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Bill Gates, billionaire Bill Gates, calls for a climate strategy pivot before COP30
Bill Gates, philanthropist and billionaire investor, called on world leaders to focus on improving health outcomes and not temperature reduction targets in advance of the COP30 Climate talks in Brazil. COP30 is scheduled to take place in Belem, a port city in Brazil's Lower Amazon Region from November 10-21. The countries are expected to update their national climate commitments, and evaluate progress made on the renewable energy targets set at previous summits. In the last decade, the world has been working to achieve the Paris Agreement goals. This includes limiting global warming below 2 degrees Celsius over the pre-industrial level by the mid-century. However, this goal is still far off track. While climate change was serious, it was "not civilization-ending", Gates posted on his personal blog. Gates wrote that instead of focusing on temperature as a measure of progress, it would be better to build climate resilience by strengthening health. He called for an increase in investments in energy, healthcare and agricultural resilience, especially in regions that are vulnerable. He argued that these areas offered more equitable benefits than temperatures goals and should be at the center of climate strategies discussed during COP30. Gates, whose Breakthrough Energy venture network has invested billions in clean technology innovation, challenged donors and policymakers to examine whether climate aid is being spent efficiently. He called for them to maximise their impact by using data and urged investors to support companies that develop high-impact, clean technologies to lower costs more quickly. He said that direct deaths due to natural disasters had fallen by 90% in the last century, to between 40,000-50,000 per year. This is largely because of better warning systems and a more resilient infrastructure. Last week, the U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, and the World Meteorological Organization urged countries implement disaster warning systems in order to protect people from extreme weather. WMO reported that weather, water, and climate-related hazards killed over 2 million people in the last five decades. 90% of these deaths occurred in developing countries. (Reporting and editing by Simon Jessop, Nia Williams and Sharon Kimathi)
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Japan PM uses golfing gifts to invoke Abe's legacy and forge Trump-Japan bond
Sanae Takaichi, the new Japanese premier, gave a putter that Shinzo Abe used to use. Shinzo was his friend and former leader of Japan. The club, displayed in a case with a gold-leaf ball and bag autographed by Japanese major champion Hideki Matsuzaya, was one of many references to Trump’s bond with Abe which underpinned relations between the two countries during Trump's first term. Analysts say that Takaichi will want to rekindle the bond with Abe's protegee Takaichi who was killed by a single gunman in 2022 to help her minority government navigate any thorny matters that may arise, such as defense spending. Masahiko shibayama, who was Abe's assistant during Trump's initial term, said that the shared relationship between the two leaders and the murdered prime minister had "significant meaning". He said, "I am certain that the trust relationship between these two leaders will lead to the strengthening the alliance." The long-awaited trial for the man accused in the fatal shooting of Abe, Takaichi, began Tuesday in Nara, Takaichi’s hometown. Shared by a GREAT FRIEND Abe was the focus of attention as soon as Trump entered the ornate Akasaka Palace, in central Tokyo, to exchange pleasantries with Takaichi and take photos. Takaichi is a conservative hardliner who became Japan's new leader last week. Trump told Trump as they shook their hands, "He was my great friend and your great friend." Takaichi received her first cabinet position in Abe’s 2006-2007 initial administration, and was later promoted to home minister during his second 2012-202020 term. Takaichi thanked Trump for his "enduring friendship with Abe" and for having hosted his widow Akie Abe in his Mar-a-Lago resort shortly after Trump won the election last year. Sunao Takao was the interpreter who translated her words into Japanese. Abe had previously used Sunao as an interpreter. Trump jokingly called Abe junior prime minister. Mark Davidson is a former senior U.S. diplomatic official in Japan and a professor of politics at Temple University, Tokyo. He said that Takaichi's decision to invoke Abe was a clever one. "With President Trump all politics are personal," said Davidson. "He had an extremely warm, trusting and close relationship with Prime Minister Abe." "I think Prime Minister Takaichi’s close ties to late Prime Minister Abe helped set this relationship up for success." Takaichi, Trump and Abe also signed baseball caps with the slogan 'JAPAN'S BACK'. Abe first used this catchphrase in his leadership campaign. Takaichi then adopted it for her own. Abe was the very first foreign leader who met Trump following his victory in 2016. This relationship blossomed during several rounds of golf played both in the United States as well as Japan. Takaichi, who may not be a golfer herself, said that she watched the first few innings with Trump of a Major League Baseball match before the formalities on Tuesday began. Analysts say that Takaichi could benefit from a relationship with Trump, the leader of Japan’s main security and trading partner. She would also be able to navigate Trump's sometimes erratic decisions which have surprised other world leaders. Takaichi's public support has risen since she became prime minister. However, her coalition is still two votes shy of a majority at the lower house of parliament. "This is a perfect opportunity for her to use her popularity to give her the room to make the small concessions she needs to solidify the relationship," Davidson stated. (Reporting and editing by Lincoln Feast; Additional reporting by Tim Kelly, Kiyoshi takenaka, John Geddie.
