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World Bank abandons goal of committing 45% of its lending resources to climate-change projects
The World Bank Group announced on Monday that it will "retire", its previous goal of?dedicating?45%?of its annual lending resources towards projects with climate benefits, but extend the long-standing Climate Change Action Plan which was due to expire Tuesday. The lender for development, under pressure from the Trump Administration to abandon the climate-lending target set during the Biden administration of 2023, announced in a press release that it would shift its focus to lending outcomes rather than input goals. Ajay Banaga, the World Bank president, was originally charged with extracting more climate loan resources from the bank's balance sheet. He has now shifted his attention to "smart growth," which is aimed at boosting job opportunities, while still providing climate benefits, such as drought resistant agriculture,?storm resistant infrastructure, and renewable energy, where appropriate. The World Bank announced that, at the request from its executive board the Independent Evaluation Group of the lender would review the Climate Change Action Plan(CCAP), first adopted as rolling five-year plan in 2016. Bank officials said that the demand from clients for climate-related projects remains strong. Executive directors from France, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other countries that hold shares in the bank had signed a statement last October, endorsing its continued work on climate changes. However, the United States was not one of them, nor were executive directors from Russia, Kuwait, or Saudi Arabia. India and Japan also remained silent. Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury secretary, had in 2025 ordered the World Bank to return to its core mission of financial stability and development. He argued that they had strayed too far into climate change, gender, and other areas which were opposed by the Trump Administration. In April, he said that the bank's "myopic focus" on climate financing targets must be dropped. Eleonore Caoit, French Development Minister, made a last-minute plea to the World Bank that the climate finance target be kept intact. Our framework has been a success, incorporating smart development into all that we do in response to our clients' needs and priorities. The World Bank announced that it would extend the CCAP. The bank stated that its management will continue to track its climate scorecard indicators, including net global greenhouse gas emissions as well as beneficiaries who have enhanced resilience?to climate risk under the CCAP. The bank will report quarterly on its lending portfolio and all projects. The bank stated that it would "explore and discuss ways in which we can better structure our engagement with adaptation, nature and pollution." (Reporting and editing by Sonali Paul; David Lawder)
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US Senator asks regulator to reject giant NextEra Dominion power deal
U.S. U.S. Senator Angus King urged the country's leading energy regulator to reject NextEra Energy’s proposed $66.8 Billion acquisition of Dominion Energy. He said the deal consolidated too'much' power in one company's hands, according to a Monday filing. In recent years, the country has seen a spate giant power mergers. This is due to the increase in electricity demand following a two-decade lull. The rise is attributed to the expansion of data centers that are energy-intensive and the 'electrification' of industries such as transportation. NextEra announced last month that it would buy?Dominion in order to create the largest regulated utility in the world. This merger would be the biggest of all time. Dominion, based in Virginia, serves the largest concentration of data centers worldwide. King from Maine wrote to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that the huge utility created by the merger would discourage competition in a region that would affect over 10 million people. King stated that a single firm with a mix of merchant generation and regulated generation and transmission, as well as load-pocket exposure, has powerful incentives and instruments to shape regional markets. The two companies have a combined generating capacity of?110 Gigawatts, which is the largest natural gas-fired electricity and the second-largest nuclear operation in the nation. King claimed that NextEra had 'already stymied the clean energy power competition in New England through lobbying activities. He also cited concerns about the company's business practices that could lead to higher prices for consumers. NextEra did not respond to a request for comment.
