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Nine skiers are missing and six have been rescued in California after an avalanche
Authorities said that nine skiers are missing after an early morning avalanche occurred in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of?California. However, six other stranded skiers have been rescued. According to a statement on Facebook posted by the Nevada County Sheriff's Office, an avalanche hit the Castle Peak area in Truckee, California about 10 miles from Lake Tahoe at 11:30 am Pacific time Tuesday and buried a group skiers. The injured were treated in a hospital. The sheriff’s office revised an earlier estimate that stated 16 people were in the group. HIGH AVALANCHE RISK The incident will rank as one of the most deadly avalanches in US history if all nine missing skiers perish. Colorado Avalanche Information Center has tallied six U.S. fatalities in avalanches this season. The center reports that on average, 27 people have died each winter from avalanches in the United States during the last decade. On Tuesday, there was a winter storm warning for most of northern California. Heavy snow is forecast at the upper elevations of Sierra Nevada. According to a statement from the Sheriff's Office, the Sierra Avalanche Center posted an alert Tuesday morning before sunrise, warning that there was a "high" avalanche risk in the ski area. Captain Russell Greene of the Nevada County Sheriff's Office said that rescue teams were faced with additional avalanche dangers. Greene told Sacramento-based KCRA-TV that it would be a long, difficult process. "The avalanche risk is still high and they have to take great care when accessing this area," he said. Greene stated that it wasn't a good decision for a ski tour operator to send paying customers into the backcountry in such dangerous conditions. Rescue ski teams from Boreal Mountain Ski Resort, Tahoe Donner’s Alder Creek Adventure Center and Tahoe Donner’s Boreal Mountain Ski Resort were sent to the avalanche area. The survivors took refuge in an improvised shelter made partly from tarpaulin and communicated via radio beacons and text messages with rescuers. Greene refused to say how many ski guides or how many customers are missing. According to a sheriff's report, weather conditions remain hazardous on the Sierra backcountry slopes. Additional avalanche activity is expected Tuesday night and into Wednesday. California - Governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed about the avalanche. State authorities are "coordinating a search-and rescue effort with local emergency teams," his office stated in a post on X. Steve Gorman reported from Los Angeles, and Devika Nair from Bengaluru. Saad Sayeed and Edwina Gibbs edited the story.
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Libyan traders bring in Western traders to counter Russian fuel flow
Three trading sources said that global oil firms and traders, including Vitol Trafigura, and TotalEnergies, won the tenders for supplying gasoline and diesel to Libya. The country is allowing large Western players greater access, and reducing imports of Russian petrol. Libya has been overhauling its oil industry for 15 years, following the fall of Muammar Gadhafi. The country produces 1.4 million barrels of crude oil a day, but does not have the refinery infrastructure necessary to process it. It is therefore dependent on fuel imports. Africa's second largest oil producer has changed the way it buys fuel and sells oil after issuing its first upstream licensing round in 20 years. Instead of swapping crude exports for fuel imports, the country has awarded tenders in order to meet its fuel requirements. Three traders who were familiar with the results of the recent tenders said that Vitol won the right to supply five to ten gasoline cargoes per month, as well as some diesel. Trafigura, TotalEnergies and two other traders also claimed that they had won the right to provide fuel. Could not determine the exact volume. Vitol Trafigura and TotalEnergies refused to comment. Libya's National Oil Corporation, the state-owned oil company in Libya, did not respond immediately to a request for comment. RUSSIAN IMPORTS DROP DOWN As Western firms source their volumes of Russian products from refineries on the Mediterranean, this will reduce imports to Libya. According to data provided by global analytics firm Kpler, Russian fuel exports have dropped to 5,000 bpd from 56,000 in 2024-2025 when it was the main supplier. The Kpler data revealed that Italy became Libya's largest fuel supplier with 59,000 bpd this year, mainly coming from ISAB and Sarroch, run by Trafigura or Vitol. After its refined products were prohibited from being sold in the West due to sanctions related to the conflict?in Ukraine, Moscow relies heavily on Africa and South America. Under U.S. pressure the Kremlin's oil exports to India, Turkey and South America have also fallen. This has pushed a greater amount of oil to China. Since the beginning of 2024, total?fuel imports