Latest News
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Shelf Drilling Nets First Dutch North Sea Job with Tenaz Energy
Offshore drilling contractor Shelf Drilling, through its subsidiary Shelf Drilling (North Sea) (SDNS), has secured a contract for the Shelf Drilling Winner jack-up rig with Tenaz Energy for operations in the Dutch North Sea.The firm term of the contract is one year, with an option for Tenaz Energy to convert the term to three years within the first six months of operations.The operations are expected to begin in October or November 2025, shortly after completion of the rig’s current contract in Denmark.The contract award represents Shelf Drilling’s first contract in the Dutch energy sector, where offshore activity is scaling up following the government’s renewed focus on strengthening domestic gas production.Canada-based Tenaz Energy became the second-largest operator of natural gas assets in the Dutch North Sea earlier in 2025 through its acquisition of Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM), formerly a 50/50 joint venture between Shell and ExxonMobil Corporation.“We are very pleased to announce this contract for the Shelf Drilling Winner and to establish our partnership with Tenaz Energy in the Netherlands. This award marks a significant milestone for Shelf Drilling as we expand our footprint into a new and active segment of the North Sea.“We appreciate the opportunity to support their multi-year development program and are fully committed to delivering safe, efficient, and sustainable operations for Tenaz Energy,” said Greg O’Brien, CEO.Saudi Rig Owner ADES to Buy Shelf Drilling in $380M DealShelf Drilling Lands New Jack-Up Contract in Vietnam, Extends Egypt Deal
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Trump's Environment Agency terminates contract with Unionized Employees
According to the president of the union, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ended its contract with unionized workers, which is the latest move in President Donald Trump’s efforts to weaken collective negotiations across the federal governments. Justin Chen, the president of the American Federation of Government Employees' chapter at the EPA, announced in a Friday statement that the union, which represents 8,000 EPA workers, plans to file a lawsuit against the decision. Trump is now closer to his goal of stripping hundreds of thousands federal workers of their ability to bargain collectively with US agencies. Attorneys representing federal employees have stated that eliminating union agreements would make it easier for agencies to fire or discipline their employees. A spokesperson for EPA administrator Lee Zeldin didn't immediately respond to a comment request. According to records from the federal HR department, as of March 20, 2025 there were more than 16000 employees at the EPA. This figure does not include employees who accepted buyouts. In July, the agency announced that it would reduce its staff by at least 23 percent and close its office for scientific research as part of Trump’s effort to shrink the federal government. Unions have already filed lawsuits to stop Trump's efforts to demolish collective bargaining agreements. On August 1, a federal appeals court ruled that the administration can exempt certain federal agencies from having to negotiate with unions. The EPA workers are represented by AFGE. (Reporting and editing by Diane Craft; Courtney Rozen)
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Gold futures record highs, global stocks rise
The global equities market rose on Friday, as investors held on to the belief that U.S. rates could fall even further this year. European shares posted their largest weekly gain in twelve weeks due to the strength of banking stocks. U.S. Gold Futures reached a record-high due to uncertainty about whether U.S. import duties would be applied to the most common sizes of gold bars. Investors waited for any signs of a possible ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine after hearing that the United States was working with Russia to end the conflict in Ukraine. After Adriana Kugler abruptly left the U.S. Central Bank, President Donald Trump moved on Thursday to reshape it. He nominated Council of Economic Advisers Chair Stephen Miran as a temporary board member. Miran shares the same views as Trump who has criticized Powell for cutting rates "too late", despite the fact that growth is still holding and inflation is increasing. Ray Attrill of National Australia Bank, Sydney's head of FX Strategy said: "It locks-in a vote in favor of rate cuts for all meetings from now until the end of the month." He added that "markets are already traveling with a very high expectation of a rate reduction." There is a question over whether he will be able to ratify the agreement in time for September's meeting. Bloomberg News reported on the fact that Fed Governor Christopher Waller is emerging as one of the leading candidates for Fed Chair. The MSCI index of global stocks rose by 0.52%. Wall Street saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average rise 0.47% to 42,175.61, S&P 500 gain 0.78% at 6,389.45, and Nasdaq Composite climb 0.98% to 21450.02. The pan-European STOXX 600 Index rose by 0.2%, finishing the week with a gain of over 2%. This was due to largely positive corporate results as