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The top cases in the US Supreme Court docket
The U.S. Supreme Court has decided a number of important cases in its current term, including those involving President Donald Trump, voting rights and tariffs, birthright citizenship; immigration, guns; race, transgender sportspeople, campaign finance laws, and LGBT "conversion therapies." This is a list of some of the cases that were argued in the current term. The term began in October, and will run through the end of the month of June. TRUMP'S FIRE OF FED OFFICIAL On June 29, the court refused to allow Trump to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, as it stood firm in preserving the central bank’s independence from an unprecedented challenge from the president. The court prevented Trump from removing?Cook, providing a safety net for the Fed. Since the founding of the central bank in 1913, no president has attempted to remove a Fed Governor. Trump claimed that Cook's firing was justified by unproven allegations of mortgage fraud, which Cook denied. Cook said the allegations were a pretext for firing her because of monetary policy disagreements, as Trump pressures the Fed to reduce interest rates. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION FIRE The court?on June 29, backed Trump’s firing of a Democratic Federal Trade Commission Member, expanding his power over the government. It also overturned its 1935 precedent which had recognized Congress' authority to protect certain regulatory agency leaders from being removed by the president at will. The Justices invalidated tenure provisions for FTC employees enacted more than 100 years ago by Congress. The justices invalidated the court's crucial decision in the case Humphrey’s Executor v. United States. Last year, Trump fired Rebecca?Slaughter from the FTC over policy differences. VOTING RIGHTS ACT On April 29, the court gutted a crucial provision of the Voting Right Act, making minorities less likely to challenge electoral maps under the landmark civil right law as racially discriminatory. The court ruled against an electoral map which would have given Louisiana a U.S. Congress district with a majority of Black people. The court's ruling undermined Section 2 the Voting Rights Act which Congress passed to prohibit electoral maps that diluted the power of minority voters. The ruling allowed Republican-led Southern States to demolish Democratic-held districts with a majority of Black and Latino voters ahead of November's midterm elections. After the Supreme Court gutted another part of the Voting rights Act in 2013, Section 2 gained more importance as a barrier against racial bias in voting. Black and Latinos tend to vote for Democratic candidates. Birthright Citizenship The court expressed skepticism about the legality of Trump’s directive on April 1, to restrict the birthright citizenship of Americans. Justices asked the lawyer for the Trump administration questions regarding the legal validity and practical implications of Trump's order. The lower court ordered that the order be blocked, telling U.S. agencies to not recognize citizenship for children born in the U.S. when neither parent was an American citizen, or a legal permanent resident (also called "green card") holder. The court found that Trump's policy was in violation of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and federal law codifying rights to citizenship by birth. The Supreme Court will likely rule by the end June. TRUMP'S TARIFS The Supreme Court ruled on February 20, 2018 that Trump's tariffs were illegal because they were imposed under a law intended to be used in emergencies. This ruling has major implications for global economics. The ruling, which was 6-3 in favor of the lower court decision that Trump had exceeded his legal authority by using this 1977 law, confirmed a previous decision. The court ruled that Trump's claim to have the authority to impose tariffs was not supported by the law in question, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Congress has the power to impose taxes and tariffs, not the President, according to the U.S. Constitution. Tariffs are at the heart of a global trade conflict that Trump started after he entered his second term in office. This war has alienated trading partner, affected financial markets, and created global economic uncertainty. IMMIGRANTS WITH PROTECTED STATUS The court cleared the way on June 25, allowing the Trump administration the ability to strip hundreds and thousands of Haitian, Syrian and other immigrants of their humanitarian status which protects them against deportation. The court overturned federal judge's decisions that had stopped the Trump administration from terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 350,000 Haitians and 6,100 Syrians. The State Department warns travelers against visiting either Haiti or Syria due to widespread crime, terrorism, and kidnapping. TPS is an designation that allows migrants from countries affected by war, natural catastrophe or other disasters to live and work in America while it's unsafe to return home. TRANSGENDER SPORTS PARTIcipation The conservative justices seemed ready to uphold the state laws that ban transgender athletes to female sports teams, amid an escalating nationwide effort to restrict transgender rights. The court heard arguments on January 13, in appeals filed by Idaho and West Virginia, regarding lower court decisions siding with transgender student who challenged the bans imposed in both states for violating the U.S. Constitution as well as a federal antidiscrimination act. Twenty-five states have laws similar to this one. The conservative justices expressed concerns over imposing a uniform law on the whole country, amid a sharp disagreement and uncertainty about whether medications such as puberty-blocking hormones or gender affirming hormones remove male physiological advantages in sport. The