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Australian gold miner Northern Star falls 11% after production forecast is cut
The shares of Australia's Northern Star Resources dropped more than 11% Friday, kicking off the?New Year in a gloomy manner, after claiming unplanned maintenance as well as operational challenges. The shares of Australia's largest listed gold producer fell as much as 11.5%, to A$23.67. This is their biggest intraday decline since late June?2022. As of 0230 GMT the stock was trading at A$24.130 and was the biggest loser on the ASX 200 index, which was up by 0.2%. Northern Star has lowered its production forecast for fiscal 2026 to between 1,600 - 1,700 kiloounces (koz), down from its previous guidance of between 1,700 and 1,850 koz. The midpoint of the new range is significantly below the Visible Alpha consensus of 1,720.3 kg, but it's slightly higher than last year's production of 1,634 kg. Perth-based Western Australia-based company has been facing a number of problems across its sites in the last quarter. These include carbon-in leach tank failures and reduced mining fleets. The company will reopen its Kalgoorlie?production?centre in January. However, throughput will remain uneven in the second half of the year as it?shifts to the expanded mill. This is scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of fiscal 2027. Northern Star's quarterly results, which will be released on the 22nd of January, will include its costs for the December quarter and a forecast for annual costs. (Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
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Oil prices rise after biggest annual decline since 2020
The oil prices rose on the first trading day in 2026, after they had suffered their worst annual decline since 2020 last year. This was due to Ukrainian 'drones' targeting Russian oil installations and a U.S. blockade that impacted Venezuelan exports. Brent crude futures rose 14 cents to $60.99 per barrel on Friday by 1:46 GMT. U.S. West Texas intermediate crude crude was up 14 cents at $57.56 per barrel. Russia and Ukraine traded accusations of attacks on civilians New Year's Day, despite intensive talks overseen?by U.S. president?Donald Trump aimed at ending the nearly four-year old?war. In recent months, Kyiv has intensified its strikes against Russian energy infrastructure to cut off Moscow’s sources of financing for the military campaign in Ukraine. Washington imposed sanctions Wednesday on four oil tankers and companies that it claimed were involved in Venezuela's oil industry. The U.S. Blockade is designed to prevent sanctioned oil tankers from entering Venezuela or leaving the country. This has forced PDVSA, Venezuela's state-owned energy company, to take extreme measures to avoid closing down refineries as fuel inventories increase. Brent and WTI benchmarks experienced annual losses of almost?20% in 2025. This was the largest since 2020 as concerns over supply and tariffs trumped geopolitical risk. Brent lost money for the third consecutive year, which is the longest streak in history. According to the Energy Information Administration, Wednesday, the United States' oil production reached a record of 13.87 million barrels a day in October. The EIA reported that last week, crude stocks dropped while gasoline and distillate inventory rose due to a robust refining industry. Reporting by Florence Tan, Editing by Tom Hogue
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Nickel Industries Australia says South Korea's Sphere will buy 10% of the Indonesian project
Nickel 'Industries, Australia's Nickel?Industries, announced on Friday that South Korea's 'Sphere Corp' will purchase a '10% stake' in the Excelsior Nickel Cobalt High-Pressure Acid Leach Plant (HPAL) Project in Indonesia for $2.4 billion. Nickel Industries, an Australian company, said that the South Korean materials manufacturer would acquire the stake in the project from Hong Kong's?Decent Resource. Nickel Industries, however, will keep its 44% stake in the project. Sphere, a supplier of special alloys to Elon Musk's SpaceX, has agreed to sell its 10% share of nickel as cathode. It also entered into a contract for the sale of additional volumes at market prices above 10%. According to Nickel Industries, the ENC HPAL Project, which is being built in Indonesia’s Central Sulawesi will be the first HPAL project with the ability to produce three Class-1 Nickel?products: mixed hydroxide?precipitate (MHP), Nickel sulphate, and Nickel cathode. The deal is made at a time when nickel prices are soaring, as Indonesia plans to reduce its mining output quotas in order to boost commodity prices. Nickel?Industries anticipates that funding will be completed in the first quarter 2026. Nichiket Sunil reported from Bengaluru, and Chris Reese edited the story.
