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Bosnia's UNESCO Vjetrenica wind cave' offers relief from heatwave
The UNESCO listed Vjetrenica Cave is a refuge for tourists in spite of the 40 degree Celsius heat in southern Bosnia. Vjetrenica (wind cave) is situated in the south part of Bosnia-Herzegovina, approximately 25 km (15 miles) north of Dubrovnik. In high season, cruise ships arrive daily with thousands of tourists. The cave is only open to a limited number of people due to the sensitivity of its environment. The cave's constant temperature of 11 degrees Celsius (52 F), year-round, has made it a haven for biodiversity and humans alike. Visitors groups up to 80 people can explore the labyrinthine 7.5 km of dark corridors, spacious chambers and eerie caverns. According to legend, fairies once danced all the way to the Adriatic Sea. "At first, when we enter the cave, there's a nice breeze. Then it gets very cold, and not only does it cool your eyes, but it also cools your body," said Ranjithkumar rajendran, a German neurobiologist who visited the cave with his family. "It is literally free air conditioning," said Mila Jankovic a young Serb who lives in England. Davor Bakovic is the director of Vjetrenica, the public institution which manages the cave. He said that the intense summer heatwaves meant that over half of last year's visitors arrived in the summer. He said that Vjetrenica is also working with scientific organisations in order to protect the biodiversity of the cave, which was home to hundreds organisms. Proteus Anguinus is the European Blind Cave Salamander, which can live for up to 100 Years. (Reporting and editing by Barbara Lewis; Daria SitoSucic)
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Wall Street to open mixed after European trading sentiment improves
Investor sentiment was boosted during European trading Thursday by optimism over company earnings. However, Wall Street is set for a mixed start, with Nasdaq Futures down following disappointment from traders. The markets were also awaiting the U.S. response to a proposed 'deal' between?Iran, Oman and traders who interpreted it as a step towards resolving the U.S. - Iran conflict. Investors turned cautious on AI spending and earnings from Western Digital, Sandisk, Advanced Micro Devices, and Sandisk failed to meet expectations. The rally continued as European markets opened. The pan-European STOXX600 reached a new high, fueled by media and telecommunications stocks. By 1102 GMT it was up by 0.4%, while London's FTSE '100 was up by 0.2%, France’s CAC 40 increased 0.7%, and Germany's DAX rose 0.2%. Wall Street futures are mixed. S&P 500 E-minis have a slight increase of 0.1%, but Nasdaq E-minis have a 0.7% drop on the day. Hani Redha of MetLife's multi-asset portfolio management said that the overnight losses are a natural correction for a rally which is set to continue. Wall Street has been pushed to new highs by strong earnings and renewed enthusiasm for AI-related tech shares. He said: "This is part of a general hangover after a great party we had in the markets over the last few sessions." "We are still pretty positive...I do not expect the same pace of returns as we have seen in the past few weeks but I think we're still in an?environment that is conducive to risk assets and equities?in particular." The oil prices initially remained below $80 a barrel after reports of a proposed agreement between Iran and Oman that could help end the U.S. - Iran conflict. This deal would give Tehran control of ships entering the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. has not commented on the proposal. It would be the largest concession to Iran so far. Prices rose during the European session. Brent crude futures last were up 1.1% for the day, at $80.34 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas intermediate futures were up by 1%, at $75.93. Gold briefly reached its highest level in seven weeks. MetLife's Redha stated that the U.S. - Iran conflict, along with AI expenditure, has been a major factor influencing the markets this year. However, the market is becoming less sensitive. "Overall, I would say that we have been less concerned about what appears to be negative developments in?that area. "It is a negative when oil prices spike, but I don't believe that it will derail the cycle," said?he. MARKETS ARE WAITING FOR PAYROLLS DATA The yields on government bonds in the Euro?zone were stable, with the benchmark German 10-year yield increasing by 1 basis point to 3.1159%. Currency markets are also quiet. The U.S. Dollar Index was also'steady' at 99.744. The Japanese yen is at 157.91 to the dollar. It has declined slightly in the last two sessions, and it has given back some of the gains that were made after the U.S. government and the Japanese government intervened on Friday. The report is scheduled for 1230 GMT and will show that the number of jobless claims increased from 197,000 to 202,000 in the week ending August 1. On Friday, the non-farm payrolls for July will be released. Mary Daly, the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco (who is not a member of the Federal Open Market Committee) said that she "completely supported" the decision made last week by the central bank to keep interest rates unchanged while it gathers additional data on how to respond to an inflation rate well above the 2% target.
