Moody's downgrades China, warns of fading financial strength as debt mounts

By Reuters : Moody's Investors Service downgraded China's credit ratings on Wednesday for the first time in nearly 30 years, saying it expects the financial strength of the economy will erode in coming years as growth slows and debt continues to rise.

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Wall St. set to open higher ahead Trump's budget plan

By Reuters : U.S. stocks looked set to open higher on Tuesday, shrugging off a deadly bomb blast in Britain and ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's first full budget plan that is aimed at slashing government spending and trimming the deficit.

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UK leader Theresa May: It's now beyond all doubt that it was a callous terrorist attack

By CNBC : The explosion outside Manchester Arena on Monday night that killed 22 people was a "callous terrorist attack", U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May told the media after chairing an emergency security meeting.

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Trump sees to slash government spending in budget plan

By Reuters : The White House on Tuesday will ask Republicans who control the U.S. Congress - and federal purse strings - to slash spending on healthcare and food assistance programs for the poor as they push ahead on plans to cut taxes and trim the deficit.

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Sterling slips after Manchester blast, euro steady, stocks advance

By Reuters : Sterling slipped on Tuesday after a suspected suicide attack killed at least 19 people and wounded 59 at a pop concert in the English city of Manchester, while the euro held gains made after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it was "too weak".

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Wall St. opens higher as oil prices, defense stocks rise

By Reuters : Wall Street gained in early trading on Monday, helped by higher oil prices and as defense stocks rose after a $110 billion arms deal between the United States and Saudi Arabia.

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Iraq could make OPEC-led oil output cut extension difficult, RBC’s Croft says

BY CNBC : Iraq is the big holdout country that could thwart Saudi Arabia's and Iran's wish to extend the OPEC-led oil production cut by a further nine months, according to RBC's Helima Croft.

"Getting Iraq on board is going to be interesting….I think Iraq in the end will get on board but they might make it difficult along the way," said Croft, noting that the country's oil minister, Jabbar al-Luaibi, had fought hard - and ultimately to no avail - to stop Iraq from having to take the second largest hit to its production figures in the deal brokered between OPEC and non-OPEC producers last November.

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Oil rises on expectation of extended, possibly deepened output cut

By Reuters : Oil rose on Monday, pushed by reports that an OPEC-led supply cut may not just be extended into 2018 but might be deepened to tighten the market and prop up prices.
Brent crude futures were up 32 cents, or 0.6 percent, from their last close at $53.93 per barrel at 0643 GMT.

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