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Freshworks anticipates strong revenue in the fourth quarter on AI-driven software demand
Freshworks, a software company that uses artificial intelligence to power its tools, forecast revenue for the fourth quarter of 2018 above Wall Street expectations on Wednesday. According to LSEG, the company anticipates revenue in the fourth quarter of between $217 and $220 million. This midpoint is higher than analysts' average estimates of $216.5 millions. AI-driven solutions are being adopted by businesses to automate and manage IT services, and to reduce costs. Freshworks provides cloud-based software including Freshdesk and Freshservice, which include AI capabilities for functions such as customer relationship management (CRM) and IT support. It competes against other cloud-based providers such as Salesforce and ServiceNow who are also improving their AI capabilities. Freshworks purchased Device42 last year, an IT asset management software that documents and maps IT assets throughout an organization's workflow. Dennis Woodside, CEO of Device42, said that "about half of our big deals this quarter included a Device42 element." "We closed our largest Device42 contract ever with an extremely large sporting goods manufacturer from the U.S." Freshworks expects adjusted profits of 10-12 cents per common share, as opposed to estimates of only 10 cents. The third quarter revenue of 215.1 million dollars exceeded the estimates of 200.8 million. The adjusted profit per share of 16 cents also exceeded the estimates of 13 cents. The company increased its revenue forecast for the full year and adjusted profit per shares. Reporting by Anhata Raopri and Jaspreet Sing in Bengaluru, editing by Tasim Zaid
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Stocks rise as tech shares recover; Treasury yields increase
The stock indexes rose on Wednesday, as the technology sector recovered and U.S. payroll data came in stronger than expected. Treasury yields also increased. According to a survey of economists, U.S. private employment increased by 42,000 in October. This was more than double the 28,000 jobs expected. Some industries, such as professional services, have lost jobs for the third consecutive month. Private payroll data is closely scrutinized in light of the U.S. shutdown and the ongoing concerns about the weakness of the labor market. U.S. president Donald Trump has again asked Republican senators in an effort to end the longest government shut down in history to stop the filibuster. In late afternoon trading, the Nasdaq rose by more than 1%. After a sharp drop on Tuesday, an index of semiconductors rose 3.9%. Advanced Micro Devices shares rose 3.2% following an optimistic revenue forecast given by the company on Tuesday. Peter Cardillo is the chief market economist of Spartan Capital Securities, based in New York. He said that the ADP numbers suggested that perhaps if they align with the official figures - when finally released - the fears over the job market might have been overstated. He said that the possibility of a resolution to the U.S. government shutdown adds optimism. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 291.82 points or 0.62% to 47,377.06, while the S&P 500 gained 52.37 points or 0.77% to 6,823.92, and the Nasdaq Composite increased 267.47 or 1.15% to 23,616.11. The MSCI index of global stocks rose by 4.10 points or 0.41% to 1,000.92. The STOXX 600 Index rose by 0.23%. Asia stocks took a heavy hit overnight. The Nikkei 225 index in Japan fell nearly 7% at one point from its record highs on Tuesday. Shares in South Korea dropped as much as 6,2%, before recovering some of their losses to fall by 2.9%. The global stock market has been flooded with enthusiasm for generative artificial Intelligence this year. It's a phenomenon that is compared to the dotcom boom. The dollar remained unchanged. The dollar has strengthened against the euro after last week's Federal Reserve interest rate cut of 25 basis points. Fed Chair Jerome Powell also said that a December cut is not predetermined. The euro rose 0.02% to $1.1484. The dollar gained 0.27% against the Japanese yen to 154.08. After recovering from its earlier losses, the leading cryptocurrency bitcoin rose 4.01% to reach $104,322.93. It fell 6.1% to $99,000 on Tuesday, the lowest level since June 22. The yields on U.S. Treasury bonds were higher following the unexpected data that showed continued economic resilience. The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10 year notes increased 7 basis points from late Tuesday to 4,161%. Spot gold increased 1.4% to $3.986.99 per ounce. The oil prices dropped as concerns about an oversupply in the world overshadowed signs of a strong demand for fuels in the United States. U.S. crude oil fell 96 cents, settling at $59.60 per barrel. Brent crude dropped 92 cents, settling at $63.52.