into Libya have averaged 186,000 bpd. FIRMS CAN ACCESS CRUDE EXPORTS AS WELL Sources said that Libya would also change its?handling of crude exports. All three traders agreed that the crude liftings of BGN, a Swiss trading firm, which was formerly a major exporter, would fall sharply as export rights will be given to large Western companies. Two of the three sources also said that the small Swiss trader Transmed Trading purchased several crude cargoes during January, and would 'continue to increase volumes in future months. Transmed and BGN didn't immediately respond to comments. Libya signed another 25-year deal in January with TotalEnergies, ConocoPhillips, and more than $20 billion of foreign-funded investment. Reporting by Robert Harvey in London, Dmitry Zhdannikov in Moscow, Ahmad Ghaddar in Paris, and Enes Tunagur at London. Ahmed Elumami and America Hernandez, both in Paris, contributed additional reporting. Dmitry Zhdannikov, Kirby Donovan and Dmitry Zhdannikov edited the article.
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Russell: Geopolitics shifts the mix of suppliers as Asia eats up crude oil.
As the recent run of strong crude oil imports continues, Asia is on track to "hit a new record in February". However, the mix of suppliers has begun to change in response to the geopolitical dynamic. In February, Kpler's commodity analysts expect the world's largest import region to have 28.51 million barrels (bpd), which is the highest daily total in their records. Kpler data shows that the strong imports in 'February' follow on from arrivals in December of 27,48 million bpd and in January of 26,22 million bpd. China and India are the two largest crude buyers in the world. The data also shows that recent geopolitical disturbances are beginning to affect crude oil flows into the region. India is a good example. Imports are expected to increase from January's 5,18 million bpd to 5.40 million in February. Kpler's initial estimate of India's imports for March is 4,04 million?bpd. However, this figure will increase as more cargoes, particularly from the Middle East, are assessed. The March data show a steep drop in the number of expected arrivals, which is now?593,000 per day, down from 1.43 million per day in February, and 1.22 million per day in January. This represents a 59% decline from 1.43 million per daily in February, and 1.22 million in January. It is possible that Kpler may revise higher the March total, but it's also likely that any such increase will only be minor, as the cargo arriving in March has likely already been at sea for the last four to six weeks. India's sudden drop in imports of Russian crude is the result of a trade agreement between New Delhi and Washington. The terms of the deal include India reducing imports from Russia, while increasing those from the United States. India has not yet lifted its imports from the United States, despite having made a commitment to reduce imports from Russia. It will be several months before any increase in crude oil arrivals from America is seen, given the longer shipping times. However, Kpler estimates that March imports are only 161,000 bpd - the lowest since February 2025. SAUDI GAINS According to Kpler, the main beneficiary of India's move away from Russia is Saudi Arabia. February imports are expected to hit 1.03 million bpd. This is up from 774,000 bpd during January, and it will be the highest since November 2019. Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company of the Kingdom, has lowered its official selling price (OSP), which is widely seen as a way to increase competitiveness and market share. The OSP for March for the benchmark Arab Light for Asian refiners has been cut to parity with the Oman/Dubai standard, down from an OSP of 30 cents per barrel in February. It was the lowest OSP in the last?decade and it continued the trend of Saudi Arabia reducing its oil prices relative to their competitors. Kpler expects arrivals in China of 1,58 million bpd for February, up from 1,20 million bpd during?January, and the highest since June last. Trade sources estimate that China's imports of Saudi Arabian goods from March will reach 1.87 million bpd - the highest since October 2022. China, however, continues to rely on Russia as its top supplier. Imports by sea are expected to reach 2.02 million bpd for February, compared with 1.85 million in January. China's January-February?imports of Russian crude oil are the highest since Kpler records began in 2013. This shows that Beijing continues to be willing to purchase?crude sanctioned from Western governments. The discounts provided by the government outweigh any political concerns. You like this column? Open Interest (ROI) is your new essential source of global financial commentary. ROI provides data-driven, thought-provoking analysis on everything from soybeans to swap rates. The markets are changing faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, X. These are the views of the columnist, who is also an author. (Editing by Kim Coghill).
