Latest News
-
Officials say seven people were killed in Russian attacks on eastern Ukraine
Officials said that on Monday, a Russian strike on frontline localities in eastern Ukraine killed seven people and injured more than twenty. Three people were killed in two locations near Kostiantynivka, a contested city, according to prosecutors in Donetsk Region. The Russian military claimed this month that its forces had captured Kostiantynivka. However, Ukrainian officials denied the city's change of hands. Four people were killed in the area of Kramatorsk. This heavily fortified "fortress city" is considered crucial to Ukraine's defenses. The prosecutors said that 18 people had been injured in the Donetsk Region. Oleksandr Hansha, the Governor of Dnipropetrovsk Region said that more than 50 artillery and drone attacks were conducted on five districts. Two people were killed near the town of 'Nikopol', which is a Russian target that is often used on the north bank if the Dnipro River. One person was killed near the town of Syneklykove in the east. A Ukrainian drone hit a building in Russia's Belgorod Region and killed one person. Two others were injured. (Reporting and editing by Nick Zieminski, Cynthia Osterman, and Ron Popeski)
-
Retailers shun central Mexico produce as US cyclospora outbreak spreads, former FDA chief says
Scott Gottlieb, former U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner, said that some large retailers and restaurants stopped sourcing products from a central Mexican region linked to a growing cyclosporiasis epidemic in the United States because they were concerned about widespread contamination. A?FDA investigation? has linked the outbreak with iceberg lettuce served in Taco Bell restaurants that was sourced from Taylor Farms operations in central Mexico. Health officials are looking for other products that could be causing people to get sick, as the cases continue climbing. A widespread contamination of imported products could increase the risk for consumers to contract cyclosporiasis. Cyclosporiasis, a parasitic illness that causes explosive diarrhea, is caused by a parasite. Gottlieb stated that removing products from supply chain links to central Mexico could mitigate these risks. Gottlieb told CNBC that multiple clusters of outbreaks in New York, North Carolina and the Great Lakes Region appeared to be linked to parsley from central Mexico. However, investigators had not yet determined the exact source. Gottlieb: "I think everyone believes that area is suspect." "A large amount of this product is being removed from supply chains." He was unable to identify the companies that were removing their products and could not confirm immediately which retailers had stopped sourcing "Mexican Produce". CONCERNS OVER RAW SEWAGE Gottlieb stated that weather conditions increased the risk of contamination. He said that raw sewage may have reached the growing areas due to flooding, a sewage leak, irrigation water, or overflowing portable restrooms used by farmworkers. Gottlieb explained that "some event happened in central Mexico, we do not know what it was yet. It probably led to many fields getting contaminated." Taylor Farms and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services did not have any immediate comments. Taylor Farms said that it voluntarily halted production at its central Mexico facility and removed immediately all potentially affected products when questions were raised about the source. After extensive discussions, the FDA stated that Taylor Farms had agreed to remove the affected products from their market. The company failed to meet the 24-hour deadline for deciding whether or not it would take voluntary actions after the agency provided it with evidence. CLIMB CASES According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are 4,173 cases that have been confirmed in a laboratory. Health authorities also know of 7,400 other suspected cases. Gottlieb stated that cases are likely to be underreported and the true extent of the infection is likely 10-20 times greater than reported case numbers. He said, "This is by far the largest outbreak of cyclospora we have ever seen." Michigan reported 9,253 new cases on Monday, up 1,077 since the last update. Health officials in the county said that they believed other unidentified items were making people sick, besides Taylor Farms lettuce from Mexico. Avani Sheth is the chief medical officer for Wayne County in Michigan, which includes Detroit. MEXICAN INDUSTRIES URGES CAUTION Analysts in Mexico said that it is important to wait until the official investigation results are released. Mario Puente, head of health and safety at Mexico's CNA agriculture chamber, said that the trade association worked closely with the authorities to investigate the outbreak, and improve prevention practices. Raul Urteaga is a former Mexican official who founded the consulting group Global Agrotrade Advisors. Urteaga stated that the Mexican sanitary agency SENASICA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's FDA conduct regular inspections at the border as well as on-site. SENASICA, as well as major U.S. grocery chains and restaurant chains, did not respond immediately to requests for comments. Mexican authorities confirmed last week that Taylor Farms' irrigation was from company-owned, certified wells. The Mexican authorities did not find any health problems among the workers and both water samples and lettuce samples tested negative. According to GCMA consultancy, Mexico exports 550,000 tons of salad each year. Almost all of it is to the U.S. where it accounts for four fifths of imported lettuce. Five states in the central and northern part of Mexico produce more than three quarters of all Mexican lettuce. Central Guanajuato, home to Taylor Farms main operations in Mexico, produces the most lettuce at 28%. GCMA Director Juan Carlos Anaya found it surprising lettuce samples had not yet tested for cyclospora, and that only a few confirmed cases of illness in Mexico. He said, "The situation in Canada is different from that of the United States and we also eat lettuce."