well as firming bets on more Fed rate reductions. Prices were lifted from their five-week-lows last week. The stock market also saw an increase in shares due to the optimism that U.S. tariffs, which went into effect on Thursday, would be subject to negotiations. The SMI index in Zurich rose as traders shrugged off the 39% U.S. tax on Swiss imports. The shock is real. Now the question is, how and when will it impact the economy? Samy Chaar, Lombard Odier's economist, said that up until now the impact has been less than expected. Tariffs are higher than what many had expected in April. As a result, the relief over lower than expected duties could be short-lived. Chaar noted that the European Union has a 15% duty instead of the 50% Trump had threatened. "That is the vulnerability of the market... The focus is on the positive news, which is that you are not going to get the 50% but only 15%. The problem is that 15% represents a huge shock, and at some point it will show up in the data," said he. U.S. Treasury rates rose on Friday. The yield on the benchmark 10 year note was poised to gain for the first time in three weeks following a series weak auctions. U.S. Customs and Border Protection published a ruling Friday on its website, which was interpreted by the gold industry as meaning that U.S. import duties could be applied to the largest gold bar sizes in the U.S. The December U.S. Gold Futures settled at $3,491.30 an ounce, up 1.1% from the previous record of $3,534.10 reported by the Financial Times. Spot gold slipped 0.08% to $3.394.24 per ounce. Brent oil futures closed up 0.24% to $66.59 a barrel, while U.S. crude remained unchanged at $63.88 a barrel. The expectation of a possible truce between Russia & Ukraine weighed down on the oil price earlier in U.S. trading. The economic outlook was also impacted by tariffs, and both benchmarks ended the week with losses. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. notes increased 3.9 basis points, to 4.283%. The Japanese yen fell by 0.44% in relation to the dollar. The dollar index (which measures the greenback in relation to a basket including the yen, the euro and other currencies) rose by 0.31%. However, the euro fell by 0.23%. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan closed at a loss of 0.63% while Japan's Nikkei gained 1.85%.
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Braskem US assets may face resistance from potential buyers
Three people familiar with the talks said that groups vying to control Brazilian petrochemical company Braskem would likely resist any sale of its U.S.-based assets. Brazilian chemical company Unipar has been in discussions to buy Braskem's plants in Texas and Pennsylvania for $1 billion. This was reported by the Brazilian newspaper O Globo on Thursday. Braskem confirmed to Unipar on Friday that they are discussing the sale unspecified Braskem properties. On Friday, Braskem shares rose about 3% while Unipar's shares jumped nearly 9% at the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange. Sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that neither party vying for a controlling stake of Braskem is interested in selling its U.S. assets. One of the sources stated that Brazilian businessman Nelson Tanure who has been in exclusive talks for 90 days with engineering group Novonor (formerly Odebrecht) opposes this idea. One source says that IG4 Capital, a private equity firm, has a competing plan to swap Novonor's debt for Braskem when Tanure's 90-day exclusive talks with the engineering group expires this month. They would likely also oppose a deal for the U.S. facilities without a comprehensive future plan, the other source added. According to a third party, a sale of assets in the United States would also be contrary to Braskem’s stated strategy. Braskem, Unipar and IG4 declined to give any further information on the assets. Tanure and IG4 declined comment. Braskem CEO denied on Thursday that the company was interested in selling its U.S. assets. Luciana Magnalhaes, Brad Haynes and Kirby Donovan edited the article.
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Chilean prosecutor meets Codelco to investigate fatal mine accident
A top prosecutor in Chile said that on Friday, the country's prosecutors met with Codelco technical experts to investigate an accident last week at the El Teniente Copper Mine which killed six workers. Aquiles Cuillos, the prosecutor for the O'Higgins area, told reporters his office was in need of Codelco explaining various operations within the mine. He described them as "things which have been revealed by the investigation." He said that after the staff meetings his team reviewed four damaged levels in the mine. These do not include those where injuries and deaths took place. Investigators are taking photos of the locations to create a map that will show the extent of the damage. Cubillos reported that 3,700 meters of passageways were damaged by the collapse the day before. This is far more than the 700 meters originally estimated by the company. He didn't specify the extent of the damage, but said that it affected five or six areas in the Recursos Norte Unit and two or three areas in the Andesita Unit. El Teniente is home to about 4,500 km of tunnels. Codelco had asked Chile's mining regulator for approval to partially restart the mine on Friday.
