Futures in New York dropped as much as 0.8 percent after data showed American drillers added five working oil rigs last week, stoking fears over surging U.S. output. The May oil contract gained 1.5 percent last week before expiring Friday as OPEC producers said supply curbs should continue in order to revive investments in oil and gas production. In the U.S., explorers have added 23 rigs so far this month, bringing the total working rigs to 820 last week, Baker Hughes data showed. The nation’s crude production has more than doubled from the lows of a decade ago, topping 10 million barrels a day each week since early February.

National Average Price for Regular – Current: $2.751; Month Ago: $2.558; Year Ago: $2.422. National Average Price for Diesel – Current: $3.025; Month Ago: $2.928; Year Ago: $2.537.

American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.790046; American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.158944; American Dollar to Euro = 1.230345; American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.009292; American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.054088.

Oil fell in New York after U.S. President Donald Trump criticized OPEC and said crude prices are “artificially Very High.” The comments came as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting countries and allies including Russia showed willingness to further tighten oil markets and boost prices. Oil has rallied in recent weeks as output cuts from OPEC and its allies were compounded by heightened geopolitical risks, including the possibility of renewed U.S. sanctions on Iran. Meeting in Jeddah, a committee of OPEC and other oil producers found high levels of compliance with the production curbs. Still, there’s capacity for prices to rise beyond this week’s three-year high, according to Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih, who said cooperation between producers would continue into 2019. Click Read More below for additional information.

Futures in New York rose 2.9 percent on Wednesday. An Energy Information Administration report showed shrinking American petroleum surpluses and the first crude withdrawal from the largest U.S. storage complex in six weeks. The U.S. draw-downs underlined optimism that an OPEC-led effort to curb global supplies will be reinforced later this week when the cartel and allied producers gather in Saudi Arabia. The EIA reported U.S. crude stockpiles dropped 1.07 million barrels last week, while supplies at the Cushing, Oklahoma, pipeline hub dropped by 1.12 million. Gasoline supplies fell 2.97 million barrels and distillate stocks slid 3.11 million barrels to the lowest level since November. Click Read More below for additional information.

Oil last week rose to levels last seen in 2014 amid growing geopolitical risks, with investors anticipating that retaliation against Assad would threaten production in the region, while tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed rebels in Yemen also added to concerns. Still, surging U.S. output continues to weigh on investor sentiment even as the International Energy Agency says the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is close to reaching its target of eliminating a global crude glut. Meanwhile, in the U.S., working oil rigs rose by seven last week to 815, the highest since March 2015, according to data from Baker Hughes. The rig fleet has expanded in 10 of the past 12 weeks. The expansion came after the Energy Information Administration data showed that American oil production rose to a fresh record of 10.5 million barrels a day. Click Read More below for additional information.

National Average Price for Regular – Current: $2.697; Month Ago: $2.523; Year Ago: $2.405. National Average Price for Diesel – Current: $2.991; Month Ago: $2.934; Year Ago: $2.530.

American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.795985; American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.159242; American Dollar to Euro = 1.231320; American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.009286; American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.055218.

A major byproduct in the papermaking industry is lignosulfonate, a sulfonated carbon waste material, which is typically combusted on site, releasing CO2 into the atmosphere after sulfur has been captured for reuse. Now researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a method to use this cheap and abundant paper biomass to build a rechargeable lithium-sulfur battery. Such a battery could be used to power big data centers as well as provide a cheaper energy-storage option for microgrids and the traditional electric grid. Click Read More below for additional information.

Geopolitical tensions are affecting prices now and will lift crude higher if they persist, Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, said in an interview on Thursday. Meanwhile, trade disputes such as the one between U.S. and China that’s hurt investor sentiment recently are not unusual and won’t have “a direct impact on oil markets for now,” he said on Bloomberg Television in New Delhi. Crude has surged to levels last seen in 2014 as the risk of violent conflict grips the market and raises concerns over potential Middle East supply disruptions. Top OPEC producer Saudi Arabia on Wednesday intercepted a missile attack by Yemeni rebels, who are seen as being supported by fellow group member Iran. That was after U.S. President Donald Trump warned Russia to expect an American missile barrage toward its ally, Syria. Click Read More below for additional information.

