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US wants 1 million barrels for Strategic Petroleum Reserve
The U.S. Department of Energy announced on Tuesday that it was looking to purchase 1 million barrels of oil to be delivered to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. It is hoping to take advantage of the relatively low prices of oil to replenish the stockpile. Former President Joe Biden's administration sold record amounts from the SPR. This included a 180 million barrel sale in 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine, one of world's largest oil producers. The reserve has a capacity of 700 million barrels, but currently holds nearly 409 millions. The administration of President Donald Trump has sought to replenish the SPR but has been hindered by the lack of funds as well as the ongoing maintenance of the reserve. It is located in a series hollowed out salt caverns along the Texas and Louisiana coastlines. Pumps, pipes, and other SPR above-ground infrastructure are exposed to salty, corrosive air. Trump's tax-and-spending bill included $171 million to purchase and maintain SPR oil, a much smaller amount than the original $1.3 billion. It is likely that new legislation will be needed to purchase more oil for SPR. Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated that Trump is working with Congress to replenish the SPR. Wright stated that while this process will not be completed overnight, it is an important step towards strengthening our energy security. On Monday, both the Brent international benchmark and the WTI U.S. benchmark had reached their lowest levels since the beginning of May. This was due to record U.S. production of oil and the decision of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies that they would continue with the planned supply increases. WTI crude futures closed Tuesday at $57.82 per barrel, up 30 cents. The deadline for submitting bids to the SPR is October 28. (Reporting and editing by Chris Reese, Lisa Shumaker, and Jasper Ward. Additional reporting by Timothy Gardner.
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Citgo auction: Bidders and creditors fight in US court
Bidders pursue the parent company of Venezuelan-owned U.S. refiner Citgo Petroleum Creditors waiting to receive proceeds from the court ordered auction clashed on Tuesday in Delaware over which offer would be approved at the end of two years. The court is trying its best to finish the auction in order to compensate up 15 creditors for defaults on debts and expropriations that occurred in Venezuela. Citgo Holding, Citgo's parent company, was found responsible for Venezuela's debt in the eight-year long case. Citgo and Venezuela lawyers asked the court to reject the $5.9 billion offer of an affiliate of Elliott Investment Management because of its "low price", which was lower than a rival bid by a subsidiary Gold Reserve, and that the sale process is "defective." An officer in charge of the auction recommended that Elliott's Amber Energy bid be accepted, after previously supporting Gold Reserve. The court's marketing efforts were defended by Robert Pincus, a court officer. Amber's offer, he said, implies an estimated business value of $9.5 billion. It also offers the best combination between price and likelihood that the transaction will be completed. Amber's proposal includes a separate agreement to pay $2.1billion to holders of Venezuelan bonds that have defaulted. The agreement only lasts until early December. Counsels for Amber, Pincus and the Court have asked the court to select a winner as soon as possible. This week, Delaware Judge Leonard Stark heard arguments regarding motions filed by Venezuela or Gold Reserve seeking to disqualify Stark, court officer Pincus, and two advisory firms for alleged conflicts of interest. The court also heard the final arguments about the bids. Nathan Eimer said that Amber's offer "is so low...that it shocks this court's conscience and cannot be confirmed" during the hearing. Gold Reserve asked the court also to reject Amber’s bid in favor of the offer made by its subsidiary, which was about $2 billion more expensive but did not include a payment agreement with the Venezuelan bondholders. CREDITORS V BONDHOLDERS Gold Reserve intends to divide auction proceeds between a greater number of Delaware creditors, rather than settle the bondholders claim. This is because a New York court has yet to resolve the validity of the notes. Matthew Kirtland said that it would be an injustice if a significant amount of money was transferred from the attached judgement creditors to the 2020 bondholders based on a security or pledge instrument which might be invalid. Since the U.S. imposed sanctions on Venezuela in 2019, Citgo severed ties with its ultimate parent, Caracas-headquartered oil company PDVSA, and is now controlled by boards appointed by an opposition-led congress. Both the government of President Nicolas Maduro and the opposition political party reject the auction. The Treasury Department of the United States, which shielded Citgo against creditors in recent years must approve the winner.
