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Trump claims to have told large tech companies that they can build their own power plants
Donald Trump stated on Tuesday, during his State of 'Union address, that his administration had told major 'technology companies to build their own data centers. This was a measure meant to protect the consumers from soaring bills. The announcement coincides with a growing local opposition against energy-hungry projects in data centers around the country, which are blamed for an increase in electricity prices. "I'm happy to announce tonight that I have successfully negotiated a new rate payer pledge. What is that? He said that we were telling major tech companies they had to "provide for their own energy needs". We have an old grid. It couldn't handle the numbers or the amount of power that was needed. So I tell them that they can build their own plant. They will produce their own power. It will guarantee the company's ability of getting electricity while at the same, lowering the prices for you, said he. He did not mention the companies or give details about how the plan will be implemented or enforced. Two sources familiar with this plan say that the White House will host companies to formalize this effort in early March. The Trump administration is committed to advancing artificial 'intelligence in order to compete with China. However, the impact of the rapid proliferation of AI data centers on electricity prices has become a vulnerability for Republicans as they prepare for the midterm elections. PJM Interconnection is the largest grid operator in the U.S. and last month announced a plan whereby new large users of power would bring their own 'new generation' to the grid or limit their use when the'system was stretched. Anthropic, Microsoft and other companies have announced voluntary initiatives to limit the impact data centers will have on energy prices. (Reporting and editing by Deepa Babyington, Richard Valdmanis)
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Asia markets gain on improved AI sentiment; Trump speech is awaited
Investors doubled down on what is seen as the safest bet in artificial intelligence (AI) while the yen was the focus. Investors who have been shook by the volatility of recent months were also waiting for Donald Trump's State of the Union address on Tuesday night in Washington. Market participants are preparing for remarks that could cover everything from Iran to trade policies. Early trading saw MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan?up?1% higher. Japan's Nikkei set a record high. In early trading, it was up 1.1% to 57,956.92 after reaching an intraday high of 58.047.89. The Topix index as a whole rose 0.07%, to 3,818.73. KOSPI Korea was up nearly 1,7% and trading above 6,001 for the first. The index has risen 44% this year. The global shortage of memory chips has caused the stock prices of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to double in value since October. Cash has flooded up the AI supply chains, reaching the most popular chipmakers. The fourth quarter results of the world's largest chipmaker,?Nvidia Corp. will be released after the U.S. market closes on Wednesday. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was up 0.36%, while China's CSI300 index was 0.3% higher. S&P/ASX200 in Australia was up as much as 1,1%, reaching a new record high. This is despite the fact that consumer prices increased in January, increasing the likelihood of further interest rate increases. After a 0.8% drop on Tuesday, the yen gained 0.12% to 155.7 dollars per?dollar. According to a report, the Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi expressed her concerns about future interest rate increases to Bank of Japan Governor Kazuoueda. This raises doubts regarding the next rate increase. The dollar index (which measures the greenback versus a basket including the yen, the euro and others) fell by 0.05%, to 97.84. At $1.1777, the euro was up 0.05%. A survey released last week showed that the majority of economists believe the BOJ will raise its key interest rate to 1% at the end of the month. Some even expect a move in April due to rising inflationary concerns and the weakening of the yen. The current odds are 50% for a rise in April and 65% for a raise in June. This latest news, which was expected to change her stance regarding monetary policy, has brought uncertainty to the market. Investors will be eager to learn who she nominates for the two new members of the Bank of Japan board that are expected to announce today. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. notes increased by 0.5 basis points, to 4,039%. Meanwhile, the yield on 30-year bonds rose by 0.4 basis point to 4.6933%. Anthropic, a San Francisco-based startup, unveiled ten new ways that business customers can use its AI plugins. This rekindled enthusiasm for AI's potential to boost profits across a variety of sectors. AI-related stock prices have been volatile in recent weeks, as investors worried that heavy capital expenditure on AI might not translate into profits anytime soon. "AI isn't a bubble, but it doesn't mean that every AI bet pays off." Laura Cooper, Nuveen’s head of macrocredit and global investment strategist, said that some companies are spending a lot on AI but will likely not see a return. In their speeches on Tuesday, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook both expressed the view that they believed the US labour market was beginning to stabilize. ANZ analysts said that it is clear that many members are waiting for inflation to continue rising before lowering policy. While there are signs of stabilisation of the labour market in 2026, conditions on the labour market remain soft and are a source for disinflationary tension. ANZ predicted that the Fed would start easing interest rates in the second half of the year, likely in June. They forecast 75 basis point cuts for this year. U.S. crude oil rose by 0.75%, to $66.12 per barrel. Brent was up 0.75% at $71.30. Spot gold remained flat at $5,138.49 per ounce. Spot silver dropped 0.43% to $86.66 an ounce.