ruling is expected to be made by the end June. LGBT "CONVERSION THERAPEUTY" The court rejected on March 31, a Democratic-backed Colorado Law that prohibited psychotherapists from using conversion talk therapy to change a LGBT minor's gender identity or sexual orientation. The 8-1 decision sided with the Christian licensed counselor and deemed that the ban was an intrusion into free speech rights. The court rejected Colorado’s argument that the law only protected speech, but regulated professional conduct. The court reversed a lower-court decision which had upheld a law brought by Kaley Chiles who argued it violated First Amendment protections from government abridgment. HAWAII GUNS LAW On June 25, the Justices struck down a Hawaii gun law that restricted the carrying of handguns in public places, such as most businesses, and without permission from the owner. This is the latest ruling to expand gun rights. The justices found that Hawaii's law violated the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which gives citizens a right to "keep & bear arms." The justices reversed a lower court decision that Hawaii’s Democratic-backed measure probably complied to the Second Amendment. Hawaii's law requires "express permission" from the property owner before a handgun can be brought onto a private property that is open to the general public. Drug Users and Guns The court, on June 18, limited the application a U.S. Law that prohibits firearms possession by some drug users. It rejected a position taken the Trump administration which had threatened the rights of millions of Americans who use marijuana but own firearms. The justices upheld the decision of a lower court to dismiss a charge of illegal gun possession brought under the law in question against Ali Hemani. Hemani is an American-Pakistani double citizen who lives in Texas and told authorities that he regularly used marijuana. The Supreme Court found the government failed to prove that Hemani's prosecution was in compliance with the Second Amendment rights to "keep and carry arms" guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. CAMPAIGN FUNDING The court heard arguments in December 9 on a Republican-led attempt to overturn federal spending limits by political parties coordinated with candidates. This case involved Vice President JDVance. Some conservative justices seemed sympathetic to the challenge. The court's three liberals members appeared inclined to maintain the spending limits. The debate centers around whether federal limits on campaign spending coordinated with candidates they support violate First Amendment protections against government abridgment. Vance and Republican challengers have appealed the ruling of a lower court that restricted how much money political parties could spend on campaigns, with input from candidates who they support. This type of spending is called coordinated party expenses. The ruling is expected to be made by the end June. MAIL-IN BOARDS On June 29, the court upheld state laws that allowed mail-in votes received after Election Day in Mississippi to be counted. The ruling rejected a Republican-led appeal against a grace period of five days. The court overturned the decision of a lower-court that found Mississippi's laws incompatible with U.S. statutes governing federal elections for the president, Senate, and House of Representatives. The Trump administration supported the challenge against Mississippi's law that allows mail-in votes sent by certain voters be counted as long as they are postmarked before Election Day and received within five days of a federal election. U.S. ASYLUM - PROCESSING On June 25, the court handed Trump a win by confirming that the federal government has the authority to reject asylum seekers if officials determine that border crossings between Mexico and America are too crowded to accept any more claims. The court overturned the lower court's ruling that the policy was illegal. After former president Joe Biden dropped the policy known as "metering", the Trump administration said that it might seek to revive it. The policy of metering allowed U.S. Immigration officials to refuse to process asylum claims indefinitely and stop asylum seekers at border. WEEDKILLER CANER CLAIMS On June 25, the justices ruled against thousands of lawsuits filed in state courts that accused Bayer of failing warn users of the dangers of the active ingredient of the German company Roundup weedkiller. The Missouri jury had awarded $1.25million to John Durnell, who claimed he was diagnosed as having non-Hodgkin's lymphoma following years of exposure to Roundup. The court agreed that Bayer's argument that the U.S. pesticide law prohibits claims of failure to warn that are brought in state court cannot be heard. Human Rights Abuses Abroad The Justices further limited the scope of a federal statute used to hold companies liable for abuses of human rights committed abroad on June 23, as they released a ruling that ended a lawsuit brought by members of Falun Gong accusing Cisco Systems facilitating religious persecutors in China. The justices overturned a lower court decision which had given new life to the 2011 lawsuit, brought under the Alien Tort Statute of 1789. Cisco was accused of developing technology that enabled the Chinese government to monitor and persecute Falun-Gong practitioners. The Alien Tort Statute allows non-U.S. Citizens to seek damages from American courts in cases of violations of international laws. SEC "DISGORGEMENT" POWER On June 4, the court rejected a challenge against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s broad authority to recover illicit profits through a financial remedy known as disgorgement. This strengthened one of the key powers of the Wall Street watchdog. The court upheld the decision of a lower-court that had supported a broad use of disgorgement powers by the SEC. In this case, the Trump administration defended the SEC. A defendant