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MORNING BID EUROPE - Baseball, golf and Nobel Prizes
Wayne Cole gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. Today, U.S. president Donald Trump is in Tokyo. The talk revolves around baseball, golf, Nobel Peace Prizes and the odd deal involving rare earths. This is at least a welcome change from the usual invective of the trade war and it keeps the hope alive for a rapprochement between China and the United States later this week. The Asian markets have been able to consolidate the majority of Monday's gains, with all three indexes nearing record highs. Data showing that the economy exceeded forecasts for the third quarter was a major boost to the latter. China's Shanghai Index also broke through 4,000 for first time since 2015. Beijing has signed a free-trade agreement with Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN. The European and Wall Street Futures are largely flat. This is not surprising, given that the mega-caps have much to live up to this week. The Street is expecting high expectations, given that 85% of S&P companies have reported so far and surpassed the Street in EPS. Options suggest that share prices could move up or down by 6% depending on the results. Bonds and the dollar also await with bated breath to see how dovish or not the Federal Reserve will be on Wednesday. Investors are waiting to see if their bets on another cut in December and two next year will come true. Please, stop reducing the balance sheet of the Fed. Please, no more QT. The Bank of Japan is betting on no rate increase for Thursday. However, there is the risk that at least two members will vote in favor of a rate rise due to stubborn inflation. A real hike would trigger a massive sell-off of the dollar/yen. This suggests that the risk-averse BOJ may be laying the foundation for a tightening by December or January. The following are key developments that may influence the markets on Tuesday. - ECB bank lending survey Dallas Fed Services Survey, U.S. Conference Board Consumer confidence, Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index for October, August house prices
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Oil prices fall as OPEC plans to increase output offset US-China trade optimism
The oil prices fell Tuesday, as OPEC’s plan to increase output countered optimism over a possible U.S. China trade deal. Investors also weighed the effectiveness of sanctions against Russia. Brent crude futures dropped 3 cents at $35.59 per barrel by 0359 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude Futures fell 5 cents to $61.26. ANZ's morning note stated that traders weighed progress in U.S. China trade talks as well as the broader outlook of supply. Four sources familiar with the discussions said that OPEC+ is in favor of a modest increase in output for December. This will act as a downward pressure on prices. After reducing production to support the oil markets for several years, the group began reversing these cuts in April. The prospect of a deal between President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, the two world's largest oil consumers, who are due to meet in South Korea on Thursday, is expected to support the market. Beijing hopes Washington will meet them halfway in order to "prepare high-level interaction" between the U.S. and China, said Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a telephone call with U.S. Sec. of State Marco Rubio on Monday. Brent and WTI both registered their largest weekly gains in June after Trump, for the first time during his second term, imposed sanctions against Russia related to Ukraine, targeting Lukoil, and Rosneft. Lukoil, Russia's 2nd largest oil producer, announced on Monday that it would be selling its international assets in response to the sanctions. The Russian company has taken the most significant action to date in response to the Western sanctions imposed over Russia's conflict in Ukraine that began in February 2022. Fatih Bibil, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, said that sanctions against oil-exporting nations could increase crude prices but their effect would be limited due to surplus capacity. Participants on the market generally believed that sanctions would have a short-term effect. Haitong Securities stated in a report that any medium-to-long-term losses of supply looked limited and an oversupply was likely to put pressure on the prices. Ashitha Shivprasad reported from Bengaluru, and Sam Li from Beijing. Sonali Paul and Thomas Derpinghaus edited the article.