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Softs-Raw Sugar Prices fall to Five-Year Low, Cocoa Also Weakens
Raw sugar futures fell to their lowest level in five years on Wednesday. The potential for a large global surplus during the 2025/26 crop season is putting pressure on the prices. Dealers say that the expected increase in sugar production in India, which is the second largest producer in the world, has added to the concerns over excess supplies, as forecasts of the anticipated surplus have increased. After hitting a low of 14,05 cents, raw sugar futures fell 0.11 cent or 0.8% to settle at 14.11 cents. It appears that less cane is being diverted than expected to make ethanol, which has led to a rise in production. In a recent note, broker Czarnikow stated that "we now think India will produce more than sugar in 2025/26 with 32.8 million tonnes due to less sucrose going to ethanol." India produced 26.1 million metric tonnes in 2024/25. Czarnikow increased its forecast of the global sugar surplus in 2025/26 by 1.2 millions tons to 8.7million tons. The price of white sugar fell by $0.70 or 0.2% to $412.70 per ton. Concerns about weak demand following last year's price surge have weighed on cocoa futures. Barry Callebaut announced on Wednesday that they expect sales of their cocoa products will decline by a percentage between the low and mid single digits during its next financial year due to high cocoa prices. Market attention is also focused on the weather conditions in West Africa where crops are being harvested. In a report published on Wednesday, LSEG Research and Insights stated that "Wet weather could delay cocoa harvesting in southern Ghana and the western Ivory Coast and dry weather might favor Nigeria and Cameroon’s key crop areas." New York cocoa fell $204, or by 3.1%, from $6,396 per ton to $4,696 pounds. London cocoa also lost 3.2%, falling to 4,696 pound per ton. The price of arabica coffee increased 2.1%, to $4.136 a pound. Reporting by Nigel Hunt, Marcelo Teixeira, Editing by Shailesh Kumar, David Goodman and Rod Nickel
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Bulgaria drafts a law to allow the seizure and selling of Lukoil refinery
Local media reported that Bulgaria was drafting changes to its laws to allow it to take control of the Russian oil company Lukoil’s Burgas Refinery, which has been sanctioned by the U.S. Burgas, Bulgaria's sole oil refinery, was an important part of Lukoil’s international business empire. This began to crumble in recent days, after the U.S. and Britain imposed sanctions last month on Russia’s two largest oil firms over Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Mediapool, a Bulgarian outlet, reported the draft legislation on Wednesday. It would allow a special manager to supervise the sale of Burgas Oil Refinery. The owner, Lukoil, would not be able to vote or appeal, according to the reports. Boyko Borissov - former Bulgarian prime minister and leader the GERB coalition government – said: "There's a lot to this. That's why we are submitting a law draft today on the special governor." According to Martin Vladimirov of the Bulgarian Center for the Study of Democracy, appointing a special director to temporarily take operational control of Lukoil Bulgaria would "ensure security of energy, prevent a crisis of supply, and actively mitigate the risk of secondary sanctions in the future." Question of Ownership On October 30, Lukoil revealed that global commodity trading company Gunvor would purchase its foreign assets. Gunvor has yet to reveal how it will handle the massive deals and whether or not it will acquire each of Lukoil’s foreign assets. Gunvor's chief executive Torbjorn Tornqvist told Bloomberg Television Tuesday that "we may feel there are assets which we think would be better preserved by other hands", without going into further detail. Gunvor has not responded to the request for comment sent after European business hours. Lukoil was under pressure from the West to sell its Burgas refinery. In January, RIA reported that the price was $2 billion. Bulgaria has introduced a provision in 2023 for the appointment of a Burgas-based special manager to oversee critical infrastructure.