brought the challenge after he was ordered to pay more than $3,000,000 in ill-gotten gain and interest in relation to a financial fraud. FCC FINES FOR WIRELESS CARRIERIES The Justices ruled on June 4, defending the Federal Communications Commission system of levying fines. They ruled against AT&T, Verizon and their challenge to the Federal Communications Commission. Trump's administration defended?FCC system of assessing financial penalties known as forfeiture order. The carriers had argued the agency's internal proceedings deprived their right to a trial by jury under the U.S. Constitution. Compensation from Cuba The Justices made it easier on June 23, for U.S. firms to seek compensation for property seized by the former government of Fidel Castro, when they ruled in favor ExxonMobil's lawsuit against Cuban state owned firm Corporacion CIMEX. The court ruled that a defense known as foreign sovereign immunity which prohibits U.S. suits against foreign governments and their agents is not applicable in cases such as the one Exxon filed against CIMEX. This was under the 1996 U.S. Law called the "Helms-Burton Act". In another case the court gave a setback to four American cruise operators who contested $440,000,000 in combined judgements brought by a U.S. firm accusing them for using docks that they built in Cuba and later seized. CRISIS PREGNANCY COUNTER The court sided on April 29, with the operator in New Jersey of Christian faith based anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers that are trying to impede an investigation by the state into whether these facilities engage in misleading practices. First Choice Women's Resource Centers brought a federal suit against a subpoena issued by the state attorney general in 2023 seeking information about the organization's doctors and donors. The lawsuit had been dismissed by a lower court. First Choice's facilities are designed to discourage women from getting abortions. RASTAFARIAN INMATES The Justices refused on June 23, to allow a Rastafarian inmate to sue Louisiana state prison officials after they shaved his head and held him down in violation of religious beliefs. This was a case brought by a Rastafarian inmate under a federal statute protecting inmates from religious discrimination. The justices upheld the lower court's dismissal of Damon Landor’s lawsuit, because the law at issue didn't allow him to sue individual prison officials or guards for money damages. Landor's religious beliefs require him to grow his hair. INMATE ON DEATH ROW A man convicted in Alabama of a murder committed in 1997 was spared death after the court, on May 21,?kept in force a judicial ruling that the inmate has intellectual disabilities and is therefore ineligible to receive the death penalty. Alabama officials appealed a lower court's decision on how to determine Joseph Clifton Smith’s intellectual capacity. The justices rejected the appeal. This method involved weighing the multiple intelligence quotient (IQ) test scores along with expert testimony. In a 2002 Supreme Court decision, the court ruled that executing a person with intellectual disabilities violates the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment. JURY COMPOSITION On May 28, the justices sided with an inmate on death row who claimed that prosecutors had discriminated against him by excluding Black potential jurors in a 2006 trial where he was found guilty for his involvement in the murder a grocery owner. They found that the state courts of Mississippi had not evaluated Terry Pitchford’s claim that four Black jurors were unlawfully dismissed for violating a 1986 Supreme Court precedent called Batson v. Kentucky, which prohibits exclusions based upon race. SENTENCE REDUCTIONS The court ruled May 28 that judges could not?order early release of prisoners based on the fact that they would receive shorter sentences following the 2018 criminal justice reform act. The court upheld lower court rulings against two Pennsylvanian men convicted of armed burglaries who requested compassionate release on the basis of the First Step Act which Congress passed years after their sentences. SECURITIES LITIGATION The court sided on June 11, with a group investment funds affiliated to BlackRock and other asset management firms in their attempt to defend against certain lawsuits filed by private plaintiffs, under a federal securities law. The court reversed an earlier ruling that allowed the hedge fund Saba Capital Master Fund, to sue the Investment Company Act of 1941 to invalidate fund bylaws that restricted the voting rights of activist shareholders. The Trump administration backed BlackRock and FS Credit Opportunities, as well as other funds in the case including Adams Diversified Equity Funds, Adams Natural Resources Funds and Royce Global Trust. COX COPYRIGHT DISSENSION The court ruled that Cox Communications could not be held responsible for the piracy of songs by subscribers to its internet service. These labels included Sony Music, Warner Music Group Universal Music Group, and others. This ended their multi-billion dollar music copyright suit. The ruling of 9-0 overturned the decision by a lower court to order a trial to determine the amount the internet service provider was liable for the record labels under a form liability known as contributory copyright violation. Cox said that a retrial would have resulted in a verdict of up to $1.5 billion against the Atlanta ISP. PHARMACEUTICAL SKINNY LABELS The court ruled that the generic version of Amarin Pharma Vascepa, a cardiovascular medication made by Hikma, did not violate Amarin Pharma patents. This decision could make generic drugmakers more resistant to patent suits involving "skinny label" claims. The justices reversed a decision by a lower court in favor of Amarin. Generic drugmakers argued that Amarin's victory in the case could have deterred them from producing and selling their cheaper drugs, and raised U.S. drug costs.