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Three dead, seven missing after New Year's Eve attack in Peru on informal miners
A?local?mayor announced on Thursday that at least three people had been killed and seven more missing following a New Years Eve attack on informal gold miners. This was the latest in a series attacks against small-scale miners of the Andean nation. Aldo Marino, the mayor of Pataz, told local TV that the attack occurred in a city in northern La Libertad. In 'May of last year, police reported that 13 miners were killed in the same area as criminal gangs tried to gain control. Marino, who spoke to Canal N on the subject, said that he had received information from police indicating three people died in a mine entry, and seven others are still missing. He added that reports from other people living nearby suggested a higher death toll. The attack was not confirmed by the police and no government officials could be reached for comment. Pataz is now the main gold producing area in Peru, thanks to small-scale informal or artisan mines that operate under temporary government permits called REINFO. Illegal miners, who are said to be stealing the output of other miners in collaboration with criminal gangs according to sources from police and industry, exploit thousands of permits. The Peruvian government extended REINFO permits by one year in December, marking the fifth extension in the last decade. In July, it kicked out over 50,000 small scale miners, or more than half of them, and kept just over 30,000 to go through a formalization procedure. In 2024, Peru exported gold worth $15.5 billion. This is a dramatic increase from the $11 billion recorded in 2018. According to local industry estimates and the country's financial regulator, about 40% of gold in Peru is illegal. Reporting by Marco Aquino, Editing by Ros Russel and Nick Zieminski
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Two people are killed in fireworks accidents in the Netherlands. A historic Amsterdam church is destroyed by fire.
In the Netherlands, two people were killed by fireworks and there was a "scattered" outbreak of violence during the New Year celebrations. A historic church in Amsterdam also caught fire. In the Netherlands, people set off fireworks to celebrate New Year's Eve. This causes thousands of injuries every year and damages of millions of Euros. Police said that this year 250 people were arrested on New Year's Eve, and riot police in various towns were deployed. The impact of the heavy fireworks and arson on New Year's Eve was devastating in some areas. "The targeted violence against the?emergency service and?police were intense again," said police in a Thursday statement. Police reported that fireworks accidents had killed a man aged 38 in Aalsmeer (near Amsterdam) and a boy in Nijmegen in the east. A fire in Amsterdam's Vondelpark destroyed the neogothic Vondelkerk. The fire started shortly after midnight. Amsterdam's police and fire departments said that they were investigating the cause of the fire in the 1872-built?church and have not yet made any comments. The ban on fireworks sales to consumers nationwide will be in effect by 2025. Years ago, emergency room doctors, local and national politicians, and police and firefighters have been campaigning for the ban. (Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg Editing by Frances Kerry)
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Petroperu, the state-owned company in Peru, is now open to private investors after a reorganization
Late Wednesday, Peru issued an urgent decree approving the restructuring of?state owned oil firm Petroperu and allowing private investments in key company assets. According to the decree signed by?Peruvian President Jose Jeri, the company may be divided into one or several asset blocks. This includes the Talara refinery which the company has spent $6.5 billion upgrading. Petroperu also operates or has concessions on six crude oil blocks that have limited production. It has a fuel marketing and distribution chain. The Peruvian ministry of energy and mines stated that the decree is intended to "?ensure compliance with financial obligations through the technical management of their assets, laying a foundation for Petroperu's self-sustainability." The ministry stated that the company's "situation is particularly sensitive" with losses accumulating to $479 million between January and 2025 and debts to vendors of $764 millions through December. This is in addition to the $774 million reported losses last year. The company's financial problems are partly due to the debt from the Talara refinery upgrade, which cost more than double the original estimate. This led to the company losing its investment grade rating in 2022. Petroperu has received government financing totaling $5.3 billion from 2022 to 2024. (Reporter Marco Aquino, Editing by Alexander Villegas & Nick Zieminski).