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Singapore GasCo talks to LNG suppliers about long-term contracts
Alan Heng, CEO of Singapore's GasCo, said that the company is in negotiations with suppliers of liquefied gas for long-term agreements. The company will be operational by January 1, 2026. It is a government-owned enterprise that was created to centralise gas procurement and supply to the power sector of the city-state. Heng said that GasCo would be prepared to begin procurements on a short-term basis by then, but it wanted to establish a series long-term contracts to ensure supply. He said: "We'll occasionally take advantage of the spot markets, but we will do so with great care, as we don't want to see power prices in Singapore go up 50% or 100% because (we) are not contracted." Heng said that the next steps are to go to the market, build a portfolio, and diversify the supply. He said that it was important to have a portfolio mix between long-term and shorter-term contracts. He added, "And if there is enough longevity in the prices we can get affordable prices for a long period of time." It might not be the lowest price at any given time, but it will be consistently cheaper over a period of five years than if you went to the spot markets. GasCo will also be able to purchase supplies from the United States. Heng said that the U.S. would supply about 35-40% of global LNG. "So, invariably you will need to secure some U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas," he added. "We haven't yet figured out who is supplying us with U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas... but we will have a significant amount of U.S.LNG in our portfolio." Heng said that the company has been working with the Energy Market Authority to develop contingency plans in the case of any potential disruptions in power supply. For example, if a gas pipeline from neighbouring countries was shut down in large quantities.
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Iron ore gains continue on the back of new proposals to limit China's steel production
The market was buoyed on Tuesday by China's proposal to limit steel production capacity in order to balance supply and demand. As of 0309 GMT, the most-traded contract for January iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange was trading 1.35% higher. It cost 788 yuan (US$110.63) per metric ton. The benchmark iron ore for November on the Singapore Exchange rose 0.05% to $105.75 per ton. Analysts from ANZ said that higher steel prices created room for the steel market to increase its purchases of iron ore, and other raw materials used in steel production. China had on Friday unveiled a proposal to implement a stricter steel capacity exchange plan. According to the new plan the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology stated that the addition of new capacity for steel in key areas as well as the transfer of capacity from non-key regions to key areas and the capacity transfer between key areas will be strictly prohibited. China is grappling with a weak domestic market due to a long-running property crisis. This has led to a mismatch between supply and demand, which has eroded the steel margins. Due to environmental requirements, the steelmaking hub of China Tangshan has also decided to restrict blast furnace production by 30% for a period of four days beginning October 27. Hexun Futures, a Chinese financial information website, reported that the cap would affect 91,000 tonnes of hot metal production per day at local steelmills. Galaxy Futures, a Chinese broker, says that although the demand for crude steel overseas is still relatively high, domestic demand has weakened, making it unsustainable to maintain iron ore prices in the ferrous metals industry. Coking coal and coke both increased by 0.32% and 0.033% respectively. The benchmarks for steel on the Shanghai Futures Exchange are mixed. Hot-rolled coil and rebar both increased by 0.58%. However, wire rod and stainless steel declined by 0.59%. (Reporting and editing by Ronojojo Mazumdar; $1 = 7.1230 Chinese yuan).
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Siemens Gamesa Halts Port of Esbjerg Offshore Wind Nacelle Plant Plans
Siemens Gamesa has confirmed it has scrapped plans to build an offshore wind turbine nacelle factory at Denmark’s Esbjerg Port.The offshore wind turbine manufacturer confirmed it will not proceed with the development of the nacelle plant at the port of Esbjerg at this time, given the current market opportunities.“Siemens Gamesa has maintained a longstanding presence at the Port of Esbjerg, which is a strategically important location for our offshore wind operations, also in the future.“Like in any other place, we continue to evaluate potential investment opportunities; however, given the current market conditions, any such decision will require greater clarity and stability in the industry,” a spokesperson for the company said.To remind, earlier in October, Danish wind turbine maker Vestas also shelved plans to open its biggest offshore wind turbine factory in Poland, citing weaker-than-expected demand in Europe.Vestas Drops Plans for Second Polish Offshore Wind Turbine Plant
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Venezuela to Suspend Energy Agreements with Trinidad