-
Oil and Treasury yields fall on Iran-US pause
Oil prices fell and Treasury yields dropped on Monday after the United States paused its two-week long attack against Iran. News of the news sparked hopes of a diplomatic solution to deescalate conflict and allow shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Investors were cautious as tensions continued to rise. Donald Trump stated on Monday that the United States is having "good discussions" with Iran and that there is a possibility of a settlement to their conflict. However, he added, if negotiations fail, U.S. attacks will resume. Jeff Klingelhofer is the managing director of Aristotle Pacific Capital, based in Newport Beach, California. He said, "What the markets are struggling with is the constant kind of back-and-forth where it appears that Donald Trump has the ability to control the sentiment, despite investors not having an off ramp or an end to war?and durable lower oil prices." Investors were also kept away from the market by central bank interest rate decisions, and earnings of key tech companies due this week. U.S. crude oil fell 8.21%, to $81.98 per barrel. Brent dropped to $87.77 a barrel on the same day, down by 9.31%. The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10 year notes dropped 3.03 basis points from 4.679% to?4.649% at late Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had the best performance of all major U.S. stocks, gaining 262.98 points or 0.51% to 52,210.23. The S&P 500 gained 1.24 points or 0.02% to 7,413.22, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 43.74 points or 0.17% to 24,932.08. The pan-European STOXX 600 Index rose 0.02% while Europe's FTSEurofirst 300 Index fell 1.11 points or 0.04%. Central banks are expected to remain unchanged when the U.S. Federal Reserve's?two day meeting concludes on Wednesday. However, traders still see a possibility of a rate hike. The Fed's expectations have been thrown into turmoil after recent increases in oil prices rekindled inflation fears. Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh’s preference for less guidance adds to the uncertainty about whether the central banks will raise rates. Fed funds futures traders currently price in 38% odds that a hike will occur on Wednesday, and 83% of an increase occurring by September. In a recent note, Edward Jones Senior Analyst Brian Therien stated that "a hold is most likely to occur. However, a few votes in favor of an increase are possible." The Bank of England is expected to announce its policy on Thursday. This will be followed by the Bank of Japan's announcement on Friday. Both are expected keep rates unchanged while indicating continued caution regarding inflation risks. The dollar fell 0.07% to 163.73 yen. Gold prices rose 0.73% on commodity markets to $4,082.16 per ounce. A WAVE of?Companies Report Earnings Investors will also be watching the earnings of S&P companies, as approximately one-third are due to report their results this week. The results of "Magnificent Seven' members Microsoft, Amazon.com Meta, and Apple are expected to be a major test for the AI industry. The negative cash-flow reports of Alphabet and Tesla from last week added to the concerns about debt-fueled spending by corporations, while Chinese Chipmaker CXMT’s strong stock-market debut signaled an intensifying competition in the U.S. Semiconductor Industry. The week's data highlights include the U.S. second-quarter advance GDP reading. Calendar highlights include the June PCE Price Index, personal income and?consumption?data and weekly jobless claims. Also included are the second-quarter Employment Cost Index, and the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey. The data released on Monday revealed that orders for U.S. manufactured capital goods rose strongly in June, while shipments increased by the most since 4-1/2 years. Businesses ramped up spending on artificial inteligence. This suggests the economy maintained an?economic growth rate of about 2% in the second quarter. The Eurozone data schedule includes the flash second-quarter GDP and July consumer confidence figures, as well as the flash inflation and June unemployment numbers. Ifo Institute survey released on Monday revealed that German business morale was higher than expected in the month of July. This was due to significantly higher expectations. Reporting by Karen Brettell, Additional reporting by Sruthi Shakar, Chuck Mikolajczak Johann M Cherian Will Dunham Ragini Mathematics Florence Tan Trixie Yap, Editing by Joe Bavier, Aurora Ellis.
