Latest News
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Motor racing: Six injured and one dead in Nuerburgring race crash, officials
Organisers said that racing driver Juha Miettinen was killed and six drivers were injured in an accident at the 'ADAC 24h Nuerburgring qualifiers on Saturday. The race officials confirmed that Miettinen died following the early-race crash. All the other drivers who were injured were treated in hospital for injuries that were not serious. In the early stages of the first race of the ADAC 24-hour Nurburgring Qualifier, seven drivers were involved in a serious accident. The emergency medics, despite the arrival of the emergency services, were unable to save Juha Miettinen, after he was removed from the vehicle. The driver died in the Medical Centre, after all attempts at resuscitation failed. The race will not be resumed on Saturday evening and there will be a minute's silence during Sunday's grid formation. (Reporting and editing by Clare Fallon; Karolos Grohmann)
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Police in Kyiv kill a shooter who opened up fire
Ihor Klymenko, the Ukrainian Interior Minister, said that police killed a man on Saturday who had opened fire in a city district and barricaded himself inside a supermarket. Klymenko stated that the number of casualties?in this incident in the city’s?Holosiivskyi District was still being clarified. Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed that there were also victims inside the store. He had earlier stated the suspect killed two people. Klymenko posted on Telegram, a messaging app? that Klymenko uses to communicate with his friends and family: "The shooter was liquidated when he was arrested." Special forces from the...national police stormed a store where the attacker was. He took people hostage and fired at a policeman while he was being held. Negotiators had tried to reach him before that. Klitschko stated that 10 people were being treated in hospital. Five others were injured. (Reporting and editing by Louise Heavens, Chizu Nomiyama, and Ron Popeski)
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South Africa's central bank chief warns that the Middle East conflict clouds prospects for rate cuts
South Africa's Central Bank Governor said that it was difficult to see an easing of interest rates in the near future due to the volatile war in the Middle East, and its impact on the inflation rate. Lesetja Kganyago, the South African Reserve Bank Governor, said that the bank will not update its growth or inflation forecasts in between meetings. Instead it relies on "scenarios," to understand the impact caused by the wildly fluctuating prices of commodities such as fuel and fertilizer. Kganyago, in an interview at the International Monetary Fund's and World Bank Group spring meetings in Washington, said that the conflict would have a negative impact on growth and also increase inflation. In an environment in which you expect inflation to rise, I do not think that anyone can continue to talk about a relaxation in monetary policies in such an environment," he continued. Last month, the bank maintained its policy rate of 6.75% citing the need to be cautious due to the impact that higher energy prices will have on inflation. The bank revised its risk scenarios before the meeting to assess the impact of the Middle East crisis. The negative scenario assumed that oil would average $94 per barrel for the entire year, and that exchange rates would depreciate by 20%. "That was March. He said that we are now in a totally different environment. "We'll do new scenarios in may." The Middle East conflict and its?wild swings of commodity prices have largely halted the push for monetary easing among central banks in emerging markets. He said that South Africa did not face fuel shortages, and it would be a while before its farmers could feel the impact of a fertilizer shortage. Prices have changed in every direction...the only thing we know for sure is that there is uncertainty.
