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(Bloomberg) -- At least four oil tankers have been hit with explosions so far this year — all of them having visited Russia’s territorial waters in the weeks prior to the blasts happening.Most Read from BloombergTrump to Halt NY Congestion Pricing by Terminating ApprovalSorry, Kids: Disney’s New York Headquarters Is for Grown-UpsAirbnb Billionaire Offers Pre-Fab Homes for LA Fire VictimsChild Migrant Watchdog Gutted in DOGE CutsChicago Council Delays $830 Million Bond Vote Amid ScrutinyNobody ha

The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits rose by 5,000 to 219,000 for the week ending Feb. 15, the Labor Department said Thursday. Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered a proxy for layoffs. Earlier this month, the Labor Department reported that U.S. employers added 143,000 jobs in January, significantly fewer than December’s 256,000 job gains.

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump signed an executive order undertaking a massive regulatory review in a bid to fulfill his campaign pledge of eliminating rules he says stifle businesses and innovation.Most Read from BloombergTrump to Halt NY Congestion Pricing by Terminating ApprovalSorry, Kids: Disney’s New York Headquarters Is for Grown-UpsAirbnb Billionaire Offers Pre-Fab Homes for LA Fire VictimsChild Migrant Watchdog Gutted in DOGE CutsChicago Council Delays $830 Million Bond Vote Amid

Japan Petroleum Exploration (Japex) is prioritising investment in oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) through 2030 - revising an earlier plan to aggressively expand its renewables businesses, its president said. "For now, the investment focus will remain on oil and gas exploration and production... as securing a fair return from renewable energy sources such as offshore wind is challenging due to rising costs," President Michiro Yamashita told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday. Other global peers have also scaled back renewables investments due to lower returns.

Oil prices were little changed on Thursday after rising to a near one-week high in the previous session, as an industry report showing a buildup in U.S. crude stockpiles pressured the market. U.S. crude stocks rose by 3.34 million barrels last week, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Wednesday. Oil prices edged lower on Thursday because of the stock build in the U.S., said Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen.

Australia's biggest non-food retailer Wesfarmers said it may raise prices as a soft local dollar drives up supply costs and warned on Thursday that tariffs ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump may spur inflation. The owner of Australia's biggest hardware chain, Bunnings, and budget department store chain Kmart also said the country's first interest rate cut in five years, announced this week, would help households but alone could not end high living costs nor offset wide-ranging geopolitical headwinds. "You just need to look at some of the challenges in the housing sector that are fairly well understood and reported," Wesfarmers CEO Rob Scott told journalists.

Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Philip Jefferson said on Wednesday the U.S. central bank has time to weigh its next monetary policy move, citing a robust economy and still above target inflation. “The performance of the U.S. economy has been quite strong overall,” Jefferson said in the text of a speech to be delivered at a gathering at Vassar College. Jefferson said “bumpy” progress back to the target was likely following a percentage point’s worth of rate cuts last year.