THE LOCAL

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices dipped on Thursday over fears that Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean could interrupt crude shipments in and out of the United States, and as Libyan output began to recover from disruptions. However, prices received some support from rising demand in the United States, where Gulf Coast refineries are restarting in the wake of Hurricane Harvey that hit the region less than two weeks ago. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were down 18 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $48.98 barrel at 0687 GMT, but were still close to their highest in more than three weeks, reached in the previous session. Brent crude futures LCOc1, the benchmark for oil prices outside the United States, dipped 21 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $53.99 a barrel, remaining near May highs marked the day before. RELATED VIDEO U.S. Gulf Coast facilities were slowly recovering from the devastating effects of Harvey, which hammered Louisiana and Texas almost two ...

PR agency Bell Pottinger lost its contract with banking giant HSBC and saw its second-biggest shareholder walk away on Tuesday after it was thrown out of an industry body for running a racially-charged campaign in South Africa. The firm, which provides crisis management to governments and corporations, is now caught up in a scandal of its own because of its campaign, seen as exploiting sensitive race relations to support President Jacob Zuma and his ruling party. Clients are now distancing themselves following its expulsion from the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) for work the body described as “reprehensible”. HSBC said it would no longer work with the firm following the news, while the Bank of Ireland said it was also reviewing their relationship. Bell Pottinger’s second-largest shareholder, marketing agency Chime, walked away from the firm after giving up on trying to sell its stake, valued at around 5 million pounds ($6.51 million) and worth around 2...

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc plans to add about half a dozen senior bankers over the next six months or so and invest more in Asia using its balance sheet as the Wall Street firm seeks to switch to a growth mode in investment banking, a top executive said. After years of squeezing costs with lower headcount, tighter compensation and retrenchment from some segments in investment banking following the global financial crisis, Goldman is ready to change tack, said Gregg Lemkau, who was named co-head at its investment banking division in May. “The mindset we’re taking on is one of a shift towards growth,” Lemkau said in one of his first media interviews since assuming the new post, during a trip through Asia. “We’ve probably squeezed about as much as we can out of the business and as we look ahead, we see an opportunity to invest in growth to try to drive the business forward.” Investment banking accounted for about 22 percent of Goldman’s half-year 2017 revenue. ...

Wells Fargo & Co hiked the tally of accounts that were potentially opened without customers’ knowledge by over a million on Thursday after an expanded review of improper sales practises. The revelation is the latest chapter in a year-long scandal at the San Francisco bank and puts it back in the crosshairs of lawmakers as they prepare to return to Congress next week. Democratic U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a leading voice on consumer finance issues, tweeted “Unbelievable” after Wells Fargo said it had found an additional 1.4 million accounts were potentially opened without permission, bringing the total estimate to about 3.5 million. She repeated her call for the bank’s top brass to appear before the Senate Banking Committee. “Every new disclosure seems to expand the scope of the bank’s troubles, which creates the perception that the scandal is getting bigger rather than going away,” said Jaret Seiberg, an analyst with Cowen Washington Research Group. “We believe the p...

WAU, South Sudan —  the top U.S. official for humanitarian aid has delivered a stern warning to South Sudan’s president that the Trump administration is reexamining its policy toward one of the world’s poorest and most dangerous countries as the African nation slides into lawlessness. Mark Green, the administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development, met Friday with President Salva Kiir. Green said he raised U.S. concerns over the dangers humanitarian aid workers face in delivering food and medicine in the country as well as a pervasive climate of criminal activity by government forces, criminal gangs and opposition forces. Since civil war erupted almost four years ago, a third of South Sudan’s population has become internally displaced or fled the country in Africa’s worst refugee crisis since the 1994 Rwandan genocide. “I told him we are, in the next few weeks, undertaking a complete review of our policy toward South Sudan,” Green said in an interview immedia...

When Asteria Lymo saw her prepaid electricity meter was short of units, she grabbed her smartphone and bought some using Tigo Pesa, a local application that allows customers to pay their utility bills on their mobile phones. “I simply transferred the money from my bank account into my phone to buy electricity,” said the 35-year-old mother of three. “It’s fast, easy to use, efficient and saves a lot of time and money.” With 10,000 Tanzanian shillings (about $4.50), Lymo bought 28 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy - enough to power her home for one week. Previously, that would have meant standing in a queue for an hour to buy electricity coupons at a vending kiosk. Lymo, who lives in the Kimara neighborhood of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s largest city, is among the many customers of state power supplier TANESCO who now use digital platforms to pay their bills. A new study suggests that digital payment - whereby users shift to smart, prepaid metering systems and purchase a set amount o...

LONDON (Reuters) - The euro climbed and stocks inched higher on Thursday, as markets waited to hear just how close the European Central Bank is to scaling back its more than 2 trillion euro ($2.75 trillion) stimulus program. The was relief of sorts too after Donald Trump and U.S. Congress leaders struck a surprise deal to push a showdown on the country’s debt limit back to December, and that there had been no further escalation in the North Korea crisis. A fifth day of gains in auto stocks helped German shares outperform a sluggish open for European equities with banks under pressure before the much-awaited ECB meeting. [.EU] ECB President Mario Draghi is expected to lay the groundwork to wind back its asset purchase program, though few investors expect to see a clear framework just yet. The euro’s sharp rise this year has started to cause some discomfort in part of the euro zone. It drifted higher against a broad swathe of currencies in early trading. [FRX/] A fourth day of...

Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer is to resign next month for personal reasons, leaving a fourth vacancy on the seven-member Fed governing board. Fischer is a widely respected economist who taught at MIT and was head of the Bank of Israel for eight years. His unexpected departure adds to a leadership vacuum at the top of the Fed as it navigates a difficult path. Fischer, 73, was a confidant of Fed Chair Janet L. Yellen, whose term ends in February The U.S. central bank is slowly raising interest rates as the economy grows and unemployment falls. Yet inflation remains below the Fed’s target, complicating its course. Fischer has been a member of the Fed’s Board of Governors since May 2014. His term as vice chairman was set to expire next June. In a letter to the Fed, he said his resignation would occur on or around Oct. 13. His resignation will provide President Trump with another opportunity to reshape the Fed. Trump has nominated Randal Quarles for one of the fou...