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Jalal Green shoots past Warriors to charge into the playoffs
Jalen's Green 36 points lifted the Phoenix Suns to the playoffs on Friday with a play-in victory of 111-96 over the Golden State Warriors. The Suns have earned the eighth seed in the Western Conference. On Sunday, they will host the top-seeded and defending Oklahoma City Thunder to begin a first round series. Jordan Ott, Phoenix coach, said: "Sometimes it's not the road you think it will be or the most traveled one. Sometimes it's just the road that is least traveled." "We found our path in, now we're on to the next thing." Phoenix scored 30 points on the Warriors' 21 mistakes. The Suns were able to hold on after Phoenix lost a late advantage against the Portland Trail Blazers during the play-in opening. The drama was not over yet. Golden State's Draymond green fouled out just over a minute after the final whistle. Warriors coach Steve Kerr embraced both Draymond Curry and Draymond green during a special moment. The three players were part of four NBA Championship runs. "I'm not sure what's going to occur." I love coaching, but I understand. Kerr's contract expires this summer. There's always a 'run' and, when it ends, there's often a need for fresh blood, new ideas, etc. If that's true, I'll be 'nothing' but grateful to have the opportunity to coach the franchise. Draymond green and Devin Booker, a Suns player, began a heated conversation as the game resumed. The discussion continued for a few moments before both players received a technical foul. Green was ejected. Phoenix opened up a huge lead after the Warriors scored their first two points. They then closed out the quarter with 8 consecutive points for a 33-15 lead. Golden State scored 15 points in the first quarter, their lowest total since March 7, when they scored 14 against the Thunder in the fourth. The Suns struggled in the second quarter after shooting 52.4% during the first. Golden State was within two points of Phoenix after Curry's free-throws, which he made with 19.6 seconds left in the first half. Jalen green elevated to shoot a 3-pointer on the wing as the clock ticked down. It was the Suns first field goal in over five minutes, giving Phoenix a lead of 50-45 at halftime. Brandin Podziemski, a Golden State player who leads the team with 23 points, scored 10 of them in the second. He led the Warriors in?10 rebounds. Jalen's two 3-pointers helped the Suns to gain control of the third quarter with an 11-1 run. Booker had 20 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds. Jordan Goodwin, a Phoenix player, added 19 points and nine rebounds. Ott stated, "Truly this group has been a?special one all year. It was special again the last three or four days. They overcame the disappointment by?coming out to play that hard and against a team with every solution known." "... "... Curry scored 17 points, but he was only 4 of 16 on the floor. He also made just 3 of 10 3-pointers. De'Anthony Melton, who came off the bench to score 16 points with eight rebounds, also contributed. Field Level Media
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Australia relaxes fuel standards to boost supply
Chris Bowen, Australia's Energy Minister, said that the country would ease up on its standards for fuel quality until September. This is because of a deterioration in fuel supplies due to the war with Iran. Bowen made a televised statement: "I have decided to extend the period for higher sulphur in petrol in Australia." The relaxation announced in March increases the amount of allowed sulphur in fuel from the usual 10 parts to 50 parts. As the war, now in its eighth week, disrupted supply chain, Australia has seen localised shortages. Bowen?said that the production of diesel, jet-fuel and petrol at a Viva Energy oil refinery (VEA.AX), owned by Viva Energy in Victoria, Australia’s second most populous state, remained the same as Friday. He said that the Geelong refinery was still operating at 60% for petrol and 60% for diesel. Anthony Albanese, Australian Prime Minister, said that the fire would not trigger fuel restrictions. Albanese also secured a deal this week with Malaysian energy?firm Petronas for the supply of?excess fuel in?Australia following trips to Singapore, Brunei and other countries aimed at boosting energy supplies. (Reporting from Sam McKeith, Sydney; Editing done by William Mallard).
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World Bank launches new small state strategy to tackle challenges
The World Bank announced a new strategy on Friday that focuses on jobs to help small island states, and other small countries address challenges like remoteness, shock exposure and a limited economic base. World Bank President Ajay Banga spoke about the initiative in a closed door meeting of 50 ministers and governors of central banks from small countries, held during the spring meetings for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. He explained that the idea was to use different tools to help smaller states attract more investment, implement policy and regulatory changes to make it easier to run and grow businesses, and create more jobs. The Bank will focus on areas like health, affordable energy and resilient infrastructure, as well as micro-and small businesses. These are the areas where officials believe there are the best opportunities to boost growth, strengthen businesses and create better jobs. Last year, the World Bank Group approved new commitments and guarantee of $3.3 billion for "small states" who face unique economic challenges, and are disproportionately impacted by shocks as was seen during the Middle East war. In a blog that was released with the new strategy, the bank stated: "For small business, a hurricane, an unexpected?surge? in fuel prices or a decline in tourism could wipe out months of income and investment in just a few days." Banga said that the Bank