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Ukraine condemns Russian New Year drone attack on power Infrastructure
Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the President of Ukraine, said that a Russian drone had damaged power infrastructure overnight in several Ukrainian regions. Meanwhile, Moscow accused Ukraine of a "deadly" new year's attack on a part of Ukraine under Russian control. "Russia deliberately starts war on the New Year. Zelenskiy posted on Telegram that "over 200 drones attacked Ukraine during the night." Zelenskiy stated that energy infrastructure in seven different regions of Ukraine was targeted. Russia has accused Ukraine of killing 24 people in a drone attack on a cafe and hotel where civilians were celebrating the New Year. The strike took place in an area of southern Kherson controlled by Russia. The Ukrainian military did not respond immediately to a question about Moscow's accusations. Zelenskiy stated that Russia's "holiday season" attacks demonstrated Ukraine could not afford delays in its air defence supply. "(Our) Allies have names of equipment that we lack. "We expect everything that was agreed upon with the United States for our defense at the end December will arrive on schedule," he stated, without elaborating. Zelenskiy has met with President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday to negotiate a peace framework that will end the nearly four-year war. Donald Trump met with Zelenskiy in Florida, on Sunday, to discuss a framework for peace to end the almost four-year conflict. Both leaders have said that they are close in reaching an agreement. However, there remain thorny questions regarding the post-war control of territories. Ukrainian energy minister said that a "significant" number of households in Volyn, Odesa, and Chernihiv regions, located in western and southwest Ukraine respectively, were cut off from electricity by the overnight strikes. Volant's governor said that more than 103,000 households had lost electricity as a direct result of the attack. The Volyn region lies several hundred kilometers from the frontline and borders NATO-member Poland. (Reporting and editing by Gareth Jones, Ros Russell and Max Hunder)
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Police: Dozens of people are feared dead following explosion at Swiss ski resort bar
Swiss police said that dozens of people were feared to be 'killed' and 100 others injured after an explosion tore into a packed bar during a party on New Year’s Eve in the upscale resort of Crans-Montana, located in southwest Switzerland. The police had previously said that many people were being treated for injuries. A police spokesperson confirmed that more than 100 people were in the bar when the explosion occurred. Fire broke out in the early hours of the morning in Crans-Montana at "Le Constellation", where police, fire brigade, and rescue services had been deployed to help victims. Police said in a statement that the area was completely?closed and a no fly zone had been declared over Crans-Montana. They added that the cause of the explosion remained unknown.
European shares reach record highs amid hopes for peace in Ukraine
European shares reached record highs on Monday, with defence stocks leading the way, as regional leaders demanded an urgent summit to discuss the Ukraine conflict amid increasing U.S. demands to increase military spending to ensure security.
The pan-European STOXX 600 Index was up last 0.4% as a gauge for defence and aerospace stocks soared almost 4% in value to lifetime highs, after having more than doubled since Russia invaded Ukraine 3 years ago.
Analysts have called this "supercycle" in the sector. It is expected that earnings will continue to grow in the defence industry due to the significant increase in budgets for new security requirements.
Bruno Schneller is the managing director of Erlen Capital Management. He said that a resolution to the conflict could bring positive growth for Europe. This includes improved consumer confidence, reduced energy prices and easier financial conditions.
The demand for banks was also high, with a 1.2% increase and a jump to the highest level in 17 years, thanks to soaring bond yields.
French President Emmanuel Macron hosted an emergency summit about Ukraine on Monday after U.S. officials said that Europe would not have a role in any talks in Saudi Arabia this week aimed at ending conflict.
The British government said that it would be ready to send troops to support any agreement, and Russian and U.S. officials were preparing to hold their own talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukraine's president, said that his country will not recognize any decisions taken in discussions where it was not present.
DELETED THREATS
The threat of reciprocal U.S. Tariffs has receded, but there was still a concern that these levies could include taxes based on the value added tax in other countries.
"Trade policy is still a wildcard with the possibility of incremental tariffs, and their impact upon inflation and growth. Although the tariffs announced have not yet changed the economic landscape materially, further escalation may introduce new uncertainty," Schneller said.
The Financial Times reported Sunday that, in order to protect its farmers and to follow the reciprocal trade policy of U.S. president Donald Trump, the European Commission will explore strict import limits for certain foods manufactured to different standards.
The U.S. market is closed on Monday due to Presidents Day, which means that trading volume will be lower than usual. However, the S&P500 futures and Nasdaq Futures both rose by 0.2%.
The S&P 500 gained 1.5% for the week while the Nasdaq rose 2.6%.
In Europe, the markets are also watching German elections at this weekend.
The dollar dropped almost 0.6%, to 151.46 Japanese yen, as the euro fell by 0.2%.
Investors waited for the employment and inflation figures to be released later this week. The pound remained at $1.2593 - just below its high of two months.
Both the Australian and New Zealand central banks are expected to reduce interest rates during their policy meetings this coming week.
Gold fell from Friday's record-highs to $2,899 per ounce after seven weeks of gains.
Bloomberg News, citing delegates, reported Monday that OPEC+, the oil producer group, is considering delaying a series monthly increases in supply due to start in April, despite Trump's calls for lower prices.
Brent crude oil rose by 9 cents, to $74.82 per barrel. U.S. crude oil gained 13 cents, to $70.87 a barrel. (Reporting and editing by Ed Osmond, Angus MacSwan.)
(source: Reuters)