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Oil prices near seven-month-highs ahead of US/Iran talks
Investors are still worried about the possibility of a military conflict between Iran and the U.S., which could disrupt the supply. Talks between the two parties will take place on Thursday. Brent futures traded at $71.22 a barrel at 0140 GMT, an increase of 45 cents or 0.64%. WTI futures rose by 0.64% or 42 cents to $65. Brent prices hit their highest level since July 31st on Friday while WTI reached its highest level since August 4th on Monday. Both contracts are holding near that mark as the U.S. positions military forces in the Middle East, to force?Iran into negotiating an end to its ballistic missile and nuclear programme. A prolonged conflict could disrupt the supply of crude oil from Iran, the third largest producer of oil in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and other countries of the Middle East. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, U.S. envoys, are scheduled to meet an Iranian delegation on Thursday for a third?round of talks in Geneva. Abbas Araqchi, Iran's Foreign Minister, said that a deal between the U.S. and Iran was "within our reach" if diplomacy takes priority. "Donald Trump (U.S. President) has warned there would be'very serious consequences' without a deal. Tony Sycamore said that it remains to be determined whether (Iran's concessions) will meet the U.S. 'zero-enrichment' redline. Sources say that amid the increased tensions, Iran has accelerated the talks with?China to buy Chinese anti-ship missiles. These could be used to target U.S. Naval forces stationed near the Iranian coastline. Experts say that anti-ship cruise missiles would increase Iran's attack capabilities and pose a threat to the U.S. Naval forces. Trump will deliver the traditional State of the Union Address to Congress on Tuesday night. On condition of anonymity two White House officials said Trump would discuss?his plans regarding Iran, but did not provide details. The market has also been concerned about large inventory increases as global supply exceeds demand. According to sources in the market, the American Petroleum Institute reported late on Tuesday a massive increase of 11.43 million barrels for the U.S. stockpiles during the week ending February 20. The API data showed that gasoline and distillate stocks fell. The Energy Information Administration is due to release official U.S. Oil Inventory Reports later today. (Reporting from Katya Glubkova, Tokyo; editing by Christian Schmollinger).
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Senate Democrats blast Trump over failing to apply sanctions to Russia
Democrats in the Senate Banking Committee criticized President Donald Trump on Tuesday for not stepping up sanctions against Russia to force it to end the four-year war in Ukraine. They noted that the European Union had?designated nearly 900 targets by 2025, compared to only two?for?the?U.S. Democratic staff from the Republican-led panel released an analysis on the fourth anniversary. They identified hundreds of targets that Trump could have sanctioned during his first year as president. The war in Ukraine, Russia’s western neighbor, has caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and ravaged large areas of Ukraine. They said that Democratic President Joe Biden - whose term ends in January 2025 - rolled out 32 different sanctions packages during the first three war years, but critics claim enforcement was lacking. Trump, on the other hand, announced only one major package of sanctions targeting Russian oil giants Lukoil & Rosneft. This was despite Russian attacks which have decimated Ukraine's power grid and targeted civilians. Trump has asked the Ukraine to sign a ceasefire agreement that may require painful concessions on land captured by Russian troops. However, so far there have been no breakthroughs in talks between Russia and Ukraine. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. PROPOSED BILL LANGUISHES Olha Stefanishyna - Ukraine's Ambassador to the United States - stressed on Tuesday the importance of passing in Congress a bipartisan measure that would impose sanctions against countries that purchase?Russian uranium, oil and gas. 85 out of 100 senators support the bill, but Republican leadership has not put it to a vote due to Trump's opposition. She told reporters that the bill should be passed immediately, or they would have to accept that it was not going to happen. The Democratic report stated that Russia is still incredibly dependent on the importation of key technologies needed for war, which creates opportunities for sanctions. The minority staff stated that it was unclear why a president who is serious about negotiating a peaceful settlement would let our sanctions wither. "Without any follow-up action, evaders profit brazenly without any U.S. repercussion, and the Kremlin is aware of it." Washington announced some new cyber-related sanctions against individuals and entities including some in Russia. However, they had nothing to do with the war in Ukraine. Treasury Department has defended their approach by noting that sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil had pushed Russian oil prices down, which in turn limited the revenues available to finance the war. Treasury spokesperson: "Unlike Biden’s never-ending sanction approach, which failed to stop the conflict, the sanctions?imposed on Rosneft?and Lukoil?contributed to a sharp drop in Russian oil prices?, costing the regime billions?of dollars?, and making it?more difficult?for the Kremlin?to?manufacture?military equipment?," the spokesman stated. Trump will continue to use every option available to "stop this senseless killing," said the Treasury spokesman. U.S. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said during a hearing before Congress last month that the sanctions against Rosneft, Lukoil and other oil companies?had brought Russia to the negotiation table. He said that further sanctions would be dependent on the outcome of talks to end the "war". Bessent stated that he would be considering new sanctions against Russia’s shadow fleet. This is a move Trump hasn't taken since assuming office in January 2025. The report listed many possible sanctions targets that the Trump administration had missed, including more 130 companies in China and Hong Kong who "advertised immediate sales of restricted computer chips to Russia." The list also included companies sanctioned around the globe by the European Union, Britain, and others, for aiding Russia's military as well as Central Asian Banks designated by the EU in the past year. The report said that the Trump administration did not sanction officials or individuals who were responsible for human right abuses including deporting Ukrainian children. (Reporting and editing by Andrea Shalal.
