Tausi Insider

Former Wirecard CEO Markus Braun sits in the dock at Munich Regional Court 1, in Munich, Germany, on Dec. 8. Peter Kneffel/The Associated Press Wirecard’s former chief executive, who steered the payments company through its rise and spectacular collapse two years ago, went on trial for fraud on Thursday after a scandal that shook German politics and tarnished the country’s business reputation. The 53-year-old former CEO Markus Braun, who has been in custody since his arrest in 2020, and two other managers of the former blue chip company face charges including fraud and market manipulation that could result in a jail term of up to 15 years for each of them if convicted. In his first public appearance in more than two years, Braun entered the courtroom to hear the charges carrying a laptop, wearing rimless glasses and a dark turtleneck jumper and jacket, and speaking briefly to confirm his identity. The trial is taking place in Munich’s largest and newest courtroom, a bombproof undergr...

U.S. crude and gasoline inventories rose, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday, on weaker demand for fuel products. Crude inventories rose by a less-than-expected 533,000 barrels in the last week to 448.5 million barrels, compared with forecasts for a million-barrel rise. “The increase was much smaller than anticipated and that’s raising concerns about tightness in supply,” said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group. U.S. gasoline stocks rose by 1.8 million barrels in the week to 232 million barrels, the EIA said.​ Total product supplied, a proxy for fuel demand, fell 867,000 barrels per day, EIA data showed. Meanwhile, refinery utilization rates rose by 0.8 percentage point, bringing the rate above 80% after falling to the lowest levels lowest since March 2021 the week prior. Refinery crude runs rose by 128,000 barrels per day in the last week, the EIA said, as refiners ramped back up after a winter storm caused plants to idle some production. Distillat...