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Oliver Bowen, Glencore's global naphtha head, will join rival Vitol sources claim
Four sources said on Tuesday that Oliver Bowen, Glencore's global director of naphtha trade, was set to leave the company for Vitol. He is the latest high-ranking trader to leave the London listed commodities trading and mining firm since recent months. One source said that Bowen would start working at Vitol in November and supervise the European naphtha business of the world's biggest commodities trader. Sources requested anonymity in order to discuss confidential information. Bowen was not available for comment. Vitol, Glencore and Glencore refused to comment. Bowen's departure comes at a time when Glencore is undertaking a wider reorganization in its trading operations after a sharp decline in earnings. The company's core earnings from Glencore’s energy and steelmaking activities trading coal fell to $306 millions in the first six months of this year. This is the lowest amount for the period since 2016. Bowen is the 42-year-old head of Glencore's naphtha trade since at least 2017, says a profile posted on Companies House, the UK government website. Bowen was a UK-based Petrochemical Feedstock Association director from February 2017 until his resignation in April of this year. Alex Sanna is the current Glencore head of oil and natural gas trading. According to a memo sent out by staff, Sanna will be stepping down at the end this year. Maxim Kolupaev will replace Sanna. He was the head of Glencore's oil trading desk over the last six years. (Reporting from Shariq Khan and Robert Harvey, in New York; editing by Lisa Shumaker).
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The Russian rouble falls against the US dollar due to uncertainty surrounding Trump-Putin Summit
The Russian rouble fell against the U.S. Dollar and China's Yuan on Tuesday, after an American media report said that preparations for the summit between U.S. president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin at Budapest had stalled. At 1400 GMT the rouble had fallen 0.7% against the U.S. Dollar in over-the counter trade and 1.2% against yuan, which was trading at 11.41 at the Moscow Stock Exchange. The Chinese unit is by far the most traded currency. Freedom Finance analysts stated in a recent research note that "the main pressure on Russia’s market comes from geopolitics, and the expectation that the central banks will maintain its key rate of 17% this Friday." The Kremlin announced on Tuesday that there was no date set for a possible summit between Trump and Putin. This dampened the optimism which had lifted Russian stock prices and the rouble in the last week. CNN reported that the planned meeting between U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio, and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has been postponed for now. On October 24, the Russian central bank will also decide whether to cut or maintain its key rate. Economists are evenly divided on this issue. The rouble would be supported if the central bank decided to hold the rate. (Reporting and editing by MuvijaM; Gleb Bryanski)
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Venezuela asks US Court to reject Elliott affiliate’s bid for Citgo parent
Lawyers for U.S. refiner Citgo Petroleum, Venezuela's owner and Venezuelan government asked the court to reject an offer from an Elliott Investment Management affiliate on Tuesday due to the "low price" which was lower than a rival bid submitted to the court and that the sale process was defective. Delaware's court is attempting to complete the auction for Venezuelan-owned PDV Holding (parent company of Citgo Petroleum) to compensate up 15 creditors who have suffered debt defaults or asset expropriations. An officer in charge of the auction recommended a $5.9 billion offer by Elliott's Amber Energy, which was a change from his earlier recommendation of a 7 billion dollar bid from a Gold Reserve subsidiary. Amber's bid also includes a separate agreement to pay $2.1billion to holders of defaulted Venezuelan bonds. After a hearing in Delaware this week, Judge Leonard Stark will determine the winner. The court will discuss the bids from Venezuela and Gold Reserve and the motions they filed to disqualify him, the court officer who evaluated the bids, and two advisory firms for alleged conflicts of interest. Nathan Eimer said that Amber's offer "is so low...that it shocks this court's conscience and cannot be confirmed" during the hearing. Since the U.S. imposed sanctions on Venezuela and the administration of President Nicolas Maduro in 2019, Citgo severed ties with its ultimate parent, Caracas-headquartered oil company PDVSA, and is now controlled by boards appointed by an opposition-led congress. The auction organized by the court is rejected by both the Maduro government and the opposition political party led Maria Corina Machado. The U.S. Treasury Department must approve the winner of the auction, as it has protected Citgo against creditors in recent years.
