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US Antimony restarts Mexico Smelter Plant after Over a Year
United States Antimony Corp announced on Monday that it had restarted operations in its Madero plant in Mexico. This comes more than a year since the miner of critical minerals stopped operating in Latin America. Why it's important China has banned the export of critical minerals such as gallium, antimony and germanium to the United States. This is part of a escalating tech and trade war between two major economies. China is expected to produce almost half the world's supply of antimony by 2023. Prices of the mineral are soaring as a result of China's heavy export restrictions. This has disrupted global supply chains. U.S. president Donald Trump also pushed to increase domestic production of important minerals, such as antimony to counter China's near-total control in the sector. Minerals are widely used to make ammunition, infrared weapons, night-vision goggles and nuclear weapons, as well batteries and photovoltaic devices. CONTEXT United States Antimony announced in March of last year that it would cease all operations in Latin America, and sell its Mexican subsidiary. This decision was taken after a review of financial performance, negative cash flow of the unit and low prices of antimony. What's Next? The company announced that it had begun processing the antimony ore purchased from international sources in the Madero Smelter. Next week, the second and third shipments will also arrive at the facility. U.S. Antimony stated that it plans to produce approximately 200 tons of antimony each month at the Madero Smelter by the end of 2025. (Reporting and editing by Sahal Muhammad in Bengaluru, Vallari Srivastava from Bengaluru)
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The Russian Economy Ministry has cut its Brent price forecast for 2025 by almost 17%
According to documents obtained by, the Russian economy ministry's forecast for the average Brent crude price in 2025 has been cut by 17% compared to what they thought it would be in September. Interfax reported that in the ministry's baseline scenario for economic forecasts of 2025, the ministry assumes the average price of Brent to be $68 per barrel, down from $81.7 per barrel in its September predictions. The Ministry of Finance estimates that the price for Urals - Russia's main blend - is $56 per barrel - compared to the $69.7 barrel price on which Russia has based their budget 2025 - and lower than the $60 "cut-off" price, which determines the amount of money sent to the National Wealth Fund Reserve (NWF) budget reserve. In the baseline scenario, we assume at some point that the export price drops below the cutoff, but then goes up. In this scenario, we do not deplete our NWF," a ministry representative told Interfax. Oil and gas revenues account for a third (or more) of the budget. The representative said that "from a budgetary standpoint, these conditions are difficult, but normal." The Russian rainy day NWF is now the main source for financing Russia's persistent budget deficit. The liquid assets of the fund have fallen by two-thirds, from $112.7 to $39 billion. According to the new estimates, the rouble value of Russian oil has decreased by 21.5% to 5,281 Roubles per barrel compared to the previous forecast. In April, the Russian central bank had warned that due to a lower global demand, oil prices may be lower for several years than expected. Urals prices dropped to their lowest level since 2023 early April, trading at around $53 a barrel. They traded below $60 per barrel last week. The first quarter of this year saw Russia's oil revenues fall by 10% compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, the average price for Urals in roubles since April began was 31% lower than the planned amount, forcing the government to sell foreign currency for first time. The ministry said that it did not expect a recession to occur due to the trade wars of U.S. president Donald Trump and believes global growth will be slightly higher than 2% this year. Interfax quoted the representative of the ministry as saying: "The world's still bigger than the United States. So some flows will be directed." The Ministry maintained its forecast of 2.5% for the gross domestic product (GDP) growth in Russia and raised its inflation forecast from 4.5% to 7.6%. The rouble is also expected to be stronger this year than it was previously forecasted, with an average of 94.3% of the dollar per rouble, compared to an earlier prediction of 96.5 roubles. (Written by Lidia Kelley in Melbourne and Gleb Brnski in Moscow, edited by Leslie Adler & Darlie Butler)
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Russia's Nornickel maintains 2025 nickel production forecast
Nornickel, a Russian company that is one of the largest nickel producers in the world and also the biggest palladium producer, maintained Monday its nickel production forecast for 2025 as 204,000-211,000 tons. The company reported that it produced 42,000 tonnes of nickel in 2025's first quarter, down 1.1% from the previous year. Palladium production fell 0.6%, to 741,00 ounces. The production of platinum increased by 0.6%, to 180,000 ounces. The company's Senior Vice-President Alexander Popov stated that the modest drop in nickel production was due to short-term scheduled repairs and maintenance. This was done to ensure a steady operation of its main technological units. Nornickel said that the decrease in nickel production is due to maintenance work at its various plants. Nornickel faces pressure in the domestic market due to the 40% rise of the rouble against the U.S. Dollar, which reduces revenues, and high interest rates which impact investment plans. The company faces falling or stagnating metal prices internationally due to lower demand in the wake of market turmoil triggered by U.S. president Donald Trump's tariffs. Nornickel may not be directly subject to Western sanctions but the measures have led some Western producers to refrain from buying Russian metal. They also complicate payments and restrict access to Western equipment. BCS analysts wrote in a report that they believe the threat of a global slowdown due to tariff wars would negatively impact the metals portfolio of the company. (Reporting and writing by Anastasia Lyrchikova; editing by Kirsten Doovan and Ros Russel)
