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JX Advanced Metals increases FY profit and dividend forecasts due to higher copper prices
JX Advanced Metal raised its dividend and net profit forecasts for the year ending in March. They cited a strong demand for materials used to build artificial intelligence servers, as well as higher copper prices. The Japanese company raised its net profit forecast for the year to 93 billion Japanese yen ($598 millions) from 79 billion yen in November. The company said that demand for products in the segment of 'information and communication materials' for AI server applications has grown 'faster than expected. Stronger copper prices have also supported the growth. The company has increased its dividend per share to?27 from 21 yen, reflecting the strong performance. Natsuki saotome, the general manager of corporate planning, said that JX had agreed to a partial agreement on?treatment and refinement?charges with global miner for 2026. The levels are slightly higher than those Chinese smelters agreed at $0 per kilogram and 0 cents per pound. Saotome stated that while some agreements had been made, others were still being negotiated. Fees paid by miners for the treatment and refining of concentrates into refined metals have been under pressure due to a global increase in smelting capacity, led by China, which has outpaced mined supplies, thus reducing smelters’ margins.
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Dalian iron ore prices end flat as traders weigh low prices against tepid demands
Dalian iron ore closed the day's trading flat on Tuesday after six straight sessions of losses. Traders weighed low feedstock prices, declining shipments and soft demand against low Dalian iron-ore futures. The most-traded iron ore contract for May on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange closed the daytime trading unchanged at 761.5 Yuan ($110.19). As of 0708 GMT, the benchmark March iron ore traded on the Singapore Exchange at $100.4 per ton. It was trading above the psychological $100 threshold. According to data from the consultancy Mysteel, the total amount of iron ore that arrived at 47 Chinese ports decreased week-on-week between February 2-8. The low Dalian iron ore price and weak market fundamentals have encouraged steel mills to buy feedstock. The Shanghai Metals Market stated in a report that despite the recent rise in port discharge rate and the decrease in arrivals, port inventories are still high. The Shanghai Metals Market said that there is currently no inflection point to destocking, and the high levels of inventory will continue suppressing prices. ANZ Research stated in a 'note' that the iron ore industry is 'likely to experience headwinds in the coming year due to the lack of government stimuli to combat the structural decline in the demand. Coking coal and coke, which are used to make steel, also struggled. They fell by 1.67% and 1.71 %, respectively. According to the Shanghai Metals Market, market?sentiment towards coking coal and its coke is?subdued because of weak demand for finished products and high inventories. The Shanghai Futures Exchange saw a softening of most steel benchmarks. The rebar fell 0.55%; hot-rolled steel dropped 0.65%; stainless steel declined 0.63% while wire rod rose 0.18%. ($1 = 6.9110 Yuan) (Reporting and editing by Subhranshu Sahu, Eileen Soreng and Ruth Chai)
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US agency investigating transactions that could have involved Iran, according to Adani flagship
Adani Enterprises announced on Tuesday that an American agency is conducting civil?investigations into the company's transaction that could have involved Iran or other parties that are subject to U.S. sanction. The flagship company of the billionaire Gautam Adani-led group said that it received a request from the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on February 4. This was after voluntary discussions about a Wall Street Journal article from June 2025 which alleged Adani linked firms imported Iranian liquid petroleum gas into India via shipping routes?that were possibly designed to avoid U.S. sanction. WSJ also reported in its report that Gautam Adani had been trying to convince the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump to drop bribery allegations against him in a different case. Adani Enterprises strongly denied, at the time the report was published, "any deliberate involvement" in sanction evasion or trading involving liquefied gas of Iranian origin. The firm announced on Tuesday that it had "proactively" and "voluntarily" begun discussions with OFAC about allegations made in the media. It also stated that the U.S. government agency has indicated that they are conducting a civil inquiry into certain transactions that were processed by U.S.-based financial institutions, which may have directly or indirectly involved Iran or other parties that are subject to U.S. sanction. Adani Enterprises stated that the OFAC communication did not include findings of non-compliance or violations and it does not anticipate any financial impact. The company stated that it stopped all imports of liquefied petrol gas on June 2, last year. LPG was responsible for 1.46 percent of the company's revenue in fiscal 2025. By 12:15 pm IST, shares of the company had recovered from their lows, falling more than 3%. Adani has been the subject of intense scrutiny since Hindenburg Research, a U.S. short seller, accused it in early 2023 of stock manipulation, accounting irregularities and other allegations, which the conglomerate denies. Since then, the group has faced increased regulatory, legal, and market pressures, with U.S. prosecutors investigating separate allegations of foreign bribery.
