Yahoo Finance's Julie Hyman breaks down notable business headlines, which include BP posting record profits and slowing its shift away from oil, Apollo Global Management exploring a stake in a Credit Suisse unit, and SoftBank's vision fund battling hit by a tech slump. (Apollo Global Management is Yahoo Finance's parent company.)
BP's shares hit their highest in three and a half years on Wednesday, a day after it reported record profits and said it would produce more oil and gas for longer and cut its emissions reductions targets for this decade. BP's shares rose to as high as 533.7 pence early on Wednesday, their highest since August 2019, after rising 8% on Tuesday, when it reported record annual profits leading to hiked dividends and share buybacks. BP on Tuesday also scaled back plans to cut hydrocarbons output, now aiming to produce 2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2030, down just 25% from 2019 levels compared with previous plans for a 40% cut.
Markets jumped sharply on Tuesday, powered by positive comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.