Latest News
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NEO Energy’s CEO Steps Down
Oil and gas company NEO Energy has informed its chief executive officer (CEO) Paul Harris has stepped down from the position after less than two years at the position.Paul Harris will support the business until the end of year to assist with an orderly transition of his responsibilities, after which he will retire.Andy McIntosh has been appointed as CEO who will succeed Harris.Also, NEO Energy said its chief technical officer Martin Rowe resigned, and after the end of the year, he will depart the business.Row will be succeeded by Craig McKenzie. Both McIntosh and McKenzie are internal appointments having previously worked as General Counsel & Director of Business Services, and Head of Operations respectively.In addition, Martin Bachmann (Chairman), David Gair (non-executive Director) and Fiona Hill (non-executive Director) have each stepped down from their board positions.John Knight has been appointed as Executive Chair of the Board alongside his fellow non-executive Directors Einar Gjelsvik, Tim Dodson and Grethe Moen. Kristin Gjertsen has also joined the NEO Board as a non-executive Director.
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Jan de Nul Hires Correll for Cable Termination Works at Thor Offshore Wind Farm
Wind power high voltage specialist Correll, part of SPIE Group, has secured a contract from Jan de Nul to complete the 66kV subsea cables termination and testing on offshore wind turbines for RWE’s Thor offshore wind farm.The works are set to begin in July 2025 with the mock-up scheduled for November 2024.Jan De Nul was awarded the EPCI cable contracts by RWE in consortium with Hellenic Cables, and will provide the entire cable package, including the manufacture and installation of 60 kilometres of export cables on the 30-kilometre-long cable route from the offshore wind farm to shore, and approximately 200 kilometers of inter-array cables.Offshore installation and commissioning of the cable system are expected in 2025.Thor Offshore Wind Farm will be constructed in the Danish North Sea, approximately 22 kilometers off the coast of Thorsminde on the west coast of Jutland.Once fully commissioned in 2027, the more than 1 GW project will become Denmark’s largest offshore wind farm and will be capable of producing enough green electricity to supply the equivalent of more than one million Danish households.“We are thrilled to receive this award from Jan De Nul who is a key business partner for our organization. It is an honor to contribute to the installation of what will be Denmark's largest offshore wind farm. This project, which will be part of our 2025 activities, aligns with SPIE Global Services Energy diversification strategy and will play a key role in the transition to low-carbon energy sources,” said Gianluca Petraccia, Wind Power”Business Unit Director at SPIE Global Services Energy.
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Gold ticks up as Treasury yields slip; US retail sales data in focus
Gold prices inched higher on Wednesday, as U.S. Treasury yields eased, while market participants waited for more U.S. financial data to figure out the number of rates of interest cuts the Federal Reserve is most likely to deliver in the near term. Area gold increased 0.3% to $2,667.97 per ounce by 0217 GMT, $17 shy of a record high hit last month. U.S. gold futures gained 0.2% to $2,683.80. The 10-year Treasury yields slipped for a third directly session, making zero-yield bullion more enticing. The video game changer in gold prices is the U.S. financial policy alleviating as it sets the phase for financial investment demand, said ANZ commodity strategist Soni Kumari. The uncertainly surrounding U.S. elections and geopolitical tensions will likewise support gold going forward. Financiers eagerly anticipated U.S. retail sales, commercial production and weekly unemployed claims data, due on Thursday, for fresh hints on the Fed's monetary relieving cycle. Traders are pricing in a 97.2% chance of a 25 basis-point Fed rate cut in November. San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly stated the central bank remains on track for more cuts this year as long as information fulfills expectations. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic stated he pencilled in simply another 25-bp decrease this year when he upgraded his projections for last month's conference. In Other Places, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated he told French President Emmanuel Macron that he would not accept a ceasefire offer that failed to stop Hezbollah from rearming. Delegates to the London Bullion Market Association's yearly collecting anticipated gold prices would increase to $2,941 over the next 12 months and silver rates would jump to $45 per ounce. Spot silver firmed 0.3% to $31.56 on Wednesday. Platinum rose 0.6% to $990.49 and palladium was up 0.2% at $1,011.47.
