US president lauds his administration's environmental record

Despite being a climate sceptic, Trump claims the US’s environmental record has improved on his watch

The US president has talked up what he calls his environmental leadership in a speech at the White House.

Donald Trump says the environment is a top priority for his administration, even as it rolls back key protections such as pulling the US out of the 2016 Paris Agreement.

But climate change could be a key election issue and the number of Americans who say they have been affected by global warming is growing.

Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher reports from Washington, DC.

MedMen receives additional $30 million equity investment led by Gotham Green Partners

U.S.-based cannabis company MedMen Enterprises Inc. MMNFF, +3.09% said Wednesday it received an additional $30 million equity investment from Gotham Green Partners, with participation from Wicklow Capital. That brings the total financing commitment led by Gotham to $280 million. Gotham has so far funded $100 million of the total commitment. "Both Gotham Green and Wicklow have shown continued confidence in our strategy and recognize the potential ahead," said MedMen Chief Executive Adam Bierman. MedMen’s U.S.-listed shares have dropped 10.1% year to date, while the ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF MJ, -0.06% has rallied 25.3% and the S&P 500 SPX, +0.12% has gained 18.9%.

Team USA celebrates World Cup title, Volkswagen Beetle, ESPY Awards: 5 things to know Wednesday

World Cup soccer champs to get hero’s welcome in NYC

The United States women’s national team will get a ticker-tape parade up lower Manhattan on Wednesday in honor of their record-breaking World Cup win. It’s the city’s first ticker-tape parade since the women’s team won the 2015 Cup. The procession will move up the Canyon of Heroes, a section of Broadway between the Battery and City Hall. Afterward, the team will fly to Los Angeles to attend the ESPYs on Wednesday night. The U.S. won its fourth World Cup title Sunday with a 2-0 win over the Netherlands.

Total To Divest Certain UK Non-core Assets To Petrogas NEO UK For $635 Mln

French energy giant Total SA (TTA.L,TTFNF.PK,TOT) announced Wednesday that it has signed an agreement to divest several UK non-core assets to Petrogas NEO UK Ltd.

The overall consideration for the sale is $635 million with an effective date of January 1, 2019.

Petrogas NEO UK, the exploration and production unit of Omani conglomerate MB Holding, has partnered with Norway-based private equity investor HitecVision for the deal.

The transaction, which remains subject to approval from the relevant authorities, is expected to close in December 2019.

The divesting assets, which were formerly owned by Maersk Oil, are located in the Eastern North Sea. With the Maersk Oil acquisition in 2018, Total became the second largest operator in the North Sea.

Arnaud Breuillac, President Exploration & Production at Total, said, “This transaction is consistent with our portfolio management strategy, aiming at lowering our break-even point by optimizing capital allocation and divesting high technical costs assets. Our primary objective is to maintain the organic break-even before dividend below $30 per barrel and high-grading our portfolio will help us achieve this.”

Oil Prices Jump On Bullish Inventory Data

Oil prices rose sharply on Wednesday after the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a huge crude oil inventory draw and major U.S. producers evacuated rigs in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of a brewing storm.

Benchmark Brent crude jumped 1.9 percent to $65.29 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 2.1 percent at $59.05 a barrel.

The API report showed a decrease of 8.129 million barrels in the U.S. crude oil inventories for the week ending July 5, compared to analyst expectations of a smaller 3.081-million barrel draw.

Official crude inventory data from the U.S. government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) is due later in the day.

U.S. oil production will continue to break output records into 2020, but may be growing at a slower rate than previously expected, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its short-term energy outlook on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a tropical disturbance may become a storm later on Wednesday or Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said early Wednesday. In the likelihood it would become a named storm, it would be called Tropical Storm Barry.

Burger King Is Selling $1 Crispy Taco

Crispy Tacos are returning to Burger King Restaurants’s menus almost after ten years. The company started selling Crispy Taco for just $1 across America, except Alaska and Hawaii.

The Crispy Taco is available for a limited time at participating restaurants.

Back in 2010, Burger King had added Crispy Tacos to its menu for a limited time.

The new Taco features a crispy, crunchy tortilla filled with seasoned beef, shredded cheddar cheese and crisp lettuce. All these are topped with Burger King’s taco sauce.

Burger King, the second largest fast food hamburger chain in the world, said its consumers can opt the taco as a snack on the go, and can be added to any meal order.

Chris Finazzo, President, North America, Burger King, said, “We’ve seen success with tacos in our west coast restaurants and knew it was time to bring this west coast crowd-pleaser nationwide. The Crispy Taco adds variety to our snacking items and truly hits the spot.”

Burger King operates more than 17,700 locations in around 100 countries and U.S. territories.

MSC Industrial Guides Q4 EPS Below View, Boosts Dividend 19% – Quick Facts

While reporting financial results for the third quarter on Wednesday, MSC Industrial Supply Co. (MSM) provided earnings and sales outlook for the fourth quarter.

For the fourth quarter, the company expects earnings in a range of $1.21 to $1.27 per share on net sales between $835 million and $851 million. At the midpoint, average daily sales are expected to increase roughly 2.2 percent compared to last year’s fourth quarter.

Excluding acquisitions, net sales is projected between $808 million and $824 million, with average daily sales at the midpoint expected to increase roughly 1.0 percent compared to last year’s fourth quarter.

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report earnings of $1.48 per share on sales of $883.56 million for the quarter. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.

Further, the company’s board of directors declared a 19 percent higher quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, payable on August 6, 2019, to shareholders of record on the close of business on July 23, 2019.