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India imposes temporary tariffs of 12% on certain steel imports
A government notification announced that India had imposed a temporary tariff of 12%, known locally as a "safeguard duty", on certain steel products in order to curb unbridled imports. India, the second largest producer of crude iron and steel in the world, announced that the tariffs will be effective for 200 days starting Monday. The Ministry of Finance stated that "the safeguard duty imposed by this notification will be in effect for a period of 200 days (unless earlier revoked or modified) after the publication of the notification." India's steel tax increase is the first major trade policy decision since U.S. president Donald Trump imposed duties on a number of countries in April. New Delhi's tariffs primarily target China, the second largest steel exporter to India in 2024/25 behind South Korea. According to government data, India became a net steel importer for the second year in a row during the fiscal year 2024/25. Shipments reached a record high of 9 million metric tonnes, a figure not seen since the early 1990s. Steel Authority of India, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India, and JSW Steel, New Delhi's largest steelmaking body, have raised concerns about imports. Reporting by Neha Misra and Surbhi Arora; Editing and Toby Chopra and Alison Williams
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In March, India's infrastructure production rose 3.8% year-on-year.
Government data released on Monday showed that India's infrastructure production grew by 3.8% in March, mainly due to strong steel and cement output. The infrastructure output (which tracks eight different sectors and accounts for 40% of industrial production in the country) grew by a revised 3,4% in February compared to an initial estimate of 2,9%. Cement production increased 11.6% in march, compared with a revised 10.8% rise in February. Steel production rose 7.1%, against a revised advance of 6.9% a month before. Fertilizer output grew by 8.8%, compared to 10.2% the month before. Coal production increased 1.6% compared to 1.7% in February. The electricity generation in March was 6.2% higher than the revised 3.6% growth in the previous month. Refined oil products were up 0.2% compared to 0.8% the month prior. In March, crude oil production fell 1.9% compared to a 5.2% decline in February. Natural gas production also declined 12.7% compared to a 6% decrease in February. The infrastructure output increased by 4.4% during the fiscal years 2024-25.
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Climate non-profits prepare for a fight with Trump on tax status
Non-profits in the United States that are focused on climate change prepare to fight against a possible action by the Trump Administration to revoke tax exemptions this week. Climate change groups have circulated memos in the last few weeks outlining the rumored executive action they expect from Donald Trump. This includes a change to IRS regulations to remove climate changes from the list of charitable topics that qualify and blocking the use U.S. grant funding to fund overseas projects. Concerns were raised after Trump made comments criticizing the charitable status granted to Harvard University. This was seen as an initial shot at other so-called "501(c3)" organizations, which are named after the section of the tax code exempting charities from income taxes. According to three non-profit leaders who participated, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Public Citizen hosted a Zoom call Friday to discuss ways charities can prepare themselves for a potential executive action. After the maximum of 5,000 people had signed up, the call was oversubscribed. Sandler Reiff, a political law firm, sent a memo on Friday to its clients in the non-profit sector and philanthropy to tell them to not panic if they are threatened with losing their tax exemption status or having international work frozen by the government. The memo said that the President cannot unilaterally revoke the tax-exempt status of any organization. It also stated that any executive orders that attempt to do this "doesn't have legal validity". Trump has been adamant about his antisemitism-free policy since his January inauguration. He has also moved swiftly to sidestep or undo environmental regulations, eliminate climate science research, and stop federal support for renewable energy. In a post on social media last week, Trump said he was weighing whether he should seek to end Harvard’s tax-exempt designation. The Trump administration has been threatening to halt climate change work by environmental groups and grant-making charities. The foundations that donate to charities have said they will fight any attempts to limit the amount of money they give. The MacArthur Foundation has committed to spending an additional $150 millions in charitable donations over the next two year. John Palfrey, the Foundation's president, told delegates in Britain that "we have more strength and protection than we realize" at a recent meeting of philanthropic organizations. Drop any restrictions that we believe we can. "Give gifts wherever you can." Lawrence Lessig is a Harvard Law School professor who said that any order to change the tax status of non-profits would be legally questionable. He said that there was no way a court could conclude that Trump had the authority to change the tax status for any organization without an investigation that began before Trump targeted that organization and determined that the organization violated the laws. (Reporting and editing by Peter Graff, Virginia Furness and Valerie Volcovici)