-
Gold increases as oil declines due to a pause in US/Iran strikes. Fed rate decision is in focus
Gold prices rose Monday as a pause between hostilities between the United States of America and Iran sent crude oil to a new low. This eased inflation fears ahead of this week's U.S. rate decision. Spot gold rose 0.5% to $4,074.22 an ounce at 1:45 pm EDT (1745 GMT), whereas U.S. Gold Futures for August Delivery settled 0.2% higher, at $4,077.00. The U.S. Dollar?index has weakened by 0.1%, allowing buyers to purchase greenback bullion at a lower price. Bart Melek is global head of commodity strategies at TD Securities. Brent futures dropped over 8%, to a new low in a week as?U.S. Donald Trump said to reporters that "good talks" are taking place with Iran "right away". After two weeks of strikes, the two countries have paused their attacks over the weekend. This has raised hopes of a diplomatic resolution that will de-escalate this conflict and allow shipping in the Strait of Hormuz to resume. Lower energy costs ease inflation fears and reduce bets on higher interest rates for longer. Gold is often seen as a hedge to inflation but higher rates can weigh down on the metal. CME FedWatch data shows that traders see a 62% chance of the policymakers keeping interest rates unchanged. They are, however,?pricing about an 82% chance that the U.S. will raise rates in September. Investors are also awaiting the U.S. The Personal Consumption Spending data for June is due Thursday. This will provide further clues on monetary policy. Data from Hong Kong's Census and Statistics Department revealed that China's net imports of gold via Hong Kong had more than doubled from June to the same month last year, but were down?more? than 5% on the previous months. (Reporting by Noel John in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid, Jan Harvey and Joyjeet Das) (Reporting from Noel John, Bengaluru. Editing by Tasimzahid, Jan Harvey and Joyjeet Das.
-
Oil and Treasury yields fall on Iran-US pause
Oil prices fell and Treasury yields declined on Monday after U.S.-Iran paused their strikes over the weekend, stopping two weeks of attacks. This news raised hopes of a diplomatic resolution that would deescalate conflict and allow shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to resume. Investors were cautious as tensions continued to rise. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Iraq all reported drone strikes on Monday as Tehran seemed to be testing President Donald Trump's new strategic U-turn. Jay Hatfield is the chief executive officer and chief investment office at Infrastructure Capital Advisors, a New York-based firm. We were of the opinion that Iran would not come to an agreement on a long term basis, but we thought they'd kick the can to the side. We might see a few more can-kickings. Investors are also avoiding the market this week because of central bank interest rate decisions, and earnings from key tech companies. U.S. crude dropped 7.51%, to $82.56 per barrel. Brent fell to $88.90 a barrel, down by 8.14% for the day. The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10 year notes dropped 3.23 basis points from 4.679% to 4.647% late Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the largest U.S. stock market index, was the best performer, with a gain of 89.22 points or 0.17% to 52,036.47. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 dropped 22.25 points or 0.30% to 7,389.76, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 147.31 or 0.59% to 24,828.52. The pan-European STOXX 600 Index?rose by 0.02% while Europe's FTSEurofirst 300 Index fell by 1.11 points or 0.04%. CENTRAL BANKS IN FOCUS When its two-day meeting ends on Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve will likely hold rates at their current level. However, traders do see a chance of a rate hike. The expectations of the Fed have been thrown into a tizzy after recent increases in oil prices reignited fears about inflation. Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh’s preference for less guidance adds to the uncertainty about whether the central banks will raise rates. Fed funds futures traders currently price in 38% odds that a hike will occur on Wednesday, and 83% of an increase occurring by September. Bank of England announces its policy on Thursday. Bank of Japan follows on Friday. Both are expected keep rates unchanged while highlighting the continued caution regarding inflation risks. The dollar dropped 0.09% versus the yen to 163.69. Gold prices rose 0.57% on the commodity markets to $4,075.74 per ounce. Companies Report Earnings in Waves Investors will also be watching the earnings of S&P 500 companies, as approximately one-third are due to report their results this week. The results of "Magnificent 7" members Microsoft.com, Amazon.com Meta, and Apple are seen as an important test for the AI industry. The negative cash-flow reports of Alphabet and Tesla from last week added concerns about debt-fueled spending by corporations, while the strong stock market debut of Chinese?chipmaker CXMT signaled a?intensifying competitive environment for the U.S. Semiconductor Industry. This is a big week. This week could decide whether hyperscalers outperform semiconductors and memory for the rest of the year," Thomas Hayes said, chairman at Great Hill Capital. The week's data highlights include an advance reading of the U.S. second-quarter GDP. Weekly jobless claims data, the PCE price index for June, personal income and expenditure data, the second quarter employment cost index and the Michigan consumer sentiment study round out the calendar. Data released on Monday shows that orders for U.S. manufactured capital goods rose strongly in June, while shipments grew by 'the most in four-and-a half years' as businesses increased spending on artificial intelligence. This suggests the economy maintained an accelerated pace of growth in the second. The data schedule for the Eurozone includes the flash second-quarter GDP figures, July consumer sentiment and economic sentiment, as well as the flash inflation and June unemployment numbers. Ifo Institute survey released on Monday revealed that German business morale was higher than expected in the month of July. This is due to significantly higher expectations. Reporting by Karen Brettell, Additional reporting by Sruthi Shakar, Chuck Mikolajczak Johann M Cherian Ragini Mathur Florence Tan and Trixie YAP; Editing and proofreading by Joe Bavier, Aurora Ellis and Joe Bavier
