Oasis, Whiting Near All-Stock Merger
Oasis Petroleum Inc. and Whiting Petroleum Corp. are close to a deal to merge, according to people familiar with the matter.
The all-stock tie-up between the rival North Dakota shale drillers could be unveiled early this week, the people said, assuming the talks don't fall apart. The companies combined would be worth roughly $6 billion, given Oasis' market value of $2.8 billion and Whiting's, which stands at $3.3 billion.
Chewy Co-Founder Ryan Cohen Takes Large Stake in Bed Bath & Beyond, Pushes for Changes
Ryan Cohen, the billionaire co-founder of online pet-products retailer Chewy Inc., has a big stake in Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. and is pushing the housewares retailer to streamline its strategy and explore strategic alternatives.
Mr. Cohen, who also serves as chairman of videogame retailer GameStop Corp., owns a 9.8% stake in Bed Bath & Beyond through his investment firm, RC Ventures LLC, according to a copy of a letter sent to its board Sunday that was viewed by The Wall Street Journal. That makes him a top-five shareholder in the New Jersey-based chain, which has a market value of roughly $1.6 billion.
Here's How Dell Pared Its Debt
Dell Technologies Inc. over the past five years shed billions of dollars in debt as it grew its business and sold assets, such as the recent spinoff of its stake in cloud-software firm VMware Inc.
The Round Rock, Texas-based personal-computer maker's 2016 $67 billion merger with EMC Corp. loaded it with substantial debt. As of Jan. 28, Dell had $17.48 billion in net debt, down 51.5% from a year earlier, according to data provider S&P Global Market Intelligence. The company said $3 billion of debt unrelated to its financial-services arm is due over the next four years.
This Russian Metals Giant Might Be Too Big to Sanction
From its base at a former Arctic gulag, Russia's MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC digs up a large portion of two metals that are essential to greener transport and computer chips.
So far the U.S. and its allies haven't sanctioned the company, or its oligarch chief executive, underscoring the dilemma some analysts say governments face in seeking to punish Russia without hurting their own access to key commodities.
Land & Buildings Nominates Founder Litt to Ventas Board
A shareholder activist is pushing to join the board of Ventas Inc., arguing the healthcare real-estate investment trust would benefit from an investor's perspective.
Land & Buildings Investment Management LLC nominated its founder and chief investment officer, Jonathan Litt, for a seat on Ventas's board, according to a copy of a letter it plans to send to the company's shareholders that was viewed by The Wall Street Journal.
Carl Icahn Exits Occidental Petroleum After Nearly Three Years
Carl Icahn exited a big bet on Occidental Petroleum Corp., selling the last of what was once a roughly 10% stake in the oil-and-gas producer as its shares surge.
Mr. Icahn, who had been cutting the position, in recent days sold the remainder of it, according to a letter he sent to Occidental's board Sunday. The move brings to a close one of Mr. Icahn's most dramatic recent clashes, which began when he criticized Occidental for outbidding larger rival Chevron Corp. to strike a $38 billion deal to buy Anadarko Petroleum Corp. in May 2019.
Russia Pummels Ukrainian Civilian Targets Ahead of Talks
LVIV, Ukraine-Russia pursued a pressure campaign in its invasion of Ukraine with nighttime strikes on civilian targets as the war entered its 12th day, while Kyiv's military held fast along several fronts ahead of planned cease-fire talks.
Continuing their encirclement operations on Ukrainian cities, Russian forces prevented civilians from escaping via humanitarian corridors and shelled urban centers in the country's north and south. Ukrainian forces continued to frustrate Russia with counterattack and sabotage operations.
Oil Tops $130 a Barrel as Russian Attacks Escalate
Oil buyers racing to replace Russia' taboo crude are paying record premiums for barrels that can be delivered now rather than later, reflecting worries about adequate near-term fuel supplies and expectations that high prices will reduce consumption and encourage drilling.
Prices for April deliveries of crude have shot up since Russia invaded Ukraine and buyers began shunning the aggressor's oil exports. The main U.S. price last week topped $110 a barrel for the first time in more than a decade and in off-hours trading late Sunday, they burst above $130 following fresh attacks, mounting civilian casualties and a push by U.S. lawmakers to ban Russian oil imports.