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Trump Administration working to increase tariffs to 15%
A White House official revealed that the United States started collecting a temporary 10% global import tax on Tuesday. However, after the Supreme Court's ruling last week, there is confusion about President Donald Trump’s tariff policy. The Supreme Court ruled that the emergency law imposed broad duties on imports. Trump initially signed an order for a temporary 10% tariff to last 150 days. On Saturday, however, he announced he was increasing the rate to 15 percent. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency informed shippers on Monday night that the tariff would be 10%. The White House official said that Trump had not changed his mind about his desire to impose a 15% tariff on Section 122 of Trade Act of 1974. However, he did not provide any details regarding the timing of this increase. CBP is only able to act on executive orders or proclamations that are published by the president. As of Monday, Trump has not yet signed an official presidential order for a 15% increase. CBP's notification referred to the Friday order and stated that imports "would be subject to an additional 10% ad value rate." Why is the rate lowered? This move has added confusion to the U.S. Trade Policy, as no explanation was given in the notice about why the lower rate had been used. In a note, Deutsche Bank stated that "Trump will deliver the State of the Union Address tonight. It's possible we could get a better idea of the next steps regarding tariffs." Analysts said that they still believe the effective tariff rate will fall this year, and that the post-SCOTUS world will have lower tariffs. While a 10% tariff may be less harsh than anticipated, traders cited the uncertainty surrounding trade prospects as a reason why global stocks opened lower Tuesday. The major U.S. indices, however, ended higher as tech stocks recovered. The Nasdaq rose 1.05%; the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.76%; and the broad S&P 500 Index gained 0.77%. The Supreme Court had ruled that the old tariffs were invalid and the collection of them was stopped. The tariffs ranged between 10% and as high as 50%. REFUND MOTIONS FILED The plaintiffs in the Supreme Court's tariff case have filed motions in federal courts on Tuesday to enforce their ruling and begin the refund process. Liberty Justice Center and Neal Katyal, its co-counsel in Washington and New York, filed coordinated motions at the U.S. Court of International Trade and U.S. Court of Appeals Federal Circuit seeking an immediate mandate to return the matter to CIT. They also wanted the government to issue instructions to refund tariffs and interest. The Supreme Court sent the case back to lower courts for any refunds. According to an estimate by the Penn-Wharton Budget Model, more than $175 Billion in federal revenue was collected under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act from now-invalid Tariffs. Sara Albrecht of the Liberty Justice Center who represented five small business challenging the tariffs said that the government must be held accountable for its earlier promises to provide automatic refunds in the event the tariffs are overturned. Albrecht stated in a press release that the government "cannot promise to the courts refunds would be automatic, if the illegal tariffs were struck down by the Supreme Court, and then after the ruling, claim these refunds could take 'years. "It's simple: the government illegally imposed a tariff on Americans and stole their money. "We'd like to get it back." EU RESURRED ABOUT TRADE DEAL. The new 10% tariff is a problem for the European Union. They agreed to a deal that had a base tariff of 15%. The European Commission's Trade Minister,?Maros?Sefcovic, said that the EU faces a "transitional phase" due to Trump's temporary tariff. However, he added that U.S. officials had reassured him Washington would stand by the deal. It is unclear whether and how the Supreme Court will refund companies for the tariffs they paid under the program that was annulled. Section 122 of the law allows for the president to impose new duties up to 150-days to address "large, serious" balance-of payments deficits and "fundamental problems with international payments." Trump's tariffs order claimed that there was a "serious" balance-of payments deficit in the form a $1.2 trillion annual U.S. goods-trade deficit, current account deficits of 4% GDP and a reverse of the U.S. primary-income surplus. Some economists and lawyers claim that the U.S. does not face a balance of payments crisis. This makes the new duties susceptible to legal challenges. China's Commerce Ministry said Tuesday that it urged Washington to drop its "unilateral" tariffs, indicating that the country was ready to engage in another round of talks with the largest economy. Mark John, Francesco Canepa, and Andrew Chung contributed to the report in New York and London. David Lawder, Mark John, and Sharon Singleton edited it.