Futures in New York rose as much as 1.3 percent after climbing the most in eight months on Tuesday. President Donald Trump has intensified preparations for a response to a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria, a move that could place the U.S. in direct conflict with Russian forces. While the Middle East country’s own oil production is limited, prices often respond to the risk of war in a region that holds almost half of the world’s crude reserves. “The focus is on the West’s probable military strike against the Syrian regime,” said Carsten Fritsch and Eugen Weinberg, analysts at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. Click Read More below for additional information.

Beginning in April 2018, Sun Chemical and its parent company, DIC Corporation, will increase the production capacity of its DAILUBE® extreme pressure additives by 6,000 tons per annum at its eco-friendly plant in Kashima, Japan. The move will better serve customers around the globe as well as promote and deliver its trusted and market leading sulfurized extreme pressure additives into new and existing markets. Optimized for metalworking fluids used in cutting, forming and rolling, DAILUBE extreme pressure additives are light in color, low odor and available in a range of chemistries, including olefin, lard, vegetable, ester, and fatty acid. Click Read More below for additional information.

Oil is losing steam after rising more than 5 percent last month as Trump repeatedly raises the stakes against China, rattling markets. Along with other risky assets, oil took a blow on concern the escalating tension will threaten growth that drives energy demand amid record U.S. output. That could hinder the efforts of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies to curb a global glut and prop up prices. “The market is currently concerned for the escalating China-U.S. trade war tensions,” said Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB AB. “And with good reason, since this will be bad for global growth and oil demand growth further down the road.” Click Read More below for additional information.

In FY 2017, the Postal Service recorded its first net loss from operations, since FY 2013, of $1.3 billion, largely due to declining mail volume, the expiration of the exigent surcharge, and higher operating costs. However, including non-cash workers’ compensation costs and retirement expenses, the net loss from operations increases to a total net loss of $2.7 billion in FY 2017. This is an improvement of $2.8 billion compared to the total net loss in FY 2016. This improvement is the result of a $4.8 billion decrease in the retiree health benefits expense, and a $3.4 billion decrease in the non-cash workers’ compensation expense, offset by $2.4 billion in increased expenses that resulted from provisions in the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) for unfunded retirement benefit costs. Liquidity also continues to improve in FY 2017 and is at its highest level since FY 2007. However, liabilities on and off-balance sheet for pension and annuitant health benefits continue to threaten the improvements in liquidity. The Postal Service experienced a decline in revenue for most of its Market Dominant products. Consumer price index-based price increases were not sufficient to offset the decline in mail volume and the reduction in additional revenue from the expiration of the exigent surcharge. Overall Market Dominant Mail and Services revenue declined 7.7 percent from the previous year. First-Class Mail revenue declined by 6.7 percent while Marketing Mail revenue declined by 5.7 percent. Periodicals revenue also saw a decline of 8.8 percent. Conversely, package services revenue increased by 0.3 percent compared to FY 2016. Click Read More below for additional information.

National Average Price for Regular – Current: $2.662; Month Ago: $2.526; Year Ago: $2.380. National Average Price for Diesel – Current: $2.973; Month Ago: $2.945; Year Ago: $2.516.

American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.782126; American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.158602; American Dollar to Euro = 1.224013; American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.009316; American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.054796.

Futures fell as much as 1.1 percent in New York and are set for a 2.6 percent drop this week. Trump ordered his administration to consider levies on an additional $100 billion in imports from the Asian nation, spurring a flight from risk assets on concern a full-blown trade war will deter global economic growth. That was only a day after both American and Chinese officials signaled they’re willing to talk about the escalating conflict. “We now have to start looking at the U.S.-China trade war as a downward geopolitical risk,” said Olivier Jakob, managing director at consultants Petromatrix GmbH. “This is starting to not be funny anymore, and there is a risk to reach a point where global asset markets become tired of the White House wars and move back into cash.” Click Read More below for additional information.

Prices are being affected by “a bullish oil-inventory report” from the U.S., said Michael Poulsen, an analyst at Global Risk Management Ltd. U.S. storage dropped by 4.62 million barrels to 425.3 million barrels last week, while outbound shipments of crude expanded to a record, according to an Energy Information Administration report Wednesday. The EIA data also showed that American oil production rose to an unprecedented 10.5 million barrels a day, topping the 10 million-barrel level for a ninth week. Global markets from equities to oil recovered after investor optimism grew that the U.S. and China will step back from the brink of a trade war. Click Read More below for additional information.