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Rights group: North Korea's sanctioned trade in coal is resurgent as UN monitoring fails,
A Seoul-based rights group reported on Tuesday that North Korea's sanctions against coal and minerals have rebounded in the absence of United Nations oversight. This has been sustained by forced labour, and a shipping network that runs through China and Russia. In a joint report with the British research group Data Desk (Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights), the NKHR alleges that the trade has accelerated ever since Russia vetoed a renewal of an independent UN panel which monitored Pyongyang's compliance with sanctions in March 2024. The group used satellite imagery to count large?ships in five major North Korean port and found that their number increased nearly fivefold from 783 in 2019 to 3,756 by 2025. The group counted all cargo ships with the ability to transport other goods, such as iron and weapons. The number of vessels seen at Nampo's busiest port, and the main coal gateway, increased to over 3,000 in 2019 from just 554 the year before, which is the highest ever recorded by the group. After the UN oversight collapsed in 2019, sanctioned ships docked at foreign ports more frequently, with 25 visits in 2018 compared to four last year. The coal trade, it was said, is almost exclusively run by companies linked to the North Korean Ministry of National Defense. This ministry directs earnings to military and security agencies that operate the mines and prisons in the country. Ji-yoon Lee is a co-author and said that everything was interconnected - forced labour, goods produced, and international security threats. "They're all in one group, and it is very hard to track." According to the report, mines are occupied by political prisoners, soldiers who do not get paid, and 'descendants' of South Korean POWs who never returned to their homeland after the conflict of 1950-53. This is an estimated 50,000 to 80,000 people, bound to mine work by a caste system. The findings were also based on 22 interviews conducted with former prisoners, North Koreans who escaped and?former government officials. The diplomatic mission of North Korea in Beijing has not responded to a request for comment. According to Yoo Yong Won, a People's Party legislator, the UN banned North Korean coal imports in 2017. However, South Korea's National Intelligence Service estimated that North Korea still exported about 1.5 million tonnes?last?year, with its origin suspected of being?falsified as Russian?to increase sales to?China?and other buyers. NKHR called this figure a “bare minimum,” noting that a large bulk carrier can hold about 39,000 tonnes and that 1.5 million tons is less than 40 shipments a calendar year.