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Lula signs a bill to relax Brazil's environmental licensing but vetoes certain provisions
The executive secretary to the President's Office said that on Friday, Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva had signed into law a measure easing the rules for environmental licensing, but vetoed several provisions. The "Devastation Bill", as it is called by environmentalists and supported by Brazil's powerful agricultural community, significantly weakens the environmental controls of licensing processes. States and municipalities will have more authority to grant licenses for business development. Agribusiness has supported the bill, as it will make it easier to expand operations in environmentally sensitive regions. Miriam Belchior, executive secretary of Lula's office, confirmed that Lula had approved the bill, but altered or removed 63 out of nearly 400 articles. Belchior, speaking to journalists in Brasilia, said that the vetoes were intended to protect the rights and integrity of Indigenous and Quilombola Communities, as well as the integrity of licensing processes. She said, "We have maintained what we believe to be significant progress in streamlining environmental licensing." The provisions that were struck down are divided into two categories: 26 were vetoed in full, and 37 others will be either replaced by alternative text, or modified within a new bill. Belchior, Lula's former minister of foreign affairs, said that the Lula administration would send a new bill to Congress as part of a constitutionally-mandated urgency procedure. She added that this new proposal would introduce a "Special Environmental License", which will be designed to speed up strategic projects and fill the legal gaps left by the vetoes. Reporting by Lisandra paraguassu, Writing by Oliver Griffin, Editing by Joe Bavier & Rosalba o'Brien
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Gold reaches all-time high as gold prices rise amid Fed reforms
The global equities market rose on Friday, as investors held on to the belief that U.S. rates could fall even further this year. European shares posted their largest weekly gain in twelve weeks due to a strong performance by banking stocks. U.S. Gold Futures reached a record-high due to uncertainty about whether U.S. Import Tariffs will apply to the most common sizes of gold bars. Investors were looking for signs of an upcoming ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine after hearing that the United States was working with Russia to end the conflict in Ukraine. The expectation of a possible truce put pressure on oil prices. They were also under pressure due to a tariff-hit economy outlook. Stephen Miran, the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, was nominated for a temporary board seat by President Donald Trump after Adriana Kugler abruptly stepped down. Miran shares the same views as Trump who has criticized Powell for cutting rates "too late", despite the fact that growth is still holding and inflation is increasing. Ray Attrill of National Australia Bank, Sydney's head of FX Strategy said: "It locks-in a vote in favor of rate cuts for all meetings from now until the end of the month." He added that "markets are already traveling with a very high expectation of a rate reduction." There is a question over whether he will be able to ratify the agreement in time for September's meeting. Bloomberg News reported on Christopher Waller, the Fed Governor. He was a frontrunner for the Chair. MSCI's global stock index rose by 0.61% and is now nearing the record high set two weeks ago. Wall Street saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average rise 0.56% to 44216.64. The S&P 500 rose 0.84% at 6,393.37, and the Nasdaq Composite increased 1.01% to 21458.14. The pan-European STOXX 600 Index rose 0.2%, finishing the week with a gain of over 2%. This was due to largely positive corporate results as well as firming bets on more Fed rate reductions. Prices were lifted from their five-week-lows last week. The shares also rose on the optimism that U.S. tariffs, which went into effect Thursday, would be subject to negotiations. The SMI index in Zurich edged up as traders continued to ignore the 39% U.S. tax on Swiss imports. The shock is real. Now the question is, how will it impact the economy, the data and when? Samy Chaar, Lombard Odier's economist, said that up until now the impact has been less than expected. Tariffs are higher than they were in April. The relief over lower than expected duties could be short-lived. Chaar noted that the European Union has a 15% duty instead of the 50% Trump had threatened. "That is the vulnerability on the market. ... It is focused on the good news which is that it is not about getting 50% but rather 15%. The problem is that 15% represents a huge shock, and at some point it will show up in the data. The yield on the benchmark 10-year bond is poised to gain for the first time in three weeks, after a string of weak auctions. U.S. Customs and Border Protection published a ruling Friday on its website, which was interpreted by the gold industry as meaning that U.S. import duties could be applied to the U.S.'s most popular sizes of gold bar. The December U.S. Gold Futures settled at $3,491.30 an ounce, up 1.1% from the previous record of $3,534.10 reported by the Financial Times. The spot gold price rose 0.11%, to $3400.69 per ounce. Brent oil futures are on course to drop nearly 5% in the coming week. WTI is also expected to end lower than last Friday's closing price. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. notes increased 3.9 basis points, to 4.283%. The Japanese yen has weakened by 0.35%. The dollar index (which measures the greenback in relation to a basket including the yen, the euro and other currencies) edged up by 0.18%. However, the euro fell by 0.05%. The MSCI broadest Asia-Pacific index outside Japan closed at -0.63% while Japan's Nikkei rose by 1.85%.