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South Korea's LG Energy Solution withdraws from Indonesian EV battery investments
LG Energy Solution, a South Korean company, has officially withdrawn from an $8.45 billion project in Indonesia to develop the production of electric vehicle batteries. The company announced this on Monday. LGES and Indonesian Government signed a contract on the Indonesia Grand Package Project in late 2020. This project includes investments in the EV Battery Supply Chain in Southeast Asian Country. LGES issued a statement saying that "we have decided to formally withdraw" from the Indonesia GP project (Grand Package). The report added that "however, we will explore various avenues for collaboration with the Indonesian Government, focusing on the Indonesian battery joint venture HLI Green Power." HLI Green Power is a joint venture between LGES and Hyundai Motor Group. It inaugurated last year Indonesia's first production facility for battery cells with a capacity of 10 gigawatt-hours per annum. The second phase of the investment will see the expansion of the plant's capacity. Tri Winarno, an official from the Energy Ministry, stated that Indonesia will continue to look for foreign investors who can partner with local companies in order to develop the battery sector, taking advantage of the rich nickel reserves found throughout the country. He told reporters that "Even after LG left, Indonesia is still convinced that our nickel remains more competitive than any other country." Aneka Tambang Indonesia, a state-controlled miner that had planned to create a joint venture with LGES for nickel mining, has said it is committed to working with other companies in order to supply nickel to battery producers. Indonesia Battery Corporation (the state firm that had planned to partner up with LGES) did not respond when asked for comment.
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Source: India will impose a temporary 12% tariff on steel imports to limit cheap Chinese imports
A government source who is directly involved in the matter said that India will impose a temporary duty of 12%, locally known as safeguard duty, on imports of steel to curb an influx of cheap imports coming from China and other countries. Source who didn't want to be identified said on Monday that the government would implement the tax as quickly as possible. India, which is the world's 2nd largest crude steel producer, also became a net steel importer for the second year running in fiscal 2024/25, with shipments hitting a 9-year-high of 9.5 millions metric tons. As part of its efforts to curb cheap imports, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies, which is under the Federal Trade Ministry, recommended a 12% tariff on certain steel products. This recommendation was made after an investigation in December of last year to determine whether or not unbridled steel imports had harmed India’s domestic industry. The source stated that "it is clear that the duty will be 12%, and a decision should be made at the earliest," referring to the plan previously unknown of going ahead with the DGTR recommendation. The Ministry of Finance which makes the final decision did not respond immediately to an email seeking comment. India's finished-steel imports from China and South Korea, as well as Japan, reached a new record in the first ten months of the fiscal year ending in March. India imported 78% of its total finished steel from China, South Korea, and Japan. India's smaller steel mills have been forced to reduce their operations and even consider job cuts due to the influx of cheap, imported steel. India has joined a growing number of countries that are considering taking action to curb imports. Steel Authority of India, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India, and JSW Steel, India's largest steelmakers, have all expressed concern over imports. (Reporting and editing by Mayank Bhhardwaj, Andrew Cawthorne and Neha Arora)
How Trump's second administration affects service: Musk, tariffs and more
Donald Trump's go back to the White House after winning the Nov. 5 U.S. governmental election might reshape American service. Much depends on whom he designates as deputies and cabinet members, consisting of the function of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and what tariffs he enacts. Following are some major problems and sectors to watch:
WHAT ROLE WILL ELON MUSK PLAY? After some nudging from the world's wealthiest individual, Trump has said he would tap Tesla CEO Elon Musk to lead a new government effectiveness commission. Musk has actually stated a minimum of $2 trillion might be cut from the $6.75 trillion federal budget plan. How that works might be a crucial to the next Trump administration.
