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Cuba praises the'respectful meeting' with US officials at Havana
?U.S. An official from the Cuban Foreign Ministry confirmed in an interview with state-run newspaper Granma that officials recently met their 'Cuban counterparts' in Havana. Axios reported Friday that an important U.S. delegation visited the island a week earlier, saying Cuban authorities have a limited window of time to adopt reforms backed by the U.S. before conditions worsen. Alejandro Garcia del Toro is the Cuban foreign ministry's?U.S. The Cuban Foreign Ministry's Alejandro Garcia del Toro, who handles?U.S. Garcia del Toro stated that "eliminating energy embargo" against Cuba was a top priority for his delegation. Axios reported that the U.S. officials asked the Cuban government, in addition to compensating for the assets and properties confiscated following the?1959 Revolution, to release political prisoners, and to ensure greater political freedoms. Axios reported that the U.S. delegation also offered to establish Starlink satellite services in the country. Garcia del Toro stated that Cuba was represented at the "level of deputy foreign minister" and the U.S. by deputy officials from the State Department. Axios reported that Raul Guillermo Rodrguez Castro was involved in the talks. He is 94-year-old grandson of former Cuban President Raul Castro.
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US Project Vault is aiming to close the first funding tranche as soon as possible, an official has said.
John Jovanovic, President and Chairman of the U.S. Export-Import Bank, said that Project Vault, which is the U.S. Government's vital?minerals reserves, will close its first funding tranche soon and begin helping manufacturers to manage supply, processing and storage challenges and supply-chain issues. Project Vault, announced by Donald Trump in February, aims to stockpile essential minerals and alleviate supply constraints for manufacturers who have been overly dependent on Chinese supplies for years. The U.S. policy on critical minerals is centered around securing emergency supplies, but the industry's constraints go far beyond simply keeping metals in reserves. Jovanovic stated that Project Vault is designed to address the broader market weaknesses, including a lack capital, too few creditworthy counterparties, and a need for flexible arrangements which can support long-term commitments in processing. Jovanovic said, "It wasn't designed to be just a stockpile." "What was intended was to solve the problems that the market faces." Project Vault combines private funding of $2 billion with a loan of $10 billion from the EXIM Bank. Jovanovic, without naming this entity, said that it will be run by an independent, separate entity. Its management team would oversee storage and logistics, in consultation with the manufacturers. What we want to achieve is to make it dynamic, and to help solve some of these problems. Project Vault, unlike a traditional reserve is built to store both raw materials and processed products. The independent entity will be working closely with the manufacturers. Project Vault was designed to?allow companies to convert stockpiles of raw materials into products. Jovanovic stated that material could be removed from Vault and sent to a facility for processing, before being returned back to the system in a refined form. This allows the manufacturers to "think ahead" and to start "to provide demand signals to refineries and processing assets." Balance-sheet constraints are a major problem for many companies. Project Vault can be used by manufacturers who want to make long-term commitments and off-take deals. Jovanovic suggested that you could use Project Vault for this?commitment. He refused to name additional participants, beyond those who have already been identified. However, he said that more suppliers had signed on and "every major supplier" of manufacturers in the United States has discussed participating. He said that the United States may not have enough warehouses, storage facilities, or bonded inventories. "But if there is a creditworthy company that wants it, you can invite them to develop, build, and expand more storage facilities."
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Gold falls to a one-week-low due to tensions between the US and Iran and a stronger dollar
Gold prices dropped to a new?low of one week on Monday, before recovering a little as Iran threatened retaliation for the U.S. taking over of an Iranian cargo ship. This drove up oil and dollar prices. As of 1:32 pm EDT (1732 GMT), spot gold was down by 0.4%, at $4,810.26 an ounce. It had earlier hit its lowest price in the session since April 13. U.S. Gold Futures for June Delivery?settled at $4,828.8 - a 1% decrease. As renewed tensions between the United States and Iran caused market uncertainty about the likelihood of a peaceful settlement, the U.S. Dollar rose to its highest levels in a week. Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury Yields increased, increasing the cost of non-yielding gold. Risk CEASEFIRE WILL Not Hold Fawad Rasaqzada is a market analyst for City Index and FOREX.com. He said that the situation in the Middle East had clearly deteriorated again. This has shifted our gold forecast slightly to the downside due to the increased risk of another sharp rise in oil prices. The ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. appeared to be in danger on Monday following the seizure of the cargo vessel. Prices of oil rose by around 5% as a result of fears that the ceasefire might collapse and the fact that the Strait of Hormuz was largely blocked. Gold is a good inflation hedge. However, the demand for this non-yielding investment tends to decrease when global interest rates rise. Rates could stay higher for longer due to a rise in inflation caused by the Middle East war. "Gold traders are choosing to be bearish on this day (higher dollar and yields) for the metals. Technically, the next price target for June gold futures bulls is a close above a solid resistance level?at $5,000," Jim Wyckoff said in a report. Silver spot fell by 1.3%, to $79.76 an ounce. Platinum dropped 1.4%, to $2,073.28, while palladium, which had hit a low of the week earlier, was down 0.2%, at $1,556.00. (Reporting from Bengaluru by Ishaan arora; Editing by Paul Simao, Barbara Lewis and Barbara Lewis.)