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Oil and stock prices are rising as investors look to Iran. The yen is at a 40-year low against the dollar
The global stock market index rose Monday, as investors watched the implementation of the interim peace agreement between Iran and the U.S. Oil prices also rose as tit-fortat attacks highlighted the risk of escalation. Wall Street was the biggest gainer, with technology shares recovering after last week's fallout due to concerns about AI spending. After several days of attacks in the Middle East, after an Iranian projectile struck a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz on last week, both sides have accused each other of violating an interim ceasefire. Brent and WTI crude oil both rose on the day, but were still down sharply for the month. Recent U.S.-Iranian attacks have highlighted the fragility of this interim agreement, and expectations of an increase in energy shipments via the Strait of Hormuz has injected volatility into the markets. "I think the reality is beginning to sink in. Not every barrel will come out of the Gulf within the next two weeks. You can't jam as many barrels into the Gulf to pre-war levels. Bob Yawger is the director of energy futures for Mizuho. He said that as long as the situation remains risky, boat owners run the risk of being attacked by pirates as they pass through the strait. U.S. crude climbed 1.86% to $75.52 a barrel while Brent rose 1.19% to $72.85 a barrel. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 362.86 points or 0.70% to 52,238.97. The?S&P500 rose 81.02 or 1.10% to 7,435.04 while the Nasdaq Composite increased 484.31 or 1.91% to 25,781.93. MSCI's global stock index rose by?9.27 or 0.84% to 1,111.87. Richard de Chazal, William Blair's macro-analyst, said: "The scattered conflict continues. It appears to be following the established pattern where tensions are heightened into the weekend and then resolved before Monday's open." The pan-European STOXX 600 was flat, while Europe's FTSEurofirst 300 broad index increased 1.87 points or 0.07%. The Nikkei 225 rose 107.23 or 0.15% to 69,468.11 while the emerging market stocks rose by 3.06 points or 0.18%. RATE HIKE WAGERING Oil prices fell sharply in recent months, but inflation measures in the U.S. jumped and expectations of an upcoming Federal Reserve rate increase have boosted the dollar. The dollar index (which measures the U.S. currencies against other currencies) was slightly lower last week at 101.25. This is just a little below the 13-month peak it reached last week. The oil market is still rife with risk. Participants appear to be... focusing their attention on the impact of a continued recovery in crude oil flows on global balance," ING analyst's said in a Monday note. This week, the U.S.'s economy will be dominated by Thursday's June jobs report. Three consecutive ?months of stronger-than-expected payrolls have reinforced the ?Fed's hawkish shift, though any cooling in the labor market could prompt a more dovish reassessment. Investors have priced in at least one Fed rate hike this year. This is a dramatic reversal of expectations that two rate cuts would be made before the Iran War. Marc Chandler, Bannockburn Global Forex's chief market strategist, said that the?labor market has accelerated. "The doves' concerns about a slowing labor market seem to be over." The Japanese yen has hit its lowest level since 1986, at 161,97 per dollar. The Bank of Japan’s 25-basis-point rate hike has not been enough to reduce the wide?interest-rate differential with the United States. This is especially true after the Federal Reserve maintained its hawkish stance, and indicated that rates would likely remain high for longer. Gold fell 1.9%, to $4,010.32 per ounce, due to the rising dollar. The yellow metal will experience a 13% drop in the second quarter. This is its largest quarterly decline since 2013. (Reporting from Ankur Banerjee, Harry Robertson, and Rodrigo Campos, in Singapore; Additional reporting from Karen Brettell, Georgina McCartney, and Aidan Lewis; Editing, Andrew Heavens and Mark Potter; Daniel Wallis, Aidan Lewis and Andrew Heavens)
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Osaka beats Jacquemot with a 'Kill Bill-inspired' kimono walk on
Naomi Osaka has made a mark at Wimbledon Day One?with her first-round win over Elsa Jacquemot. She?caught the attention of fans with an eye-catching Japanese inspired outfit. The four-time Grand Slam champion walked onto the Court '3 wearing an all-white Kimono, the?traditional national costume of Japan. She wore a kanzashi, a traditional Japanese hair ornament. Before revealing a white Nike dress, she wore a kimono. The kimono was designed by Tokyo designer Hana Yagi and featured in British Vogue as the tournament began. Osaka said to reporters after her win that the outfit was inspired by her culture and Wimbledon's strict dress codes, which require players to wear white clothing from the moment they step onto the court. Wimbledon is the oldest and all-white tournament. She said, "There's the tradition and the history of the tournament. I also think about my culture and heritage which is Japanese and Asian. If I dig deeper into Japanese culture, I think the most iconic silhouette for me, the kimono." I was thinking of my favorite movies. I was thinking about my favourite movies. I loved 'Kill Bill', but I also remembered how much I loved Lucy Liu and her all-white kimono. I thought that was amazing and really cool. "It's my interpretation and also my love and respect for Japan." Osaka's tennis was the focus of attention when the match started. She won four of nine breakpoints and fired 34 winners in the 79-minute thrashing of Frenchwoman Jacquemot. The foot injury that had hindered the former world number 1,?who retired during the Bad Homburg Final against Karolina Mostova last week?, did not show any obvious signs. Next, she takes on Anastasia Gasanova and?Emiliana Arano. Osaka made headlines with an outfit inspired by jellyfish at the Australian Open this January, as well as a yellow-brown-and-gold dress during the French Open. (Reporting and editing by Alison Williams; Amy-Jo Crowley)