Venezuela's oil ministry will ask the presidency to suspend a wide cooperation agreement with Trinidad and Tobago for energy development, including joint gas projects in negotiation, the South American country's oil minister said.Trinidad's previous government had been planning numerous joint gas projects with Venezuela, including the 4.2 trillion cubic feet Dragon field to be developed by Shell and the National Gas Company of Trinidad, for which it received a U.S. license earlier this month.However, the new administration of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has not been seen as an ally by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.Since taking office in April, her new government has had a close relationship with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, while tensions between Washington and Caracas have escalated.The current relationship between Trinidad and Venezuela, which could complement each other's energy needs, is "hostile," oil minister Delcy Rodriguez said in a broadcast message."In consequence, all gas agreements between Venezuela and Trinidad would be suspended," she said, adding that President Maduro is expected to receive the suspension request soon.Venezuelan officials have criticized the authorization Trinidad received from the U.S. to negotiate the flagship Dragon project with U.S.-sanctioned Venezuela, and said Trinidad would have to pay for any gas supplies.The Dragon development, which lies in Venezuelan waters, has faced long-standing delays amid frequent U.S. policy changes since Washington imposed energy sanctions on Venezuela in 2019.Trinidad's government, Shell, NGC and BP, which are involved in various projects' that include Venezuela, did not immediately reply to requests for comment.Shell is separately developing the Manatee gas project, which crosses the maritime border into Venezuela but had received permission from the Maduro government to be developed on the Trinidad side independently. It was not immediately clear if that project could also be at risk.(Reuters)
Dollar surges after United States payrolls blast previous expectations
The dollar soared on Friday after data revealed the U.S. economy included even more jobs than anticipated in September, quashing expectations for another jumbo rate cut from the Federal Reserve and relaxing some issue about the outlook for growth.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Data stated 254,000 workers were added to nonfarm payrolls last month, well above the 140,000 financial experts had expected, while August's number was upwardly revised to 159,000, from an initial 142,000.
The dollar was set for its most significant one-day gain against a. basket of major currencies in 4 months, increasing 0.6% on the. day, as government bond yields rose and traders dumped their. bets that the Fed will cut rates by half a point next month.
Overall, however, in spite of the much stronger than anticipated. figures, this report is not likely to materially alter the FOMC's. policy outlook, Pepperstone market strategist Michael Brown. said.
For sentiment, the powerful 'Fed put' need to see the path. of least resistance continuing to lead greater for equities over. the medium-run, though conviction in the short-term could well. be rather lacking, owing to continuous geopolitical dangers in the. Middle East, he stated.
Financier belief has been jittery this week, as flaring. tensions in the Middle East raise the threat of severe. interruptions to global crude supply, setting crude oil prices on. course for their most significant weekly gain in 2 years.
U.S. President Joe Biden stated on Thursday that the U.S. was. going over strikes on Iran's oil centers, when asked whether. he would support Israel's strikes in retaliation for Tehran's. missile attack on Israel.
Biden's remarks sparked a surge in oil prices, which had. currently been on the increase this week.
Brent crude futures rose as much as 1.8% earlier on. Friday, pulling back after the payrolls report in the face of the. stronger dollar to $78.09 a barrel, up 0.6% on the day. U.S. futures were up 0.6% at $74.20.
U.S. stock futures rallied sharply, up in between. 0.7% and 1%. The data has lowered the opportunities of a huge. equities-friendly rate cut next month, but it also served to. reassure investors over the strength of the world's largest. economy.
Today's information hit a grand slam with payrolls coming in. strong, positive modifications, and joblessness falling. The. economy is heading into the post-season sturdily. This is a beat. on every element and the Fed must be smiling as they got their. bats out! Lindsay Rosner, head of multi-sector investing,. Goldman Sachs Possession Management, said.
A multitude of information releases today had already pointed to a. U.S. economy still in solid shape.
With the prospect of a big November cut from the Fed now off. the table, gold costs toppled. Spot gold, which has. risen to record highs around $2,700 an ounce, dropped 0.4% to. $ 2,645.
The Japanese yen bore the force of the dollar. buying, damaging after the jobs numbers to leave the U.S. currency up 0.9% at 148.365.
The yen had actually currently been under pressure from more dovishness. from Tokyo authorities today. New Prime Minister Shigeru. Ishiba stated this week that financial conditions in the country. were not ripe for more rate hikes by the Bank of Japan (BOJ),. reversing the hawkish tone he struck prior to his election. success.
The euro, meanwhile fell 0.6% to $1.0966, having. struck two-month lows, while the pound fell 0.3% to. $ 1.3092, giving up earlier gains made after Bank of England. chief economist Huw Pill stated high interest rates were not a secret. factor for weak point in British company financial investment.
(source: Reuters)