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Northern Manitobans fleeing wildfires head south
Winnipeg, Canada's provincial capital, scrambled Friday to provide housing and care to the thousands of people who fled areas devastated by wildfires. Fires have erupted across large areas of the western part of Canada's North due to unusually dry and hot conditions. The flames are devouring hundreds of thousands hectares (hectares) of bushland and forest that is as dry as tinder. "It's hard on everybody," said school maintenance technician Richard Korte, who had fled to Winnipeg from Flin Flon, a regional centre of 5,000 people on the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border, and wondered where his family would sleep that night. Both the neighbouring provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan in western Canada have declared states of emergencies to combat the fires that have spread across remote and sparsely populated areas. Chris Schultz, an evacuee, sat in the cab with his dog Stella and hoped to see friends and family arriving at a Winnipeg temporary emergency shelter in a hockey hall. Korte, his friend, had spent hours in the center trying to find housing for his entire family, which included his son with special needs, who cannot remain in an arena. As fires approach, people from Indigenous communities in the north are fleeing and their few routes south are blocked. Several communities have evacuated the most vulnerable members of their community by air, but at least one airport has been closed due to smoke. Manitoba Premier Wab Knew stated that about 17,000 Manitobans have fled the fires due to the hot, dry weather. Kinew said in a Friday afternoon press conference, "We must stay calm." He thanked the U.S. and Quebec for sending 125 firefighters to Manitoba. We cannot thank other jurisdictions for their support enough. George Fontaine, the mayor of Flin Flon, said that the weather forecast indicated that the fire would likely blow into the town. Fontaine told CBC News Network that such a scenario could be "very catastrophic". According to data from the provinces, there are currently 23 active fires burning in Manitoba and fourteen in Saskatchewan. Alberta, which is a province that produces oil, also has 51 fires active. Oil companies are evacuating their workers. Wildfires destroyed Jasper, an important tourist destination in the Canadian Rockies, last year. Schultz warned that he could cry in his truck. He hoped that Stella, his dog, would bring a smile to the faces of his fellow evacuatees.
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US Approves Environmental Review for Michigan Nuclear Plant Restart
The U.S. on Friday said Holtec's planned restart of the Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan would not harm the environment, a needed step in its plan to become the first such plant to return from permanent shutdown. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission conducted the environmental review of the Palisades reactor restart with the Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office. Opponents of the restart had expressed concerns that steam generator tubes at Palisades are degraded because standard maintenance procedures were not followed when the plant went into shutdown. Holtec says it is plugging the tubes. The LPO, which supports nuclear projects that are unable to get bank loans, closed a $1.52 billion loan guarantee for the Palisades restart in September 2024. President Donald Trump's administration provided the third disbursement of that financing, nearly $47 million, in April. Power company Entergy shut the 800-megawatt Palisades reactor in 2022, two weeks ahead of schedule over a glitch with a control rod. It had generated electricity for more than 50 years. Holtec bought the plant to decommission it, but now hopes to reopen it. U.S. power demand has been rising for the first time in two decades on the boom in data centers and artificial intelligence. Holtec says Palisades could reopen as soon as October. But it needs additional permits from the NRC. "Pending all federal reviews and approvals, our restart project is on track and on budget to bring Palisades back online by the fourth quarter of the year," said Holtec spokesperson Nick Culp. Alan Blind, engineering director at the plant from 2006 to 2013, said in an editorial this month that if steam generator problems lead to a shutdown, it would "erode public confidence, damage investor trust, and raise serious safety concerns." The NRC is reviewing Holtec's proposed repairs, said Scott Burnell, an agency spokesperson. "Holtec must demonstrate the Palisades steam generators will fulfill their safety functions before the plant restarts," Burnell said. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by David Gregorio)
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Japan wants another round of tariffs in June, despite its refusal to make concessions on US tariffs
Japan's top trade negotiator announced that the U.S. and Japan agreed on Friday to continue their trade negotiations ahead of next month's G7 summit. He stressed that any deal would require concessions from Washington on all tariffs including those on automobiles. In Washington, Japan's Economy minister Ryosei Acazawa spent 130 minutes with U.S. Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent and U.S. Commerce Sec. Howard Lutnick for a fourth round in the trade negotiations. Akazawa, speaking to Japanese journalists gathered in the Japanese Embassy in Washington, said that the two countries agreed to speed up the talks and have another round before the G7 Summit in June. Japan will be subject to a 24% tariff starting in July, if it cannot reach a deal with America. The Japanese government is also trying to negotiate with Washington so that its automakers are exempted from the 25% tariffs on cars, Japan's largest industry. Akazawa stated that Japan's position on tariffs has not changed and he "strongly urges" the U.S. immediately reconsider the issue and remove all tariffs including those levied against automobiles, auto components, aluminum, and steel. Akazawa said to Japanese media at the Japanese Embassy in Washington that if their requests were met, they might be able come to an understanding. If that's not possible, it will be hard for us to come to an agreement. Before the last meeting, Japanese government sources stated that a quick deal was unlikely as they would not rush to seal a deal if it did not benefit Japan and especially the automotive sector. Akazawa refused to reveal details about the latest discussions but stated that trade expansion, non tariff barriers, and cooperation on economic security were all discussed at each meeting. He added that the supply chain of semiconductors and rare earths were among economic security issues. He said that despite closely monitoring Nippon Steel’s potential deal with U.S. Steel he couldn't comment yet due to the lack of an official announcement by the U.S. Government. Reporting by Makiko Yazaki in Tokyo, Nathan Layne in New York and David Gregorio in editing.
