The down low: With crude prices at 11-year lows, the world’s biggest oil and gas producers are facing their longest period of investment cuts in decades, but are expected to borrow more to preserve the dividends demanded by investors. Reuters reports international oil companies are being forced to cut spending, sell assets, shed jobs and delay projects for a second straight year as the oil slump shows no sign of recovery. Global oil and gas investments are expected to fall to their lowest in six years in 2016 to $522 billion, following a 22% fall to $595 billion in 2015, according to the Oslo-based consultancy Rystad Energy. Read the full story.
Sticker shock: The amount of debt that the governments of the world’s leading economies will need to refinance in 2016 will be little changed from last year as nations make strides in cutting budget deficits to a third of the highs seen during the financial crisis. Bloomberg reports the value of bills, notes and bonds coming due for the Group-of-Seven nations plus Brazil, China, India and Russia will total $7.1 trillion, compared with $7 trillion in 2015 and down from $7.6 trillion in 2012. Japan, Germany, Italy and Canada will all see redemptions fall, while the U.S., China and the U.K. face increases, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Read the full story.
Making claims: Last year saw the lowest financial costs from natural disasters worldwide since 2009 as the El Nino weather phenomenon reduced hurricane activity in the North Atlantic, a leading insurer announced today. As The Associated Press report, German-based insurer Munich Re says in an annual survey that both insured losses and overall costs resulting from disasters were the lowest since 2009. The report notes insured losses totaled $27 billion, while overall costs—including losses not covered by insurance—totaled $90 billion. Those figures were down from $31 billion and $110 billion respectively in 2014. Read the full story.
