Latest News
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Swedish Firm to Deliver Carbon-Neutral Surveys for Baltic Sea OW Projects
Swedish offshore survey specialist Njord Survey has signed a long-term framework agreement with German transmission system operator (TSO) 50Hertz to support offshore wind development in Baltic Sea.Under the agreement, Njord Survey will deliver geophysical and ROV seabed survey services to support offshore wind development in the Baltic Sea, contributing to the reinforcement of Europe’s future power grid.According to the company, biofuel will be used by all vessels which minimize emissions.“This agreement with 50Hertz reflects our dedication to building lasting client relationships. It underlines the strength of our commercial strategy and confirms Njord Survey’s role as a trusted partner in Europe’s offshore energy transition,” said Martin Wikmar, CEO of Njord Survey:“We are honored by the trust 50Hertz has placed in us. With our people and technology, we will provide the high-quality data needed for safe and efficient project design in Germany – supporting the secure integration of renewable energy into the European grid,” added Philip Ljungström, Project Director at Njord Survey.
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Investors wary of US-China trade tensions causing Asian markets to be hesitant
Asian stocks fell on Tuesday as uncertainty about whether China and the U.S. could reach a lasting trade deal tempered signs that the U.S. was preparing to hold talks with China later this month. The S&P 500 Futures and MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan, which had seen early gains, have now traded flat. The markets had earlier reacted to the positive cash session on Monday after U.S. Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent stated that U.S. president Donald Trump is still on track to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at a South Korean summit in late October. Wall Street's major indexes rose as much as 2,2% overnight, led largely by chipmakers after Trump adopted a more accommodative tone in his remarks on the trade tensions between China and the United States. The global equities market turned abruptly red on Friday, after Trump announced tariffs of 100% on China. This brought back memories of the volatility that followed April's "Liberation Day". The selling only stopped after Trump cooled down his rhetoric in his Truth Social network. Citi analysts stated in a report that they did not anticipate an escalation in trade tensions between Beijing & Washington. The U.S. might have to adjust its negotiation strategy because China is the only country that has bargaining power. A spokesperson from China's Commerce Ministry said Tuesday that the U.S. could not seek to negotiate while making threats. This would keep markets nervous about the prospects of a wider trade agreement. U.S. China will start charging port fees to ocean shipping companies that transport everything from holiday toys and crude oil. The high seas are now a major front in the trade dispute between the two world's largest economies. The Hang Seng Index, which measures blue-chip Chinese shares, fell 0.4% after initial gains in Hong Kong. TSMC, which has partnered Broadcom in order to manufacture its first artificial intelligence processors in-house, rose to a new record. This was the leading Asian stock market with a 0.8% rise. The South Korean Kospi index rose 0.6% on Tuesday after Samsung Electronics announced a 32% increase in operating profit for the third quarter compared to a year ago. This was a surprise, as analysts had expected a decline in sales of high bandwidth memory chips. However, demand for conventional memory helped offset this. Japan's Nikkei index dropped 1.2% after the markets reopened following a holiday. The U.S. Dollar was unchanged at 152.31 Japanese yen against the yen. The dollar index (which measures the strength of the greenback against a basket six currencies) was trading at 99.246. This is a 0.1% decrease. The Federal Reserve is expected to ease interest rates later in the month, according to traders. According to CME Group’s FedWatch tool, the pricing of Fed funds futures indicates a 96.7% chance of a 25 basis-point reduction in interest rates during the Federal Open Market Committee’s meeting on the 29th of October. A day earlier the probability was 98.3%. The euro barely changed at $1.1571 on Monday after French President Emmanuel Macron refused to resign, as two no-confidence votes could topple his government by the end the week. Brent crude last rose 0.2% to $63,45 per barrel following an OPEC report released on Monday. The report showed that world oil production is expected closely match the demand in 2020 as OPEC+ increases its output. This was a significant change from last months outlook which predicted a shortage of supply by 2026. Gold rose 1.1% to $4.155.90 an ounce. The precious metals are continuing to break records. Bitcoin dropped 1.9% to $113.629.29 while ether fell 3% to $4.161.79.