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EDP's 9 month profit drops 12% due to lower capital gains and beats expectations
EDP, Portugal's biggest power utility, posted a 12% drop in its nine-month profits, due to lower capital gains. However, the company still exceeded market expectations. The company said that the consolidated net profit was 952 million euro ($1.11 billion), which is higher than the LSEG consensus of 920 millions euros. Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA), which is the earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization, fell by 3% on an annual basis to 3.8 billion euro, beating out the average survey figure of 3.7 billion euro. EDP Renovaveis, EDP's subsidiary for wind energy, has only booked 35 million euros of capital gains on the sale of solar and wind assets. This is part of an overall strategy to sell stakes in older plants in order to fund newer ones. Profits for the unit fell by 49%, to 107 millions euros. EDP reported that, after excluding the lower gains from asset sale, the recurring net profit increased 5% on an annual basis, reflecting a total increase of 14% in electricity production from new capacity. The operations in the United States and Portugal, as well as Spain, contributed significantly to this growth. EDP operates in 29 countries throughout Europe, North America, and Asia. Its gross margin, or revenue from sales of energy minus direct costs to produce or acquire it, was flat at 5,2 billion euros.
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Georgia voters remove GOP utility commissioners due to rising electricity prices
Georgia voters ousted two Republican utility commissions on Tuesday night over rising electricity rates. This could be a sign of consumer anger against data centers, and Republican President Donald Trump’s aggressive push for nuclear power. Utility regulators across the country are forced to consider the costs of billions of dollars in infrastructure projects, including new transmission lines and new generation. Some consumers are paying higher rates because demand exceeds supply. One Wall Street firm has reacted quickly to the results of the special elections, downgrading Southern Co's stock from "Buy" to "Hold". Analysts at Jefferies referred to the election result as a "resounding Republican defeat" and stated that it would increase the risk profile for Georgia Power, an unit of Southern Co. and make it more difficult to raise electricity rates. According to a Georgia Public Service Commission survey, summer electric bills for Georgia Power users of 1,000 kilowatts increased by 41% and reached nearly $190 per monthly. Alicia Johnson, a Democrat, and Peter Hubbard, a Republican incumbent commissioner each won more than 60% votes. The two Democrats will now sit on the Georgia Public Service Commission which regulates utilities and sets rates for electricity. Johnson and Hubbard both ran campaigns to promote fair electricity rates and a greater emphasis on renewable energies. Their online campaigns stated that electricity rates had increased six-fold in the last two years. Georgia's electric bills reflect the massive cost overruns of the construction of two Vogtle reactors. The reactors were built seven years late and cost $35 billion. According to Georgia regulators, this was more than twice the initial estimate of $14 billion. Patty Durand of Georgians for Affordable Energy called the election as a referendum against nuclear power. Last week, Trump announced an $80 Billion deal to purchase nuclear reactors from Westinghouse. This is the same company which went bankrupt in 2017 due to cost overruns on the Georgia nuclear project. Analysts estimated that electric customers will pay between $36 and $43 billion more over the 60 year lifecycle of two Vogtle nuclear reactors compared to a gas-fired alternative fuel source. Durand stated that Georgia electric customers receive bills that look similar to monthly car payments. (Reporting by Tim McLaughlin, Editing by Aurora Ellis).