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Automakers warn that China magnet pinch is a threat to car production
U.S. auto executives have warned of an imminent shortage of rare-earth magnetic materials from China, which are used in everything from anti-lock brake sensors to windshield-wipermotors. This could lead to the closing of automobile factories within weeks. In an unreported letter to Trump Administration officials dated May 9, the head of the group representing General Motors (GM), Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, and other major automakers expressed urgent concerns. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation sent a letter to the Trump Administration stating that "Without reliable and consistent access to these magnets and elements, automotive suppliers won't be able to produce critical automotive parts, such as automatic transmissions and throttle bodies. They will also not be able to manufacture various motors and sensors, seatbelts, speakers and lights, motors and power steering. The letter was also signed by MEMA The Vehicle Suppliers Association. It added that without these essential automotive components it would be only a matter time before U.S. car factories were disrupted. The groups stated that in severe cases it may be necessary to reduce production volumes, or even shut down vehicle assembly lines. On Friday, both Alliance CEO John Bozzella as well as MEMA CEO Bill Long said that the situation was still not resolved and remained an issue. They thanked the Trump administration for its high-level involvement in preventing disruptions to U.S. automotive production and supply chain. Bozzella said that the automotive topic was discussed by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer and their Chinese counterparts at the Geneva talks earlier this month. Greer said on CNBC that China agreed to lift the restrictions on exports of rare earth magnets to U.S. firms, but was not moving quickly enough to allow access to key U.S. industry sectors. "We haven’t seen the flow" of critical minerals that they should be. China, which controls 90% of the global processing capacity for magnets used everywhere from cars and fighter jets to household appliances, imposed export restrictions in April that required exporters to get licenses from Beijing. Exports of rare-earth magnets from China have halved since April, as companies struggled to deal with an opaque process of obtaining permits that can require hundreds of pages. While some licenses were granted to Volkswagen suppliers and others, Indian automakers claim they have not received any. They will be forced to cease production at the beginning of June. The German auto parts maker Bosch stated this week that the more stringent procedures in China to obtain export licenses have slowed down its suppliers. A Bosch spokesperson called the process "complex and lengthy, in part due to the requirement to collect and supply a great deal of information." (Reporting and editing by David Shepardson, Kevin Krolicki, Sandra Maler;
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Stocks fall but are still set to gain in the month despite tariff concerns
The global stock market was down on Friday, but it is expected to post a weekly increase as well as its largest monthly gain since late 2023. This is despite the markets being roiled by the uncertainty surrounding the Trump administration's policies regarding tariffs. At the beginning of the week, sentiments were initially boosted by signs that trade tensions had eased between the U.S. Investors then focused on the earnings of artificial-intelligence chipmaker Nvidia. The company reported better than expected results in mid-week. The markets were temporarily shaken by an unexpected ruling of the U.S. Court of International Trade that struck down Trump's so called Liberation Day Tariffs. This triggered a court drama which saw an appeals court temporarily reinstate these tariffs. Trump claimed on Friday that China violated a bilateral agreement between the U.S. and China to roll back tariffs, trade restrictions and other measures for essential minerals. He also issued a new threat to be more aggressive with Beijing. Mark Malek said, "It has been a busy week." Mark Malek is the chief investment officer of SiebertNXT. "In just four days, we saw a compressed version what we had been experiencing for the whole month - the tug-of-war between the forces that drove the markets higher in the past year and prior year. That is AI and technology stocks. And then we faced the looming challenge of all the administration tariffs. All three major Wall Street indexes traded lower during the session due to weakness in consumer discretionary, technology and energy stocks. The S&P 500 was expected to finish the week and month on a positive note. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.24% to 42111.71. The S&P 500 declined 0.61% at 5,875.91. And the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.16% at 18,952.93. European shares ended the week with a gain of 0.14%. This represents 4% growth for May. MSCI's broadest Asia-Pacific share index outside Japan closed up by 0.72% over night, ending the week with a lower value but adding nearly 5% to the month. MSCI's world index fell 0.37%, to 877. However, it was on course to gain over 1% in the coming week and over 5% for May. This would be the largest monthly gain since November 20,23. The closely-watched Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCEPI) rose by 0.1% in April. This was in line with the expectations. Trump and Fed chair Jerome Powell met for the first time on Thursday. A Fed statement stated that Powell did not discuss expectations for monetary policies, except to emphasize that the direction of policy would depend on the incoming economic data and its implications for the outlook. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. notes dropped 0.8 basis points, to 4.416%. After reversing previous losses, the 30-year bond yield increased 1.2 basis point to 4.9346%. The dollar rose against other major currencies, including the euro. It is on course to gain against the Japanese currency for the month. The dollar fell 0.23% against the Japanese yen to 143.83, while the euro dropped 0.01% to $1.1364. The dollar index (which measures the greenback versus a basket including the yen, the euro and other currencies) rose by 0.05%, to 99.30. Tariff uncertainty was weighing down the market, and it was set to suffer its fifth consecutive month of losses. Investors are weighing up the possibility of a larger OPEC+ production increase in July. Oil prices have fallen and could be headed for a weekly loss for a second time. Brent crude futures dropped 0.439% to $63.90 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude fell 0.53% at $60.63 per barrel. The dollar rose, and gold prices fell. Spot gold dropped 0.7% to $3.292.54 per ounce. U.S. Gold Futures dropped 0.81% to an ounce of $3,290.10.
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Mexican authorities seize 3 million litres of fuel stolen
Mexican authorities have announced that they seized over 3 million liters (792 516 gallons), of fuel illegally stored at a property located in Tabasco in the southeast of the country. This is the latest of a series of large fuel seizures in Mexico. Why it's important The seizure of fuel on Thursday was part of Mexico's ongoing fight against fuel smuggling. This includes both theft from the state-run oil company Pemex pipelines, and imports classified falsely to avoid taxes. KEY QUOTES In a statement released on Thursday, Mexico's cabinet of security said that 18 vehicles, 3 pieces of machinery and 3,904 metal containers containing hydrocarbons, identified as petroleum derivatives, had been secured. The Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stated on Friday that the seizures are related to a new system of "traceability", which tracks fuel imports all the way from their source until they reach the sale point. CONTEXT Since years, the state-owned Pemex is facing a rampant theft by illegal pipeline taps in Mexico. This has resulted in massive losses. By the numbers Over the last few weeks, the authorities discovered 1.5 million liters (fuel) in two raids conducted in the state Tabasco. They also found 10 million liters (fuel) in the State of Tamaulipas. These fuels were on a ship that arrived in Mexico from the United States a few weeks earlier.