would take a differentiated strategy to develop regional projects in these countries. Partnerships will be an important component. "This isn't a one size fits all approach." Banga said to the finance officials that small states are diverse and our support would reflect this. "We know that the economics of small states are different," Banga told the finance officials. He said that the cost of working in smaller states can be up to four-times higher than in bigger countries. The Bank therefore planned to streamline its delivery, use more flexible funding and scale solutions in order to maximize each dollar. Several projects have already begun. The bank, in Tonga for instance, will co-finance a urban resilience project with the Asian Development Bank, under a framework agreement of mutual reliance, a first between multilateral development banks. Banga stated that he was planning to sign more agreements, including with the Inter-American Development Bank in order to extend the approach to the Caribbean. He said that the World Bank is also increasing the tools available for countries. The bank also said that better diagnostics was important. The bank said that it was preparing more detailed reports on the challenges faced by private sector hiring in Barbados, Guinea Bissau, Lesotho Mauritius Samoa and Seychelles. The blog also noted that the World Bank could leverage its power to drive investments. The 'International Finance Corp', the bank’s investment arm, for example, helped to 'fund the development of Botswana’s first utility-scale Solar Project', while the World Bank worked on a project on battery storage in parallel, enabling the integration of solar into the grid. The bank stated in its blog that the result was not just a solar power plant but also a model of how private financing can be used to open up markets and create employment. (Reporting and editing by Andrea Shalal)
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Moody's lowers Iraq's credit outlook to "negative" on Middle East conflict risks
Moody's, a credit rating agency, re-evaluated Iraq's outlook on Friday from "stable" to "negative", citing the risks to the country's "credit profile" due to 'the ongoing Middle East conflict' impacting security and energy flow. Moody's stated that "Iraq's heavy dependence on the oil industry implies that disruptions to exports through Strait of Hormuz, which account for around 90% of Iraq's oil exports, will materially reduce dollar inflows as well as fiscal revenues." Iraqi energy officials stated last month that the main southern oilfields of the OPEC'members have seen their output fall by 80% as a result of the U.S. - Iran?war, and the closing down the strait. This has pushed storage levels to a 'high and critical level. Abbas Araqchi, Iranian Foreign Minister, said that the Strait of Hormuz was now open after a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon. Donald Trump, U.S. president said he believes a deal will be reached to end the Iran War "soon", but the timing is still unclear. Four energy sources reported that Iraq resumed its southern oil exports last Friday after a hiatus of over a month. Moody's said in its report that "even if the ceasefire is maintained, it may take some time before flows in 'the Strait' return to normal." The agency kept the country's rating at "Caa1". (Reporting and editing by Unnamalai L, Bengaluru)
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US loans 26.03 millions barrels of SPR Oil in third batch after Iran war
The U.S. The?U.S. Department of Energy announced on Friday that it had lent 26.03 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to nine oil firms. This is the third allocation under?the Trump Administration's efforts to curb fuel costs, which?have risen since the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran. In March, the 'Trump Administration' agreed to release 172 millions barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in coordination with the International Energy Agency to draw down 400,000,000 barrels to try to control fuel costs that spiked because of the war. Energy companies are required to pay interest on the extra barrels they receive from the SPR. The U.S. offered 126,000,000 barrels of crude oil in three batches. Energy companies have agreed to take on loans of nearly 80 million barrels - or more than 63% - from the SPR. The DOE announced that BP Products North America, ExxonMobil?Corp, and Marathon Petroleum were among the companies awarded SPR loans. Reporting by Timothy Gardner, Ismail Shakil and Doina Chiacu; Editing done by Edward Tobin and Doina Tobin
Freezing temperature levels chill United States retail sales, factory production
U.S. retail sales fell by the most in 10 months in January, but economic experts cautioned against reading excessive into the sharp drop in the middle of frigid temperature levels and difficulties adjusting the information for seasonal fluctuations at the start of the year.
Still, the report from the Commerce Department on Thursday recommended slowing momentum in consumer spending as retail sales were revised lower in November and December. But with a. still-tight labor market continuing to churn out jobs at a. strong clip and wage development remaining elevated, customer. spending is far from collapsing. That must sustain the. financial growth.
Retail sales in January declined sharply, nevertheless, revised. seasonal aspects and inclement weather exaggerated the degree of. the slowing down in costs following the vacation spending spree,. stated Kathy Bostjancic, primary economic expert at Nationwide.
Retail sales toppled 0.8% last month, the biggest drop because. March 2023, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said. Information. for December was modified lower to show sales increasing 0.4% instead. of 0.6% as formerly reported. November sales were also modified. down to show them the same, rather than rising 0.3%.