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Gold falls as tensions between the US and Iran spark inflation and rate hike concerns
Gold prices fell on Monday, as renewed tensions between the U.S. and Iran?lifted oil prices?and sparked inflation fears. This boosted expectations for higher interest rates. By 2:00 pm, spot gold had fallen 1.7% to $4.020.68 an ounce. ET (1800 GMT), following a fall of more than 2% in the earlier session. Last week, gold had hit a seven-month low. U.S. Gold futures for August delivery were 1.4% lower, at $4.038.9. The market is still adjusting to the Fed's more hawkish stance, said Peter Grant, vice president and senior metals analyst at Zaner Metals. Iran fired missiles and drones on Sunday at U.S. military bases in 'Kuwait' and 'Bahrain, just hours after U.S. president Donald Trump had threatened to wipe out the Iranian leadership if they failed to abide by the final peace deal. Brent crude futures climbed following the attacks. Gold is traditionally regarded as a safe-haven metal, but the higher energy costs due to the war has raised fears of inflation and increased interest rates. This would put pressure on the non yielding metal. The U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady this month. However, policymakers are expecting a rate hike in the second half of this year due to growing concerns over inflation that is above the 2% target set by the U.S. Central Bank. The U.S. Dollar was on its way to the biggest monthly gain it has seen in almost a year. Gold becomes more expensive to overseas buyers when the?dollar is stronger. Market participants are now awaiting ADP employment data, which will be released on Wednesday, and U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls Data on Thursday to get more clues about the Fed's monetary policy stance. Grant said that "(Gold's) price could fall to new lows, if employment data continues to look strong. This would support the Fed's position of keeping rates higher for longer." The traders are pricing in a 63% chance that interest rates will rise in September. Silver spot fell 1.6% per ounce to $58.19, while platinum declined 2.1% to $1.580.45. Palladium rose 1.1% to $1222.24. (Reporting by Sukanya Mitra in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das, Chris Reese and Vijay Kishore)
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Proxy advisors win third legal victory to stop Republican anti-ESG rules
A federal judge granted a preliminary order on Friday, blocking an Indiana law that requires new disclosures by proxy advisers. This is the third legal victory for Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis in their fight against Republican legislators' restrictions. Both firms offer advice on how shareholders can vote at annual corporate meetings. Republican politicians have long been sympathetic to business concerns about executive compensation. Recently, they have also claimed that the firms favor shareholder resolutions that focus on environmental, governance, or social (ESG) issues like climate change and workforce diversity. Three recent cases where proxy firms gained the upper-hand - Indiana, Kansas and Texas this month - suggest that these efforts are still slow-moving. Indiana's law, which is set to come into effect on July 1, required firms to submit a written financial analysis of their reasoning if they recommended voting against management. Supporters said that it was necessary to keep the advice focused on financial results. The two firms, in separate filings, alleged that the law violated their rights. This included their right to freedom of speech. Matthew Brookman was the U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Indiana on Friday. He agreed, among others, with plaintiffs that the law amounts to "viewpoint discrimination", because it only imposes burdens if proxy firms disagree with the management. Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita's representatives, who were defending the law and defended it, did not reply to comments. In a press release, ISS praised Brookman for his decision to overturn a law that it called an "unconstitutional exercise in power over the market." The firm cited other similar federal rulings which blocked efforts to rein in proxy advisors in Kansas and Texas. In the last year, Texas, Kansas and Indiana courts have granted preliminary orders barring?states from enforcing similar laws that were pushed by advocacy groups. This latest decision is further 'evidence' that states?cannot impose onerous requirements on proxy advisors for simply making recommendations that don’t align with company management,' ISS stated. Glass Lewis' spokesperson confirmed via email that it was pleased with the recent decisions. This person stated that "These rulings protect core First Amendment principles, rejecting speaker and viewpoint discrimination, and ensure we can deliver the objective research our clients expect." The federal court cases in?Kansas and Texas remain pending. ISS and Glass Lewis?also?sued a Kentucky similar rule to stop enforcement. Florida sued ISS and Glass Lewis separately over allegations of consumer protection and antitrust, which they both deny. ISS has vowed that it will fight similar lawsuits in four other states.