Futures in New York slipped as much as 2.1 percent to the lowest intraday price since March 20. China’s Ministry of Commerce said it would levy 25 percent tariffs on imports of 106 U.S. products including automobiles and aircraft. That wiped out earlier support for prices as Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries output dropped to the lowest in a year in March. “It’s only logical to see profit-taking in light of looming trade tensions and possible financial market turbulence,” said Eugen Weinberg, head of commodities research at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. Global equities sank after China unveiled its charges, which match the scale of proposed U.S. tariffs announced earlier this week and ratchets up tension in a brewing trade war between the world’s two largest economies. With products ranging from gas turbines to steel and aluminum affected, the spat threatens to raise costs, slow economic growth and hit oil demand. Click Read More below for additional information.

Yuan-denominated oil futures on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange lost 2.8 percent to 405.5 yuan a barrel. The September delivery contract closed 0.9 percent lower on Monday after debuting last week. U.S. crude inventories are estimated to have added 2 million barrels last week, according to a Bloomberg survey before Energy Information Administration data due Wednesday. The nation’s oil production had also increased for a fifth week in the period ended March 23, hitting a fresh record. Click Read More below for additional information.

Crude rebounded over 5 percent last month, recouping February’s losses, after U.S. President Donald Trump named hawkish officials to his government, signaling the nation may pursue a more hard-line stance toward Iran. Even so, concerns persist that a rapid increase in American production, which has topped 10 million barrels a day each week since early February, could undermine efforts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, which are trying to balance the market by cutting output. U.S. explorers cut the number of rigs by the most since November 2017 last week, bringing the total to 797, Baker Hughes data showed. Still, the count remains near the highest in three years, and with separate data showing nationwide crude inventories climbed 1.64 million barrels in the week ended March 23, jitters over increasing U.S. supplies remain. Click Read More below for additional information.

You are probably already familiar with PaperSpecs, founded by Sabine Lenz, but do you know about the VIP membership that includes a quarterly sample box? The box is full of paper samples, and unique printed pieces and promotions sure to get the creative juices flowing.

Oil prices, starting with a decrease on Thursday morning, restored the growth by the end of the day and finishes the week, trading up. May Brent futures were 74 cents or 1.06% up, at $70.27 for a barrel at the end of London ICE Futures trading on March,29. June future contracts are 58 cents, or 0.84% up, at $69.34 per barrel. May WTI futures grew in price by 56 cents or 0.87%, to $64.94 for a barrel on NYMEX.

National Average Price for Regular Unleaded Current: $2.654 Month Ago: $2.530 Year Ago: $2.313 National Average Price for Diesel Current: $2.962 Month Ago: $2.955 Year Ago: $2.504

American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.775984 American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.159276 American Dollar to Euro = 1.232669 American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.009415 American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.055001

The HOW Promotion & Marketing Design Awards, which is HOW’s longest-running competition, has seen thousands and thousands of outstanding promo-driven design projects over the years. One such winning project—one that informed, persuaded and filled a need with flying colors—is Baton Rouge-based design firm Xdesign Inc.‘s work for Capitol City Produce. The project—a campaign for a cocktail creation contest created as a way for the client to showcase their products—was spearheaded by Xdesign Inc. art director Tiffanie Pitre and her team, which includes graphic designer Simone Begneaud, illustrator Vitalija Svencionyte, and copywriter Paige Fenerty.

Oil prices are likely to rise this year thanks to supply disruptions and an OPEC-led deal to limit production, but doubts over the future of compliance with the multilateral agreement and rising U.S. production could stem the upward momentum, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday. A survey of 31 economists and analysts polled by Reuters showed Brent crude LCOc1 would average nearly $64 a barrel in 2018, versus $63 forecast in the February survey, but below the $67.18 average for the benchmark so far in 2018.

In the January/February 2018 magazine, which kicked off our 55th year of publishing, GDUSA released its annual Students To Watch roundup. In addition, we’ve compiled a list of our favorite institutions which prepare students to work in professional graphic design, based on a mix of objective and subjective factors, including our own decades-long relationships with designers, students, educators, recruiters.

Oil fell on Wednesday as investors took profit on a rally the day before to this year’s highs after a report showed a surprisingly large increase in U.S. crude inventories. June Brent crude futures LCOc2 were last down 27 cents on the day at $69.19 barrel by 1135 GMT, while the May contract LCOc1, which expires on Thursday, was down 16 cents at $69.95. WTI futures CLc1 fell 40 cents to $64.85 a barrel.