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Iron ore prices fall on profit-taking, as the focus shifts from rising supplies to weak steel
Iron ore futures fell on Tuesday as investors booked profit after focusing back on expectations of growing ore supplies in the remainder of 2025. Meanwhile, steel demand in China, the top consumer, is seasonally slowing. As of 0331 GMT, the most traded January iron ore contract at China's Dalian Commodity Exchange fell by 1.82% to $784 yuan (US$109.90) per metric ton. Earlier in the session, it reached its highest level since 23 September at 809.5 Yuan. As of 0321 GMT the benchmark November iron ore traded on Singapore Exchange fell 2.08% to $100.55 a ton after reaching its highest level in February at $108.05. Rio Tinto, the world's biggest iron ore supplier, said Tuesday that it must finish strong in order to reach its target for iron ore shipments. Analyst Chu Xinli at broker China Futures said that the price rally on Monday night was driven by a reaction to a potential rise in ore transport costs, which will in fact have hardly any impact. "Therefore it is necessary to reprice today which contributed in part to a downward adjustment." On Tuesday, the United States and China will start charging port fees to ocean shipping companies that transport everything from holiday toys or crude oil. The high seas are now a major front in the trade dispute between the two world's largest economies. Analysts said that investors were compelled to liquidate long positions in order to cash out profits due to the looming headwinds caused by rising supply and weakening demand. This led to a collapse of prices. Coke and other steelmaking materials, such as coking coal, fell by 0.83% et 0.82% respectively. The benchmark steel prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange are down significantly. Rebar fell 1%, while hot-rolled coils and wire rods dropped 0.95% and stainless steel declined 0.99%. ($1 = 7.134 Chinese yuan) (Reporting and editing by Rashmi aich; Amy Lv, Lewis Jackson)
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Mayors of the United States to lead at COP30 instead of Trump
Brazil Climate Talks to Focus on Local Implementation American mayors participate in climate talks despite a waning domestic climate Local leaders offer assurance and seek help from global partners By Carey L. Biron Watson and other U.S. Mayors are looking forward to the November U.N. global COP30 climate talk in Belem Brazil. They want to use this summit to reaffirm and expand their climate work, and to find new ideas and support. "We are proving, in a time when the government is under pressure to take action on climate change, that cities can grow and prosper while reducing emissions at the same." Donald Trump, who called climate change "a con job" during the U.N. General Assembly meeting in September 2017, has twice withdrawn from Paris Climate Agreement and cancelled clean energy investment worth tens or billions of dollars. The White House referred all questions to the State Department which didn't respond to a detailed request. Taylor Rogers, White House spokesperson, said in an email that "for far too long arbitrary climate targets have bankrupted countries and sent manufacturing to other countries who don't follow the rules." She said: "It's time to stop these brutal green policies before it's too late and they destroy the free world." Austin's plan to reduce emissions by 30 percent is threatened because of federal cuts made in the past. The mayor would like to discuss with local leaders how to fund projects, protect residents from extreme weather conditions and strategies to combat climate misinformation. COP30 hosts Brazil has put particular emphasis on local government, while an event in Rio de Janeiro before the official summit will attract hundreds of mayors. Julie Cerqueira is chief program officer at the Natural Resources Defense Council in Washington. She said, "I hope we see state and local governments as well as the private sector continue to be the drivers for climate action." NEW CHAPTER According to University of Maryland, cities, states, and businesses in the United States could reduce greenhouse gas emissions up to 62% between 2035 and 2035 by continuing to take action. The U.S. has its own city regulators who set the budgets. They have a particular say in building codes, waste management, transportation and local adoption of renewable energies. Kate Johnson, North America Director for C40, an international network of cities, explained that U.S. Cities are looking forward to the COP30 in order to discuss innovative financing solutions and build partnerships with other cities. She cited the rise of local funding that has been successful, including Seattle's $1.6 billion in transportation funding approved by voters. This money will be used for expanding bike lanes, electric vehicle charging stations, and testing low-emission delivery services, among other things. But cities will require more funding. C40 estimates that in its recent report, urban climate action will cost $4.5 trillion annually globally until 2030. Ayse Kaa, professor of political science at Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania, says that the COP is still a national-led process. However, in recent years, local officials have been given more credit for their role in climate action. How many EV chargers will a city need in the near future and now? She said that local leaders are the best. Ready Playbook Trump's second term has seen him roll back more sustainability measures, following in the footsteps of his predecessor Joe Biden and his multi-billion dollar clean energy plans. Cerqueira said that the cities' experiences of Trump's first presidency from 2017-2021 have strengthened partnerships with state and local leaders, as well as other governments, on climate action. She said, "This time, they've already shown this muscle." They're connected to the multilateral system and know how they can contribute towards these international climate goals. Many cities have set more ambitious goals than their governments to reduce emissions. Many American cities are suffering from budget cuts in part because Biden's climate investment was primarily aimed at local implementation. Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said, "We have been profoundly affected by the changes in energy policy." We've seen a few companies go out of business in the EV sector. "We are really seeing some major cuts in the clean-energy sector." Gallego is the chair of Climate Mayors. This national network, which includes 349 local leaders, was formed in 2017 when the United States withdrew for the first time from the Paris Agreement.
