-- ユナイテッド航空（UAL）のスコット・カービー最高経営責任者（CEO）は、ジェットブルー航空（JBLU）のような小規模航空会社の買収は、必要な労力に見合わない可能性があると述べたと、ニューヨーク・タイムズ紙が水曜日に報じた。 カービー氏は同紙のインタビューで、「合併には多大な労力とエネルギーが必要であり、合併規模に関わらず、その労力とエネルギーの量はほぼ同じだ」と語った。 このインタビューは、カービー氏がアメリカン航空（AAL）との合併の可能性について言及したものの、拒否された数日後に行われたと報じられている。 （マーケットチャッターのニュースは、世界中の市場専門家との会話に基づいています。この情報は信頼できる情報源に基づいていると考えられますが、噂や憶測が含まれる場合があります。正確性は保証されません。）
Price: $88.03, Change: $-2.38, Percent Change: -2.64%
(Updates with the latest stock move in the headline and in the first paragraph.)Phillips 66 (PSX) shares were up 4.6% in Wednesday trading after the company posted Q1 earnings compared with a loss last year and raised its annualized quarterly dividend.The company reported quarterly adjusted earnings of $0.49 per diluted share, swinging from an adjusted loss of $0.90 a share a year earlier.Analysts polled by FactSet expected a non-GAAP loss of $0.54 a share.The company raised its annualized quarterly dividend by 7%, according to the statement.Price: $173.00, Change: $+7.87, Percent Change: +4.77%
The Federal Open Market Committee maintained its federal funds rate target at 3.50% to 3.75%, as expected, but four officials dissented, its statement Wednesday afternoon showed.Fed Governor Stephen Miran again sought a 25-basis-point rate. Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan supported holding rates steady but "did not support inclusion of an easing bias in the statement at this time," according to the statement.There were few changes from the previous meeting's statement, keeping the focus on the committee's repeated pledge to adjust policy if risks emerge.Recent comments from Fed officials have highlighted divisions over the direction of the next move, including some suggesting rates may need to rise. Those differences produced dissents at what could be Chair Jerome Powell's final meeting before Kevin Warsh is confirmed to succeed him. Analysts expect Warsh to be more open to rate cuts than Powell.Powell's press conference begins at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Crude oil futures soared in midday trading on Wednesday, extending gains from the previous session, as the standoff between the US and Iran raised concerns over further supply disruptions in the Middle East.Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude futures jumped 7.05% to $107.02 per barrel, while Brent futures surged 7.33% to $119.41/bbl.US crude stockpiles dropped by 6.2 million barrels to 459.5 mmbbls in the week ended April 24, the Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report on Wednesday, amid signs of tightening supplies.Crude inventories are now about 1% above the five-year average for this time of year, the EIA said.Saxo Bank strategists said crude surged to record highs during this war-driven cycle, as the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz prolongs a disruption that is tightening global energy markets.President Trump is reportedly considering extending the US naval blockade of Iranian ports as it carries less of a risk for Washington than resuming hostilities or walking away from the Middle East conflict, which has roiled global energy markets.Trump threatened Iran on Wednesday, saying the country "better get smart soon". "Iran can't get their act together. They don't know how to sign a non-nuclear deal. They better get smart soon!" Trump said in a post on Truth Social.Soojin Kim, research analyst at MUFG, said that although Trump said Iran had asked for the blockade to be lifted during negotiations, reports suggest the US is preparing for a prolonged blockade of Iranian ports.On the supply front, the US President has asked US energy firms about ways to mitigate the impact of a potentially months-long blockade of Iranian ports, raising concerns that disruptions to Middle Eastern supplies could be prolonged.The US naval blockade appears to be putting pressure on Iran, amid reports that the country is running out of crude storage space, which could accelerate production cuts.US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iran's Kharg Island, the country's primary oil export terminal, is approaching storage capacity, which will likely force the government to reduce crude production and cause damage to Iran's oil infrastructure."Iran is also facing growing storage constraints that could force deeper production cuts, while the US continues tightening sanctions on Chinese refiners linked to Iranian oil," Kim said.Meanwhile, market participants continue to assess the impact of the shock decision to leave OPEC next month. ING strategists said that the departure during a period of significant supply disruption limits the market impact."Therefore, in the short term, this development has little impact on the market. But in the medium to longer term, it means more supply for the market," the analysts said.