The Traderszone Network

Oil remained weak in Asia on Thursday after data showing record U.S. stockpiles sent prices tumbling to the lowest level in nearly six years in the previous session and analysts said a global glut would continue to keep the market under pressure. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said domestic crude oil stocks rose by almost 9 million barrels last week to reach nearly 407 million, the highest level since the government began keeping records in 1982.

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The governance reforms were adopted by the IMF in 2010, which initially set a 2012 deadline for all member countries to endorse them. The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama has so far been unable to persuade Republicans in Congress to act on the measure. The board of the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday the institution’s 188 member countries should agree on steps that could make “meaningful progress” toward the reforms by June 30, without providing details.     The reforms would double the fund’s resources and give more say to emerging markets like China and Brazil.

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd is closer to losing its crown as global smartphone leader after posting a plunge in quarterly mobile earnings on Thursday, a day after rival Apple Inc (AAPL.O) reported the biggest profit in corporate history. It was the mobile division’s fifth consecutive quarter of decline, in contrast to Apple’s record-breaking 74.5 million iPhone sales in the three months to Dec 27 on the back of the success of its big-screen iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

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Thompson, the 51-year-old former president of McDonald’s USA who took the global helm in July 2012, had the challenge of adding to nearly nine years of sales gains at established restaurants. McDonald’s warned last week that business would be weak in the first half of 2015 and said it would cut its annual construction budget to the lowest in more than five years as it opens fewer restaurants in struggling markets. In his role as chief brand officer, Easterbrook led McDonald’s digital initiatives and efforts to boost menu innovation, according to a statement from the company.

A federal judge on Wednesday said U.S. investors may pursue a nationwide antitrust lawsuit accusing 12 major banks of rigging prices in the $5.3 trillion-a-day foreign exchange market. U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield in Manhattan rejected the defendants’ arguments that the case should be dismissed because of a lack of evidence that they colluded to manipulate the WM/Reuters Closing Spot Rates, known as the Fix, or that they impeded competition and caused harm. “Fairly read, the U.S.

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The level of private-sector workers with job-based health care fell faster before Obamacare launched, but 11 million uninsured got covered afterward.

A new study shows that fewer employers are offering health coverage, but the Affordable Care Act can’t take all the blame for that.
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