Saudi Arabia said it was discussing concerns over volatile oil prices with other OPEC members and Russia after the cost of a barrel reached its highest level in 3½ years. Brent crude oil prices reached $80 a barrel on Thursday amid concerns the Trump administration’s withdrawal from a nuclear pact with Iran will crimp the country’s oil exports and reduce global supply.
PayPal has agreed to buy European fintech firm iZettle for about $2.2 billion, a move that would catapult the US digital-payments giant into hundreds of thousands of brick-and-mortar retailers. The acquisition sets up a showdown between the company and Jack Dorsey’s Square.
Hundreds of technology firms raising money in the fevered market for cryptocurrencies are using deceptive or even fraudulent tactics to lure investors. In a review of documents produced for 1,450 digital coin offerings, WSJ has found 271 with red flags that include plagiarised investor documents, promises of guaranteed returns and missing or fake executive teams.
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel ruled out actions that could put the European Union and the US into a trade war over Iran sanctions, laying bare the limits of Europe’s ability to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal.
The US dollar’s recent resurgence has yet to convince some bearish investors. The greenback has rallied about 4% over the last month against a basket of peers tracked by WSJ. But amid expectations of widening US budget and trade deficits, not everyone expects the dollar’s comeback to last.
Companies around the world are becoming more eager to issue debt whose cost rises as interest rates go up. This is presenting a puzzle, as this shift to floating-rate debt is occurring as the Federal Reserve is likely to raise benchmark interest rates at least twice more this year.
UBS analysts are cranking up their spreadsheets to get ahead of the biggest event this summer: The football World Cup. The Swiss giant is putting its money on Germany lifting one of sport’s most prestigious prizes for the 5th time.
IN THE PAPERS
Donald Trump acknowledged new doubts about the fate of his coming meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, expressing surprise over the uptick in harsh language from Pyongyang while shifting blame to China for the latest uncertainty. WSJ
Theresa May has accepted that the UK will remain tied to a customs union with the EU after 2021 until alternative arrangements to the hard border in Ireland can be found. FT (£)
Businesses are urging the British government to reform the apprenticeship levy after official figures showed a collapse in the number of new apprentices had fallen by a quarter this year. The Times (£)
UK ministers have urged the competition watchdog to investigate whether a £12 billion merger between Sainsbury’s and Asda will harm supermarket suppliers and the food industry. The Times (£)
MARKETS TODAY
European shares opened lower as local currencies strengthened. The Stoxx Europe 600 dipped 0.2% and the FTSE 100 fell 0.1% as both the euro and the pound recovered some lost ground against the dollar.
Drugmaker AstraZeneca weighed on the Stoxx, losing 3% after saying profits fell 37% in the first quarter despite a slight rise in sales.
Italy’s FTSE MIB, which has whipsawed in recent sessions amid uncertainty about a proposed coalition deal between the anti-establishment 5 Star Movement and the League party, initially opened firmly in the green before quickly shedding those gains. Ten-year bond yields rose another two basis points.
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