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Global shares regain footing as AI jitters abate; investors digest Lagarde exit report
Investors took a break on Wednesday after a selloff triggered by artificial intelligence, and assessed a report that European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde planned to step down early. STOXX 600 jumped nearly 1% to a new record high on Wednesday, thanks to gains in mining and defence stocks. The pan-European index is now on track for its third consecutive day of gains. S&P futures rose 0.4% a week after the main indexes made modest gains. Investors who have suffered from a savage decline in recent weeks due to fears of AI upending the labour market, and making some businesses obsolete, especially in the software sector, will be relieved by the moves. "Ultimately, I think the future of both software companies and products will require a more nuanced and balanced view. "Not all software companies are going to go bankrupt," said Julian Klymochko. CEO of alternative investment solutions firm, Accelerate Financial Technology. "That being said, there will be a negative impact on many software companies either from an increase in the supply of competitors or a reduction in demand for their products." Focus on Potential Lagarde Departure According to The Financial Times, ECB president Lagarde intends to quit her position ahead of the French presidential elections next year. She navigated through one of the most volatile periods in financial history. Charles-Henry Monchau is the chief investment officer of SYZ Group, Geneva. If she leaves early, this marks the end of crisis management, and the start of a high-stakes battle for the future of the?euro. The euro fell 0.2% to $1.1835 on Wednesday, but Germany's 10-year bond yield, the benchmark for the euro zone, remained unchanged at 2.74%. The Geneva talks to end the four year old war in Ukraine abruptly ended after just two hours. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, accused Russia of intentionally delaying progress towards a deal. The continued rise in geopolitical tensions will likely reduce the willingness of investors to take risks, said Ryan Sweet. He is managing director for macro forecasting and analyses at Oxford Economics. ASIA FIRM IN THE LIGHT HOLIDAY TRADE Japan's Nikkei 225 index jumped 1% to end a three-day decline, while Australia's S&P/ASX200 rose 0.5%. Mainland China was closed, as were Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude oils futures rose 1.9% and 2.2% to $68.73 per barrel and $63.59 per barrel, respectively, after closing at two-week lows the previous session. Iran's Foreign Minister said that following talks in Geneva, Washington and Tehran had agreed on "guiding principles" for resolving their long-standing nuclear dispute. This eased fears of a military conflict around the Strait of Hormuz, which could disrupt global oil supply. Gold recovered from its early losses. Silver gained 2.9% and was at $75.56 an ounce. Gold rose 0.7% to $4,912 an ounce. Bitcoin and Ether erased previous gains and were down by 0.3% and 0.7% respectively. The traditional currencies also remained relatively stable. The pound remained steady at $1.3571, after British inflation data fell in line with expectations. Meanwhile, the dollar rose 0.3% to?153.7 against the Japanese yen. The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures greenbacks against a basket of major counterparts, rose by 0.1%. Minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting from January, which are due on Wednesday, could influence the dollar. They could provide signals about the direction for interest rates. The 10-year Treasury yield rose nearly 2 basis points, to 4.07%. This is up from Tuesday's low of 4.02%. Reporting by Niket Nishant in London, and Scott Murdoch, in Sydney. Editing by Kevin Buckland and Lincoln Feast; Mark Potter, Chizu Nomiyama, and Chizu Feast.
