NEW YORK, April 4- Brent crude prices hit a five-month low near $105 a barrel on Thursday as a jump in U.S. jobless claims triggered a second day of widespread selling in oil markets, but the benchmark crude pared losses late in New York as the euro strengthened. Brent crude settled down 77 cents at $106.34 a barrel.
*Corn hits 9- mth bottom, Brent crude slips to 5- mth low. NEW YORK, April 4- Corn, oil and gold prices hit multi-month lows on Thursday while cotton joined the selloff in commodities that extended to a fourth day after another disappointing U.S. economic report raised worries about the health of the world's largest economy.
*CP raises oil spill estimate to 400 bbls from 4 bbls. April 4- Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd raised its estimate of the amount of oil spilled in a derailment in northern Ontario a hundred-fold on Thursday, and said 400 barrels had leaked from two tanker cars, up from its initial estimate of four barrels.
*Tele2 says deal is closed, eight days after unveiled. *Vimpelcom, a Fridman investment, has bid for Tele2 unit, alongside MTS. Fridman is linked with two bids for the Russian unit of Nordic operator Tele2- one from his A1 vehicle and the other, at a higher price, from MTS and Vimpelcom, in which he is a leading investor.
**Deutsche Telekom is looking into improving the terms of a proposed merger of its T-Mobile USA unit with MetroPCS Communications PCS.N as a last resort to win over shareholders ahead of a vote on the deal next week, two people familiar with Deutsche Telekom's thinking said.
MILAN, April 4- A number of oil companies operating in Italy artificially boosted the price of gasoline at the pump through intra-company deals, Italian tax police said on Thursday.
LONDON, April 4- The International Energy Agency will invite China and other emerging economies to take part in key strategic talks, sources in the IEA said, in a bid to strengthen ties with non-members whose share in global oil demand has rapidly grown.
NEW YORK, April 4- Brent crude prices fell to a five-month low near $105 a barrel on Thursday as a jump in U.S. jobless claims sparked a second day of heavy selling across oil markets. "Data has been disappointing all week long, and the oversupply of crude just confirmed that," said Bill Baruch, senior market strategist at iitrader.com LLC in Chicago.
*Report says levy could rise to C $40/ tonne from C $15. CALGARY, Alberta, April 4- Alberta is considering a major increase in the carbon levy it charges oil producers as it seeks to show Washington that it is serious about meeting emission-reduction goals, while promoting the contentious Keystone XL pipeline to Texas refineries.
CALGARY, Alberta, April 4- Alberta is considering a major increase in the carbon levy it charges oil producers as it seeks to show Washington it is serious about meeting emission-reduction goals, while promoting the contentious Keystone XL pipeline to Texas refineries.
The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration reported that natural gas in storage shrank by 94 billion cubic feet to 1.687 trillion cubic feet for the week ended March 29. Analysts expected a draw of 90 billion to 94 billion cubic feet, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.
LONDON, April 4- New operators and better technology are set to reverse a decline in Britain's North Sea oil and gas output over the next few years, and could help the country's economy return to health.
LONDON, April 4- Crude oil futures dropped on Thursday after an increase in U.S. unemployment heightened concerns over the economic growth of the world's top oil consumer. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 28,000 to a seasonally adjusted 385,000, the highest since November, the Labor Department said on Thursday.
PARIS, April 4- OPEC is happy with the producer group's official oil output ceiling of 30 million barrels per day, its secretary general Abdullah al-Badri said on Thursday, ahead of an OPEC meeting next month to set output policy.
*No complaints yet from Tele2 minority shareholders. So it went with Nordic telecoms group Tele2, which found its options in Russia narrowed to the point where Chief Executive Mats Granryd and, apparently, its shareholders were grateful to accept the lowest of three offers to sell out.