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Oil steadies after sharp fall, Middle East unpredictability persists
Oil prices inched higher in early trade on Wednesday on uncertainty over what might happen next in the Middle East conflict, after need issues knocked the marketplace to its least expensive given that early October in the previous session. Brent petroleum futures increased 14 cents, or 0.2%,. to $74.39 a barrel by 0250 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate. unrefined futures climbed up 19 cents, or 0.3%, to $70.77 per. barrel. Oil costs tumbled more than 4% to a near two-week short on. Tuesday due to a weaker demand outlook and after a media report. said Israel would not strike Iranian nuclear and oil websites,. relieving worries of a supply disturbance. However, issues about an escalation in the conflict. in between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah continue,. with the U.S. on Tuesday stating it opposed the scope of Israel's. air campaign in Beirut over the past few weeks. Following the recent retracement in prices, we may expect. some room for costs to stabilise in the near term, as market. participants reassess further developments on the geopolitical. front, stated Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG. More clearness over China's fiscal policy waits for as well, and. the lack of specifics seem to cast some uncertainties over the. eventual influence on its oil demand outlook, said Yeap. China might raise an extra 6 trillion yuan ($ 850. billion) from unique treasury bonds over 3 years to. stimulate a drooping economy, local media reported, though that. stopped working to revive sentiment in the nation's stock exchange. On the oil demand side, both the Organization of the. Petroleum Exporting Countries and the International Energy. Agency this week cut their projections for global oil need. development in 2024, with China accounting for the bulk of the. downgrades. In the meantime, the market will be looking out for the current U.S. oil inventory data, with the American Petroleum Institute's. weekly report due later Wednesday and Energy Details. Administration data to come on Thursday. The reports are coming. a day behind normal following a federal holiday. Analysts polled anticipated crude stockpiles increased by. about 1.8 million barrels in the week to Oct. 11.
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India's Adani Green calls off planned dollar bond sale, sources say
India's Adani Green Energy cancelled its plan to raise funds through U.S. dollardenominated bonds after financiers positioned quotes at greater yields than the business wanted to pay, 2 bankers directly associated with the deal stated late on Tuesday. The initial assistance set out to offer a yield of 7% for the 20-year maturity, according to one of the lenders. Some financiers were demanding a greater yield, with which the business was not comfortable and hence they chose to call off the offer, the banker said. Adani Green Energy did not react to an email sent out by Reuters outside regular India service hours. Financiers were seeking greater yields due to broader market unpredictability associated to the U.S. governmental elections and domestic political dangers which could affect the bond issuers' repayment ability, the second banker stated. The lenders declined to be recognized as they were not authorised to talk to the media. The Adani Group went back to the dollar bond market earlier in 2024, about a year after it was implicated by short-seller Hindenburg Research Study in January 2023 of inappropriate use of overseas tax havens and stock manipulation that triggered a $150 billion rout in shares of the group's business. In March, Adani Green Energy raised $409 million by means of 18-year bonds after getting bids of almost $3 billion. The current bond issue was led by Adani Green systems - Adani Hybrid Energy Jaisalmer One, Adani Hybrid Energy Jaisalmer 2, Adani Hybrid Energy Jaisalmer Four and Adani Solar Power Jaisalmer One - through a structured bond deal. Emails sent to the 4 subsidiaries outside routine business hours were not right away answered. Each system was expected to ensure the obligations of the others, while covenants attached to the bond issue will be set on an aggregate basis, according to a note by Fitch Rankings. Covenants are terms connected to the bond, typically financial metrics the company need to maintain to maintain the borrowing at the concurred interest rate. The proceeds would have been used to re-finance the subsidiaries' existing dollar-denominated building loans, Fitch Rankings has said.