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Tata Sons, India's Tata Group, is being pushed to list following central bank classification
The Reserve Bank of India announced on Thursday that it has included Tata Sons on its list of "upper-layer nonbanking financial companies", a category which faces stricter regulations. This will keep pressure on one the country's largest holding firms to go public, unless they receive an exemption. The?RBI stated that the classification will not affect Tata 'Sons' pending request to give up their NBFC registration. Tata Sons in India, which is the umbrella organization for 31 companies, including TCS and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, is under pressure to go public. This, despite the fact that the two-thirds of its conglomerate controlled by the charitable trust are battling internal disagreements. The RBI has designated large, systemically important nonbank lenders as upper-layer NBFCs. These are subject to stricter regulation. Tata Sons was not listed until now. The pressure to list from its internal stakeholders, such as the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, is increasing. The RBI has not stated explicitly whether Tata Sons will be required to comply only when its deregistration application is decided.
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Gold nears seven-week high amid easing concerns about rate hikes
Gold rose to a seven-week high Thursday, continuing gains into a fourth session as the hopes of reopening the Strait of Hormuz helped ease fears of inflation and rising interest rates. Gold spot was up 0.4% to $4,261.86 an ounce at 1125 GMT after hitting its highest level in June 18 earlier. Gold bullion rose to $4,267.24 an ounce on Wednesday, its highest daily gain since February. U.S. Gold Futures increased 0.4% to $4321.40. Gold tries to hold on to its recent gains amid increasing optimism surrounding the Strait of Hormuz. The hope for a diplomatic victory that restores oil flow is easing inflationary concerns and reducing aggressive Fed tightening betting, said Nikos Tzabouras. According to a senior Iranian official and two regional officials, the proposed deal between Iran & Oman would allow Tehran to control ships entering the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz. The market expectations of a rate increase in September have dropped to 55%, from 67% just two days ago. Gold is often seen as an inflation hedge, but it can lose its appeal when interest rates are high. Mary Daly, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco said that she "completely supported" the central bank's decision to keep interest rates at the same level as it gathers data on how to respond to inflation well above the 2% target. Investors await the release of the U.S. July nonfarm payrolls data on Friday. The ADP National Employment Report showed that U.S. Private Payrolls Growth?slowed down in July. Gold remains vulnerable to new pressures and 2026 lows. Tzabouras added that lingering pressures on prices keep rate-hike dissenters in the forefront and geopolitical risks are finely balanced. Any diplomatic setback could quickly revive those negative dynamics. Silver spot fell 0.6%, to $61.69. Palladium rose 1.4% to 1,382.87 and platinum was up 1% at $1,752.73. Both metals were up for the third session in a row. (Reporting and editing by Devika Syamnath in Bengaluru, Joyjeet Das and Joyjeet Sinha)
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Budapest dims historical landmarks during heatwave to save energy
Hungary turned off the decorative lighting in Budapest's Parliament?building, Buda Castle, and Chain Bridge during a heatwave to save energy. This disappointed some tourists, but was welcomed by locals --?and mayflies. In the neighbouring country of Romania, city halls, factories and churches dimmed lights, stopped production and rationed electricity to try and keep running the only nuclear reactor in operation. The heatwave that lasted for weeks and the record low water levels in the Danube prompted Hungary to shut down its only nuclear plant which relies on river water to cool, pushing the power supply to the limit. Temperatures were well above normal for August on Thursday. Silke Schneiders, German tourist, said: "I am very disappointed. I only come to Budapest once in my life. I climbed the hill yesterday to wait for the building to light up." "I went on a night river cruise, and the lights were all pitch black. Many Hungarians, however, said that it was a good decision because they had to reduce their power consumption in response to a government call to relieve pressure on the grid. Benjamin Thomas Tucker, a tourist, said: "It's a bummer, but I appreciate what I have and am grateful for it." Bucharest, Romania's capital, dimmed the street lights by a third Wednesday evening. It also turned off the lighting in museums and landmark buildings at night to conserve power. Similar measures are being implemented in other cities. The climate crisis has been a problem for many decades. It seems that we have reached this point because of poor decisions. The darkness would be beneficial to the mayflies of Budapest, a protected specie that swarms in large numbers during the summer months, according to?Gyorgy Krska, an associate professor at Eotvos Lorand University. Light pollution is harmful to mayflies, as they are attracted to lamps and lights on the riverbank. "Turning off the light is the best thing to do," Kriska said. Mayflies are a species of flies that emerge from water and reproduce in an incredibly fast pace. They can die within a matter of hours.