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Stocks rise as Nikkei sets record, dollar drops
In Asian trade, global stocks rose on Tuesday. The rally was led by the benchmark Tokyo stock after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's resounding election win over the weekend. The broadest MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan rose?0.6%? while the Nikkei225 surged 2.3%?, reaching a new peak for a third day in a row. The yen strengthened for a third consecutive day. The MSCI All-Country World Index rose 0.2% to a new record. After a two day rally, U.S. equity emini futures have cooled, with S&P500 e-mini down 0.1%. This partially reversed gains made on Wall Street over night. The S&P 500 gained 0.5% on Monday and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.9%, as?technology shares found their feet following last week’s AI-sparked selling off. Robeco’s global head for fundamental equity, Kees Verbaas said: "Overall, the economy is doing well, but we do see some cracks." He added: "The large companies' investment programmes are increasing, not decreasing. This is usually good for the economy." "The AI supply chain can only be made possible by emerging markets." Kevin Hassett, White House economic adviser, said that the Trump administration’s immigration policies could slow labour growth while new AI tools boost productivity. The U.S. Dollar was down by 0.4% against the yen at last, 155.315 yen. The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures greenback strength against a basket six currencies, fell by 0.1% and was near its lowest level of the month, at 96.86. On Monday, the index recorded its largest one-day decline in two weeks. This was after a Bloomberg News article that stated Chinese regulators had advised financial institutions to reduce their holdings of U.S. Treasury Bonds due to concerns over concentration risks and market volatility. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessett stated on Monday that senior U.S. Treasury officials visited China last Thursday "to strengthen channels" of communication between Washington and Beijing. The dollar last fell 0.1% against the offshore yuan at 6,9092 yuan. Analysts from Alpine Macro stated in a research report that "elevating the role of the renminbi on the global stage is a policy priority." Beijing's primary goal is to reduce the dollar's vulnerability, not to challenge its dominance. Last week, the yield on U.S. Treasury bonds 10-years was flat at 4,184%. The market pricing indicates that the Federal Reserve is likely to remain on hold until June. Fed funds futures indicate a 17.7% implied probability of a rate cut of 25 basis points at the next two-day U.S. Central Bank meeting ending March 18 compared to an 18.4% implied probability on Friday. The Indonesian market remained calm throughout the trading session in Jakarta, gaining 1%. It was largely unaffected by FTSE Russell’s decision to delay a scheduled review of its index. Last month, the larger competitor MSCI warned that Indonesia could be downgraded to frontier status due to data transparency concerns. Brent crude oil was flat last week at $69.06 Silver fell 1.9% to $81.75 an ounce. Gold dropped 0.6% at $5,033.752. Bitcoin dropped 1.7% to $69,192.52 while ether fell 3.7% to $2,042.73. (Reporting and editing by Gregor Stuart Hunter, Stella Qiu and Shri Navaratnam)
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Sources: India is in negotiations with Brazil, Canada France and the Netherlands about critical mineral deals
Sources said that India has been in discussions with Brazil, Canada France and the Netherlands to explore, extract and process critical minerals. Sources who declined to identify themselves because the discussions were confidential said that the focus would be on rare earths and lithium, but also that India would seek to access mineral processing technologies. Mining experts say that India's heavy reliance on its arch-rival China, who dominates the global supply of minerals and has advanced technology in mining and processing, highlights the need to reach out to other countries to reduce emissions as it accelerates?its energy transformation. Mining can take many years to go from discovery to production. Exploration alone takes five to seven year and ends up with no viable mine. One source said that India wants to copy the elements of a "critical minerals" agreement signed in January with Germany. The agreement covers exploration, recycling and processing, as well the acquisition and development mineral?assets both in India and Germany and in tertiary countries. The source stated that "there are requests and we are in contact with France, Netherlands and Brazil. We