Saudi Arabia replaces the chairman of Aramco

The Saudi government removed its energy minister, Khalid al-Falih, as chairman of Saudi Aramco yesterday, as the state-owned oil company resumes planning its I.P.O. He was replaced with Yasir al-Rumayyan, the head of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.

Mr. al-Falih tweeted yesterday that it was “an important step to prepare the company for the public offering,” and wished Mr. al-Rumayyan “every success.”

News reports suggest the switch was meant to further separate Aramco from the Saudi government, so that the oil company would not be seen as simply an arm of the state when it finally goes public. (That’s despite the fact that Saudi Arabia would still control the vast majority of Aramco’s shares.)

But Mr. al-Falih’s demotion suggests tensions over Aramco’s I.P.O. planning. He has reportedly been privately cautious about taking the oil company public, only to be overruled by the kingdom’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. His power had already been weakened days ago, when the Saudi government stripped him of responsibility for the country’s industrial and mining policies.

In his place at Aramco is Mr. al-Rumayyan, who is seen as a close ally of Prince Mohammed. “I suspect they want to accelerate the I.P.O. timeline,” Helima Croft, the chief commodities strategist at RBC Capital Markets, told Bloomberg.

British pound slips as Parliament enters Brexit showdown

The value of the pound sterling has slipped below $1.20, its lowest level in years, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson threatened to schedule a general election on Oct. 14 if Parliament passes legislation seeking to block Britain from leaving the European Union without a deal.

The move is meant to dissuade rebels within his Conservative Party from allying with opposition parties on the bill, which is expected to be introduced today. The legislation would force the prime minister to seek a three-month extension in talks with the E.U. if he can’t reach a deal by mid-October.