Oil and stock prices are rising as investors look to Iran. The yen is at a 40-year low against the dollar
Oil prices rose as well as the global stock market index on Monday, as investors watched the implementation of the interim peace agreement between Iran and the U.S.
Wall Street led gains in equities, with?technology?shares rebounding following concerns over AI expenditure that triggered a sale last week.
A source said on Monday that the technical teams from Iran and the United States working on the implementation a peace agreement interim are expected to meet at Doha within the next few days. This is after the weekend strikes threatened the accord. Brent and WTI crude oil both rose on the day, but were still down sharply for the month. Recent U.S.-Iranian attacks have highlighted the fragility of this interim agreement, and expectations of an increase in energy shipments via the Strait of Hormuz has injected volatility to the markets.
"I think that reality is beginning to sink in. Not every barrel will come out of the Gulf within the next two weeks. You can't jam as many barrels as you possibly can through there to pre-war level. Bob Yawger is the director of energy futures for Mizuho. He said that as long as the situation remains risky, boat owners run the risk of being attacked by pirates as they travel through the Strait.
Brent crude futures settled at $73.15 per barrel, up $1.16 or 1.61%. WTI crude oil in the United States gained $1.52 or 2.2% to $70.75. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 306 points or 0.59% to 52,182.44, while the S&P 500 increased 86.36 points or 1.17% to 7,440.38. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite gained 522.53 or 2.07% to 25,820.14. The MSCI index of global stocks rose 9.78 points or 0.89% to 1,112.38.
Richard de Chazal, William Blair's macro-analyst, said: "The scattered conflict continues with Iran. It appears to be following the established pattern of increased tensions over the weekend until they are resolved before Monday's open of markets."
Both the pan-European STOXX 600 and Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 indices ended with a loss of less than 0.1%.
The Nikkei 225 rose 107.23 or 0.15% to 69,468.11 while the emerging market stocks rose 2.81 or 0.16% to 1,709.21.
RATE HIKE WAGERING Oil prices fell sharply in recent months, but inflation measures in the U.S. jumped and expectations of an upcoming Federal Reserve rate increase have boosted the dollar. The dollar index (which measures the U.S. against other currencies) was down last week by?0.27% at 101.09; this is just below its 13-month high. The euro rose 0.37% to $1.1425.
There are still many risks on the oil market. Participants appear to be... focusing their attention on the impact of a continued increase in oil flow on global balance,"?ING analyst said in a Monday note.
This week, the U.S. economic focus will be on Thursday's employment report for June. Three ?consecutive months of stronger-than-expected payrolls have reinforced ?the Fed's hawkish shift, though any cooling in the labor market could prompt a more dovish reassessment.
Investors have priced in at least a Fed rate hike this year. This is a dramatic change from the expectation of two rate reductions before the Iran War.
Marc Chandler, Bannockburn Global Forex's chief market strategist, said that the?labor market has accelerated. "The doves' concerns about the labor market slowing down have now passed."
The Japanese yen reached 161,97 per dollar, the weakest level since 1986. It was last hovering around 161.94.
Analysts at LMAX Group stated in a report that "the Bank of Japan's much-anticipated 25 (basis-point) rate increase to 1.00% did?little" to offset the wide interest rate differential between Japan and the United States. This is especially true after the Federal Reserve maintained its hawkish stance, and signaled rates would likely remain high for longer. Gold was down by 1.8% at $4,014.59 per ounce due to the rising dollar. The metal is on track for a 14 percent decline in the second half of this year, which would be its largest quarterly drop since 2013. (Reporting from Ankur Banerjee, Harry Robertson and Rodrigo Campos, in Singapore; Additional reporting by Karen Brettell & Georgina McCartney. Editing by Daniel Wallis & Nick Zieminski.
(source: Reuters)