Does effectiveness imply fewer guidelines and regulators? Musk has been a singing critic, for instance, of federal review of his SpaceX rocket company. That might mean less oversight of self-driving automobiles (a Tesla organization) or rocket launches and much more. The two guys are not entirely in sync: Trump has actually said he won't. let California require all cars in the state go electric in. a decade, however Musk runs the world's most valuable EV business. A. rising tide raises all boats. So to the level that Elon is able. to obstruct the vilification of EVs by a possible Trump. administration, all the much better, said James Chen, former head of. policy for Rivian and Tesla. How Musk would resolve disputes of. interest between his interests in autos, space, health,. construction and artificial intelligence is unclear. Trump has actually pledged to be a crypto president, a strategy that may. start with replacing industry opponent Gary Gensler, the. Securities and Exchange Commission chair who has taken legal action against most of. the market-- including Coinbase, Binance and Kraken. Gensler's replacement is expected to review - and potentially. wreck - accounting guidance and produce industry exemptions. from SEC rules. Musk, too is a crypto fan, as is Silicon. Valley Trump fan Marc Andreessen and incoming Vice. President J.D. Vance.
Musk is also a huge proponent of carbon-free energy, with. Tesla being a major provider of planetary systems and batteries. Trump has actually guaranteed to kill the offshore wind market and. rescind all unspent funds under the Inflation Reduction Act--. Biden's signature climate law. But Trump faces dissent in his. ranks: Republican legislators, oil business and others see. huge red state gains from the law. Musk has actually played into that,. developing his 2nd U.S. electric car factory in Texas, for. instance.
TARIFFS. Trump has actually proposed a 10% tariff on all U.S. imports and 60% on. Chinese-made items, which if enacted would impact the entire. economy by pushing customer costs higher. The Tax Structure, a. non-partisan think tank, determined Trump tariffs would trek. taxes by $524 billion annually, diminish GDP by a minimum of 0.8%, and. cut employment by 684,000 full-time comparable jobs possibly. affecting retail employees, the biggest private sector company. He also recommended he might impose a 25% tariff on all imports. from Mexico.
Trump's tariff proposals might decrease American customers'. investing power between $46 billion and $78 billion each year,. according to a National Retail Federation research study.
Clothing, toys, furniture, home devices and footwear. would be the most afflicted categories, the study stated. Retailers. would move operations beyond China to countries including. Bangladesh, India, and Vietnam. Big-box shops like Walmart and. Target would face higher supply chain costs, while supermarkets. like Kroger, Albertsons, and Publix, which minimally source from. China, might benefit. Shipping and transportation specialists state. sweeping tariffs could at first bolster their company before. depressing trade. Tariffs loom over tech too. In recent weeks, Trump has also. greatly slammed the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act that has. sought to partly subsidize companies building factories in. the United States. Rather, he said the nation needs to enforce. tariffs on chips coming into the nation, particularly from. Taiwan's TSMC.
Tariffs also would dramatically raise costs for the sustainable. energy industries in the U.S., which rely greatly on Chinese. elements. Trump actions without Congressional backing could. consist of import tariffs of 10-20% (ex China), 60% -200% on Chinese. imports which might impact the expense of renewable projects,. particularly solar and storage tasks, according to an. October research note from Bernstein.
And after that there is the concern of China's retaliation. It is. the world's greatest soy importer and pork consumer, but it has. diversified its food supply base because Trump's tariffs in his. first administration. Additionally, China stopped working to totally comply. with a contract to buy more U.S. agricultural goods that it. signed with Trump in January 2020. Trump has actually pledged in his 2nd. term to impose 60% duties on imports from China, raising. issues that Beijing will retaliate by lowering imports of U.S. farm items.
OIL: DRILL INFANT DRILL - BUT NOT IRAN. The United States is currently the world's most significant oil and gas. manufacturer, however Trump wants to eliminate remaining barriers. He'll raise a freeze on brand-new melted gas export permits,. broaden federal drilling auctions, speed up brand-new pipeline. allowing and attempt to reverse or deteriorate regulations targeted at. cutting power plant and automobile emissions. Trump's assistance for the. oil and gas market could likewise lead him to temper his. opposition to the Inflation Decrease Act, considering that oil companies. are receiving some financing from it for carbon-free ventures. like carbon capture and sequestration.
The huge oil policy wildcard is how Trump will deal with rival. exporters, including Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. It is. likely that Trump would eliminate sanctions on Russian energy, however. leave in location those on Iran, stated Ed Hirs, an energy fellow at. the University of Houston. Jesse Jones, an analyst with. seeking advice from firm Energy Aspects, anticipates even more. We believe. that the effect of a Trump administration returning to an optimum. pressure campaign on Iran could cause a million barrel each day. decline in Iranian crude exports, he said.