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Fed's nominee Warsh pledges independence of central bank with limitations
Kevin Warsh, the U.S. president Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Federal Reserve, will say to lawmakers during his confirmation hearing on Tuesday that he "is committed to ensuring the conduct of monetary policies remains strictly independent", according to prepared remarks that were released on Monday. The 56-year old former Fed governor and financier will say to members of the Senate Banking Committee that he is "committed to working with both the Administration and Congress in non-monetary issues which are within the Fed's mandate". Warsh stated in his prepared remarks that Fed independence "reaches its peak" when it comes to the 'operational conduct of monetary policies. He said that the degree of independence of the Fed does not cover all of its congressionally mandated duties. U.S. Central Bank policymakers do not have the same right to "special deference" when it comes to their stewardship over public money, bank regulation, and supervision. Warsh has been nominated as the new Fed Chair Jerome Powell. He also pledged to bring about change in the monetary policy agency. In prepared remarks, he stated that a Federal Reserve focused on reform can make a significant difference for the American people in a period of history that is likely to be one of the most important in the nation's past. Warsh was a Fed Governor from 2006 until 2011, and used much of his address to reiterate criticisms he made of the central banks in 'the decade-and-a half after resigning. He said that the Fed must "stay on its lane", and not stray too far into social and fiscal policies. In the past, Warsh has taken the Fed to task when it did research into the economic impacts of climate change and targeted "inclusive" employment. In the past few years, the Fed has abandoned its focus on climate changes. Warsh said that he believes the Fed's independence is under siege because it has not met its mandate to maintain price stability, as set by Congress. Warsh stated that low?inflation was the Fed's plot armour, protecting it from slings-and-arrows. When inflation spikes, as it has in recent years, it can cause a great deal of harm to citizens, who may lose confidence in the system that governs our economy. The confirmation hearing for Warsh before the Senate committee is set to start at 10:00 a.m. ET (1400 GMT) Tuesday. Ann Saphir and Doina Chiacu reported; Michelle Nichols edited by Chizu Nomiyama, Paul Simao and Michelle Nichols.
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Gold falls to a one-week-low due to tensions between the US and Iran, as well as a strong dollar.
Gold prices fell to a new low of one week on Monday before recovering slightly. The dollar and oil prices rose as a result of the retaliation threat from Iran in response to the U.S. seizure of an Iranian cargo ship. As of 12:49 am EDT (1649 GMT), spot gold was down by 0.5%, at $4,802.75 an ounce. It had earlier hit its lowest price in the session since April 13. U.S. Gold futures for June delivery dropped 1.2% to $4823.10. The U.S. Dollar rose to its highest levels in a 'week, before paring those gains as renewed tensions between the U.S. and Iran caused market uncertainty about the prospects of a 'peace deal. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury increased, which increases the opportunity cost for holding non-yielding gold. Risk CEASEFIRE WILL Not Hold The situation in the Middle East is clearly worsening, and our gold forecast has been shifted?slightly downwards amid increased risks of another sharp rise in oil prices. This could lead to a higher dollar yield and bond yields," Fawad Rasaqzada said, a market analyst for City Index and FOREX.com. The ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. appeared to be in danger on Monday following the seizure of the cargo vessel. Prices of oil rose by around 5% as a result of fears that the ceasefire might collapse and the fact that the Strait of Hormuz was largely blocked. Gold is considered a hedge against inflation, but demand for the non-yielding investment tends to decrease when global interest rates rise. Rates could stay higher for longer due to increased inflation caused by the Middle East war. "Gold traders are selecting the daily bearish elements (higher dollars, yields) to?the metals on this day. Technically, the next price target for June gold futures bulls is to close above solid resistance of $5,000," said Jim Wyckoff, Kitco Metals senior analyst. Silver spot fell by 1.2%, to $79.83 an ounce. Platinum dropped 1.5%, to $2,071.70. Palladium, which had hit a low of the week earlier, was down by 0.2%, to $1,555.79. (Reporting and editing by Paul Simao in Bengaluru, Barbara Lewis, and Shailesh Kumar)
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Sources say that the Cardon refinery in Venezuela is restarting its catalytic cracker.
The fluid ?catalytic cracker of Venezuela's ?second-largest refinery, ?the 310,000-barrel-per-day ?Cardon, was restarting on Monday after a power outage affected the entire refinery last week, two workers from the facility said. One source said that workers were also restarting Cardon’s naphtha refinery on Monday. This would result in a total crude processing capacity of 237,000 bpd at Cardon, and its linked Amuay refining facility, or about 25% of combined installed capacity. PDVSA's state-owned energy company is prone to blackouts and other outages, which limit its fuel production for domestic distribution. The company has been granted U.S. licenses to import the refining feedstocks and?diluents it needs for its heavy oil production, which this year has contributed to a greater fuel supply. Separate workers reported that a similar gasoline production unit at Venezuela's smaller El Palito refinery was shut down due to a faulty piece of equipment late last week. It has been out of service ever since, they said. PDVSA didn't?immediately respond to a request for comment. Reporting?by Mircely Guianipa and Tibisay Roma in Valencia; writing by Marianna Pararaga, editing by David Gregorio
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The Dutch government claims that the EU has enough jet fuel to last five months.