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Russian drones hit SOCAR oil depot in Ukraine's Odesa region, sources say
Two industry sources confirmed on Friday that a Russian drone attack in Ukraine's southern Odesa Region damaged an oil depot owned SOCAR by the Azerbaijani state oil company. One source said that four people were injured in the attack. A source from the energy sector said that "multiple drones" struck the oil depot owned by the Azerbaijani SOCAR company this evening. The damage is hard to estimate at this time. "Several people were hurt." SOCAR has 60 fuel stations in Ukraine. In recent months, Russian forces have intensified their drone and missile strikes on Ukrainian cities far from the frontline. Officials in Ukraine said that earlier this week Russia attacked a gas station used to import LNG imported from the U.S.A. and Azerbaijan as part of an attack intended to undermine winter preparations. In July, Ukraine began pumping a small amount of Azerbaijani natural gas via the Transbalkan route. It also announced plans to increase imports of gas from the Azerbaijani SOCAR energy company. Ilham Aliyev, the Azerbaijani president, is in Washington this Friday. He is expected to sign a first peace agreement mediated by the United States with Armenia at a meeting between Donald Trump and President Aliyev. (Reporting and Writing by Olena Hartmash, Editing By Louise Heavens).
Miran receives Fed approval, but Japan's stocks are booming. The rest of Asia is uneven.
Asian markets recovered unevenly on Friday. Japan's largest stock index hit a new record high, boosted by strong corporate earnings.
Tariffs on goods imported from the country
The declines in Hong Kong, South Korea, and Australia were a sign of fragile investor confidence following the Wall Street retreat, as traders assessed the impact that the appointments at the U.S. Federal Reserve would have on the policy direction.
The Nikkei index rose by 2%, while the Topix index gained more than 1%. Both reached new records and traded above 3,000 dollars for the first.
SoftBank Group shares rose as high as 11% following the announcement by the technology investor that it had returned to profitability in the first-quarter. Sony Group added 6% to its 4.1% gain on Thursday, fueled by earnings.
MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan fell 0.6%, with Hong Kong leading the declines. This comes after U.S. shares ended their previous session with mild loss after reaching a near-one-week-high.
U.S. president Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he will nominate Council of Economic Advisers chairman Stephen Miran to temporarily fill a vacancy at the Federal Reserve while the White House searches for a permanent addition for the central bank's board of directors and continues to search for a Fed chair.
Ray Attrill of National Australia Bank, Sydney's head of FX Strategy said: "It locks-in a vote in favor of rate cuts for all meetings from now until the end of the month."
He added that "markets are already traveling with a very high expectation of a rate reduction." There is a question over whether he will be able to ratify the agreement in time for the meeting in September.
Bloomberg News reported that Fed Governor Christopher Waller was the leading candidate to succeed Chair Jerome Powell whose term expires on May 15, 2026.
Gold futures reached a new record after the Financial Times reported that the United States imposed tariffs for imports of 1 kg gold bars. These represent the majority of Switzerland's exports of bullion to the U.S. Gold spot was down 0.1%, and bullion traded at $3393.36 an ounce.
The S&P 500 eminis and Nasdaq Futures were both up 0.3%. Both are on course to extend their gains into a second day.
Tony Sycamore is a market analyst with IG in Sydney. He said that the rally in stocks came "against... an emerging titanic dovish reversal at the Federal Reserve."
After a weak auction of 30-year bond, this is the latest in a series of disappointing sales.
The rise in Japanese stocks comes after a mixed bag earnings reports from the country's largest exporters. Some companies, such as Toyota Motor, slashed profit forecasts because of U.S. Tariffs, but Sony and Honda claimed the impact was less than expected.
Tokyo's chief trade negotiator announced that the U.S. government promised to adjust some of the overlapping tariffs it has on Japanese products in order to avoid paying duties twice on certain goods.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.7%. Technology shares led the declines, while China's blue chip CSI 300 index fluctuated between gains and losses and ended up with a 0.1% gain. Australian stocks fell by 0.1%, while Korea's Kospi dropped 0.7%.
The dollar increased by 0.1% to 147.24 yen.
Data on Friday showed Japanese household spending data rose by a slower-than-anticipated 1.3%. Data on consumer spending is closely monitored as the Bank of Japan discusses whether or not to resume interest rate hikes.
The euro currency fell 0.1%, to $1.1652, after gaining 2.13% over the past month. Meanwhile, the dollar index (which tracks the greenback versus a basket other currencies from major trading partners) was up by 0.2%, at 98.188.
Brent crude futures remained unchanged at $66.45 a barrel while U.S. Crude futures remained little changed at 63.8.
(source: Reuters)