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EU countries support stronger price controls on the new carbon market
EU diplomats responded to the concerns of some governments who feared that the policy could increase fuel prices by raising the price on the carbon market. Changes to the ETS2 carbon trading scheme still need to be negotiated by EU member states and approved by the European Parliament. After the Parliament has finalised its position, negotiations can start. The diplomats reported that the ambassadors of EU countries backed price-cutting plans in a closed door meeting held on Wednesday. Launch Delayd ETS2 will begin imposing a CO2 price on heating and transportation fuels in 2028. The collected revenue will be used to help households and businesses invest into electric cars and energy saving renovations. Slovakia and the Czech Republic have both expressed concern that ETS2 will lead to higher energy prices for consumers and are pushing for the scheme to be further delayed. The EU has already delayed the launch of ETS2 by an additional year to 2028. The changes, backed by the countries on Wednesday, are intended to lower ETS2 prices. They will do this by releasing additional carbon permits into market if the carbon price reaches $ 53.25 per metric tonne of CO2 (which could add up to 80 millions permits each year). Five other countries, including Sweden, the Netherlands and others, opposed any further delays to the ETS2 system on Tuesday. They said that this would undermine EU efforts in combating climate change, and create uncertainty for investors.
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Uber invests over $100 Million in charging for autonomous vehicles amid robotaxi push
Uber Technologies announced on Wednesday that it would invest more than $100 million in developing autonomous vehicle charging hubs. This is part of the company's ongoing efforts to "scale up" its self-driving operations. This includes installing DC fast charging stations in its autonomous depots, where Uber operates day-today fleet operations. It also includes pit stops at priority cities. Uber is partnering with over 20 companies around the world to provide self-driving taxi, freight and delivery services. The company wants to gain market share, and compete against other companies like Tesla. The expansion of charging will start in the U.S. Bay Area, Los Angeles and Dallas before expanding to other cities. The company also partners with chargepoint operators on global markets, including EVgo, Electra, Hubber and Ionity, in London, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and Boston. These agreements will?support the roll-out of hundreds new chargers in these cities and places where charging is most needed. Uber announced earlier this month that it would support its capital-intensive early-stage autonomous vehicle strategy. It said the company was investing capital in vehicle partners to ensure early?supply, and to speed up deployments, as Uber's?platform had a structural edge. Uber offers robotaxis in four U.S. cities, including Riyadh, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai. It has partnered up with robotaxi companies, such as Alphabet's Waymo, and China's WeRide for fleet operations.
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After a reduction in power tariffs, a major South African smelter has restarted.
The South African ferrochrome factory Lion Smelter has resumed operation after a nine-month shut down following a 'one-third reduction' in power costs. Its co-owner announced this on Wednesday. He urged further cost-cutting to ensure long-term viability of the plant. In recent years, more than a dozen South African smelters closed. The country is the world's largest producer of chrome ore and chromite. This has led to thousands of job losses. According to the Minerals Council South Africa, closures are largely due to high electricity prices. These have risen by more than 900% since 2008. Merafe, Lion Smelter’s co-owner, said in a press release that South Africa’s energy regulator approved the 35% tariff reduction, allowing the smelter to re-start. The smelter is owned by Merafe, Glencore, and their joint venture. ?ELECTRICITY RATES NEED MORE CUTS The partnership had shut down the plant in May 2025, along with two other smelters. Merafe stated that the Lion Smelter was able to resume operations after the electricity cost dropped from 0.0851 rand to 87.74 South African Cents per kilowatt-hour. However, this reduction in costs wasn't enough to sustain the operation for the long run. The company also added that the Boshoek smelters and Wonderkop smelters remain inactive. Merafe stated that "all three smelter operation would require a tariff 62c per hour to operate in a way that is commercially viable and sustainable over the long-term." South Africa was the largest?chrome ore processing country in the world, but the closure of smelters meant that it lost its position to China. As it pursued negotiations with authorities over discounted 'power tariffs,' the Glencore-Merafe joint venture suspended the formal process to lay off thousands workers at the mothballed?smelters?late last year. Merafe stated that it hopes to reach a long term agreement on energy costs by the 28th of February, the deadline for resuming the job-cutting procedures.