LABOR UNIONS. Organized labor made excellent strides under President Joe Biden,. who signed up with a picket line with U.S. auto employees. The UAW desires. to broaden and in future strikes the federal government could be. asked to intervene in a manner that undercuts employee bargaining. power, something Democrats have so far declined to do.
Republican politicians have actually normally been unfriendly to unions, however. Trump has actually played a different game, connecting to blue-collar. employees. Strong support among lots of union workers might press. Trump to protect those voters, stated Anthony Miyazaki, a. marketing teacher at Florida International University. Still,. his record of designating leaders to the National Labor Relations. Board resulted in a roll back of workers' rights to form unions. If this cycle repeats, it might possibly reverse the gains. unions have actually made since the pandemic, consisting of successful. arranging efforts at Starbucks and Amazon and other new. movements at Apple, REI and Trader Joe's.
OTHER SUBJECTS CONSIST OF:
FINANCE. Within banking, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of. America and other loan providers will likely take pleasure in a reprieve. from stiff capital walkings, M&A hoop-jumping, and Biden's scrap. charges crackdown. Trump is anticipated to quickly install. industry-friendly Republican politicians at the monetary regulators. But. those gains may be balanced out if Trump follows through on tax and. trade policies that will widen the deficit and fuel inflation,. in turn boosting loaning rates. That could press existing loans. into the red, state experts.
ANTITRUST AND TECH. Trump may walk back the Department of Justice's quote to separate. Alphabet's Google and choose settling with companies over. competitors problems in mergers, instead of brand-new trials, attorneys. stated. The country's difficult, top merger police, Federal Trade. Commission Chair Lina Khan, is likely headed for the. door. More broadly, Trump's backers in Silicon Valley, including. financiers Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen and Tesla chief Elon. Musk, desire less regulation of new innovation, from synthetic. intelligence to rockets. They have a champion in previous endeavor. capitalist Vance.
MEDIA: SEE WHAT YOU STATE. Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos chose days before the vote. that the paper would not endorse anybody for president,. explaining it as a principled relocate to regain reliability. Hundreds of thousands of subscribers left, lots of stating it was. political cowardice. USA Today and the LA Times also decreased to. endorse a candidate. The message is pretty clear today,. stated former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. That is conceding to the. autocrat in advance before you're asked to, said New York. University School of Specialist Research studies accessory associate. professor Helio Fred Garcia, an author of 2 books about Trump.
During the campaign, Trump called on the Federal. Communications Commission to remove ABC and CBS of their. broadcast licenses. FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel has denounced. Trump's calls to revoke licenses for broadcast stations, mentioning. totally free speech protections. However the self-reliance of the FCC could. be at danger if Trump follows through on a campaign pledge to. bring regulatory firms, such as the FCC, under presidential. authority, Wheeler stated. The president also could invoke his. emergency situation powers under the Communications Act to exert control. over broadcasters, citing national security concerns.
Even so, a new Trump presidency will likely give cable television. news networks like CNN, Fox News and MSNBC and news outlets. consisting of the New york city Times and Washington Post the exact same huge. jolt to audiences and audience that his first term generated.
PHARMACEUTICALS. Trump just recently said he would let former presidential candidate. and anti-vaccine supporter Robert F. Kennedy Jr. go wild on. vaccine and healthcare policy. Kennedy has said that Trump. guaranteed him manage over the FDA, CDC, HHS, and the USDA. Those. tasks could potentially give him manage over what vaccines are. authorized and whether Americans are recommended to get them. Trump transition co-chair Howard Lutnick has said Kennedy is not. going to be put in charge of the Department of Health and Human. Providers, however recommended he might encourage on vaccines.
Jeremy Levin, CEO of biotech company Ovid Therapies. and previous chairman of biotech lobby group BIO, said he. would be alarmed if Kennedy was offered oversight over vaccines,. which other executives had actually likewise expressed issue. Vaccine. denialism, which is a main plank of RFK's, is maybe as. hazardous as anything you can think of, he said, including that. President Trump's previous visits for the COVID vaccine. effort and the FDA suggest to him that more moderate positions. will win out. Some executives likewise were worried that Kennedy's. impact might damage the U.S.'s track record and ability to examine. new drugs.
(source: Reuters)