Asia

Alimentation Couche-Tard, a Canadian retailer, withdrew a $46 billion takeover bid for Japan's Seven & i Holdings. It blamed the lack of constructive engagement on the part of Japanese retailer. The 7-Eleven operator's "konbini stores" would have been the largest foreign acquisition of a Japanese firm. This is the timeline for the bid: AUGUST 19, 2020 Couche-Tard says that it has contacted Seven & i regarding a possible takeover. Both companies do not disclose the value of their offer. Seven & i shares surged almost 23%, to 2161 yen, valuing it at approximately 5.6 trillion yen (about 38 billion dollars)....

These are the most popular stories from the New York Times' business pages. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports. After an extended year of negotiations, marked by dramatic turns and twists, Alimentation Couche-Tard announced that it would abandon its multi-billion-dollar bid to purchase the owner of 7-Eleven convenient stores. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto confirmed Wednesday that the general outline of a new trade agreement between the United States and Indonesia was agreed. Under the agreement, U.S. goods exported to Indonesia will not be subjected to tariffs while Indonesian products in...

Alimentation Couche-Tard, a Canadian retailer, withdrew a $47 billion takeover bid for Japan's Seven & i Holdings. It blamed the Japanese retailer for ignoring its offer. The 7-Eleven operator's "konbini stores" would have been the largest foreign acquisition of a Japanese firm. Here is the timeline for a bid: AUGUST 19, 2020 Couche-Tard says that it has contacted Seven & i regarding a possible takeover. Both companies do not disclose the value of their offer. Seven & i shares surged almost 23%, to 2161 yen, valuing it at approximately 5.6 trillion yen (about 38 billion dollars). SEPTEMBER 6, 2020 Seven...

Sources say that India's oil purchases from Russia increased marginally during the first half this year. Private refiners Reliance Industries Ltd. and Nayara Energy accounted for almost half the total. The data shows that India, which is the third largest oil consumer and importer in the world, received approximately 1.75 million barrels of Russian oil per day from January to June this year. This represents a 1% increase over the previous year. State companies buy Russian oil from spot markets, but the two private refiners are bound by term contracts. India's purchases at discounted prices of Russian oil increased after...

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company announced on Wednesday that it intends to transfer its 24,9% stake in Austria's OMV AG, to its XRG Investment unit. This will be done ahead of the creation of a new chemicals company combining OMV and ADNOC companies. ADNOC bought a 24,9% stake in OMV last year from Abu Dhabi sovereign fund Mubadala without disclosing financial terms. ADNOC and OMV merged their polyolefin business earlier this year to create a chemical company with a $60 Billion enterprise value. Khaled Salmeen, CEO of ADNOC Downstream, told Khaled Salmeen in March that the merged entity Borouge Group...

Three industry sources familiar with the matter have confirmed that India's GAIL, the state-owned gas company in India, is in the initial stages of talks to purchase liquefied gas from the proposed Alaskan LNG project. This comes as South Asia expands its capacity for imports. The discussions with Glenfarne developer come at a time when India is working to increase its energy imports to the United States in order to narrow its surplus trade as part of an broader trade deal with Washington, to avoid the impositions of heavy U.S. Tariffs. The sources stated that GAIL's talks are preliminary, as...

On Wednesday, drones carrying bombs attacked oilfields in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. Two fields operated by Norway’s DNO had to stop production. DNO, the oil and gas company that operates the Tawke-Peshkabir fields in the Zakho region, bordering Turkey, has temporarily suspended production following explosions which caused no injuries. Kurdistan’s counter-terrorism agency posted a Facebook message that three drones were used to attack the fields, but no one was injured. Only material damage occurred. DNO stated that "the damage assessment has begun and the company anticipates restarting production as soon as the assessment is complete." Later, another oilfield operated by U.S....

The President Donald Trump, along with executives of some of the biggest U.S. energy and tech companies will be attending a summit on Tuesday in Pittsburgh as the Administration prepares new measures to drive the U.S. growth of artificial intelligence. The top economic rivals U.S.A. and China have entered a technological arms-race to see who can dominate AI, as this technology becomes more important in every area of life from the boardrooms of corporations to the battlefield. The Energy and Innovation Summit, to be held at Carnegie Mellon University, is expected to attract tech executives and representatives from leading energy...