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Chip stocks lead Asian markets lower; China in focus
Asian equities fell on Wednesday after disappointing earnings from Europe's most significant tech firm ASML dragged chip stocks around the globe, while expectations that the Federal Reserve will take a modest rate cut path propped up the dollar. Likewise weighing on the market was drab incomes from French high-end giant LVMH that showed need in China for luxury goods worsened, denting a few of the enthusiasm around China spurred by stimulus steps. Tech-heavy South Korean stocks fell 0.6%, while chip stocks led Japan's Nikkei 1.8% lower. Taiwan stocks slipped 1.2%. That left MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan down 0.32%. Matt Simpson, senior market expert at City Index, stated investors are likely questioning how exposed to risk they truly want to be, provided there are threat occasions and a U.S. election looming on Nov. 5. I expect financiers to end up being increasingly twitchy as we head towards November 5th, and eager that book earnings at frothy levels. ASML, whose clients consist of AI chipmaker TSMC, logic chip makers Intel and Samsung too as memory chip professionals Micron and SK Hynix , anticipated lower than anticipated 2025 sales. The Dutch chip equipment maker said regardless of a boom in AI-related chips, other parts of the semiconductor market are weaker for longer than anticipated, leading to client cautiousness. The AMSL numbers were bad and suggest that all is not well in semiconductor chips outside of AI, said Nick Ferres, CIO at Viewpoint Property Management in Singapore. A Bloomberg Report that U.S. authorities have actually been thinking about executing a cap on export licenses for AI chips to particular countries also weighed on sentiment. The dour mood indicated Chinese stocks fell in early trading as investors awaited concrete information on stimulus strategies. The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.6%, while Hong Kong's. Hang Seng Index was 0.7% lower in early trading. Investor focus is now on Thursday when China will hold a. press conference to discuss promoting the consistent and healthy. advancement of the home sector. Our company believe financiers need to see the policy statements. given that Sept. 24 as an integrated plan rather than isolated. messages - the policy pivot appearances quite here to stay, HSBC. strategist Steven Sun said in a report. RISING DOLLAR On the macro side, investors remain enthralled by U.S. rates. and the shifting rate cut expectations in the wake of information that. has actually revealed the U.S. economy to be durable and inflation to tick. just a bit higher. That has kept traders on the fence of how deep the rate cuts. will be in the near term, with traders pricing in 46 basis. points (bps) of easing this year. The Fed started its easing. cycle with an aggressive 50 bp cut in September. Markets are ascribing a 96% opportunity of a 25 bp cut from the. Fed next month, CME FedWatch tool revealed, compared to a 50%. chance a month previously when investors were weighing towards. another 50 bp cut from the U.S. reserve bank. The dollar as a result has actually risen in recent weeks, with the. U.S. dollar index, which measures the U.S. system versus. major competitors, at 103.24, hovering near its highest levels since. early August. The euro loitered around 2 month lows and last. fetched $1.0887 in early trading ahead of the European Central. Bank's policy meeting on Thursday, where the central bank is. mainly anticipated to cut rates again. The yen was steady at 149.155 per dollar but is. down 3.6% in October as the dovish tilt from the Bank of Japan. drags the currency. In products, oil prices were consistent after high declines. in the previous session as investors competed with uncertainty. around stress in the Middle East and what it indicates for international. supply. Brent petroleum futures increased 0.4% to $74.56 a. barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate unrefined futures increased. 0.5% to $70.93 per barrel.
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Oil steadies after sharp falls as Middle East uncertainty continues
Oil rose in early Asian trade on Wednesday on ongoing uncertainty over dispute in the Middle East, after falling as much as $5 today to the most affordable levels considering that early October on demand issues. Brent petroleum futures increased 24 cents, or 0.3%,. to $74.49 a barrel by 0054 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate. crude futures dropped 27 cents, or 0.4%, to $70.85 per. barrel. Oil costs tumbled more than 4% to a near two-week low on. Tuesday due to a weaker need outlook and after a media report. stated Israel would not strike Iranian nuclear and oil websites,. reducing worries of a supply interruption. Nevertheless, concerns about an escalation in the dispute. between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah continue,. with the U.S. on Tuesday saying it opposed the scope of Israel's. air campaign in Beirut over the previous couple of weeks. On the oil need side, both the Company of the. Petroleum Exporting Countries and the International Energy. Firm this week cut their projections for international oil demand. development in 2024, with China accounting for the bulk of the. downgrades. The marketplace will be keeping an eye out for U.S. crude and fuels. inventory information due on Wednesday. Analysts surveyed . anticipated crude stockpiles rose by about 1.8 million barrels in. the week to Oct. 11.