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Dollar extends recent gains as stocks climb on tech share rebound
The stock indexes rose on Wednesday, as the dollar continued to rise and U.S. payrolls data came in stronger than expected. According to a survey of economists, the U.S. private sector payrolls increased by 42,000 in October. This was more than double what most expected. Some industries, such as professional services, have lost jobs for the third consecutive month. Private payroll data is closely scrutinized in light of the U.S. shutdown and the ongoing concerns about the weakness of the labor market. U.S. president Donald Trump has again asked Republican senators in an effort to end the longest government shut down in history to stop the filibuster. After a sharp drop on Tuesday, the semiconductor index rose 2.5%. Advanced Micro Devices shares rose 0.5% following a positive revenue forecast given by the company on Tuesday. Peter Cardillo is the chief market economist of Spartan Capital Securities, based in New York. He said that the ADP numbers suggested that if they aligned with the official figures - when finally released - that the fears over the job market might have been overstated. He said that the possibility that the U.S. government shutdown will end adds to the optimism. The Dow Jones Industrial Average grew 59.92, or 0.12% to 47,139.89. The S&P 500 climbed 28.01, or 0.41% to 6,799.59. And the Nasdaq Composite grew 149.16, or 0.64% to 23,498.37. The MSCI index of global stocks rose by 1.48 points or 0.15 percent to 998.31. The pan-European STOXX 600 rose by 0.38%. Asia stocks took a heavy hit overnight. The Nikkei 225 index in Japan fell nearly 7% at one point from its record highs on Tuesday. Shares in South Korea dropped as much as 6,2%, before recovering some of their losses to fall by 2.9%. The global stock market has been swept by a wave of enthusiasm for generative artificial Intelligence this year. It's been compared to the dotcom boom. Since last week, when the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates by 25 basis point and Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated that a December rate cut was not predetermined, the dollar has strengthened against the euro. The euro fell 0.04% to $1.1477. The dollar gained 0.38% against the Japanese yen to reach 154.26. After recovering from its earlier losses, the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin gained 3.25% and reached $103,565.86. It fell 6.1% to $99,000 on Tuesday, the lowest level since June 22. The yields on U.S. Treasury bonds rose after economic data showed that the economy is still resilient. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. notes increased 5.4 basis points from late Tuesday to 4.145%. Gold prices increased. Gold spot rose 1.26%, to $3981.49 per ounce. U.S. crude dropped 0.38% to 60.33 per barrel. Brent was down to $64.27 a barrel, a 0.26% drop on the day.
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S.African mine will close after ArcelorMittal stops purchasing iron ore
African Rainbow Minerals, a South African company, announced on Wednesday that the mine, which is jointly owned by ARM and ArcelorMittal South Africa (the ailing steelmaker), will be put on "care-and-maintenance" following the cessation of purchases from its only customer. Beeshoek Mine is temporarily closed for maintenance and care as owners assess other options in case the market conditions change. The mine's mining operations ceased at the beginning of October. About 622 permanent employees will be laid off on November 30. Beeshoek - operated by Assmang – a joint venture of ARM and the international miner Assore – stopped deliveries to ArcelorMittal at the end of July after a long-term agreement expired in June. This ended a decades-long relationship. ArcelorMittal South Africa continued to buy iron ore month after month, but stopped all purchases on July 27. ARM stated that an extensive review was conducted of the operational, financial and commercial alternatives for the mine. The mine is old, has legacy infrastructure, and its cost base is heavily dependent on ArcelorMittal’s offtake. The group stated that "Beeshoek Mine's operation is no longer feasible due to the lack of a sustainable offtake agreement." The statement said that the consultations with the unions in South Africa under the Labour Relations Act had been completed and that the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources was notified of this shutdown. The decision confirms an August warning, when Assmang informed unions that it was considering closing after ArcelorMittal refused to sign a three-year contract. ArcelorMittal South Africa struggles with a weak domestic demand, high electric costs, poor logistics, and competition from Chinese imports. The company has also delayed the closure of the long steel plants at Newcastle and Vereeniging while it continues to hold talks with the South African Government and labor representatives. Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov, Nelson Banya and Emelia Sithole Matarise; editing by Emelia S. Matarise.
Anglo American eyes split as it fends off BHP offer
Anglo American laid out intend on Tuesday to refocus on energy transition metal copper while spinning out or offering its less lucrative coal, nickel, diamond and platinum businesses, as it moves to ward off BHP Group's $43 billion takeover offer.