The President Donald Trump, along with executives of some of the biggest U.S. energy and tech companies will be attending a summit on Tuesday in Pittsburgh as the Administration prepares new measures to drive the U.S. growth of artificial intelligence. The top economic rivals U.S.A. and China have entered a technological arms-race to see who can dominate AI, as this technology becomes more important in every area of life from the boardroom to the battlefield. The Energy and Innovation Summit, to be held at Carnegie Mellon University, is expected to attract tech executives and representatives from leading energy and technology...

The major Gulf stock markets rose early on Tuesday, ahead of U.S. data on inflation due later that day. This indicates investors' positive outlook for talks between Washington and major trading partner countries. After threatening to impose 30% tariffs on imports from Mexico and the European Union from August 1, U.S. president Donald Trump indicated he would be open to discussion on tariffs. The Yomiuri reported that the Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Shiba is planning to meet with U.S. Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent this Friday. Investors will also be watching for U.S. consumer prices for June due Tuesday. They are...

According to a Russian report, OPEC's secretary general stated that the oil market will be "very strong" in the third quarter, and the supply-demand ratio will remain tight in the months following. Eight members of the OPEC+ group, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, including Russia, are undoing years of reductions that were aimed at supporting the markets. Five sources have confirmed that OPEC+ producers will approve a major increase in September oil production. Haitham Ghais, quoted by the Russian RIA news agency on Monday, told journalists at the sidelines of the OPEC...

The International Energy Agency reported on Friday that the revenue of Russia from crude oil and petroleum products sales in June fell by nearly 14% compared to a year ago, reaching $13.57 billion. The global oil price has fallen in this year due to the economic uncertainty, and the increased production of OPEC+ (the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) and its allies, including Russia. The IEA reported that Russia's crude production remained stable last month at 9.2 millions barrels per daily and that crude loadings remained at 4.68million bpd. The IEA reported that its exports of oil and petroleum products...

Sources with knowledge of the issue said that China quietly announced its first 2025 quotas for rare earth mining and melting without the usual public announcement. This is another sign that Beijing tightens its control over this crucial sector. As a barometer of global supply, the quotas serve as a constant reminder of how much rare earths is available. Rare earths are a grouping of 17 elements that are used in electric cars, robots, and missiles. China is the largest producer in the world of these minerals. The government usually issues them twice a years to state-owned firms, but this...

Hindustan Zinc reported a higher-than-expected profit for its first quarter on Friday. The strong demand of the metal helped to cushion the impact that geopolitical uncertainty had on prices. LSEG data shows that India's largest refined zinc producer saw its net profit fall 4.7%, to 22.34 billion Rupees ($259.2 millions), for the quarter ending June 30. This was higher than analysts' estimates of 21.02 million rupees. Analysts said that the demand for zinc, an alloy commonly used to protect steel from corrosion, increased due to the strong local steel production, which grew 8.6% year-on-year. Metal prices were impacted by geopolitical...

Dalian iron ore prices rose on Friday, heading for a fourth straight weekly gain as a positive demand outlook and expectations of further support from Beijing lifted market sentiment. As of 0320 GMT, the most traded September iron ore contract at China's Dalian Commodity Exchange rose by 0.7% to reach 787.5 Yuan ($109.67), per metric ton. This week, the contract gained 3.01%. The benchmark August Iron Ore at the Singapore Exchange rose 0.57% to $101.4 per ton this week, an increase of 2.19%. Analysts from ANZ stated that traders are optimistic about improved steel margins after Beijing's signal to reduce...

The dollar was stronger and the U.S. economy showed solid results. Gold prices were flat and headed to a weekly decline. Platinum reached its highest level since august 2014. As of 0156 GMT, spot gold was unchanged at $ 3,337.59 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures declined 0.1% to $3343.20. Bullion is down 0.5% this week. The dollar was 0.1% weaker against its rivals last Friday but it was on track for a second consecutive weekly gain. The dollar's strength makes bullion priced in greenbacks more expensive for holders of other currencies. Kelvin Wong, senior market analyst at OANDA, said: "We're...

