Exxon Mobil reports sharp profit drop

Exxon Mobil Corporation, one of the world’s biggest oil producers, on Tuesday reported $1.7 billion in profits for the fourth quarter of 2016, a 40 percent decline from the same period in 2015. The company said in a statement that Q4 profits were hit by an impairment charge. Excluding the $2 billion write-down, earnings of $3.7 billion were up from the $2.8 billion reported in the fourth quarter of 2015, due to higher liquids prices which were partly offset by weaker refining margins. invest 335 million euros ($361 million) in production sites around the world in 2017, to expand output of high-quality products and boost profits. The company said the investment represented nearly a 50 percent increase from last year’s planned 227 million euros and was one of the highest ever single-year supply chain investment forecasts in its history. Arla said that the investment would help move more of its milk from bulk distribution into branded retail sales and food services, aiming to expand production of branded high-quality products for Europe and emerging markets. AROUND THE WORLD highest level in a year and well above market expectations, according to a survey released on Wednesday. The increase was announced by Automatic Data Processing and Moody’s Analytics. The data were much higher than analysts’ projections for 165,000 job gains. Private jobs added in December were revised down to 151,000 from the previous report of 153,000. In January, small and medium-sized businesses accounted for more than half the employment gains, adding 164,000 jobs, while large businesses with more than 500 employees added 83,000 jobs, the report added. cates the sector is generally expanding, while a reading below that level indicates contraction. The new orders index edged up 0.1 points from the previous month to 60.4. The production index rose 2 points to 61.4 and the employment index surged 3.3 points to 56.1.