U.S. Crude Oil Stockpiles Fall More Than Expected
U.S. crude oil inventories fell more than expected last week as exports increased, and gasoline stocks declined amid a seasonal pickup in demand, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Commercial crude oil stocks excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell by 2.8 million barrels to 440.4 million barrels in the week ended May 23 and were about 6% below the five-year average for the time of year, the EIA said. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had predicted crude stockpiles would fall by 600,000 barrels.
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Forbes
14 minutes ago
- Forbes
5 Leadership Mistakes Smart Leaders Make And How To Avoid Fails
Even smart leaders make leadership mistakes. Great leaders want to do their best, inspire people and achieve results. But smart leaders are still prone to leadership mistakes that can detract from their team members' satisfaction as well as the leader's own happiness. How important is it to get leadership right? Very. Leaders are tremendously stressed today, so considering how to lead better, and make less mistakes is a worthy discussion. It's also important to ensure that leadership is rewarding for the leaders themselves. In addition, leadership is one of the primary reasons people leave an organization, so great leadership is critical to retention as well as people's commitment and contributions. There are some mistakes that are not only most common, but also the most significant in terms of their effects on people. These are the biggest mistakes to avoid. The number one mistake leaders make is to fail to be transparent in their communication. According to a survey from Robert Walters, 72% of employees lose faith in leaders because they hold back information or because they fail to explain how and why decisions are made. In addition, 71% of people say they can tell when leaders are insincere or when they fake enthusiasm. Avoid leadership mistakes by being open with people and sharing information. Even when information is negative or troubling, give people a sense of what's coming. This will positively affect their feelings of empowerment and control as well as their ability to respond. Of course there will be information that you must keep confidential as a leader, but when you give as much information as you can, or when you're open about the fact that you're not free to share certain points, these behaviors build trust. In addition, people crave certainty, and you can rarely provide it. But you can provide clarity about what you know, what you're exploring, the principles that will guide decision making and how people can prepare themselves for what's next. The second biggest mistake leaders make is to be inconsistent in their behavior. Based on the Robert Walters data, 66% of people say they lose respect for a leader when the leader says one thing and does another. And 62% of people say that they feel disengaged when a leader only communicates with them when the leader needs something. People prefer a bad leader who is consistent over a leader who sometimes good and sometimes poor in an erratic or unpredictable manner, according to a study published by the Academy of Management. Avoid leadership mistakes by demonstrating consistency. Avoid leadership mistakes that set you up to fail. The third biggest mistake leaders make is to fail to be accountable or to follow through. Fully 68% of people in the Robert Walters survey said they left an organization because of empty promises from management. And 44% felt that failure to admit mistakes or take responsibility for their actions had a negative effect on the culture. Avoid leadership mistakes by following through, following up, keeping commitments and keeping promises. These seem simple, but they are significant in building trust, rapport and satisfaction. In addition, at the same time you're confident, also be appropriately humble. Research has shown that when you demonstrate humility, you'll build both trust and credibility. Be humble by avoiding the belief that you have all the answers. Admit mistakes, be open when you don't have the expertise you need and regularly ask people for input. A fourth big mistake that leaders make is to fail to demonstrate concern for employee wellbeing. In fact, 30% of people reported to Robert Walters that this was one of the biggest problems with leaders. And 63% of people said they left an employer because they didn't feel a connection with leadership. Avoid leadership mistakes by ensuring you're empathetic and that you connect with people and demonstrate that you care. Being empathetic is the right thing to do, but it's also good for business. In fact, empathy is one of the most important leadership skills, and it's correlated with all kinds of positive results from greater innovation and engagement to retention and wellbeing. As a leader, you're not responsible for people's wellbeing, but you are responsible to create the conditions for wellbeing, from providing a sense of purpose to ensuring a culture of respect, appreciation and growth. A fifth big mistake leaders make is to micromanage, according to 28% of respondents in the Robert Walters survey. Failing to empower people or failing to provide autonomy, choice or control are mistakes of leadership. Avoid leadership mistakes by delegating and empowering people. When people have greater autonomy, they are more motivated to contribute. In fact, when they have the power of choice, people develop greater skills and capabilities. People want to be treated like grown-ups, and leaders build great teams when employees feel they are trusted and empowered to do meaningful work. Leaders may be making mistakes because they're personally stressed. In fact, 71% of leaders say their stress has increased, and 54% are worried about burning out. Fully 40% have thought about leaving their role in leadership because of their wellbeing. All this is according to data from by DDI. People may also be avoiding leadership entirely. A survey of 27,000 people ages 18-67 in 34 countries by Rand, reported that 39% of people want to avoid career progression. And 57% would avoid work they perceive will negatively affect their work-life balance. The issue may be most acute for Gen Zs who reported they may want to avoid leadership. In fact, Gen Z is 1.7 times more likely than other generations to step away from leadership to preserve their wellbeing, based on the DDI data. You can avoid the biggest leadership mistakes by being self-aware and intentional. No leader is perfect, but when you're able to reflect on your own behaviors and strive to improve, it will mean a lot to the people around you, and contribute to your own wellbeing as well.

