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Britain sells off last NatWest shares after crisis-era bailout
After a 60.59 billion pound ($45 billion) state-funded investment at the height the financial crisis in 2008, NatWest is now fully private. This ends a costly taxpayer-funded investment which reshaped both the lender and the industry. The British government has sold the remaining 1% of its bank shares, according to an announcement by the Treasury on Friday. It had previously sold small blocks over recent years. It held up to 38% as recently as December 20,23. In a press release, Finance Minister Rachel Reeves stated that "nearly 20 years ago, the government intervened to protect millions and businesses from the effects of the collapse RBS". "That decision was made to protect the economy, and the return of NatWest to private ownership marks a turning point in the history of this country." NatWest's reprivatisation is a turning point in the recovery of its business and mortgage lending in its home market. It transformed from an investment bank with a global reach to a more traditional, slimmed-down lender. NatWest shares have risen by more than 30% this year, to 523 pence. This is above the 502 pence bailout. Prior government selldowns took place at lower prices, resulting in a loss for the rescue. According to Britain's Finance Ministry, the government lost approximately 10.5 billion pounds in the 45 billion pound rescue when proceeds from share sales and dividend payments to finance ministry are added together with fees and other revenue. The SYMBOL of EXCESS NatWest's growth in the years leading up to the financial crisis became a symbol of excess in that time. It grew from being a small Scottish bank in the 1990s, to becoming one of the largest banks in the world, with a total balance sheet exceeding 2 trillion pounds in 2008, which was almost twice the annual British economic output. Before its 2020 rebranding, the bank known then as RBS had sold assets that ranged from a fleet aircraft in Beijing to the largest hospital of Sydney. It also included a golf-course in Florida, 110 km away from the nearest highway, and an American graveyard. Deep South. According to UK Finance, the bank, now under private ownership, is a significantly slimmed down lender, focused on its domestic businesses. It ranks third in Britain for mortgage providers behind Lloyds Banking Group, and Nationwide Building Society. After the financial crisis, Britain introduced so-called "ring-fencing" rules to protect ordinary savers from the riskier activities of banks. It also aimed to boost competition by encouraging smaller challenger banks. NatWest faces a challenge to increase fee-based revenue from businesses like wealth management. This is because incumbents have been largely unaffected by these efforts. Meanwhile, big rivals including HSBC are pursuing the same strategy in response to declining lending income due to Britain's central banks' policy rate cuts. Paul Thwaite, the current CEO of the bank, has made it a priority to further simplify and streamline its operations and to promote economic growth by providing mortgages and business loans. This is in line with the pressure the left-leaning Labour party has put on banks to kickstart the slow economic growth of the country. The ruling party may still tap the cash-rich banks via additional taxes to plug the gaps in the budget. Alex Potter, Investment Director, Developed Market Equities, Aberdeen, said that NatWest had rebuilt its reputation but was still a political ball. He said that the lender would continue to be under pressure to actively support the growth agenda of government. NatWest executives said that the state exit would not affect how they do business. However, bankers and advisors believe that it may try to accelerate its growth strategy through further acquisitions in 2024 after a number of such deals. ($1 = 0.7427 pounds)
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IIR: Nigeria's Dangote Refinery will run with reduced production until October.
IIR Energy, an industry watchdog, said that the Dangote oil refining plant in Nigeria, which is one of the largest refineries in the world, will operate its gasoline production unit with reduced output until October due to a series of problems in recent months. The 650,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery, which opened last year, is currently running its 204,000 bpd gasoline-producing residual fluid catalytic cracking (RFCC) unit at about 70% of capacity, IIR said. IIR reported that the unit was closed from April 7 until May 11 due to damage to part of the unit, and again from May 15 through May 25 because of a mechanical problem. IIR stated that the full rate of production is not expected until October, when the refinery has completed a 40-day turnaround for reactor and catalyst repairs. Anthony Chiejina, a spokesperson for Dangote, said that the unit was not scheduled to be turned around in October. He did not specify when the refinery planned to finish maintenance or when the unit will be back in full operation. IIR announced that the refinery's Continuous Catalytic Reformer will also be closed for seven days beginning June 2 in order to fix leaks. In January 2024, the refinery built by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dagote in Lagos began to process crude oil into products such as gasoil and naphtha, and started producing petrol in September. The closure of smaller fuel plants in Europe, and elsewhere, is expected to have a major impact on the global fuel market. Some downstream units, like the sulfuric acid-alkylation unit, have yet to begin commercial operations. Chiejina, a Dangote representative, said the unit was scheduled to begin operations on May 31. This is earlier than IIR had expected a mid-June start. As reported earlier, the Dangote Petrochemical Plant began producing 25 kilogram bags (55.12lb) of polypropylene for the local market back in March. The industry monitor reported that the crude processing unit of the refinery has been operating at 80% since mid-March. Chiejina stated that the unit was running at 85%. (Reporting from Shariq Khan, New York; Isaac Anyaogu, Lagos; Editing done by Sonali and Susan Fenton.