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Asian markets struggle to recover as Wall Street recovers
Asian stocks recovered in the early trading on Tuesday. There was a mixed recovery across regional equity markets, following signs that trade talks between the U.S. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan rose 0.5% last, while S&P 500 Futures gained 0.3%. This extended the recovery from Monday's Wall Street session after U.S. Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent stated that U.S. president Donald Trump is still on track to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at the end of October in South Korea. Wall Street's major indexes After Trump's more conciliatory remarks about the U.S. China trade tensions, chipmakers led to a 2.2% increase in Monday's closing prices. The market's gains were reversed abruptly on Friday, after Trump announced 100% tariffs against China. This brought back memories of the volatility that followed April's "Liberation Day". The selloff was only stopped after Trump's conciliatory message on Truth Social. Citi analysts stated in a report that they did not anticipate an escalation in trade tensions between Beijing & Washington. The U.S. might have to adjust its negotiation strategy because China is the only country that has bargaining power. The Kospi index in South Korea gained 1% and Taiwanese shares increased 2.2%. Samsung Electronics projected that its third-quarter operating profits would increase by 32% from the year before, exceeding analysts' expectations as demand for conventional memories chips helped offset weaker sales of high bandwidth memory chips. The Nikkei index of Japan fell 1.2% last time the markets opened after a long holiday. Australian shares also declined 0.1%. The U.S. Dollar was up by 0.1% against the yen at 152.40yen. Last trading, the dollar index, which measures greenback strength in relation to a basket six currencies, stood at 99.289. The Federal Reserve is expected to ease interest rates later in the month, according to traders. According to CME Group’s FedWatch tool, the pricing of Fed funds futures indicates a 97.8% chance of a 25 basis-point cut in interest rates during the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on October 29. This is compared to a 98.3% probability a day before. After French President Emmanuel Macron refused to resign, the euro barely changed at $1.1566. His latest government is threatened by two motions of no confidence that could topple it by the end this week. Brent crude last rose 0.4% to $63.56 a barrel, after an OPEC Report on Monday revealed that world oil supply will closely match demand in the next year, as OPEC+ increases production. This is a significant change from last months outlook, which predicted a shortage of supply by 2026. Gold rose 0.7% to $4138.39 an ounce. The precious metals are continuing to break records. Bitcoin fell 0.9% to $114,789.90 while Ether dropped 1.5% to $42,314.
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As tensions between the US and China ease, oil prices are on the rise.
Early signs of a thaw between U.S. and China trade tensions helped to boost market sentiment on Tuesday, easing concerns about global fuel demand. U.S. Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent stated on Monday that President Donald Trump is committed to meeting Chinese president Xi Jinping later this month in South Korea as both countries attempt to deescalate tensions regarding tariff threats and export control. He said that the two sides had been in contact over the weekend, and that more meetings are expected. Brent crude futures were up 18 cents or 0.28% to $63.50 per barrel at 0000 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 16 cents or 0.27% to $59.65 per barrel. Brent closed 0.9% higher in the previous session and U.S. WTI ended up 1%. Oil markets have historically been buoyed by the prospect of better trade relations between two of the largest economies in the world, as investors expect stronger global growth. Recent developments such as China's increased export controls for rare earths, and Trump's threat of 100% tariffs on software and export restrictions beginning November 1 have dampened sentiment. Last week, the oil price posted weekly losses. It reached its lowest level since May. Trump also questioned a possible meeting between Xi and Trump during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit (APEC), scheduled to take place in South Korea from October 30-November 1. He said on Truth Social, "there seems to be no need to do this." Geopolitics is expected to continue to dominate the headlines, despite the fact that the markets' sell-off now appears to be limited due to Washington and Beijing adopting a more conciliatory tone. Daniel Hynes is an analyst with ANZ. He wrote in a report that "the oil industry continues its geopolitical navigation." "China announced it would tax U.S. ships that arrive at its shores including oil tankers." Hynes said that this led to several cancellations at the last minute and an increase in shipping costs. Trump, who on Monday announced the end of a two-year Gaza war which has shook the Middle East in general and impacted the stock market, also limited the upside. In its latest monthly report, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, including Russia, said that the shortfall in oil supply on the market will decrease in 2026 as the broader OPEC+ coalition moves forward with planned production increases.