Economists polled had actually anticipated retail sales. dipping 0.1% in January.
Retail sales are mostly products and are not changed for. inflation. They increased 0.6% year-on-year in January.
Unadjusted retail sales generally fall in January. Seasonal. factors, the model that the government uses to strip out. seasonal variations from the data, expected a smaller drop in. sales this January compared to previous years. The decline was. bigger than had actually been expected by the seasonal aspects,. leading to the bigger drop in adjusted sales last month.
Economic information is normally hard to seasonally adjust at. the start of the year, a procedure that has actually also been made. challenging by distortions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The weather effect was evident in the 4.1% plunge in. building product and garden devices shop sales. Receipts at. motor vehicles and parts dealers likewise tumbled 1.7%. Snow storms. blanketed large swathes of the country in January. The other. significant drag on sales came from a 1.7% drop in gas station. invoices, showing lower rates at the pump.
Freezing temperature levels likewise slammed production at factories. last month, with output falling 0.5%, a different report from the. Federal Reserve showed on Thursday. Manufacturing production. gained 0.1% in December.
The weak reports did not alter expectations that the U.S. central bank would avoid cutting rate of interest in the past. May. There are signs that goods cost deflation is nearing an. end.
A third report from the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor. Stats showed import costs posting their greatest gain in. almost two years in January as the costs for petroleum and other. goods increased highly. That followed on the heels of. stronger-than-expected consumer price readings in January.
The most recent news on import prices follows the. concept that the current weak point in (core) items inflation will. end, but it is not completely apparent that it suggests a rise in. domestic prices to come, said Daniel Silver, a financial expert at. JPMorgan in New York.
Stocks on Wall Street were trading greater. The dollar fell. against a basket of currencies. U.S. Treasury costs rose.
BROAD WEAK POINT
Since March 2022, the Fed has raised its policy rate by 525. basis indicate the current 5.25% -5.50% range.
Online sales dropped 0.8% in January, repayment after surging. 1.4% in December. There were decreases in sales at electronics. and home appliance outlets along with clothing, health and individual. care, and sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument and book. shops. Sales at food services and drinking locations, the just. services element in the report, increased 0.7%.
Economic experts view eating in restaurants as a key sign of home. finances. Furniture shops receipts rose 1.5%.
Momentum is slowing, customer costs remains. healthy, thanks to the resistant labor market and increasing. family purchasing power as inflation subsides.
A fourth report from the Labor Department on Thursday showed. preliminary claims for state welfare fell 8,000 to a. seasonally adjusted 212,000 for the week ended Feb. 10.
Claims are bouncing around low levels despite a current rush. of prominent layoffs, mostly in the technology and media. sectors. Economic experts had actually anticipated 220,000 claims for the current. week. Companies are mainly hesitant to layoff employees after. struggling to fill jobs throughout and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The number of individuals getting benefits after an initial. week of help, a proxy for hiring, increased 30,000 to 1.895. million during the week ending Feb. 3, the claims report showed.
Cutting through the sound in the data, we expect that. consumer costs will rise at a strong pace this year, stated. Michael Pearce, deputy chief U.S. economic expert at Oxford Economics. in New york city. Genuine non reusable incomes are growing at a good. rate, and we see little factor to expect a rise in home. Due to the fact that balance sheets are strong and rising home rates, conserving. and equity markets are contributing to net wealth.
Retail sales omitting automobiles, fuel, structure. materials and food services reduced 0.4% in January. The. so-called core retail sales measure corresponds most closely. with the consumer spending element of GDP.
Core sales for December were modified down to reveal them. increasing 0.6% instead of the formerly reported 0.8%. They rose. 0.2% in November, devalued from the formerly reported 0.5%.
The revisions to November and December data recommended. costs ended the 4th quarter with less vigor than. formerly thought, putting intake on a slower growth. trajectory at the start of this quarter.
That likewise suggested the fourth-quarter's financial development. When the, price quote of a 3.3% annualized rate could be cut. government publishes its modification later on this month.
The intake course in the fourth quarter to the very first. quarter now looks softer, said Ellen Zentner, primary economist. at Morgan Stanley in New York. The report supports our view. that the economy is strong but cooling. There is no reason for. the Fed to hurry the next relocation in rates.
(source: Reuters)