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China imports record quantity of lead after Shanghai squeeze: Andy Home
China's imports of improved lead rose in August with the nation set to be a net importer of the battery metal for the very first time considering that 2020. The abrupt shift in trade patterns arises from a squeeze on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) lead agreement in July. A lack of deliverable metal in the mainland market led to a scramble for Western lead and simultaneously opened up an import arbitrage window with the London Metal Exchange (LME). China's resurgent import appetite has actually halted a long-running integrate in LME inventory. A redistribution of international lead stocks is clearly underway. The concern is whether this is a flash occasion or the start of a. more structural modification in east-west trade circulations. SHANGHAI SHORTS China imported simply 540 metric tons of lead in the very first. half of 2024 however volumes leapt to 14,000 lots in July and an. unmatched 53,000 lots in August. It's possible that the record inflows in August consisted of. some Chinese metal that had actually been sitting in bonded warehouses. and re-directed to the domestic market. That in itself would be. a highly unusual phenomenon. The trigger for the change in Chinese trade flows was a July. squeeze on the ShFE lead contract which was the climax of a. long-running fight in between Shanghai bulls and bears. Tightness in the front part of the forward curve was. exacerbated by exceptionally low exchange stocks as on-warrant ShFE. stock fell listed below 10,000 loads in August. Additionally, short-sellers seeking to provide physical metal. against their positions struggled to discover the ideal lead after. the ShFE tightened its bismuth impurity limit in April. Numerous shipments were declined by exchange authorities, requiring. shorts to look overseas. Fortunately for them, there is no lack of lead outside. of China. LME stocks of registered and off-warrant lead rose every. month in between February 2023 and July 2024, when they peaked at a. integrated 350,000 heaps. The uptrend reversed in August, when integrated stock fell. by 57,000 loads as metal was diverted to China. SQUEEZE OVER? The time-spread tightness on the ShFE lead market has. dissipated, the significant front-month premium changing to a. discount in the middle of September. That has actually made imports less appealing, which must cause. a tail-off in inbound volumes after pre-booked shipments appear. in the next couple of months' customs figures. Nevertheless, there has been no continual reconstruct in Shanghai. exchange inventory. On-warrant stocks rose to 54,500 loads. mid-September however have considering that relapsed to 34,760 loads. Overall ShFE deliverable stocks closed recently at 44,566. loads, still much lower than LME registered stocks of 194,300. loads. The continued east-west stocks imbalance leaves the Shanghai. market susceptible to restored tightness, particularly if there is. a resumption of bull-bear hostilities. BATTERY SCRAP SHORTAGE Although China's shift from net exporter to net importer has. been activated by a squeeze on the futures market, it is rooted. in physical market characteristics. The world's biggest manufacturer of refined lead has seen output. decline this year with both primary and secondary operators. experiencing tight accessibility of feed. Imports of lead concentrates were down by 9.2% over the. first 8 months of 2024 and primary smelter output fell by. 4.5% over the January-September period, according to local data. service provider Shanghai Metal Market (SMM). The secondary sector, which processes refined lead from. battery scrap, has fared even worse with output down by 34.4%. year-on-year in September, according to SMM. The problem is an absence of battery scrap due both to a moderate. 2023-2024 winter, meaning less battery failure, and changes to. local government reward schemes, according to experts at. Macquarie. Prices for battery scrap are higher than for main metal. in parts of the Chinese market, compressing margins for numerous. smelters, SMM reports. China doesn't allow imports of scrap lead, suggesting the. supply tension has transferred to the primary metal segment of the. supply chain. WORLDWIDE SURPLUS Falling Chinese production is the main reason the. International Lead and Zinc Study hall anticipated international output. of refined result in fall by 0.2% this year at the organisation's. biennial meeting in September. The group still anticipates an international supply surplus of 63,000. heaps this year following on a 106,000-ton surplus in 2023. However, that's a limited number in a 13-million ton market. and a forecast that is highly depending on whether Chinese lead. production can recover over the balance of the year. Additionally, the international picture is presently masking a strong. divergence between China and the rest of the world. The burst of. imports over July and August hasn't totally resolved that space. The viewpoints revealed here are those of the author, a. columnist
Argentina exchange could cut corn forecast on absence of rain
Argentina's Buenos Aires grains exchange could cut its forecast for the size of fields planted with corn this season if the South American country's farming heartlands do not get rain in the coming weeks, it stated on Thursday.
The exchange presently anticipates that farmers in Argentina, a. major global supplier of grains and the world's third-largest. corn exporter, will plant some 6.3 million hectares of corn for. the 2024/25 season.
It likewise forsees a 47 million metric load harvest.
Contributing (farmers) state that their early planting plans. may not be fulfilled if there is no rain in the next 15 to 20 days,. it stated in a weekly report.
Northern and western parts of Argentina's agricultural core. have actually experienced months of extremely low rainfall, slowing. planting. Up until now, corn farmers have actually planted simply 10.5% of the. anticipated area.
Last month, farmers and service technicians told Reuters that the. lack of rain as well a leafhopper insect plague affecting corn. fields were pressing growers to pivot to soybeans.
Argentina is also a significant supplier of wheat, which is. mostly grown in the south of the farming location.
The exchange said that recent rains in this location was. preferring advancement, and on Wednesday bumped up its harvest. quote to 18.6 million lots. Farmers will begin the wheat. harvest in November.
(source: Reuters)