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Banks drag Australian shares and overshadow mining record
The Australian share market edged down on Tuesday, as a decline in banks overshadowed a record-high in mining stocks. Rio Tinto, however, hit a new two-week-high after the miner announced a sequential 6% increase in its third quarter iron ore shipment, just missing expectations. By 0007 GMT, the S&P/ASX 200 index had fallen 0.1% to 8,877.80. The benchmark index ended Monday 0.8% lower. The local mining index rose 3.5%, reaching a new record high. This was due to higher iron ore prices. Positive data overshadowed concerns about renewed Sino-U.S. tensions. Rio Tinto's shares rose as much as 3,8%, as the company's copper production surpassed its full-year projection. However, it warned that a strong quarter in the fourth quarter would be needed to achieve the lower end of the annual target for iron ore shipment. BHP and Fortescue, two of its peers, rose by 2.9% and 2.6%. Gold stocks rose 4.1% and reached a new record as bullion broke through the $4,100 mark for the first-time on renewed U.S. China trade tensions. The gold miners Northern Star Resources (Northern Star Resources) and Evolution Mining (Evolution Mining) both added 4,1% and 3,8% respectively. The benchmark was weighed down by the banks, which fell as much as 1,4%. Three of the "Big Four'" banks lost between 1,7% and 1.8%. The sub-index for real estate fell by 1.3%, while discretionary stocks dropped 1.8%. Local traders are eagerly awaiting the unemployment statistics, which will be released on Thursday, to determine what interest rate decision the central bank will make. The benchmark S&P/NZX50 index in New Zealand fell by 1%, to 13,224.46. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced that it would ease restrictions on mortgage loan-to value ratios as of December 1, as house prices have now fallen to a level within which they can be considered sustainable. (Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)
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Report: World falling behind deforestation targets with farms and fires driving the loss
According to the 2025 Forest Declaration Assessment, the world is far behind its global goal of reversing deforestation in 2030. The losses are primarily driven by agricultural expansions and forest fires. In 2024, the report stated that the world lost permanently 8.1 million hectares of forest (about 20 million acres), an area roughly the size of England. This puts the planet 63% below the goal set out by 140 countries in their 2021 Glasgow Leaders' Declaration on Forests and Land Use. Climate Focus, a consultancy, coordinated the Forest Declaration Assessment, which brings together think tanks, advocacy groups, research organizations and non-governmental organisations. The Amazon rainforest was particularly affected, and will release nearly 800 million tons of CO2 in 2024. "Major Fire Years Used to Be Outliers. Now They're The Standard" Erin Matson is the lead author of Forest Declaration Assessment. She said that these fires were largely caused by humans. They're related to land clearing and climate change-induced dryness, as well as to a lack of law enforcement. In previous reports, it was also revealed that Amazon fires caused unprecedented forest losses. Brazil led the tropical forest loss while Bolivia saw its forest loss increase by 200% between 2024 and 2026. The global forest assessment of this year also revealed that permanent agriculture was responsible for 86% of global deforestation on average over the past decade. The report also listed coal and gold mining as major sources of deforestation. Matson added that over $400 billion of agricultural subsidies is driving deforestation. She said that the incentives were "completely backwards", noting that international public financing for forest protection, restoration and conservation averaged only $5.9 billion per year. The report estimates $117 billion up to $299 billion of financing will be needed to achieve the 2030 goals. Matson, who is a member of the Brazilian delegation to the COP30 (the United Nations Climate Change Conference) that will begin in Brazil in November, points out the proposed Tropical Forest Forever Facility. This facility aims to raise $125 Billion in funding to support long-term forest financing as a means to stem forest losses. The fund would be funded by private investors and governments. It could distribute $3.4 billion per year, with 20% of that going to local and indigenous communities. Matson stated that a successful launch by the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) could help to provide long-term, reliable financing to keep forests standing. "So, looking at the deforestation picture globally, it's dark. But we might be in the darkness just before dawn," Matson said.
EBay wins dismissal of US lawsuit over sale of damaging products
A federal judge dismissed a U.S. Department of Justice suit accusing eBay of breaching environmental laws by permitting the sale of numerous countless harmful items on its platform, including pesticides and devices to avert automobile contamination controls.
U.S. District Judge Orelia Merchant in Brooklyn ruled on Monday that Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act, which protects online platforms from liability over user content, protected eBay from liability in the civil lawsuit.
The judge said eBay's administrative and technical support to sellers does not materially contribute to the products' alleged unlawfulness and does not make the San Jose, California company a publisher or speaker on sellers' behalf.
Merchant also said eBay was not a seller of some of the challenged items, since it did not physically possess them or hold title. She declined the government's argument that eBay was a seller since it exchanged the products for cash.
The Justice Department did not right away respond to requests for comment. Ebay and its attorneys did not right away respond to comparable requests.
In its Sept. 2023 complaint, the Justice Department accused eBay of illegally permitting the sale of more than 343,000 aftermarket defeat gadgets that assist lorries produce more power and get better fuel economy by averting emissions controls.
The company likewise was accused of allowing sales of 23,000 unregistered, misbranded or restricted-use pesticides.
EBay also supposedly dispersed more than 5,600 paint and coating elimination items which contained methylene chloride, a. chemical connected to brain and liver cancer and non-Hodgkin. lymphoma.
The government stated eBay's conduct breached the Clean Air. Act; the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act;. and the Toxic Substances Control Act.
The case is U.S. v eBay Inc, U.S. District Court, Eastern. District of New York City, No. 23-07173.
(source: Reuters)