The Dutch government estimated on Monday that the European Union could supply enough kerosene for the EU economy to last about five months. This would be based on domestic production and strategic reserves. The Iran War has caused a potential shortage of jet fuel within the next few weeks. In a letter sent to the Dutch parliament, it was stated that the domestic supply of jet fuel (or kerosene) is 78% below normal levels as most imports have ceased. The Netherlands is home to several of Europe's biggest refineries, located in the Port?of Rotterdam. The government announced measures to protect households and businesses against rising energy costs. It said that?European productions of diesel and Kerosene combined with strategic reserves of crude oils and oil products could cover "several" months of demand, if current supply disruptions continue. This is equivalent to approximately five months of kerosene and diesel, and a little more than one year for petrol and diesel, assuming that reserves are not diverted and used up. The letter was co-authored by the Dutch Energy Ministry. A spokesperson from the ministry said that the estimate of kerosene included both commercial and reserve supplies. The International Energy Agency says that supplies in Europe will last until June. The government has said that there are no immediate fuel shortages despite the sharp increase in prices after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. This caused a disruption to approximately one-fifth the global oil and natural gas flow. The Dutch government announced that it would "activate the first stage of an oil crises plan" it drafted in 2022. This will involve enhanced monitoring of energy market and preparations for future measures. The package includes a total of approximately 1 billion euros ($1.2billion) in measures. These include tax reliefs for commuters and the transport sector, low-cost loans to invest in energy efficiency at home, and targeted assistance for low-income families.
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GRAINS-Wheat extends its gains due to adverse US weather and Middle East tensions
Chicago wheat futures rose Monday on the back of a?dryness? in U.S.-growing regions, and fears that the ceasefire agreement between?the United States and Iran? may break down. The war fears boosted corn and soybeans, but they were also hampered by expectations for rapid U.S. plantings. Chicago Board of Trade's most-active wheat climbed 1.2% at 1118 GMT to $6.06-3/4 a bushel after firmness in the previous week. Corn increased 0.06%, to $4.48-3/4 per bushel. Soybeans remained unchanged at $11.67-1/4 per bushel. Oil prices increased after the U.S. announced that it had seized a cargo ship?from Iran attempting to break its blockade. Iran also said it would take retaliatory action. Matt Ammermann is the commodity risk manager for?StoneX. He said that wheat is now higher in early trade and the war risk premium has returned. As seen last week the focus is still on the U.S. crop conditions and the Western 'Plains drought that threatens hard red winter wheat. But latest forecasts indicate some hope of rain. He added that the Iran war risks also support soybeans. In a recent note, Argus analysts stated that weather in the U.S. remains a critical factor. "The lack of rainfall across winter wheat areas has long affected yield potential." The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) 'U.S. crop ?progress estimates due later on Monday. Ammermann stated that there is a possibility of a faster than normal planting pace due to the U.S. farmer's trend to plant soy first, especially in the southern states. The market seems to be ignoring crude oil right now. Corn remains mixed. The warm?weather in the Midwest of the United States means that more rapid U.S. planting will take place over the next few weeks. Reporting by Michael Hogan, with additional reporting from Peter Hobson, in Canberra. Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Eileen Soreng.
Fermi shares plunge sharply following CEO and CFO resignations
The shares of U.S. energy startup Fermi dropped'sharply' on Monday following the sudden departures?of Toby Neugebauer, its co-founder and chief executive officer as well as Miles Everson, its Chief Financial Officer.
Fermi?stood at $5.03, losing 23% on the day after the announcement made Friday night. The company announced that it has created an interim CEO office to be managed by two executives while a search for Neugebauer’s replacement is being conducted.
Fuzzy Panda Research, a short seller, disclosed a short position on Fermi Monday. It alleged fraudulent transfers and misappropriation of assets by Neugebauer as well as other executives.
Fermi didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment.
Neugebauer will remain on the board. Neugebauer co-founded Fermi 2025. The company announced on Monday that Marius?Haas has been named its new chairman and Everson elected to its board of Directors.
According to LSEG, 10 analysts covering Fermi have an average rating of "BUY", while their median target price is $26.50.
Fermi has developed a massive power generation facility in Amarillo Texas that will be powered by natural gas as well as nuclear energy. The project is aimed at artificial intelligence companies. It's called "Project Matador." Rick Perry is a Fermi founder and former U.S. Energy secretary.
Texas Capital Securities analysts led Derrick Whitefield wrote in a note to investors that Fermi's Board has "reiterated" the operational plan, and the timelines for Project Matador have not changed. Chibuike Oguh, reporting from New York and Nick Zieminski, editing.
(source: Reuters)