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Nigeria's Dangote Refinery continues WTI purchasing spree in July
Three trading sources have confirmed that Nigeria's Dangote refinery will import five million barrels (or more) of U.S. WTI Crude Oil in July. This is a continuation of its purchasing spree following a possible record tally for June. Sources said that the giant new 650,000 barrel-per-day (bpd), oil refinery will import 161,000 barrels of WTI per day in July, after recent tenders were awarded. This is on the back of the record 300,000 barrels per day booked in June's tenders. The final totals of the month may change if the refinery makes more purchases. Traders said that the buying spree highlights increased competition for oil exporters as OPEC+ producers increase output. U.S. crudes are struggling to compete with UAE Murban crude in Asia, which has a six-month low spot premium. Sources said that commodity trader Vitol provided two million barrels of oil for delivery in July, Azeri State-owned Socar supplied another two millions barrels and miner Glencore sold one million barrels. Glencore, Vitol, and the Dangote refinery did not respond immediately to our request for comment about the results of this tender. No one has confirmed the sellers of nine million barrels Dangote had allegedly bought in an earlier bid for arrival in June. The tender details are not public. Kpler, a global shipping analytics company, has revealed that Dangote had previously set a record of 173,000 barrels per day (bpd) for U.S. oil imports in April. Kpler reports that the Dangote refinery purchases WTI semi-regularly since March 2024, but mainly Nigerian crude grades. The data shows that in 2025, it also purchased spot cargoes of crude from Angola and Equatorial Guinea as well as Algeria and Brazil. According to IIR, the refinery will operate at a reduced rate until October as a result of recurring issues over the past few months. A spokesperson for the refinery said that it is ramping up to 85% of its operating capacity. IIR reported that the refinery had been operating at 80% capacity since mid-March.
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Stocks fall but are set to gain in the month despite tariff uncertainty
The global stock market was down on Friday, but it is expected to post a weekly increase as well as its largest monthly gain since late 2023. This is despite the markets being roiled by the uncertainty surrounding the Trump administration's policies regarding tariffs. At the beginning of the week, sentiments were initially boosted by signs that trade tensions had eased between the U.S. Investors then focused on the earnings of artificial-intelligence chipmaker Nvidia. The company reported better than expected results in mid-week. The markets were temporarily shaken by an unexpected ruling of the U.S. Court of International Trade that struck down Trump's so called Liberation Day Tariffs. This triggered a court drama which saw an appeals court temporarily reinstate these tariffs. Mark Malek said, "It has been a busy week." Mark Malek is the chief investment officer of SiebertNXT. "Within four day we had a compressed version what we've been having for the whole month. That is the tug-of-war between the forces that drove the markets higher last year, and the year before that - that is AI and technology stocks - then we have this looming problem with all of these administration tariffs." All three major Wall Street indexes traded lower during the session due to weakness in energy, technology and materials stocks. The S&P 500 is expected to finish the week and month on a positive note. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.14% to 42155.39. The S&P 500 fell 0.33% at 5,892.70, and the Nasdaq composite lost 0.57% at 19,065.61. European shares ended the week mostly higher, and are expected to gain 4% in May. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan closed up by 0.72% over night, ending the week with a lower closing but adding nearly 5% to the month. MSCI's world index fell 0.24%, to 878.15. However, it was on course to gain over 1% in the next week and more that 5% for May. This would be the largest monthly gain since November 20,23. The data released on Friday showed that U.S. consumer spending increased marginally in April. In addition, the closely watched Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCEPI) rose by 0.1% in March, as expected. Trump and Fed chair Jerome Powell met for the first time on Thursday. A Fed statement stated that Powell did not discuss expectations for monetary policies, except to emphasize that the direction of policy would depend on the incoming economic data and its implications for the outlook. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. notes dropped 1.2 basis points, to 4.412%. The 30-year bond rate fell 0.3 basis point to 4.9203%. The dollar rose against other major currencies, including the euro. It is on course to gain against the Japanese currency for the month. The dollar fell 0.01% against the Japanese yen to 144.18, while the euro dropped 0.19% to $1.1349. The dollar index (which measures the greenback in relation to a basket including the yen, the euro and other currencies) rose by 0.18%, reaching 99.44. The tariff-induced uncertainty was weighing on the market, and it is now set to suffer its fifth consecutive month of losses. Investors are weighing up the possibility of a larger OPEC+ production increase in July. Oil prices have fallen and could be headed for a weekly loss for a second time. Brent crude futures dropped 0.44% to a price of $63.87 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude fell 1.1% to 60.27 per barrel. The dollar rose as gold prices fell. Spot gold dropped 0.78%, to $3.289.91 per ounce. U.S. Gold Futures fell 0.93% to an ounce of $3,286.40.
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Zelenskiy, book-fair browser, picks up a new title: "To Kill A Tyrant"
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his spouse browsed the stalls of a literary fair held in Kyiv, and came away with a new book to read - "To Kill A Tyrant." Zelenskiy has called Russian President Vladimir Putin a dictator on numerous occasions. He has led his nation through the three-year conflict with Russia. He didn't reveal whether he wanted to send a signal to his Kremlin counterpart with his book. According to a Telegram post on his book fair visit, he bought the Ukrainian language version of the book by Italian academic Aldo Andre Cassi. In a photo, he showed Olena Zelenskiy, his wife, as she thumbed through the book while her husband stood beside her. Zelenskiy stated that it was just one of many titles he and Olena had purchased at the fair. The title of the book in full is "To Kill A Tyrant: A History Of Tyrannicide from Caesar to Gaddafi." The book was first published in Italian and released in 2022. According to the summary provided by the Italian publisher, the author asks the question "Is killing a tyrant right or wrong?" Who decides? Reporting by Olena Hartmash and Christian Lowe, editing by Mark Heinrich
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JSW miner's net loss for Q1 is 1.36 billion zlotys in line with expectations
JSW, a Polish coal miner, reported a net loss of 1.36 billion Zlotys ($363.24m) for the first three months of the year. This is mainly because of a one-off decrease in the value assets. The results were in line with the preliminary data that was reported by the company back in May. Why it's important JSW is Europe's largest producer for coking coal. Coking coal is a critical raw material on the EU list, and it's essential to steel production. CONTEXT A write-down of $648 million zlotys (about $172.45 million) was made on the value of assets at KWK Knurow. A methane explosion occurred in the mine in January of this year. By the Numbers JSW's first-quarter sales revenue fell by 28.6% on an annual basis to 2.44 billion Zlotys. This was primarily because of lower sales of coal and coke, and higher mining cash costs (MCC). The company reported an EBITDA loss of 1.23 billion Zlotys, compared to a core profit of 532.11 million Zlotys in the same period of 2024.