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CenterPoint sells Ohio natural gas distribution for $2.62 billion
CenterPoint Energy has agreed to sell its natural-gas distribution unit in Ohio for $2.62billion, in order to focus on its core electric and gas operations. In the morning trading on Tuesday, shares of National Fuel and CenterPoint both fell by a combined 4.7%. CenterPoint stated that the assets being sold include approximately 5,900 miles in Ohio of transmission and delivery pipelines serving around 335,000 metered clients. This is just the latest of a series of deals by U.S. utilities that are refocusing their efforts on regulated, higher-growth markets to meet the surge in power demand. Jason Wells, CEO of CenterPoint, said that the company will be able to recycle over $2 billion in other electric and gas businesses. Analysts from Scotiabank say the deal shows CenterPoint progress towards a profit increase of almost 9%. This would be one of the fastest gains in the industry. Investors should find CenterPoint appealing because it is one of the few utilities that can turn demand into profits. The CenterPoint deal will improve its balance sheet, and allow it to invest in Texas and Indiana. In late September, the utility announced that it planned to spend $65 billion on capital expenditures from 2026 to 2035. National Fuel gains a foothold in Ohio and expands its regulated utility gas services. CenterPoint stated that the value of the deal represents approximately 1.9 times its unit's rate base for 2024. The deal is expected close in the fourth-quarter of 2026. CenterPoint anticipates a total of $1.42 billion to be generated in 2026, with the remainder in 2027. The company provides electricity and natural gases to over 7 million customers in Indiana, Louisiana and Mississippi as well as Ohio, Texas and Texas. (Reporting and editing by Sahal Muhammad in Bengaluru, Katha Kalia)
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Automakers join forces with EV manufacturers to avoid EU emission fines
Automakers formed alliances with electric vehicle companies to avoid heavy fines from the European Union for carbon emissions. Several legacy automakers could face fines, as the transition from ICEs to EVs has been slower than expected. As of Tuesday, here are the details on the regulations and alliances that will be in place by 2025. Initial EU fines were based on carbon emissions levels in 2025. The European Commission, under pressure from the automakers, allowed compliance in March based on average emissions between 2025 and 2027. All alliance agreements currently in existence, as identified by their pool managers, will expire this year. It is expected that they will be renewed in the coming years. NISSAN Nissan, the Japanese EV manufacturer, teamed up with BYD in October. KG MOBILITY A second pool was created at the end September by South Korea’s KG Mobility, and Chinese EV manufacturer Xpeng. In January, Tesla, Stellantis, Toyota, Ford and Chinese EV manufacturer Leapmotor formed a pool. Mazda, Subaru, Mazda, and Subaru also joined. In March, Japan's Honda & Suzuki joined the pool. MERCEDES In January, this pool included Mercedes, Volvo Car, Polestar, Smart Automobile, and EV manufacturer Polestar. Volvo Car and Polestar both have the backing of China's Geely. Geely Chairman Li Shufu owns a 9.69% share in Mercedes. He is the second largest shareholder of the group after China's BAIC Group. Smart Automobile was formed as a joint venture by Mercedes and Geely. Forecasts of EV According to AlixPartners consultant, EVs accounted for 12% of the total European light vehicles sold last year and will reach 15% in 2019. AlixPartners predicts that their market share will increase to 24% by 2027, and 40% at the end of this decade.
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Fluor gains after Starboard purchases stake, NuScale urges review
Two sources said that shares of the construction company Fluor Corp rose by 2.7% after activist investor Starboard Value purchased a stake of nearly 5%, in order to unlock value for its 40% ownership in NuScale Power. Jeff Smith, the founder of Starboard, is expected to present the investment thesis for the firm at the 13D Monitor Active Passive Investment Summit, which will be held in New York, later that day. He will also talk about plans for TripAdvisor - another recent target. NuScale Power shares fell 7% at the opening of trading. Citigroup analysts said that Starboard's investment supports their view that Fluor shares still have room for growth. They cited the value of the NuScale stake and the potential improvement to the core operations of the company. Fluor could eventually sell its remaining 111,000,000 shares of NuScale, which represents over 60% of the company's market capitalization. Fluor's shares are down by 3% this year. NuScale's shares are up over 145% this year due to the growing demand for clean energy products that power AI-driven data centres and defense infrastructure. Starboard and Fluor both did not respond immediately when contacted. Fluor's core businesses, including infrastructure and energy projects have been under pressure. The company posted a 6% decline in revenue for the second quarter, falling short of analyst expectations. Starboard claims the segment is undervalued in comparison to Fluor NuScale's stake, and wants strategic options. Fluor, which is in a good position to benefit from the infrastructure policies of President Donald Trump that could boost investments in energy and construction, has launched an activist campaign. (Reporting and editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri; Rashika Singh)
UK Labour's business beauty offensive yet to win over some huge donors
Billionaire John Caudwell, one of the governing Conservative Celebration's most significant donors before Britain's last national election in 2019, states he no longer wants to back a party that he feels wasted 14 years in power.
However he's not rather all set to contribute to Labour.
With a basic election due early next month, Caudwell, who made almost 1.5 billion pounds ($ 1.9 billion) in 2006 when he sold his mobile phone retailer Telephones 4u, still feels he does not. know enough about the centre-left opposition party's strategies.
With the race on to raise campaign funding after Prime. Minister Rishi Sunak shocked political leaders and big business by. calling an early election on July 4, both the Conservatives and. Labour are enhancing efforts to court donors.
Labour's leader, Keir Starmer, a former public district attorney,. has charted a centrist course because he took control of in 2020, moving. the celebration away from a leftist program that saw it lose heavily at. the previous election. Polls now recommend that Labour will sweep. to success in July.
But some rich donors, like Caudwell, are remaining on the. sidelines, skeptical the party has actually demonstrated it has the. policy services to revive Britain's flagging financial growth,. modernise its facilities and safeguard public services from. attrition.
Keir Starmer's Labour Party is untried ... and that's a. threat, Caudwell said at his marble-floored mansion in London's. elegant Mayfair district. I wish to see more concrete stuff. from Keir and the potential cabinet, in regards to what's going to. occur when they get in power.
