Business roundup: Oil production expected to decline; more
Agency forecasts drop in shale oil output
The shale oil boom that pushed crude production to the highest level in four decades is grinding to a halt.
Output from the prolific tight-rock formations, such as North Dakota's Bakken shale, will decline 57,000 barrels a day in May, the Energy Information Administration said Monday. It's the first time the agency has forecast a drop in output since it began issuing a monthly drilling productivity report in 2013.
Deutsch Bank AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and IHS Inc. have projected that American oil production growth will end, at least temporarily, with prices near a six-year low.
The plunge in prices has forced half the country's drilling rigs offline and wiped out thousands of jobs.
The retreat in America's oil boom is necessary to correct a supply glut and rebalance global oil markets, according to Goldman.
Drillers are building a backlog of drilled wells that they plan to hydraulically fracture and place into service as soon as prices rebound.
Pepsi nabs NBA sponsor deal
The National Basketball Association is trading Coke for Pepsi.
The league said Monday that it has struck a marketing partnership with Pepsico, ending a 28-year partnership with Coca-Cola.
Pepsico's brands include Pepsi, Tropicana, Lay's, Lipton and Doritos.
CEO Indra Nooyi said Mountain Dew will lead the NBA's marketing strategy.
The partnership will cover North America and China, where the popularity of the NBA is growing.
Coca-Cola Co. said it “will continue to have a strong presence within basketball culture through our relationships with iconic players.”
The world's biggest beverage maker said it will continue to have relationships with individual teams and venues, which means some arenas will serve Coke products.
Target names new head of food business
Target Corp. has tapped a 20-year grocery and consumer product industry veteran to help revamp the retail chain's food business.
The Minneapolis-based retailer said Monday that it has hired Anne Dament as senior vice president, merchandising with food and essentials, a position that had been vacant since late last year.
Dament's most recent job was with PetSmart, where she was a vice president of services. Before that, she was group vice president of perishable strategy at Safeway.
She started her career in food, as a buyer for Supervalu. and she has completed stints with ConAgra Foods subsidiary Grist Mill Co. and Otis Spunkmeyer.
Target is trying to overhaul its food strategy during the next 12 to 18 months as part of reviving its overall business. The company plans to add more natural, organic and gluten-free products, while offering more specialty foods in such areas as wine, candy and yogurt. The most significant changes in food will happen in 2016 , the company said.
— Staff and wire reports