U.S. Officials Meet With Regime in Venezuela, to Discuss Oil Exports to Replace Russia's
The Biden administration is seeking to ease oil sanctions on Venezuela as part of a broader U.S. strategy to temper oil prices that have skyrocketed because of Russia's war in Ukraine, according to people familiar with the matter.
U.S. officials began rare face-to-face meetings with Venezuelan officials in Caracas over the weekend, with a view to allowing Venezuelan crude oil back on to the open international market, these people said.
Dollar Strength Builds as Ukraine War Deepens
Escalating conflict between Russia and Ukraine has sent investors dashing to safer assets, propelling the dollar to its highest level since the coronavirus-induced volatility of two years ago.
The ICE U.S. Dollar index, which tracks the currency against a basket of others, surged as high as 98.92 this past week, its highest level since May 2020. It finished the week with a 2.1% jump, one of the largest in the past five years.
Investors See Bullish Signals Under the Stock Market's Surface
It's been a rocky spell for stocks. Under the market's surface, some investors see promising signs.
The S&P 500 has risen or fallen at least 1% in six of the past nine trading days as anxieties over the war in Ukraine, high inflation and the path of interest rates buffet the market. The benchmark U.S. stock index recently suffered its first correction, or decline of at least 10% from a recent high, since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is now down 9.2% this year, including last week's 1.3% fall.
Derby's Take: Amid Some Signs of Stress, Money Markets Mostly Calm
Financial market participants are searching for signs that massive sanctions on Russia are creating stress in money markets, and for the most part they have yet to find it in sizable fashion.
Western nations have imposed severe financial restrictions on Russia for its unprovoked war on Ukraine, including sanctioning its central bank. That has put Western markets on high alert for any feedback just as major central banks are shifting toward tighter monetary policy amid high inflation.
U.S. Treasurys Regain Favor
Russia's invasion of Ukraine and hints of slowing wage growth have driven money back into U.S. government bonds in recent days, dragging down longer-term interest rates and providing some relief to investors buffeted by declines in riskier assets.
Yields on U.S. government bonds, which fall when bond prices rise, dropped last week in two big bursts-early on when investors reacted to a nuclear threat from Russia President Vladimir Putin and then on Friday, after data showed a smaller-than-expected increase in workers' average hourly earnings.
U.S. Retirement Funds, Heavy on Stocks, Brace for Losses
Volatile stock markets are eroding the retirement savings of America's teachers and firefighters after public pension systems ended last year with equity holdings at a 10-year high.
Public pension funds had a median 61% of their assets in stocks as of Dec. 31, up from 54% 10 years ago, according to Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service. Since then, the Russia-Ukraine War and expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this month have battered equity prices, reducing those holdings by billions of dollars.
Ukraine, Covid-19 Aid at Stake as Talks on Omnibus Spending Bill Continue
WASHINGTON-Congressional negotiators were rushing to complete the text of legislation funding the government beyond Friday, with the Biden administration's request for $10 billion in aid to Ukraine adding to pressure to meet a looming deadline.
Republicans and Democrats, after taking months to agree on total defense and nondefense fiscal 2022 spending, have been held up by topics as varied as tacking on emergency money for Ukraine and the next phase of the coronavirus outbreak. With the interim law funding the government expiring at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, and House Democrats set to be in Philadelphia starting Wednesday for a long-planned retreat, negotiators need to make progress quickly.
Iran Nuclear Deal Threatened by Russian Demands Over Ukraine Sanctions
Fresh demands from Russia threatened to derail talks to restore the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, as Moscow said it wanted written guarantees that Ukraine-related sanctions won't prevent it from trading broadly with Tehran under a revived pact.
The demands, made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday and dismissed by U.S. officials on Sunday, came as Western and Iranian officials said they were near to reaching a deal to restore the nuclear pact, which lifted most international sanctions on Iran in exchange for tight but temporary restrictions on Tehran's nuclear programs.
Write to sarka.halas@wsj.com
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03-07-22 0612ET