-
US Treasury continues to review its sanctions list and removes 84 individuals and firms
The U.S. Treasury has purged 84 more companies and individuals from its list of 17,000+ sanctions as part a larger?effort to streamline sanctions programs, and to make it easier for banks to pursue?the most serious terrorist financing schemes. In May, U.S. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent launched a major revision of its sanction programs and lists in order to remove outdated entries. This would ease compliance burdens for financial institutions. Later, he announced the removal of outdated targets. A Treasury official stated that the goal was "to ensure Treasury sanction remain sharp and focused and to remove any bloat from previous administrations," noting that over 3,000 names had been designated in 2024 compared with just 880 in 2017. Sanctions aren't meant to be used forever. Bessent also highlighted that the Trump administration was willing to impose sanctions against Russia's biggest oil companies, Rosneft & Lukoil. This is a move the Biden administration avoided out of fear of an increase in oil prices after Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine 2022. The second batch of removals on Monday from Treasury's Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List includes 36 people that have died and their?associated listings, 33 Iraqi-related entities designated first in 1991 or 1992, seven outdated or defunct narcotics lists related to Colombia and eight disrupted drug kingpins. Treasury's Office for Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), updated the listings of 22 individuals and companies to include or clarify key identifiers that were missing. Treasury noted that each removal was done after a thorough review by other agencies, to make sure that the names removed would not be detrimental to U.S. national security or foreign policy interests. Brett Erickson is the managing principal of Obsidian Risk Advisors and he said that the Trump administration's efforts to streamline the list of sanctions makes sense. It will allow banks to concentrate on the most legitimate threats. He said that "at a time when so many things are happening on the front of sanctions, it is important to be as effective as possible or risk failure." The review so far has been focused on older sanctions, where there are often missing identifying information, such as place and date birth, unique identification numbers, nationality or gender. Treasury stated that adding more robust data would make compliance screening easier for financial institutions. Treasury noted that OFAC also found a few duplicate entries in its sanction lists. The?same property or person was included under different list entries more than once, Treasury stated. Treasury said in an internal document that it is reviewing targets that are outdated or difficult to screen in order to reduce the compliance burden for financial institutions, as well as improve national security outcomes. It added that the impact of sanctions should not be measured by the number of names on a list, but rather the effect, the impact, and the national security benefit. Treasury launched on June 29, a new portal online that allows sanctioned persons or firms to request to be removed from the list. This is part of an effort to streamline the process. Reporting by Andrea Shalal, Editing by Andrea Ricci
-
Gold increases as oil declines due to a pause in US/Iran strikes. Fed rate decision is in focus
Gold prices rose Monday, as the pause in hostilities involving?the United States?and?Iran?sent?crude oil to a week-low. This eased inflation fears ahead of this week's U.S. rate decision. Spot gold rose 0.9% to $4,090.79 an ounce at 12:35 pm EDT (1635 GMT), and U.S. Gold Futures for August Delivery rose 0.5%, reaching $4,093.00. The U.S. Dollar Index has weakened by?0.1% making greenback bullion prices more affordable to buyers abroad. Bart 'Melek is global head of commodity strategies at TD Securities. He said that the main reason for the lower interest rates is because the oil'market has fallen from $100 to $90 in the last week. Brent futures dropped 8%, to a new one-week low after U.S. president Donald?Trump said that "good talks" are taking place with Iran "right now". After two weeks of strikes, the U.S. paused its attacks over the weekend. This raised hopes for a diplomatic solution to deescalate this conflict and restore shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Lower energy prices reduce inflation fears and lower bets on higher interest rates for longer. Gold is often seen as a hedge to inflation, but higher interest rates can be detrimental to the metal. CME FedWatch data shows that 66% of traders expect policymakers to keep interest rates the same. They are pricing in an 80% probability of a rate increase in the U.S. in September. Investors are also awaiting the U.S. The Fed's preferred measure of inflation, Personal Consumption Spending data for June, is due Thursday. This will provide further clues about monetary policy. Data from Hong Kong’s?Census and Statistics Department revealed on Monday that China's net imports of gold via Hong Kong had more than doubled from the previous year in June. However, they had?fallen more than 5% compared to?the preceding month. Silver spot rose by 1.3%, to $58.94 an ounce. Platinum gained 2.7%, to $1.631.42, while palladium rose 4.1%, to $1.294.75. (Reporting from Noel John, Bengaluru. Editing by Tasim Zaid and Jan Harvey.