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Copper jumps six months high on tight supplies and supply concerns
On Thursday, copper prices reached their highest level in six months as concerns over tightening supplies outside of the United States coincided with the reduced supply of concentrates from 'Democratic Republic of Congo. Benchmark three-month Copper on the London Metal Exchange reached $14,275.50 per metric ton at 1005 GMT, up 1.2% from $14,369.5. This was the highest price since January 29, 2014, when it hit $14,527.5. Congo has banned the export of cobalt and copper concentrates as part of its efforts to "force domestic processing" and retain more value in their mineral resources. This development increased concerns about supply, and added to the uncertainty of possible U.S. tariffs. It kept COMEX Copper above the LME benchmark, and attracted?metal to U.S. storage facilities. COMEX copper contracts hit a new record of $6.723/lb and traded at a premium to the LME contracts on Thursday as the market priced in the possibility of a U.S. tariff decision. The COMEX contract for September was the most active, with a 1.3% increase at $6.817/lb ($15.029 per ton). The premium on LME Cash Copper over the 3-month contract The spread widened to $130 per ton, which is the highest since October. This indicates tightening supply conditions in the near term. Total copper stocks registered at the LME are now 226,650 tonnes, the lowest level since mid-February. StoneX estimates that at least 1.2 million tons of 'copper' have entered the U.S. from February 2025. This leaves about 64% global visible inventories within the country. Nickel was down 2.2% on the LME at $16,735 per tonne, after hitting its lowest level since July 13, at $16,565 following a report by Chinese market information hub SMM that one of Indonesia's miners received an additional quota to produce nickel ore. LME aluminium increased by 0.4% to $3.253.50. Zinc rose 1.7% to $4,790. Lead gained 0.5% at $1,894.50. Tin edged up by 0.1% to $56,515. (Reporting and editing by Kirsty Donovan; Additional reporting by Dylan Duan)
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Gold stirs at MORNING BID AMERICAS
What's important in the U.S. and international markets today by Mike Dolan Editor-at-Large of?Finance and Markets The markets remained in a holding pattern over the weekend as all eyes were on the July U.S. Employment Report and the latest agreement to end the Iran conflict. Below, I'll go into more detail. Check out my column about why the absence of full G7 firepower during the joint U.S. and Japanese currency intervention is important. Listen to the Morning Bid podcast where we talk about the latest Iran deal, and gold's largest one-day gain since six months. Subscribe to the Morning Bid daily podcast and hear our journalists discuss all of the latest news in finance and markets seven days a weeks. Brent crude fell below $80 a barrel as Iran hinted at a possible imminent plan with Oman. This potential deal would allow Tehran to maintain?control of the inbound traffic into the Strait of Hormuz. Washington's acceptance of that deal is not certain. The Nasdaq, which is a tech-heavy market, pulled back on Wednesday. It was stalled by the post-earnings stock prices of SpaceX, AMD, and Western Digital, two high-flying companies. The Dow Jones, on the other hand, reached a new high. Asian stocks took their cues from the tech sell-off stateside. South Korea's KOSPI fell more than 4%, and Japan's Nikkei almost 1%. Wall Street futures had a mixed start before the bell. Gold had its best day since'six months' on Wednesday. It reached its highest level in seven weeks. Gold is still nearly 20% lower than when the Iran War began in late February. The July U.S. payroll update is due tomorrow. ADP reported yesterday that private sector job gains in July were below expectations. The lower oil prices have helped to ease the pressure on the rate market and Treasuries. The markets also take into account what Fed members say ahead of the next meeting. Overnight, Lisa Cook, the board governor of the Federal Reserve said that she would be willing to raise interest rates if inflation did not fall soon. Mary Daly, a San Francisco resident, said she was comfortable with the Fed’s current stance while it awaits further data. Chart of the Day Gold, which had been languishing in the doldrums since the Iran War, enjoyed its best day in six months on Tuesday, reaching its highest level in about seven weeks. Gold is benefiting from the belief that the sharp decline in oil prices on the latest hope for an Iran agreement will relieve the Fed of the pressure to raise rates by the end of the year. As always, the gold market is a complex place. Not least, the fluctuation of central bank gold holdings and the diversification it provides to investment portfolios. Watch today's events * ?U.S. Weekly jobless claims (8.30 am EDT), Q2 labor costs and productivity (8.30 am EDT). * U.S. Corporate Earnings: Cloudflare ConocoPhillips Warner Bros? Want to receive Morning Bid every morning in your email? Subscribe to the newsletter by clicking here. Follow us on LinkedIn, X and ROI. The opinions expressed by the author are their own. These opinions do not represent those of News. News is bound by the Trust Principles to maintain integrity, independence and a lack of bias. (By Mike Dolan).
