Oil Climbs, As Taxpayers Call For Lease Reform, and More

Oil gained as optimism that Congress may resume talks over another round of economic stimulus provided a glimmer of hope for an otherwise dreary demand outlook.

Futures in New York advanced 1% on Thursday to the highest in nearly a week after earlier flipping between gains and losses in tandem with stocks. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she spoke with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, signaling openness to resuming stimulus talks.

Wyoming taxpayers lost billions of dollars in potential revenue from oil and gas lease sales over the past decade due to outdated royalty and lease terms, according to a new report published Thursday by Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to protecting American taxpayers.

Each year, the Bureau of Land Management typically oversees four lease sales, auctioning nominated parcels of public land to oil and gas companies for drilling. In turn, operators must pay royalties, rent and other fees for using the land.

You remember Well Fargo, don’t you, the bank that induced its employees to create millions of fake accounts so it could soak its customers with exorbitant fees? According to Wikipedia, starting in 2016, “Wells Fargo clients began to notice the fraud after being charged unanticipated fees and receiving unexpected credit or debit cards or lines of credit. Initial reports blamed individual Wells Fargo branch workers and managers for the problem, as well as sales incentives associated with selling multiple ‘solutions’ or financial products. This blame was later shifted to a top-down pressure from higher-level management to open as many accounts as possible through cross-selling.”

The number of first-time filers for unemployment benefits were slightly higher than expected last week as the labor market continues its sluggish recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that initial jobless claims for the week ending Sept. 19 came in at 870,000, adjusted for seasonal fluctuations. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected first-time claims at 850,000, down slightly from the previous week’s 860,000.