are also actively considering the agreement with Canada." Sources said that the Ministry of Mines leads the effort. Mark Carney, Canada's prime minister, is expected to visit India early in March and sign agreements on uranium and energy. He will also likely sign deals with India regarding minerals, artificial intelligence, and uranium. When asked for comment, Canada’s Natural Resources Department pointed to a statement from January that said?both parties had agreed to formalise their cooperation on critical mineral in the coming week. The Brazilian embassy in New Delhi and the Indian Ministry of Mines as well as the Foreign ministry have not responded to requests for comments. The Netherlands embassy did not respond to a request for comment, while the French embassy declined. India is scouring the globe for critical minerals. It has signed agreements with Argentina, Australia and Japan and is in discussions with Peru and Chile about broader bilateral deals that include critical minerals. India's growing international engagement coincides with the G7 finance ministers and other major economies meeting in Washington last month to discuss how to reduce China's dependence on rare Earths. India has identified lithium as a "critical" mineral for its energy transformation and rising demands from the industry and infrastructure sectors.
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CCTV reports seven deaths in gold mine accident east China
State-run CCTV reported that seven people died in a gold mining accident?in China's east Shandong Province, and that authorities were investigating. Shares of mine owner Zhaojin Mining Industry fell 6% on Wednesday. CTV reported that the accident happened on Saturday, when a cage fell into a mine shaft. The report said that the emergency management and public security departments investigated the cause of the accident and whether it was possible to cover it up. According to the Qichacha Company Registry, Zhaojin Mining Industry is the owner of this mine. As of 0525 GMT, shares of the company had fallen by 6.01%. Zhaojin's main telephone line was answered by a person who said that the matter "was under investigation" and refused to answer any further questions. On Monday, China's emergency management ministry held a conference on preventing accidents during the Lunar New Year holiday. The ministry announced that it would inspect mines, chemicals companies and other hazardous operations. On Saturday, eight people were killed in an explosion that occurred at a biotech firm in northern China.
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MORNING BID EUROPE - Trump administration prepares to gut climate law
Gregor Stuart Hunter gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. Global stocks are at new peaks, aided by the seemingly indefatigable technology?sector. Meanwhile, new measures by the U.S. Government to shake up the climate policy could mark a pain point for ESG Investors. Environmental Protection Agency announced on Monday that the Trump administration is "set" to reverse the so-called Endangerment Finding this week. The Obama administration's scientific determination that the health of humans is endangered by greenhouse gas emissions, which serves as a legal basis for federal greenhouse gas regulations. This will pave the path for what EPA administrator Lee Zeldin said to The Wall -Street Journal, "the largest deregulation act in the history" of the United States. The dollar has continued to fall ahead of the release several important U.S. reports this week. These include retail sales on Tuesday, delayed payrolls on Wednesday and inflation data on the Friday. The dollar index, which measures greenback strength against a basket six currencies, was near its lowest point for the month. Kevin Hassett, White House economic adviser, said on Monday that job growth could be lower over the next few months due to Trump's immigration policy slowing labour growth while AI increases productivity. FedWatch, a tool of the CME Group, shows that Fed funds futures indicate the market continues to expect the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates at current levels until June. Stephen Miran, the Fed Governor on Monday, said that Trump's trade tariff policy has been more benign than most had anticipated. He reiterated his call for interest rates to be lowered. He defended central banks' independence, but said that it wasn't absolute. In the meantime, global stocks have reached record highs. MSCI's All-Country World Index rose 0.2%, setting a new record. The Nikkei 225 soared 2.5% for the third day in a row to reach a new peak following the election win of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takayichi at the weekend. The yen?also?strengthened a second time, with the last 0.4% stronger against the U.S. Dollar. Early European trade saw pan-regional futures and German DAX Futures?flat, while FTSE Futures rose by 0.1%. The following are the key developments that may influence Tuesday's markets: Earnings of the company AstraZeneca, BP, Barclays, Philips, Kering, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Telecom Italia, Ferrari Economic Events France's unemployment rate for Q4 U.S. retail sales for December Debt auctions: Germany: 5-year government debt UK: 5-year government debt