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Flood risk threatens Swiss valley after glacier destroys village
The lake of water that was trapped behind the glacial debris which buried an entire village in southern Switzerland and blocked a river this week, has caused fears of floods in the Alpine Valley. On Wednesday, millions of cubic metres of ice and rock, as well as mud, crashed down the mountain, flooding Blatten. Later, the few houses that were still intact were flooded. After a part of the mountain that lies behind the Birch Glacier started to crumble, 300 village residents were already evacuated. The search for a 64-year old man has been suspended due to difficult conditions. The flooding increased on Thursday, as a mound of debris measuring almost 2 km (1,2 miles) wide clogged up the River Lonza. A lake formed among the wreckage. This caused fears that the morass might dislodge, leading to more evacuations. Local authorities warned residents of Gampel and Steg - two neighbouring, lower-lying communities a few kilometres downstream along the Lonza – to be prepared for an emergency evacuation. Swiss officials reported that some water from the accumulation had found its way to the river by Friday afternoon. It was able to run through the debris, and back into the river, without increasing the level of danger. Local official Christian Studer said at a press briefing that authorities are sticking to the safety measures implemented on Thursday, and they do not expect things to get worse. Once conditions permit, the army will be ready with heavy equipment such as water pumps, diggers, and other heavy machinery to relieve the pressure on the Lonza River, which is a tributary to the Rhone. Scientists suspect that the event is a dramatic illustration of climate change's impact in the Alps. Swiss Insurance Association stated that the damage was likely to be several hundred millions Swiss Francs and it is too early to give a more accurate estimate. In a press release, the Swiss Insurance Association said it was not clear how many homes were insured in Blatten. (Reporting and editing by Lincoln Feast, Gareth Jones, and Oliver Hirt)
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Botswana ODC will start selling diamonds under contract in September
Mmetla Msire, the managing director of Botswana’s Okavango Diamond Company, said that it plans to begin contract gem sales in September. This is part of a new marketing agreement with De Beers, which will diversify its sales channels. ODC's allocation in Debswana, its joint venture 50-50 with De Beers, was increased from 25% to 30% under the new agreement. It aims to sell around 40% of its supplies through contracts. The balance will be sold through auctions and strategic partners, as well as Botswana companies. ODC currently sells a majority of its diamonds through online auctions. These are typically held 10 to 12 times per year. ODC, like De Beers which sells 90% of its diamonds via contracts to selected buyers (also called sightholders), will also now sell to contracted purchasers. In an interview, Masire said that the previous agreement contained a clause prohibiting us from competing directly with De Beers in contract sales. He added that the process of selecting purchasers has begun, and contracts are expected to be issued in September. According to the new 10-year agreement with De Beers, signed in February this year, ODC’s allocation of Debswana production will reach 40% by the end of the deal, with the option of an additional 50% increase during a proposed 5-year extension period. Masire stated that the global diamond market was currently experiencing a downturn, marked by a decline in demand and an excess of supply. However, he said there are signs of a "slow but sustained recovery". Masire stated that the global market was still fragile and the U.S. Tariffs had added uncertainty. However, there are signs of improvement as China and India appear to be picking up, as well as China. Due to the recession, ODC's revenues in 2024 were approximately 60% lower than the levels of the prior year. (Reporting by Brian Benza. (Editing by Nelson Banya, Mark Potter and Mark Potter).
VEGOILS-Palm increases on weaker ringgit; losses in rival Dalian oils cap gains
Malaysian palm oil futures rose on Wednesday after closing at a sevenmonth low in the previous session, buoyed by a weaker ringgit but losses in competing Dalian agreements topped the gains.
The benchmark palm oil agreement for October delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange acquired 19 ringgit, or 0.51%, to 3,724 ringgit ($ 827.56) a metric load by the midday break.
The contract declined to its least expensive closing cost since Jan. 8 on Tuesday.
Malaysian palm oil futures recuperated with a double-digit upside after seeing some weak point in the ringgit currency, a. Kuala Lumpur-based trader stated.
The ringgit, palm's currency of trade, compromised. 0.67% versus the dollar, making the product cheaper. for buyers holding foreign currencies.
Dalian's most-active soyoil contract fell 1.34%,. while its palm oil agreement lost 1.58%. Soyoil prices. on the Chicago Board of Trade ticked up 0.03%.
Palm oil tracks the cost motions of rival edible oils, as. they contend for a share of the global vegetable oils market.
Brent unrefined futures acquired 0.42% to $76.80 a barrel. by 0513 GMT. More powerful crude oil futures make palm a more. attractive alternative for biodiesel feedstock.
Palm oil inventories in Malaysia are expected to drop in. July for the very first time after increasing for 3 consecutive. months, a Reuters survey showed.
Industry regulator the Malaysian Palm Oil Board is arranged. to launch its month-to-month palm oil information on Aug. 12.
Palm oil is expected to bounce towards 3,784 ringgit per. metric lot, as it has actually found support in the zone of 3,671 ringgit. to 3,704 ringgit, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.
(source: Reuters)