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Singapore's oil products stocks fall for the first time since June
Singapore's oil product stocks, Asia's "key fuel trading hub", registered their first weekly increase since June 24. This was due to a rise in the light distillate and residue fuels inventories that offset a decline in middle distillate stockpiles, according to government data. Enterprise Singapore's data shows that total onshore oil products stocks increased to 39.455 millions barrels from 37.952million barrels the previous week. RISE OF LIGHTS AND RESIDUAL FUELS The inventories of light distillate, which includes naphtha, gasoline and other fuels, rose for the second week in a row to 12.539 millions barrels during the week ending August 5. Residual fuel oil inventories also reached a new five-week record despite lower net imports. During the period, gasoline imports totaled about 263,000 metric tonnes (2.2million barrels), while exports reached around 533,000 tons. Indonesia led the way in terms of outbound gasoline volume, with about 255,000 metric tons. Malaysia was close behind at 148,000 metric tons. Malaysia, with nearly 45,000 tonnes of naphtha imported, and Australia with around 42,000 tons were the two largest importers. Singapore re-exported approximately 76,000 tons naphtha. All of it was shipped to China. Data showed that the residual fuel inventory was up 8% on a week-to-week basis, at 19,58 million barrels (3.08 millions tons). Recent trade sources claim that the high cost of marine fuel, particularly for ultra-low sulphur grades, has tempered demand for spot bunkering in Singapore. Fuel oil imports fell 3.2%, to 939,000 tonnes. Saudi Arabia and Iraq were this week's top suppliers. Exports more than doubled, reaching 374,000 tons. The Philippines and Hong Kong were the two main outlets. MIDDLE DISTRILLATES FALL The stocks of middle distillates continued to decline for the third week in a row, hovering around two-month lows. This is due to a rise in the net exports of diesel and gasoil. The net exports of transport and industrial fuels increased by five times compared to a week ago, while imports fell 47%. Exports to Bangladesh and Vietnam were mostly from Malaysia, Japan and Taiwan. Preliminary Kpler shiptracking results showed that August imports may decline even further than July. Jet fuel exports mainly went to Bangladesh. Inflows were minimal. The net exports dropped by 39% from week to week. (Reporting and editing by Joyjeet Das; Trixie Yap, Jeslyn Leerh, Mohi N. Narayan)
Constellation sells gas plant to LS Power and raises operating profit forecast
Constellation Energy, a power company, announced on Thursday that it would sell a 'gas plant' in Texas to LS Power. It also increased its forecast for current-year earnings on the 'back of robust power demand.
In premarket trading, shares of 'the company' were up 5%.
Constellation must complete its $16.4 billion acquisition of Calpine assets by selling the Brazos Valley Energy Center to LS Power.
Constellation is expanding beyond its nuclear fleet. Its Calpine purchase has given it a gas-fired portfolio, which gives them more flexibility in markets with high demand like Texas.
Joe Dominguez, CEO of the company, said: "We are strengthening our nation's energy infrastructure to meet growing demand.
In a separate press release, LS Power stated that its deal to purchase the Texas plant is expected to close by the end this year. This will increase its 'total capacity of 14,100 MW after completion' and enhance its presence in ERCOT - one of the fastest growing power markets.
LIFTS FORECAST ROBUST POWER REQUEST
Constellation is the largest nuclear operator in the U.S. and has benefited from the robust power consumption across the country.
The company announced on Thursday that it had?signed agreements for an additional 920 Megawatts (MW), of nuclear energy to a variety of investment-grade clientsfor 15 to 20 years, with the supply to begin in 2029.
The company has also?filed?applications to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the extension of the operating licenses at its Ginna Clean Energy Center in New York and?Nine Mile Point Unit 1, a reactor located there, to 2049. This would be a 20-year expansion if approved.
According to LSEG, the Baltimore, Maryland based company reported operating earnings of 2.55 per share. This was higher than analysts' average estimates of $2.28 per shares.
The company increased its operating earnings forecast to an estimated range of between $11.50 and $12.50 per shares, up from the previous $11.00 to $12.00 per share. (Reporting by Dharna Bafna in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)
(source: Reuters)