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TSX futures are rising as gold and oil prices recover
The futures of Canada's main index of stocks rose on Wednesday as gold and oil prices recovered after their losses during the previous session. Investors awaited minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's January meeting. As of 5:42 a.m., March futures?on??S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 0.48%. ET. Toronto's benchmark index fell 0.5% on February 2, as commodity price declines weighed down mining and energy stocks. This was offset by domestic data that showed the inflation rate in January had increased at a "slower" pace, likely preventing a move to higher interest rates from the Bank of Canada. Spot gold and silver prices rose on Wednesday ahead of the U.S. Fed's minutes, which are due to be released later that day. Copper prices recovered as well, thanks to bargain-buying. Investors also look forward to the U.S. The Fed will be releasing its Personal Consumption Spending?report, which is due on Friday, in order to determine the likely monetary policy for this year. According to CME's FedWatch Tool, the markets currently expect the first rate cut in June. Oil prices have also recovered from a slump of more than 2% on Tuesday. However, investors remain cautious despite the Iranian Foreign Minister's statement that the U.S. has reached an agreement with Iran on "guiding principles" to be used in?talks intended to resolve the nuclear dispute. Brent crude futures, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude and Brent crude futures both rose by 0.5%. A severe winter storm impacted the Canadian housing market, causing a 5.8% drop in home sales. After-market earnings released on?Tuesday showed that insurance company iA Financial had reported a fourth-quarter loss below expectations, while miner IAMGOLD posted a quarterly revenue higher than estimates. Agnico Eagle, a gold miner, announced an?additional Investment in Maple Gold Mines. CLICK CODES TO GET CANADIAN MARKETS UPDATES: TSX Market Report Canadian Dollar and Bond Report Global Stocks Poll for Canada Canadian Markets Directory (Reporting and Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri; Reporting by Utkarsh T. Hathi)
US rejects UN summit, but global leaders vow development push
The first ever summit of its kind began in Seville on Monday in scorching temperatures, with the world leaders increasingly under pressure to reduce poverty and limit
Climate change
Other key development goals are increasingly in danger.
U.N. Chief Antonio Guterres stated that the event was intended to "repair and rev up" an international system in which "trust is fraying, and multilateralism has been strained."
This was a jab at the most notable absence from the conference - U.S. president Donald Trump. The world's biggest economy and its traditional largest aid donor, refused to take part in the conference after refusing to support the summit's action plan hammered over the past year.
Emmanuel Macron, the French president, also took a shot at his American counterpart. He called the decision to launch a trade conflict at a time of such stress on the planet "an aberration".
Barbados, Kenya France, Spain, and other countries made a series of announcements, including a plan to tax private jets, first class flights, and luxury cars.
Guterres said that the Seville Commitment, at the core of the event, was a global promise to change the way the world supports the poorer countries.
Pre-summit
"outcomes"
The agreement included a tripling of multilateral lending, debt relief, an effort to increase tax-to GDP ratios to 15% or more, and a shift of special IMF funds to countries in greatest need.
Macron said that the World Bank, and other leading development banks, should be willing to sacrifice their high credit ratings in order to achieve these targets.
Macron stated that multilateral development banks who "wish to maintain their triple-A credit rating without using guarantees instruments are wrong." "They must do more with their balance sheet."
SYSTEM OVERHAUL
Guterres stated that more than $4 trillion in funding per year is needed, and the key financial infrastructure of the world needs to be quickly retooled to make this happen.
Guterres also said that the world development banks need to be reformated to increase their lending and attract private capital.
This was tied to the need to reform credit rating systems around the world to make them fairer for developing countries who are trying to invest in projects to improve their fortunes.
Guterres stated that "countries need and deserve" a system which lowers borrowing rates, allows fair and timely restructuring of debt and prevents debt crisis in the first instance. He cited a plan for creating a single debt register to increase transparency and efforts to reduce the cost capital through debt swaps.
(source: Reuters)