What we do understand is the Tories have actually refrained from doing us extremely well. over the last 14 years, Caudwell told in an interview,. describing the governing Conservatives. We just do not understand. whether Labour would do much better.
That's a sentiment shared by numerous citizens. A survey by. pollster YouGov in April showed that 50% of participants were. unclear what Labour under Starmer represents.
Labour did not respond to an ask for remark for this. story.
Traditionally, the left-leaning celebration received the bulk of. its financing from Britain's union motion.
According to a ' analysis of data from Britain's. electoral commission, Starmer has actually received the second-highest. level of personal donations for the Labour Celebration in a single. election cycle - behind Labour's term in power in 2005-2010. under former prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
The celebration has actually gathered about 24 million pounds ($ 30.6. million) in personal donations because 2020, according to '. analysis of data going to April.
The majority of that came from wealthy individuals, with around half. from 3 donors: David Sainsbury, a former Labour peer and. ex-chairman of the Sainsbury's grocery store chain; his daughter. Francesca Perrin; and Gary Lubner, the previous CEO of Belron, an. global windscreen repair work and replacement company.
Sainsbury, Perrin and Lubner did not react to requests for. remark.
More than 9 million pounds have originated from brand-new donors,. consisting of Lubner. At least 8 previous Conservative advocates. have now changed their loyalty and are now providing cash to. Labour, with some saying they are persuaded by Labour's guarantee. of a steady environment for organization.
Private donations aside, the rest of Labour's cash. originates from a mix of trade unions, public funds and other sources. - although its financial reliance on the unions is in decrease.
Labour got simply 23.9 million pounds from trade unions. under Starmer, compared with more than 50 million pounds under. both his predecessor, the left-wing veteran Jeremy Corbyn, and. the prior celebration leader, Ed Miliband.
The Conservatives are still winning the financing race, taking. 104.3 million pounds compared with Labour's 90.2 million in the. duration because Starmer became leader - something not lost on the. opposition party, which frequently sends e-mail ask for. funds, typically two times a day.
One Conservative donor, who made a big contribution at the. last election, stated he would not be providing money to the party. for this project as he didn't anticipate it to win. The. businessman, who requested privacy so he could speak honestly,. likewise dismissed contributing to Labour, citing the risk of higher. taxes if they are chosen.
Labour has stated there will be no increases in income tax or. National Insurance coverage social security contributions if it wins. power. A Conservative spokesperson said the party was taking strong. action to protect a much better future for the entire country.
THE PARTY OF ORGANIZATION?
Ahead of the last election, Caudwell offered the Conservatives. 500,000 pounds due to the fact that he was convinced that Corbyn would be. definitely devastating for the UK, he stated.
Starmer, considering that ending up being Labour leader in 2020, has actually courted. company owners, financiers and bankers, conscious that the celebration. enjoyed its biggest electoral success in modern times under the. pro-business management of Blair.
Lots of businesses, in turn, have clamoured to get access to a. group viewpoint polls state will be the next British federal government.
Last year's business forum at Labour's yearly conference in. October had 200 guests, with more than 180 on the waiting. list. The previous one attracted simply 130 guests, according to a. Labour authorities.
However 4 business leaders interviewed for this short article stated. they still have misgivings over whether Starmer, a previous public. district attorney, can administer the policies needed to attract. investment and spur financial development in Britain.
For Caudwell, that would indicate offering tax breaks to green. business developing innovative environmental technologies. that might turn Britain into a leader in the sector - something. he doubts whether Labour might do, politically.
Labour, typically viewed as the celebration of tax and invest,. scaled back a target to invest 28 billion pounds a year in green. industries if it wins the election since of what Starmer. called the degrading financial outlook.
Instead, the party would ramp up financial investment over time. It. strategies to embrace a tax break for business referred to as full. expensing presented by the Conservatives last year that enables. business to subtract 100% of the cost of certifying plant and. machinery from their taxable earnings.
Caudwell stated he would wait to see the Labour manifesto,. where the celebration will set out its program for government, to see. if it's genuinely a celebration that I can support. Labour expects the. manifesto to be released next week. The Conservatives are also. expected to release their manifesto quickly.
I'm still abstaining, Caudwell stated.
However if Labour did do more to make Britain more attractive. economically, the 71-year-old entrepreneur said he would more than happy. to contribute.
Caudwell proposes drawing in green innovation companies to. Britain by providing a corporation tax holiday extending to as. much as 10 years. In meetings, the Labour leader showed interest. in his ideas, even if he was not yet ready to bite, Caudwell. stated.
When he wins the election - as I make sure he will - I'll attempt. and get to him once again, and attempt and put these policies forward to. him, Caudwell said.
A spokeswoman for Starmer did not react to a request for. remark.
(source: Reuters)