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Anthropic reveals uses for AI plug-ins, causing stocks to rise.
Anthropic, a San Francisco-based startup, announced 10 new ways that business customers can use its AI 'plugins'. This rekindled enthusiasm about AI being able to boost profits for businesses, including those in investment banking, engineering, and human resources. Investors were worried about the tariff policies of President Donald Trump and their fears that heavy investment in AI might not result in profits any time soon. Anthropic released a new version of its software just weeks after a number of other releases caused a drop in stocks across the software and service sectors. Customs and Border Protection in the United States imposed a 10% tariff on all goods that were not exempted. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last Friday that Trump's emergency duties were illegal. Investors feared Trump would follow through with his threat to impose a 15% tariff. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.76%. The S&P 500 rose 0.76%. And the Nasdaq Composite rose 1%. Ken Mahoney is the president and CEO of Mahoney Asset Management, a New Jersey-based asset management firm. Mahoney stated that "we've already established we're going lose jobs with AI. AI may actually do things better and more efficiently than older software programs. But then you start to calculate that if companies are going?let many people go due to AI, that means less licenses for Microsoft." Mahoney stated, "We have gone through all of these areas and all the negativity. It's great to see that we are back to half where we were on Monday." European stocks increased by 0.23%. The FTSE in Britain finished a little lower by 0.04%. MSCI's All-World Index was up 0.52%, after falling 0.62%. International Business Machines shares closed 2.7% higher. IBM's shares fell more than 13% on Monday, the biggest drop since late 2000. Anthropic claimed that its Claude Code software could 'be used to modernize a language running on the company’s systems. Investors are concerned about the sheer size of corporate spending and borrowing on AI, largely due to the market share of the companies that have been at the forefront of the boom. Nvidia is the AI chipmaker that accounts for 8% of S&P 500. It will report earnings on Wednesday after the bell. Nvidia gained 0.7%. Margin is the biggest concern. "Margins, with the new technology that is cheaper, are something that really bothers markets," Mahoney stated. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. notes increased by 0.6 basis points to 4,033%. The yield on the 2-year note, which moves typically in line with expectations of interest rates from the Federal Reserve, increased 2.5 basis points to 3.444%. The yen fell in value after a report stating that the Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takayichi had expressed her concerns about an increase in interest rates to Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda. The Japanese yen fell 0.79% to 155.89 dollars per dollar against the US dollar. The dollar fell 0.1% to 0.774 Swiss francs. The dollar was down by 0.1% against the euro at $1.1772. The value of the pound was unchanged at $1.3488. Brent crude fell 1% to $70.77 a barrel as tensions between the U.S.A. and Iran continued to simmer. Gold, the safe-haven asset, fell 0.1% to $5142 per ounce. Reporting by Chibuike OGOH in New York, Additional reporting by Gregor Stuart Hunter from Singapore; Editing and production by Nick Zieminski Will Dunham David Gregorio
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Fortescue's half-year profits jump on record shipments
Australia's Fortescue reported on Wednesday a?23% increase in its first-half profits, fueled by record iron ore shipment and higher realized prices for the commodity. The world's fourth-largest miner of iron ore said that iron ore shipments rose by more than 3% in the first half to a record 100,2 million metric tonnes. Fortescue's iron ore was sold for $90.87 per dry metric ton, up from $85.24 just a year ago. The company's underlying net profit attributable for the six-month period ended December 31 was $1.91 billion, which is below the Visible Alpha forecast of $1.98 billion but higher than the $1.55 billion it reported a year ago. Fortescue has "deepened" its ties with China, at a time when iron ore producers are negotiating with the state-backed buyer China Minerals Resources Group. This group has restricted shipments by BHP. The company announced a final dividend of 62 Australian cents per share. This is higher than the 50 Australian cents per share that was announced last year.