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India reduces import taxes on crude edible oil to reduce food prices
India has lowered the basic import duty on crude edible oil to 10%, according to the government. The world's largest vegetable oil importer is trying to lower food prices and support the local refinery industry. Crude palm oil, soya oil and crude sunflower oils are subject to a customs duty. The total import duty for the three oils will be reduced from 27.5% to 16.5%, as they will also be subject to the Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess and Social Welfare surcharge of India. The Solvent Extractors' Association of India's (SEA) executive director, B.V. Mehta said, "This is a win for both the vegetable oil refiners and the consumers as the local prices will drop due to the reduction in duty." The government has not changed the import duty for refined palm oil or refined soya oil. These oils are currently subject to a 35,75% import tax. Mehta stated that the import duty difference between refined and crude oils has increased to 19,25%. This will encourage importers to bring crude edible oil instead of refined oil and boost local refining industries. India imports more than 70% its vegetable oil. It imports palm oil, mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, and soyoil, sunflower oil, and other oils from Argentina, Brazil and Ukraine. Sandeep Bajoria is the CEO of Sunvin Group. A vegetable oil brokerage. He said that the reduction in basic duty will bring down the price of edible oil and help to revive the retail demand which has been subdued over the past few months. (Reporting and editing by David Evans, Susan Fenton and Rajendra Jadhav)
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Britain sells off last NatWest shares after crisis-era bailout
After a 60.59 billion pound ($45 billion) state-funded investment at the height the financial crisis in 2008, NatWest is now fully private. This ends a costly taxpayer-funded investment which reshaped both the lender and the industry. The British government has sold the remaining 1% of its bank shares, according to an announcement by the Treasury on Friday. It had previously sold small blocks over recent years. It held up to 38% as recently as December 20,23. In a press release, Finance Minister Rachel Reeves stated that "nearly 20 years ago, the government intervened to protect millions and businesses from the effects of the collapse RBS". "That decision was made to protect the economy, and the return of NatWest to private ownership marks a turning point in the history of this country." NatWest's reprivatisation is a turning point in the recovery of its business and mortgage lending in its home market. It transformed from an investment bank with a global reach to a more traditional, slimmed-down lender. NatWest shares have risen by more than 30% this year, to 523 pence. This is above the 502 pence bailout. Prior government selldowns took place at lower prices, resulting in a loss for the rescue. According to Britain's Finance Ministry, the government lost approximately 10.5 billion pounds in the 45 billion pound rescue when proceeds from share sales and dividend payments to finance ministry are added together with fees and other revenue. The SYMBOL of EXCESS NatWest's growth in the years leading up to the financial crisis became a symbol of excess in that time. It grew from being a small Scottish bank in the 1990s, to becoming one of the largest banks in the world, with a total balance sheet exceeding 2 trillion pounds in 2008, which was almost twice the annual British economic output. Before its 2020 rebranding, the bank known then as RBS had sold assets that ranged from a fleet aircraft in Beijing to the largest hospital of Sydney. It also included a golf-course in Florida, 110 km away from the nearest highway, and an American graveyard. Deep South. According to UK Finance, the bank, now under private ownership, is a significantly slimmed down lender, focused on its domestic businesses. It ranks third in Britain for mortgage providers behind Lloyds Banking Group, and Nationwide Building Society. After the financial crisis, Britain introduced so-called "ring-fencing" rules to protect ordinary savers from the riskier activities of banks. It also aimed to boost competition by encouraging smaller challenger banks. NatWest faces a challenge to increase fee-based revenue from businesses like wealth management. This is because incumbents have been largely unaffected by these efforts. Meanwhile, big rivals including HSBC are pursuing the same strategy in response to declining lending income due to Britain's central banks' policy rate cuts. Paul Thwaite, the current CEO of the bank, has made it a priority to further simplify and streamline its operations and to promote economic growth by providing mortgages and business loans. This is in line with the pressure the left-leaning Labour party has put on banks to kickstart the slow economic growth of the country. The ruling party may still tap the cash-rich banks via additional taxes to plug the gaps in the budget. Alex Potter, Investment Director, Developed Market Equities, Aberdeen, said that NatWest had rebuilt its reputation but was still a political ball. He said that the lender would continue to be under pressure to actively support the growth agenda of government. NatWest executives said that the state exit would not affect how they do business. However, bankers and advisors believe that it may try to accelerate its growth strategy through further acquisitions in 2024 after a number of such deals. ($1 = 0.7427 pounds)
Nikkei reports that China will resume seafood imports to Japan once the fears over Fukushima thaw.
The Nikkei reported Friday that China and Japan had agreed on procedures for resuming imports of Japanese fisheries products. This could be a sign that a trade embargo is ending, according to a source in Japan's ruling political party.
The agreement was reached at a bilateral meeting between officials on Wednesday in Beijing. Both governments are working to reduce tensions resulting from the release of treated wastewater by Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2023.
The report stated that under the agreed-upon measures, Japan would register its fishery processing plants with Chinese authorities and export shipments would include certificates of inspection confirming the lack of radioactive substances, such as Cesium-137.
Nikkei reported that China will likely announce in the near term the resume of imports of seafood from prefectures in Japan outside the Fukushima area.
China banned Japanese seafood imports from 2023. This ban came shortly after Tokyo started releasing treated wastewater to the plant that was affected by the disaster. The move triggered a diplomatic and economic backlash.
The Japanese and Chinese embassies did not respond immediately to a comment request. (Reporting from Rishav Chaterjee, Bengaluru. Editing by Vijay Kishore.
(source: Reuters)