The announcement comes a day after the London-listed miner declined its Australian suitor for the 2nd time in less than 3 weeks, saying an increased proposition continued to considerably underestimate the business.
Anglo stated on Tuesday it would divest its steelmaking coal assets, demerge its South African platinum system, explore alternatives for its nickel mines and divest or demerge diamonds service De Beers. The group anticipates the brand-new setup will reduce expenses by $1.7 billion.
We anticipate that a significantly easier business will deliver sustainable incremental value creation through an action modification in functional efficiency and expense reduction, Anglo CEO Duncan Wanblad said.
Anglo shares fell 3.2% to close at 26.19 pounds, after trading at the bottom of the London stock market's standard index FTSE 100.
Relocating to attract assistance for his proposal, BHP CEO Mike Henry stated on Tuesday it was down to financiers to weigh the merits of his company's offer for Anglo, adding he would have chosen to continue talking with Anglo in private.
Our strong preference was to be able to hold these discussions with Anglo in private, Henry stated. Rather. sadly, it got dripped.
BHP's 27.53 pound per share approach, raised from an initial. 25.08 pounds, would require Anglo to sell its iron ore and. platinum assets in South Africa, where it employs more than. 40,000 individuals.
That has caused alarm in South Africa, where unemployment. and a stagnant economy are significant concerns ahead of a May 29. election.
Wanblad stated BHP's bid had required him to accelerate strategies. for a spin-off of Johannesburg-listed Anglo American Platinum. ( Amplats).
Under Tuesday's strategy, Anglo will keep its South African. Kumba Iron Ore company, while Wanblad said the planned. divestment of Amplats would be totally various in terms. of time and intricacy to the BHP proposition.
South Africa's mines minister Gwede Mantashe said on Tuesday. he had no problem with Anglo's proposition, and that he hoped it. would continue to resist BHP's quote.
Anglo is also exploring a going public of its. diamond service De Beers, 2 individuals knowledgeable about the matter. informed on Tuesday, with one flagging London as the. preferred location. Anglo decreased to comment.
The company also said on Tuesday it would slow the. advancement of its Woodsmith fertiliser task in northeast. England and look for tactical partners. Very first production at. Woodsmith will be pressed back from 2027, Wanblad said.
The divestment of Anglo's steelmaking coal operations could. relocation rapidly, he added, provided available interest.
SELF-HELP
Anglo has been satisfying financiers considering that BHP's preliminary. technique in April, and after an evaluation of its possessions initiated in. February following a 94% plunge in annual revenue.
One leading 20 financier at Anglo, who stated a handle BHP was. likely to result in less copper being produced rather than the. boost required to accelerate the world's energy shift,. welcomed Tuesday's proposition.
At the moment, Anglo has lots of very fascinating assets. ... however it is not a focused company, concentrated on a clear. strategic goal, the shareholder said. This strategy offers clearness. of purpose.
MKP Advisers said nevertheless that the concern with the. self-help strategy will be that it is insufficient, too late.
There is no timescale connected to the majority of the plans and it. has actually been clear to most that much of the possible disposals. throughout the portfolio are simply tough to execute, MKP said.
Activist fund Elliott, one of Anglo's leading 10 shareholders. after building up a $1 billion stake, decreased to talk about the. plan. It is expected to put out a declaration later on in the day,. sources say.
Developments such as artificial intelligence and automation,. and the energy transition that includes electric vehicles and. renewable energy, have actually increased need prospects for copper. cable utilized to carry out electrical power.
Copper costs have actually increased 25% from this year's Feb. 9. low to $8,127 a tonne.
Ashwin Pillay, senior associate at law office Charles Russell. Speechlys, stated the new strategy dealt with investor issues that. the worth of Anglo's copper mines has actually been suppressed by less. important operations such as the diamond division.
Intriguingly, there is still an opportunity for BHP to. raise their offer further, including by including a money component,. which would sweeten the pot, he added.
(source: Reuters)