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Stocks rebound amid investor anxiety about AI and tariffs
The global shares gained on Tuesday, after losing ground in the previous session. This was due to renewed attention on the economic impact artificial intelligence has on business and the markets' ongoing struggle with the repercussions of President Donald Trump’s tariff policies. Anthropic, a San Francisco-based startup, has announced 10 new ways for business customers to utilize its AI plugins. These include investment banking, engineering and human resources. This comes just weeks after previous releases caused a selloff of software and service stocks. The markets remained uncertain about Trump's tariffs after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that his emergency tariffs are illegal on Friday. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has imposed a 10% tariff on all goods that are not exempted, which is the rate Trump announced on Friday and not the 15% he promised the day after. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.81%. The S&P 500 rose 0.73%. And the Nasdaq Composite rose 1%. Ken Mahoney is the president and chief executive of Mahoney Asset Management, a New Jersey-based asset management firm. Mahoney stated that "we've already established we're going lose jobs with AI. AI may do things better and faster than some of the older software programs, but you then start to calculate that if companies are going let many?people go due to AI, that means that Microsoft will have to sell fewer licenses." Mahoney stated, "We have gone through all of these areas and all the negativity. It's great to see that we are back to half where we were on Monday." European stocks increased by 0.23%. The FTSE in Britain finished a little lower by 0.04%. MSCI's All-World Index was up 0.52%, after falling 0.62%. International Business Machines shares plunged more than 13% – their largest one-day drop since late 2000 – after Anthropic announced that its Claude Code could be used to update a programming languages run on the company's system. IBM's stock recovered, and last rose 2.8%. Many are concerned about the sheer size of corporate borrowings and expenditures on AI, especially given the market share of companies that are at the heart of this boom. Nvidia is the AI chip maker that will report earnings on Wednesday after the bell. It accounts for about 8% of?the entire S&P 500. Nvidia's stock was up 0.71%. Margin is the biggest issue. "Margins, with the new technology that is cheaper, are something that really bothers markets," Mahoney stated. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. notes increased by 1 basis point to 4.03%. The yield on the 2-year note, which moves typically in line with expectations of interest rates for the Federal Reserve?rose 2.1 base points to 3.461%. The yen fell in value after a report stating that the Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi expressed her concerns about further rate increases to Governor Kazuo?of Japan Kazuo Ueda. The Japanese yen fell?0.69% to 155.74 dollars per yen against the dollar. The dollar fell 0.18% against the Swiss Franc, at 0.773. The dollar was unchanged at $1.1781 per euro. The pound rose 0.13%, to $1.3507. Brent crude fell 1% to $70.77 a barrel as tensions between the U.S.A. and Iran continued to simmer. Gold, the safe-haven asset, fell 1.51% to $5152 per ounce.
NRG Energy beats quarterly profit estimates on strong power demand
NRG Energy beat Wall Street expectations for the fourth quarter profit on Tuesday as increasing U.S. consumption of electricity has prompted the 'independent power producer' to essentially double its generating footprint.
The U.S. power demand is expected to reach new highs by 2025 as major tech companies increase consumption in their rapidly expanding data centres. Some of these data centers use as much power as an entire town.
NRG, along with a number of independent power producers, are looking to capitalize on the surge in data center demand by selling power from their existing generation and building brand new power plants that will?serve only data centers.
Larry Coben, CEO of NRG, said that the company has added a total of?1.5 gigawatts to its Texas-based generation capacity. The company recently completed its purchase?of LS Power for $12 billion. gigawatts.
The Houston-based firm said that it plans to sign data center contracts worth at least one gigawatt this year. It also said that it will add significant capacity to data centers.
NRG also stated in its earnings call, that it now expects to invest about $18,3 billion in capital expenses through 2030.
NRG provides power to over 8 million customers in the U.S.A. and Canada with its portfolio of power, natural gas, and smart energy solutions.
Texas has one of the fastest growing data center markets across the nation.
According to LSEG, NRG?posted a profit adjusted of $1.04 for the quarter. This compares with analyst estimates of 96c per share.
The shares of the company fell by about 1% at midday, after rising more than 1% during premarket trading. Reporting by Pranav mathur in Bengaluru, and Laila kearney in New York. Editing by Sahal muhammed and David Gregorio.
(source: Reuters)