The U.S. Commerce Department announced on Thursday that it would impose preliminary antidumping duties of 93.5 percent on anode grade graphite imported to the U.S. after concluding the materials were being sold at a lower price than their fair market value. The Commerce Department's fact sheet, seen by, shows that all Chinese producers have a single antidumping margin of 93.5% and a cash deposit rate at 93.5%. Commerce reported that the order will affect imports worth $347.9 million by 2023. The duties are applicable to anode grade graphite materials with a minimum graphite purity of 90% by weight. They can...

In an interview on Thursday, the chief executive of Volvo Cars called on the European Union (EU) to reduce its 10% tariff against American-made vehicles, arguing that European carmakers don't need protection from U.S. rivals. Brussels and the auto industry have spent months trying persuade Washington, with its 27,5% tariff, to lower it on imported European cars. Hakan Samuelsson, after the company announced its second-quarter results, said: "If Europe wants free trade then we should lead the way by lowering tariffs to very low levels first." Donald Trump, the U.S. president, has threatened to increase tariffs on European Union imports...

Iron ore futures rose for the second session in a row on Thursday. This was boosted by a strong steel demand, despite production restrictions in major steel-producing regions of China. The contract for the most traded September iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange rose by 1.81%, to 785.5 Yuan ($109.39), per metric ton. By 0713 GMT, the benchmark August iron ore traded on Singapore Exchange was up 0.86% at $100.8 per ton. Broker Galaxy Futures reported that China's steel production has recovered, due to the rapid accumulation of building material, robust manufacturing demand, and continued strength in exports. Galaxy...

Zangge Mining, a Chinese miner, announced on Thursday that it had stopped lithium production in a Qinghai Province unit on the orders of local officials. This pushed lithium prices higher by more than 4% during afternoon trading. According to a Shenzhen Exchange filing, the miner controlled by Zijin Mining, a state-owned giant, received an order from Haixi officials ordering a halt to all non-compliant activities on Wednesday. The filing didn't say how the mining was not compliant. Only with the approval of local governments can production, which is forecast to reach 11,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate in this year, resume....

Iron ore futures prices rose on Thursday, boosted by robust steel production and demand in the top Chinese steelmaking regions. By 0337 GMT, the most traded September iron ore contract at China's Dalian Commodity Exchange rose 1.3% to reach 781.5 Yuan ($108.87). The benchmark iron ore for August on the Singapore Exchange rose 0.66% to $100.6 per ton. Broker Galaxy Futures stated in a report that steel production in China has recovered due to the rapid accumulation of building material, robust manufacturing demand and continued strength in exports. Galaxy reported that the two main steel-producing regions of Shanxi, and Tangshan...

The price of copper in London and Shanghai fell slightly on Thursday as the markets continued to be under pressure in anticipation of the United States' imposition on August 1st a 50% tariff on imports. As of 0123 GMT the three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.07%, to $9,628 a metric ton. The most traded copper contract on Shanghai Futures Exchange also declined 0.04%, to 77,930 Yuan ($10,855.12) per ton. ANZ stated that the U.S. market will likely draw from existing stocks, putting downward pressure COMEX and LME Copper prices in the short-term. In an interview with...

India's gold exports fell by 40% in June compared to the same month last year, to their lowest level for more than two years. The price surge to record levels sapped demand. A government official who refused to be identified because he wasn't authorised to speak to the media said that imports to India fell to 21 tonnes, the lowest level since April 2023. The official stated that the value of gold imports dropped to $1.84 Billion in June, from $2.48 Billion a year earlier. India has imported an average of 52.4 tons per month in the last decade. The...

Trevor Barnard, the CEO of Zimbabwe's Kuvimba Mining House, said that construction on a $270-million lithium concentration plant will begin in the third quarter this year at Sandawana Mine. The plant is expected to be completed in early 2027. The state-owned miner will partner with two Chinese metals titans to build a lithium concentrator capable of producing 600,000 tons per year. The two companies will construct and operate the plant in a minimum five-year period before returning it to Kuvimba. Barnard refused to identify the companies citing ongoing discussions. Barnard, a reporter, said: "We're still working on finalising a few...