Reuters names energy markets editor

Jonathan Leff, editor in charge of Americas commodities coverage at Reuters, sent out the following announcement:

I am thrilled and honored to announce that David Gaffen will be joining the Americas Commodities team as Energy Markets Editor in Charge in New York, bringing his extraordinary financial market savvy, deft writing skills and unerring ability to spot and spin smart, compelling, original news stories to bear on a market enduring its deepest and longest bust in a generation. After years successfully leading coverage of the world’s biggest paper markets, David plunges into the real-world travails of failing frackers and catalytic crackers at a moment when the corporate and energy market stories are more deeply intertwined than ever before. He is already getting up to speed on the finer points of Bakken crude differentials and condensate arbitrage, though his principle focus will be on developing exclusive, insightful stories that illustrate and anticipate the many causes, and some of the effects, of the global rout in oil and natural gas markets.

For most of you, David needs no introduction, as his reputation for strong financial journalism (serving both financial terminal and general-professional readers) and constructive collaboration across our virtual newsrooms is widely known. But in case you need a refresher, David has been U.S. markets editor for nearly seven years since joining Reuters in May 2009. In that time he oversaw the coverage of the aftermath of the 2008 crash, Facebook’s disastrous IPO, the crack-up of Knight Capital, and the arrest of Navinder Sarao, who is alleged to have had a hand in causing the 2010 “Flash Crash.” He and Karen Brettell spearheaded the “Cannibalized Company” investigative series on share repurchases that was a 2015 finalist in the enterprise category for the Reuters journalism awards. He lives in Westchester County with his wife and two kids, and has never lost an argument with his television.

He dives into the commodities pool from May 2. Please join me in congratulating David on his new role.