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Malaysia's Khazanah Nasional Fund reports higher profit and 5.2% investment returns in 2025
Malaysian sovereign fund Khazanah Nasional reported Tuesday higher operating profits. Its investment portfolio is expected to return 5.2% by 2025 despite uncertainties caused by U.S. Tariffs and geopolitical risk. Khazanah is a major shareholder of some of Malaysia’s largest companies. These include CIMB Group (the country's second-largest bank), Tenaga Nasional, the power utility, and Malaysia Aviation Group – the nation’s national airline. According to its website, it invests in energy, healthcare information technology, and real estate. Khazanah, which is owned by the Finance Ministry, has reported an operating profit of 5.6 billion Ringgit ($1.43billion) in 2018, up from 5.1billion ringgit (in 2024), Managing Director Amirul Feisal Wan Zahid informed reporters on Tuesday. He said that its net assets increased to 105 billion Ringgits from 103.6 billion Ringgits a year ago, and the annual dividend it pays to the government will double to 2 billion Ringgits in 2025. Amirul?Feisal stated that he expects Malaysia to continue its resilient growth path, supported by both private and foreign investment. According to estimates released last month by the government, the country's economy will grow 4.9% by?2025. This is higher than official projections. Amirul Feisal stated that "for 2026...?we are going to accelerate execution?as well as plan our Malaysian investment strategy and our global investment strategies," adding that Khazanah will look to diversify risk across asset classes as well as geographically. Amirul Feisal, Khazanah's CEO, said in January that the company plans to invest more money into improving Malaysia's electrical system and local semiconductor companies as artificial intelligence is driving the next investment cycle. The fund was also tasked to develop downstream activities within the rare earths industry through international collaboration. Malaysia has an estimated 16,1 million tons rare earth deposits and is eager to develop the local industry. However, it lacks the technology and knowledge to mine and process these minerals, which are critical to the production of?defence gear, electric vehicles, and other goods. Last year, it was reported that China and Malaysia had been in discussions for Khazanah's partnership with a Chinese firm to develop rare earths refinery. Khazanah said on Tuesday that it was?cautious' about the issue, and that creating a rare-earth ecosystem would be a lengthy process. "In Malaysia, many of the rare earth deposits or?deposits have yet to be validated. Amirul Feisal explained that there are environmental requirements for extraction. There's a great deal of policymaking... and a ton of validation work before we can do anything else.
Bluestone Lane, a US coffee chain, will offer beanless espresso as a sustainable option
The U.S. chain of coffee shops Bluestone Lane is launching an espresso coffee in August made with farm foods like date seeds, sunflower and guava. This coffee, according to some, is a better option for sustainability than coffee beans.
Atomo Coffee in Seattle will supply the beanless coffee to all 58 Bluestone stores across the United States. The company claims to have replicated conventional coffee's molecular structure using waste materials. The company wants to provide a sustainable alternative to coffee.
As concerns about climate change grow, the carbon footprint of agricultural practices has come under more scrutiny. Farmers are using regenerative methods to reduce or eliminate carbon emissions. Like other plants, coffee trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. However, chemicals like nitrogen fertilizers cause a lot of emissions.
In a press release, Nicholas Stone, CEO at Bluestone Lane said: "This is a great opportunity for our customers. It allows them to continue to enjoy our high standards of quality and taste without compromising our environmental commitment." (Reporting and editing by David Gregorio; Marcelo Teixeira)
(source: Reuters)