Associated Press
20 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Hunter Brown first to 8 wins after allowing 1 hit in 6 innings as Astros beat Rays 1-0
HOUSTON (AP) — Hunter Brown allowed one hit in six innings to become the first eight-game winner in the majors, and the Houston Astros edged the Tampa Bay Rays 1-0 on Sunday to split a four-game series. Josh Hader earned his 15th save for the Astros, who scored an unearned run in the first. Jeremy Peña reached on a fielding error by third baseman Junior Caminero and scored on Christian Walker's two-out single off Taj Bradley (4-5). Houston reliever Bryan King retired two batters and permitted the only other Tampa Bay hit. Bryan Abreu got four outs to set up Hader. Brown (8-3) didn't give up a hit until Josh Lowe singled to left field leading off the sixth. The right-hander then struck Brandon Lowe before ending his outing with a double play. The Rays (30-29) outscored the Astros 29-6 in their two wins. Houston (32-27) outscored Tampa Bay 3-1 in its two wins. Tampa Bay's Taylor Walls was ejected for arguing with plate umpire Nic Lentz with one out in the ninth. Christopher Morel finished the at-bat and struck out. Hader fanned Caminero to end it and hasn't blown a save this season. Jacob Melton made his big league debut for the Astros, beating out a grounder to second for his first hit after looking at a called third strike his first time up. He started in center field and finished 1 for 3. Key moment Already trailing, Bradley had runners at the corners with nobody out in the third. But he struck out Isaac Paredes swinging, got Jose Altuve to pop out and struck out Walker looking to escape unscathed. Key stat Brown has a 1.83 ERA in 13 starts — fifth-lowest in the majors. Up next Rays RHP Drew Rasmussen (4-4, 2.33 ERA) starts Tuesday against Rangers RHP Tyler Mahle (5-2, 1.64) to begin a six-game homestand. Astros RHP Lance McCullers Jr. (0-1, 5.89 ERA) pitches Tuesday against Pirates RHP Paul Skenes (4-5, 2.15) to begin a six-game trip. ___ AP MLB:

Associated Press
29 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Giants' pitching is winning games despite the team's offensive woes
MIAMI (AP) — Runs have been hard to come by lately for the San Francisco Giants. The good news is their pitching staff has made it just as difficult for opponents to score. San Francisco ended May with a major league-best 2.64 ERA, while going 14 straight games without scoring more than four runs. That theme continued in their series against the Miami Marlins, where they took two of three in South Florida. The Giants (33-26) reached the four-run threshold just once, in Sunday's 4-2 win, while limiting the Marlins to just three runs over the three-game series. 'Any time you win a series on the road you have to feel good about it,' San Francisco manager Bob Melvin said, 'especially the way we've been scoring runs. We'll take it. It'd be nice offensively to break out some and put a little distance in some of these games.' In Sunday's win, Wilmer Flores drove in a run with a groundout in the third. Luis Matos hit a three-run shot in the fourth. And that's all the scoring San Francisco managed despite eight hits. Matos' homer, his fourth of the season, made it 4-0 and gave the Giants enough of a cushion to fend off Miami's late threat. 'The way we've been scoring runs it felt like a 20-run homer at the time,' Melvin said. 'We had to grind at the end. It'd be nice to not have to play that game every day, but (it was) a huge swing for a guy that works really hard every day ... number gets called on a day like this where we're not scoring any runs and has the biggest swing of the game.' Their pitching in the series was excellent as it was the entire month of May, despite missing three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander, who remains out with a strained right pectoral muscle. They shut out Miami in the opener thanks to five sharp innings from Kyle Harrison, who made just his made his second start since moving to the rotation because of Verlander's injury. The Giants limited the Marlins to three hits for a second straight game on Saturday despite losing 1-0. Hayden Birdsong, another reliever-turned-starter, limited the Marlins to two hits through five innings on Sunday before giving up three in the sixth. San Francisco's bullpen preserved the close win, with five relievers only giving up a run the rest of the way. Their 2.64 ERA was the Giants best in a single month since posting a 1.91 ERA in September and October of 2010. Despite their pitching, the Giants have scored just 30 runs over their last 14 games. The last time San Francisco scored four runs or fewer in 14 straight games in the same season was in 1976, when the Giants went 15 games without scoring that many. 'The runs will come. We're hitting the ball . We've just got to find that one swing obviously late in the game to pull away, Birdsong said. 'But we're playing good baseball and if we keep it tight early we'll play pretty well.' ___ AP MLB: