We’re seeing positive signs and sell through. We’re not seeing a consumer reaction to what’s going on in the Middle East at this point in time, in North America.”
Hill has focused in part on revitalizing Nike’s business with wholesale partners as opposed to direct sales on its website and in stores. Wholesale revenue climbed 5% to $6.5 billion.
Meanwhile, direct sales slid 4% to $4.5 billion.
Business
Tech giant Oracle makes ‘significant’ job cuts
It is thought that thousands of people may have lost their jobs at Oracle, one of the world’s largest tech companies.
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Business
Oil nears highest price since start of Iran war
The US-Israel Iran war has halted almost all traffic in a key waterway and the price Brent crude has surged.
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