-
Former FDA chief: Central Mexico could have widespread cyclosporiasis infection
Scott Gottlieb, former U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner, said on Monday that'some large growers and retail outlets have stopped sourcing their produce from a region in Central?Mexico linked to a cyclosporiasis epidemic because they are concerned about widespread contamination. A?FDA investigation linked the outbreak to Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce, served at?Taco Bell owned by Yum Brands, in nine states. Health regulators are investigating other products. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are 4,173 confirmed cases in laboratories, and more than 7,400 suspected cases. Michigan, where more than 9,000 cases have been recorded, said that it was still searching for the cause of any ongoing cases. Gottlieb, speaking on CNBC, said that multiple outbreak clusters in the Great Lakes Region, New York, and North Carolina appeared to be related to parsley?and cilantro?from Central Mexico. However, investigators haven't determined the exact source. A parasite of microscopic size, Cyclospora can cause gastrointestinal problems that last for a long time. Gottlieb stated that there may have been contamination in multiple fields of the area. He said that raw sewage may have reached the growing areas via irrigation, flooding, portable toilets overflowing by farm workers, or a sewage channel breach. "It seems that something happened in the central part of Mexico. He said, "We don't yet know what." The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has not responded to the request. Requests for comments were not answered by U.S. grocery stores such as Walmart, Target, Costco, and Amazon Fresh. Restaurant operators like Taco Bell, Chipotle, Wendy's, and Taylor Farms also did not reply. Multiple Cluster Gottlieb stated that some of the 'larger growers' and retailers no longer source produce from the area because they 'are viewed as possibly?linked to outbreak. He said that a lot of this product was being removed from supply chains. This should help to mitigate the risk. He did not name the companies. Taylor Farms has said that it is no longer sourcing its products from the region, and closed down its production facilities there. Gottlieb stated that weather conditions have increased the?risks of contamination. This has led officials to expect a?worse-than-usual season for cyclospora. Gottlieb said that the real number of cases may be 10 to 20 times higher than what is reported. This is the biggest outbreak of cyclospora we've seen in history. (Reporting from Siddhi Mahtole in Bengaluru; Additional Reporting by Anuja Mistry, Editing by Caroline Humer and Tasim Zaid)
Australia is considering building its first oil refinery domestically in 60 years
Australia announced on Tuesday that it will 'consider building its first new oil refinery for more than 60 Years, as the war in the Middle East squeezes overseas supplies and highlights the urgency of improving energy security.
A government statement said that the federal government and Western Australia's state government would jointly spend A$4m ($2.8m) on a feasibility study of the refinery.
Australia imports 80% of the fuel it uses and is racing to get supplies in light of the Iran 'war.
The majority of Australia's oil refineries were built in the 1950s and 1960s. However, high operating costs as well as the rise of large refineries in Asia have forced many of them to close over the last three decades.
"This is a matter of fuel security - for the entire nation. But, of course, Western Australia will be left with no fuel refining capability after the closure of the BP facility in Kwinana by 2021. It's an important initiative," Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King said to ABC Radio.
Ampol's Queensland refining facility and Viva Energy's facility in Victoria – both?on Australia's east coast – are the only two operative now, compared with eight in 2000.
(source: Reuters)